#apologies for letting this languish in the inbox for so long!

[lady-harrowhark]

Upon reading the Wikipedia synopsis for the 1997 Don Bluth Anastasia film, and then subsequently the Wiki page for the historical grand duchess Anastasia, I have learnt that the name ‘Anastasia’ is apparently derived from a Greek name meaning “of the resurrection”. And as I know you are a big TLT fan I’m coming to you asking… is this anything? What are the implications? Obviously everyone in the empire is ‘of the resurrection’, but why is Anastasia specifically given this meaningful name?

Fantastic question, and one I’ve been mulling over myself. I think there are two main pieces here, and there are undoubtedly people on here better suited to expounding upon both of them than myself, as both of these topics are beyond the scope of what I can give a super nuanced explanation of, but I’m out here doing my best!

The first is, as you said, in relation to “the resurrection” with roots in “anastasis.” Within the context of Christianity, this is almost always in reference to the Resurrection, that of Jesus. Gideon is the obvious Christ figure of the series, but in NtN, most of our main characters get a little sprinkle of Christ figure imagery at the very least. However, I actually think that the more salient thing here is that within Christian art, the Anastasis specifically refers to depictions of the Harrowing of Hell. Eagle-eyed readers may recall that Harrow herself is named specifically for the Harrowing of Hell. The Harrowing of Hell, in turn, refers to the period of time between Christ’s crucifixion and his Resurrection on the third day. During this period, he descended into Hell and brought salvation to the righteous souls there, leading them out of Hell. I’ll throw in here that the stoma is said by John to be the mouth to Hell. Make of that what you will.

Additionally, I’ll point out that the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is also known as the Church of the Anastasis. This is significant to our Anastasia because the Church of the Holy Sepulchre/Church of the Anastasis includes the site of Jesus’s crucifixion… and his tomb. Which sounds more than a little familiar, no?

So the second big thing is that within biology, “anastasis” has a similar but distinct meaning. Take a look at this quote which I’ve pulled from a journal article not really because of anything about the article itself but because the wording makes the comparison super easy: 

Anastasis is a natural cell recovery phenomenon that rescues cells from the brink of death. Programmed cell death such as apoptosis has been traditionally assumed to be an intrinsically irreversible cascade that commits cells to a rapid and massive demolition. Interestingly, recent studies have demonstrated recovery of dying cells even at the late stages generally considered immutable.

Was anyone else immediately reminded of this conversation, in which John asks Harrow to explain apopneumatism (which appears to be a play on apoptosis itself)?

“Thalergetic decay causes cellular death,” you said carefully, pressing the nail in harder, “which emits thanergy. The massive cell death that follows apopneumatism causes a thanergetic cascade, though the first bloom fades and the thanergy stabilises within thirty to sixty seconds.”

Because I sure was.

In this same conversation, they talk about the life force and communal soul of a planet, arising from “the accumulation of microbial life” and what happens when you kill a planet all at once: Resurrection Beasts. Alecto.

Taken together, I think we’re looking at some very significant imagery regarding not just Anastasia, but her relationships to Harrow and Alecto as well. We have a guardian of the Locked Tomb, in which lies the soul of a murdered planet and the ostensible source of necromancy. Given where we saw her last, Anastasia seems to have set some plans in motion to not only halt this death but bring her back. A resurrection, and perhaps salvation for those who have been trapped within the stoma, which is to say: Hell.

[itsthechocopuff]

writers ask: 30, 23 and 21

also just wanted to let you know i've loved your fics for the longest time and, although they're all my favourites, whilst i was waiting for you to update pmw, you began to upload cthots...it changed my life and is my favourite thing of all time!! even though i remember my favourite being oliasc for a quick minute asdfghjdjshs

apologies for letting this ask languish in my inbox and thank you sm for your kind words!! <3

21: can you accurately predict how long your fics are gonna be?

*laughs hysterically* i'm REALLY bad at estimating chapter length lmao. cthots started as a <20 chapter project. i just uploaded nr 30. caged bird started as a <10 project for the whole fic, we're now on chap 10 and barely through the first arc. i'm notorious for underestimating how much i want to write, so no, i cannot predict.

23: dialogue or description & why is the other one so hard?

team dialogue all the way. description is scary because you have to constantly think in 3D and also try to describe the most banal gestures in a way that doesnt make you sound like you're an alien and is at the same time understandable and recognisable to your readers.

30: describe a fic that almost happened but then it didnt

i wanted to write a founders era nart time travel at some point. might still do it at some point but atm my two main stories are time travel so like,,,gonna have to get through those first

[bangchanswolfpelt]

The way perv soob just PLAYYYSSS ON MY MINDDD NOW CUZ OF YOU 😣😣😣😫😫😫😫🤤🤤🤤🥴🥴🥺🥺🥺💖💖

If you can fit it in I would adore some more perv soob, perhaps some somno ?? Boob obsessed soob ?? Getting caught ?? If those don't fit the perv soob agenda then that's totally fine do whatever you will with it bestie 😫😫🤤🤤

Also, I absolutely adore how half your stuff is 8 paragraphs minimum stop apologising for that silly, it hits too good for you to be cutting it down

Anyways hope youre doing well and have a good day <3

this is so sweet 😭😭😭😭

more pervy!Soob is definitely on the way, we have him penciled in for at least one day of Kinktober (and let's be real, i'm probably gonna work it into at least a couple of our other Soobin days too 🥴), and i'm definitely gonna be writing more of him beyond that as well because he's just too much fun to play with 🥰

and boo, the pervy Soobin agenda is anything and everything we want it to be, it is a malleable canon with diverging timelines, it is a choose-your-own-adventure. i've got out a longer somno fic i'm mapping out rn (and at least a couple of the branches on that involve him getting caught 😈), and the inbox is full titty-loving Soobs waiting for my attention 🤤 if there's anything specific you wanna see with him, tho, don't worry about whether it's inconsistent with anything we've established and drop me a line!! pervy Soobin is a multiverse for all of us to play in💕

y'all are gonna inflate my ego so much, i'm gonna get insufferable if you don't cut this shit out 😭 but seriously, i really don't have the words to explain how much i appreciate messages like this??? i feel like a dummy repeating myself, but it really makes me so happy and so excited to keep sharing my writing with y'all 🥰

also, me apologizing about things getting long isn't actually about the length, so much as it is—i just don't know when to stop? which means nothing ever gets posted as soon as i want it to be, haha 💀 y'all come to me with so many good ideas and i haaaaaate having them just languishing in my inbox or my drafts folder 😭

also, this seriously made my day when i got it, i hope you're doing great, nonnie💕💕💕💕