#beast complex chapter 23

[theplaguedogs]

Beastars chapter 15 and Beast Complex chapter 23

[djarins-cyare]

✭ Series Masterlist ✭

Languishing in a dull and lonely existence on the forest moon of Endor after travelling there to help salvage Death Star wreckage, a nearly fatal encounter with a mysterious bounty hunter out in the forest heralds an opportunity to utilise long-forgotten skills and develop something more profound than you ever thought possible.

Second person POV, present tense. Set post-season 2, diverges from Canon events before TBoBF and season 3. This is a novel-length, exceptionally slow burn with an original plot, worldbuilding, and fully-developed characterisation. SWU concepts and lore are accurately researched.

WORDS: 406,690

PAIRING: Din Djarin x Female Reader/You

RATING: Explicit (18+)

CHARACTERS: Din Djarin, Reader/You/Female OC, Original Non-Human Character(s), Original Human Characters, Greef Karga, Cara Dune, Leia Organa, Luke Skywalker, Grogu, Peli Motto

TAGS: Slow Burn, Slow Build, Romance, Love, Sexual Tension, Eventual Smut, Smut, Sex, Sexual Content, Explicit Sexual Content, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Fluff and Angst, Light Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Relationships, Healthy Relationships, Canon-Typical Violence, Blood and Injury, Dark Past, Additional Warnings In Author's Notes, Bounty Hunter Din Djarin, Soft Din Djarin, Touch-Starved Din Djarin, Din Djarin Needs a Hug, Smart Din Djarin, Soft Dominant Din Djarin, Ewok Species, Mandalorian Culture, Mando'a Language, New Razor Crest, Thoroughly Researched, Worldbuilding, No use of y/n.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This took me almost a year to write and four months to edit/proof. Each chapter is prefaced with specific tags and (where necessary) warnings, plus word counts. End notes contain translations and comments… this baby is thoroughly researched, so I’m sharing context where appropriate. I’ve also added definitions of in-universe terms so people less familiar with the franchise won’t be left wondering what the hell certain words or references mean. This is a slow burn (adult themes), and although the explicit content only occurs in the latter half, when it does, it warrants the ‘E’ rating. Basically, the first half is a love story, and the second half gets spicy. I hope you enjoy it!

READ THE COMPLETE STORY ON AO3:

(Chapters containing explicit content marked †)

Chapter 1: The Obstacle

Chapter 2: The Interrogation

Chapter 3: The Covenant

Chapter 4: The Snare

Chapter 5: The Strike

Chapter 6: The Groundwork

Chapter 7: The Genesis

Chapter 8: The Progression

Chapter 9: The Hide

Chapter 10: The Beast

Chapter 11: The Adjustment

Chapter 12: The Storm

Chapter 13: The Broadside

Chapter 14: The Intercourse

Chapter 15: The Village

Chapter 16: The Confession

Chapter 17: The Reprieve

Chapter 18: The Fortification

Chapter 19: The Ambush

Chapter 20: The Meridian

Chapter 21: The Homestretch

Chapter 22: The Union †

Chapter 23: The Overture

Chapter 24: The Crescendo

Chapter 25: The Harmony †

Chapter 26: The Cadence †

Chapter 27: The Ride †

Chapter 28: The Veneration †

Chapter 29: The Spree †

Chapter 30: The Tribute †

Chapter 31: The Courage

Chapter 32: The Feast

Chapter 33: The Exhibition †

Chapter 34: The Reward

Chapter 35: The Binding †

Chapter 36: The Synergy †

Chapter 37: The Match †

Chapter 38: The Flag †

Chapter 39: The Foundling †

Chapter 40: The Future †

Tumblr exclusive bonus scene: The Solace †

✨Additional Media✨

@burntheedges has written a spectacular little drabble detailing what Din was up to during the paragraph break near the end of chapter 1 (*SPOILERS* you don’t find this out until chapter 27).

@roughdaysandart has sketched a fantastic study of chapter 33, and it’s absolutely perfect (*SPOILERS* cliffhanger ending for the chapter).

@djarin-desires has created some awesome images of a few scenes using Midjourney.

Here’s a little bonus feature on how I created some of the more complex chapter images: part 1 and part 2.

I spent a stupid amount of money on the Hot Toys official Din Djarin action figure, simply so I could photograph him in poses from my fic 🤷🏼‍♀️ This is just a taster of what’s to come, but here he is in chapter 8, offering to help Reader climb onto the speeder.

🧡💚 Thank you for reading! 💚🧡

➤ MAIN MASTERLIST

[w2beastars]

Waezi2′s thoughts on “Beast Complex” chapter 23.

I wanted to blog about this gem for a while now. "The Wolf and The Dog" is as Paru as it get.

Meet Adamo.

Adamo is a 61 year old dog, a German shepherd to be specific. And he is a notorious stalker. And he is very good at it, but we will get to that in a minute.

Adamo doesn't think that what he does is creepy. He has an excellent nose and is a born tracker since that's what his family has been bred to be. Yes, even in Beastverse, dogs are a result of selective breeding.

His stalking is not of nefarious reasons as such, he is just obsessed with following animals his nose gets the attention of and learn everything about them for no reason than the satisfaction of the hunt.

But one day, the nose of this old dog catch a very special scent.

On his way home, Adamo notice a female wolf in his train who carries a massive bouquet of flowers with strong pleasant scents. As if she is hiding something. That's something a herbivore would normally do, so this catches Adamo's attention right away. He starts sniffing and learns surprisingly much about her, like that she can't be more than twenty and that she must work in an office filled with females as he can't notice any male scents. And she uses so much makeup and soap, anything to dim her own smell.

In his own mind, Adamo sees himself "painting" the female wolf and he now stalks her to learn everything about her.

Adamo gets sloppy for a second and gets noticed by the wolf. But she apparently doesn't realize he is stalking her, so she just smiles at him and goes on about her business... or her smile is a warning... or perhaps an invitation?

Adamo realize he is much more fixated about this wolf than any other of his targets, spending a month following her around.

It even seems like the old dog starts to have a strong affection towards the female wolf who BTW is named Fasa(appropriate name for her, look it up after reading this blog). She seems like a model citizen, early to bed, early to work and always nice to the elderly.

But in a Paru manga, that's often a red flag.

Adamu gets a closer look at her apartment...

... Damn.

Sure, there are plenty of predators in the Beastverse, but Fasa is an organized one, having chopped up her victim, keeping the different parts in bags in her fridge and eating brain and eyeballs, not wasting anything.

Adamo is shocked by what the female he has a creepy crush on has done and, without thinking, yells something he have not said in a long time:

Yep, Adamo is a retired police detective. No wonder he is such an effective stalker. And seeing someone committing a predator crime wakes up the old cop.

Fasa is however not intimidated by the old fart, she knew she was being watched, she just got sloppy and forgot to close her curtains. She smiles at Adamo when he says he used to be a police officer, recognizing a fellow canine who is a slave to their instincts. Fasa is a slave to her hunting instincts while Adamo is very much a dog, having only joined the police because he is good at tracking and at following orders. And now that he is retired, he keeps tracking other animals because he doesn't know what else to do.

Fasa then embrace Adamo, making the dog terrified as he has no idea if he is gonna end up in the wolf's fridge as well or if she is hugging him since they are "the same".

But then the actual cops comes.

Fasa is surprisingly calm about being arrested, not resisting at all. Feeling guilt about his unhealthy hobby, possibly because he was just reminded that he used to be a cop who arrested creeps like himself, Adamo is about to confess to the police officers that he is a stalker, but Fasa interrupts him.

Fasa claims that Adamo is in her apartment because she had kidnapped him and was about to eat him as well, then whispers to him that they are not similar at all.

... Makes you wonder if that is suppose to be assuring as his stalking is nowhere near as bad a crime as what she has done... or if it is degrading as he as a dog is a pale shadow of what a wolf is.

Either way, she smiles as she tells him to take care of himself, and the manga then ends with a perfect panel:

Adamo stands between the strong-smelling flowers Fasa used to hide the scent of the blood of her victim/victims, like she is covering up for his crime of stalking. The symbolism is chef-kiss worthy!

This is most likely in the top five of the best chapter of Beast Complex. Its a bittersweet tale and it is kinda funny how Fasa manage to appear more noble than Adamo... or at least have more dignity.

That's all for now. I'm Waezi2, and thanks for wasting time with me.

[irkimatsu]

Huskposting Masterlist

REQUESTS ARE OPEN!

A masterlist of all of my interesting fics and headcanon posts, so you don't have to scroll through all the two-sentence bullshit gumming up the Huskposting tag! NSFW pieces are marked as such. Fics, headcanons, song assignments, and other assorted tidbits that I think are worth looking at more than five minutes after I posted them.

Full Fics:

"If You're Lucky" - After losing a bet with Overlord Husk, the demon asks to have his way with you as your part of the deal. Originally intended as a standalone, I intend to turn this into a collection with a story arc eventually. NSFW!

"Teasing A Beast" - Oneshot where reader stripteases for Husk and then they have rough sex. Short, sweet, to the point. Reader has breasts and vagina. NSFW!

Headcanons:

Husk and one-night-stands in life

Musing about Husk's death

NSFW Heacanons

couple assorted SFW headcanons

Husk as an absent father

Headcanons going through Husk's life, up to his death

Husk nuzzling you so you smell like him

Husk's coping mechanism! (it's not great)

does he hate the name Husker?

he's too drunk to perform

Husk and religion

hehehe claw sucking

a reason for Overlord Husk to be fat

a magic trick goes wrong

assorted Overlord Husk horniness (NSFW!)

Husk's fluctuating weight

speculation about Husk and Alastor

possible future chapters of "If You're Lucky" (NSFW!)

Husk, US history, and legal gambling and alcohol

This man cannot fucking cook

Dominant Husk headcanons

Music (song links go to Tumblr posts that may or may not provide context for why I picked that song):

Full playlist

"Fallen Down" by Assemblage 23

"Forever 2013" by Bruderschaft

"Complex" by Dreams Divide

"The Modern Leper" by Frightened Rabbit

"Drown" by Imperative Reaction

"I Don't Remember" by Northern Lite

"Casino" by Toby Ash

I keep picking songs about drowning...

Drabbles:

Husk gushing about his S/O (centered around my self-insert, this was for me, sorry)

dancing with Husk in his room

dancing with Husk at a hotel party

playing with Husk's wings (NSFW!)

Husk dialogue during sex (NSFW!)

riding Husk (NSFW!)

Husk taking the lead with you (NSFW!)

Alastor interrupts (NSFW!)

Husk and the word "love"

to be Overlord Husk's spoiled pet...

massaging Husk's chest

more about being Overlord Husk's pet

Yandere Overlord Husk

Husk with a childhood friend of Alastor's

rough sex, Husk catching feelings

Other:

WHICH ONE OF YOU WOULD FUCK THIS OLD MAN

some cool t-shirts I yoinked from the fan Wiki

me infodumping to an outsider with Wiki facts

that line from Finale that itches my brain so good

you fuck wrinkly ass cats stop fucking submitting it

official Valentine's Day card

"Sober" cover by Paranoid DJ (not on my playlist but still worth a look)

FOXY GRANDPA

the first appearance of the phrase "cat nipples". get used to it

Keith David singing "LOVE" by Nat King Cole

me making terrible daddy jokes

my excuse for everything that happens on this blog anymore

[b-n-hendricks]

TL;DR: The next three chapters will be released every other week.

I'll be honest, these next few chapters are MASSIVE and COMPLEX beasts. And while I love to keep to a schedule (and wanted to end Arc 2 on X-mas), I need extra time for these to marinate. So, the last few chapters of Arc two (Ch 21, 22, 23.) will be released every other week.

Also to forewarn, there will be more news on the future of D.ALL once Arc 2 ends---But that can be saved for then. I am still thinking it through. Its nothing along the lines of D.ALL IS DEAD or anything like that. More just figuring out how I want to proceed with Arc 3 and D.ALL in general while pursuing other projects, and making the first two Arcs into a proper book. Anyhoo, see you all in two weeks!

[wondereads]

Weekly Reading Update (6/26/23)

Reviews and thoughts under the cut

Forest of Shadows by Erin Hunter (8/10)

After the lull that was Fire and Ice, this book picks up quite a bit, especially at the end. It still is so funny to me that this plot could be transplanted into a high fantasy novel and nothing would be out of place. There's forbidden romance, a major natural disaster, a tragic miscarriage, and a betrayal in pursuit of power. Not to mention the secret (aha get it because of the title) Fireheart discovers about Bluestar and some RiverClan cats. This book is a major turning point for the series as one major character will no longer be around as often and Tigerclaw has now officially made his move. Very fun, but also just not well-written enough for me to bump this past an 8.

Bonded by Thorns by Elizabeth Helen (9/10)

I have officially gotten Kindle Unlimited, and I picked this book up on a whim. I've seen some stuff about it on social media, and it was just so much fun. It is very much a fantasy romance with far more focus on the relationships than the plot or worldbuilding, but they definitely weren't lacking. It's clearly a Beauty and the Beast retelling (specifically the Disney version), but the addition of some magical shenanigans and an extra villain really freshen it up. Despite not being a very plot-heavy book, it's a great length that never really drags. A lot of fantasy romances tend to move very slowly, but this one didn't, and I really like it. Also, the love interests are distinct and quite complex. My one dislike lies in the main character, who is very much a typical protagonist for this genre. Easy to read through the eyes of but not exactly super compelling.

Woven by Gold by Elizabeth Helen (CR, 10%)

Since I enjoyed Bonded by Thorns so much, I immediately picked up the next one. I will say that the major problem introduced at the end of book one is almost immediately resolved, which is a little unsatisfying, but it did bring in some extra information and characters, so I'll let it slide. Kel is being so ridiculously thick it's verging on comical, but the other love interests are doing amazing.

The Wicked King by Holly Black (CR, 8%)

This book is my favorite of The Folk of the Air; Jude is in her element, scheming and running everything behind the scenes. I love fantasy politics, so I'm sure I'll love my reread just as much as I did the first time around. There's such clear urgency in this book from the first few chapters, it makes sure you have to continue.

Everblaze by Shannon Messenger (CR, 2%)

I've barely started this one, but I'm dead set on catching up on KotLC this summer. For now, I will say that I adore Sophie and Keefe.

[withoutyouimsaskia]

Remember Me, Special Dreams

Part III.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25

GIF: Originally posted by @ravenclairee​​​

Summary: Self-insert. You're having trouble with recurring night terrors and Morpheus pays you a visit. (Title from the lyrics of Placebo’s Special Needs)

Warnings: language, angst, mentions of night terrors.

Word Count: 1.3k

A/N: Hello Tumblr peeps. I’ve had another parasomnia episode since I posted last. This time I thought there was a crack in the ceiling above my bed and there were gelatinous things falling through. Such fun! Hope you enjoy this chapter, please let me know what you think, and also if you want to hear more about my night time hallucinations. Have a great day, Saskia

Sandman Masterlist

------------------

You resurface with a nervous energy humming in your bones. You are lying on your side, facing the curtain shrouded window. Thick crusts of sleepy dust have accumulated along your lower lash lines and in the corners of your eyes. You rub them away carefully with an index finger.

A siren wails outside. Your stomach rumbles loudly. Rhythmic ticks emanate from the wristwatch that sits on your bedside table.

There is no doubt that you are awake now.

You exhale shakily, successfully dispelling a single ounce of tension. You immediately feel less anxious, and your following inhales and exhales provide further relief.

That was some dream.

You begin to piece the sections together. Night terror into hallucination, into dream... into whatever the heck that was at the end.

It was a complex beast, but so was your life right now. You were now up to 8 days in a row of these parasomnia episodes. It was getting silly now, you knew this, and you were tired beyond measure, yet you were completely unable to get sustained rest without some kind of subconscious interruption. 

And with your emotions in constant overdrive and showing no signs of letting up, you were certain that they were going to continue for a little bit longer. 

A frustrated huff of air escapes your lips; you know your swirling mind will stop you from getting back to sleep for a while now.

Your thoughts drift back to your mind-conjured images of the beautiful Dream Man with the ethereal voice. He was a whole other breed of night terror. 

You wonder if perhaps you are losing your grip on reality and if a visit to the GP was in order. It was a task for tomorrow though, as there was no way you could make contact in the middle of the night.

You roll onto your back and realise that your lamp is on. You guess you must have fallen asleep again before getting a chance to switch it off after the hallucination part of your night.

You turn another 90 degrees, further towards the warm glow that pervades the space around you. By this point, the energy saving bulb has heated up enough, not only to successfully cast light across your whole mattress but also illuminate the face of the 'Dream Man' who is sitting on the chair across the room.

"Oh fuck!" You exclaim, recoiling away from him.

Your heart rate picks up like a sprinter off the starting blocks.

The man holds his hands up, palms facing you in a show of peace.

His voice rumbles with the same rainstorm-like quality as it did before.

"I will not hurt you. You have my word."  

You're not listening to him in the slightest though. Your chest is pounding painfully and you are worried you may vomit. A stream of consciousness falls from your lips instead.

"You're real. You're fucking real. Fuck! And I'm wearing next to nothing. Fuck!"

You're looking down at your bare legs peeking out from the tousled covers and hastily rearrange them to regain some dignity.

You look back to him and fix him with an accusatory stare.

"You have some serious explaining to do."

"I agree. Where would you like to begin?"

Your eyes drift off to the left as you try and choose.

You know that you should probably start with something like ‘why are you here?’ or ‘how did you get in?’ but all you keep coming back to is the question you utter with trepidation:

“Who are you?”

"In the folklore and legends of your world, I am known as The Sandman, The Oneiromancer. Across the other realms, I go by many names. I am Dream of the Endless, Lord Morpheus, The Shaper of Form, Keeper of the Dreaming, King of Dreams, Ruler of Nightmares and Curator of the collective unconsciousness of the universe."

"Okay, Daenerys Targaryen." You stifle a giggle in response to your joke.

He doesn't react.

"Huh, not into Game of Thrones then? You should look it up. Although I would advise sticking to the books. The series got a bit lost towards the end."

He shifts ever so slightly in the seat, the moss green velvet fabric standing out against his dark clothes. You snap back to the present.

You fidget with the seam of the duvet cover as your cheeks flush with blood. His gaze makes you feel insecure. 

"Sorry. I didn't mean to start babbling like that. I haven't been sleeping well."

“I know. That is precisely why I am here.”

His hands steeple in front of him. He leans forward, blue eyes trained on you intently.

“It has come to my attention that you have become the recipient of a plague of vicious and unrelenting nightmares. I have also seen a drastic change in your sleeping habits, with a concerning decline in the amount of time that you are spending in the Dreaming.”

This was no surprise to you in the slightest.

You had been deferring your bed time to a later and later point in the hope that you could tire yourself out enough to bypass the nightmares and night terrors. But they would always be there within an hour of your head hitting the pillow and would prevent you from getting no more than two hours of sleep at a time.

The Dream Man rises slowly and fluidly from the chair. His expression is tinged with something you cannot interpret.

“I've been observing you for a number of nights now to try and ascertain the cause of your plight. The very idea that this is happening to you as a result of a defect or weakness in the fabric of my realm truly disturbs me. As of yet, I have been unable to pinpoint the exact reason, however I will do everything in my power to ensure my success.”

He’s close to you now, his glacial scent drifts over you like mist rolling off a waterfall. 

“To be unable to sleep is to suffer. I only have to look at you to see that you are suffering and I cannot allow it to continue.”

You know all too well what he is seeing. Your bruised and swollen under-eyes have been the focus of many of the people you have come into recent contact with.

“I don’t know what to say,” you finally speak in a whisper.

“You do not need to say anything, for now you must sleep.”

He turns off your lamp and takes a single step backwards.

“Wait,” you call to him. “I don’t think I can sleep knowing what I now know.”

“You need not worry. I have already selected a dream for you. All you have to do is let it take you.”

“But-.”

“Lie down. Close your eyes.”

You visibly hesitate.

“Do as I say, Y/N.”

You reluctantly recline on your side but do not fulfill his second request.

You gaze at him with glassy, tired eyes.

"I'm afraid."

"They will not come for you, I promise. I will watch over you until morning."

You can't help but believe him.

You re-arrange your pillows and curl into a foetal position.

The Dream Man takes this as a sign that you are ready to sleep, and begins to walk away.

He is wrong.

In your tired delirium, you begin to converse chaotically to his retreating figure.

"You know, I still don’t know what to call you. You said so many names but didn’t tell me which one I was allowed to use."

He turns his head to look back at you.

His reply is a soft intonation that causes shivers to run through your entire body.

“You may call me Morpheus."

-----------------------

"These are the days. These are the strangest of all. These are the nights. These are the darkest to fall."

Taglist: @pinkcyclewitch @layla2-49 @shoidy-cat @silverhart93 @boofy1998

[the-teddy-bear-butch]

1, 3, 12, 13, 15, 19, 23, 24, 25, 27! Or I’d say any 5 from this list that you want lol because this is a lot

Oh boy [cracks knuckles]

1: favorite fic you wrote this year

Definitely the Christmas fic! I just enjoy the fluff so much and I worked really hard on it.

3: favorite line/scene you wrote this year

I answered this one with the ao3 wrapped asks forever ago but I’ll say it again! I like the imagery in this scene and this is where I think my descriptive writing and sense of metaphors really fell into place, from bad idea!

The girl in front of Robin moved back and forth, alcohol strong on her breath. She laughed as Robin spun her and pulled her close, her breath hot on the stranger’s ear. She made pointed eye contact across the bar, watching as Nancy was illuminated in soft pink. It matched the shade of her lips—the blush Robin wanted to put on her cheeks.

Blue light shone down on Robin and the stranger, gleaming in the former’s stormy eyes as they met with Nancy’s ocean.

Waves crashed and lightning struck, filling the room with unbearable electricity. The lights met and flared in an intense clash of violet sky, and Robin knew she was doomed to be lost at sea. Her heart was racing with exertion and excitement, drawn against her will to the other girl—the girl who wanted to kill her. The girl who was probably planning her demise at this very moment. The thought was exhilarating.

12: favorite character to write about this year

Nancy Wheeler my beloved <33 She’s just such a complex, malleable character. I love writing her personality and trying to figure out how she would respond in certain scenarios—and since the Duffers won’t let her explore her trauma, I will!! Also as an eldest daughter burnt out gifted kid… She’s very projection shaped

13: favorite writing song/album/artist of this year

Stick Season by Noah Kahan for sure! I still would really, really like to write a string of one shots for each song, but especially Growing Sideways, Northern Attitude, and The View Between Villages. I love his music and his voice and I think it’s very easy to ronancify this album lol

15: something you learned this year

Oh this one is fun. Imma be cheesy about it. I learned to stop letting what other people think of me get in the way of having fun. I was so against ever writing fic because “I don’t want to be cringe and get made fun of.” Fuck that. I am cringe and it’s FUN. I will own it with pride. I like my silly little self indulgent fics.

19: any new fics to start next year

Oh god so many. I’m not kidding when I say I’m past 30 on the WIP/idea list. I’ll toss some favorites tho:

say you’re gonna come back: one shot based on Sports Car by Valley, Ronance reunite and fall in love all over again years down the road

there in the garden, she looked my way: beauty and the beast au multi chapter featuring vampire Nancy and just so much pining

she will pull the trigger: monster hunter Nance and werewolf Rob and they’re both GNC ft toxic lesbianism because wanting to kill each other is sexy

23: fics you wanted to write but didn’t

I’m still thinking so hard about run, devil, run, which was a Wild West au featuring werewolf Nance and vampire Rob but I don’t think that one will stick. I go through a circle of phases of really stubborn hyperfixations and the wild west pops up as one of them but never stays for long. Was feeling it for a week, wrote one scene, then sort of dropped it to lowest priority

24: favorite fic you read this year

Oh god there are so many. I refuse to pick just one, but I’ll stick with 3 I think.

One of them (surprise) is you! a never ending story changed my brain chemistry. dungeon master rules lawyer repressed furious mega nerd comphet religious guilt traumatized Nancy my beloved!!!! Not saying I’d get a tattoo based off a fic but I am saying a d20 on 13 would be so cool… (also special shout out to DITM, I love that one dearly too, especially Martha) I also ADORE when you can tell a writer is into poetry and it shows in their word. Flowery prose and heart shattering metaphors my beloved

I have sung praises about this fic and I’ll fucking do it again. Bloodletting my beloved. I am once again in awe of the way @lavenderlevetan weaves the story and connects all the pieces. I love the dynamic and the way the tension builds. I am feral about vampires and biting, sue me.

And I have to say put me in the movies (on a king sized silver screen) by @sapphicriley is also one of my all time favorites. I love the back and forth banter and it’s sweet and fluffy and it’s just a feel good fic and I like to reread it when I’m feeling down. Another example of poetic writing as well <33

25: a fic you read this year that you would recommend everyone read

Well all of the one from above ofc. Also dancing in the moonlight. Also,,, Raise Dead by @eskawrites killed me and healed me. If you can handle the angst, this one is an incredible read and I cannot recommend it enough. I don’t really cry when reading, but this one actually had me in tears in the best way.

27: favorite fanfic author of the year

This is like asking me to pick a favorite child. God. I’m terms of writing, I have to say it’s between a few, but there’s this one rando who wrote this D&D fic and also one about monster fucking. You might have heard of her? I think her name is summersociety or something.

I also adore @lavenderlevetan (I will continue to scream about Bloodletting forever!!!) and you guys are in for a treat with some of the WIP sneak peeks I’ve gotten from @suwunnysideup

And I have to say every single one of my mutuals are just such incredible, talented writers, and such amazing friends. I love you all. 🥺

[violetjedisylveon]

Eda raises two gods AU

Yes, I've made another AU.

He hatched! Art and AU explanation (explanation may not be as correct anymore)

🛑AU Warnings🛑

There is so much trauma here, just so much of it, you can fit so much trauma into a star child. Main warnings are: child abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse, verbal abuse, spiritual abuse, manipulation, trauma, traumatic flashbacks, PTSD, Complex PTSD, implied/referenced death, violence and injury, other bs that is Belos's fault. Then there's chronic pain, self loathing, self esteem and self worth issues and other stuff but you get the jist.

All chapters have their own warnings.

Fics:

Intruder (chap 1) Ao3 link

A Fitting Name (chap 2)

Out Of The Nest (chap 3)

Into The Market (chap 4)

Easy Day (chap 5)

Safe Under Moonlight (chap 6)

Friend? (chap 7)

Forest Encounter (chap 8)

Slip Up (chap 9)

The Beast's Mother (chap 10🎉)

Stitch Up My Guilt (chap 11)

Spoiled Hatchlings (chap 12)

A Weekend At Datura's (chap 13)

Stories And Spirits (And Kitties!) (chap 14)🎂🎉

Starshine (chap 15)

Playdate (chap 16)

Tipping Point (chap 17)

Free Fall (chap 18)

Solid Ground. (chap 19)

Ready Now (chap 20)🎉🎉

Pinkie Swear (chap 21)

To Grandma's House We Go! (chap 22) 🎂🎂🎉🎉

Hanging Out Before School Starts (And Biting Bullies) (chap 23)

Library Visit (chap 24)

Art:

Enzo's disguise

Snugglessss

Enzo and Swamp Kittens 🎂🎉

Datura Isn't Subtle 🎂🎉

Noodle In A Blanket + animatic sneak peek

Characters:

Noodle Bellatrix Spring the Grassland Cat Snake

Clover Margay

Gailine Margay

Datura the Werebeast

Celeste The Titan

Ira the Archivist

Evelyn Clawthorne

Other Art Stuff:

A Thing I Did For Fun

Meme dump #1

More memes

Animatics:

Sleepy Swamp Kitties (animation practice)

More eventually coming soon, I promise... Art takes a while.... and I keep getting distracted

Other Stuff:

Creature/World building ramble cause Ao3 ran out of characters in the notes

Archivist/Collectors Headcanon

Cross My Heart... (Parts 1-15)

Upcoming multi piece art project

[nikadoesanart]

My predictions on BSD getting animated going forward

I’ll be taking a look at the novel page counts (Japanese and English) and comparing them to the screen time they’ve gotten so far and then using this to predict how long the remaining light novel adaptations will be (approximately). At the end will also be my rough prediction/hopes for the order of some of these being adapted. I say some because I have yet to read what there is so far of the gaiden novel translations, the main story manga has essentially still been on the DOA arc almost since where the anime left off, and I personally think that it’s currently too soon for Storm Bringer (aside from money purposes).

Note, most of this was written well before the anime 5th anniversary livestream but the announcements wound up not affecting it. I then of course made adjustments as needed account for the novel content we do have so far, both in Japanese and in English (officially).

Page to Episode Count

Not counting the afterward, ads, etc for the English/US copy, Japanese is including it

Also all eng page counts are using the Yen Press release and jp page counts are taken from the fandom wiki

*148 is purely counting the Untold Origins portion of the novel. If we also count the A Day at the Agency short story that’s included before it (56 pages), then we get the full 203

Also the English page count for BEAST was noted before the English release date but after page counts have been posted by affiliated retailers, so subtract a couple pages from the written count of 176 for the time being to account for the afterward and possible character sheets being included

Now that we have our page to episode counts (as of April 5th, 2021), let’s find the actual content run time of what we do have animated so far.

Seasons 1-3 and the OVA all have the same episode length/duration. Each episode is 23 minutes, and we can subtract 3 minutes on average from that to account for the OP and ED being played. This leaves us with an average of 20 minutes of BSD story content per episode. So on average, each of the first 3 seasons contain 240 minutes, or 4 hours, worth of story content.

Dead Apple’s total run time is 91 minutes, with the OP and ED making up 9 of those minutes. However, we do have a bit of the story content being played while the ED is playing (as sometimes happens in the anime as well). To keep the math simple, I’ll be approximating story content time at 82 minutes.

Apply these numbers to the novels that have been animated so far and this is (approximately) what we get:

Now let’s use these numbers to predict the screen time needed for the other novels

Note that we can’t really use Entrance Exam as a fair measure because of how much got cut out (just compare the run time of it to Dark Era and it speaks for itself). However, the numbers for Dark Era and Dead Apple are the best ones to use, as they both have minimal changes between anime and novel and both have official English translations currently available. Take out the approximate time taken up by OP/ED and and the numbers pretty much match up.

So with that being said, we can estimate Untold Origins (only) at approximately 3 eps/60 min and 55 Minutes at 1h 40-55min/100-115 min or 5-6 eps if it doesn’t get a movie. We can also estimate the A Day at the Detective Agency short story at the beginning of Untold Origins to take up about 1 ep, probably even a bit less.

1+ 3 + 5-6 = 9-10 episodes which isn’t enough for a full single cour season unless they all get put into one big OVA season, but also 10-11 eps (or less) seasons are a thing (ie. Fugou Keiji: Balance Unlimited, Blood Lad, Black Butler: Book of Circus, The Seven Deadly Sins: Signs of a Holy War, FLCL)

My personal predictions/hopes for the anime adaptation timeline going forward

This is considering the manga content, current “pausing/stopping points” what wouldn’t be too awkward, each of the novels relevancy/necessity to the main story manga, and assuming we continue with single cour (12-13 ep) seasons

Hopefully/ideally a 55 Minutes movie

S4: ch 54-70

Early S5 (preferably) or end of S4: Untold Origins or A Day at the Agency

S5: ch 71-88/around where we are now?

A Day at the Agency can, in my opinion at least, be chucked in at any point either as a single episode OVA or as the light novel content for s4 (maybe not even taking a full episode and then starting ch 54 in the last few minutes for example). Keep in mind that the current DOA arc is a long one and has plenty to it, so personally I think it may even be better to not include a novel adaptation in a future S4, as it would likely already be a right squeeze content wise. Remember, we also have a few XX.5 chapters that are continuations of the chapter directly before them.

I still need to read what’s currently available of the gaiden novel fan translations but it can probably be adapted at any point as well. I’m estimating approximately 5-6 eps as an OVA series. I don’t really think it would get a movie, partially because you can make it only so long, especially since it’s an anime movie and unlike Storm Bringer, it doesn’t have Chuuya to practically guarantee the profit.

BEAST also doesn’t directly impact the main story and can be adapted at virtually any point. However, seeing as we do have a live action confirmed for it and it’s page count lines up very closely with Dark Era, it can be either 4 eps or (more likely in my opinion) a movie, as it can be considered almost stand alone content.

Personally, I believe it is currently way too soon to animate Storm Bringer as it came out only a little over a month ago (as of writing this) and has minimal plot necessity as of ch 91, but I do believe it should be either split into 2 movies (a part 1 and part 2) or it would need 8 episodes, likely as an OVA season. If it were to get animated sooner than 55 Minutes or Untold Origins, which I believe to be very unlikely, I feel that it would almost certainly be driven by the financial gains of Chuuya being included, and his popularity alone. Reminder, SB is about Chuuya and not SKK. Dazai’s appearance in SB is proportionally a very small percentage and he’s not even mentioned in the official plot summary.

However, you can argue that SB is starting to have some relevance now, with the recent mention of the Order of the Clock Tower in ch 90 and the increased relevance of sealed ability weapons in ch 91. However, I really do believe that you can’t adapt Storm Bringer before 55 Minutes because of Standard Island and its treaty, it also talks about sealed ability weapons, knowing who Wells is, and 55 Minutes canonically takes place during the “downtime” portion of S3. In fact, here’s Asagiri’s words directly from the Afterward (translation by Yen Press):

“this volume didn’t take place in the past, but rather sometime after the tenth volume of the manga. In other words, it’s a tale about the ‘usual’ detective agency in novel format.” (55 minutes, p 237)

Untold Origins also should be adapted sooner rather than later (at least compared to SB in my opinion) because it’s about Ranpo and Fukuzawa’s shared past, which becomes increasingly relevant ch 70 onwards, as well as the need for the ADA being founded (which ties in with Yosano’s backstory in ch 65-66).

In regards to whether I think each of these would be better suited to a movie adaptation or as multiple regular length anime episodes, it’s mainly due to page count and partly due to the budget difference between the two, as well as how difficult I think it would be to animate each of these based on what needs to be drawn. The anime industry isn’t the fastest to switch to newer technology, hence why we see issues with 3D blending sometimes. I really do think that at the very least, 55 Minutes deserves the movie budget because of how detailed and complex the architecture of Standard Island is described as, as well all the mechanical parts needed for the final battle of the novel. Hate the lizard mouths introduced in Dead Apple all you want, but you can’t deny that the 3D cgi was blended very smoothly. For any of the other novels to be movies, it’s more so because gaiden and BEAST can be considered their own stand alone stories that don’t rely too heavily on the main story in terms of when they take place and get adapted. I feel that SB is more likely to get its own season or an OVA season more so due to its length, but multiple part anime movies have also been done before (ie. the Fate/Stay Night: Heaven’s Feel movies), so it’s not entirely impossible. Especially considering that merely having any Chuuya screen time means that you can expect the profit and popularity to really go up, especially with SKK being on screen together (regardless of whether you love or hate how the fandom tends to push a shipping POV on them).

These are all of course just my hopes and predictions and estimates based on information currently available, so take them with some salt. I’d love to hear opinions on how, when, and why each of the currently non animated novels should be adapted going forward. Also please stop begging the relevant BSD official Twitter pages for SB to be animated next and go read the other light novels you Chuuya simp

[w2beastars]

I am sorry, I meant to ask about the new beast complex chapter 23? Good luck!

Oh yes, been waiting for a while to do so, read the in-progress translation months ago and let me tell you, you guys are in for a treat of messed-up Paru gold

[addictedtojmanga]

Shoujo manga recommendations - misunderstood yankee looking sweet guys

1. Ai Kara Hajimaru 

Sakura Ai has always loved sunflowers, as they appear like the sun, which incidentally also was the name of her first crush, Taiyou, in the 3rd grade. From since then, Ai has never had another love and has also become quite introverted, but after meeting a guy with the same name, something’s will begin to change…

2. Akuma ga Kitarite 

Ruiji is secretly in love with Wakatsuki. But how can he declare his love when this one is frightened to death every time she meets his eyes?

3. Beast Master

Leo Aoi looks like a crazy animal with wild eyes, and he goes berserk whenever he feels threatened and sees blood. That doesn't stop animal-lover Yuiko Kubozuka from befriending him, however. In fact, Yuiko is the only person Leo will listen to when he has one of his violent fits...

4. Boyfriend no Jouken

Arimura Rin, high school first year. The start of her idolized high school life. Or so she thought! But her class is filled with delinquents, so she only has days filled with fear. On top of that, she ended up pissing off Igarashi Chiaki, an eye-patched boy who snaps when provoked! It’s so not an atmosphere for romance! Even so, she promised her ex-classmates from middle school that she’ll introduce her boyfriend to them, so now she’s in a real pinch! 

5. Hamuko to Gao-kun

Kimiko Mihoshi and Gao-kun, the rumored class delinquent, recently became class representatives. While searching for Gao-kun to invite him to a class gathering, she stumbles across him with two nerdy guys and immediately assumes that he is bullying them. She interferes, but only to find out that the three of them are actually close friends, and the rumored delinquent is actually a really nice guy. Furthermore, he even asks Kimiko to be his girlfriend?! What will Kimiko do? Thus begins a new romantic comedy!

6. Hapira Hajimaru

Asai Sachi's luck has always been considered dreadful. After becoming the class president, she meets Kurono Hyougo, a guy with a frightful face who bears various gruesome rumours behind his back. Hyougo had been living alone in an apartment; but when Sachi mistakenly reveals that Hyougo is a minor, he had to be kicked out. Fortunately, Sachi's father is a realtor, and suggested to have Hyougo live in their unused detached house. Would Sachi's bad luck turn upside down upon meeting Hyougo?

7. Haru No Ogawa Wa Dokidoki Suru Yo

When Fujii Nanami comes across a group of delinquents beating up another boy, her first instinct is to run away. But forgetting what she saw is harder than it seems, and when she goes back to treat his wounds, she finds her fear of him beginning to fade as an unlikely friendship springs up between them...

8. Heart Assassin

Shio deals with unwanted attention from a transfer student known as "The Assassin."

9. Honey Buddy

Being loved by a new era yankee and an old-style yankee, a love triangle. it's troublesome being popular (only among yankees though). 

10. Honey Come Honey

Mitsu is a high schooler who looks cute and fluffy, but on the inside? The first day of her transfer, she meets a popular guy with a mysterious weapon. She's scared of him but she knows his secret?

11. Hyakujuu Kingdom

Taiga Shishio, the Student Council President, is a notorious tyrant. And yet, the only person that can stop him is his faithful Vice President Momoko. School, love, and trouble collide in this amazing story of student leadership. 

! Lacks romance, but pretty good. 

12. Kaibutsu-san ni, Rei!

At the Christmas training camp, Yuzuki was paired up with no other than... that guy?!

13. Kedamonozakari, Koizakari

Tsugumi is good with handling animals. One day, teacher suddenly asks her to take care of a problem, Shiro nicknamed "rampaging lion"...?

14. Kenka Bancho Otome - Koi no Battle Royale

For as long as she's been aware, the heroine, without a single relative, lived under care of the state. Both of her parents' faces were unknown to her. In front of this heroine, a young boy appeared. The young boy's name was "Hikaru." It appeared that he was the heroine's twin brother, separated at birth. He had a proposal for the heroine.

! Last chapter not translated. Available in spanish. 

15. Kimi Ni Koishitei Desu Ka

Chigira Ruiji is a man born with the face of a demon. Trouble follows him wherever he goes. However, he just wants to live a normal high school life and make some friends, and even fall in love...

16. Kumori Nochi Saku

For a shy boy and an energetic girl, love starts at their part time job!

17. Life Is Short, Delinquent Youngster, Love! 

An infamous delinquent is told that he would die soon unless he dates this girl from another school.

18. Mata Ashita (Murata Mayu)

Towa's always been shy around guys, despite being a total tomboy. This has crushed her chances of ever having a boyfriend, but a perhaps fateful encounter on the first day of high school might lead to love? But will it be with the surprisingly kind "angelic" delinquent, or the popular yet secretly "devilish" prince?!

19. Me no Tsukedokoro ga Deep Desho

Mina is a girl who has a strong hope of finding her destined person. With that goal in mind, she tries her best with different types of guys wishful of finding the right person. Even when her childhood friend, a yankee named Yuito, is already by her side. Will she ever find her destined person? A romantic comedy, coming-of-age tale of love and friendship.

20. Mikami-kun no Himitsu

Mikami's scary, I'm telling you! But wait, what's this secret of his?

21. Ookamidomo no Shitsukekata

Origawa Industry Public High School is a school filled with rough men. There's only one girl in this high school packed with wolves. But this little sheep isn't an ordinary person!

22. Sora Log

Our protagonist, Hikaru, is a member of the astronomy club at her school. On one beautiful starry night, she encounters a tall boy with blonde hair that looks almost white. However, he turns out to be...?!

23. Taro-kun wa Kou Miete Igai to xxx desu. 

Living in the same apartment complex, my friend Taro-kun who always looks so scary actually is…?

! Has a sequel (Yappari Taro-kun wa Kou Miete Igai to xxx desu)

24. Toshishita Yankee wo Oseru Ken

A dangerous love comedy between a brilliant high school student and a younger delinquent starts! Nachi, a fan of a cute male character of a social network game, decides to make use of her abilities as the top student of her grade and becomes a part-time tutor in order to earn money and pay for items in her game. However, her student, Soushi, is not only younger but also a delinquent with red hair! Tutor Nachi, who is even prepared to face even death, starts to see Soushi's cute side...?!

[king-maven-calore]

*asks about Mare's M scar turn into another episode of Annie overanalyzing YA books*

this is your fault guys. In trying to make sense of Mare's "decision" to keep the scar, and reading your takes on the matter I started to wonder if there was something more to it than what is offered as an explanation in Mare's PoV. Some parts of the story can't be taken at face value and still expect them to make sense in the established narrative.

⚠️ LONG POST AHEAD ⚠️ and I apologize in advance for my limited English to try to elaborate on such a complex subject.

Anon #1 said: I AGREE WITH YOU SM. I don't understand why Mare kept the scar. Imagine having to explain to your children how you got it...

Anon #2 said: Same. Personally I think she shouldn’t keep it. She claims that she keeps the scar so that it can always remind her of who Maven truly is, but there are literally multiple reminders to remind of who he is. Like the entire Nortan government changing. He was the cause of everything and it caused a domino effect. He caused Shade’s death, babies dying, etc. so all that should be a reminder of who he is imo.

@lucy-the-cat said: Well, in King's Cage she held onto the brand as proof that Maven was irredeemable and didn't deserve sympathy. This framing continued in War Storm, where Mare weaponizes it during the meeting. After killing him, she probably kept it to reassert to herself that she made the right choice.

After killing him in War Storm, she needs to reassert to herself that she made the right choice. Remember that strange scene where she talks to Cal and is all “You’re mad at me for killing your brother” and he’s very confused and she insists “You are you just don’t know it yet”? She’s projecting her guilt over Maven’s death onto him, and in Broken Throne, she sees Cal grieve for the brother that never was, and fears succumbing to the same.

War Storm has a passage where Cal discusses healing some of his scars and Mare retorts that some things should be remembered. But here’s the thing: When a scar heals, the memory of how you got it doesn’t disappear. It’s about not ACTIVELY reminding yourself of it every time you look in the mirror.

That’s self-harm logic. And Mare has always been prone to self-harm, what with her keeping Maven’s letters and admitting to scratching herself in King’s Cage. She got better about it as the books went on, but to me the brand is proof she never fully grew out of it. Maybe she did eventually but humans will do anything to rationalize continuing what we’re already doing.

And yeah, I can see Cal giving up and being like, “FINE I’ll enable you” lol

I think we can all agree that the use of the scar during WS makes sense from a propaganda standpoint, also as a reminder for herself because at that point in the story Maven is still alive and kicking it.

In a world where erasing scars completely is a possibility, it's very interesting that the protagonist chooses to keep it after it served its purpose in the plot. Hence, my problem with the scar starts after the main plot arc ends, when Maven is already gone and the sole presence of the mark becomes a source of retraumatization for Mare.

I really like lucy-the-cat's psychological explanation and I couldn't have worded it better myself. On the other hand, in literature, a wound tells a story.

A scar is a narrative inscribed into the hero's skin, granting them authority over the lived ordeal. Think of the term "Battle scars" something that men used as badges of honor, as proof that they fought in a romanticized war and proved themselves to a patriarchal society that deems violence a form of authority.

Mare takes this conception when she is trying to convince Montfort to go against Maven.

Traumatic memories lack verbal and narrative context; rather, they are encoded in the form of vivid sensations and images (a "death imprint"). The traumatic memory gains destructive force not for the link to the past, but for the repetition in the present of the event that hasn't been fully processed yet.

“You had some scars removed.”

I can only shrug. It’s been weeks since I had a healer erase the older scars across my back and ribs, wiping away the raised edges of white, knotted flesh. Wounds unbecoming of a king. (...) “Some things don’t have to be held on to.”

Her eyes narrow. “And some things do, Cal.”

I can only nod in silent agreement, unwilling to follow her over the precipice of that particular conversation. It won’t lead us anywhere productive. (War Storm ch 23)

If we take a look at the dichotomy of Mare's choice with Cal's, and how it relates to their character arcs, we can see a very common device used in media that employs the damaged body to show the state of the character's soul.

In mainstream media such as Beauty and the Beast, Star Wars, Moon lovers (a K-drama) the redemption of the male protagonist's soul, the ending of their journeys, is marked by the restoration of the body either by transforming back into human (the Beast), the healing of a scar (Kylo Ren/Ben Solo, and Wang So), just to mention a few.

At this point in the story, Cal is nearing his final redemptive act by stepping down from the throne, while Mare is reaching her final destructive act, Maven's murder.

I have scars of every kind, from Maven’s brand, from wounds not properly healed, from my own lightning. But I am not a ruin. Not yet. (WS chapter 8)

What I mean to say is, the scar is as much of a choice as the destruction of her soul in the name of the greater good, which isn't much of a choice at all (narratively speaking). And the permanence of the brand even when in canon she could simply have it healed is the metaphorical repressentation of her healing journey. The healing journey that barely fucking starts at THE END of War Storm, as we all know from the infamous epilogue.

Anyway, I hope that made sense. Here's the article mentioned above ("Scarred narratives and speaking wounds").

[baoshan-sanren]

Chapter 29

of the wwx emperor au I’m thinking of calling Lan QiRen’s Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Week oh god it’s only gonna get worse

Prologue | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 Part 1 | Chapter 8 Part 2 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12 | Chapter 13 | Chapter 14 | Chapter 15 Part 1 | Chapter 15 Part 2 | Chapter 16 | Chapter 17 | Chapter 18 | Chapter 19 | Chapter 20 | Chapter 21 | Chapter 22 Part 1 | Chapter 22 Part 2 | Chapter 23 | Chapter 24 | Chapter 25 | Chapter 26 | Chapter 27 | Chapter 28

Wei Ying has watched the lanterns on every fifth night of his birthday festival for as long as he can remember.

His earliest memories are pale and indistinct, a collection of images and sounds, slithering through his fingers even as his grip tightens. The cold rooftop tiles under his hands, being lifted up onto his father’s shoulders, his mother’s delighted laughter. The Empress of the Shan Empire, a cool and dignified statue in the daylight hours, dancing over the moonlit roof peaks in her bare feet. Falling asleep in her lap while the lanterns drifted above, the soft murmur of his parents’ voices lulling him into sweet dreams.  

Eighteen years, and eighteen lantern festivals, but most of those he remembers clearly are filled with an ache of loss. He has often cursed his unreliable childhood memories, lamenting the cruelty of recollections that deny him access to those early years. Guilt usually follows after, as relentless as the passing of time. He has never had a cause to feel abandoned; not one festival has gone by where he was allowed to sink into despondency and isolation. Even on those years when copious amounts of wine were needed, his brothers had always been by his side, prepared to chase away the loneliness by any means necessary. Without Nie HuaiSang and Jiang Cheng, Wei Ying is certain that he would have grown twisted and warped by the loss, forever attempting to lean into the warmth that no longer existed. All that he is, and will still become, he owes to them. To shijie, to Wen Qing, to Wen Ning and A-Yuan.

But the easy, uncomplicated joy of watching the lights dance across the sky, that had gone away on his twelfth birthday. He had been convinced that it would never return. Not because of the loss, or the accompanying ache which had, over time, grown dull and heavy instead of sharp and bright, but because he believed it impossible, to feel a child’s joy once having reached adulthood.

There are many things he believed to be impossible before meeting Lan Zhan.

The outskirts of YiLing are sparsely populated to the east, a few sprawling farms and long pasture fields stretching between the town and the river. They have a small hill to themselves; the ground is still warm from the sun, the air saturated with the syrupy scent of the late autumn harvest, the fireflies rivaling the lanterns with their lights. They can hear the sounds of celebration from YiLing, but the noise is far away and muffled, barely penetrating the comfortable cocoon of silence between them.

Wei Ying’s little finger is hooked around Lan Zhan’s.

They are lying down, eyes locked on the sky. Wei Ying is sure that he will have grass and dirt in his hair, and probably a liberal smear of both on his robes. He is also sure that Lan Zhan’s hair and robes will be as pristine as they were before he cautiously stretched himself out by Wei Ying’s side.

Their shoulders are almost close enough to touch. Lan Zhan’s hand had trembled once, then settled into stillness. Wei Ying can hear him breathe, the rhythm slow and even. He thinks, if he were only to shift a little closer, if the din of YiLing were to fall quiet, perhaps he could hear Lan Zhan’s heart beating as well, and discern if it flutters as restlessly as his own.  

The touch is small and insignificant. Wei Ying has already held Lan Zhan’s hand in his own, had tangled their fingers together, had felt the warmth of his palm. But it does not feel small. The contact overshadows the lights above; a bright, single point of happiness that Wei Ying would give anything to keep.

“Lan Zhan,” he says.

“Mhm.”

Wei Ying bites his tongue.

It is not the lack of words that gives him pause. He possesses a river of words that relentlessly rushes whichever way it pleases, paying no mind to his intentions or wishes. He has had to learn how to dam this river; the Emperor must always take care of how he speaks, least he means to start a war with an offhand remark. But Lan Zhan is not a an overbearing sect leader, or a supplicant asking for favors. Nothing Wei Ying wants to say can ever be simple, because complexity is rooted in his birth, his status, his entire existence.

And yet.

What can be more simple than a feeling of emptiness finally filled, a sense of completeness, of irrevocable rightness?

Lan Zhan turns his head to look at him. There is a firefly hovering over his temple, a tiny burst of light traveling across a flawless cheek. In the gloom, his eyelashes seem thicker, his eyes black, their depth an endless abyss.

Wei Ying wants to look at him forever.    

“Lan Zhan, I really like you.”

The dark eyes widen, then immediately return to their study of the sky. Wei Ying watches his throat move, a heavy swallow that could mean anything at all. He cannot tell if there are words building behind the movement, and despite the obvious surprise in his gaze, as brief as it was, Lan Zhan’s expression has not changed.  

No, Wei Ying is wrong. It has changed.

There is a faint tremble to his eyelashes. The tips of his ears appear slightly darker. His throat moves again, but his mouth does not.

His little finger is still hooked around Wei Ying’s. It has not pulled away.

There is an entire language being spoken in front of Wei Ying’s eyes, but it is a language he does not yet understand. It is frustrating and painful to think, that he may never have an opportunity to learn, that Lan Zhan may not want him to know.

His future stretches in front of him, a lone seat on top of a dais, as decades endlessly melt into one another, seasons coming and going, favors given and taken away, a continuous tedium of birthdays, and festivals, and sect leader meetings. Lan Zhan nothing more than a cool and collected face, glimpsed twice a year among the sea of others, forever remaining a half-met stranger.

It is unbearable.

“Lan Zhan--“

“You are the Emperor,” Lan Zhan says, his voice stiff.

“Yes, but--“

“Young Master Lan!”

Startled, they both jerk upright, reaching for their swords.

“There you are,” an annoyed voice comes from the bottom of the hill, “if not for the Lan Sect funeral robes, I would have passed by this hill a dozen times.”

Wei Ying cannot make out the small shape climbing closer to them, but he recognizes the voice easily.

Lan Zhan has already gotten to his feet and moved back, placing himself a respectable distance away. Wei Ying was right. His hair and robes are as immaculate as they were before. Wei Ying, on the other hand, is pretty sure that he has grass sticking to his entire back.

“Why is it always you?” he snaps at the small disciple.

The boy, now close enough where he does not need to shout, offers him a sloppy bow and a disgruntled greeting.

“Your Majesty.”

“Your Majesty, Your Majesty” Wei Ying grumbles, “not two days ago you tried to bite me. I should have you tossed in the dungeons.”

“If it pleases Your Majesty,” the boy says, “this one would rather spend the night in the dungeon than traipsing through the YiLing countryside. Sect Leader Nie asks Your Majesty to meet him at the Lan Sect camp. There has been a development.”

“The Lan Sect camp?” he glances at Lan Zhan, but this time, the other boy’s face is truly unreadable.

“What is a Lan Sect camp? What development?”

“This one does not know,” the disciple says with exaggerated patience, “but if Your Majesty were to go there, I am sure it will all be made clear.”

Wei Ying ignores him.

“Lan Zhan, what is he talking about? What camp?”

Lan Zhan is silent for a few moments before he speaks, “The Lan Sect escort. The disciples that accompanied us to YiLing. There are no accommodations to be had in the town itself, so they have made camp on the outskirts.”

“Why?” Wei Ying asks, feeling bewildered, “all the other disciples are in the Immortal Mountain City. Why would you leave yours in YiLing?”

Lan Zhan’s throat moves again, but he does not need to speak. Wei Ying understands the moment the words have left his mouth.

They were not invited.

Uncle has always been the one to send out invitations, the Jiang Sect lotus prominently placed next to the Imperial Seal, his signature replacing Wei Ying’s, who could not be bothered with such minor formalities.

Fury rises in him for the second time that night, but this one is cold and already settled, not likely to wane any time soon.

“They will be coming with us,” he says, turning to head back down the hill.

What other small formalities have been left to Jiang FengMian over the years? Many more than Wei Ying can count; if he is to begin questioning his uncle’s methods, each must be addressed, reinspected, and altered if necessary.

This will take weeks. Possibly months.

Striding ahead, wishing he could kick something, he turns to the small disciple.

“Little beast, what is your name?”

The boy grimaces, but offers a half-bow, even sloppier than the one before, “This one is Nie XuanYu.”  

“Nie XuanYu,” Wei Ying says, “You have a bad temper and a terrible attitude. Try and pay attention to the Second Young Master, and you may yet learn how a disciple is supposed to behave.”

[flipomatic]

Internship Chapter 9: Day 4 - Emira

Author Note: Here comes the last NaNo update, since November is about to end. I’m at 48 thousand words and am halfway through writing chapter 23 out of the 35 expected. I’ll let you know when the whole thing is done.

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As Emira arrived at the Illusion Coven building, she was glad that the week was almost over.

Surprisingly, Emira beat Jen to her office. She hadn’t come any earlier than usual, if four days of trends were enough to say it was as usual, but Jen’s office was empty when she arrived.

Emira had been there a couple times at that point, but never for long enough to look around. Now that she had the opportunity, she wasn’t going to pass it up.

When Emira sat down in the chair on the other side of the desk, she could finally see what all of the clutter was on her desk.

The papers, it turned out, were full of illusion spell theory. They were scribbled across uneven lines and included drawings of what the spells might look like. The diagrams listed layers together and formed complicated spells. From these, it seemed like Jen was studying complex illusion magic, far more complex that what Emira was learning at Hexside. Either she was researching it herself or someone else had given these to her.

There were also a couple picture frames on the desk, showing a small dog beast. Its image had been captured from numerous angles and was displayed prominently. As for the trinkets, they seemed to be various items. One was a deck of cards, another a set of small red balls in metal cups. There was a coin as well. Emira wasn’t sure what they were for, or what they even were.

Emira wondered what was in the drawers, but was interrupted from her snooping by Jen’s voice. “That desk suits you.” She called from the door, causing Emira to snap her eyes up to her. Jen looked at ease, like she didn’t suspect anything was amiss.

“Oh, hey.” Emira stood slowly from the chair, playing it cool and pretending she hadn’t been about to look through Jen’s things. “Good morning.”

Jen nodded at her, leaving the door to the office open as she fully entered. “Good morning.” She returned the greeting. “I was just getting our job briefing, it’s a good one.”

Emira thought that her definition of a good job was very different than Jen’s. “What are we doing?” She still asked; maybe things would be different today.

“There’s a play being performed today and tomorrow that needs help with special effects and lighting. It’s going to require some complex magic, but I’m confident that you can handle it.” Jen said with a smile, bringing a spark of hope to Emira. Maybe this job would be good, she hoped it would be. “We have to go, so we can practice during rehearsal.” She turned to leave the office, waiting outside the door to Emira to follow.

They shut the door and weaved back through the hallways to reach the front of the building, exiting out to the city streets. Jen said it was nearby, so they would walk instead of flying. Emira didn’t mind that, as long as the weather was good.

While they walked, Emira wondered what kind of magic she’d get to do. It could be pyrotechnics, like fireballs. Another option was large colored or flashing lights, those would be fun to make. Oh but maybe it would be some subtler magic, like making something invisible and then have it appear on stage at just the right moment. All of them sounded fun; there were so many possibilities.

By the time they reached their location, a medium sized building with the word “Theater” plastered on the front of it, Emira was almost excited for the job. She followed Jen in, looking around the space as they walked through. Emira hadn’t been to this theater before, but she had passed by it numerous times.

It seemed like Jen had been there before, since she walked through the lobby and into the back of the building like she knew where she was going. They passed through the hallway to a backstage area, where Jen found a witch with a clipboard.

In both construction and in theater, the witch with the clipboard was in charge. Emira mentally chuckled at that while Jen introduced them to the witch, who turned out to be the director of the play.

“I’m glad there’s two of you, we need a lot of illusions.” The director said, scribbling something down on her clipboard. “We need some fire in act 1, not real fire just an illusion,” She clarified that like it had been an issue before. “Some confetti in act 2, and spotlight work throughout the performance.” Behind the director, witches were scurrying around with set pieces and wearing partial costumes.

Jen thought about it for a moment, glancing at Emira. “I’ll take the fire and the confetti; my coworker will handle the spotlight.” What, no that was the opposite of what Emira wanted. She wanted to make the fire, not the spotlight. She didn’t have a chance to protest before Jen continued. “Does she need to learn the movement for it?” Jen asked, which, despite being annoyed, Emira knew was a good question.

“No, we have a stage technician back there to do that. He’ll cue her with the timing too.” The director didn’t look up from her clipboard while she spoke.

Once again, it sounded like Emira was getting the worse part of the job. Doing the lighting was not nearly as impressive as special effects on stage. It would probably be super simple magic too, any illusion witch could do it.

“Alright, thank you.” Jen replied, then turned to Emira. “You should head up to the lighting, I’ll show you how to get there.” She turned back towards the front of the building, walking back the way they came. Emira followed behind sullenly, with her arms crossed.

They went all the way back to the lobby, where Jen stopped at a closed door. She pulled it open, holding it for Emira to pass. There was a winding stairwell ahead.

“It’s just up these stairs, I’ll meet you out front for lunch after rehearsal.” Jen said, waving Emira inside.

Emira entered the door with a sigh. “See you later.” She muttered, before starting her ascent up the stairs. Once the door was shut behind her, all of the light faded from the room. Emira cast a quick light spell to carry with her, illuminating each step in turn.

When she reached the top, she estimated that it had been about three floors of stairs. She didn’t know for sure though, with the way they spiraled. At the top there was another door, which luckily was unlocked when Emira tried to open it.

On the other side was a small room, maybe ten feet across, with a witch sitting inside who didn’t seem much older than Emira. He had a candle lit in the room for light, and was reading from a book that was basically just a stack of paper bound together. His head popped up at the sound of the door opening.

“I’m here to power the lights.” Emira said before he could open his mouth, looking around the room as she did. Three of the walls were solid, but one had an opening. It was door sized and seemed to lead out onto some kind of rigging.

The witch popped out of his seat, shutting his book as he did. “Great, I’ve been expecting you.” He had a cute smile, but even if he’d been closer to her age Emira wouldn’t have been interested. “The name’s Kyle.”

“Mine’s Emira.” Emira tried to put her earlier irritation aside and be polite. It wasn’t his fault she was trapped here. “I think we’ll be working together for the next couple days.”

“I expect so.” Kyle replied, stepping towards the opening in the wall. “Let me show you what we’ll be doing.” He then stepped out onto the rigging. Emira trailed behind, more cautious about going out there. It wasn’t that she was afraid of heights, but falling was not an exciting prospect. When she looked out the opening, she could see the stage and the seats below them. Maybe it had been four flights of stairs instead of three; it certainly looked like it from this height.

That was just another thing to push aside as she stepped out onto the rigging. It only extended about five feet out. Once out there, she could see one large spotlight to the left and the right. Kyle had gone right and lifted his hand to the spotlight.

“These are the lights we’ll be using.” He said, moving his hand away from the device and casting a spell. The spell caused the light to turn, changing the direction it was pointing. “I’ll tell you when to turn them on and off. The focus of the spell is these devices here.”

“Got it.” Emira replied, unable to keep the dryness out of her tone. As she suspected, this magic was almost trivial. A simple light spell would be super easy to cast and even easier to maintain. She looked down at the stage, where the stage crew was moving set pieces around. She couldn’t spot Jen, probably she was still back stage.

Kyle inched past Emira to adjust the other light. “We’ll be doing the rehearsal soon. For now, want to try the spell?”

If she was being honest, Emira would’ve said no, she did not want to try the spell. Unfortunately, now was not the time for honesty and she had already committed to being polite. She lifted her right hand to cast it, quickly drawing two spell circles. When they activated, both spotlights lit up with bright beams.

Kyle whistled, seeming to indicate that he was impressed, and redirected them around the stage. The light moved well and didn’t waver, likely due to some part of the device. “This is perfect.” Kyle said, flashing her a thumbs up.

Great, wonderful, fantastic, at least he was happy. On the stage, the crew members were looking up at the spotlights, squinting against them.

A few minutes later Kyle told her to drop the spell, so she did. They were getting ready to start the rehearsal.

Once it started, Emira didn’t pay much attention to the play. She also didn’t take special care for the lights. She just turned them on or off when told, wondering when all of this would end.

She saw Jen’s fire magic in her peripheral vision, but didn’t pay it any mind.

Next Chapter

[mikazuki-juuichi]

Beastars, vol. 3 (in English)

Here we start with volumes I had never read before, though I am aware of some latter developments. Of course, the important thing is always seeing them in order and in context. 

Chapter 17. 

- Talk about gossip! It’s not enough for students to talk about Legosi and Bill fighting on stage —they are inventing that ‘the wolf set the tiger on fire’, heh. 

- Some people are good at pretending and some are… not: 

- A trait that is often lost in translation: Jack is good at word-plays. 

- It’s hard to draw kissing with muzzles…

Chapter 18. 

- Here’s a time skip. The previous chapters happened around the beginning of the school year, so roughly between April and May (as the school play was partly to welcome new students). Here, it’s the start of summer, so roughly June. 

- ‘Roar-ter’, ‘BeastBook’, ‘Zoogle’… obvious, but pretty cute puns. 

- For these characters, dinosaurs are both historical and mythical. In some cases, almost deities. 

Chapter 19. 

- Notice that Haru’s wound has completely healed by now. 

- Although the cafeteria is designed for all students to mingle, it’s very rare for Herbivores and Carnivores to share a table, let alone a meal. Haru, however, could not care less about the stares they get. Legosi is too busy freaking out to even notice. 

Chapter 20. 

- The chapter about Legom, the hen. Here begins a small Beastars tradition, which is derived from the author’s previous ‘Beast Complex’ (which, sadly, has yet to see an official release or translation): Chapters focusing on different characters from this world, which serve to illustrate how their society works. 

- It’s a mostly humorous chapter. And thank god, because after this we get one of the darkest arcs in this comic. 

- The lesson about ‘Seaspeak’ will be important much later. 

- Though Legom is formal and distant, almost cold to Legosi in person, she considers him a special client. 

Chapter 21. 

- To make it clear we’re about to have a tonal shift, the very first page shows the aftermath of a street murder. 

- Rinna is one of the few female victims in this comic. Most characters who get killed or seriously injured are male. 

- Three ways to take rejection: Legosi bottles it all up, Durham mock-barks at others and Jack is just plain crushed: 

- With Juno’s bullying on one side and the herbivores not being allowed to leave the school premises we get a subtle indication of the way these crimes have repercussions all throughout society, starting with the school. 

- Here is the first mention of the Meat Market (the name varies depending on translations), here presented almost as an urban legend. 

Chapter 22. 

- Kibi’s freaked out face is killing me: 

- Legosi hadn’t gone outside in a whole year, to such a degree he’s forgotten how to use subway cards. 

- I think the most disturbing part about the old man selling his own fingers for food is that he’s even offering a discount for them. It may be darkly funny, but it is still nightmarish. 

Chapter 23. 

- Leave it to Bill to focus on the wrong part of the problem. As a friend put it, if there is a word for doing an illogical thing in a perfectly logical way, it perfectly describes Bill. Here, trying to solve a math problem with his fingers while ignoring why the others are freaking out: 

- Though the Market seems to be regarded as normal in this society, further chapters will slowly show that is not the case. 

- Gouhin (not yet named)’s presence signals that the world of the story is slowly shifting away from teenage innocence and into adult conflicts. For example, how to control a literal killing instinct. 

Chapter 24. 

- Why do I feel all these bathroom graffiti were made by Bill…

- The entire chapter reads like an horror tale. A glimpse into the darkest parts of this world. 

Chapter 25. 

- Gouhin’s insistence that Legosi’s feelings for Haru are only sublimated hunger is not entirely without basis. That was literally his first impulse when he first saw her. But there are subtler, more elaborate feelings intertwined with this. Guilt, tenderness, even a bit of love. It’s a much more complex situation than any of the three realize. 

- The final scene with Aoba is wonderful dramatic moment, and a respite from the horrors of this arc. A very ‘human’ moment of empathy, so to speak. 

Extra. 

- Here we first learn that Cherryton is an exclusive school. You’d have to be a very good student to enter --though Legosi always seems to be tuning out in class...

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