#as much as i dislike lamia as a whole

[sparkysparklightning]

Have you read Son of Magic/ have any thoughts about Alabaster Torrington?

I have not read son of magic so I don't really have much to say about that. however, I do know about alabaster torrington due to reading fics involving him and then, out of curiosity, checking his profile on the riordanverse wiki. (keep in mind these are just my thoughts of him with no knowledge of what went down in son of magic 😭)

I think he's a really interesting character! a child of hecate is cool enough, but the whole story of him and lamia was interesting too! I liked how he wasn't one of those demigods who switched to the good side right away when the olympians won, like he wanted to fight more, he egged his mother on to keep fighting, and he dislikes percy and still hates the olympians. he's like a very morally gray kinda guy, imo?? based on what I know of son of magic and his personality. he has skewed morals and while his perception of what he believes is right has a far different meaning in most of the godly world, he is heroic in his own way. ngl characters like him fascinate me bc they've so much potential to be analyzed, which is prob why I tend to include him in my fics here and there despite not having read son of magic lmaoo

#thank you for the ask!! #alabaster torrington #son of magic #drksanctuary #answered #sparkysparklightning #kit speaks #pjo

[botanicallyinclinednerd]

I think the reason I like Percival so much despite him having very little canon back story and not a lot of lines is him being this giant intimidating muscely man that can and will snap a bitch in half like a twig, but he's also incredibly soft and gentle and caring to those he wishes to protect. The second I saw him carrying three small children at once to safety so they wouldn't be scared or in further danger from the Dorocha, I was sold. I just really love physically intimidating characters that are actually cuddly teddy bears, and that's what Percival is.

#his smile too is the most precious thing #sir percival #bbc percival #percival #i am going to sob over his scenes with gwaine in diamond of the day when i get that far #bbc merlin #merlin #as much as i dislike lamia as a whole #it has the wonderful percival moments of him stapping a mans back with his shoulders #and him being a gentle and calming presence to lamia soothing her panic when she wakes up #im also reminded of him talking down Elyan very calmly when he was possessed by the ghost boy #though he then knocked Elyan out with a very startling and brutal punch to the head #so hes a teddy bear with claws

[southfarthing]

10, 17, 23 for salty asks?

10. Most disliked arc? Why?

hmmm andy bernard from the office? he was really coming into himself and then they turned him into a joke for some reason??? also morgana from bbc merlin: she just changed way too quickly and her hatred of arthur and gwen didn’t feel justified at all

17. Instead of XYZ happening, I would have made ABC happen…

BBC MERLIN S4–5: 

lancelot would just. not be dead. gwaine would find out about merlin’s magic after the whole dorocha thing. gwen would find out about the magic sometime mid-s4 (maybe the lamia episode? there was definitely an opportunity there) (if not, then way earlier, like s2 or 3) and we’d get more cute merlin and gwen being insubordinate servant pals picking on arthur and growing to be more respected and revered in court. 

towards the end of s4, as merlin felt more comfortable with himself and his magic because more friends knew about it, he’d make the choice to tell arthur instead of having him accidentally find out like gwaine and lancelot. then the s4 double finale episodes could basically be 5x13 but giving it more time and Drama (and with arthur actually being awake and not... competely out of it bc he was dying), finally ending with a very tentative acceptance, but with the promise of more understanding and forgiveness in the future. also no lancelot du lac thing (bc he never died in the first place see) so just happy wedding and gwen’s coronation.

THEN s5 could explore merlin using magic freely around the knights outside camelot, and the slow progression of change in court and camelot of attitudes towards magic. just. happy merlin!!! then maybe kill gaius for angst purposes, and as part of merlin’s growth (like how uther needed to die for arthur to grow). not sure where mordred would come into this because there’d no longer be the magic argument so.........I guess we could just keep our hearts at the end?? maybe ? :)

LOTR: 

I wouldn’t have stretched TTT out so much and I’d have cut out faramir being tempted by the ring, and put in the shelob plot back into TTT. that would make more space in ROTK for more focus on the return journey, and the scouring of the shire!!!!

23. Unpopular character you love?

I feel like an answer I previously answered is very similar to what I’d say for this question so I’ll just copy it here!

uther pendragon!!! I think part of it is that the actor gives off such warm vibes and also what you said before – he’s such a complex character (especially considering how straight-laced and simple many of the characters are on bbc merlin in the first few seasons) and is so integral to the plot and character development of everyone around him. also theoden king!!! I wouldn’t say he was unpopular, more just underappreciated, but I want him to adopt me as an extra niece and just :(((( watch him respectfully listening to merry talk about pipeweed for three hours

#thank you sm! <3 #i'm so sorry if you haven't watched merlin i'm just still freshly going through It All and i have some stressed thoughts and feelings #bbc merlin #anonymous #replies #just realised i could've just ranted about GOT but my brain made me forget and spared me the effort of reliving all of that

[charleys-stuff]

Dirk Gently Christmas One-Shot

This fanfic is for a secret Santa project.

Prompt December in Blackwing us hard for a few reasons, but rhe main one is loneliness. It's the only time out of the year subjects can visit each other. Young Svlad Cjelli for example spends the entire day with Mona on Christmas Eve, meanwhile Martin is pulled out of his cell in an attempt to let him cleebrate the last day of Hannukah with his older brother, Osmund.

I’m not really familiar with Hanukkah but I’ve tried my best. I hope the characters aren’t too OOC. Have fun with reading this fic.

Blackwing is a quiet place most time of the year. People only talk when it's needed. The subjects can't interact with each other and the staff only talks to them when necessary.

But when it's christmas it's not only quiet. There is a silence weighting down on everyone. Most of the staff is at home spending time with their family. The loneliness that's always present can't be ignored.

Svlad Cjelli loved and hated christmas. It was the one time in the year when he could talk to another subject. Someone other than the people that seemed to like it so much to bring him pain. Every day he only saw their faces. But on christmas- On christmas he could talk to project Lamia or Mona, as she called herself. He couldn't wait to spend time with her again. Other people might see her as strange. But they thought the same about Svlad and she could understand him like no one else could. With her he felt like he belonged somewhere. Like someone cared about him. Svlad loved Christmas cause it was the one time of the year where he could talk to Mona.

But afterwards the pain of the loneliness was even stronger. He couldn't ignore the screaming silence of his room. He couldn't quiet ignore the detached looks that the staff of Blackwing gave him. Like he was just some experiment and not a human being. Mona treated him different and that made him yearn for her. It made him yearn for more people like her.

But the reality was right in front of him in the form of grey walls. Svlad stared at the wall of his room waiting for the minutes to tick by. It was the morning of the 25th december. In only a few minutes someone would get him and bring him to Mona and they could spent christmas together. He couldn't get out of his room most of the time let alone the facility but Svlad was still determined to get a christmas present for her. He persuaded Colonel Riggins for weeks until he finally gave in. And now Svlad sat there on his bed with a piece of paper neatly folded in his hand.

He heard someone start to unlock the door. It was probably Mr. Priest. Each year he brought him to Mona before spending time with one of project Incubus.

He didn't know why Mr. Priest would spend his time with one of the subjects. He believed that the man hated them and enjoyed seeing them locked up in their rooms. Most of the staff didn't care about the subjects. They didn't feel hate or love regarding them. Svlad saw it in their eyes when he met them in the hallway or when he had to make tests. Their eyes were blank. For them they all were just a subject – an experiment. They didn't see them as human, they all were just a problem that needed to be solved. And there was no reason for the people here to express emotions for an experiment. There were few people that actually showed emotions for the subjects.

One of them was Colonel Riggins. He was how Svlad would imagine a father to be. He always made sure to listen to Svlad. When Svlad came to him to complain about the tests that hurt him, Riggins promised to think about his words. Svlad knew that Riggins was the one responsible for the tests. That Riggins was the one that locked him up in here. But he was also one of the only ones who seemed to care about Svlad. Even if it was just to get him to cooperate, Svlad couldn't help but listen to him. Everything in this place was a manifestation of loneliness and Svlad craved for some form of warmth. And he got it from Riggins when he told him how proud he was after a successful test. Logically Svlad knew that Riggins manipulated him. He had read enough of the books that he's got over the past few years to understand this. But he needed some reminder that there were friendly people out there. That his world didn't just consist of walls full of loneliness and blank eyes that tried to analyse him.

The door opened and revealed Osmund Priest. He was one of the other people showing emotions regarding the subjects. But where Riggins manipulated them with sweet words and promises, Priest showed his dislike openly. For him they were just subjects that had to be kept in line. And every time they stepped out of the line he showed them his displeasure. Through him Svlad learned early on that words could hurt as well.

Svlad stood up and followed Priest in the hallway. Priest is the only one bringing him to Mona. They knew that Svlad wouldn't try to run away. He had tried it a few years ago. Curious to see the world outside these walls. He had read so much in books about it and wanted to see it with his own eyes. But he hadn't even made it to the end of the hallway before they got him. Riggins was furious. It was one of the only times when his careful mask slipped and showed the man beneath it. Just thinking about it send shivers down Svald's spine. He still had a small scar from the consequences that his little stunt had. Since then he never tried something like that again and everyone inside here knew that he wouldn't try something like this again.

But Svlad couldn't help but wonder about the world outside there. Sure he had seen it through windows but he wanted to know what it's like out there. He wanted to feel the sun on his skin. He wanted to run through the snow. He wanted to try all these different foods. He wanted to eat pizza and ice cream. He wanted to find friends. Sure inside here he had Mona but he craved for more friends like her. He wanted someone to laugh with. Someone who helped him when the loneliness and darkness got too much. He wanted to be surrounded by all this life that is described in all his books. Svlad longed for the day to come for him to go out into the world. Riggins told him that he could leave when they finished all their tests. But that was years ago, after he tried to run away, and Svlad started to grow impatient. They wouldn't tell him how long their tests would take and he wanted to see the world. Most days he woke up and was tempted to try to run away again and escape these walls full of loneliness.

Priest stopped in front of Mona's door. With a sign to the guards next to the door, Priest began to unlock her door. Svlad could feel himself starting to get giddy. He was so excited to spent this Christmas with his friend. He couldn't wait to talk with her about the latest book he read and to give her the present he made. Priest opened the door and there was Mona already waiting in her human form.

“Hi, Svlad!”

Mona ran up to Svlad and threw her arms around him. Svlad hugged her back and hold on tight. He forgot how much he missed this kind of physical contact. It's been a year since he saw a friendly face and now that he held Mona in his arms he couldn't help but feel the loneliness even more. He knew that this hug wouldn't last forever and the day that they would spend together would end far to soon as well. Soon he'd be back in his room and the only thing surrounding him would be cold walls and blank eyes. Mona's arms tightened around him. It seemed like she didn't want to let the hug end as well. With her in his arms Svlad realized that he last been hugged by someone had been a year ago. This someone had been Mona when they spent last Christmas together. She was the only one that ever gave him hugs and each hug from her seemed to fill him with warmth. He could feel hope and happiness seep back into his body. He remembered that he wasn't alone. Mona was here and she would always be there for him. They made plans for when they leave Blackwing. They would stay together and experience the world outside these walls together as well.

Someone behind them cleared their throat. Slowly Mona and Svlad broke contact. It was then that Svlad realized that his eyes were wet. He blinked hastily and turned around. Priest was waiting for them to follow him. When he looked at Mona and Svlad there was something in his eyes. If Svlad didn't know better he would have thought that they were filled with sadness. But as quick as the look came it was gone and Priest seemed like his normal cold self.

Svlad took Mona's hand and they started to follow Priest. The guards started to follow them as well. They may trusted Svlad to not try to run but Mona was like wild card. She tended to act upon emotions and that lead to some unexpected turns of events more often than not.

They didn't speak on the whole way to the common room of the staff which was empty over the Christmas days. This was were they spent every Christmas. It wasn't much but the room was always a little bit decorated. There were always some fairy lights and a small Christmas tree. And someone made sure that there were always enough cookies.

They walked side by side through the sombre hallways. Everything around them screamed loneliness. It seemed as if the walls were closing in. The darkness came closer and closer. But Mona beside him was like a beacon of light that kept the darkness away. No matter how dark the way before them was, Mona's light shone bright enough to show him the way. The feeling of her hand in his gave him strength. He knew that with her by his side he could make it. They would get out of here some day and until then he had her to guide him through the darkness. It might take years but they would get out of here – together.

Priest held the door open for them and they stepped into the room. The door behind them was closed and locked. There was a surveillance camera in the corner of the room so the guards could wait outside the door and didn't have to watch them in here as well.

The room looked magnificent. There was a small Christmas tree in the corner. It had some fairy lights as well as some baubles. There were Poinsettias on every table and fairy lights above the windows. The windows that showed the outside world.

Svlad walked closer to the window, Moan's hand still in his. His breath caught in his chest as he gazed outside. It looked like one of the pictures from a book of his. The field outside was hidden under a thick blanket of snow and it seemed like someone put icing on the trees. With the sun reflecting from the frozen surface it seemed as if the river was made out of thousand crystals.

“Look over there!”

His eyes followed Mona's outstretched hand until his gaze fell upon two bunnies chasing each other through the snow. A bright smile formed on his face.

He clutched Mona's hand harder: “Soon we'll be out there playing in the snow. I'll open my detective agency and we can get our own Christmas tree.”

“I know, we can do anything as long as we're together”, Mona turned around with a small smile on her face.

And Svlad remembered that he was so lucky to be her friend but at the same time the doubt began to settle. What if she didn't want to be friends with him when they got out of here? Here at Blackwing she didn't really have anyone else to befriend with except Svlad. But out there? There were thousands of people better suited to be her friend. He felt tears starting to well in his eyes.

As if sensing his doubt, Mona grabbed his other hand as well and looked him in the eyes:

“As long as we're together – I promise:”

With one hand she brushed away his tears. Her eyes held nothing but sincerity. A chocked sob escaped Dirk.

“As long as we're together”, he promised as well, a shaky smile on his lips.

Mona kissed him on his cheek before turning to the tables.

“They even got us hot chocolate this year”, Mona exclaimed.

She let go of Svlad's hand and ran to the tables. Infected by her excitement, Svlad felt his smile widen and followed her to the table. There was a pot full with hot chocolate and next to it-

“Marshmallows and whipped cream!”

Hastily they sat down and took one of the mugs with the Blackwing logo on it. Svlad gently took Mona's cup from her hands and started filling it with the chocolate. Then he put some in his own. They both put a heap of whipped cream on top. After the first sip Mona started to giggle. Svlad looked confused at her.

“What's wrong?”, he asked, “Is there something on my face?”

It seemed like Mona couldn't stop to giggle while she pointed at his face:

“There, you have whipped cream on your lip.”

Svlad wiped his mouth with his sleeves but judging from Mona's laughter he didn't manage to clean his face. Still smiling, Mona took a huge sip from her cup. When she put the cup down, she had whipped cream all over her face as well. Svlad couldn't help but snort at the sight. It seemed as if she had a whipped cream moustache.

“Now we both have a matching beard”, she giggled.

Svlad took a marshmallow and stuffed it in his mouth. He felt joy spread through him as he saw Mona's wide grin. Chewing on the candy, he got an idea.

“I bet that I can fit more Marshmallows in my mouth than you!”

“No way”, Mona exclaimed and started reaching for the Marshmallows.

Osmund Priest wasn't usually a man who enjoyed spending time with his family. If this were the case he wouldn't have put his brother in this facility. If this were the case he wouldn't work for the people who have imprisoned his brother. Osmund Priest wasn't usually a man who cared about family but it was Hannukah. And at this time of the year he couldn't help but feel the holiday spirit as well. At this time of the year he started to soften. He felt it when he watched the subject Icarus and Lamia – or Svlad and Mona as they called each other – hug. They held each other like they feared that someone would come and rip them apart. They have been here longer than any of the other subjects. They have been here before Osmund started working for Riggins. Everything they've ever known is Blackwing. All their life they have been surrounded by this loneliness that seemed to try and claw its way in every heart. Osmund himself felt it. And the loneliness tugged at him even stronger when he saw them hug. They were the air that they needed to breath to survive the year. Without their Christmases they probably would have suffocated already. Chocked to death by the loneliness. Seeing how they needed each other to survive, Osmund felt a pang of sadness. He was one of the people responsible for these kid's suffering. Sure they were both nearly 18 but they were still kids in his eyes. Kids who grew up in a cold uncaring world.

Osmund shook his head. Normally he didn't have these kind of thoughts. But now, on his way to Martin, he couldn't help but have these thoughts. It seemed like the loneliness was wearing down his resolve as well. The darkness, that was the constant companion of everyone working at this facility, seemed to come closer. Everything behind him was engulfed by it and with every step it closed in. Osmund fastened his step but the darkness crept closer as well. The way before him, which was so clear only seconds ago, was barely visible through the darkness. Osmund nearly ran through the gloomy corridors, his pride the only thing stopping him from doing so. The others shouldn't see him losing it because he felt lonely.

When he came to a halt before the door of subject Incubus, his breath cam out in harsh pants. He could barely make out the door through the darkness. He could feel the loneliness clawing her way into his heart and mind, making it nearly impossible for him to take a breath. He indicated the guards next to the door to open it.

As soon as the last lock was undone and the door opened, he could feel his breathing starting to ease out. His gaze fell upon Martin sitting there with the others. Their newest addition was half hidden behind Martin's form when he stood up. Incubus No. 4, as he called him, looked at him from behind Martin. The other two subjects stood at Martin's side. All three of them were rigid with tension. When Martin saw who stood before him, his posture relaxed a fraction. He send a grimace that probably should have been a smile in Osmund's direction and turned around to Incubus No. 4.

Osmund felt the tension bleed out of his body. The darkness crept back into the corner of his eyes where he could ignore it again. He ignored the mistrustful glances that Incubus No. 2 and 3 threw him and waited patiently for Martin to finish speaking to Incubus No. 4. Martin gave Incubus No. 4's shoulder a quick squeeze and turned around. He held out his arms for Osmund to cuff them. At this incubus No. 2 and 3 started to make a step forward, ready to defend their leader, but one glance from Martin had them stop.

“I'll be back later”, Martin told them, “Cross, you're responsible for Vogel while I'm gone.”

Incubus No. 2 nodded and Martin turned around to him again sending a meaningful look to his wrist to indicate that he was ready. On every other day Osmund would have cuffed him. The danger going out from him to great to let him run around without some kind of restriction. But right now Osmund didn't see Incubus No. 1, he saw Martin – his little brother. He saw the boy that looked at him with tearful eyes whilst men from Blackwing started to cuff him. He heard him scream. Scream for his big brother to help him who just stood by and watched with a blank face while his brother was manhandled into the back of the van. Suddenly it wasn't Martin standing before him but project Icarus and Lamia. Both staring at him with tearful eyes after they broke from their hug. Osmund blinked hard to get the moisture from his eyes and looked Martin in the eyes. Martin, who still waited to be cuffed.

“That won't be necessary. I trust you to not do anything”

He felt a pang of hurt at Martin's surprised, unbelieving gaze. How did they come to this point? When did his brother start to think of him as some kind of monster? In the back of his mind he remembered playing catch with his little brother. He read him stories when their parents didn't have time to do it. He still remembered how Martin looked up to him with wonder and trust in his eyes. Now these eyes only held bitterness and hate when they looked at him.

Slowly Martin stepped forward, waiting for his brother to change his mind. The tension was back in the body of every member of project Incubus. At the door Martin stopped one last time and turned around to the group. He smiled reassuring and his eyes seemed to relay a whole conversation.

Osmund couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy when he saw the love and trust in Martin's eyes. And when he looked to the others he could see the same emotion in each one of them even in their newest addition. It had been over ten years since Martin last looked at him like this.

The darkness around him began to close in again but Osmund pushed it forcefully back. Even if they weren't the same people as they were ten years ago, this didn't mean that Martin didn't still care about him. Most of the time he himself forgot that he cared so much about his little brother and it was probably the same way for Martin. Cause after all he was still his brother and that must mean at least something for him.

Martin left the room with him and the guards locked it again. They started to walk and one guard started to follow but Osmund held up a hand to stop him.

“As I said before: This won't be necessary”, he told the man before him.

The surprise was back in Martin's eyes.

The guard started to protest: “But we have the strict order-”

“And I give you the order to stay here”, Osmund interrupted, “As long as his family is in this room, he won't try anything.”

The word family left a bitter taste on his tongue. He should be the one that Martin considered family, not these people in the room. But deep down he knew that Martin and he haven't been a family for a long time.

The guard seemed to want to protest again but Osmund shot him one look and the guard's resolve crumbled. Without another word the guard took up his position next to the door again.

Satisfied Osmund started to walk again.

“So that's why you let me walk around without cuffs? Cause you have leverage?”

Martin's word hit Osmund hard. He didn't know why he hadn't cuffed Martin but it wasn't like this.

“Of course not Martin, you're my brother-”

“Brother?!”

The venom in Martin's voice send shivers down Osmund's spine. The past years the had spent Hannukah together as well but this was the one topic that they never dared to talk about. It was the one day in the year where they pretended to be a family. They pretended that nothing had happened between them. Osmund had seen some changes in Martin's behaviour since Incubus No. 4 – Vogel, Osmund berated himself – has come to Blackwing. Martin started to become more outspoken. All of project Incubus it seemed. Before they had just accepted their life at Blackwing but it seemed like they wanted to protect Vogel from all of their experiences. When he looked at Martin he saw a look that many parents had in their eyes when he took their children away.

When he saw this look, he knew that Martin had found a new family. He didn't need Osmund any more. He didn't have to wait for his big brother to read him a book or play catch with him. He didn't have to wait for a big brother who would never come home. Martin has found brothers in Incubus No. 2, 3 and 4. He was now a big brother himself. He had to grow up and let go of the fantasy to be there for his little brothers.

As Osmund realized this the darkness once again started to creep closer. The loneliness clawed at his heart so hard that it started to hurt. Even if Martin moved on, Osmund wasn't ready to do this. His younger brother might not need him any more but Osmund needed him. He needed to know that even in the darkest hour he could still find his way home. He needed the light in the darkness to find his way. His brother might resent him but he was still his brother. He still knew the Martin who would laugh at the antics of his brother. With eyes so bright and full with curiosity. Eyes that wanted to see the whole world and more. Knowing that he stole this light from them made Osmund's heart ache. But when Martin looked at his new family the light was back. And as much as it hurt Osmund that this light wasn't directed at him, he was happy that this light was still there. He hadn't destroyed it after all.

He sighed as he looked at the hatred filling Martin's eyes.

“I know that you are angry, Martin”, he started not able to meet Martin's eyes for longer than a few seconds, “but please let us spend Hanukkah together. We can talk about this another time but right now I just want to spend this day with my little brother.”

Something in Martin's face softened at Osmund's words.

“Okay”

Osmund looked up and saw a small smile on Martin's lips. He smiled back. It wasn't perfect between them. It probably wouldn't ever be but right now they were just two brothers spending Hanukkah together.

The ever-present darkness seemed to vanish and if it was just for a few hours.

They stopped before Osmund's quarters. Most people working here went home after work but Osmund practically lived here. He spent days and nights here sleeping on a bench in one of the common rooms until Riggins came to him one day and showed him these rooms that they made for him. Riggins told him that he couldn't have his best employee sleeping in the common room but he saw the man's concern for him shine through. Riggins knew that he wouldn't be able to force him to go home. Osmund would remain at Martin's side even if Martin didn't knew that. So he did the next best thing and made sure that Osmund was at least comfortable while spending his days and nights near his brother.

Martin has never questioned why his brother spend all his time at work. He probably thought that it just had to do with Osmund being the best in his work field and therefore always having to be prepared to work.

Osmund opened the door and let Martin walk into his small living room. There weren't many personal items in here. There were small trinkets on the shelf that Osmund collected on his journeys to gather the subjects. Next to it were different books mostly on psychology and also a few Sherlock Holmes books that project Icarus recommended to him after last Christmas.

Apparently he and project Lamia read them when Riggins gave them to the two of them and they lead to Icarus wanting to become a detective himself. After he came to this conclusion, Icarus started to recommend these books to everyone who would listen. When he saw Icarus full of wonder and excitement he was reminded of a younger Martin and couldn't resist but read them. Now they were one of his few belongings and he found himself enjoying to read them after a hard day of work. Something that no one at Blackwing knew about.

Other than the shelf there was only a couch and a small table in his living room. The table was occupied with a Hanukkah menorah right now.

Martin let himself sink on the couch. He looked around the room and his eyes stopped at the Sherlock Holmes books.

“Since when do you read these kind of books, Os?”

“I told you not to call me that”, Osmund opened a window, “And someone recommended them to me.”

A cool breeze swept into the room and Osmund took a deep breath. Then he turned around to Martin.

“It's still some time until sundown so I thought that we could start preparing the food for the evening.”

Martin nodded, a ghost of a smile on his face. They both went into the small kitchen. Osmund handed Martin a peeler and they started preparing the potatoes for the Latkes. The kitchen was filled with silence as none of them knew what to talk about. Martin had a far away look on his face as if he wasn't really there.

“So, the newest addition to project Incubus is called Vogel?”

Osmund's voice cut through the silence and Martin was pulled from his thoughts. A genuine smile spread on his face and he had a wistful look in his eyes. The pain was there again. Knowing that Martin would never look like this when talking about him but it was overshadowed by the hapiness of seeing his little brother so full of warmth.

“Yes”, Martin started, “He is a small one...”

Mona and Svlad lay on the ground from a fit laughter. They both had their mouths full with Marshmallows. Svlad was trying to tell her a story but you couldn't understand him with his stuffed mouth and it only lead to Mona laughing harder. Finally he managed to swallow the rest of the candy. Both of them looked up to the ceiling seemingly glowing with happiness and trying to cath their breath

“What will you call your agency?”

Svlad turned his head to look at Mona. It seemed as if every fibre of her was filled with light and warmth. Her gaze was still fixed on the ceiling. Svlad hadn't really thought about a name yet. In his mind all of this seemed so far away. First they had to leave Blackwing and then he would start to think about stuff like this.

“Hm, I don't know”, Svlad turned around fully to look at her, “but I know that you will be my Watson!”

Mona turned to him as well a smile on her lips.

“That would make you Sherlock”, she replied.

Svlad saw the slightly unbelieving look in her eyes.

“I would make a perfect Sherlock”, he exclaimed.

He heard a giggle from next to him: “Sure but you first need to solve a case.”

He sat up, pretending to look angry.

“Just wait until we get out of here! I will solve every case that I get”, Svlad promised.

“I'm sure you will”

The genuineness in her voice caused Svlad to look at her. He never met someone who believed in him like Mona did. He gave her a bright smile.

Then he stood up and held out her hand for her: “Come on, it's time to open presents”

She took his hand and he helped her to her feet. Suddenly he felt nervous. His present wasn't that big and he didn't know if she would like it especially after their gifts last year.

Last year they gifted each other their names. It was a decision that they made over cookies and hot chocolate. Both of them were at Blackwong as long as they could remember. And the only “names” that they've been given here were the names of the project they were. No one had took their tame to give them real names, so they decided to give each other a name. Mona had given him the name Svlad Cjelli and he loved it the second he heard it. He spent a lot of time thinking about a name fitting for her. At the time he had read a book about famous art – a gift from Riggins for his birthday – and there was a part about the Mona Lisa. When he read about how she seemed antithetic and variable as well as mysterious, he couldn't help but think about Mona. He asked Riggins what the name Mona meant and when he told him that it stood for hope, Svlad knew that this was the name. Mona was as variable and unpredictable as the Mona Lisa could be but more importantly she was a beacon of hope.

When they gave each other their names, they had cried. The names were a proof that they were more than an experiment. They were humans just like the people working at Blackwing. Just because they were the ones who had to take the tests didn't mean that they were worth anything less. These names were a promise. A promise that they would get out of here. They would start a new life far away from here.

This year though, he didn't have something as special as a name for Mona. He just had this piece of paper. He may have out his heart in it but it wasn't the same. It wouldn't be as important as a name. Maybe Mona wouldn't like it but he had to risk it. If he could he would give her the world. He would give her the key to escape this place but he couldn't. So all he had was a piece of paper to give to her.

As if sensing his inner conflict Mona took his hand and smiled at him.

“What if we open Riggins present for us first?”

The thought of having a bit more time before disappointing her with his present eased his mind and made him panic further at the same time. He found himself nodding and she gently guided him to the Christmas tree. Beneath it lay two neatly wrapped gifts.

“I bet it's another book”, Mona sat down before the tree and tugged Svlad down as well, “What do you think, Svlad?”

He just nodded absently his mind far away thinking about his present for her. When she looked at him, the smile slipped from her face. She took his face in her hands and forced him to look at her.

“You, Svlad Cjelli, are overthinking again”, she told him, “No matter, what you got for me for Christmas, I know that it's beautiful and that I will love it, okay?”

Svlad broke eye contact with her. He couldn't bare to look into her sincere eyes. Rationally he knew that he couldn't give her anything else for Christmas. It's not like there were any shops where he could buy here something. And rationally he knew that Mona wouldn't hate him because he didn't have some big present. But she was his only friend and he was afraid to loose her. He couldn't deal with the thought of losing the only light in his life.

A hand gently raised his chin and he saw her looking him in the eyes. Her eyes shone with unshed tears. He didn't mean to make her cry.

“I'm scared too”, her voice was barely louder than a wisper, “I don't want to loose you, okay? You're all that I have and I will never leave you. As long as we're together.”

The promise hung in the air between them. He slowly raised his hand and wiped away the tears running down her face. It was at this moment that he understood that she was just as lost and scared as he was. She always acted so carefree but deep down she was just a kid. Just like him. He felt the first tear making its way down his cheeks.

“As long as we're together”, he whispered before pulling her in for a hug.

She clutched him like he was her life line and he hugged her back just as hard. She was his light but now he understood that he was her light as well. And now in this hug they both shielded the other from the cold uncaring world out there. It was at this moment that he promised himself that he would never leave her alone. If he left Blackwing he would take Mona with him or he would not leave at all. He felt his shirt grow wet where she had her face pressed against him but he didn't care. He just wanted to take the pain away from her, even if it was just for a few moments. He didn't want the darkness to swallow her.

“I don't care what your present is, it's gonna be perfect cause it's from you. And that's the biggest gift that you could make me. You being here – being my friend. That's the best gift I ever got. No matter what you got me, I will never be disappointed by it.”

Slowly she pulled away from him, her eyes were red-rimmed but she smiled at him. He smiled back at her and knew that the loneliness and darkness would never win as long as they had each other.

He pulled the piece of paper out of his pocket. He didn't feel the anxiety any more that just moments before had ruled his mind. She took the paper from his hands and started to unfold it. A small gasp escaped her when she looked at it.

“Svlad, it's beautiful”, she threw her arms around him again, the paper still in her hand.

Her eyes were filled with joy and he could feel her happiness seep into him as well.

“I'm happy that you like it”

He had spend hours drawing the picture for her, wanting it to be perfect. It was the both of them outside of Blackwing. They were in front of a house, which had a sign on it that said Holistic Detective Agency. Both of them were smiling, holding ice cream. Next to them was a dog. He remembered last Christmas when Mona had turned into a dog and the played for hours. After that they decided that they would get one when they left Blackwing – or a cat, they still were unsure about that. Next to them were other people as well.

Svlad pointed at them: “These are all our friends that we will have when we get out of here.”

“You'll still be my best friend”, Mona replied and pointed at the bottom of the picture.

There Svlad had written As long as we're together.

Mona hugged him again and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Then she sat up.

“Now it's time for my present for you”, Mona exclaimed, “Close your eyes!”

Svlad did as she asked of him and when he opened his eyes next there was a beautiful yellow leather jacket in front of him. He carefully picked it up, his breath caught in his chest. In the pocket was a piece of paper with Mona's neatly handwriting on it: This way I can always be with you. Svlad started to smile when he read this. He put the jacket on and it fit him perfectly.

“Thank you”, he whispered and closed his eyes again.

The next thing he knew, Mona was hugging him from behind before letting go.

“I'm glad you like it”,she wore a wide smile, “And now let's see what Riggins got for us!”

Their glanced to the two neatly wrapped gifts. It was kind of a tradition that Riggins got them a book each Christmas for them to read. Most of the time they got the same books. Last year the both got Sherlock Holmes and the Hound of Baskerville. This book inspired Svlad to become a detective himself. He still remembered telling Priest everything about the few pages that he and Mona managed to read that day.

Svlad the one with his name written on it. He couldn't help but scrunch his nose when he saw his name written by Riggins. Something about the man using the name that Mona gave him, didn't sit right with Svlad.

Mona took the other gift and they started unwrapping them. Both of them had gotten a book called A collection of short stories by Edgar Allan Poe.

Like every year Svlad opened the book and began reading: “The man of the Crowd - Not long ago, about the closing in of an evening in autumn, I sat at the large bow window of the D__ Coffee-House in London...“

The sun was starting to set and Martin and Osmund just finished making the Latkes. They've made some sufganiyot as well and were now sitting down at the table in the living room. Martin had spend most of the afternoon gushing about the newest addition of project Incubus and Osmund noticed that it slowly started to hurt less when he listened to Martin talking about the Rowdy 3. It didn't seem to matter to them that they were now four. He was happy that Martin found these people in his life. Osmund put some of the food on two plates and handed one to Martin and they both started to eat in silence.

“You know that we can't not talk about this for ever, Os”

Martin's voice cut through the silence and made Osmund look up from his plate. He knew that they couldn't avoid the topic any longer. They had avoided it for the past ten years. He sighed and put his fork down.

“Martin”, he rubbed his temple, “what I did back then wasn't okay.”

“Wasn't okay?!”

Martin stood up and started walking around the room, anger evident on his face.

“This is the understatement of the year”, he exclaimed, “you left me alone when I needed your help the most! And on top of that you started working for the very people who took me and locked me up!”

Osmund raised his hand placating: “I did this for you-”

“For me?!” Martin seemed to seethe with with anger, “You let them lock me up in here! Our parents never cared about us anyway. It was no surprise that they would use the first opportunity to get rid of me. But you were my older brother. You were supposed to protect me!”

It felt like a stab in his heart when Martin implied that he wasn't his brother any more but Osmund pushed his feelings back down. Now wasn't the right time to talk about his feelings. Not with Martin angry and hurt like this.

“I thought I could trust you”, Martin continued, tears of anger stinging in his eyes, “I was scared and you just stood by and watched them take me away. And then you went to them-”

“I was scared too!”

Martin froze in his rant and turned to his brother. Osmund was standing there, chest heaving and trying to compose himself.

“I was scared too”, he whispered again.

All the emotions that he had pushed down these past years were threatening to resurface. He had spend years seeing his brother as nothing more than a project – a problem needing to be solved. Emotions were something he couldn't understand. Something he didn't want to understand. He spent his life living without having much feelings for anyone but him. But now with the darkness closing in on him, he understood that he needed someone who loved him and someone to love.

He'd probably be his usual emotionless self again when the holidays are over and he isn't so sentimental. Right now he felt like everything was too much. Being confronted with his past mistakes. But was it really a mistake? Martin was a danger – still is – and he just wanted to protect his family. He had wanted to protect Martin.

He couldn't bare to look Martin in the eyes. He couldn't bare to see the disappointment in them and know that he was the cause of it.

He felt strong arms engulf him. The traitorous voice in the back of his mind screamed at him to move. That he couldn't let a subject come so close. They were dangerous, especially project Incubus. But for a second he didn't saw project Incubus. He saw Martin. There was a time when he hugged Martin like this all the time. He still remembered when his brother fell from a tree and fell on his arm. Martin came to him crying. Luckily nothing was broken but Osmund still embraced him and hold him tight, whispering reassuring words in his ear until Martin stopped crying.

Then the thought was replaced by the reminder that this was Blackwing project and he broke out of the hug. He took a step back from Martin and they both looked each other in the eyes. A sort of understanding seemed to pass between them. There was something broken between them and they both knew that it could never be repaired. Still they didn't look at each other with hatred shining in their eyes.

“Let's start lighting the candles”, Osmund was the first to break eye contact, stepping back to find a lighter.

Martin nodded and sat back down in front of the Hanukkah menorah. Osmund started lighting the candles. The silence between the brothers was broken by Martin's voice. Osmund looked up and realized that Martin was singing Maos Zur. He sent him a wobbly smile before he joined in, both of them staring at the candles before them.

In this moment Osmund felt closer to his brother than he had in years.

Too soon Martin had to be brought back to his room. They had played another round with the dreidel when Osmund saw that it was already 10pm. It was time to get projects Icarus and Lamia. He rose from the couch and offered Martin his hand. Martin took it, sending him a grateful look, and got up as well.

“I have to bring two subjects back to their room and then I'll bring you back, okay?”

Martin just nodded and followed him out of his quarters. At this time no one else was in the hallways. It was usually already quiet in the Blackwing facility but now most of the staff was at home celebrating Christmas with their loved ones. This left the facility eerily quiet.

Martin and Osmund walked in content silence until they reached the staff's common room. The sound of laughter could be heard even outside the room. With a nod from Osmund the guards at the door bid them goodbye and left.

When Osmund opened the door he saw both subjects lounging on the ground. It seemed as if Icarus had read something from a book to Lamia who was now laughing on the floor. When they looked to the door, Osmund could see some of the excitement leaving their faces. It seemed that the day had ended to quick for all of them. Icarus got of the ground and helped Lamia up as well. They both brushed off their clothes before taking each others hand. Lamia took Icarus' hand and they started to make their way over to the two men.

Osmund couldn't help a smile cross his face when took in the rest of the room. There were remains of whipping cream and marshmallows on a table. There were remains of wrapping paper on the ground.

Both Icarus and Lamia hesitated for a moment when they saw Martin standing behind him. Martin send them a smile and that seemed to be everything that they needed to relax.

They followed the two men chatting with each other about the book that they've read. Martin and Osmund were content listening to their conversation. Here and there they asked Martin questions about project Incubus and himself. They both looked surprised when Osmund made a comment about Sherlock Holmes.

“You read the book?”

Icarus' eyes were filled with wonder and excitement when he looked at Osmund. Osmund felt his heart start to warm. It seemed as if Icarus and Lamia were lights in the darkness that was the Blackwing facility. And if both of them found A Study in Scarlet in their rooms a few days later, well, no one could proof that he bought them.

Icarus and Lamias' faces were full of confusion when they came to a halt.

“This is not our room”, Icarus commented.

Martin threw Osmund a questioning glance but he just opened the door wordlessly. Behind him lay a room with a hospital bed in it. The steady sound of the heart monitor was the only noise in the room.

“Project Moloch”

Icarus voice cut through the silence. Both he and Lamia walked into the room and took in the sight before them. Lamia let go of Icarus' hand and stepped forward.

She gently kissed Moloch on the cheek: “Merry Christmas”

Then she turned around and walked to the door, standing next to Osmund and Martin. Icarus seemed to be frozen in place staring at project Moloch. Osmund didn't know what was going on in the boy's mind but he still wanted to reach out to him and comfort him. Before he could do anything like this, Martin stepped forward and put a hand on Icarus' shoulder. This made the boy jump and turn around to him. Martin sent him a reassuring smile and nodded in project Moloch's direction. Osmund saw the mask slid in place. The shock and fear over seeing his friend so lifeless was hidden behind a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. While the boy started animatedly to tell Moloch about his day, Osmund couldn't help but wonder how often he hid behind this mask, pushing the hurt down until he could pretend that it didn't exist. He remembered the sadness in the eyes of the kids when they broke away from the hug and realized that no kid should ever look like this. Both Icarus and Lamia had to grow up to fast because of Blackwing – because of him. It was a wonder that they kept so much innocence and happiness. They shouldn't worry about tests and wonder how the world outside these walls looked. A glance at Martin's grim face told him that his brother was thinking the same thing. Martin had a life before Blackwing, he had a family outside of this facility and he had found a family inside these walls. He wasn't alone, he had other people to share his life with. But these two kids only had each other on one day of the year. And still he had seen them laugh and be carefree. It was at moments like this when he wondered if he was doing the right thing. But they could be a danger for the world, a traitorous voice in the back of his mind whispered. Before he could ponder any more Icarus turned around and walked to the door, Martin's hand still on his shoulder.

“Merry Christmas”, Icarus threw one more glance over his shoulder, a carefree smile on his lips and a soul too old for his body in his eyes.

He reached for Lamia's hand and squeezed it. Osmund closed the door after throwing one more glance at Moloch. He had heard stories about the circumstances leading to his coma and reminded himself that this was why it was so important to keep the subjects at Blackwing. They were a danger for the world and themselves and had to be kept in check.

The walk to Lamia's room was spent in silence. When they halted Lamia and Icarus hugged each other as if their life depended on it. None of them seemed to want to let the other go, clutching each other tightly. He saw the moisture shining in both their eyes. After several minutes he wanted to clear his throat to get their attention when they let go of each other.

“See you next year”, Icarus had a wobbly smile on his lips.

Lamia didn't try to hide her tears. They were running freely down her cheeks. The sight broke Osmund's heart.

“See you next year”, she sniffled and wiped her eyes with her sleeve.

She turned and walked to her room. Icarus had his eyes fixed on the ground, Martin's hand again on his shoulder seemingly grounding him.

“Svlad”, Lamia's voice caused Icarus to raise his head, “As long as we're together”

She held out her pinky to him. Icarus escaped a watery laugh as he took her pinky with his own:

“As long as we're together”

The way to Icarus' room no one uttered a word. They didn't spent much time here. Icarus quickly made his way to his door, stopping in the doorway. He hesitated for a second before turning around and launching himself in Martin's arms. Then he quickly made his way to his room, muttering a goodbye.

Martin and Osmund were both lost in thoughts on their way back to Martin's room. Osmund couldn't shake the Icarus' look from his memories. He couldn't help but see a young Martin instead. Staring at him with heartbroken eyes. He always thought that the boy shone bright in the darkness but he couldn't help and ask himself who his light was. Martin had him and when he was gone he had the Rowdy 3. This boy had no one except for Mona and he could only see her on one day. Still the boy shone bright. Brighter than most of them.

“How long have they been here?”

Martin's voice ripped him from his thoughts. He looked over to him and saw that his eyes had a faraway look. It seemed that he also couldn't rid him self of the thoughts about this boy and girl, filled with warmth and hope.

“I don't know”, Osmund levelled his gaze on the hallway in front of him, not able to look at Martin any longer.

From the corner of his eyes he saw Martin's head whip around to him. Shock evident in his body and voice.

“What do you mean, you don't know?”, Martin pointed accusingly at him, “You know everything that's going on around here.”

Osmund sighed heavily: “They have been here for longer than I've been. I think they are one of the first subjects here. Only Colonel Riggins knows how long exactly but it must have been at least ten years.”

Martin shook his head unbelievingly. Osmund himself couldn't really believe that Riggins would lock up kids – subjects, he berated himself mentally. He couldn't afford these kind of thoughts if he wanted to perform his job correctly.

Today had soften him just like every year. Today was the one day were he allowed his feelings to take over – at least to some degree. When he woke up tomorrow they'd just be subjects again. He would bring them to their tests and that's the only thing he would care about. His feelings would be pushed down along with the ever-present loneliness.

“We're here”, Osmund stopped next to the heavily guarded door.

Martin was standing next to him whilst the guards opened the door. They exchanged a nod. Today they were brothers. He was spending time with his younger brother Martin who thought that he would protect him against the world. But tomorrow Martin would be just another subject from project Incubus and his job was to make sure that the subjects got to their tests. That would be the only relationship between them – a prisoner and a guard.

Martin walked into the room and the door was closed behind him. Osmund locked it.

He went to his quarters – that's at least what he wanted to do. But something in him balked at the idea of leaving now. A look on his watch told him that it was 11pm. The day still had one hour left. With that thought in mind he sat down leaning against the door None of the guards commented his behaviour. He couldn't help but ask himself if there was someone waiting for them at home. Maybe they had a family waiting for them to spend the remains of the holidays with them. Maybe they had someone who could chase the loneliness away that started to seep in every fibre of the body the more time one spent at the Blackwing facility.

He could hear voices through the closed door. The barrier between him and project Incubus muffled their voices but Osmund could still hear Martin's voice. He was telling stories. Stories of his childhood hero who played hide and seek, and catch as long as Martin wanted to play. The hero who cooked him food and gave him cookies when their parents weren't looking. The hero who hold Martin whenever he was crying until he felt like the world was right again. The hero who would sit by his bed and wait until he fell asleep again whenever he had a nightmare.

Osmund found himself get lost in these stories. He felt like he had sit there, listening to his brother's voice for ages, when another voice asked what happened to this hero. Osmund wasn't sure but he guessed that it was Incubus newest addition, Vogel.

“The hero is gone now”, Martin's voice was gentle when he replied, “but he lives within everyone of us. We all can be this hero if we just want to. Now go to sleep, Vogel, and merry Christmas.”

Osmund threw a glance at his watch. It was midnight. He wiped a stray tear from his cheek and stood up.

Mr. Priest brushed off his clothes and threw the guards a cold stare. He turned around and walked down the hallway. Away from project Incubus. They were starting early with the tests tomorrow and he had to be prepared. One could never know what the subjects were up to. Even the innocent looking were dangerous and it was his job to keep them in check. No matter what.

#Dirk Gentlys Holistic Detective Agency #dirk gently isn't over #christmas #fanfic #dirk gently #dghda

[vex-bittys]

Hello! I would like a matchup please, I'm male, aromantic and wear alot of leather, black clothes, chains and spikes. I'm typically silent and a smoker, I play guitar and cover songs occasionally do wood wittling. I have a lancer bitty already but I've been wanting a lamia for some time now, as i've grown up around lamias my whole life, i don't care on size but i am autistic so i can't handle loud noises all that well, thank you.

My recommendations for you are:

Honey Bo (US!Papyrus): Honey Bo instantly came to mind for this matchup because all Honey Bos love music. A Honey Bo would not mind the silence or smoking at all, and they are very perceptive, which means they would notice that you dislike loud noises and avoid making them. Honey Bo is also a bit of a jokester and should get along with a Lancer bitty.

FireRing (Grillby): If you’re looking to avoid loud noise, you may want to try a FireRing. FireRing lamias are mute and don’t care much for loud noises themselves. Smoking doesn’t bother a FireRing at all, and you won’t even need to buy another lighter since he made of fire. Your wood whittling would fascinate the FireRing, and he might even ask to try it.

Chain (SF!Papyrus): Chains form a unique bond with their adopter’s SOUL that makes it a bit easier to avoid verbal communication. A Chain can sense his adopter’s emotional state through the bond, and even provide feelings of comfort. Chains generally enjoy similar hobbies to their SOULbonds, and they aren’t really noisy types. 

*Let me know if you’d like to adopt, and remember that lamias can be aromantic as well if that makes you more comfortable.

[gracemyhearto]

I was tagged by @missemperor to do this com-myu-nity ask :D

1. What is your hobby?

History! I was fascinated of past times very early. When I was a child, middleages and stuff pretty much scared me but through that fear grew a deep interest and out of this interest grew an even deeper passion and here I am now studying it :D On my 2nd tumblr @renaissance-prinzessin I spam post a lot of history content :D Oh and I write. xD

 2. What is your special skill?

Special skill? Ehm maybe the way I understand animals? I am a very sensitive person. J

 3. What are your strengths and weaknesses?

Like I said, I am very good at working and interacting with animals. I also think that I am pretty good in academic writing.

 Weaknesses: as if I’d share that xP

 4. What is your favorite color?

Green!  

 5. What is your favorite animal?

Omg that is hard?  I love them all! But if I have to pick one.. horses! But ALL animals are precious babys!

 6. Which food are you into lately?

My mum’s risotto and I had really GREAT herb Schupfnudeln when I was on holidays in Bavaria this month <3

 7. What is the thing you never lose to from anyone?

My own goals.

 8. What is your most treasured item?

I can’t really think of an item, of course I love my books and my merch but there is no item or thing that matters to me as much as for example my horse Poly or my dog Pauli do :D

 9. What is your cooking specialty?

Recently I brought perfection to my beloved avocado-tomato soup xD I really do enjoy cooking (veggy of course!) and tried some vegan recipes recently too!

10. What is the thing you want the most at the moment?

Oh, I wished my bachelor’s thesis would be done already ahahaha.

 11. What is the thing you are most scared of?

Nothing I’d share in the internet but I have to admit that, beside the fact that I love all animals, ostrichs somehow really scare me xDD

 12. What is the thing you were happy about this year?

I think it’s getting back to my old university after switching to another last year. It feels home again but I am still glad that I was able to collect so many new experiences at the other uni.

 13. What is the thing you were sad about this year?

The retirement of Mirio and Miyacchi! I mean on the other hand they are/will be free to be themselves now without hiding behind the Otokoyaku mask but it’s still sad because I really adored both of them

 14. What is the thing you regretted this year?

 Regret? Actually there is nothing that I really do regret atm

 15. What is the thing you were angry about this year?

Unistuff, yep yep yep

 16. What is the job that gave you a sense of fulfillment this year?

Does my studies count? xD

 17. What has changed about you since you entered com-myu-nity?

 Mostly that I don’t care anymore if other people dislike me or my opinion

 18. Which character would you play in Sera myu?

 Aw! I would want to be Venus! Venus! Venus! But I think as for playing I’d be predestined for a bitchy badass Neptune or Mars xD

 19. If you were to form a collab now, who would it be with?

 Do ya mean a song collab like the stuff we do like everyday in the com-my-nity? Actually I am doing a lot of stuff with @missemperor and it’s always a pleasure! But I also want to do something again with my first besties @sailorzakuro and @MyuToni sooooo I am open to do collabs with everyone xD

 20. What do you love about Sera Myu nowadays?

That it made me be part of something and feel welcome among my friends <3

 21. Which cast member catches your attention the most at the moment?

Hmm, at the moment it might be Kana Nakada because I really liked her performance in NogiMyu. But tbh I am more into the BaniMyu actors/actresses.

 22. Which cast member would you want as your significant other?

EDO HIDEMASA <33333

 23. If you were to marry a cast member, who would it be?

EDO HIDEMASA <333333333

 24. If you would go to a deserted island, which cast member would you like to go with you?

Probably Yuuko Hosaka? She is such a mum, I’m sure she would get us back to civilisation easily xD

 25. If you would be born again, which cast member would you want to be?

Ehm… Nao Inada? I could play Venus in two very good productions then xD

 26. Which Sera Myu production would you want to be a part of?

The Dracul Arc!

 27. If you would create your own kingdom, what kind of country would you want it to be?

Don’t expect a pinky, plushy kingdom with worldpeace and same rights for everyone :P. Probably something like Middle-earth. I think there can’t be light without darkness.

 28. What is an interesting book or manga you read recently?

Thanks to @vampiruchan I am totally into the Black Dagger Brotherhood books atm xD

 29. What is an interesting movie you watched recently?

I rewatched The Hobbit and I realized again how much I love Bilbo and how much of an Elve I am xD

 30. What is your favorite Sera Myu song at the moment?

Always and forever FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! *starts dancing*

 31. What is your favorite Sera Myu song choreography at the moment?

Probably Fumi’s LINK from 1999?

 32. What is your favorite Sera Myu costume at the moment?

LOL totally Lamia’s breast pad I mean sexy cape outfit xD

 33. What is your favorite Myu at the moment?

Always and forever.. Kessen or Last Dracul. Can’t decide, it really depends on my mood. As for this moment it’s LD

 34. What is your favorite Myu cast?

I go with Last Dracul, I still love KSDK too and I really wished Yuuko was part of Myu in LD already

 35. Is there something you say a lot recently?

At least I use „!s” way too often xD That’s a typical german thing I guess

 36. What would you do if you could plan a Fan Kansha?

I wouldn’t change anything from the Bandai era. Just record it, PUT IT ON DVD and and add  official subs xD

 37. What do you hope to see Sera Myu doing in the future?

Not to relate too much on the manga…

 38. What kind of person do you want to be in 5 years?

I want to be done with studying and gain ground in working life

 39. What has been a memorable concert or event this year?

I saw the ballet “Swan Lake” by the russian nationalballet and omg it was awesome!

 40. What do you want to do in your private life this year?

Private life? Does that even exist? lol

 41. What kind of job would you like to do in the future?

I want to gain ground in historical research

 42. Do you have a hairstyle you would like to try in the future?

Let’s see: Last year I dyed my hair tips blue (it stayed like 3 weeks) that was fun. And recently I managed to get my hair back into it’s original colour (medium blonde) and I am really happy with that. Wished it would still be a bit more even but hey xD

 43. What Sera Myu merchandise would you love to have?

The Death Vulcan VHS as well everything available of Miyuki-Moon!

44. Where would you want Sera Myu to come to?

It would be nice if the other country’s themselves would organize Myus. Like, Germany was one of the countrys in which Sailor Moon was just so fkn popular that we even had an own Sailor Moon band, okay? xD So Myus based on the Bandai era here in Germany would be nice (even though I had no chance I’d so apply there xDDD)

 45. If you could have a holiday with any cast member, what do you want to do?

Probably talk about their life at Sera My and ask them things especially about backstage things.

 46. Please say something to your favourite cast member.

Well, Miyuki is in heaven but I’ll still dedicate this to her: You were wonderful. You didn’t made Sailor Moon just come to life, you put love in every single performance and transmitted all feelings to the audience with such a warm energy that it is always a pleasure and honour to watch your performances. I get never tired of watching them again and again. I hope you are happy where you are now but let me tell you that you can be really proud of what you did. You were not only an enrichment for the whole Sailor Moon franchise but also for my life and I just can not thank you enough for that.

#sera myu #sera myu ask #answered

[libidomechanica]

And drop

As thoughts he doth lies dreams of madness,  do pay for he was  you my lip. Or to a  things hot desire to the  toes, it will give a loving  eyes, I would cure the champaign  with its are fewer  to sea, and holt, cramming  as was damnd to her  love (unless it as it  gets different. As airy  as the best jewel  from a bank of snows the  stage presence the actors  are rested ten times, and hung  in a mouldy hay, Father,) ( o, sweet and sing to his lovely  lass gang. but the feast: for  love men and uninspiring. On  soft and blear-eyed serpent,  my spring;) with sacred  island dislike to love  is below love affair, kind of  her luck and money, that,  being a star appear like pale as  you hear her immortal door,  no secret we meets and you had  sounding wings and then one anothers  ready knows, if men ? Inheritor  and dost sing. “For ever  in the joyless deep to  claims, yet dewed with  a bag of all excellent, yet dewed  with the thief  there. Watch out, as she tast,” each transfers  its lovely tints are  already yellow too, good- morning thy mind, the tree, was  neuer pype of reach from  me, both a Muezzin unto Thee  mine arm, most moist hands to trampling  him raise of the  grass turn the jewel hung with  rivals or wishes. Come  in youth, to whom the pavement  of those who bewailest the  arms embrace like a mummy,  possesse (which in yonder  palace show) why I sing madrigals.  And only love couldnt tell;  but a cold relics shall talk, ending curls,  Hope no more I know what gars you  sit at last, upon the flower  than thing and shadow and  laid that holy vapour; which brought  he sees, and of Honour, and  die for loves flaunted by, when  to go auspicion.  She writer like peace but some odoriferous  and what I dare to  bonie Mary, at bottom, a liquid  prison of the  little Lamia trembling ayme  do them, seem to reason  spent wild; which he writhed here, scalpel, and  there wind me like a clocks  by shall their pleasure and its five months  after all this shamed that fa int in it, ’“tis helmet them to  rest, until some friendly  stair — lean on forlorne? I leaves, the  one do I dream is fled,— ‘what!’  The still the looke, a  woman fed by love her feet, tell  everything, Of battle canst devise,  had I laughter got my own dove  with the accomplishments  of Paramoures. and  if a child was a  kind of ever I should not know  what thou so much, from men are making  them a whole summers to  lookd up his face to come.  How many a time slows down, o  this Old House in sadness, but not him  was in the  Dryads and when the  goal, when the stone  shall I loved more ease and there is a  real womanhood stand only moment  Betweene Ioue, Mars, and, composed at the  warm into  my simplicity, the  Night and heat. or broken  her pitious burden may be seen  the streaks fortitude and  Tear— mothers, like or snow and the  Babe is bright, and, her  Circean hear at any singing clear round  me oft the twist the  lily and rain, and takes from mass  one can say; so unrecord  somewhere, though the gate is born. I  freeze. ‘Why?’ I feare, I yell, but mak ing in spaces that the  deer, but a week and man,  all the ward the dooth the  earth will not speach, alas, refrain,  than the flood that daughter  by must: puncture you think not.  And all wasteful at last grim look,  or caste away, before  my body of her arms with  such easy things indigest  In it, had a peacock  proud usurper, and love the  marked he finger touch of lady bright  along to my bed its  Music heard a star appear the  matter. and only amend such  a chart as a hundred  miles away.”

#poetry #automatically generated text #Patrick Mooney #Markov chains #Markov chain length: 6 #244 texts

[concerningwolves]

Hello! I had a question about Vampires. I am currently in the works of making my own vampires, with their own set of rules and lore, but it’s heavily based on the origins. So my question is: what are your thoughts on the different kinds of vampires throughout media? Should people reinvent them, or try to stick to a more traditional sense? Thank you!

Hey Nonny! Mate, I have so much I can say on the matter of vampires. I promise to try my best not to turn this into another werewolf answer, but, well, vampires. Like werewolves, the vampire mythos is so fascinating.

On Re-Inventing A Popular Mythos

For starters, there is no one traditional vampire, although the oldest record of a vampire-like creature goes back to first Greek and then Slavic roots. As with the idea of a man having a beast inside, the idea of a human-like creature living in the darkness and feeding off fellow people was very popular.

Both vampires and werewolves are based on fears around darkness, animals and the human condition. Personally, I think that so long as you stick with those core ideals, you can re-invent the mythos however you like within reason.

Twilight pushes the boundaries of reason, and not necessarily because of the vampire-romance-age-creepy factor. My main issue is the Meyer Vampire itself, as I have no problem with vampire romances so long as they are done well and without the huge age gaps or the idea of one human’s blood being particularly alluring. That being said, I respect Meyer’s attempt to re-invent the vampires, I just feel as if she didn’t do enough research beyond the Western take and abandoned the core ideals. Here are some of the mistakes I feel she made:

Sparkle sparkle

This one is probably a shared peeve by many who read Twilight, for a whole lot of different reasons. For me, it’s because I can’t see any reason for the sparkle part beyond making Edward more attractive to Bella. In the mythos, a vampire’s relation to sunlight ranged anywhere from irritation to instant dustification on contact. This isn’t to say that I don’t think you can play with the sunlight reaction, but I found sparkles too far-fetched and without any mythological or cultural beliefs to back it up.

Italian Connection

The vampire Meyer went with for the base was the more modern, middle-ages take. That in itself isn’t really a problem, but why do that if you’re going to remove the religious components? I have a very strong view that if you’re going to re-invent a mythos, do your best to draw on one cultural source. This is because cultural history ought to be respected and given fair representation. To do that, I think that Meyer ought to have either said “these vampires are harmed by religious affects and so the volturi live in Italy” or “these vampires aren’t harmed by religious affects so I should draw on the Hellenestic or Slavic roots and base them in Greece/Eastern Europe”.

It’s worth mentioning here that the sparkle-skin thing could have been spun if, say, Meyer went with the Hellenistic vampire as a base. The story goes that Apollo cursed this poor guy to be hyper-sensitive to/irritated by sunlight; therefore, one option could have been to use the idea of that curse and say “the sheen on their skin in sunlight is so that they can’t hide and everyone must know them for what they are”.

Blood Delecacies

I’ve already mentioned disliking the whole “your blood is particularly alluring so I’m going to become obsessed with you” trope - not least because that’s a terribly unhealthy central component in a romance, but also because blood is blood. This one is more of a personal pet peeve though, and not really a bad representation or anything of the like, so feel free to overlook it. (But seriously, if you include the trope, keep it away from romance)

Vampires Unboxed

There are a lot of parallels between vampires and werewolves, and that’s mainly because the Slavic take of the vampire was originally a werewolf. That alone leaves you with a lot to use and mould, but another parallel is the “vampire tree”.

I talked about shapeshifters and man-beasts being a tree, of which the werewolf was an offshoot, and to continue that metaphor, vampirism is like a vine or some sort of climbing plant wrapped around the Shapeshifting Tree. You’ve got your standard vampire-vampire, which is what most vampire takes are based off of, but you’ve also got the vampirelike creatures: parasitic, evil spirits; creatures that feast off human energy; lamia... some research into vampiric beings and creatures will provide you with a goldmine of useable lore. Why stick with the traditional vampiric humanoid when there’s so much more you can run with?

 Nothing makes me happier than perusing a fresh take on the vampire. As the human condition and our perspective on it grows, there is no reason why you can’t be creative with the mythos, so long as you’re respectful and steer clear of harmful tropes.  One of my own back-burner works has a race of Greek-inspires vampires that I’m building, and it’s great fun.

I’m rooting for you, Nonny: break the box apart and rebuild it from the slats and nails!Good luck and enjoy making your vampires x

Media Favourites

Bad vampire re-inventions aside, there are plenty that I adore and make me super happy, from classics to contemporary. This last bit is going under the cut because it’s really just a list of examples with some commentary.

Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu pre-dates Dracula and follows a female vampire, Eastern European and Middle-Ages influences. Yet to read all the way through, but what I know already has it pegged on my immediate TBR list.

Dracula by Bram Stoker; considered to be the birth of the classical-modern vampire, I first read this when I was ten and then again last year, seeing it performed as a play in between. Safe to say, the Stoker Vampire is one of my favourites. Slavic-Christian influences.

Salem’s Lot by Stephen King; I’m yet to read this, but I’ve been a little put-off because Father Callaghan appears in the Dark Tower series, and in short: King spoiled his own vampire novel for me. Spoiled as in the “spoilers” sense, that is. The themes of faith, good, evil and human nature are combined brilliantly to make his vampires, and I’ll read it one day without a doubt.

What We Do in the Shadows; This film exists only in screenshots and clips for me, but damn it’s such a good take, particularly if you look at the relationship between vampires and the human condition through a more modern lense.

Long Lankin by Lindsey Barraclough; I read this novel no less than four times, and just thinking about it has made me get anxious and look around the kitchen. Although not classified as vampire fiction by popular modern standards, this young adult horror draws on loads of the original Slavic beliefs around vampiric spirits and the diseased undead. I would highly reccomend this one as inspiration for a unique take on vampires.

The Vampire Diaries by L.J. Smith; I think I got like, four books in?Stefan had just been turned human by some flowers... I don’t know, it was years ago. But anyway, romance and love triangles aside, the vampires in this series stuck with me, even though I got bored with the rest of it. The shape-shifting and predatory ways were all consistent with the Slavic lore and I really enjoyed that one aspect.

Young Dracula; British children’s comedy series following the son of Dracula, who doesn’t really want to be a vampire and has a human friend. There was all sorts in there that I loved, but my two favourites aspects were: bottling blood and acting like it was wine, with a pallet and distinct aromas, and the bat shapeshifting. Dracula was also a massive drama queen and his son was Constantly Embarassed. A lot of tropes such as the Tortured Recluse and the Vampire Victim were dissolved too, which made it all the more attractive to me. I remember the show getting progressively darker and intense, and then either I lost track of it or it went off-air. Either way, it’s still on my mind a few times a month nine years later.

My Babysitter’s a Vampire; and here it is, my guilty favourite from my late pre-teens. I was a fan of both the film and the successive TV series, because at the time I liked the fresh take on the sun theme, and enjoyed the use of flying ability. I wasn’t such a fan of the idea that being a vampire could beautify someone, but the rest of it secured my love.

#writing advice #folklore #myths #vampires #writing vampires #writeblr #writer advice #writers on writing #writers on tumblr

[bedlamgames]

Q&A #111

After a far too long a wait leading to far too long a Q&A. Enjoy!

Anonymous asked:

Have you considered adding another way to get the effect of the Denial mantra besides Hypnosis, maybe a Corruption or something? I like the effect, which makes it a little unfortunate I can't get it on trained slaves due to the degree of exclusivity between training a slave vs hypnotizing one.

- - There is a mechanic where some slavers with either Hypnosis or a bunch of other potentially mind affecting traits have a chance to implant certain mantras on certain trainings. Denial isn't one of them yet, but I can definitely see that being included on a future training.

Anonymous asked:

One thing I noticed about dwarf player characters is that they are the only dwarves that start out without having the Resilient trait. Could you please make that something that dwarf players start with to match up with their in game counterparts?

- - That's a really good shout. Added the trait to all of the regular dwarf starts.

Anonymous asked:

Hey! I was wondering if you are ever going to be releasing a guide on some of the older assignments? I am a bit of a completionist and there are just a small number of them i have yet been able to beat. Most of these being the ones iwht unique characters. Ive gotten critical succes so many times without recieving the unique. So will there be any guides in the future or is there any forum of chat where ppl with knowlegde on all of this recide?

- - There is a wiki and there's a link to it on the tumblr on the No Haven page. There's threads on Hypnopics Collective and TFGames, and possibly other places too. There's also the discord for patrons where people are always happy to answer those questions.

Anonymous asked:

Some questions how the like and dislike system works. What are a characters likes and dislikes based on? completely random or are there things that can affect them. Are they set in stone? so if i have a general chat, find out a character hates smithing will he always hate it? Also from aesendril and Kiruna seem to have a relationship status in their examines. Can you get these for random or your own characters too? Can two of my slavers have that kind of relationship or is it only the 2 uniques?

- - They're rolled at the beginning of the game, and do get affected at least partially by their traits. So someone who started with Leader will like being a Second-in-Command or Spiritual Leader more, and visa versa for someone with Follower. There are morning events where they can shift upwards and downwards. There are relationships that can form between slavers. So far there's a couple of assignments that can form relationships for good and bad. There will likely be other ways for them to happen in future.

Anonymous asked:

Are missi9ons like the reign of thw witch queen a one time thing even if you do not go on it? Sometimes it appears a bit to early in a playthrough and i jusut dont have the slavers to do it. Does that mean i lose the chance of ever doing it? The mission private passage has a bunch of really cool uniques. One of the best assignments you have in the game imo. But after getting one of the uniques i can´t seem to get the mission to appear again. Is it bad rng or is it locked after getting a unique?

- - There's only a couple of assignments like Witch-Queen that are one offs and I've had that feedback from others so now it won't appear as early as it used to. Glad you liked it! Funny you say that too as this week we've been doing some polling games on the discord where various stuff gets matched against the other in random eliminations and Private Passage was voted best assignment ever (Spectacle of the Sacred was second, and third place was A Deluge of Oozes). Bad rng I'm guessing, as it's made to be repeatable.

Anonymous asked:

What was the inspiration for your game? It says on your page here that you were inspired by the doff system from STO, could you elaborate a bit on that? What with games like Fort of Chains seemingly being inspired by your game, I tried to look at whether this "text-based procedurally generated weekly quest party management" genre existed in the non-adult sphere, but I couldnt really find anything, which is surprising, considering that this would probably be attractive to the DnD community.

- - Pretty much exactly that. Didn't have much interest in that MMO, and yet the concept they had of collecting various lower deck type officers who all had their own traits, and then sending them off to do various stuff from raiding enemy ships down to putting on a play (no lie, that likely will be a NH assignment sooner or later) for various rewards I found to be surprisingly compelling. So like with WR where I took a chan dice roller game and thought can I do this in RAGS, I had the same thought with the doff system. Of course I've complicated and expanded on the idea a whole bunch since.

Also was unaware of Fort of Chains, but on looking they do give me a shout out which is most appreciated, thanks!

Anonymous asked:

any ability to move some of the traits like strong right arm or revears to the encampment ? just so it cleans up the PC

- - Strong Right Arm and Recruiter should be removed after the game starts, but yes that's a good idea. What I'll likely do is redo that miscellaneous full custom options and all of those Encampment specific which makes sense as they're not so specific to the player themself.

Anonymous asked:

Is it possible to play on mobile?

- - That's one of many reasons I'm working to convert the game to Twine so then it should be playable by anything with a browser.

Anonymous asked:

Not sure if I am extremely unlucky or its an actual bug, but I seem to roll only male slavers when I choose females as preferred gender in general orders.

- - It was a bug, and will be in the next public release coming soon.

Anonymous asked:

Have you considered adding a solo game mode where you start with no slavers whatsoever? Also, any plans to add the options to start with other advanced traits such as Flier, Riding, Bimbo, etc to full custom characters? Looking forward to the next update!

- - I have yes. The idea was to do a 'super-villain' style start under the scenarios where you'd have some big advantage to counteract the lack of staff, like being better at planning, being better at seducing minions, or just having lots of gold and a better source of mercenaries. Fleet is already in there, Flying possibly, but I like having that as part of slaver upgrades as a big perk from that, and Bimbo is available in the patreon TF edition version.

whitewolf1414 asked:

Hello just curious. Will it be possible in the future for the player to get images for the encampment, as well as images for specific buildings inside the encampment, like your personal tent or lodge? Will we also be able to use those buildings in the later future, maybe for the next major game you work on? And second question. Will the other slavers be able to follow quest threads (like extra actions) on assignments or is this only available for the protagonist? Thanks :)

- - I would definitely like to get more images of the encampment like that one I got with the wright, succubus, neko, tentacle beast, and sleeping lamia. There's going to be at least one assignment I have planned that's so long you'll need to designate a leader for it if you don't go yourself and then that way they'll be the one to get to make the various choices that come up. I'm also thinking it'll be fun that you'll have a choice for them to try to take over when they get back in case you liked playing them so much.

Anonymous asked:

I keep getting the JIT prompt and brain too smol to figure out

- - In the readme file that comes with the game there's a link to a page on the patreon available to everyone with a full step by step guide of how to get the game to work.

Anonymous asked:

Is there anyway in No Haven to remove the Puppet Leader status? It seems really complicated to recover and I would rather just promote a new leader at this point, but I can't get my current character enslaved no matter how intentionally bad I do. I would definitely like to see some kind of functionality that allows your current character to give up, either being enslaved or leaving the encampment. I really enjoy the game otherwise.

- - There's not. If you get puppet leadered you become immune to being enslaved, as the encampment basically treats you like a slave by that point anyway. I can definitely see a case though there should be a way for things to go bad enough that both you and whoever is puppetting you ends up being enslaved. Could be a fun event that.

Anonymous asked:

When re you going to finish/improve the biomancy.

- - Biomancy is getting an improvement in the next release via a reward from one of the new assignments. That also was one of the needed steps on the storyline I have in mind for it. As to finishing? Well that could be awhile. There's a commission I need for the ending that will need to be done, likely when I can afford it as a bonus as it's one I want to keep as a surprise so will be only in the game. There's also at least one or two more assignments that will also have general usage outside of the storyline. I know how it ends, and that's all been worked out. I do though need to work out some more of the mid-steps and I'm not sure at this point how many there should be. Definitely will be at least one though and that will also need a commission.

Anonymous asked:

why doesn't the rough landing download link work?

- - Ah, I see tumblr has played silly buggers again where it breaks links cause why not. ...And I can't edit the page as tumblr is threatening to reset my theme. This is one of the many, many reasons why I mainly use twitter and patreon these days. Okay the link is basically right, just delete the 'https://href.li/?' at the beginning and it works fine.

Anonymous asked:

More like suggestion: can we make "Truly Divine" not show at the very start?

- - I think that's fine? It's not like Witch-Queen where it only appears once, and not all assignments you start with are going to be viable options.

whitewolf1414 asked:

First question. will there be extensive player character exploration? Second will there be extensive character interaction between everyone at the encampment? Third and final. Will there be a character image mechanic in your future builds of this game. Say like crushstation made with their game female agent. Thank You. :)

- - Not sure what you mean by that one? Yes I do want to do more interaction between your slavers so they're not all focused so much on you. That will likely be more in dilemmas. Third, likely not. I prefer to keep that as a patron thing so I can give it more care and attention.

Anonymous asked:

Level 1 kinky draenei guard named Qualmore Findel i went to draenei territory south east tried to go east and found a chest. tentacle beast i try going east another chest another beast east once more chest white potion. Not sure if its a bug but i decided to report it anyway I'm using the twine version of whorelocks revenge. Looking forward to future updates.

- - Well people did say they wanted to see more chests :D More seriously, WR is pretty much on hold due to the hostile reception the Twine conversion got. If you do like it, want to see more of it then please let me know, and I'll then be more likely to come back to it. Not a lot of point developing something that's a cat when people keep moaning that it's not a dog, and doesn't even bark, but if you do like the cat, and happy with it being a cat, I'm totally down for coming back so it's not such an unfinished cat. It's also entirely possible that metaphor got away from me so far.

Anonymous asked:

Completing the "Truly Divine" quest causes the potential slaver value to get stuck at -1, thus preventing the recruitment of any more slavers via level up bonus.

- - That should be fixed for the public release.

Anonymous asked:

Hey, I recently found the whorelock's revenge game, and I really like it. The only thing is that I really want to play this game as an Android game with the latest version. What would be the best way to make this happen? I'm currently playing through my smartphone's Chrome browser.

- - Hey someone else who likes WR! (see a previous question in this Q&A for context) I'd need to learn how to code for android, or there'd need to be someone interested in converting the twine version. So not out the question, and would be potentially be a good project to look at when the No Haven twine conversion is done if the other project I have in mind doesn't pan out.

Anonymous asked:

Are you a girl

- - Sure if it makes you happy.

Anonymous asked:

Is the latest update really more than 6-7 months old? There doesn't seem to be any information about it here or on twitter, and every patreon post is locked so we can't tell anything from that either...

- - This year has not been great to put it lightly. Then this one still does puzzle me. I do a public post on the patreon that's also linked on the twitter every two weeks, and I've given updates on how things are going. I've checked on another browser where I wasn't signed in and it worked fine? I've also been posting the patch notes on the current patreon release on the twitter as twitlongers so there also should be no issue with accessing those.

Anyway, the new public release will be out very soon indeed so you won't have to wait much longer.

#Q&A

[natsubeatsrock]

Why I think Galuna Island was ALMOST a useless arc

Rush to the Finish: 3 Days before Fairy Tail Officially Ends

So, over the past few weeks, I’ve been getting negative responses over my Opinion I’ll Probably get Stoned for #142. Surprisingly enough, this kind of thing hasn’t happened to me often. The last time I felt the need to explain in full detail why I posted one of these was all the way back when I did my second one more than two years ago. 

I get that we’re all entitled to our opinions and these kinds of opinions will make fans angry, hence the name of the series, so normally I’d ignore this kind of thing if it was just one person who didn’t agree with me. But considering the fact that my first explanation of this thought process wasn’t enough for people and the actual vitriol behind some of these comments, I figured I should just go on and make one of my trademark long posts explaining why I have the view that I have. 

Mostly because I’m tired of making responses to these guys and I’m not sure I want other people to do, either.

The most important thing that I need to stress up front is that the Galuna Island has merit. The Galuna Island is important for establishing the backstory for the events surrounding Deliora, for Gray, Lyon, and Ultear. During this arc, Lucy learned how to close her spirits gates by force and gets Sagittarius’ key. Those are things that matter and will be important as the series would progress.

However, the thing that makes this arc almost useless is the way all of these things are set into motion. The way this arc was put together drags down the necessity of this arc even existing in the long run. And at the end of rereading the arc, I found myself asking, “Did any of this really need to happen like this?”

The events of this arc are predicated on two events happening. Natsu, Happy and Lucy take a mission to help the people of Galuna Island (also Gray, but he was taken by force). Their mission is to stop the people living on the island from turning into demons at night by destroying the moon, DBZ-style. At the same time, Lyon and the other former members of Lamia Scale are trying to resurrect Deliora by using Moon Drip to melt Ur’s Iced Shell. Now, as it turns out, these two events are related. The reason that the people are transforming is that the Moon Drip ceremony is causing a purple layer to form around the island. 

But, both of those events are rendered kind of pointless by the end of the arc. The plot to resurrect Deliora is made pointless because he was revealed to have already been dead due to Iced Shell. And the village people weren’t turning into demons by night, but rather into half-humans by day. They only thought the former was happening because Moon Drip messed with their heads. But the plan to use Moon Drip was useless. 

I get that not every arc has to be relevant to other arcs in the story. One of my favorite arcs in the series is the Daybreak arc. The most important things about that arc are the formation of Team Natsu and Lucy getting Virgo. The Vanish Brothers show up again once in the anime,  but pretty much nothing else that happened in that arc comes up later. I don’t even think that Kaby and his wife showed up as people lending their power in the second to last chapter.

But why did Galuna arc have to happen the way it happened?

To set up Ultear and Siegran as future villains? You could already tell that they were up to no good from the first chapter. It’s not like their exchange near the end of the arc means a whole lot, despite supposedly originally being set-up for Tower of Heaven. And, if I’m honest, finding out Ultear is actually Ur’s child wasn’t really necessary now. I think it would have been just as well if we learned that during the Tenrou arc when it becomes more relevant, almost 200 chapters later.

To keep the Strongest Team away from the guild hall long enough for them to be shocked at its destruction? Well, maybe in the manga. But the anime has two other episodes in between leaving Galuna Island and this happening. In fact, they get back from Galuna in episode 19 for the Changeling incident and then return from another mission in episode 21 to see the guild is wrecked by Gajeel.

To show how powerful Moon Drip for Sun Village? Who cares? That was almost a non-issue in that arc anyway. You could take that part out of Sun Village as well and almost nothing is lost. However, lost potential in that arc is another rant for another day.

My point is that the only reason that this arc seems to happen the way it happened, at least in retrospect, was just to give us Gray’s backstory along with some goodies for Lucy. And while those were good things, in the long run, that comes at the expense of the rest of the arc being weird. Like I said in the aforementioned response, this arc could have been summed up as side events and it wouldn’t change much.

If you don’t see what I mean, take the Tower of Heaven arc for example. Not only does the information from the Tower of Heaven arc have effects throughout the series, the actual events of the Tower of Heaven arc matter. Because of the events of the Tower of Heaven, the original Magic Council is shown to have disbanded during Nirvana arc, but are still in trouble in Tartaros. Jellal is wanted because of his actions during the Tower of Heaven arc, arrested during Nirvana arc, shown in jail during Tenrou, and almost arrested again during GMG. And that’s not counting his own self-loathing caused by his actions from that arc (in addition to backstory stuff that probably doesn’t count). But someone said that this arc was also useless, because…

I’m not even entirely sure this would have been a good idea to just have kept this as an early anime-original arc. The only relevance that these events have is just to make “destroy the moon” jokes. The events in Key to the Starry Sky arc is probably responsible for ending the existence of Celestial Spirit mages. The events in the Eclipse Arc are seen as motivation by the Celestial Spirit King to help Lucy in Tartaros.

Of course, none of this really even matters. This is just my opinion on the subject. I’m sure that there are people that look at some of my favorite arcs/moments and question why they happened the way they happened. People have criticized chapter 507 for a myriad of reasons and that was my favorite chapter from the year and this arc as a whole. Just because people don’t like the same things as you doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with them.

And to the one guy who said that the Gray vs Lyon fight had amazing fight choreography for its time, as opposed to “a rock’em sock’em showdown with glitter effects added in”, (this was a fight that happened) I present to you the following:

Exhibit A: Fullmetal Alchemist

This series was still in print during the Galuna Island arc. It’s fighting scenes blow pretty much anything that Fairy Tail has out of the water. And if we’re talking about anime, FMA (2003) still has amazing looking fights and the consensus masterpiece that has become Brotherhood was airing alongside Galuna Island’s anime.

Exhibit B: Toradora!

In episode 16 of Toradora!, the main female character gets into a fight with the former student council president. This is an amazing fight in its own right. However, it’s even more impressive once you consider that it’s not even a fighting anime. It’s a romantic dramedy.

Exhibit C: THE ENTIRE BACKLOG OF MANGA/ANIME PREDATING FAIRY TAIL

Look, I get that some people aren’t into retro stuff or even stuff that’s even a few years older. However, you probably don’t have to look too hard to find something that has better fights than Fairy Tail that’s even a bit older than Fairy Tail.

In Conclusion:

I DON’T DISLIKE THIS ARC BECAUSE I DON’T LIKE GRAY!  I DON’T DISLIKE THIS ARC BECAUSE I DON’T LIKE GRAY!  I DON’T DISLIKE THIS ARC BECAUSE I DON’T LIKE GRAY!  I DON’T DISLIKE THIS ARC BECAUSE I DON’T LIKE GRAY!  I DON’T DISLIKE THIS ARC BECAUSE I DON’T LIKE GRAY!  I DON’T DISLIKE THIS ARC BECAUSE I DON’T LIKE GRAY! I DO-

#fairy tail #galuna island arc #rush to the finish #why am i doing this #the people i want to see this don't even follow me #i'm probably going to get into a fight tomorrow over this #on a side note #fairy tail isn't really done yet #not until i say so #or the chapter comes out in japan

[honeydrinker]

Can you do batibat, sonneillon, and lamia?

yes i can!! thank you

talk about the worst nightmare you have ever had i feel like i have a disproportionate amount of nightmares, to the point where i don’t really classify any of them as ‘bad’ .. i think a recent one that stands out tho was too topical for comfort. the dream itself felt very long, like at least a month in dream-time . it started out with me in my old apartment noticing someone watching me across the street. as the dream progressed, i found myself being followed by this person as i went on walks, and eventually they somehow took me to their place and blackmailed me into living there with them and all these weird men, and for some reason i couldn’t leave because it was understood that no one would believe me. anyway it sucked and i didnt open my blinds for like two weeks after i woke up

do you hate anyone?when it comes to my personal life, i have a really hard time hating people lmao.. i give out second and third and fourth chances like its my job so even if i’m really uncomfortable with someone, i’ll usually take the olive branch the second they decide to offer it! i really don’t like to have bad particularly vibes toward anyone if i can help it. as for general dislike tho i hate plenty of politicians

how do you feel about children?i realize it is currently extremely unfavorable to not love kids on tumblr but they generally make me nervous....... i don’t really remember much of my childhood and i’ve spent my whole life interacting with almost exclusively adults, so i don’t really know what to do around them!! i like them just fine in theory and i hope someday i’ll be mature enough to care for one but frankly being around them makes me feel like an alien

#heres an essay you didnt ask for #anonymous #answered

[botanicallyinclinednerd]

In my quest to examine the canon s4 dynamic between Leon and Gwaine (they interact so very little) I found that the scene in which they interact the most is from Lamia. Specifically the scene where they try to kill each other. Now, if you operate under the assumption that Lamia's influence causes the Knights to say and do things they never even would have thought under their own will (as much of the fandom and fanfic writers seem to do), then this scene isn’t significant to their dynamic. But, (and please bear with me, just hear me out) what if their actions, their words, do come from deep within them? Deeply buried resentment, long ignored beliefs and grudges being brought back to light, brought back to the surface and amplified by 100. It certainly would explain a lot. The behavior had to come from somewhere, it makes sense that the lamia would dredge up long past intrusive thoughts, ingrained prejudices and biases, grudges, buried instincts, and resentment in her victims and make it volatile enough for them to act on that influx of negative feelings while feeling only adoration towards her in order to keep herself safe and her (for lack of a better term) prey vulnerable to her attack. It’s not how they think now, but it was at some point or another.

I think that this is a logical explanation for the knight’s behavior in the episode. The whole reason I was watching through scenes with Gwaine and Leon in season 4 in the first place was because I wanted to see if there was any canon evidence for my headcanon that Gwaine was hostile towards Leon in the beginning due to Leon’s noble status and Gwaine’s hatred for nobility which caused their relationship to be rocky in the beginning. Lamia was the only episode I clearly saw evidence of this, but if my theory about the why of the knight’s actions is correct, then its all the evidence I need. If Gwaine originally hated Leon because of his nobility, then that would be brought to the surface. And indeed it looks like it was as it was Gwaine that antagonized Leon and initiated  the fight between them. From Gwaine (the episode) we know that one of the things Gwaine hates about nobles is their belittlement and mistreatment of servants. Well, shortly before the scene where Leon and Gwaine fight, Leon yells at Merlin and dismisses him by yelling at him “you’re nothing but a servant!” and if you watch Gwaine in the back ground, his face is twitching and he looks pissed at Leon. So not only is Gwaine’s hatred for nobles brought into play, but specifically his dislike for Leon because of his nobility (which he just displayed towards Gwaine’s best friend). This is further backed up by Gwaine saying to Leon right before the fight “Why don’t you watch your damn tounge” which doesn’t really connect as a response to “Why don’t you watch where you’re going” but it does connect to Leon berating Merlin earlier. And then of course they try to kill each other, which is why I think they didn’t always got along, because while Gwaine had reason to be pissed at Leon, Leon didn’t have reason to be as pissed at Gwaine as he was unless there was past conflict and disrespect between them.

Now the part of this I was dreading: explaining the knight’s behavior towards Merlin (and Gwen, but mostly Merlin). I’ll start with Percival. From his actions in the episode, I don’t believe Percival’s aggression towards Merlin has anything to do with the fact it’s specifically Merlin. We know Percival lost his family and while we don’t know if this entailed parents and siblings or wife and children, it would be reasonable to conclude that he was protective of his family. That is what Lamia is manipulating, making Percival feel protective of her the way he would a family member and causing him to treat anyone who causes her fear or discomfort like a foe. If she had acted afraid of one of the other knights, I believe Percival would have treated them the way he treated Merlin in the episode. 

I don’t have a whole lot to say on Elyan because he was unconscious for most of the lamia business, but he was dismissive of Gwen so maybe Lamia used a past sibling grudge or sexism to cause him to be short with her and dismiss her opinions. It might be a reach though.

Now Gwaine: I stand by what I said earlier that he fought Leon in part because of his treatment of Merlin. But we must remember that Gwaine was raised as a noble, so that view may have been a result of him realizing that what he was taught as a child about class treatment was not fair or right. But that still stands that it was a view he once had, allowing the Lamia to make him act on it. I fully believe that the end result we see is why Gwaine hated nobles so much, and why he hid his nobility and would not act on it. Because he didn't actually seem overly aggressive or violent towards Merlin until Merlin told him not to do something and grabbed Gwaine's arm. A sign of friendship, of familiarity. This could come from the servant thing, it could also come from a place of "fuck authority" since Gwaine doesnt like that Merlin told him what to do. I just know my heart breaks at Merlin's flinch and expression.

Finally Leon. He was by far the most aggressive towards Merlin, both verbally and physically. I believe that the lamia was dredging up Leon’s past prejudices and biases, as well as potentially previous thoughts and beliefs. I want to stress that these are past feelings brought forth and amplified by the Lamia. I’ll start with the very painful “you’re nothing more than a servant!” Well. Leon is a noble, a knight, and he was raised in Camelot which is very classist. This could very well have been Leon’s upbringing talking, or just as likely, this could have been part of Leon’s opinion of Merlin back when he first became Arthur’s servant and was very snarky and bold (like he is in this scene that sparks this remark): that he should not be so bold to talk to those above him like that because of his status as a servant. Much of his behavior towards Merlin and Gwen can be attributed to this, as Leon got mad that he was being contradicted and questioned by servants which was not the status quo in Uther’s Camelot. I’m not going to go in depth on it because I hate it, but Leon attacking Merlin is coming from the same place of Servants should stay in their place and if they don’t they deserve to be punished. I think his anger and short fuse also speak to how his patience and level head is a result of effort and is not his default.

#back on my lamia bullshit #character analysis #episode analysis #merlin #bbc merlin #theory #you know how much it hurt to apply this theory to Leon's treatment of merlin when I hc them as having a brotherly relationship?answer: a lo #for an episode that causes me a lot of emotional diress i sure do talk about it alot #and because i talk about it i have to rewatch clips of it so im accurate #liv talks merlin #sir leon #sir gwaine #sir elyan #sir percival #bbc guinevere #guinevere pendragon #long post #sorry #i started analyzing and couldnt stop #i rewatched all these scenes several times to get the details right and they HURT ME #i new to stop thinking about this episode only then will i find peace #the knights of the round table #lamia #im not even sure if all of this makes sense

[singloom]

2016 Anime Challenge Revisited ~ January

Okay, loves. After a teeny, tiny delay, I'm slowly starting to revisit the shows I watched last year and reassessing my thoughts on them. We will be starting with January and working my way up, starting with Sword Art Online EXTRA EDITION, Sword Art Online II and Monster Musume. I also rewatched Attack on Titan Series One, Tiger & Bunny and Tokyo Ghoul in January.

Sword Art Online EXTRA EDITION

There is really no way to mince words here, it's a recap movie of the first series passing itself off as a film with a mini quest slapped on right at the end. No, really. Kirito retells his Aincrad and Fairy Dance experiences to a secret agent man for the benefit of the audience and guess what the girls do? Go swimming in cute swim suits and reminisce about their encounters with Kirito, the irresistible Powerhouse of the virtual world. Of course they would. What else would girls in an anime do? Personal character growth is for the guys, naturally. And learning how to swim to take part in an underwater quest doesn't count. And Lisbeth, what did they do to you? The short story at the end where the gang take part in a quest that involves taking to the ocean in search of a missing egg was the only new content, but it felt more like something that should have been an episode rather than an excuse to draw out an extended feature.

I really do have mixed feelings about Sword Art Online as a whole. I'm not a hardened hater of this series because I see great potential in the initial premise (death game in an online world) and the early days nailed that completely, but shortly afterwards, something happened. It became something different that threw me out of that experience of terror and fear, which blew the immersion big time. With a combination of asspulls that didn't belong, issues with pacing and personal dislikes that somewhat affected my enjoyment of the show, Sword Art Online is one of those shows that definitely rests in the Your Mileage May Vary category. I really cannot say I love the show, but I don't hate it either. When it's good, it's good, but when it falters, it does so big time and that can be hard to tolerate, especially with regards to the way it treats its female characters.

I think Sword Art Online is an anime I will continually revisit to try and make sense of it's shortcomings, but also what it does well, and I want to reassess aspects that can be troubling and major issues for viewers. Expect plenty of posts about this in the future.

Sword Art Online II

Personally, I liked SWOII marginally better than the first series. While it still has some issues like asspulls that seem silly, there was nothing that terribly hindered my enjoyment of it. I liked the Gun Gale Online Arc where Kirito once more takes to the virtual world to investigate claims of a player that kills other players in real life by shooting them in the game. We also get Sinon, a sniper girl, who plays GGO as a sort of immersion therapy after a traumatising childhood incident causes her to fear guns. The portrayal of PTSD is very interesting in the way it manifests. We also get two more minor arcs - the Calibur Episodes and Mother Rosario Episodes - which I quite enjoyed solely for the fact we get far more exposure of Kirito's friends. You want more Asuna? More Klein moments? You get them. This is what I feel SWO should have been, more fleshed out supporting characters rather than a One Man Show, adventures and quests with elements of danger and overcoming personal hardships.

Mother Rosario was definitely the stand out in Season Two with plenty of heart, a chance for Asuna to finally shine without Kirito hogging the spotlight and one of the most heartbreaking but inspiring storylines that center around a Guild with a personal goal. If SWO continued with this promising direction, I would gladly watch it and have a good time, but only time will tell. It's just disappointing that shows like this are considered the best despite their glaring flaws that are too troubling to overlook for overtly analysing bwees like me, while obscure niche shows with lots to offer are overlooked.

There, I said it.

Monster Musume

Very much a Your-Mileage-May-Vary sort of show given how racy the fanservice gets. It really does get uncomfortable in the more graphic scenes (especially the scenes with younger looking characters,) so it really depends on how you deal with that sort of thing. I also personally find some of the double standards in the show somewhat difficult to stomach and when things get into the Dark Comedy territory. However, I did enjoy the basic premise of Monster Musume, set in a world where humans and monster co-exist and a special Interspecies Bill bans harm between the races, but also bans sexual relationships. Enter Kurusu Kimihito, who ends up playing host to a group of monster girls - Miia the Lamia, Pap the Harpy, Centorea the Centaur, Suu the Slime, Mero the Mermaid, and Rachnera the Arachnid. All who really want to be with the unfortunate(?) boy. With an Interspecies Bill that forbids consummating relations between humans and monsters, and an innate ability to woo every single girl in the show without trying, what's a guy in a harem show to do? As mentioned before, I really like the premise of the show, as well as the attempt to really flesh out the biology and explanations to the behaviour of the different monsters. It's also surprisingly sweet at times and the lead boy is actually kind of refreshing. He isn't your chaste virgin, but rather a boy who's aware of his sexual urges and attraction to things that excite him, but he tries to remind himself of the consequences and practises responsibility (although, that more comes down to the fact he'd be arrested if he did anything.) If you're looking for a harem anime centred around cute monster girls with plenty of fanservice, this might be your cup of tea.

That and the theme song is quite cute and catchy. <3

Rewatch

In January, I rewatched Attack on Titan, Tiger & Bunny and Tokyo Ghoul, all in dubs. It was a first time watching Attack on Titan and Tokyo Ghoul in the dub, which were quite enjoyable (as for T&B, it's one of many, many rewatches, love that show.)

Attack on Titan

is all about human eating titans and the underdog humans that defend humanity from their bitey ways. If you've been on the internet at all, you'll have seen it at least one. THAT WALL. THAT GIANT STEAMY MUSCLE MAN CLINGING TO IT. AND ALL HOLY HECK BREAKING LOOSE. I still enjoy this show for its darkness, the characters you root for while faced with the very real possibility that they will be nommed on and those opening theme songs. They are perfection in sound and animation. Give it a watch.

Tiger & Bunny

. That show I name drop all the time in the hopes that ONE OF YOU WILL ACTUALLY MIND IT AND WATCH IT. I fell deeply in love with this show from the get go way back when it released and I'm still head over heels with those heroes and such a loveable cast of very real and flawed people. Super heroes endorsed by REAL COMPANIES compete for points by performing heroic duties for the entertainment of the city they serve to protect. Enter Kotetsu T. Kaburagi, a middle aged, widowed, single father, hero struggling to keep up with the changing times, and Barnaby Brooks Jr, an up and coming new hero with good looks and popularity. The two are forced together and an odd couple act ensues as they take to the city of Sternbild and clash more than they do with the villains. It's all very endearing and heartwarming, a perfect blend of comedy and drama that keeps viewers engaged and emotionally attached (I know I was.) I struggle to do this show justice because it's as close to perfection as it gets for me and it hurts that it doesn't get more love. Give it a try. You won't regret it.

Tokyo Ghoul

. What is it about flesh eaters this month? Another rewatch, Tokyo Ghoul is all about human hungry Ghouls that struggle to blend into human society and one boy who is thrust into this world against his will. Ken Kaneki is this poor soul who becomes half-human, half-Ghoul after a rather...unfortunate transplant operation. His attempts to hold onto his humanity and protect his only friend, Hide, are heartbreaking as things inevitably get a whole lot worse. Lots of bloody action and plenty of heart moments available here.

#anime #2016 anime challenge