#This was written on the 21st btw

[marko-the-yellow-cat]

[It is the night of the 25th. The sounds of a tired cult getting into their tents after a hard day's work can be heard from a distance. Loggers hang up their axes, miners their pickaxes. The farmers, the majority of the cultists, especially tired after having to clear the snow from their plots again, wish each other prosperity in the following months.]

[In a hut on the western side of the village is a nursery, equipped to care for the eggs of the cultists. One of the people working here, a blue rabbit, is about to walk out the door when she hears something; a rustle of so quiet she almost didn't pay notice to it. She writes it off as it being a rat before she hears it again, and notices the egg in the middle of the nursery shake.]

[She goes over and pets it for a second, thinking that maybe it just didn't get it's attention today. This seems to satiate it, and she's on the way out again when she hears the egg shake again. She realizes with a start what's happening.]

[Marko’s egg is hatching.]

( @ask-thegreencrown I'll send you an ask about this soon :3)

[swinging-stars-from-satellites]

Bury the Dead (with a Stitch Through the Stars)

@inklings-challenge

1.

though my soul may set in darkness, it will rise in perfect light

i have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night

[The Old Astronomer To His Pupil, Sarah Williams]

Thirsty.

It’s the only thing she can think. It’s all dark and her eyes are sticky shut and she’s so thirsty. It isn’t supposed to make a sound.

Her eyes flicker open to the weak barking whine that come out of her without meaning to. “Thirsty,” she whines, though it’s not supposed to sound like that. When she blinks the stickiness from her eyes a person comes into view, blurry at first. It isn’t one she recognizes. She hopes this one won’t hurt her. She hopes this one will help her.

“Ah, there you are,” says the person in a soft rumbly voice. It’s a man with strangely colored eyes and a wiry beard speckled and striped with white around his mouth. He presses a hand to her back, making her shiver, and she sits up almost surprised to have been lying like that. 

“Alright, there you go,” says this careful man. He tips his head in a question she cannot answer, then quickly walks away. She wants to follow him, instinctively, but thinks she does not have the strength. So she just whimpers. There is no one else to hear her. But it’s as if that calls the man back, because he returns with a worried look and holding a small clear cup. She can nearly smell the liquid inside it, can taste it already, and finds her limbs flailing as she reaches for it. 

The strange man holds up a finger. She knows that that means wait. She forces herself to still and the man smiles behind his beard. That’s good, isn’t it? 

“Drink it slowly,” he says. “Don’t shock your system. You’ll feel very thirsty for a while, but you had an IV the entire time to keep you hydrated.”

She isn’t sure what most of that means, but she tries to drink the cool, sweet water slowly like he said. She wants this man to be happy with her. She dips her tongue into the cup first, as if to lap it up, and ends up spilling much of it when her hands fumble. 

“Careful, now,” chuckles the man. He has a familiar rolling accent, and she both knows and does not know the language he speaks in. “You were a part of the younger batch, but your charts didn’t show a name,” he says once she has sipped down all of the water. “You can call me Daniel,” he continues. “and you are?”

She tips her head sideways. There is only a piece of something she thinks may have been a name, once. “I don’t know,” she tries to say, her voice raspy from dis- and mis-use. 

The man, Daniel, nods. He turns and writes something down somewhere. She tenses at this. This is familiar. She doesn’t think this is good. “That’s perfectly alright,” Daniel reassures her, though. “Amnesia is a noted side effect of this type of cryogenic inducement, especially at these rates.”

She tries to clear her throat. It sounds like a growl. “Is it… forever?” She asks. It does not bother her. She would just like to know, since it seems that she can ask. 

Daniel hesitates, tipping first one shoulder up and then the other, one side and then the next, like swaying back and forth. “Most often, no. It can be permanent in some cases, but usually it’s a case of time and patience. You’ll be fine,” he says kindly. “Do you have a name you would like me to call you in the meantime?” 

She thinks of the last warm voice she remembers. It fades in and out of her memory, black and white. “I think…” she licks her lips. “Lai?” And watches for a reaction. 

Daniel nods. He writes another thing down, maybe her name? And smiles. “It’s good to meet you, Lai. I’ve already told you my name. I’m this vessel’s generational medic. If you have any health concerns, you may come to me anytime. And since you seem to be suffering from post-cryosleep memory loss, let me explain:

“We are aboard the mid-journey ship Aleya, en route to an experimental colony on the upper edges of the star Earendel’s solar range. As you likely learned in school before your boarding, if you remember that, humans can only stay in a cryogenized state for so long before bodily systems begin to break down, so this journey has been planned in stages. You and I will not see the light of Earendel in our lifetimes.” His voice quietens at this, a wry smile faintly visible in his eyes if not his mouth. “This generation will grow old and reproduce and raise each other so that when they are of a safe age, the next can go to sleep knowing they will wake in their new home.” 

Lai sits very still, watching Daniel intently. All of what he is saying sounds very big. Big words she does not know, big ideas she can’t understand, but what she does hear is that what they are doing is big, very big, bigger than anything she’s done before. “I’m… important?” She hears herself say, strange raspy high voice she isn’t used to. 

Daniel nods, smiles again. She likes that. The smile directed at her, mostly, but also the being important. She thinks she’s been told that before. She thinks it’s nice. She tips her head. “So what now?” She questions. There must be more beyond this space they’re in. How much is there she can’t see? From what Daniel said, everything seems very vast. She isn’t sure about that.

Daniel breathes out thoughtfully. “There are semi-private living quarters enough for everyone onboard this craft. You were the last of the batch to come out of cryo, so I will escort you to re-meet the rest of them, so you won’t run the risk of getting lost. Do you feel strong enough to walk a slight distance?” 

She hesitates, then nods. She believes she can manage, but Daniel still has to steady her for a moment when she slides from the cot she was on. Standing on two feet feels strange. She looks up at Daniel, nervously licking her lips. She sneezes.

“будь здоро́ва,” Daniel chuckles as Lai stares at him, wide-eyed. She feels her face form into a grin, teeth showing and all.

“мой родной язык,” She exclaims in kind. My mother tongue! 

Daniel nods thoughtfully. “I thought as much. It’s mine as well, ancestrally at least.” He says the last as an aside, half quietly and looking off as it at nothing before his gaze fixes back onto Lai. “Shall we go?” He holds out his hand in beckoning and from instinct, Lai reaches out and takes it. Daniel watches this, puzzled, but does not pull his hand away and she is grateful. 

He leads her into a long, high-roofed hallway, walking slowly as if he worries she cannot keep up. But she does. She follows him by the hand through the tall white halls, head turned wonderingly up to see the ceiling, tiled in reflective blue. “What is that?” She asks softly. 

Daniel follows her gaze up. “Ah. Stained glass,” he says. “This hall ends in the chapel, if you were to return the way we’ve just come,” he explains. “The stained glass lights the way. I like to think it offers some semblance of hope, as well. The rest of the Aleya is not so artful.” 

The blue-ceilinged hall opens into a wide, vast place that immediately dizzies her when she reaches it, and she grasps onto Daniel’s hand harder. There are platforms at all levels around the edges of the tall, too tall walls, some wrapping all the way as far as she can see and disappearing into halls that must be similar to the one they’ve just emerged from. She gasps softly taking it all in, layers upon layers of floors and platforms, small forms moving around atop them and at the bottom, maybe a real floor. There are dozens of enormous glass windows, filled with inky blackness broken up by specks and swirls of light. It’s familiar. It scares her. It’s all she can see. 

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Asks Daniel softly. She looks up at him again, eyes pleading, don’t leave me, keep me safe. “Are you okay?”

Lai shudders. “это огромно,” She whispers. It’s vast.

Daniel hums and nods. “действительно.” Indeed, he tells her. “It’s our whole world.” 

He leads her across the platforms in a complicated thread where her feet stutter and hesitate at times. She follows blindly, still staring around at this place, so big, so cold. She can hardly wrap her head around it. The sky outside is so dark, but is it still the sky with them in it? She doesn’t know. She isn’t sure she wants to know. The sky is their whole world, it seems.

They turn down another hall, plain ceiling tiles above them instead of stained glass. She follows them with her eyes, losing count every few, and follows Daniel by sound. His footsteps are steady, steady, then stop and Lai finds herself in a more shadowy room, where there’s a rustle of blended sounds and smaller doors that lead off into who knows where.

There are more people in there, in varying states of motion. A man with dark skin sits on a rounded, cushioned bench frowning and squinting at a flat, glowing object in his hand. Two children hover behind a different man who stands in a corner speaking to a woman with green eyes. In a chair near a doorway there is a girl with curly hair holding a book, turned sideways with her legs thrown over the arm of the chair. Scattered all about the room are little metal bottles that she is sure are full of water. 

“Last one?” Asks the dark skinned man, looking up. He sets down the glowing thing and stands. “Took a while, didn’t it?” 

“She did,” Daniel agrees, lightly squeezing Lai’s hand before letting go. She tries to not be upset at that. But then he puts his hand on her shoulder and it warms her. “This is Lai. She’s suffering from a touch of post-freeze memory loss, so if someone would like to help her settle in…” 

The girl with the book unfolds herself from the chair. “I’ve got her, doctor,” She says in a lilting accent. “There is a bed in our cabin anyway, with Marla and her sister as well.” She offers Lai a smile. “I’m Esperanza.” 

“Hello,” Lai says. This girl is taller than her, moves strangely. Her hair is long and curly. Lai thinks she is interesting. 

“I will leave you to settle in,” says Daniel. Lai turns to watch him go and wishes he wouldn’t leave. “Желаю вам удачи,” He says in their shared first language. I wish you good luck. 

[niteshade925]

"I don't like how you discuss this person in ancient history. I suggest you read this source which I consider to be very reliable because it has been very popular. In fact I am very angry at the fact that you are discussing ancient history in this way."

"Uh.....wait wait you suggested a source because it was.......popular?"

"Yes, it must have been popular for a reason."

"Uhhhhhhhhh.....lol bye" 👋

[petermorwood]

Potato Crisps / Chips on Tasting History

So we've just watched Max's latest...

...and I was grinning a bit because I posted about Dr Kitchiner's 1817 (non-US, definitely non-Saratoga) crisps / chips recipe a month ago.

That image was from an American edition of his book; I've found a pic from the original - NB that these slices are floured before frying.

For reference, here's a two-penny piece from about 1797; the coin would still be current 20 years later:

...and here's how thick the potatoes should be sliced. That's 4mm, which is 2mm less than "a quarter of an inch" (6.25mm).

The slices will get even thinner as their moisture evaporates during frying, and, given the nature of recipes, potatoes cooked this way are probably even older than 1817 and Kitchiner's is just the first appearance found so far in print.

*****

The first recipe for "Game Chips" (an accompaniment to grouse, pheasant etc.) appeared, per the Wikipedia link, in a 1903 book published by famous chef Auguste Escoffier (1846-1935):

"Chip potatoes - these are potatoes cut into thin slices; this is usually done with a special plane. (A mandoline.) They are put in cold water for 10 minutes; then drained, dried in a cloth and fried until very crunchy. They are served hot or cold and generally accompany game roasted in the English style."

However, per Escoffier's Wikipedia page, much of his work was based on that of Anton Carême (1783-1833), whose dates are squarely coincident with Dr Kitchiner's Potato Slices.

Given the amount of cookery to-and-fro between England and France after the Napoleonic wars were over, it's impossible to say who first came up with the idea of potato crisps.

The French loved dainties - "un petit quelquechose", a little something - which the English pronounced and dismissed as "kickshaws", something over-fussy yet insubstantial. Yet those same English also loved roasting things with their appropriate accompaniments.

(I'm writing this just over a week after Christmas, and have been well reminded that the phrase "Roast (turkey / goose / beef) With All The Trimmings" is still in common 21st-century use.)

If those roasted things were game birds, only those above a certain level in society would be eating them, so it's not unreasonable to assume a rich-person game bird would attract fussy, time-consuming rich-person trimmings like, okay, Game Chips.

One thing's for sure, Potato Crisps - and Game Chips too, so hard luck, Escoffier - are almost certainly older than even Tasting History could prove.

*****

BTW, they also existed at a time when "English Food Was Bland" is more fake history.

Sauces put out on the table in fancy bottles had fancy labels ("bottle tickets") showing what was in them, and the contents were often far from bland.

Quin sauce was anchovy-based, hot and pungent.

Harvey's was a spicy sauce similar to Worcestershire, ketchup was probably mushroom and also spicy; the other two need no elaboration.

AFAIK the two crescent-shaped ones in the next pics are deliberate imitations of an officer's rank-gorget.

Finally a generic Not-Bland label that would go on any number of modern bottles (antique silver, yours for £250)...

*****

And after all of the above, I could do Very Bad Things to a packet of Tayto Cheese 'n' Onion. A packet?

Why stop at a packet when A Pack takes less time to say?

After all, It Is Written that:

"Reading One Book Is Like Eating One Potato Crisp Chip."

And also that Nothing Exceeds Like Excess...

[chromatic-lamina]

I prefer the nuance and poetry of the scans more, but true, some information is different, but overall basically the same. Also, sheesh, get with the 21st century official translators. "Humanity" is far more inclusive than "man" (grinds teeth) (Edit in: But read below). (The use of 'with' for the sun god and serpent can be read a few ways. I wonder if it means in the way that the scans implied (alongside)). Okay, I need to add to this. I haven't read any comments or tags I might've got on it. Artur says: 彼らはきっと会えるだろう

And once that conflict ends, “The Sun will return. A new morning will arrive”, indicating that the Dawn of the World will come. And at last, “Those men will surely be able to meet again.”. It is unclear who these “men” is referring to, as it just uses the male third person pronoun in the plural (while English doesn’t have male third person plural, Japanese does), so it’s just referring to a group of men, though keep in mind it could also be generalizing to men as a large group if it also includes women.

Probably not explained later. Nefertari D. Lili seems to be in the group of people joining in on the battle at least. Edited: Feb 6: Also, Sandman (on Twitter) and Artur differ somewhat First of all, this:

The texts are written in a poetic style. In particular, the words 隷人 (slave), 片われ月 (half-moon), and 残影 (afterimage) are difficult vocabulary that an average JP person has probably never even heard in their lifetime. Oda has successfully elevated the tone of the text.💪

Sandman's Twitter Link is here:

Artur used standard Japanese for half moon, at least on Library of Ohara (unless it's mentioned twice). Read below for moon update! Then Sandman says this of Artur's comment on the use of 彼ら, although Artur responds too.

Also, Feb 12, Artur’s latest visual!

Sandman:

💡I politely disagree with Arthur’s translation. He translated the sentence as “He and they could not meet again.” His point that the Japanese word 彼ら(karera) includes at least one male is correct. However, translating it as “He and they” might give the impression that He is a special or distinct entity, which I do not perceive from the original Japanese text. Even considering the existence of Joy Boy, the safest translation would be “They” rather than “He and they.”

Twitter link 2.

Artur's words (which Sandman is referencing) on Twitter. These are more in depth than on his Chapter Secrets, unless he's changed them. I'm hoping it's a wider 'they', btw.

[LOST IN TRANSLATION:] The subject of "won't meet again" is 彼ら, which in Japanese is male third person plural. English gender neutralizes "they" so this nuance gets a bit lost (whereas other languages, like French ils/elles or Spanish ellos/ellas retains gender). If I were translating for publication I'd just keep it as "they" but just wanted to highlight the nuance here in case it were relevant. But in the same way as something like "those guys" in English, it can mean a man + an undefined number of other people of any gender. So it could be a man and a woman, a man and a large group of people, or a large group of people in general. But I would argue that if it really were just two people, a word like "the two of them" would be used (especially in Japanese) rather than a broader plural term, so I think this is most likely referring to a larger group of people than just two individuals. This is a very important distinction I feel. So because of that, I'm not so sure if it's referring to the meeting of two Kings the Sea Kings mentioned (which might just be Joyboy and Poseidon in that case) or two people as a whole, but rather a big group of people. Hard to say, but I wonder if it's just referring in a broader way to all people, the union of all people and races as "one piece". That makes the most sense to me at least, as it would make sense by context that the subject is all those previously mentioned. Like "at last, all people will be united as one instead of being separate" 🤔

Artur's Link here

And his reply to Sandman with a shout out the official translation (tough job!).

That's what I mentioned in the tweet as well! If this were in terms of a professional translation for publication, I'd definitely translate it as "they". I just wanted to highlight that nuance by writing it this way here since most English readers might miss the gendering Btw, given what you said in the tweet, which is basically what I mentioned as well, would you agree that the use of 彼ら over something like 二人 indicates this is more logically (though not strictly necessarily) referring to a larger group of people than just two indidivudals [sic]? That's kind of the feeling I got and was what I was trying to illustrate 🤔

Artur's reply to Sandman link here.

Some very interesting discussion on the choice of "not meet again" or "never meet at all?" The official translation using "they would never meet" in the comments on the last post too. The official translation kind of covering all bases.

Feb 12: Extra, extra info.

Okay, Artur didn’t simplify any of the Japanese. There is the standard Japanese for half moon, and the kanji that Sandman has used above is closer to a crescent or fragmented moon, even though Viz used half moon for both moons.

Here’s a link to Artur’s amazing, very thorough translation (step by step).

More in depth than what was originally posted by me (and him).

[jonsnowunemploymentera]

ASOIAF entities as main pop girlies

The Night's Watch = Katy Perry

Once upon a time, pop's most influential hit maker suddenly decided to dye her hair blonde and get a pixie cut, got political, and publicly spoke to a therapist who told her to get her shit together. Thus began her never-ending flop era.

In an unrelated sequence of events, Aegon I Targaryen (a weird blonde man) invaded Westeros, created a central political unit, told the different kingdoms to get their shit together, and cut off the NW's weekly supply of men since there were no more pointless wars going around. Thus began their never-ending flop era.

BTW Jon Snow is the NW's 'Harleys in Hawaii'....their first and only hit in a really long time :(

The Kingsguard = Taylor Swift

Very famous, very rich, very influential, actually has a history of producing incredible material. But every now and then, you get a pop album that's just so..... bleh :/ And is Jaime Lannister the Westeros version of Taylor's Reputation era? Idk, you tell me....

Also, remember how TS had a feud with KP but got more famous and successful as Katy faded into irrelevance? Yeah, me too. In the same vein, the KG continues to maintain its high reputation while its counterpart (the NW) becomes even more irrelevant than it already was, if that's even possible.

The Golden Company = Gaga

Exclusively for the gays and no one else. There's really no doubt about it. But Gaga hurt the fanbase when she decided to pivot into acting, which is currently giving her more success than the music stuff. The GC has a great reputation but comes from a history of flop rebellions. So they've pivoted to a "Targaryen" pretender in hopes that they can win big this time around.

The Rainbowguard = Charli XCX

Huh?? Shouldn't the Rainbow Guard be Gaga??!

Please 🙄 don't be ridiculous. They do not have the material, and that's the T. But they're both for the gals and the gays. And in the same way that Charli had like two hits then faded into the shadows, the Rainbow Guard really can only claim Loras and Brienne. The rest are inconsequential.

The Brotherhood Without Banners = Dula Peep (aka Dua Lipa)

Who doesn't know THE Albanian pop princess Dula Peep?? She new, she's hot, and she's from out of town! She's got good music, but critics say that she's been recycling the same sound for a while now which is getting stale. The BWB has fallen into the hands of a foreign red god, and critics say that they can't produce a hit anymore since they kept recycling the same Beric. They did it six times, which got a little stale...

The Faceless Men = Grimes

Grimes makes really good music, I think? Also, remember when she dated a douchebag billionaire, got dumped, then staged a PR stunt reading the communist manifesto? Me neither. Anyway, the FM are known for being very good assassins who sell their services for the highest price possible. They were also founded by slaves, but that's probably unrelated.

Maesters of the Citadel = SZA

The talent is there, the influence is there, and the reputation is there. But you cannot trust them because they like to lie a lot...unprovoked.

[BONUS] Robb Stark's Vanguard = Bebe Rexha

Bebe is responsible for some of the greatest pop hits of the 21st century; she's even written one of the greatest K-pop songs of all time, that's a whole other region!! She's the very face of talent, but she's unfortunately a blink and you'll miss it type of gal. The average Joe would most likely struggle to name more than two songs from her. Robb's Vanguard also has the talent. They have the material. But sadly, 90% of us would struggle to identify anyone not named Dacey Mormont. I mean, did you even remember that this group existed?

[BONUS] Tywin Lannister = Nicki Minaj

A very talented but messy bitch who likes to play around with extremely problematic people...do I need to elaborate any further?

[happypedrohours]

Hello there! 😃 Sara writing, here... ☺️

The weekend of our celebration (most precisely the 22nd of June) also coincides with my 40th birthday... 🥳

Given that for obvious reasons I won't be able to have you physically close to me, therefore it would be sadly impossible to fill you with food and drinks (I'm Italian, all of the above is the standard and my love language..😆), and since in my culture it is customary for birthday person to offer a drink, I had the idea of opening a virtual bar during the celebrations...

This way, I will virtually be able to pay for a drink to all of you wonderful souls… 😀

But, of course, all this will be done in PP style.. 😁 So, I would like to welcome you to….

Happy Pedro Hours virtual bar! ✨🍸🍹🥂✨

How does it work?

Tell me your PP boy of choice

Tell me if you prefer your drink to contain alcohol or not (as already written in this family we love everyone… alcohol drinkers and otherwise! 😊😊)

Your bartender will serve you a cocktail/mocktail based on the character of your choice! 😆

You can send more than one order, for the same or different character… the more you send, the more fun it will be! 😄

Feel free to place your orders now; the cocktails will then be served starting from June 21st, the day the party starts.

Small notice: on the 22nd I will be online on and off… My sister, although by tradition we normally celebrate my birthday the week after, probably given the change of decade in my life she decided to kidnap me that day for pamper me a bit.🥲 (Btw, thank you again Mel to be understanding in this change of program. You are a gem and I love you so much... ✨💖✨) But don't be afraid, you can place your orders anyway. Maybe there will be a small slowdown in service (I apologize in advance..😅) However, considering also the time zones, I am fairly confident that I will be able to serve you all more or less consistently.

I hope to see many of you, both for this and all the other activities, so that we can all have a lot of fun all together!!! 😃😃😃

Much love…❤️

Sara

Note: please know that it is absolutely not mandatory to drink alcohol to participate in the event. We love the sober people in this family. You do what you are most comfortable of doing. And in general, please drink responsibly!

[cainightfics]

hello.

Hope u r doing well! I love ur fics!

In one of ur asks u mentioned that you read Manga for fun. So any mangas u like or recommend ( besides berserk, already read it)?

thank u! hope ur doing well too

i haven't been reading "good" manga much recently. i read random yaoi for a laugh or easy entertainment, same with fic, but it's been a while since ive really dug into something. a lot of this has to do with grad school killing my creativity, tbh....

but to answer ur question, i really like naoki urasawa, i think hes written the most "literary" manga out there. everybody knows about monster, but 20th/21st century boys and pluto are also worth checking out. urasawa has the most consistently good body of work ive encountered from a mangaka. like, i would say fullmetal alchemist probably has my vote for manga that remains strong throughout and is just undeniably a classic, but urasawa has so much breadth across his body of work. there's shit in monster and 20th century boys i still think about, and i read them like 13 years ago.

i am keeping up with the summer hikaru died, though the plot is at a bit of a lull and i get the sense the author isn't completely sure what to do with their own success. i absolutely love the concept nonetheless though, and think the first few chapters are great on their own.

a lesser known, cult favourite of mine is homunculus. really really different than most manga you've probably read already. can't say much more than that without spoiling.

i think vagabond is worth checking out, even though the story is probably akin to many things youve already read, and it remains unfinished. same with the climber. not super unique stories or themes, but generally well executed.

my guilty pleasure manga is kuroshitsuji lol. its my opinion that yana toboso is kind of a genius but.isnt even really aware of it bc shes cursed with gooner mentality. the story really really sucks right now and has for the past 2 arcs lol but i could write an entire thesis on my various marxist readings of kuroshitsuji. and im not even joking. it's sooooo stupid but it's fascinating to me bc yana is making this like insane pastiche of victorian literary conventions AND contemporary victorian anachronisms that is honestly really camp and interesting but it's just like. FULL of her weird fetishes. not even the obvious pedo stuff but like once you get into it you start seeing her vomit fetish and foot fetish and dollification fetish and it's just really interesting to analyze 😭 like i wanna put her in a lab and study her idk. a little known fact to u all about me is im like obsessed with ppl who are weirdly horny and i conduct what i call "goonvestigations" on them and to me yana toboso is like a top tier gooner to investigate. omg notice how this is already the longest paragraph in this reply... i wouldn't say i recommend reading it lmfao i just think it may be hilariously shocking to you all that i follow that slop. not even just follow. i read the LEAKS 😭

anyways. i would also say oyasumi punpun and blood on the tracks (moreso the beginning bits, it does kinda fall off) are things u might like if you were into the "darker" aspects of berserk (and im not talking the shitty rape scenes, moreso the emotional toxic entanglement of fucked up characters). obviously ya gotta read junji ito too.

i also read saiki k, one punch man, and mob psycho 100 for fun. i think when you read enough of the same thing, eventually you get to the point where all you wanna read is parodies of the genre lol. i read sooooo much manga when i was younger that now its all the same to me, and i just wanna see people make fun of it. that's kinda where im at with manga lately... none of the new stuff interests me unless it's self reflective satire of its own principles. this is why i like mr robot too btw. it functions as satire of both online political movements and their material impotence, and how they are shaped by 90s american capitalism-critical media like american psycho, the sopranos, fight club etc that are about protagonists essentially so caught up in themselves their worldviews totally occlude reality. but don't get me going about mr robot or ill go on forever...

[haveaclock]

yeyah birthday.

I decided to post this on the day on my birthday because why not..it's my birthday and I'm talking about birthdays..

June 3rd is a good day to be alive..on the east coast..I'm assuming

Axel: October? Whose stopping me? No one!! She was born October 15th or something and you know it!!!

Bowie: December-January, I can't pick. Anyways. It's either December 20th-31st or January 1st.

Julia- she's June. Not early June, June. June 31st? Maybe...does June 31st exist. June 7th, possibly. June 18th? Possibly.

MK: July-August, nobody is stopping me from believing she's a summer baby. July 4th, why Independence Day? Because, I said so.

Chase: I'm pretty funny. I said "You should be born on April 1st because you're a joke!!".. I lack a sense of humor, btw.

Caleb: July. Why? Cancer. July 6th or something, I don't know the dates.

Priya: She was born in the summer, okay? So uh..that would be..uh.. Late July..Like..uh..The 26th. I forgot.

Millie: imagine if she was a leap year baby.. imagine if she was a leap year baby. February 28-29th. haha..

Ripper: he looks like he was born in November, but really, he was born in May.. flowers and sunshine and birds..teehee. I can only think of may 21th

Zee: zee..I love zee..zee is love. Zee is life. Zee is air. Zee is, zee is the necessity of life. And for someone, as special as Hezekias, I see him in April, April 19th.

Damien: now he was born on Halloween. Nobody's stopping me. I'm a Track Runner!!!

Scary Girl: no she wasn't born on Halloween, she was born close to Christmas or after. Like.. December 19th or so..

Emma: Emma? Which Emma?? Ridonculous Race Emma?? It's okay, they both look like they were born in March. March 22? Maybe..

Raj: May 30th.

Wayner: he has March on him I can't see anything else!! March 21st is written all over him!!

Nichelle: She can be born in early June because I love her, we can be birthday twins because if Nichelle Ladonna was born on June 3rd then I'm happy.

[cctinsleybaxter]

2023 in Books

I need to stop bragging that I’ve got this reading thing all figured out, because man if 2023 wasn’t a year of terrible books. I liked less than half of the 37 I read and nothing quite gripped me in the way it has in years past… but to put it more optimistically I liked a full third of what I read, and the ones I liked best were a fascinating and unexpected silver lining. Without further ado:

Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand, trans. Brian Hooker

Tell this all to the world- and then to me. Say very softly that… she loves you not.

I read a couple of plays this year for the first time since college and liked them fine, but there’s a reason this has been adapted five million times. Everyone go watch Megamind right now.

Wylding Hall by Elizabeth Hand

Of all the found footage-inspired horror fiction I’ve read this one makes the best case for existing in its chosen medium, as a 70s UK folk rock band are interviewed about the summer they spent recording what would become their final album [thunder crashes.] It reminded me of a Tana French mystery in its language and ability to make space feel lived-in; the character writing is so strong I realized that at some point I had stopped checking the interview headings to know who was speaking. Hand unfortunately distrusts her audience to read between the lines at a few crucial moments (and ruins what would have been a perfect ending and a deeply affecting scare by gilding the lily, or, in this case, photograph), but I love that she went from seemingly by-the-numbers American YA fiction to a meticulously-researched and truly unique horror novella. Puts other writers working in the genre to shame.

A Kiss Before Dying by Ira Levin

Reminiscent of the best kind of TCM suspense thriller (and was adapted into one), but could only exist as a book for the kind of narrative tactics it employs. Levin is brilliant at setting and character; I think any one of his contemporaries would have leaned into archetypes for this sort of story, and he instead distinguishes his proper nouns in subtle, clever ways that lend them the weight a noir needs. Can’t wait to read more of his stuff!

All the Names They Used for God by Anjali Sachdeva

I’d like to know why this anthology got hit with what a friend has termed a pottery barn throw pillow cover + a ‘the tiny things we know to be small’ title, because the eponymous story isn’t even called that! It’s just The Names They Used for God, and is, appropriately, about two women kidnapped by a religious extremist group. High risk-high reward; I think taken at their base premise the stories could have been insufferable and are instead strange, compelling, and fantastical. There’s a methodicalness and, I don't know, lack of whimsy? to them that’s unusual for fantasy, but also an absence of any one goal or moral in the way Le Guin speaks so highly of. It made me feel the way I did reading and adoring Kelly Link in middle school, and Sachdeva has a much different style that I guess works all the better on adults. My favorite was Robert Greenman and the Mermaid.

Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Lauren Hillenbrand

Someone recommended this to me via Tumblr anon over five years ago, so let me start by saying if that was you I’d like to thank you properly! This book rules! It was written in ‘99 so falls prey to a very specific kind of jingoism, but the mechanics of that are interesting in and of themself. Seabiscuit the animal is a lens through which to view turn-of-the-20th-century America written from the precipice of the 21st; his story told through the expertly-researched biographies of his owner, trainer, and jockey. Hillenbrand is not only a good pop nonfiction historian, but has been a sports writer since the 80s and I never imagined the genre could be so thrilling as I did reading her work. Horse racing is insane and no one should be riding these things btw.

The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton

It was one of the great livery-stableman’s most masterly intuitions to have discovered that Americans want to get away from amusement even more quickly than they want to get to it.

Wharton came from old money New York*, was deeply disillusioned with it and pined for rational (i.e., even more insane) social and political scenes, had myriad thoughts about women and gender relations, and held a love for interior design. I learned all of this after reading but it’s apparent on every page; deeply funny and perceptive, fantastic use of language, the moments where it lost me completely nothing if not interesting. What sticks with me the most are a flair for the operatic and an ability to voice both the feeling and consequences of losing oneself to imagined scenarios. Read the pink parasol scene.

*Ancient Money New York; the saying ‘keeping up with the Joneses’ is apocryphally attributed to her father’s side of the family

Owls of the Eastern Ice: A Quest to Find and Save the World's Largest Owl by Jonathan S. Slaght

We’d return to our camp to huddle in the freezing tent and wait for our owls in silence, like suitors agonizing over a phone that never rings.

One of the better pieces of science writing I’ve read in a long time, as Slaght frames rural communities as a quintessential part of ecology rather than a barrier to it. His style is amiable and matter-of-fact (sometimes overly so; the amount of metric GIS directions, help), but he's super engaging and clearly holds just as much compassion for people and history as he does animals and natural landscapes. The Blakiston’s fish owls he’s studying are described as unreal, with hoots so low and quiet it sounds like someone has thrown them under a blanket. You can listen to them here.

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

Took my breath away and surprised me in a way a book hasn’t in years. I'd read Clarke’s 2004 novel when I was maybe fourteen and had vaguely positive but mostly neutral memories of it, and Piranesi being sci-fi-fantasy that came recommended by Tiktok had me very dubious. I ended up devouring it in the way I haven’t read books since I was fourteen; more of a mystery than the suspected high fantasy, with characters I would do disservice to in trying to describe in brief. While the mystery isn’t difficult to ‘solve’ (I’d argue the book also skews young!), the story ends in a way that’s both deeply unexpected and in the only way it could have.

Honorable mentions

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, trans. Peter Washington

[Jigsaw voice] Every man has a devouring passion in his heart as every fruit has its worm.

I spent so much time running my mouth about this one on Tumblr there’s really not much left to say. I think it’s a work of genius that was physically exhausting to read, and I’m sticking it with the honorable mentions mostly because I remember The Three Musketeers being the better book. If you want to read Dumas- and you should- start with that one.

Jonny Appleseed by Joshua Whitehead

I would’ve liked this more had I read it in my late teens/early 20s, but I still think it’s pretty good and would absolutely recommend to anyone in that age bracket. Things that normally annoy me about philosophical first-person lit fic didn’t matter under the weight of Jon’s narratorial voice. He reminded me a little of Lynda Barry’s Maybonne in his understanding and depictions of community and family; his stream of consciousness letting contradictions sit rather than trying to explain them away (Whitehead also makes sex very prosaic and pretty-sounding while still being frank and gross about it, which is a rare talent!)

The Seeds of Life: From Aristotle to da Vinci, from Sharks' Teeth to Frogs' Pants, the Long and Strange Quest to Discover Where Babies Come From by Edward Dolnik

This one fell in the rankings because the writing isn’t my favorite (think early days Vulture article rather than NYT), but I cannot stop referencing it in conversation. I want to read the whole thing to people and make them understand how truly unfathomable it is not only that every one of us is the product of 1 sperm and 1 egg, but that anyone ever figured out how that process works. When Western Europeans first started using microscopes they studied water; there were gross little bugs in there to watch and enjoy, so when semen was revealed to have its own bugs no one was shocked, but they also weren’t impressed. We would not see one enter an egg until EIGHTEEN SEVENTY-FIVE.  

Killer Dolphin by Ngaio Marsh

The Malaise of First Night Nerves had gripped Peregrine, not tragically and aesthetically by the throat but, as is its habit, shamefully in the guts.

Has made it into my top 5 favorite Inspector Alleyn mysteries. I’m not keen on Marsh’s theater settings (and there are a LOT of them), but a convoluted setup made this one all the more rewarding. The final revelation as to a point of blackmail is visceral and bizarre in a way I haven’t seen from her before.

The Wretched of the Earth by Frantz Fanon

We all have dirty hands; we are all soiling them in the swamps of our country and in the terrifying emptiness of our brains. Every onlooker is either a coward or a traitor.

Best read in conversation with other writers, I wouldn’t recommend Fanon as the end-all-be-all introduction to communist and socialist thinking (the fact that he inadvertently describes what was going wrong with the USSR at time of writing is fascinating), but he explicitly invites that conversation and the value and impact of his work really can’t be overstated. Our points of disagreement tend to be in regard to nationalism, not his condonation of violence.

Persuasion by Jane Austen

Fascinating to see how Austen was thinking about relationships near the end of her short life. I laughed to see the idea of preferring your brother-in-law’s family to your own was back in full force from my own favorite Emma, as well as an eleventh-hour ‘maybe I should ship the villains??’ My biggest issue is that, like Emma, Persuasion is written in third person limited narration, but Anne is fundamentally Good™ so doesn’t need to learn anything about herself or the world; critic Bob Irvine points out that she and her dashing, misogynistic sailor are beset rather than changed by it. That said I love a people being beset by people (concussed temptresses) places (Bath) and things (cars), and Austen's writing style is really firing on all cylinders here.

[casual-eumetazoa]

After a small uptick in followers, I am now getting close to 500 subs on YouTube:

[image description: header of a youtube channel titled Bootstrap Paradox; the icon is a photo of the Bootes void surrounded by stars; the text reads 461 subscribers, 9 videos; the channel description cuts out in the middle of the sentence, and reads "Greetings, fellow humanoid. I am a fiction writer, a PhD student of evolution..."]

On this occasion, may I interest you in some of my video essays, which have not much in common other than my utter dedication to the topic and, most of the time, questionable outfits and makeup.

Science Has An Accountability Problem

First in an anthology (that will get done, I promise, as soon as I replace all of my equipment that decided to break) exploring the problems of 21st century academia. I am a PhD student full of righteous rage and I will get to the bottom of every single thing that infuriates me about this system. This one explores scientific fraud: how often it happens, why it happens, and what we can do about it.

Pokemon Evolutions Are Real... Kind Of

Brought to you by my boyfriend's pokemon hyperfixation mixed with my master's in evolutionary biology. It's about metamorphosis, puberty, evo-devo, and, well, Pokemon. Watch it to find out why genetics is less of a computer code and more of an instruction for Ikea furniture.

Disability and Capitalism 2-parter

Two videos that took a monumental amount of research to put together, exploring the history, the reality, and the potential future of disability, as well as it's connection to our current economic systems. If you've heard of the medical model and the social model of disability but have never encountered the economic model of disability, you should probably watch this. Or don't, I'm not your boss. Anyway, there is a fun sci-fi-ish sketch at the beginning.

Representation DIY: Autistic Headcanons

My first ever video essay, so the quality is what it is, but I'm still proud of it. Explores the concept of media representation, my personal experiences as an autistic person, and why I think that autistic headcanons are often better than canon autistic characters written by allistic writers. Also, a lot of Jonathan Creek. For the fans of the incredibly niche British TV and detective magicians.

---

This isn't everything I have, so feel free to click on the channel and check stuff out. I still harbour some hope to maybe eventually some day become a full-time video essayist because with my combination of autism, chronic illness, and existing as a very queer person in a very traditional and catholic Eastern European country, working from home might be my only option of being ok after I get my PhD. So yeah, every subscription helps.

Reblogs do a lot, btw. Even if you have like 3 followers, trust me. Your one reblog just might make this my career in a couple of years. So any interaction is highly appreciated.

[superrealhomurafan]

So I came up with this AU while in biology this morning at its all that's been on my mind today

Cyberpunk Stobotnik AU

Pretty much just Robotnik and Stone replacing Johnny and V.

Also btw I haven't finished the game yet so no spoliers plz

Robotnik

Techie/Netrunner

Probably did freelance work (mostly for the military)

Definitely implanted himself with his own cyberware (havent decided what kind yet)

Stone

FIA agent turned Merc (mercenary)

"Netrunner" (in the sense of how V is considered a NR by using quickhacks) /Solo

Probably has special grade cyberware from being a FIA agent

More info after the cut

Also I haven't written anything proper in forever. I was also trying to make it sound like the ingame data entrys

Robotnik

Dr. Ivo Robotnik once a prominent scientist in the 21st century, now nothing but a engram on a chip. He was a man in perfect health until Arasaka raided his lab, kidnapping him. Refusing to work for any Corpo, his consciousness is then turned into an engram and then stored on the relic. His death was rather quiet for someone so loud and boisterous.

Now waking up decade's later Robotnik wants nothing but sweet revenge but eventually decides to cooperate with Stone to ensure his own survival or at least thats what he claims.

Stone

Once a FIA agent on mission to retrieve the Relic from Yorinobu Arasaka.The mission is all sunshine and rainbows until it all goes south. Stone slots the chip into his head to keep it safe and escapes. With the mission gone astray and believing he did not complete his mission, his handler shoots him dead to cover up the FIA tracks.

Unknown to them the relic is slotted into Stone's head, some time later the Relic revives him. Now among the living again Stone finds he has a new friend, the engram of Dr. Ivo Robotnik and little time left to live.

Extra bits:

Robotnik probably refers to Stone as "Agent" in the beginning. Later on he refers to him as "Agent Stone" finally devolving to just calling him "Stone".

Stone hundred percent has EMP Threading (those silver lines you see on the faces on many Cyberpunk characters)

Like the sonic movies I'd imagine after Robotnik is kidnapped or "disappears" depending on who you ask. His existence was wiped off the net.

[jumpscaregoose]

ok I'm finally doing it I'm finally drafting up this post. if you've spoken to me about shaman king literally ever or even followed this blog for more than two days you know this one

goose's Renmei Thoughts™ aka:

(thanks @gelatinous-jellyfish for making me this wonderful image a while back)

(quick explanation for everyone unaware, renmei is the canon relationship between iron maiden jeanne and tao ren from the sk sequels. I never explain this in the post but if you want to read it and don't know that's what this is. also I mention this takei guy a lot he's the mangaka)

so pov you're me circa feburary 2022, currently unaware of the kzb manga ending or sequels because you got into sk 6 months ago and the 2021 anime isn't over yet. you're innocently googling your girl jeanne for idk drawing references or whatever and BOOM autocomplete drops the most confusing spoiler of all time on you

that's how I remember finding out renmei exists, and at the time I'm pretty sure I was like "oh this must just be a popular het pairing from the Olden Days or something it'd be ridiculous if that was-" it was it was canon. cue a terrible amount of suffering april 21st 2022 when episode 52 of the new anime aired and it was what it is

of course I was upset but in an attempt to not be That One Annoying Fandom Person I sat down and thought about it and gave the concept the benefit of the doubt for a bit and now I have a pretty solid idea of how I feel about it. my renmei thesis is basically:

well that could have been a good idea but wow did takei completely fumble it

part a why it's not conceptually terrible: this one's really simple it's just that they're both similar characters. I'm anticipating you the reader have actually read/watched shaman king so I'm just gonna present you with the chart I made a few months back

murderous child -> oh shit -> what now it's quite similar

btw this file was named "the.png". that is such an unhelpful file name I had to DIG to find it. wtf past me

basically if it was actually written properly I think we could have gotten some cool things out of a romantic relationship between these two characters. however

part b: we didn't

my favourite way to describe renmei is that it just wasn't written. because it wasn't. across over 300 chapters of mainline and spinoff manga they have maybe four interactions, three of which were after they were already a couple (and the fourth one is that time she raised him from the dead and they didn't speak. does that really even count?). and those three actual interactions were flashbacks and not... actually important. I think one of them was just about cheese. as a reader your experience is

2 characters who never interacted -> literally what the fuck when did that happen -> she's DEAD???

when my friend was reading the manga I had to tell her to reread a scene because the panel where they explain it is such a blink-and-you-miss-it moment

literally the same pacing and payoff as CANON DESTIEL.

their entire actual relationship happens during the downtime between the main manga ending and the sequels beginning. and I'm going to bring osp into this because I think this graphic is helpful

(side note as I was scrolling through this trope talk I noticed a problem red brings up that does apply to the sk sequels but that's for another post...)

this is from the osp trope talk on sequels, and it shows the difference in Stuff Happening levels between plot time (red) and down time (grey). the issue with renmei is that it is an IMPORTANT PLOT EVENT (two characters with little interaction having an entire love story) that happens during DOWN TIME, when the audience only sees things through flashbacks in snippets. and it doesn't help that we never get any flashbacks to before the event happened, before they got together. it's jarring because the ENTIRE THING happens during down time. plot time 1 (the main manga) ends with no interactions between them, and ONE scene that's supposed to set ren up for getting Straight Married that in my opinion didn't work. because it is stupid. plot time 2 (every sequel manga) starts after jeanne's death. it's literally the inciting incident for red crimson. their entire 7+ year relationship is encapsulated in foggy down time, and we're expected to care.

and this especially doesn't work because we aren't set up to care. again, 1 interaction in the main manga, where they don't talk (but I will go to bat for the inherent intimacy of raising someone from the dead like we could have done something there). it's pretty clear to me from rereading the manga that takei didn't know these two would get together when he was writing it. that one scene I mentioned where he tries to set up ren getting Straight Married? if you've read it you know it's incredibly vague and with how takei wrote literally everything else it sure doesn't work as intended. or I'm too aromantic and yaoipilled to understand his literary genius idk. it's clear from some other missed opportunities that the jeanne part of the equation wasn't exactly planned from the beginning. which is even more insulting tbh

part c jeanne character assassination: out of the both of them jeanne really got the short end of the stick in terms of characterization in the sequels. I say this because I actually really like ren in the sequels I like the way takei took his character, so holy shit does sequels jeanne look even worse in comparison. the whole housewife thing is eeeeeeeeeeeeeehhhhhhhhhh, not really a fan of that but I'm also not mad enough to comment. her death I do have some thoughts about. conceptually the beheading herself with shamash thing is BADASS AS HELL and I do like it conceptually, I also know like, the themes. yeah remember that time "atoning for your crimes with your death isn't the right thing to do" was an important part of the plot. TWICE. FUCK THAT I GUESS. there is some equivalent exchange bullshit happening with these two and the continuation of main manga themes and I want it to stop please

part d tao men: one thing I've thought about a lot is Why. why fumble this so badly. why do this at all. what do we get out of this. and the answer is an inciting incident and tao men. and the fumble bag continues because tao men deserved better this is a tao men appreciation account. we could have done some cool shit with his revenge thing but nope fuck that I guess. poor guy

part e contrast: so the sequel manga where renmei is most relevant is red crimson. I absolutely love red crimson I recommend it to everyone. and that's because of jun and pairon (and chapter 9 full transparency). jun and pairon in red crimson have one of the most beautiful relationships I've ever seen. they have an established dynamic and baggage to work through and that's what the manga focuses on. and it works it works really well. however this is also the Renmei Manga, and having most of that stuff right next to jun and pairon just makes it look worse

those are all my renmei thoughts I remembered while writing this post, I think that covers most of it but I may reblog this later with stuff I forgot

[immortalsimulacrum]

Hi, I am such a big fan of your work, and you triggered my Jercy fanship, so thank you! So, I was wondering when you would be updating Wedding Album From Hera? That is absolutely my favourite fic btw

Hi! Thank you so much! I don't have a set date for when I'm going to update WAFH, but the next chapter is currently in the works! I had quite a bit of a delay because I started a new job and had to go through a bunch of training which left very little time for me to write, and what time I did have I used it to work on my quarterly fic exchange (that one should post on the 21st btw!) And I also worked on a Kinktober series during October. But the next chapter for Wedding Album is being written and it is my top priority right now! Thank you so much for your continued support, it means everything to me 💙💚. My goal is to get Wedding Album updated before the end of December.

[deathcrushedcorpse]

I wrote infodumps on both Mayhem and DSBM. I figured I’d add them here. These were both written after learning from word of mouth from other metalheads and through chat forums regarding the opinions of these things. Not everything may be accurate, and that’s fine. I may also write more in the future about bands like Psychonaut 4, Lifelover, Apati, My Useless Life, Shining, Strid, etc. I’m always open to discussion on these btw, and my ask box is open if you’d prefer to remain anonymous. :)

Mayhem infodump

OKAY so Mayhem was founded in 1984 by Øystein Aarseth- more commonly known by his stage name of Euronymous- and consisted of himself on guitar, Necrobutcher on bass, Manheim on drums, and Maniac on vocals. The lineup changed a few years in when Manheim decided to leave the band and Jan Axel aka Hellhammer took his place. In 1988, Pelle Ohlin- more commonly known as Dead- joined the band. This was truly the golden age of Mayhem in my personal opinion. Dead was known for his raw talent and dedication, going as far as to huff the smell of dead crows before performing and burying his stage clothes DAYS in advance to truly embrace death and the look of being a corpse. Dead also created the look of corpse paint- and terms- we have currently, using it to further push his appearance of being a corpse. After a few years, on April 8th 1991, Dead took his life via slitting his wrists and throat before taking a gunshot to the head. In his suicide note, he goes over his personal views on his existence- or feeling of lack there of- before leaving Euronymous the lyrics to the song Life Eternal. Euronymous is who found Dead's body, and ended up posing his corpse to then photograph it. One of these photos would later be used for the bootleg live record album Dawn of the Black Hearts. Necrobutcher was disgusted by Euronymous' actions, as he had also made necklaces out of pieces of Dead's skull. Necrobutcher then left Mayhem. After this in May of 1991, Euronymous opened his record shop Helvete (Norweigan for Hell). It became the home for his group- The Black Circle- and members of said group actually lived there at different points in time. Euronymous also went on to create his label- Deathlike Silence- and signed on Mayhem (obviously), Burzum, Merciless, and Abruptum to name a few. Euronymous also invited Varg to become the bassist of Mayhem shortly after the burning of Fantoft. I already mentioned the first church burning, but on August 21st 1991, Faust of Emperor murdered a man in Lillehammer. Many believe this to have been a hate crime because the man was gay, but Faust himself has said that it was because the man made unwanted sexual advances on him. It's up to personal interpretation. The night after on August 22nd- suspected to be in celebration- Faust, Varg, and Euronymous burned down Holmenkollen Chapel in Oslo. Varg later proceeded to be retarded (shocker!) and out himself as the one responsible for the church burnings to the press in an attempt to create a panic. After being released for lack of evidence, he then left Mayhem. Years go by, and inevitably Euronymous writes a contract for Varg to sign that would transfer ownership of Burzum from Deathlike Silence back to Varg. In an absolute rage, Varg and Snorre of Thorns drove 7 and a half hours from to Euronymous' apartment on August 10th 1993. Varg's account of the night is unreliable, as he claimed he acted in self defense. It is widely believed that after Varg was told about a comment Euronymous had made about wanting to torture and kill Varg in the woods to make a snuff film, he became aggressive and paranoid. So when he went to Euronymous' apartment, he acted on that aggression. Although Varg himself claims that after signing the contract, Euronymous became erratic and attempted to stab him, there is no evidence to back this. Varg was captured 9 days later on August 19th, and was charged for the murder of Euronymous, 4 counts of arson for the church burnings, and for possession of 150kg of explosives. He was sentenced to 21 years in prison on May 16th 1994. Also in 1994, Faust was captured and sentenced to 14 years in prison for the murder of the man in Lillehammer. Varg only served 15 years in prison and was released in 2009. He attempted to return to metal, but was never accepted and is currently seen as one of the most massive clowns in metal history.

DSBM infodump.

DSBM is short for depressive suicidal black metal!!! It focuses heavily on themes of self destruction, self mutilation, suicide, anti humanity, negative emotions and energy, and emotional instability. Some notable names in DSBM are Shining (sadly), Livelover (my beloved), Xasthur, Silencer, Nocturnal Depression (also my beloved), My Useless Life, and Psychonaut 4 to name a few. The band members often genuinely live the lifestyles they write music about, often being completely isolated, heavily addicted to drugs, alcoholics, engage in violent self mutilation, and other self destructive behaviours. It is extremely common for DSBM bands to only have one member since isolation and bitterness is a huge theme of the music.

It's heavily believed that the first *true* DSBM band was Shining- which was founded in 1996 in Halmstad, Sweden after their frontman was heavily influenced by bands like Strid and albums like Hvis lsyet tar oss and Filosofem by Burzum (shit band). Shining's frontman and founder Niklas Kvarforth was *KNOWN* for being extremely aggressive and for promoting anti recovery ideals, claiming that his music should be encouraging the listener to self mutilate- or even kill themselves- or else they weren't *truly* experiencing his music. He was also known to be extremely self destructive and abusive to his bandmates, even going as far as to have ex-Mayhem vocalist Maniac carve a swastika into his forehead before enacting violence towards various band members on stage during their most infamous performance.

DSBM has grown over the years and is now commonly associated with being used for coping, allowing the listener to experience the musician's pain with them as a way of feeling less alone.

The downside to this genre is that it tends to attract bad crowds (mostly nazis and predators who wish to prey on the mentally ill), case in point being musicians like Niklas, Maniac, and even the infamous 2 guys 1 hammer killers who had a russian DSBM band by the name of Dismembered Pugachova I believe. People commonly mistake the DSBM scene and the music as an excuse and community to be hateful towards minorities because a lot of DSBM artists and black metal artists in general truly believe in satanism im the form of spreading misery, pure evil, and absolute chaos.

There are so so so so many occasions of DSBM- and black metal bands in general- participating in acts of self mutilation, animal cruelty, and other disturbing acts during their performances. Shining actually in the past has passed out razor blades at their shows, even to kids. During Shining's infamous performance with Maniac and other popular BM band members, Niklas noticed a kid in the crowd singing along to every song and at one point, pulled him up on stage and handed him a razor blade and encouraged him to cut in front of the crowd. To which the child made a small slit across his palm to appease Niklas.

DSBM and black metal- while having an extremely troubling history with band members and appearances- is truly what paved the way for metal bands that everyone loves and adores today. Hell, Dead from Mayhem is who created corpse paint as we know it today and even *coined* that term. The Black Circle in Norway- created by Euronymous of Mayhem- was one of the most influential black metal groups in the black metal scene KNOWN TO MAN. The group consisted of all members of Mayhem, all members of the band Emperor, Varg Vikernes of Burzum, and Snorre of the band Thorns. They created the elitist mindset of the black metal community in Norway, making the scene so INSANELY hard to get into if you weren't already a part of it. The scene was so exclusive and extremely aggressive towards who they deemed posers. The Black Circle has also been deemed the most Satanic group in black metal history, even having challenged the Church of Satan by saying they "only wanted peace and love" when Satanism should be about spreading "misery, evil, and pure chaos".

The first church burning in the name of black metal and Satan was carried out by Varg, Faust of Emperor, and Jorn of Immortal on June 6th 1992! They burnt down Fantoft Stave Church in Oslo, Norway. This led to a HUUUUUGE string of church burnings (there is believed to be 60+ linked to black metal) during this time. Even when Varg was arrested for the murder of Euronymous (and charged with 4 counts of arson), there were two church burnings during the time of the trial which were suspected to be fans showing their support for him. Which is fucking stupid because that fuckwit's a nazi but wtvr.

[lumineescente]

Seungjin drabble (slowtober challenge)

hii im doing a thing called slowtober (made by @/oeildesaturne on instagram, french speaking folks check it out!! although be aware of tw mental health and eds talks) and i’m posting on twitter a seungjin au per word

I’m late in the updating on tumblr but for the seventh days (october 19th - 21st) the word was “ghost”

i was extremely tempted to write angst i'm not gonna lie, but i decided not to (because it is seungjin and they deserve all the sweetest thing in the world and no angst unless there is comfort) so i went on the other side of it - no pun intended there - and go for something very fun!

if you know new girl you'll recognize my inspiration btw

this is just a silly love confession gone wrong, haunted house funfair are involved and accidental hitting too!

oh btw when i'm done with this challenge i'll hold a little poll on twitter to see which drabble should be written as a whole fic!! so if you like it, you might want to follow this:) (or not) (like it's up to you)

and i keep forgetting to thanks everyone for their time hehe<3 i appreciate every likes!

AND if you enjoyed this challenge who is now over you can vote on this form for your favorite that I’ll be writing into a full fic on ao3! (“soumettre” is “submit” btw)

if you want to check all the drabbles you can go here

In Hyunjin’s opinion the funfair is more lame than fun, but he is here for Seungmin and it goes way above and beyond any lame thing he can attend. Even if it means ruining his Halloween night, and bringing all his friends into his doom, because Seungmin got this stupid job in a haunted house. The overwhelming romantic feelings, and painfully one sided, he has for his best friend of several years has obviously nothing to do with these kind of decision. Never. No matter what Minho would say about it. Or Felix, or Jisung.

Anyway, he twitches in his halloween costume. Way before this whole situation happened, Hyunjin had decided to make his costume a bit funnier than usual, when they were supposed to celebrate it in the warmth of a house, and had picked a slutty nurse costume. Except now the skirt is definitely way too short for his liking, showing too much of his legs and the autumn night has no mercy on his skin. He could have changed when he had known the plan would, but Hyunjin is terribly stubborn.

Parents of young children are looking at him with horrified eyes, he stands a bit taller in his costume. Although he is not sure if it is the slutty or the skirt part that horrifies them, he can bet that they would have been less upset about it if he had been dressed as a man. Fuck them.

“You look very sexy,” he hears Seungmin’s voice say to him.

“I’m also very cold,” he answers.

Seungmin sits down in front of him. Hyunjin is holding on to a cup of hot beverage like his life depends on it, maybe it does though. Seungmin is dressed as a ghost, well not like the easy kind, with just a white sheet or anything. For such a little funfair and a haunted house that is so tacky Minho has already told them he had went two times and had not been scared once, the make up artists and costumers are very good.

Hyunjin is a scaredy cat, he would rather die than enter the haunted house, it can be as predictable as possible he knows he will end up on the floor crying, so he would rather wait outside for Seungmin to be done.

“I have a coat that I don’t use,” Seungmin tells him, “does not suit the vibe very much, plus it’s hot in the house.”

Hyunjin shakes his head.

“Then die in the cold,” his best friend flatly says.

“Hey! Being sexy comes with a price.”

“You’d be sexy fully covered or dressed as a pumpkin, what you wear does not matter.”

Hyunjin raises an eyebrow, “sexy pumpkin? Is that your thing?”

Seungmin blushes. Hyunjin can not see it under his make up but he knows him well enough to guess it. He feels proud of himself for that, if he can not do anything about his one-sided attraction at least he knows him better than anyone else, and knows exactly what to say at what time. So there is that.

“That’s not…” Seungmin stutters, “don’t be stupid! I’m just complimenting you.”

Hyunjin blinks several time, registering exactly what all of this meant. It is not unusual for Seungmin and him to compliment each other, even on their apparences. Well Hyunjin could never spend a day without telling Seungmin how handsome he looks (he makes sure not to make him uncomfortable of course), but there is something different in the tone of his voice. An embarrassment, or maybe it is the term that he has used. Hyunjin’s not sure.

“You think I’m sexy,” he says, “all the time.”

“Yeah, of course. You are so attractive it’s stupid, not that it’s the only thing that I like about you.”

Maybe the cold has frozen all his braincells, maybe but he does not react at all and Seungmin looks away.

“Sorry, forget about it,” he mutters, “I gotta go back to work, break is over.”

Hyunjin opens his mouth but nothing comes out and before he can do anything else Seungmin is gone. He stays still for a moment, trying to process what he has just heard.

“Hey,” Felix says.

His costume is way too complicated for the place they are, a cosplay from some video game he enjoys so much, and he struggles to sit down on the spot Seungmin has just left. He moves his hand in front of Hyunjin’s eyes when he has no answer, “Earth to Hyunjin?” he adds.

“Felix,” Hyunjin says in a very low voice that startles the latter, “is it possible that… maybe, Seungmin likes me?”

Felix’s hat almost drops off his head as he lets out the longest and deepest sigh he has ever had, “woh, the question is more is it possible that Seungmin does not like you? And the answer is no, by the way.”

“What do you mean?” Hyunjin asks, confused, “what do you mean?”

“Well I’m sorry to break it to you but you know every time you came to me crying because of your one sided feelings for Seungmin? They never were one sided.”

“Why didn’t you tell me??”

Hyunjin stands up, suddenly getting the control of his body back. The beverage falls down on the table spilling hot chocolate everywhere but he does not care.

“Hey! I tried! Don’t blame the messenger, you both are so oblivious it’s stupid and also kind of entertaining.”

“Fuck,” Hyunjin mutters already not listening to whatever Felix is saying, “I’ll be back.”

Without thinking he starts running toward the hunting house. There’s no need for a ticket since they paid to enter the place in the first place. He probably scares a bunch of kids and outraged some more parents but if he starts to think he will back down and he can not because Seungmin now is probably thinking that Hyunjin rejected him or something.

He regrets it immediately when he enters the house and the lights are shut down and the floor is cracking under his feet and he hears laughter in the echo, and screaming. His blood turns cold in his veins, he makes one step forward but something sticky touches him on the shoulder and he screams, painfully aware at how much skin is out to be touched. He wants to cry.

He is a man on a mission, so he does not and goes on, yelling for Seungmin’s name a bit louder every time something scares him (every two seconds).

Weird things are touching him, the floor is either too viscous or too thin, moving or painfully still, he tries not to lose his balance as fear entirely flood his brain. The noises are too loud between the children screaming in fear and the scary music and sounds everywhere. In theory he knows every trap he encounters are made up but it still works every time.

He enters a new room and feel a hand catching his shoulder and he does not think as he screams and pushes back. He hears a loud noise that has nothing to do with the haunted house, and a bunch of curses, and suddenly two people catch him and hold him on the ground. He tries to fight back but their hold is too strong. The lights are blueish in the room and his eyes have finally being used to the obscurity.

“Seungmin, are you okay?” someone says panic in their voice.

Hyunjin’s brain focuses back. In the side of the room he sees a silhouette getting up from the floor, helped by another one.

“Yeah, I’m fine I just hit my head on the side.”

“Oh my god,” he stutters, “I’m so sorry.”

The two people over him hold even tighter, he let out a scream of pain.

“Seungmin, it’s me,” he mutters, “fuck, I’m so sorry I just got scared!”

“Hyunjin?!”

He sighs as he recognize Seungmin’s voice.

“It’s me, are you hurt? Did I hurt you?”

“You can let him go,” Seungmin tells the two persons.

They seem unwilling to agree to that.

“Please,”  Hyunjin whimpers, overwhelmed by the entire situation and the fact that he still is terrified by the whole haunted house. “I’m really sorry.”

Eventually they do and Seugmin goes to his side, “why are you here? Hyunjin this is so…”

“I like you! Like more than a friend.”

He hates himself this is the worst way to confess to his long time crush. After hurting him and in the middle of a haunted house, in front of obviously very judgmental people right now. He can not blame them for that. Seungmin stares in disbelief.

“Is this why you pushed me?”

“No! This is because I was scared, I’m still very scared.”

Seungmin shakes his head but he faintly hears him laugh.

“Okay, I’m going to take a break and get checked by a doctor, okay?”

Everyone agrees to that. He then stares once again at Hyunjin who is still lying down on the floor.

“I’m wondering if you deserve to finish the haunted tour by yourself or…”

“I’m really sorry,” he repeats.

Seungmin extends a hand that he grabs and gets up.

“Fine,” he tells him, “but that’s because I like you like more than a friend too.”

The sparkles that Hyunjin feels in his heart manage to make the scary atmosphere fade away. Seungmin still holds his hand and he feels warm. He gets closer to him. Maybe the funfair is not that lame.