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eatingfireflies · 27 days

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I was on the hoyolab app doing my check-in and saw someone asking why Sunday suddenly started talking about the way Aventurine wears his clothes in the middle of a long conversation about other things.

I actually liked that bit so let's talk about it!! Not in the hoyolab app because I can't write long meta there, but here. Where people can't see me. Oops.

(my screenshots game is weak so I took a bunch of stuff from here. Also checked here to see what the Jp translation says. These people don't know me, I just like their videos.)

What is this old rich vs nouveau riche conversation 😂

But nah, the implication here is Aventurine is a pantser (which he tells us earlier)

while Sunday isn't. Sunday needs to have everything decided and planned and all his pawns arranged on the table before he makes a move.

But Black Swan tells us in the beginning that this is one of the reasons why dealing with Aventurine is dangerous

When he says he'll play it by ear, he means he'll adjust his actions and reactions based on what he's getting from the other person.

Sunday's weakness is not only underestimating Aventurine, but also being unable to adjust his plans or even actually listen to what his opponent is saying

Sunday is wrong here: Dr Ratio doesn't value the pursuit of knowledge above all. (This is why he's not a Genius Society member! He values ethics and fairness above knowledge or prestige. But tbf, even Screwllum got this wrong about Ratio.)

'But how can you be sure of that?'

Because Ratio says so. To Sunday. In reply to Sunday's offer.

In Jp he says それがわかっているなら、一人前の学者は自分の立場を��え、つまらない尊厳のために大事なものを失ったりしないことも知っているだろう。'In that case, you should know a competent scholar knows how to stand their ground and not lose something important* for the sake of trivial dignity**.'

* his ethics

** prestige

Sorry, Chadwick. But Ratio is different 😂

So you've already lost one of your bargaining chips if you're Sunday

But he moves forward anyway, because he's already gone outside and can't adjust his clothes anymore. If he was even listening to Ratio, that is 😂 He was so convinced he's got Ratio's personality correctly

And Ratio also has to move forward with this because it's part of Aventurine's plan

even though Ratio doesn't necessarily approve of it (I also want to talk about the plan and also I'm losing my mind about the posts I've seen talking about the references that were made in game, but there's no more space for screencaps so let's do that in a different post!!)

The moral lesson is: don't believe rich people when they give tips on how to prevent wardrobe malfunction

#honkai star rail spoilers #penacony #aventurine #sunday hsr #dr ratio #d metas

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eliteseven · 9 days

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Not the same anon but I would also love jealous Shadowheart HCs. A one shot would be amazing if you can but no pressure!

Lolllll

Jealous Shadowheart HC's, by Popular Demand (3 ppl).

I've long said this, but Shadowheart doesn't do jealousy. I think she's never had to. She grew up in the cloister- we know she mentioned having secret trysts or flings or w/e, but no serious relationships. She thought she was training to be a weapon, really. So...relationships- monogamy- I don't know if it ever crossed her mind? Probably not her scene.

Also, while I love her confidence, "I know I'm beautiful, but it's nice of you to say" etc. I think she's accustomed to suitors bending over backwards for her, but a lot of the time it was superficial- none of them knew her, it was purely physical.

All this to say: she's never had the inclination of being possessive of anyone, until...Tav.

Tav comes along with her stupidly tender touches and that look she gives Shadowheart, like she's the most resplendent being she's ever met. Shadowheart realizes she wants that all to herself forever. But Tav loves everything about her- her temper, her less than composed moments. For the first time in her life, Shadowheart's in love 💕

Shadowheart isn't oblivious- Tav is beautiful, she's going to get her fair share of attention. Tav's a people person, and she has a background in nobility- which meant a lot of schmoozing and cajoling. She has a way of enticing people- but unlike Shadowheart, she's never really weaponized it. She isn't really aware of how she draws people in (which pisses Shart off lol)

Most of the time, Shadowheart is content to let it happen. But for those lingering gazes on Tav? The way the barmaid touches her arm when she leans over suggestively to serve her? Nah Shadowheart is not standing for it! She will tilt Tav's chin and kiss her senseless in front of the entire tavern. If there are bedrooms (or perhaps even a hidden corner) Shadowheart is making use of them immediately.

Maybe it's a little residual Sharran domme energy in her, but Shadowheart expresses her discontent in the bedroom by marking Tav up. The camp pretends not to notice Tav's neck the next morning. (Tav fully encourages this behavior 😅)

The one subject that riles Shadowheart up every time: Tav's past in Cormyr. I won't mince words- Tav was a noble, pent up in her estate with stuffy rules, dying to live, bound for an arranged marriage she wanted no part of.... When Tav gets to Cormyr, she has a time. 👀 She might not be as experienced as Shadowheart, but she's certainly picked up a thing or ten in the near decade she was there.

If Tav has a "close friend" from her past in Cormyr that she references fondly every once in a while, whew...Shadowheart can't help but imagine who might have had her Tav wrapped around their finger.

Now, IF Shadowheart were to ever meet this friend, say she made it to the cottage for some ungodly reason:

Shart would obviously try to play it cool (She's too proud to admit she's jealous outright). Instead, she's draping herself across Tav, sitting on her lap, stealing kisses. She's generally very kind hearted now, but idk I can see her reverting back to her old ways for a bit. She’s definitely making some of those famous biting comments.

Tav tries to defuse it and keep her even keeled but sometimes it's so hard bc Shadowheart is pettyyyyy 😭💀

Tav: So, why don't we swap stories? Do you remember-

Shart: Yes, Tav, do you remember the night we bathed in the pools outside the House of the Moon and you spread my-

Tav: -Anyway, have you met Buttons?!

(I will try my best on the one shot but I have so many WIP's at the moment so maybe we can work it in elsewhere?)

#bg3 #shadowheart x tav #nls series #oc: serena tavyndír #anonymous #ask #my hcs

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roryintheir90s · 8 months

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Any fanfictions recomms?

You have not specified what type of fanfiction you're searching for, but I will try to recommend the ones I like a bunch.

And pls do read through the tags carefully before reading! Some of those fics may include violence or mature ratings.

Trust life by Capritarius

STATUS: ongoing

RATING: mature

CHAPTERS: 57/?

WORDS: 275k

MAIN SHIPS: Jimmy/Tango, Jimmy/Scott, Scott/Tango

needs to go first ofc, I don't think I will ever be able to praise it enough 👌

it's just perfect to me. Has everything one needs from a story, drama, complicated relationship, scenes that makes you wanna bawl your eyes out but at the same time it has those sweetest moments ever.

Plus, which is a huge positive for me, no one in the fic is necessarily bad. If you look from the perspective of another person, you can actually realised that ye, maybe what they did or are doing isn't great, but you get why they're like this. Well outside of few people. But for that you gotta read it.

To have and to hold by Green_Life_Lily

STATUS: completed

RATING: teen and up

CHAPTERS: 50

WORDS: 87k

SHIP: Jimmy/Scott

Gen, I love this ff. It's angsty tho. Scott tries his best to help his husband, but it feels sometimes like it never works, and never gets better. It's heartbreaking to be fair. Outside of flower husbands, other relationships are ambiguous. It also gets A LOT worst before it gets even slightly better.

You seriously just feel for the guys, they doing everything they can, only for it to fail or be meet with the gut punching situation.

Everyone struggles there, A LOT.

You looked so good in green by apollothetransboy

STATUS: completed

RATING: mature

CHAPTERS: 13

WORDS: 52k

MAIN SHIP: Scott/Martyn and Jimmy/Scott in p2

I loved this SM. You guys have no idea. Something I recommend to read if you're into a complicated relationship overall. This one doesn't have a happy ending, BUT Apollo is so nice and good and amazing, that we have a p2 to it called

I try to worry for your soul but I forget to

Which is from Jimmys perspective and DO have a happy ending.

It's actually a whole series for this au, and I gen telling you guys to check it out.

It's called the ocean at you door.

One restless summer and hide your heart by StormChaosfox

STATUS: both completed

RATING: mature

SHIP: Scott/Jimmy

Just complicated the relationship between Scott and Jimmy, both of them being dumb and pining, but being scared bc of their past experiences. Lots of regrets and hurt. Plus second book adds skulk and evil sausage to the mix.

Can't say much about this one, because Gen, most of it just just a love drama! So I can't say much because of spoilers.

Tell me one more beautiful lie by apollothetransboy

STATUS: ongoing

RATING: teen and up

CHAPTERS: 11/16

WORDS: 61k

SHIP: tango/martyn/jimmy/scott

Another fic and another slay from Apollo. I love this fic sm. Lots of angst, but also it has it's sweet moments 🥺 it's like my comfort fic.

Truly you guys gotta read it.

Explosions across lifetimes by thed0zyslider (HollowWish)

STATUS: ongoing

RATING: teen and up

CHAPTERS: 22/?

WORDS: 96k

SHIP: fWhip/Jimmy

If you a fwhimmy fan you've probably heard of this one. Gosh, it's such a good one. But what can I say, I'm a sucker for enemies turn lovers. It's sweet, it's cute. It's just AaAAAAAA

A billion amounts to nothing in infinity face by FulminateTheSun

STATUS: ongoing

RATING: teen and up

CHAPTERS: 12/24

WORDS: 43k

SHIP: Jimmy/Sausage

I'm positive that this fic is abandoned, but its still a worthy read. Like gen, its a good fic. I think sausage x Jimmy deserve more attention. They're the moment, and they're just so AAAA could arrange them in the most positive way ever. I just love them

I gen don't know whether you wanted those types of fics, but these are one of my favorite. If you want anything else do let me know I'm more then happy to share!

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ms-all-sunday · 4 months

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pjs posting every single character what they wear to bed lets go

luffy - the exact same thing he wears everyday no changes. everybody wants to kill him for this and they eventually get him out of the sleep jeans post TS but it takes an unreasonable amount of time

zoro - very little or nothing at all. naked completely. (sensory issues) nami buys him a robe so they dont have to see him naked in the middle of the night and its a compromise.

nami - she has a LOT of pjs for every occasion and when she wears her own it radically depends on what the circumstances are. keyword there is when she wears her own. chronic stealer of clothes (in general) but also especially to sleep in because people arent usually wearing their own clothes anyway. the only clothes she hasnt stolen temporarily to sleep in is luffys sleep jeans and sanjis suits and frankys sleep-speedo. everything else is fair game. she will also do this directly from the laundry pile and will never admit that to anybody. (she thinks its gross and like depending on the item of clothing yeah it is. its never TOO gross though she has standards)

usopp - normal about it. he has his own pjs and when its hot he sleeps in only his underwear and uh because of sleeping arrangements yeah its hot a lot of the time.

sanji - objectively not normal about it. sleeps in his SUITS. hes convinced out of them easier than luffy is the sleep jeans but he needs fabric covering every part of his body at all times because he has sensory issues. (nami buys him pjs but they go shopping together he slowly gets more and more extra with his pj preferences over time but they always have to cover every inch of them unless in very specific circumstances.) hes also similar to nami in the sense that he'll wear other peoples shit to bed but he's less indiscriminate and more secretive about it.

chopper - he has a small pair of pjs for when he gets cold which isn't often and it's only pants as opposed to his shorts (which are made out of pj fabric anyways)

robin - VICTORIAN NIGHTGOWN. not all of them are white, some of them are other colours. black. purple. one of them is blue and its quite pretty. post TS she gets nightgown colours matching all her family/expands out of the historical nightgowns but still wears nightgowns. (she morbidly loves the red one she bought matching luffy because it makes her look like even more of a murdered ghost than before) it's also because of sensory issues similar to zoros and the opposite of sanjis but she just opts for loose fitting clothing instead of no clothing at all. the thriller bark outfit was actually pjs. robin loved being in wano similar to zoro because the clothes there fit her sensory issues better than most regions.

franky - the same swimsuit and it didnt last long. complaints were lodged (robin doesnt mind swimsuit material normally under the light of the sun and god but uh in the case of sleeping absolutely not. chopper complained too because he likes to curl up on frankys lap and he doesnt like the swimsuit material either) he took them in and adjusted. he now has normal fabric underwear that looks like a speedo. (hand crafted by himself)

he also made modifications to his front so he'd be a better texture/softness for cuddling at literally everybodys request. he was so very happy about this honestly even though he realized the challenge of remaining indestructible but still cuddle-able he was up for it if it meant his family wanted to hug him more. (he made these changes before ts but really considered them post ts and made even better modifications then. EVERYBODY approved.)

brook - he likes historical pjs like robin does but goes for masc and fem versions hes like similar amount of normal to usopp. BUT he does have to pad his pjs with some kind of fluffy material so they're a little thicker than they would be for a normal person (nobody likes sleeping with an overly boney skeleton. and he sows them in himself) and he doesnt have to worry about getting hot because he has no body heat. (this is also why he manages to layer so many clothing items on eachother despite it being generally pretty hot) he is a robe person but not by force like Zoro is and robin will take it (sometimes they share pjs and it's an agreed upon thing unlike their younger crewmates whom of which two of them are just immature thieves.)

#modposts #op #one piece #headcanons #yeah i love making headcanon posts like this #did this instead of drawing robin in namis pjs which i will do #i just wanted to think about All Of Them you understand #jimbei btw is incredibly good to sleep with hes cold blooded which is very fun if youre sleeping with a lot of people and his outfits are #all good textures. hes got all figured out #do fishmen have scales? the only thing about sleeping with him would be his texture. is it blubber? how soft are sharks generally? i assume #soft #looked it up theyre rough RARE JIMBEI L #assuming he is the same texture as an actual whale shark which you could argue not #you could argue hes soft and i will personally be thinking this until further notice #unless oda canonifies rough jimbei ill be assuming he is soft #straw hat crew

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calqlate · 9 months

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RE: LOVE & LIFE | ONE

— SOMEONE WHO CARES

SERIES MASTERLIST | PREVIOUS CHAPTER | NEXT CHAPTER

PAIRING(S): zhongli x f! reader + diluc x f! wife! reader

SUMMARY: As the wife of the famous big shot in the wine industry, you have everything you could ever ask for — a beautiful mansion, endless wealth, servants at your beck and call... However, you lack the one thing you yearn for: love. With your beloved husband neglecting you and being stuck in a loveless marriage, you decide to end it all, only to be stopped by a man whom you have never met before, and who also coincidentally happens to be your soulmate. In addition, there just might seem to be more than what meets the eye in regards to your peculiar soulmate, and you just might have to find that out for yourself.

TAGLIST: @crescentmoonnn + @deeomi + @esthelily + @mshope16 + @nerdiel-has-no-braincells

A/N: sorry for the wait, i've been struggling with the biggest writer's block as of february :") here's the long-awaited chapter, please enjoy ^^

As you walked off the plane and step foot onto the arrival hall of Liyue's airport, you combed some stray locks of hair falling into your face. Sitting through a five-hour flight while sending emails and settling a whole load of paperwork (which had been uploaded onto an online folder courtesy of your secretary Giselle) had you red-eyed and ready to take a good three-hour nap. You were presently on a business trip to meet a partner who was keen on investing in your company to expand and establish a branch of its own in Liyue. The said partner in question was Fatui Network, a trading company renowned for having a seemingly shrewd CEO who had the 'magic touch': any business she was interested in and chose to invest in seemed to turn out successful, and you were hoping for good things when she reached out to contact you when you chose to expand your business.

You were scanning the crowd for the person who was arranged to pick you up when you spotted a gingerhead in the crowd waving eagerly at you. You raised an eyebrow up at him and he gave wide, exaggerated nods as if to say "Yes, it's me!".

You dragged your luggage over to him and gave him a quick once-over. The man was fair-skinned with blue eyes that seemed to have seen many things in life despite his young exterior. He wore a bright smile which exuberated a youthful and bright energy. You greeted him with a smile and extended a hand for a handshake, "Nice to meet you. I'm [F/N] Ragnvindr, CEO of Aster Cosmetics. You must be the representative from the Fatui Network, right?"

The gingerhead grinned and shook your hand back, "I'm actually one of the directors there. The name's Ajax Tartaglia, nice to meet you."

You raised your brows and drew your hand back along with him, "I didn't think your CEO would send a director to meet me."

"Oh, we must," Ajax said, "You're a valuable business partner of ours. It's only right for one of the higher-ups to pick you up and show you around."

"That's kind of you, please deliver my sincerest thanks to your CEO," you smiled.

"That, I will," Ajax smiled, "Now, shall I show you to your hotel?"

Ajax proved himself fun to be around: he was a great conversationalist and naturally made you feel at ease. He made you feel as if both of you were friends for a long time even though you had just met less than an hour ago. He was different from the usual directors that you met on business talks and trips, and he was like the breath of fresh air you never knew you needed.

"Speaking of, Mr. Tartaglia, isn't the Fatui Network based in Snezhnaya?" you asked as the taxi the both of you were riding up pulled up to the hotel.

"We are, but I flew down a few days ago to check in on our Liyue branch," Ajax explained.

Both of you stepped out of the taxi and he rounded to the back to retrieve your luggage.

"You are the hands-on type, I see," you said with a teasing smile.

"It's good to see to things personally," Ajax smiled, rolling your luggage beside him as the both of you stepped into the hotel.

The lobby was grand and sparkling, with a huge glittering chandelier hanging from the ceiling as a centerpiece. There were sofas placed round small tables, with a vase of flowers on top of each table. The floor was covered in dark marble and it was so smooth and shiny that one could see their own reflection against it.

As Ajax went up to the service counter to get your room booking, you pulled out your phone to check your text messages. Just a few from Jean and Kaeya, but none from the person you were hoping to hear from. A slight pang of disappointment filled the pit of your stomach as you sighed through your nose. You were delusional for actually hoping for a response from him, were you not?

"Mrs. Ragnvindr, are you ready to go?"

You snapped your head up to see Ajax waving your key card idly inbetween his fingers and you shot him an apologetic smile.

"Apologies, I'm coming," you slipped your phone back into your purse and took quick steps to catch up to Ajax, pushing the thoughts of him into the back of your mind.

Despite the small little blemish that was the disappointment you felt earlier in the day, Ajax seemed to wash it all away by distracting you with the itinerary he had planned for the day. He had chosen good restaurants and cafés to have lunch and dinner and went through your proposals during the short coffee breaks.

All the distractions wore off once you were back into the confines of your hotel suite. The room was booked based on your husband's terms, which were pretty adamant demands according to Ajax.

What use is giving me a luxurious room when I've got no one to share it with? You sighed as you peeled your heels off and clambered onto the sofa which was designed for aesthetics first and comfort second. The armrest dug into your side uncomfortably and you adjusted yourself to make yourself feel more comfortable. You dug into your purse again to retrieve your phone.

There were still no texts from him.

You decided to give your husband a call via Facetime. After all, there was only a one-hour difference and it was only 11pm in Mondstadt then. Your husband was still awake and you knew that he would only sleep in the wee hours of the morning.

You placed your phone standing upright on the table, leaning your phone against the ceramic vase for support. You sat up straight eagerly, waiting for your husband to pick up.

"Hello?"

Your eyes brightened as you watched the screen shift in perspective. Diluc's hand was covering the screen partially as he moved his phone, the screen coming to a standstill as he placed his phone on a solid surface. Diluc's hair was slightly disheveled and ran down the sides of his face. Upon closer inspection, you realised that he had rather deep set eyebags beneath his eyes, and his skin looked paler than usual, making him seem ghostly.

"Diluc," you started, "Are you alright?"

"I'm doing fine," he was curt in his response, choosing not to look at you. You could hear the sounds of a typing keyboard in the background, so you knew he was still working while on the line with you. His eyes never left his laptop as he asked, "What about you? Is the room comfortable enough for you?"

"The suite is great, thank you," you muttered.

There was a moment of silence as neither one of you said anything. The only sound being heard was the clacking of his keyboard and the occasional clicks of his mouse.

"Is that all?" Diluc asked, "If so, you should hang up and go to bed."

"You should go to bed too," you whispered, "It's already so late and you're still working."

"You don't need to worry about me. I'm fine."

"The eyebags under your eyes say otherwise," you countered.

"They are none of your concern," he said, his voice solid and holding his ground. There was another beat of silence before he said, "That's all for tonight. Goodnight."

With that, the call went dead and your screen went black. The calls with Diluc were always like this, and you really should not be surprised or even had expected something more. He was merely your husband in name, and his feelings were not yours to bend at your will.

A few involuntary tears escaped your eyes and you wiped them away quickly. What use was it to be the wife of a rich man when this marriage was loveless and cold? It went against all expectations you had of marriage: you had wanted to be married to a man who would shower you in endless love, be it a wealthy man or a homeless one. As long as you were loved, you would be okay.

However, you were not loved in the slightest, and you were not alright by any means.

You walked right towards the door and slipped your heels back on again. You needed some fresh air, so off to the rooftop you went.

The hotel had a swimming pool on the top floor which oversaw the entire city. At present, the neon city lights glittered against the still waters, which were glowing in a seemingly neon blue colour, thanks to the lights installed on the pool's tiles. You walked right to the edge of the pool which was close to the glass panels separating the pool from the sky. You closed your eyes, feeling the cool night breeze against your face.

After your grandfather passed away, your parents learnt of your grandfather's will to have you marry the eldest Ragnvindr son, and they were more than happy to pretty much sell you off to the said famous family. You remembered that they did not even bat an eye when they did so, saying it was all for strengthening the family's ties with the social circle of the wealthy, but you could care less. It seemed that in this world, no one was truly on your side.

You kicked your heels off and climbed onto the seats a little far off the pool, their backs facing the glass panels. You closed your eyes and held your hands up, walking in a single line as if you were walking on a tightrope.

I wonder, if I fell off here, would there be anyone who will care?

Suddenly, you tripped on an uneven cushion and swerved to your side, the side that was close to the glass panels. Your eyes flew open as you let out a silent scream, watching your life flash before your very eyes as you fell into impending doom.

By fate or some sort of miracle, someone grabbed your other hand and yanked you away from the edge, pulling you straight into something solid. Your eyes screwed themselves shut as you careened into something… or someone. You opened your eyes to see that you have found yourself in the arms of a dark-haired man, whose eyes were brimming with tears as he whispered the string of words you were not expecting to hear from a complete stranger.

"Please stay alive for me."

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mariana-oconnor · 4 months

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The Lion's Mane pt 2

Fair warning: I've had a fever for like half of the day, so this is liable to be more unhinged than usual. Everything feels sort of floaty and I'm pretty sure I had a dissociative episode this morning. Fun. Woooooo!

"That's The Haven, as Bellamy called it. The one with the corner tower and slate roof."

His house has a tower? No fair.

There was no mistaking that tall, angular, straggling figure. It was Ian Murdoch, the mathematician. A moment later we confronted him upon the road.

Is he hiding a jellyfish catapult up his jumper? That's the real question.

Is he three jellyfish in a trenchcoat?

"I am your subordinate, sir, under your roof. I am not aware that I owe you any account of my private actions." Stackhurst's nerves were near the surface after all he had endured. Otherwise, perhaps, he would have waited. Now he lost his temper completely. "In the circumstances your answer is pure impertinence, Mr Murdoch." "Your own question might perhaps come under the same heading."

Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!

"You will kindly make fresh arrangements for your future as speedily as you can." "I had intended to do so. I have lost to-day the only person who made The Gables habitable."

omg McPherson and Murdoch unrequited love enemies to lovers 100k angst hurt no comfort major character death

Murdoch needs to set out on a mission of revenge to murder all jellyfish. I still don't like him because throwing dogs through windows is an unforgivable offence, but VENGEANCE must be his new creed. He can turn the power of maths to his cause.

One man's quest to avenge his beloved. A tale for the ages. Revenge is best served wet.

I feel like there's a jelly and ice cream joke to be made there, but I don't think he should eat the jellyfish, even if that might be one of the only ways to kill them for good.

"My son here" -indicating a powerful young man, with a heavy, sullen face, in the corner of the sitting-room -- "is of one mind with me that Mr McPherson's attentions to Maud were insulting."

Maybe Mr Bellamy the younger is three jellyfish in a trenchcoat! Or maybe the whole family is jellyfish shapeshifters!

The possibilities are endless.

(the idea of jellyfish shapeshifters is going to give me the weirdest fever dreams tonight istg.)

Who could have imagined that so rare a flower would grow from such a root and in such an atmosphere? Women have seldom been an attraction to me, for my brain has always governed my heart, but I could not look upon her perfect clear-cut face, with all the soft freshness of the downlands in her delicate colouring, without realizing that no young man would cross her path unscathed.

Ugh, Holmes. Come on. I was counting on you! I'm going to lay the blame for this one on ACD and say that he suffered from the inability to describe a pretty woman without being horny about it, no matter who his narrator was supposed to be,

"There is no reason why my sister should be brought into the matter," growled the younger man.

Her boyfriend's dead, bitch. There's a lot of reasons. Stop being a dickhead and start being a comforting brother. Honestly. Stupid jellyfishifter.

She listened to a short account from my companion, with a composed concentration which showed me that she possessed strong character as well as great beauty. Maud Bellamy will always remain in my memory as a most complete and remarkable woman.

Well, at least she isn't getting brain fever. We are all grateful.

"Bring them to justice, Mr Holmes. You have my sympathy and my help, whoever they may be." It seemed to me that she glanced defiantly at her father and brother as she spoke.

OMG they are jellyfishifters! She knows! She knows!

"I see no reason for mystery," she answered. "We were engaged to be married, and we only kept it secret because Fitzroy's uncle, who is very old and said to be dying, might have disinherited him if he had married against his wish. There was no other reason."

The ancient enmity between the jellyfishifters and the sea turtle shifters! It's Romeo and Juliet meets Waterworld (I've never seen Waterworld, but I assume that it is a war epic about the ongoing conflicts between jellyfish and sea turtles. Or I do now, because it has occurred to me.)

"There was a time when I thought he was. But that was all changed when he understood the relations between Fitzroy and myself."

The tragedy. The homosexual pining.

"Sad story this, sir, about Mr McPherson's dog," said she one evening. I do not encourage such conversations, but the words arrested my attention. "What of Mr McPherson's dog?" "Dead, sir. Died of grief for its master."

Best. Boy. Survived being thrown through a plate glass window only to die of grief.

Also, what the fuck, Holmes? You 'don't encourage such conversations'? You're the only person she sees all day. TALK TO THE WOMAN.

So the dog was also attacked by the jellyfish. Someone really needs to mark that beach off limits.

You will know, or Watson has written in vain, that I hold a vast store of out-of-the-way knowledge without scientific system, but very available for the needs of my work. My mind is like a crowded box-room with packets of all sorts stowed away therein—so many that I may well have but a vague perception of what was there.

Have you finally remembered that lions man jellyfish exist?

...Inspector Bardle of the Sussex Constabulary—a steady, solid, bovine man with thoughtful eyes...

Animal comparisons as well. It's like we have Watson back.

"What would my position be if I let him slip away with all this evidence against him?"

You have literally 0 evidence.

"But I have examined them very carefully with a lens. They have peculiarities." "What are they, Mr Holmes?"

Well, one peculiarity is that they're jellyfish stings. So write that down.

"A most ingenious comparison. Or shall we say a very stiff cat-o'-nine-tails with small hard knots upon it?"

bdsm play gone very wrong... or jellyfish?

It's a difficult one.

Ian Murdoch staggered into the room, pallid, dishevelled, his clothes in wild disorder, clawing with his bony hands at the furniture to hold himself erect. “Brandy! Brandy!” he gasped, and fell groaning upon the sofa.

BRANDY! The triumphant return! And Watson isn't even here to administer it.

Get that man some brandy and cure him of... what's probably jellyfish stings, I guess. Does the brandy go in his mouth or does he bathe in it?

Half a tumbler of the raw spirit brought about a wondrous change.

If there is anything this year of Sherlock Holmes stories has taught me, it's that there is a panacea, it is brandy and we should all worship it. I need some brandy, clearly. Why am I taking paracetamol when I should be downing brandy?

At any moment he might die. More and more brandy was poured down his throat, each fresh dose bringing him back to life.

Best. Story. Ever.

I love this. It's perfect. No notes. Save that man's life with brandy, Holmes. If only you'd had a hip flask on you before. Can dogs drink brandy? I mean, there's that legend about St Bernards carrying brandy with them. Clearly dogs and brandy go together.

I can't believe brandy is saving the day. This is excellent.

Pads of cotton-wool soaked in salad-oil seemed to take the agony from the strange wounds.

OK, brandy and salad oil. Sure, why not.

I feel like he might be about to die of alcohol poisoning instead. But sure.

“I think I can, Stackhurst. Come with me now! And you, Inspector, come along! We will see if we cannot deliver this murderer into your hands.”

No, do not pick up the jellyfish with your hands.

“Cyanea!” I cried. “Cyanea! Behold the Lion's Mane!” The strange object at which I pointed did indeed look like a tangled mass torn from the mane of a lion. It lay upon a rocky shelf some three feet under the water, a curious waving, vibrating, hairy creature with streaks of silver among its yellow tresses. It pulsated with a slow, heavy dilation and contraction.

I'm really glad everyone is now on the same page, but I do have to say, Holmes, that clearly you had suspicions and you still allowed people to swim in that pool. That's reckless endangerment of lives, if ever I saw it. I am even more disappoint.

Even if you were wrong about it, you still shouldn't have let people swim there until you were sure you were wrong. Poor show.

There was a big boulder just above the ledge, and we pushed it until it fell with a tremendous splash into the water. When the ripples had cleared we saw that it had settled upon the ledge below. One flapping edge of yellow membrane showed that our victim was beneath it. A thick oily scum oozed out from below the stone and stained the water round, rising slowly to the surface.

A yuck and B, now the jellyfishifters are going to come after you.

Could have just put up signs telling people not to swim there rather than crushing the poor thing. It didn't mean to kill anyone.

"He gulped down brandy, a whole bottleful, and it seems to have saved his life."

✨Brandy!✨

“No, Mr. Murdoch. I was already upon the track, and had I been out as early as I intended I might well have saved you from this terrific experience.”

Yeah, feel bad, Holmes. Feel bad!

"The poor fellow had never thought to dry himself, and so I in turn was led to believe that he had never been in the water."

This I don't get. Was he not wet when they found him? Whatever. Doesn't matter. It was the jellyfish all along. There were no jellyfish catapults alas, and perhaps no jellyfishifters, but we aren't told whether the younger Mr Bellamy had gone suspiciously missing following the crushing of the jellyfish, are we?

But one thing we can all rest assured knowing: Brandy is the true hero. Three cheers for brandy!

#Letters from Watson #The Lion's Mane #Sherlock Holmes #long post

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seasonal-writes · 4 months

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2023 Writing Round-Up

Rules: Share what you wrote this year! It can be works you posted to Ao3, Wattpad, Tumblr, or anywhere else! You can share everything you wrote or just the ones you’re most excited about. my beloved mutual @canarydarity tagged me in this. thank you for the tag, worm! this was really fun :D p.s. almost every fic in here is team rancher. and almost all of it is shipping. so i am not going to make my bias so obvious by labeling them, i will simply make not of the ONE that is not team rancher. i'm mentally unwell about them and the bias has not gone away. so just a fair warning. <3

January

"bruised / cuts" // 1,347 words "small / cuts" // 1,897 words

'jimmy and tango are in love and clumsy, usually resulting in minor injuries. these are their stories.

dUN DUN-' "19% touch starved and 91% in denial" // 2,551 words

'a short fic in which jimmy is touch-starved, and his new soulmate, tango, is the furthest thing from it.' "old heartbeats die hard" // scarian // 1,413 words

'Did you know that listening to someone’s heartbeat can have a calming effect on your own heart and breathing pattern? Grian knows this. And he knows it’s working right now, even if it’s not enough to lull him to sleep quite yet. Though, there is still relief in knowing that one is still thumping away in Scar’s chest. Its pace is still fresh and lively and steady, just how he likes it— even if he’d never say something like that out loud.' "When Fate Finds Golden Rings" (ongoing, originally published in late january) // 65,044 words as of the last current update in mid-july.

'Being a prince comes with many things. Reputation, politics..even war, if one isn't careful.

When the Kingdom of the Overworld's alliance with the Nether grows tense, there is only one way to repair it, and it lies within the hands of two princes—arranged to be married to end a fight that simmers hot between the two planes.

But when Heir-to-the-throne Tango would rather stay at odds than follow through, and the the youngest Prince Jimmy finds no way for a wedding to solve anything, how can they bite back their gripe and fulfill their responsibilities?

How do you fight a destiny that's forged in gold? (or, a Ranchers Royalty AU. Take two.)'

February

"i ain't ever liked sweets (till you sugar-coated my teeth)" // 2,556 words

'a short, fluffy, plotless valentine's day rancher duo one-shot! :D'

March - June

these few months, i worked on personal projects and was in the thick of Golden Rings updates. so, nothing too exciting!

July

"how do you talk to a star?" // 1,285 words 'jimmy is in love with tango. he does not plan on telling him.' also, the last update i did on golden rings. maybe someday i'll get back to it, akfdjs

August - December

more personal projects! i had a few new AUs i never quite debuted that i created and cultivated with friends, wrote a little for them--but they weren't really enough to post, so. and that's all for the year! i appreciate everyone who's stuck around this long, even with my inactivity the past few months. i am hoping that with the new year, there will come new motivation to get back into it. posting all my little stories and ideas have both helped me realize i really am beyond in love with writing, AND i made lots of new friends along the way. :D been a pretty cool time! no pressure tag: @hitheeprithee! let me see your words, boy. thanks for reading, as always. :) <3 till next time.

#seasonalrambles #happy new year everyone!#thanks again for the tag worm :>

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galactic-pirates · 13 days

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For the Fanfiction Writing ask: 2, 18, 29, and 48, please! 😁

Yay thank you for the ask!

2) Where do you get your fic ideas? Ask me at the time and I'll know. Ask me now and I'm not sure. Some are obvious. Like if there's a specific prompt and then my brain chewed on it and lightning struck boom and it coalesced and came together into something.

As you are a Sanctuary friend let's take some of those fics:

Happy Ending = the song "this is the way that we love / like it's forever / and then live the rest of our lives / but not together" and I was like, make it fluffy. I don't know. I was just coming off writing Our Darkest Hour.

Choosing Fate / Time Will Tell = the tropes. I was like let's do an arranged marriage AU. Pretty sure I was watching Bridgerton at the time as well. And then I wanted to see if I could make Soulmates a trope I could like.

Life Without Purpose = for a Zombies in July event

Gentlemen of Blood = I was given the title, and had to think of a fic to go with it. That Bond quote by M came into my head of "when they say they have people everywhere, you don't expect one to be in the bloody room" plus the Sherlock Holmes movies.

I don't know, does that answer it a bit? My brain is a mess and it just needs prompting for it to spark basically.

18) Do you enjoy research? Which fic of yours required the most research? Nope I'm too lazy. I get easily frustrated. If I can't find the answer quickly I get annoyed. The internet is wonderful and I want to strangulate it sometimes. It's like I know the information must be there, but can I find it? It's no wonder I am drawn more and more to making my own worlds, because then I can just make everything up and don't have to worry about if I'm right or not. I just have to be consistent within my own story.

The aforementioned Happy Ending actually took a surprising amount of research, which to be honest probably ruined the fic because once I had all the stupid marriage details, I had to include them because I had bothered to look them up dammit. Haha, I know, why self? Also Odyssey: Future's Legacy had a lot of history in it and I had to make all the timelines line up. Let me tell you timezones + international travel = headache. I'm pretty sure Warehouse 13 never paid attention to travel times on the actual show but I made everything plausible.

29) What’s something about your writing that you’re proud of? Already answered here :)

48) Who is your favorite character to write for? Has this changed since you’ve started writing for that fandom? This is very close to question 41 (here).

Ok well let's go with Sanctuary fandom. I'm going to go left field and answer with Nigel. Which isn't exactly true but I will explain. Nigel is like the forgotten member of The Five a lot of the time. He's the one that didn't live until the 21st century and the one that isn't romantically linked with Helen. There's very little known about him and I was surprised and delighted as the more I referenced him, the more cohesive he felt in my mind. He got an actual personality, backstory, goals etc. So while Nigel isn't a favourite character, I do enjoy how I developed him.

Bonus question as you had a repeat!

11) Do you write scenes in order, or do you jump around? I'm a very linear writer. I literally can't write out of order. Sometimes this trips me up because I think if I sense that something I have written isn't right (aka the foundation is rocky) then I grind to a halt and stop making progress. Now with fanfic which I never tended to revise that heavily, that's fair enough - I'm not going to do a complete redraft but with original work? Ehhh.

It is generally speaking better to revise a complete draft, to see the entire picture. I can't recall where I first heard the expression but I have applied it to drafting ever since - "there's little point in polishing a turd" - aka, I don't know what I'm going to have to cut until I can look at the whole thing, so don't waste time polishing a scene that might not make it. But yeah getting frozen because I have to be linear, but something isn't right, but I shouldn't waste time fixing it - frustrated mental scream!

Oh another point! I have a friend that exclusively jumps around, I don't think they could write linearly if they tried. I have always wanted to ask them, but haven't dared in case they think I'm judging them (and I'm definitely not!), whether they find foreshadowing/thematic arcs/character emotional journey's etc. harder to write as it's out of order. For me, I can't imagine getting my head round it backwards but clearly people do it, so that's a me problem. But yeah no I have to be linear.

#long post #I answer things #sam talks writing

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blackbutler-readerinsertsandjunk · 7 months

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Could you please do joanne and o!ciel with a male reader, where the relationship is being kept a secret (due to same sex relationships being forbidden at that time)

Preferably each individually

aaaaaaa this made me sad :c

I tend to write in a universe that is, mh, a little lighter on the LGBT+phobia so that it isn't yet another thing for our poor babies to face, so, GAH MY HEART

This is, unfortunately, the way things must be right now. It’s not as if he wants to hide this big, important part of his life, but what’s the alternative? If this were public knowledge, not only would it have an impact on Ciel’s business, your reputation would also be tarnished. He doesn’t want either of those things to happen, because he cares about you deeply. You get flowers from him often, though, in the language that he can use to express his feelings without worry. (Red roses are a favorite, of course. Yellow acacia, white clover, and honey flower make appearances as well.) In addition, he’s without a doubt quite free to do as he likes with you in his own home — he’s given Sebastian the order to make sure this doesn’t get out, and his servants would never breathe a word. All that said… better safe than sorry. His eventual marriage to Lizzie is his cover for your relationship, and he suggests you seek out a similar arrangement. Until the rest of the world learns to mind their own business, he’s willing to set everything up just so in order to have a fraction of the life with you that other people have with their lovers. Even though it isn’t the full one that he wishes for, it’s what’s available. With that in mind, he’s a man who will take what he can get, and he will be working to pave the way for more tolerant mindsets where he’s able.

Ugh, this… this just isn’t fair! Why do people have to be so cruel, that they can’t just let others live their lives? It’s not as if you and he are hurting anyone or doing anything immoral! This poor man is just heartbroken that he can’t have what amounts to a normal life with you. It’s out of the question to go on outings while acting romantically, which wounds him in a way he can’t fully put words to. Despite the fact that he’s very much a shy, homebody type of person, he still wants to be able to go on afternoon strolls with you or sit under a tree reading. And the two of you can’t really do that without inviting negativity into your lives. He doesn’t want that; he can’t take it. So he just… stays home with you, trying to life as typical a life as is possible. His family, his parents and his older sister, are incredibly open-minded for their time, so he can at least do things like kiss you around them, as long as you two don’t go overboard. It’s intimate and sweet, but he’ll never be able to start a family with you like he desperately wants. All he can do is cuddle with you in front of the fire, reading every book the two of you can get your hands on… and pray that someday soon, attitudes will change. He… doesn’t know what he’ll do if he has to live his entire life with you so isolated and feeling as if he’s doing something wrong for simply being in love.

#homophobia tw #biphobia tw #Black Butler #Kuroshitsuji #Ciel #Joanne #reaction #romantic #drama #angst #GUHHHHHH MY HEART #I tagged both triggers for homophobia and biphobia because really it could be either one #I mean given that it's same gender relationships it's definitely homophobia #but it could also be a flavor of biphobia because even in a same gender relationship a bi person is still bi #and I tend to think of these two as bi/pan so like #idk does that make sense?? I'm bi myself and could easily see that ''same gender relationship ICK'' applied to bi people #BUT ANYWAY #my boys aaaaaaa ;-;#one hell of a queue

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idontwanttospoiltheparty · 1 year

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This is probably a dumb or unanswerable question but your answer about George's songwriting has me thinking about it again and I really do want to know. I understand intellectually the where the line is between songwriting and arranging in terms of labor, but I don't really understand how they can be different skill sets? Isn't part of writing a song figuring out how all the pieces fit together? To me it sounds like writing without arranging would be similar to writing beautiful sentences without being able to construct a paragraph?

Preface: I kind of misread your question at first so sorry for saying some things you probably already know, just find this fun to talk about :( I love the journey of creating art!!!

Most songwriting happens with a single instrument at hand or even none. It generally involves coming up with the main melody, the words, the chords, and perhaps something like a guitar solo. Cause of this it doesn't involve much imagining because one can as a single person create the song on its own, and many great songs are strong even when stripped to their bare bones – not all, some songs live off their arrangement which is fine! I think this is true for a lot of pop music nowadays tbh.

Take the Esher demo of While My Guitar Gently Weeps! It's great and shows incredible skill in lyricism and melody building, it transitions from minor to major absolutely beautifully and would be performable just like this.

youtube

The song is fully written here, apart from a few lyrical changes. We have the full structure, all the chords, and a basic idea for a descending bassline, which I'd say toes the line between arrangement and songwriting.

Arranging is mapping out every other instrument in detail, the vocal harmonies, studio effects you might want to use, possibly even how loud everything is. It's much more holistic and multi-disciplinary I'd say, requires knowledge of instruments one might not play or requires cooperation between instrumentalists. It's also a lot more free I'd say. There's more types of sound than types of melodies in our music, I'd say (that might differ from something like classical Indian music which uses multiple tunings and uses microtones more liberally, while generally keeping to a specific set of instruments afaik)*

*feel free to correct me on this if you know more.

That brings us to the final version of the song:

youtube

Now we've added a piano intro, we've figured out the percussion, we've brought in backing vocals in some places (but not everywhere!), the bass has a full fledged part, the rhythm guitar isn't the same as in the Esher demo. Balancing all these pieces together is, I'd say, entirely different from matching lyrics to melodies and chords.

Sometimes the writing and arranging happen simultaneously, which can blur the lines a bit, but they're very distinct skills IMO. It's what distinguishes the songwriter from the producer profession nowadays (less so in the 60s I think, and it's different with bands anyways, think more of modern pop solo songs here).

Two more fun before (pre-arranging) and afters (post-arranging) below the cut:

youtube

(skip to 0:43) The lyrics were still incomplete at this stage. The producers are actually shouting production/arrangement ideas live which is cool!

youtube

The final version has a completely different flow and a distinctive minimalist electro sound, which isn't discernible from Taylor's initial song. The instrumental is quite masterfully arranged to build tension throughout the song, making the background chords slowly get louder throughout the second verse, using ad libs in the final chorus.

That being said the song still sounds great with just her and a guitar.

Another interesting example: Real Love

youtube

John did do a fair amount of his own arranging in this version – his piano part is fully developed and he recorded a simple tambourine. Still, this is incomparable to what Paul, George and Ringo would eventually do with it:

youtube

John is the sole credited writer of this song, yet obviously he had no hand in its final arrangement, though his piano playing definitely guided the other three.

Would John have done the same with it? Who knows. Would it have been as good? Who knows.

#hope this answered your question like i said i cant read :(#ask #anon #music talk #fiona.docx

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mermaidsirennikita · 1 year

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I feel like I’ve really been struggling to find books that I enjoy/am super excited to read. Can you recommend any books that you love or that have helped you get out of a reading slump? Contemporary/historical/paranormal are all great! Thank you!

Yeah, for sure! I haven't been in a true slump for a while. I have been through a bit of a book hangover these past few days just because I keep wanting to reread what I read before versus committing to new stuff, but that's different. I will say that I think combining audiobooks and standard reading has helped me avoid slumps. But audiobooks aren't for everyone, obviously!

Anyway, here's a lot of books with more info than you needed.

Okay, so.... I've been trying to lay off ranting about them too much because I still have friends who need to read them, and I'm working on a powerpoint/intro thing about them, but it's hard because Mila Finelli's Kings of Italy series is like. The best shit I've read in a while. Easily the most a series has consumed me since the next series I'll mention, which I read around October of last year--and it's a lot shorter, so it's easier to read through. I literally just ran through these books like a madwoman. I read through the wee hours of the morning; I read on a bus with a weird individual reading over my shoulder; I read on the subway; I read waiting for the subway; I read on a bench; I read in a restaurant while doing a solo bottomless brunch which was one of the most transcendentally peaceful experiences of my life. And now I've just been reading again, and trying to convince myself not to get the audiobooks because that would be RIDICULOUS but IS IT??? IS IT THO???

The series should be read in order, imo, and the first two books are a full duet, so not standalones. What I think makes this series stand out, aside from the emotionality combined with eroticism (these are.... definitely among the very hottest books I've ever read) is the choice to focus on the mafia in Italy, versus the mafia in America, which is what a lot of mafia books do (from what I'm told). So you get like, actually Italian characters and culture, versus Eyetalian (the Americans that love chicken parm and have their own unique culture that is nonetheless *nothing* like Italy Italians, who to be fair have many different cultural nuances due to the regionality of Italy, dialectal differences, economic--). I'm not Italian, but I have lived in a couple different parts of Italy and make it a priority to travel there whenever it's possible (which isn't often because money, but if I can I do it). The dudes in these books feel like Italian men, albeit with obligatory romance novel exaggeration. In most romances, they feel Eyetalian.

Mafia Mistress and Mafia Darling are about Fausto Ravazzani and Frankie Mancini; he is a don in Siderno, her dad is a part of a Toronto branch of the organization who runs afoul of him, Frankie is basically given to Fausto's son and heir Giulio in marriage. But before Giulio and Frankie can marry (she is not happy about this arranged marriage thing, and tbh neither is Giulio) Fausto decides "fuck it, she and I are vibing, she's not a virgin anyway, she's gonna be my new mistress" because Fausto is That Guy. It is age gap, it is very daddy, it has a heroine who's like defiant but is she really? Because she really does love the daddy thing. There is spanking and some light degradation and rough sex and a loooot of spoiling. And also DRAMA. If you have ever wanted to try an age gap romance.... this shit nails everything I personally love about it. Fausto is classy and old school and will also cut a man up into a million pieces and feed him to dogs, probably.

Mafia Madman, my favorite in the series, comes next, and it is a VILLAIN ROMANCE. The villain of the previous duet, Enzo D'Agostino, kidnaps Frankie's sister Gia as a part of a REVENGE PLOT, because he is both very smart and incredibly cracked. Like, my dude is living on a VILLAINOUS YACHT. His plan is to keep Gia in a cage and break her will and then dot dot dot, he hasn't thought it COMPLETELY THROUGH, but then! Gia turns out to be the greatest weakness for a man such as he: a FUCKIN' BRAT. This bitch is doing naked yoga in her cage, she's telling him all the filthy things she'll do to him (not that she waaaants to ohhh nooooooo, she haaaates him especially when he DOES STUFF to her), she's driving him out of his mind which is already very tenuous! A new classic for me, I can't stop thinking about it, and again, even better if you read the first two books first (and they're absolute bangers so you should). 15/10, would stay in the cage. Enzo and Gia are a perfect match of wills, and watching them break and fall in love is gorgeous. A top tier grovel, too, if you see

Mafia Target, the most recent release, also incredible. This one follows Giulio, Fausto's oldest son, who's hot as fuck, and naturally a MAFIA TARGET. Someone, someone whose name perhaps rhymes with Schmenzo, has in fact taken out a hit on Giulio (and semi forgotten about it? Because Gia's pussy is God? Gia fucked that man so good he deadass forgot about a really important mafia hit he put out? I love them) and has hired the best assassin in the game, Alessio Ricci. Anyway, Giulio sees a guy in the club, he gets head from him, as he does, and then he's advised that Alessio Ricci is trying to kill him and realizes THE GUY IN THE CLUB WHO SUCKED HIM OFF WAS ALESSIO RICCI LMAO. Anyway, this one is a extremely hot, extremely emotional, and probably the most straightforwardly romantic book in the series? Because Giulio and Alessio are better at Feelings than Fausto and Enzo, if still very Bad At Feelings. Another top fuckin' tier grovel. (For the record, Fausto does a good grovel in his duet, but imo the subsequent books have better grovels.)

These books are pEAK. And if you're interested in an historical series by the same author with a different name to break you out of your slump--Mila Finelli is Joanna Shupe, and I'd recommend reading her Uptown Girls trilogy for slump breakage. I also love love LOVE her Fifth Avenue Rebels series, but Uptown Girls might be a bit more... compulsively readable? The similarities and differences between her historicals and her mafia books are fascinating (Clay Madden -> Enzo D'Agostino... there is a pipeline).

The other series (and I do feel like a good series is a great slump breaking tactic, because if the series is good you domino them) I find incredibly readable is, of course, Kresley Cole's Immortals After Dark. There are like, 19 books in this series, I enjoyed all of them though some are stronger than others. They are probably best read in order. I just blazed through them, but you could always read a few, break, read a few, break.

Of course, Lisa Kleypas's Wallflowers is a great historical series. I also find her Gamblers of Craven's duology so so good from a duology POV, and I say this as someone who read Dreaming of You by itself and read Then Came You years later.

Lorraine Heath is obviously incredible. I'd read her Once Upon a Dukedom series for slump breakage; I adore the first book as one of my favorites of hers, and the second is a general fan favorite.

Tracey Livesay has an amazing contemporary called American Royalty, which is about a British prince falling in love with an American rapper. It's very "Harry and Meghan if Meghan was MEGAN (Thee Stallion)" and it's super hot and lovely. The sequel is out this summer, so you might wanna get a head start!

Heated Rivalry and The Long Game by Rachel Reid are two of my favorite contemporaries ever--and it's a duet! Focuses on Ilya Rozanov (cocky, charming, self-assured) and Shane Hollander (golden boy, uptight, anxious), hockey arch rivals who have been hooking up on the DL since their rookie season. Very much a FEEEEELINGS duet, but also very, very hot. I've read both a billion times.

The Queer Principles of Kit Webb and The Perfect Crimes of Marian Hayes (in that order) by Cat Sebastian is a pair of queer historicals that can be read as standalones but read better together and in order. Kit is a retired highwayman who's approached by Percy, a nobleman. Percy and his stepmother, Marian, need Kit's help to rob Percy's father; in the process of training Percy to do it, Kit, of course, falls in love with him. Percy is one of the more relatable characters ever, he is a BITCH AND A HALF LOL.

Something Fabulous and Something Spectacular (out today!) are a pair of hilarious queer historical romcoms by Alexis Hall. Begins with Something Fabulous, which is about Valentine (a duke!) proposing horrifically to a woman he's been pledged to since childhood. She responds by running away, and Valentine goes on a cross country adventure to catch her, alongside her twin brother, Bonny--who he begins falling for.

Lush Money by Angelina M. Lopez. Self-made lady billionaire wants a baby, and convinces a prince of an impoverished nation to marry and impregnate her in exchange for a financial bailout. HOT. ENEMIES TO LOVERS. INSANE.

Nobody's Baby But Mine by Susan Elizabeth Phillips, for an older contemporary. A fucking insane book wherein a genius scientist tricks an aging NFL star into knocking her up so that she can have a baby of middling intelligence, who's "normal". Her thought process is that she's super smart and he's super dumb, so they'll make an a average kid. Except oops, this motherfucker is actually QUITE smart, and when he figures out her deal he's like "nO KID OF MINE WILL BE A BASTARD" and forces her to marry him. Has a scene where he shows up at the class she's teaching, leans against the doorway, and menacingly goes "CLASS IS OVER" and honestly? It worked real hard.

Priest by Sierra Simone. Erotic romance about a Catholic priest who starts getting worked up by the woman telling him all this dirty shit during confessional, except they actually fall legit in love and there's some really gorgeous religious pondering throughout.

Queen Move by Kennedy Ryan. Childhood friends torn apart by circumstance meet again later and feel sparks, but she's a hardcore political fixer and he has a id and a baby's mother. Angsty drama and reconnection, I fuckin love it.

Ruby Dixon's Aspects and Anchors series, which is a cross-universe fantasy romance series in which the heroines get thrown through portals into this high fantasy world. They basically have to serve these gods as their tethers to the mortal realms, and obviously... the gods fall for them. Can be read a standalones but I'd read them in order. Hot, romantic, and fun in a way Ruby Dixon excels at.

Preferential Treatment by Heather Guerre is a romance about a woman who becomes her CEO billionaire boss's dom. It's hot, it debates whether or not a billionaire can be ethical, and he gets. on. his. kneeees.

#romance novel blogging #book recs

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the-musings-of-a-manga-reader · 9 months

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Koko wa Ima kara Rinri desu

"Koko wa Ima kara Rinri desu" or "From Now on We Begin Ethics", is a psychological, philosophical drama series following an ethics teacher and the students in his ethics class. Each chapter focuses on one of the students and a conflict they are struggling with. The cast of characters changes every few volumes as the old cast moves up a grade or graduates, allowing for brand-new characters with different beliefs and struggles.

This series deals with a lot of different topics and struggles. Ranging from rape to self-harm, to bullying, to female masturbation. It truly has a wide arrange of topics being discussed. Each of these affects a specific student and Mr. Takayanagi tries his best to help the student in whatever way he can, usually applying what they had learned in the ethics class to the situation.

However, it isn't just the students we see struggling. We watch Mr. Takayanagi, himself, struggle, knowing that he can only do so much for these students. He can only provide help if they are receptive to it and even then how much is he able to do? He’s only an ethics teacher. He’s not a therapist or their parents. He must still keep an appropriate barrier between them and himself as their teacher, as an adult with authority.

I think this conflict is best shown in chapter 7.

(Spoilers for chapter 7)

We have a male student who is clearly struggling. His home life isn’t good, dealing with abuse and most likely neglect. He does not receive love and affection so he seeks it from those who are nice to him, the people he feels he can trust. One of those people is Mr. Takayanagi. We watch him cling to Mr. Takayanagi's arm, and grab his hand. He also displays these behaviors around the nurse who he's also close with. He isn’t doing this out of romantic or sexual intentions. Instead, he is seemingly using these touches as a source of comfort.

The nurse sees no issue with this but Mr. Takayanagi points out two main problems with allowing these interactions.

1. Is it fair? We allow one student to be physically affectionate with a teacher, but then not allow the others. How would that look? Would it be seen as showing favoritism?

2. What if the student was a girl instead? How would it look if a female student was clinging and touchy with her older male teacher? How would outsiders view it? Would it be seen as inappropriate? Is this situation only seeming okay because it’s a male teacher and a male student?

But of course, what happens if you avoid the affection? Mr. Takayanagi tries just that with not-so-great results. First evading the student when he tries to grab his arm. The student noticing this gets upset and runs away crying. Later, there’s a moment between Mr. Takayanagi and the student, where the student is visibly upset. Crying, maybe having a panic/anxiety attack, and simply asking for a hug. Mr. Takayanagi hesitates and this makes everything even worse, upsetting the student further, as they likely see this as a form of rejection and assume it's their fault.

How should Mr. Takayanagi have handled the situation? In the end, he did hug the student but was that the appropriate response? The teacher is shown to be in inner turmoil and visibly upset in the last few pages, questioning what he should have done.

It's situations like this, that we see take place in the series. Making you question what the best or most ethical solution would have been.

Another point that this manga showcases and which I think is very important, is that Mr. Takayanagi knows when something is out of his realm. He knows that in certain cases he isn’t the best person to help a student.

In chapters 27-28 (Spoilers for those chapters), we have a student who is violent, has a lack of empathy, loves the sight of blood, and wants to kill. The student even asks Mr. Takayanag, “Why is murder wrong?”. After witnessing the aftermath of the student’s brutal assault on an upperclassman, Mr. Takayanagi realizes that this isn’t something that he should handle, so he takes the student to a counselor. Someone whose job it is to help people like him. Getting the kid some professional help. I think that it takes a lot for a person to acknowledge that they aren’t the best person for a situation and to seek help from someone else.

Who knows what would have happened if he had tried to solve the situation himself. One wrong word and it could have ended in someone's death

Overall I think this series delves into some important topics and really shows how ethics is used in real-life situations. Something to also note is that while each chapter covers a character, we don’t always see the end result. However, in this case, I find that to be fine, it makes sense to not see the resolution to these conflicts. In some cases, this could take a very long time and as we're seeing this through Takayanagi and his ethics class, it makes sense for us the readers to not know how something ends, as Takayanagi himself doesn't know either.

If you're someone who can handle darker topics I really do recommend this series. I think it brings attention to some important topics and makes some great points. However please be aware that it could possibly be triggering for some people.

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greighish · 1 year

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Shen Wei... Shen Wei... ... Kill me! Kill me!

10,000 years could pass and I will still have not recovered from this scene. I mean, he's saying I don't want to live in a world where he isn't... I want to go wherever he's gone to, so kill me.

This only works in fiction, for me, but, damn if it doesn't work.

Forty episodes of Guardian complete. It continued to be engaging until the very end, which is not an easy feat. That said, I am not sure I understand the ending. I get it, but I think they left some important things on the cutting room floor.

I never did get around to liking Guo Changcheng. But can I say that the scene with him having tea with the women doesn't make sense and it feels like the adaptation team felt the need to include a specific scene from the novel but they needed to pass censorship and that's what they came up with. I could be very wrong as I haven't read the novel, but Chu Shuzhi waiting impatiently to drag his friend/teammate away from a matchmaking scene doesn't make nearly as much sense as him waiting to drag his boyfriend away from the scene. And even before that, why was he there in the first place? No matter their relationship, why is he just (not) chillin' in the background?

Zhu Hong annoyed me for a bit wondering why Zhao Yunlan didn't return her feelings. And this is possibly a cultural divide, but as far as I could see, she never explicitly made her feelings known--until the dream. And even knowing how perceptive her chief was, I think it's unfair to leave it to the other person to interpret your actions to your liking. If you want someone to pick up what you're putting down, you're better off just handing it to them. That aside, I liked her. Other than what I see as a lack of communication, I never questioned her actions; everything she did as a character made sense for her, even when she when she was lamenting about Zhao Yunlan, though not quite fair, it made sense from her perspective. Moreover, her future path is the only one I understand.

I don't have a precise understanding of what anyone else on the team is doing with their life post-split. And if it was trying to be one of those "leave it to the audience to decide" endings, it failed spectacularly by being simultaneously too vague and too specific.

Shen Wei and Ye Zun... I have complicated feelings about what I don't know. Family bonds are weird, so I can't say that their fate doesn't make sense, but I also don't think whatever it is is gonna be healthy.

Lin Jing and Da Qing in Zhao Yunlan's apartment?

Guo Changcheng being the only remaining team member walking through HQ and that mini-me Chu Shuzhi?

But the one I'm most confused about is... the real Chief Zhao?

I feel like I might rupture my cerebral cortex if I don't stop there. I want to scream, but I'm also pretty certain that if I just wait for the novel, my questions will be answered. But is it fair to ask a viewer to fill in the blanks from the original work? Be it a loose or faithful adaptation, it should be able to stand on it's own. And for the most part it did; however, it failed to at the most crucial moments.

That said, on the whole I enjoyed the story and while I won't watch it again, I am looking forward to reading the novel(s). I could take or leave most of the performances, but Zhu Yilong, Bai Yu, and Jiang Mingyang really did it for me.

Finally, I have to say something that is really unbelievable coming from me because I usually do not comprehend people's faces as being attractive or otherwise, and the times when I do acknowledge it, it's usually fleeting; however Zhu Yilong is unbelievably beautiful. I cannot stop thinking about his face and his subtle and brief expressions. I just don't understand what's happening with the symmetry and general arrangement of his features, but I am honestly and utterly captivated. This might be a problem.

#guardian spoilers #shen wei #zhao yunlan #da qing #zhu hong #guo changcheng #lin jing #chu shuzhi #bai yu #ye zun #zhu yilong #jiang mingyang #speaking of jiang mingyang... his headshot on mydramalist reminds me of that one image of benjamin bratt #guardian #himi's watching

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gutsfics · 1 year

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Meet My ILITW MC: Devi Casil

DOB: October 3, 1999 (current age- 23) Date of Death: September 30, 2017 (age- 17) Date of Reanimation: Mid-September 2021 Series: It Lives LI: Noah Marshall Pronouns: He/him

Fun Fact: He didn't talk at all for just over six years after Jane died.

Personality

Devi is good-natured and cheerful and he loves to joke around and make people laugh, although he can be a bit immature at times (i.e telling Cody to gargle his dick and balls). Although he's very friendly when approached, he tends to keep to himself. He also bottles his emotions up to hell and back. He is severely traumatized from Jane's death and should see a therapist about it. He has not.

He's very artistic and his favorite classes in school were any and all art classes. He also knows a lot about plants from his parents and is really good at foraging.

He doesn't make promises often any more, but he takes them very, very seriously.

He is bisexual and genderqueer.

Family

Devi is the youngest of four, and was a surprise baby. His siblings are ten, nine, and seven years older than him. He has two sisters, Mona Lisa and Sloane, and a brother, Cab. His parents are named Ares and Toshiko (敏子). They own and run a landscaping and floral arrangement business together which they opened when Devi started grade school, although Ares was a stay-at-home-dad when the kids were young enough to need him home 24/7. Toshiko has a doctorate in botany from the University of Tokyo. Because he has three fairly older siblings, Ares and Toshiko's parenting style was pretty relaxed with Devi and they kind of essentially just let him do whatever. Sometime after ILITW but before ILB, his parents become aware of the Power, although they don't know much about it and do not know that he isn't fully gone.

Depending on which ILW ending I'm writing for at any given moment, Devi and Noah may or may not be happily married & running a restaurant together.

Death and Revival

The moment Devi learned that the ghost was Jane and not Redfield, he knew he had to be the one to take her place, to make up for his broken promise. Like in canon, he asks Jane to let him have a fair fight with Noah, but unlike canon he does this to snap Noah out of whatever kind of hold Jane had on her so Noah wouldn't blame himself for his death. Him making a conscious choices to replace Jane is part of the reason why he has an easier time holding onto his humanity than Jane and Redfield did.

If Devi had been more lucid as a ghost, he would have told Noah not to try to bring him back, and that he should move on and let him be dead in peace. But he wasn't so he didn't/couldn't. However he is grateful to have a second chance at life, even though he was brought back in the middle of everything going to complete shit. Devi's Cool New Body does not have his piercings, dyed hair, or stick and poke tattoos, but he does have a scar across his face from the knife fight with Noah from his left cheekbone to just above the right corner of his mouth. Although he does recover from being dead in decent time, he never really fully recovers and he starts using a cane by his mid 20s.

Other

No matter which ILW route I do, he is always my ILITW MC. He is also always Redfielded with the exception of a single au wherein Noah sacrifices himself by pushing Devi away.

#It Lives In The Woods #ILITW MC #it lives anthology #oc: Devfield

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thatforgottenbasilisk · 3 months

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something about shattered glass

Words: 1557 (AO3)

Summary:

Kurogiri remembers his dreams perfectly. He also knows exactly when he is dreaming, and when he is awake. They are always the same: a conversation with a boy who is eternally seventeen.

My twenty second bad things happen bingo entry! Prompt: Restraining Bolt

Kurogiri sometimes wonders if it's unusual for him to be aware of when he's dreaming.

He's heard idle talk of "lucid dreaming," only in passing, in inane small talk that people make around the bar. They say it's about knowing when you're dreaming, and being able to influence your environment within the dream- but he's never known a time when he hasn't been aware of when he's dreaming and when he isn't. Maybe that's another thing that he should write off as another oddity caused by his unknown past, or "unusual" quirk.

He also has the same dream every night, with little variation. Is that unusual too, he wonders? Do others have different dreams? How do they keep track?

It's nothing too pressing, of course, and there's no use dwelling on it. It's an interesting question, something neutral that takes up his thoughts when there's nothing else to do.

He supposes that dreams are always odd, no matter who's having them. Maybe his own are that much more so, due to the circumstances around his brain and memories and everything. Amnesia may cause changes in dreams, changes in brain operation, personality, he knows this. The Doctor told him that when he awoke for the first time in his memory.

It was a long time ago, now; about fifteen years since Sensei found him, presumably saved him from some sort of awful conditions- he'd never asked about his past, even when he'd had the chance to. He's curious, of course, though not nearly to the extent that he sometimes thinks that he should be. He's been content where he is, serving drinks in his bar and raising Tomura into a good successor for Sensei's empire.

He doesn't think it's anything less than a fair trade, for him to serve the man who saved his life. He doesn't mind the work, and he is proud of some of the things that Tomura has grown to accomplish in his life now that he's grown up.

He thinks he used to hate it, though; something in him used to scream at the very idea of working for a villain, though he hasn't got the faintest idea why. He thinks that whatever incident caused the amnesia may have also had an effect on his moral compass- or perhaps that change has come with circumstance.

Something still irks him about doing the dirty work himself, though; he's rarely asked to dispose of anything untoward, but on the occasion that he is, he's always much more reluctant to comply. It's like something older than himself is fighting the very idea, like some other person inside of him is so violently against it that it affects the rest of his reasoning so heavily. No, no, he mans his bar and cares for his ward, anything other than that is... outside of his job description, shall he say.

At the moment, though, he merely provides transportation for Tomura and his operations, which he isn't nearly as opposed to as Sensei's, possibly because he views Tomura as being in his care, still, even though he is now a legal adult.

Kurogiri isn't doing any of that at the moment, though. He finishes wiping down the counter, and arranges the barstools on top of it, the same as he does every night; he looks over the room, making sure he hasn't missed anything, and flips the lights off. He's sure that Tomura is still wide awake in his room, but that's nothing of concern at the moment. He gets himself ready for bed, and merely raps on Tomura's bedroom door to remind him that it is getting late and time does, indeed, still pass when he plays his games.

-----

He is standing in a plain white room. In front of him is an equally white table, with two steaming mugs in front of the two chairs sitting opposite each other. He sits in the one on his right; the one on the left is already occupied.

"Shirakumo." He nods at the boy sitting across from him in the other chair, reaching out for the mug in front of him. He seems much calmer than he used to be, when they'd first met within this realm of sleep.

"Kurogiri." Shirakumo nods back, but does not make eye contact. He rarely does, now, this quiet avoidance having come with the calmness hard-won from time. Still, Kurogiri is glad that they are no longer coming to blows; his days are exciting enough, he does not need more conflict in his dreams.

"Any interesting crimes today?" Shirakumo asks with no small amount of venom, and Kurogiri knows that tonight will not be one of the pleasant nights. Sometimes, on occasion, he and Shirakumo have been able to get along; they haven't done so since before Tomura's USJ attack, but they did, once. He suspects that Shirakumo holds a grudge over his participation in that.

"Only if you count unlicensed quirk use. I threw some brawlers out of my bar, otherwise, no. Today has been quiet."

Shirakumo brings his mug to his lips, and says nothing. Kurogiri does the same.

It's tea, this time. Oolong. One of the few varieties that he dislikes. He suspects that it may have been Shirakumo's preferred variety.

"He's older than I was. He's older than I ever got to be. Why..." Shirakumo trails off, not sure in what he wants to ask other than "why?" He still isn't looking at Kurogiri, eyes trained on a random point to the side.

"Why was he so lucky?"

"No. I know he wasn't. Why am I still... why was I ever your equal? You spoke to me as a fellow adult, when nobody else did, even in life- you know what you are. You will always be older than me, always growing and changing, and I will always be the same."

Kurogiri puts his mug down. He'd been holding it for its warmth, but the question demands his full attention. It demands empty hands.

"Because you did not deserve this. To be me. I did not deserve to lose my memory, to wake up with only the knowledge that something had been done to me, but you had it worse. You did not deserve to die."

"I'm not dead. My body is alive. You would know."

"Yet you are as static as a ghost. You are aware of what I live through, what I do, and yet you can do nothing about it. You cannot even make me aware of your presence until I am asleep. I am sorry, Shirakumo, but though you may not be dead, you are as good as."

Shirakumo holds still, eerily so. He appears to be contemplating his answer, turning it over in his head. Finally, he asks, "Do you know? Do you know what you are?"

Kurogiri sighs, softly, and replies, "An experiment gone wrong, I think. An accident. I was found like this- "

"No you weren't."

It's not like Shirakumo to interrupt. He didn't do it even back in the beginning, when he was angry and grieving for himself and everyone else he didn't know the fates of. He would choose not to listen, of course, but never did he interrupt.

"I remember what you don't, Kurogiri. I should have asked you years ago, if you remembered, but I guess I'd just assumed that you did. I'm... I don't think I should tell you. Now that I know."

Kurogiri is quietly confused. Just what could be so bad that Shirakumo feels the need to hide it from him?

"Very well. I was not found like this, then. Am I to assume that the Doctor had a hand in me, then? Sensei, perhaps?"

Shirakumo traces the edge of his mug with a finger, mulling over the questions. "... Yes. They did. I won't go into detail about it."

"... It does no good to dwell on the past."

"It doesn't, you're right."

"Still. I feel this information will be useful in the future. For Tomura."

Shirakumo's head darts up, looking Kurogiri in the eyes for the first time in a very long while. "Just what are you planning on doing? Why would he benefit from this?"

"It is always good to know who to trust, and who not to. He is as close to a son as any can get, Shirakumo. I will not put him in danger that can be avoided."

-----

Kurogiri sits bolt upright in his bed, the dream having come to a sudden and unceremonious end.

The clock still shows the time as being in the early hours of the morning, when neither he nor Tomura would normally be awake just yet. That's quite alright, in his opinion- it gives him enough time to prepare.

He knows that Sensei and the Doctor are planning something to do with Tomura. It has to do with encouraging him to kidnap one of the students in the UA Sports Festival, though he doubts that any particular student matters more than another.

He does not think that he wants this plan to come to pass.

It will be difficult, of course, to convince Tomura to abandon Sensei; more difficult still to hide the both of them. He will try it, though, because though Tomura is not technically his own, he is in all the ways that matter.

#mha #mha fic #my writing #something about shattered glass #something about shattered glass fic

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