#excerpt from the OG post

[embraceyourdestiny]

I hope when I type the word amen your brain reads it as “ah-men”

[noctuadora]

About the Japanese relationship charts circulating around RE Twitter…

I've been seeing these images used to spark discussion... and arguments. Shipping wars aside, I was more intrigued by this Japanese term used to describe Leon and Ada’s relationship.

I want to explain these words in more detail, so this post will be about that + answering questions that some might ask. I'm also including Leon and Claire's chart as well.

Note: I am currently studying Japanese. I made this post partly because I like to understand advanced terms that are unique to a specific language. Despite this, my explanation is not immune to errors.

Leon and Claire’s relationship chart in Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness (2021).

Explaining this first because this is fairly easy to understand.

信頼関係 (しんらいかんけい・shinraikankei) - A relationship of mutual trust.

Kanji breakdown:

信頼 > reliance, trust, faith, confidence // 関係 > relationship

It should come as no surprise to anyone that Leon and Claire trust and rely on each other.

Q. ‘Is the term exclusively used for them only?’

No. 信頼関係 was also used to describe Leon's relationship with President Graham (and Jason or Patrick).

Leon and Ada’s relationship chart in Resident Evil: 6 (2012).

This is the term that others can't seem to grasp well (I mean they kinda do, but they also misinterpret it weirdly). In the English version, their relationship is described as ‘fatal ties’, but I don't care about that - I'm focusing on the Japanese version.

腐れ縁 (くされえん・kusareen) - an undesirable but inseparable relationship.

Kanji breakdown:

腐れ > to rot // 縁 > relations

The highlight of this word is the kanji 腐る, which is a negative verb used to describe something rotting/decaying.

The "inseparable relationship" part may be interpreted as romantic to some; as some shippers say, 'they are fated' (more on that later). But first, we need to understand what 腐れ縁 means in more context. Here are some excerpts I've taken from multiple sources.

離れようとしても離れられない関係 - A relationship that you know you should let go of, but can't. (This is consistent with OG RE4 Leon's line of 'she's a part of me I can't let go'.)

Note: 離れ (はなれ・hanare) mostly means 'to let go (of something/someone)' and 'to separate/to give up/to part ways'.

離れよう、縁を切ろうとしても断ち切れない好ましくない関係 - An unfavorable relationship that you can't cut off no matter how much you try to.

Note: 好ましい (このましい・konomashii) means desirable. 好ましくない (このましくない・konomashikunai) is the negative conjugation of it. 好ましくない関係 - undesirable relationship.

Just from this alone, you can see that their dynamic is difficult to understand. And that's what 腐れ縁 is.

Q. ‘Is the word 'rotten relationship' an accurate translation of the term?’

Google Translate translates this word LITERALLY. I think there is no true English equivalent of 腐れ縁, but yeah, 'fatal ties' is the term closest to it.

Q. ‘Can Leon and Ada be described as 'fated'?’

The answer is yes... and no. Here is another excerpt I find to be interesting:

「運命の相手」 を思わせるようなニュアンス ですが、 実際には好ましくない関係に使われることが 多い言葉です。- The term 腐れ縁 does have a nuance that is reminiscent of "destined/fated partner (or in other words, 'the one')", but in reality, it is often used to refer to undesirable relationships.

Q. ‘So... Is their relationship that bad?'

The answer to this question will depend on your own interpretation of Leon and Ada's dynamic - and that's why people are quite divided when it comes to them. It is said that 腐れ縁 can be positive... in the sense that if you experienced it before, you can now have a better judgment of people (lol). But in some cases, a long-lasting rotting relationship (like theirs) could mean that they at least have some level of mutual trust only they understand. It can work... but even the article I've read wasn't so clear on how it can work, so.

If you made it this far, I hope you found this interesting. :)

[elaemae]

What did Og!Cale sacrifice?

Genuine question...

Hear me out;

I'm reading the latest chapter of 'In an Instant' by Messy_haired_bum and something just clicked in my head.

See, I know that the Og!Cale is a fan favorite, something that I didn't really understand because we don't know a whole lot about the guy, but there's just something that's been stopping me from getting enamored with him via various fanfictions I've read even though they've made the Og!Cale very lovable, and I didn't really know what it was, for a long time, until now.

There are various posts circulating around saying that Og!Cale sacrificed himself greatly with the deal he made with the GoD, and at a time, I believed that. But... reading this chapter opened my eyes and made me think, what did Og!Cale sacrificed?

What did he sacrifice that he didn't already lose?

A lot of ppl say that Og!Cale lost everything to be KRS but the only thing he had left was his identity. That's... not a lot to be honest. Not enough, actually.

Now, I can hear y'all thinking "Current!Cale got his wealth, backing, and a family–", but so did Current!KRS.

Current!KRS also didn't need to deal with a world war involving a megalomaniac, entire enemy nations, and a literal divine being.

Og!Cale was a foot soldier for 40 years, most likely didn't help a lot against Arm and The White Star, and he died without any (known) great feats but he's given such an amazing opportunity to take over the body of someone that'll need to deal with all those problems? An opportunity of rebirth that even Lee Soo Hyuk wasn't given until he gave one up of his abilities to help seal a deity?

He knows he couldn't shoulder the burden of saving the world so he just... washed his hands off that responsibility... And then occupied the body of a high-ranking well-known individual to then go off and get a happy ending with his reincarnated mom.

As the excerpt above said, it's a win-win for him, he doesn't get soul-crushing responsibilities, he gets a high-ranking position that grants him power, he can deal with the learning curve due to being given Og!KRS's abilities and having an actual reliable guide, and he gets to be back with his mom.

And...

... If Current!Cale ever fails?

He can just shrug and say it's not his problem anymore.

He's got his new happy life now. (I'm not saying he will, I'm just saying he could, if he was a lesser man)

Current!Cale lost everything he had too, all the fruits of his labors, the results of him dealing with all sorts of issues and problems for years, just... taken away by a stranger in his body. You can say KRS!Cale wasn't really happy, that Og!Cale didn't know if the body he'll end up in would be okay, that he gambled with his life in taking over Og!KRS's life.

Life that... he was about to lose anyways.

It just wasn't fair...

If we ignore the fact the KRS!Cale is literally thriving and just look subjectively at the situation of the body switch, KRS!Cale got the short end of the bloody, hellish, rotting stick.

I can only get closure if I personally find out if Og!Cale ever gave a fuck about the uninvolved, innocent guy that he sent to deal with a 20 year war, and not in the 'Is he doing the saving he's supposed to?' typa way, I want to find out if he ever feels guilty of the responsibility that he gave the man, if he ever worries for KRS!Cale's personal safety and mental health, for putting an innocent man through war. An innocent man that couldn't just stand by, as the world he found himself in, burns around him.

I don't want to dislike the current KRS, I want to love him actually, but this is my current perspective on the matter and you guys are free to share yours so that I can broaden my mindset about Og!Cale (pls do, I wanna like the guy but I wanna know if he's a good guy first, I wanna know why ppl love him so I can love him as well)

[verycharismaticdragon]

@mandlien: Op where is the essay 👀 @latitudeoctopus: An essay I would like to see 🙏

Glad u asked! <-guy who was totally angling for someone to ask

OG post this continues from, for those just tuning in now:

actually SQQ's first encounter with LQG perfectly illustrates which of SY's idiosyncrasies perfectly converged to make him absolutely obsessed with Binghe, in this essay i will

So, to start with, the explanation for why I think this scene in particular is more illuminating than all of SQQ's interactions with actual LBH. 

That's because there's not a single scene in the novel where his interactions with LBH-the-person are not colored by pre-existing bias of already being obsessed with LBH-the-character. Like, consider the scene where he appraises Shen Qingqiu's looks, and finishes it off with:

He still couldn’t compare to Luo Binghe. (vol.1, ch.1)

despite not having seen Luo Binghe in person yet. But no, he's already convinced his beloved blorbo is of course The Handsomest Ever!

Simply speaking, we never encounter Shen Yuan pre-Binghe Syndrome (when instead of brain there's binghe). So it's difficult to tell whether any particular way he thinks or feels in Binghe’s presence is the standard for him, or owed to the fact that he already likes Binghe in at least one way.

But the same can not be said of Liu Qingge: while SY did have some interest in his character, he didn’t really think of him before encountering him in Lingxi Caves. Plus, unlike Binghe who seems to have fully aligned with SQQ’s expectations of him, LQG had given him a little shock — which prompted some re-evaluation of his prev thoughts on SQQ's part.

(cont. under cut)

Now is a good time to mention that I arrived at thinking about this scene while considering Shen Yuan's relationship with toxic masculinity — and remembering I jotted down 'Shen Yuan's fascination with masculinity' in my reread notes for this scene.

[Bai Zhan Peak] was the most warlike of Cang Qiong Mountain's branches, as well as the branch with the greatest martial ability. Every single generation's Bai Zhan Peak Lord was a world-class swordmaster, a victor of countless battles, an undefeated legend. How hot-blooded—how dashing!  Male readers always fervently admired strong characters. Even though Liu Qingge never officially debuted on page, he hadn't lacked for fans, and Shen Yuan had been especially fascinated with him. In his headcanon, Liu Qingge had been a sharp and manly man, powerful and magnificent. A war god, right?! (vol.1, ch.2)

So, Shen Yuan’s fascination with Liu Qingge’s character — or rather his headcanon version of it — is about Liu Qingge being someone who (in SY’s mind) embodies masculine qualities. And what qualities are those? From this section, being “strong” (has to be physically powerful) and “undefeated” (can’t be a loser) — yeah, pretty standard toxic masc starting kit. 

And something of interest here: though SQQ describes it mostly as his own feelings, even in this excerpt, he slips in a “male readers always [...] admired” — which, when considering everything else we know about his relationship to masculinity, kind of gives off an insecurity vibe. He seems to be either trying to justify his own feelings (i.e., ‘other men feel the same way, i’m in-group not out-group, i’m not failing at being a man by feeling this way [admiring another man]’), or else emulating other male fans and trying to convince himself he relates to the story the same way they do (i.e., ‘male readers admire strong characters and im a man therefore i definitely also admire the same things’).

Speaking of emulating other male fans, there’s another quality that SY seems to associate with masculinity, this one not very related to Liu Qingge — though SQQ does make a mental detour into it in the same scene, when talking about other Peaks.

Yeah, when he mentions Xian Shu, and the fact that the popularity of self-insert erotic/lewd fics about Xian Shu "compared to that of the original work” in PIDW fandom, or possibly even in general on ‘Zhongdian’ (since afaik you can publish fanfiction on Chinese webnovel sites alongside original works, you just have to tag it as such). In other words, among male fans. 

But we know SY doesn’t like sex scenes, right? Hell, his favorite wife is Liu Mingyan at least in part because she doesn’t have sex scenes:

There was one more appeal factor. Liu Mingyan was the only female character for whom Airplane Shooting Towards the Sky didn't write detailed sex scenes. (vol.1, ch.2)

Of course… that’s what SQQ says in his head where nobody can hear him. We actually have evidence of him singing a different tune when among other fans:

Most of the female protagonists are stupid sexy lamps, and the male lead doesn't even bed Liu Mingyan, the only breath of fresh air? He doesn't bed the rightful empress? Are you fucking kidding me? (vol.4, ch.26, part 1)

(speaking of, this is why ‘peerless cucumber is SY’s true self’ takes baffle me. his toxicmascsona is his true self, really?)

So SY has another qualifier for ‘manly man’ in his head: being sexual (of course, in a straight way). Which is not something that comes naturally to him, as evidenced by him cringing away from any actual action even when he tries to emulate the thought pattern, e.g.:

Qi Qingqi? She was indeed slightly junior to him, and their first meeting...he'd long forgotten how it went. "Often together" wasn't quite right, though. Perhaps he at times dared to think about going to Xian Shu Peak so they could be "often together," but while he had the wicked intentions, he lacked the courage required to follow through—and he could never commit an act as depraved as stalking. (vol.4, ch.23) 

Riiiight, SQQ, you totally have those 'wicked intentions' that you merely can't follow through on because you just invented reasons not to.

But that does give us an image of SY’s ideal of masculinity. Extremely powerful, undefeatable, and hypersexual… yeah no points for guessing who. I’m pretty sure SQQ even directly equates Bing-ge with masculinity somewhere, I just can’t remember the exact spot. And he also believes that any man should definitely want to be in Bing-ge’s place, like for example here:

Every man dreamed of being caught between an angel and a devil. To watch them jealously vie with each other over him one moment, then risk life and limb for his sake in the next—that was the highest, most sacred, perverted fantasy of every male organism.  (vol.1, ch.2)

…though I must note, once again, “every man”, “every male organism” — but does SQQ actually feel the same way? I think that the answer is he thinks that he should, and is trying to convince himself that he does.

Which must be difficult considering he finds men more attractive than women, returning back to that scene with Liu Qingge.

In any other state, Shen Qingqiu might have declared, "What a beautiful man!" (vol.1, ch.2)

Really bestie? You would've declared it? Because I don't see you show the same enthusiasm about women. In fact, you usually jump right into how they were described in the novel, as if you don't have your own opinion. 

Now, I must note that I personally don’t think finding someone attractive equals actually being attracted to them. But this does imply which way SQQ's tastes veer. In fact, we can even see that he has a type. First, he describes LQG's face as "as beautiful as a fine woman's"; then adds:

This was clearly the face of a charming young master who arranged flowers and plucked farewell willow branches! (vol.1, ch.2)

Of course, if we are talking about charming young masters with feminine looks, their bearing that of a classic Chinese gentleman (warrior-scholar ideal who’d ‘pluck farewell willow branches’)...

That firm yet humble countenance, demonstrating his noble and unyielding spirit. That pencil-straight back and stance, evincing a proud core that would rather break than bend! (vol.1, ch.1)

[SQQ] saw a glimpse of the future Luo Binghe's unique grace, that of "eyes like cold stars, a soft and radiant smile, with muted words and quiet laughter." (vol.1, ch.1)

In truth, deep down, Bing-ge's fair and clean pretty-boy type didn't really suit the tastes of "Great Master" Airplane Flying Towards the Sky. He had only assigned this sort of configuration to the protagonist to meet his stallion hardware specifications. The art of growing stallions was grounded in science, and the research was clear: women preferred men who looked cultured, pretty, and even a bit soft and feminine. (vol.4, ch.26, part 2)

…there’s no question who is superlative in SQQ’s heart. To boot, he doesn’t even realize that he’s biased about LBH’s attractiveness, as we can see from Airplane-bro’s musings above. So that’s Cucumber-bro’s type: cultured, pretty, a bit feminine.

See, a fun little discrepancy here: what SQQ sees as a masculine ideal and therefore can admire plainly — again, powerful, undefeatable, and hypersexual, — and what he finds attractive in a man, under all those layers of denial, are two pretty different things.

Liu Qingge, despite his appearance unveiling a side of both to us, doesn’t actually fully embody either type: on the masculinity side, he is missing the hypersexuality, on the attractiveness side, his looks fit but his bearing doesn’t match.

But you know who hits all of SY’s qualifications on both counts?.. yeah, once again no points for guessing, it stars with "Bing" and ends with "ge".

So: the source of Shen Yuan’s obsession with LBH-the-character is the intersection of those two factors. Like you know that old wlw joke “I can’t tell if I wanna be her or date her”? Thats Shen Yuan with Luo Binghe, but, yknow, unconsciously. He admires LBH as an epitome of masculinity, an image of a Perfect Male to strive for; he also very much finds him attractive in a gay way. 

In fact, I would even say that an important component of Binghe brainrot is that he is an acceptable target for admiration. How can SY be accused of being gay over liking a horny stallion novel? So it’s totally normal that he thinks of Binghe a lot, obviously that’s just because he looks up to him! Because Binghe is such a perfect iteration of a male stallion protagonist! Who wouldn’t want to be in his place, thinks Shen Yuan, never ever having imagined being in Binghe’s place even once. Ofc that’s only because Binghe got insane game though! Shen Yuan couldn’t hope to compare. LBH is just so admirable and sexy,, for the wives of course, the wives find him sexy, not Shen Yuan, Shen Yuan is just stating facts— etcetcetc.

Point is, LBH is a man that Shen Yuan can like without shame, because he has a whole bag of above-the-board reasons to prove that he's not liking him the wrong way. A perfect target of convergence for Shen Yuan’s conscious and unconscious thoughts (and desires).

And this is how SY ended up with the years-long hyperfix we see in the beginning of the novel. 

[dairy-farmer]

I just saw that ask that had the excerpt from an old ask, the one about Tim being fucked and knocked up by Ace, and as the person who wrote that ask and that little bit the anon seemed to enjoy so much, I just wanted to say 1. I am so glad they liked it and 2. it makes me want to write more smut (I have some stuff in the works, but life is SO busy rn, I can't write anything, let alone dead dove smut 😭😭😭)!!

I've always envisioned this specific AU to go the route of Tim just being a little doggie breeding slut for the rest of his life. Eventually he joins the Wayne family (especially in the aftermath of Jason knocking him up like you said, I loved that btw) and he tries to keep the dog fucking secret, but overtime that just doesn't happen

First of all, Jason already knows, but this is a good thing at first bc he's able to help Tim hide it! Over time tho, after Tim has Jason's baby and feels the itch to get filled once more, he manages to get mated by both Ace and Titus. The unfortunate news here is that he gets caught by Alfred. Tim begs him not to tell, and in the end, Alfred agrees, but only if Tim will do two things for him. 1. carry the litter of a specific dog breed that Alfred loves and 2. after that litter, carrying Alfred's own baby

Tim agrees, and no one is suspicious about it when Tim gets pregnant with his second baby hardly six months after his and Jason's first (everyone assumes the second baby is Jason's as well, and he is ofc in on Tim and Alfred's deal, so he plays along). Dick and Bruce are maybe a bit concerned, just bc Tim is so young, only 14 and about to be a mom of two? It seems like a lot

Alfred's baby is born and a little over a month later and Tim is swelling up with another litter, unable to help himself. Now he has Jason and Alfred to help him hide things, and they come up with the solution of Alfred and Jason convincing Bruce to buy a nice, private apartment for Jason, Tim and their two babies to live in. That way, Tim doesn't have to hide everytime he gets big and huge with a litter of puppies (which happens often, so this makes things so much easier)

Ofc one day Dick drops by unannounced to visit, and finds Tim having a little "doggy playdate" in the middle of the apartment. Jason took their babies out to the park to give Tim space, and Tim had Alfred drop off Ace and Titus again to fill him up. Tim is three months postpartum from Alfred's baby, but he's already 7 weeks pregnant with a litter of puppies, so the Dick walks in on a heavily pregnant Tim getting knotted in his pussy and his mouth by two hulking dogs. Dick wanted to talk to Tim about his concerns with Tim being such a young mother, but now... well, is it really any wonder why, two weeks later when Tim finally pops, he calls Dick up and tells him to clear his schedule a month from now so they can knock Tim up with Dick's baby to make the older man keep quiet?

Ofc the same thing happens with Bruce and eventually Damian, once he's old enough. Maybe Tim even carries a baby for Gordon in exchange for fucking the K9 unit at the GCPD. Either way, Tim is kept pregnant very often for a long time, usually with puppies, but he has more than enough fully human children for one family (most of them with different fathers, ofc). He and Jason are happy with their lives tho, so what does it matter?

Sorry, I didn't mean for that to get so long lmaooooo my bad. But I hope you and the anon who enjoyed my OG post liked it (and anyone else reading it!)!!!

❤️❤️❤️❤️SO HAPPY TO REAad more of the smut!!!!❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️💖💖

tim being nothing but a broodmare for anything that will fuck his hole, carrying a baby for everyone in the family 😍😍❤️❤️❤️!

hopefully anon sees this message and enjoys it as much as i did ❤️❤️❤️❤️!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[aces-and-angels]

*Help my family*

Hello,

my name is Ahmed and I collect donations for my family.

We lost our home in Gaza City and were displaced in Rafah without the basic needs proper to life such as shelter, food and water. We are desperately looking for any kind of financing to rebuild our demolished house. Even if I cou...

Read more and donate here. Forward this message to your contacts to help this campaign reach its goal!

https://www.gofundme.com/f/i-want-to-evacuate-my-family-from-the-gaza-strip?utm_medium=social&utm_source=whatsapp&utm_campaign=p_nacp+share-sheet

hi ahmed- i hope i can send more help your way however i can 🖤

yall- ahmed's campaign has been vetted by el-shab-hussein (see here; note: ahmed's prev account in linked post was likely shadowbanned/terminated). also ahmed is listed as no. 161 on el-shab-hussein's/nabulsi's google sheet

an excerpt from ahmed's gfm:

as of posting (6/21): they have raised €8,315/€100,000. please share this/ahmed's og posts + donate if you are able

[ducklooney]

Donald Duck saves his nephews - Donald Duck and Huey, Dewey and Louie Duck - Quack Pack - Happy birthday Donald Duck! - Father's Day - Video clip

9/6/1934 The Classic Short “The Wise Little Hen” was shown and Donald Duck appeared there for the first time. Donald Duck will become one of the main stars of not only Disney, but also cartoon films, comics and video games at all. Certainly there is no need to tell his history.

An excerpt from the Quack Pack episode “Noisy Neighbors” and I am uploading this video again for my own reasons, since the previous one did not work properly (problem in the tags as far as I know). I'm definitely posting it for Donald's 90th birthday as well as Father's Day! Happy Father's Day to all fathers, uncles and grandfathers!

I’m posting this just in case, because Donald Duck is both father and mother to his nephews Huey, Dewey and Louie, that is, a real parent to them and unfortunately most people still deny it. That’s why I posted this clip showing Donald saving his nephews from two evil thieves, as well as sacrificing his night lamp to save his teenage nephews from being crushed by a garbage disposal. And in the end, Huey, Dewey and Louie embrace him as their real parent, as the Unca Donald they’ve always thought of him as.

Yes, whatever you think about Quack Pack, it was the only animated series that showed a lot of moments of dynamic relationships between Donald Duck and his nephews, like father-son relationships, and in my opinion it was the best segment of that underrated series. Of course, you have a lot of that in comics, but unfortunately only in animation is Quack Pack showing it well. Of course, the OG Ducktales and Mickey’s Once Upon A Christmas also showed well, only that Donald was a secondary character and less shown than his nephews, while in the Ducktales reboot, there were only some moments of hugs and nothing more. That’s why I appreciate and love this series. My opinion.

By all means, if you’re a fan of Donald Duck and Huey, Dewey and Louie, and a fan of the Quack Pack, please like and reblog this! And Happy Father’s Day and Happy Belated Birthday to Donald’s Nephews as well as Happy 90th Birthday Donald Duck! Because today is that day!

[alabastersblockfolk]

𓁺 Bloody Foam on Burning Sand 𓁺

All at once, they stopped falling.

Not that they knew that. They only knew where they found themselves- a vast ocean, dotted with a few islands and an abandoned town ready to take them in. They don't know where they came from or how they know each other. But they could make a life here regardless.

It was odd, though, that it always felt like someone was W̷̧̯͈̆̾̐͋á̴͕̩͑̿̀͜͝t̶̳͚̼̜̽̅͌c̴̝͎͋ḧ̷͈ī̶̢͕̺̣̈́́̓̆͘͠ń̶͓̖̩̼̫͍͍͂̂̋͘g̴̀̅͜ them..

𓁺 Welcome to BFoBS! 𓁺

Aside from a funny sounding acronym, this is my primary Life Series AU! It's a bit of a messy one, taking creative headcanon liberties on Martyn InTheLittlewood's post-EVO Watcher lore and Life Series lore overall, as well as borrowing the Faction Isles setting of Pirates SMP.

Don't worry though! You only need be familiar with the Life Series to understand the sort of prerequisite lore of this story. The Pirates SMP story is not used here, only reference as easter eggs of sorts.

For easy access, here are the main tags for this blog, along with the usual Hermitcraft and Life Series tumblr tags:

#alaart : For all art Hermitcraft and Life Series, including that unrelated to any story.

#bfobs : For all things related to the main AU, 'Bloody Foam on Burning Sand'.

#thirdlifecourt : For my side AU taking a spin on the events of Third Life, the pinnacle, the OG. This tag will change when I have a title for it.

#ao3 : For easy access of AO3 links and excerpts I post here.

So what is it?

BFoBS is, without spoiling anything, a story detailing the events of a stranded Life Series cast. All 18 players are here but have no clue how, nor why they seem to know each other. They feel a connection with these supposed strangers and odd, hazy memories linger at the edge of their minds. As well, this ghost town and the islands that surround it aren't entirely abandoned, and they soon find that this world is not all their own.

What to know going in:

It is a monumental task to write 18 people, and I feel I've done a pretty hearty job but, of course, everyone is gonna have a different interpretations of these characters (yes, CHARACTERS. Never creators).

Hopefully you can enjoy these characters and events no matter what perspectives you main, but being familiar with the POVs of the five winners (at the time of writing, being Grian, Scott, Pearl, Martyn, and Scar) will help you understand more subtext and character themes.

[thecherrypitpie]

below the cut is a still-unedited excerpt from my nearly decade-old solavellan fic

that a younger kesali removed from the earth in fear of continuing merrill-backlash but that's a tale for another day

enjoy if you want! it is post-crestwood solas-critical as delivered by my OG lavellan's very protective brother

@rosieofcorona food for thee specifically should you hunger

"No!"

He bit back with a vengeance. He had sat by and watched as the elven hermit filled his sister's head with dreamy tales of the time before. He had encouraged their blossoming affection, wanting so badly to keep that small smile on her face. He had wished them well on their romantic getaway even as he desperately wanted to squirrel Dheana away and discuss what they had learned in Mythal's temple.

And now she was gone.

"I can't explain to you how very fucking little I care what vallaslin meant eons ago! Slave markings - sure, add it to the ridiculously long list of terrible things done to elves throughout history. Did you ever bother to consider what it means now? To the real people who live every day knowing how little they have left and trying to build something out of fucking ashes while every other person in the world stands over them with another torch? Do you care? Does it matter to you at all that you've spent years rejecting community and choosing to isolate yourself with nothing but spirits and your own self-righteousness for company? Does it matter that you've ripped my sister's literal identity off her skin and condemned her to a life as isolated and pathetic as yours?"

He had been speaking incredibly fast, the words pouring out before he had fully considered them. Not that he regretted any of them and the deepening hurt and anger behind Solas' eyes brought him much satisfaction - even as he continued spitting venom into the older man's carefully-blank face.

"You have done every conceivable thing to pull her away from what family she has left. And she can't even have you?"

His face still twisted in disgust, he couldn't bare to breathe Solas' air for another moment, and he left on swift legs - a shocked and intrigued Dorian following after him. He didn't get to see the mask crack as a single tear was hastily wiped away.

[raining-tulips]

hi! i just found your blog :) love your commonplace book scans! if you don’t mind me asking, could you give a more in-depth explanation of what commonplacing is exactly and what your process is? i’m intrigued and considering getting into it but i wouldn’t even know where to start! thanks a lot xx

Absolutely! So my commonplace is specifically all movies, qoutes, articles, tumblr/Instagram posts, book excerpts, etc. that either resonated with me or I think I'll want to reference later. That is the heart of what common placing is - saving things for later physically rather than digitally.

Some of these just pop up in my feed, and I'll hit the like or save button. If it's an article, it usually first pops up as a preview on my Instagram and I'll open the full article on my desktop than bookmark it in a specific folder for common placing.

Sometimes, when I want to actively find something out (say, about if perfume is really bad for the environment, or I want to look at author interviews because I just loved a book) I will go out and search for that information.

Then, usually once a week I compile everything I'd like to print - i print the sources bc my handwriting is messy - into a word document formatted for two columns. I try and hold off printing until i have a full page worth, or two full page worth.

For images, I have another word document (these are printed in color, and i usually have to jigsaw to fit as many images on the page as possible, so different word document). Same thing, I try and wait until I have a full page to print. Usually x2 a month. I sometimes will print with an HP sprocket but the quality is really bad and the pictures are thick so, it's for when I'm out of printer ink or I think a photo will look okay with a sorta...uneven look.

I use just a Staples brand journal, TruRed. Cheap and easy. I draw a line at the top so I can write the date, and in the future if I want to tag it with a colored sticker or something, I can. My layouts usually include divided space on either the left or right of a page. The article goes in the bigger open space, and then the source (always write your source!!) and any commentary goes in the smaller margins.

Commentary is usually why I wanted to print it, what it reminds me of or makes me think about, etc. What I think the argument was missing, etc. Can be as little or as much as you like. As emotional and deep or as plain-jane as you like. There are no rules!

I trim printed text and images with a 12 inch trimmer bc I've got wobbly hands, but some people just use a little (blanking on the name) exacto knife? Any 12 inch trimmer will do mine is expensive but I also scrapbook so I use it all the time.

I paste things in using a tape runner (again, because I scrapbook and found a tape runner and my mom sells scrapbook supplies they're very accessible to me). Some people use tape, washi tape, glue sticks (liquid glue I've never seen).

And yeah, then I just decorate and play around. It doesn't have to be pretty. It can be really pretty if you want - I'm motivated by aesthetics, so, I like mine to be a little pretty.

If you'd like to see how I actually put it together and why I print certain things, my YouTube channel is the place to go.

Some people tape in movie tickets, receipts from where they shopped or ate, pictures from daily life. Some people mix common-placing and journaling, so including diary entries about their day or about a topic they love, or their thoughts and feelings (I keep mine in a separate journal, explained in this video). Some people mix common-placing with bullet journal or planning. Some combine all three!

At the end I just use a printer scanner (HP Envy 5500, cheap) and post them online that way bc I love the look.

People who have other styles you might try and look at are @petite-gloom (an OG who inspired me and many others) @fakelavender , @teddybearsticker .

[tragicallyuncreative]

At The End Of The Road Excerpt

Just a little sneak peek from my new version of my old story, At The End Of The Road. I'm not a big fan of the title- it seems a bit melodramatic and inaccurate as I have no intention of killing off any characters, but I feel I should keep the OG title for those who are finding the new version of the story from fanfiction.net. Its been a pretty slow writing process- definitely difficult to find the right tone and not loving my work so far but fear not, I am plugging along! This excerpt might not even be in chapter 1, my writing is kind of unorganized and spread out, but I thought I'd share a little to hold me accountable because once I post a bit, I can't drop the ball on it!

Darrel

I hated to ruin the mood, and knew that the more I tried to be casual about this, the more Ponyboy would see right through me. Thankfully, Soda took it upon himself to test the waters.

"Hey kiddo," he yawned, casually flopping down next to him on the couch. "Darrel talked to Dr. Mendez earlier. She wants us to go to the hospital tomorrow."

Ponyboy was immediately on guard. "The hospital? What for?"

"They're gonna do a little test where they take a sample of your bone marrow. You'll be asleep, so you ain't even gonna feel it."

"Asleep?!" Pony's voice was rising in distress. "Like a surgery?"

Johnny looked alarmed now, too. "Pony has to have surgery?"

[astr0disiac]

MISTY CHAPTER 11 SNEAK PEEK

Sorry it's been taking so long! Laptop is still in the shop and I've had to go back to the prehistoric days and type on my phone. SO, here are some excerpts from the new chapter of MISTY, set to be posted next Tuesday (to replace TIANAMI TUESDAY). Take everything at face value...hehe...

This chapter will have mild sexual content. Because this chapter is plot heavy, the og will be on ao3, and both the og and sfw version will be posted here. Some people don't like sexually explicit content me and that's okay! Minors, DO NOT READ.

Also, be prepared, this chapter is a rollercoaster. We have reached the precipice.

Lastly, thank you to everyone that voted. This is your fault btw! Hold on to 'yer britches!

Please enjoy!

***

But what threw her off the most is when he bought two blankets; what the hell would they be needing blankets for? Tiana had plenty at home. At first she believed they were for Nanami; the guy seemed to sleep with just a sheet. But it didn’t match the decor the two agreed upon for his home.

***

So she tries to put a bit of pep in her step, and sprinkle humor in her voice despite her trembling insides. Nanami stands with his hand outstretched, watching Tiana try to hide the rigidness in her walk. When she locks her fingers with his, he squeezes her hand and pulls her closer so that he could find the truth within her eyes if she decided to let a lie leave her lips.

***

“Tiana, this is what I’m supposed to do.” Nanami turns to her. “I’m supposed to go out of my way for you. I want to.”

***

“Well, don’t just stare at me.” Tiana sniffled, her eyes searching for his own, shyness creeping up on her having been the only one to vomit out her own heart. “Say something.” She whispered. “What did you think of me, Nanami?” She paused, her voice light.

***

Maybe it’s because she hadn’t done anything like this in a while and she had gotten rusty, but dammit, what did that make Nanami? Was he just naturally good at this? Or maybe, he just wanted her that badly?

***

His phone rings from his jean pocket, and he gets up, walking towards the folded pile of worn laundry. He digs into his pocket, pulling his phone out, his face drooping into a frown. He waits until he hears the sound of running water from the bathroom before he slides his thumb across the screen, accepting the call. A call he had been dreading to receive. Because somewhere in this lie he colluded, he himself forgot the harsh truth. “Uncle.” He answers with a hard swallow.

***

“Oh?” Gojo says, lifting his shades. “Oh, oh, oh?” He taunts the blonde, and Nanami grips his thermos.

***

“Nephew!” He booms, and Nanami shushes him quickly, striding to the door and slamming it closed. He prayed no one heard his declaration.

***

“As my boss, you can take this however you want, but Nanami? As my friend? What the actual fuck?”

***

“I said it’s fine.” Tiana doesn’t bother looking up, growing more perturbed as the conversation continues. “What is with you today?” She says, placing the plate on her lap. “Actually, all week you’ve been-” She pauses when she looks back at Nanami, finally noticing that he still hadn't stepped inside. In fact, he looked sick, paler than a dying star.

***

"That’s…insanely fucked up.” “I know-” “No, you don’t know.” Tiana says. “Because if you did, if you truly did, you would have never done that. That…fucking hurt, Nanami.”

***

[tailsbeth-writes]

Thanks for tagging me @duchessdepolignaca03! So this is my first one of these actually, thanks to timezones it wasn't Wednesday when I got tagged but nonetheless here we go.

So I don't have WIP excerpts right now, I'm a 'gonna write a fic to post straight after' kind of gal (this will change with a long project next year though) so instead I thought I'd post some bits from my fanfic idea dump plus some og fiction WIPs.

-The Prince & He (Working Title - coming 2024)

The Prince & Me AU for Red White & Royal Blue. Alex is at UT and Henry decides to study in America, he tells his family it's to find himself but really it's so he can get away from his overbearing royal responsibilities. (Looking for betas for this btw!)

Potential RWRB fic ideas:

-it's Alex & Bea who have cakegate and after damage control, the queen thinks they should start a courtship... Alex & Henry have other ideas though (want to explore gendered differences, the damage control would be so different with Bea and I think I'd like to make her asexual & explore that within a structure of tradition)

-5+1: times that Alex was clearly being hit on by a dude but was completely oblivious & Henry is obviously the one (🥹)

- Potential song fic - Wasia Project: U Deserve - Nothing But Thieves: Do You Love Me Yet? - Liz Lawrence: I'd Rather

Original Fiction: Decompose

Near future London has been segregated by means of a new medical test, each sector representing a level of productivity. After going through the kitted out MRI machine, twin Harry Thorpe is wrongly moved from his comfortable life in the highly skilled sector where technology rules and excellence is expected, to the unskilled sector which seems stuck in the past but with much more variety.

Between alien customs and new romances with classmates, he discovers his own power hungry mum is trying to bring in the One Child Policy and that is only the beginning of her plans. Harry and a group of rebel social workers and civil servants might be the only thing that can stop her.

This is my first novel, it's young adult sci-fi, focuses on equality, chronic illness & disabilities, diversity, government corruption, found family, rebellion. It's got a diverse cast led by Harry, who is a soft pansexual bookworm with a sweet tooth. I'm currently editing & looking for beta readers for the next draft.

When You Get The Chance

My next book project is still very early days but it's a very queer holiday romance.

Coral 'Corey' Henderson is on holiday in Majorca for 2 weeks, her sister missed the start of the holiday leaving her alone. Enter Alice Ortiz, a member of an Abba tribute act performing at the hotel.

All of Abba Nice Day are queer, Corey is a ginger plus size Scottish lesbian event planner, Alice is a bisexual Geordie (half Spanish) who loves singing but also wants to go to uni to study politics. This book will explore family dynamics, dementia, biphobia, body image, protesting & finding your purpose. I'll do a call out for betas when we get to it!

Congrats if you made it through all this! I'm tagging @cl4r3m0nt @heybuddy-drabbles @candyspandemonium @firenati0n @nontoxic-writes & whoever else wants to do this! Tag me, I'm always looking for writer pals 🥰

(20/12/2023)

[bracketsoffear]

Moby Dick (Moby Dick) "Okay, look--let's get this out of the way. I know that the whale is big. That is not an insignificant thing about whales in general and this whale in particular. It's not even an insignificant factor in nominating him today. Except, it's not the size that matters--it's what Herman Melville does with it*.

*(Sorry, the dick joke was obligatory. It should be the only one unless my love of bad puns runs away from me.)

There's a post floating out there on tumblr calling Moby Dick the OG eldritch terror. Unfortunately, we all know how the hellsite's search "function" is (exasperated but affectionate), so I'm not going to be able to link it. What I can do is pull out a few rusty tools of literary analysis to show that at his Vast heart, Moby Dick represents the terrifying insignificance of humanity in the face of the grandness and terror of the sea.

First, it's crucial to point out that the book opens with quotes about whales, including several Bible verses, some Pliny, something purported to be copied down by a ninth-century king, Shakespeare, and so on. Right out of the gate, the book connects the Whale with the idea of the mythological Leviathan. By quoting Genesis in particular, Melville creates the idea of the Whale as a beast that has existed alongside humanity since its inception. Just as the fears are ancient and have tormented humanity since prehistory, the Whale/Leviathan has represented a "dragon of the sea" that mankind cannot conquer.

Sailors who make their living killing the whales are aware that " all the other things, whether beast or vessel, that enter into the dreadful gulf of this monster’s (whale’s) mouth, are immediately lost and swallowed up" and that "[t]he great Leviathan […] maketh the seas to seethe like boiling pan." They can't escape, though, because as the extracts also make clear, the booming economy of the nineteenth century depends on whale oil for everything from healing bruises to heating rooms in the dead of winter. The sailors are therefore helpless in the face of the dangers that the Whale's sheer size escapes, but also the vast and impersonal economic machinery that reduces them to commodities to be sacrificed to the Whale's wrath, Ahab's vengeance, and the Industrial Revolution's greed. Simon Fairchild probably had a field day with this one.

I realize I'm nearly 400 words in, so in the interest of sparing people's eyes, I'll wrap up by pointing out: --There is a whole chapter devoted to the crew standing knee-deep in whale fat while they dissect a smaller whale. --There is another chapter where Ishmael rhapsodizes about the size of a whale's skeleton. --Then he goes on for another chapter about whale fossils. --And then chapter 3 in this trilogy (which began in chapter 103, btw), asks outright in the title. "Does the whale's magnitude diminish?" --Ishmael sees the sea, and by extension, the Whale, as an irresistible, almost compelling force that terrifies and awes him. This is similar to noted Vast victim Robert Kelly, who also feels a draw to the Vast. --The book closes with Ishmael as the only survivor of the Pequod, having barely escaped the whale's vortex that pulled the ship and all her crew into the depths of the ocean, floating alone on his subtextual lover's coffin for a day and night before finally being picked up by another ship."

The Kraken (Folklore) "It personally terrifies me. The Kraken is described as a massive sea monster, large enough to take down ships with ease. Here's an excerpt from it's wikipedia page.

"According to his Norwegian informants, the kraken's body measured many miles in length, and when it surfaced it seemed to cover the whole sea, and "having many heads and a number of claws". With its claws it captured its prey, which included ships, men, fish, and animals, carrying its victims back into the depths."

[kimtaegis]

{Kimtaegis’ GFX Breakdowns, Ep. 1:

↳ SARANG/SARAM; a namgi web weave}

better late than never – I’ve mentioned that this year, I will start writing my thought process behind my graphics down in actual posts instead of hiding them in the tags of a self-reblog, both for myself and those who are interested in that, so here we go!

the first more graphic-y post of the year was a little birthday present for @outroindigo, who told me that namgi’s dynamic as well as their solo music are extremely important to her, so that was the starting point basically! I initially wanted to use a web-weave-like layout for yoongi's birthday post this year, but thought that it just fit too well for this project, since including lyrics and website screenshots made it so convenient to explain the topic. the main source of inspiration but also material source was doolsetbangtan, an incredible blog that not only translates bts' lyrics, but also gives extra insights and explanations of their word plays, references to reoccuring lyrical themes and even links to other media that are connected to the songs' content. they were a huge help, most elements that ended up in the post had been already pointed out under their sites for trivia: love, people, and people pt. 2 respectively, I pretty much only had to follow the mentions and use them!

my post starts with the first half of a quote from namjoon from his november 2016 vlive and ends with it as well (in the caption) to tie the whole set together. I tried to organize the elements in a way that even someone who has never heard of the whole live/love/sarang/saram thing can easily follow and understand it, while also maintaining a pleasant overall layout and colour change (planning that took quite some time, I tell you). the trivia: love lyrics panel is a screenshot I took from spotify, I just changed the background colour to fit. underneath the people performance gif is an excerpt of yoongi's billboard interview from july 2023. the rest are screenshots directly from doolset, gifs from yoongi's iu's palette interview and selfmade visualisations of lyrics, etc. I decided against listing all the content elements in the caption - as usually done for an actual web weave - because some media was used multiple times and it would've felt weird to repeat it in the listing.

regarding more stylistic choices, I decided on a blue and warm yellow-orangy colour scheme, both because kari's current blog layout is this beautiful blue, but also because I associate blue with both namjoon (especially after indigo, obvs) and yoongi (his painting from 2020 instantly comes to mind). since 'love' on the other side is often portrayed as something warm and cosy, red/orange/yellow became the contrasting colours. I tried very hard to make all the colours look as consistent as possible and to match the shades of blues to kari's blog colours. funnily enough, there always seemed to be either something blue or warm-toned in the actual content, which was pretty convenient. besides the pseudo-screenshots for some of the lyrics (typed out in fonts that are typically used in books), I created three graphic elements as well, simply because I know sweet kari appreciates them and I wanted to have a personal kimtaegi touch in it. the first one is a visual representation of people pt. 2's lyrics. I always thought of faceless silhouettes when thinking of people, and combined that with yoongi's painting style (you see that painting means a whole lot to me lmao). since I can't really draw, I used paintings I found on pinterest (you can find the whole board in the source of the og post), masked the person and the heart out and changed their colour (which is not as easy as it sounds!). the fading effect was achieved by carefully going over both until I liked how it looked (which again, took embarrassingly long). the second graphic element is again a direct visualisation of the lyrics used in the panel: I digitally cut up a picture of namgi, in multiple rectangles that are supposed to represent the letter ㅁin saram. I actually printed the picture out first and cut it up with scissors, but I couldn't find a good way to scan it back in :( so digital cutting it was; please note that the edges of every snippet are rough, I always try my best to make it look as realistic and tangible as possible which is time-consuming but adds a nice touch in my opinion.

the collage effect of this graphic is inspired by works of anthony garace. his artworks are stunning, and I do love a good mixed media effect! also it just fits perfectly with the lyrics... among all these straight lines (-> the rectangles), [I find/ is] my love, my love, my love (-> little snippets of a picture of the two). the flowers in the last graphic both represent yoongi (the lotus flower cutout, referencing his amygdala lyrics about blooming like a lotus flower, which is also achieved by love, y'know :( ) and namjoon (the wildflower; yes it's an actual blue wildflower, I researched! it's a wild blue flax; referencing his same-named song). I used an actual photograph of it and made it look like a painting with photoshop magic. it also was supposed to look just a litte like a cynotype as used in his album design.

again, look at all those nice rough edges in that panel, this is all added intentionally. I hope everyone who saw the post also caught the teeny tiny animation of the hangul letter ㅁ to ㅇin the text on the left side; quite literally eroding edges <3

the last gif of ot7 was perfect to round it all up, referencing the lyrics above quite emotionally, starting off with the two of them, then them being joined by the rest....sigh. I will be honest, there have been a few tears falling onto the keyboard. I hope this set can convey namgi's beautiful lyricism in an interesting, artistic way. it's easy to get inspired by their art, it definitely makes you appreciate everything they do even more.

[silvershadow1711]

One of the first fanfics I uploaded, back in 2016 (on FFN; I didn't start posting on AO3 until a year later), was a Fire Emblem Fates oneshot, a non-con, yandere gorefest about Jakob killing my Corrin stand-in, Nerr (you might recognize her as "the green-haired girl in all my Fates art and also my pfp"). I wrote that fic before the game was even fully localized (hence Niles being referred to as "Zero" and Beruka as "Belka") and it was... devisive, but I loved it enough to start writing a sequel. Said sequel somehow ended up even darker, and got real messed up before I moved onto other things and eventually forgot how I wanted to end it. But in the spirit of the spooky season, I thought I share an excerpt from the first chapter.

(The OG fic if you've got a hankering for some unhinged Jakob, or Gunter emotional torture, content)

Nohr never was, and never would be, a country known for its sunny days. The sun only managed to cross the border of the Infinite Chasm every few decades. Even so, it was clear that despite the perpetual darkness that lay over the land like a blanket, it was as beautiful a day as one could hope for in the desolate west. Though the sky was a dark bluish shade of gray, birds twittered unseen in the trees, the leaves painted in brilliant hues of red and gold as winter began creeping upon them. This was picnic worthy weather in Nohr, but it was downright gloomy to Azura. A small part of her was grateful for that. It would have seemed horribly inappropriate for the weather to be nice today of all days. The songstress surreptitiously tugged at the lacing on her bodice. She had long forgotten how much she despised Nohrian clothes, with their heavy skirts and pinching shapers, but she had no choice but to wear them today. After all, the flowing white gowns she preferred had no place at a funeral. 

Breathing deeply, she closed her eyes, trying to keep from wringing her hands. She had never been to a funeral before. Her father had died before she was old enough to remember him from anything but portraits. Her mother... There had been no body then, the curse that took her breaking down and gelatinizing her body until it had sloshed across the bed she'd lain in, soaking into the covers and mattress... 

Azura swallowed hard, opening her eyes. At least there was a body this time, however incomplete it might have been. As she headed towards the great hall of the castle, the buzz of dozens of people all whispering at once sent a chill down her spine. Nobles and courtiers had assembled as though they were in attendance of a gala rather than there to pay their respects. Most of them weren't, she knew that. The number of Nohrians who would grieve the loss of a Hoshidan was negligible. No, they were only there to see and be seen, and to talk. The songstress tried her hardest to ignore the hiss of voices as she walked past them, but it was impossible to block everything out. Bits and pieces still reached her. 

    “--the Hoshidans--” 

    “--filthy savages--” 

    “--legs wide open--” 

    “--tried to cover it up--” 

    “--blood everywhere--” 

    “--secret lover--” 

Her hands balled into tight fists at those last words, and it took every ounce of self control she had not to storm over to the bloated prick who had said them. There were two particularly strong rumors being circulated around Krakenburg. The first was that Hoshidan assassins had infiltrated the castle and murdered their own princess as gruesomely as possible to send a message to King Garon. That was the accepted rumor that the king himself encouraged. The second, spread mostly by the servants, was that Princess Nerr was a whore of the highest order and all her sleeping around had come back to bite her in the ass when one of her many jealous lovers decided he didn't like being made a cuckold any more. 

It hurt Azura to the depths of her core to see her friends' name dragged through the mud in such a way. The nerve of those people, blaming someone for their own murder, daring to say they deserved it; did they have no shame? She paused for a moment, reaching up to brush away the tears gathering on her lashes. It had been a horrid few days, with far too many emotions and not nearly enough sleep. So many times when she closed her eyes, she found herself standing at the Infinite Chasm, only for emaciated, rotting arms to reach up and twist around her ankles, dragging her towards them. The woman jumped, gasping loudly as a hand brushed against her shoulder. She nearly struck its owner in her haste to rid herself of it.

    “Oh. Xander... I thought-- you startled me.” 

    “Azura! Calm yourself, sister, it is only I.” Forcing her breathing to slow, she looked back to see Xander standing behind her, his brows more tightly furrowed than usual as he regarded her with concern. Azura sighed deeply, the tension leaving her body at once. 

    “I can see that. I saw you just standing here and began to worry if everything was alright.” 

    “Yes, it's-- I'm fine.” The crown prince remained silent for a long time. If she looked at him long enough, the singer got the feeling that he had aged years in only a few days. His once noble demeanor was now sullen and withdrawn. Gone was his confidence and pride, leaving only misery in its wake. For once, it seemed it wasn't the weight of the crown on his brow that was crushing him. 

    “...we are not fine, Azura. None of us are.” He said quietly. Her heart went out to her older brother, and she rested her hand on his shoulder the way he so often did with her. She had only seen a glimpse of the room, smelled the faintest whiff of blood, before it had been too much for her. Xander had been in there for so long... For a moment, he covered her hand with his own, squeezing it slightly, before removing it from his shoulder. “Come, Azura. Our siblings are waiting for us.” They both walked in silence to the hall. There were even more people amassed there. In the furthest corner of the massive room, a small group of people huddled closely together. Elise had been sobbing into Camilla's dress all the while before, but the moment Azura drew closer, she detached from one sister to run over and bury her tear streaked face in the other's stomach. Azura could do nothing but lightly stroke her head, the long blonde hair tucked under a black cap as was customary in Nohr. 

Now that her arms were free, Camilla pulled a lacy black kerchief from her sleeve, dabbing at the corners of her eyes. Leo did not even look at her when she approached, instead keeping his gaze glued to the floor. Rather than greet his family as he usually did, Xander looked around the great hall, his ever present frown deepening. Azura followed his gaze, frowning as well. She too found it odd that Gunther would not be there with them, especially considering that even Flora and Felicia stood there, albeit a bit further away from the royals, though still close enough to be considered part of the group. It was no secret that there was... friction between him and the eldest prince and princess (to put it kindly), but one would think they could at least set their differences aside on today of all days. 

    “I would've thought Father would be here by now...” 

    “What?” Father? King Garon, that was who he was looking for? Xander nodded grimly, abandoning his futile search for the errant king. 

    “I assumed he would already be here, condemning the Hoshidans for their cowardly actions...” Elise stopped sniveling long enough to look up at her eldest brother, her eyes bloodshot. 

    “But it wasn't the Hoshidans; it was--” 

    “Quiet!” Leo hissed at her, his jaw tight. “We know that, and so does Father, but he clearly wants to stir up fervor amidst the nobility. I can tell you that while none of them might give a damn what happened to--” His voice broke, and he cut himself off for a moment, trying to regain his composure. “...they might not care what happened here, but you'd best believe they won't be sleeping soundly now that they know the Hoshidans can sneak past any security measure. They'll be far more willing to dig into their stingy pockets and donate funds to our war chest if they think it's Hoshidans going around murdering people, rather than lunatic butlers...” 

A veritable chill filled the air at his bitter words, aided by the cold surrounding the Freesian twins. It seemed to be an unspoken rule that they were not to mention Jakob anymore, even in passing. A sinking feeling turned her stomach as she recalled speaking to the butler on more than one occasion. He had seemed perfectly affable, charming even. Her heart had bled for him as he told her of his cold parents, and she had even felt a twinge of jealousy at his devotion towards Nerr. Now, though... 

    'I desperately wanted to stay and earn a place by her side...' 

The memory of his words made her sick. Azura glanced at the long black box at the head of the room, surrounded by flowers and incense. Although it looked very lovely, the only purpose they actually served was to conceal the stench of decaying flesh. Even keeping the princess' body in the cool, dark cellars while nobles had gathered had not been enough to stave off the rot. Azura shuddered suddenly, though she couldn't put her finger on why. It wasn't from the cold, the whispers, or even the horrid knowledge that the first true friend she'd made was slowly liquefying in a box. For a brief moment, something had just felt too wrong for her to ignore. 

Even as the remaining nobles piled into the room, even as King Garon himself made his way inside, standing with Iago and Hans rather than his children as the priest led them in prayer, she could not shake the feeling of wrongness. Every few minutes, her eyes would dart around the room, searching for another head of lilac hair. On the one hand, she could almost understand Gunther's absence. It made sense that he would want to mourn in peace, somewhere far away from the stares and sneers that always seemed directed at him as of late, but on the other... didn't he want to spend a few more moments in his wife's presence? It was the last chance he would have, after all... 

Dwelling on such a line of thoughts was too depressing, even for a funeral, so Azura turned her attention back to the priest, pretending to care about the words he spoke. When she was little, her mother had told her that when people died, they became stars so that they could always look upon those they'd left behind. She had believed that as a child, believed that when she looked up at night, her father was up there somewhere, but as she grew older, she found it harder and harder to find comfort in that particular fairytale. People didn't turn into stars. They turned into soil or, if they were very unlucky, a rushing river's foam, and left you all alone. 

As the prayers ended and silence descended on the hall once more, a group of pallbearers approached the coffin, intending to take it out where the carriage was waiting to transfer Nerr's earthly remains to the graveyard the Nohrian royal family had been interred in for generations. Azura was sincerely surprised Garon would allow someone everyone now knew was truly a Hoshidan to lay amongst his ancestors. She had a sneaking suspicion this was Xander and Camilla's doing more than his. Rather than proceed, it seemed the bearers were talking to one another with increasing frustration. The way they jostled the coffin made it seem as though it was going to hit the ground at any moment. Camilla's hands balled into fist, her lips twisting into an enraged snarl as she stormed up to them, knocking aside any who were in her way. She did not bother controlling her voice, the acoustics of the massive chamber carrying her anger even further. 

    “What is wrong with you!? Have you no shame!? That is my sister you're about to drop, you worthless fools!!” The men cowed in the face of her fury. 

    “We beg your forgiveness, milady, b--but... something is wrong.” 

    “What can possibly be more wrong than it already is?!” 

    “...the coffin, princess... It feels loose. We're trying to be careful, so as to not drop it, but it feels like it might come apart at any moment...” 

    “What are you talking about?” Camilla panted as though she were running, and she grabbed one end of the lacquered box. “You're useless! Give me that!” She pushed the pallbearer away, the sudden shift in weight causing all the rest to stumble slightly. As the coffin shifted, the lid swung off, knocking one of the unfortunate men in the head. He dropped his corner, and the casket hit the ground, the loud crash silencing the room. Azura's hands flew to her mouth, horror and disbelief dueling inside her. She wanted to push her way to the front of the growing crowd, but at the same time, she didn't want to see a twisted body lying on the ground. 

    “It's empty!” 

    “What?” 

She could barely hear her own whisper as the nobles began chattering again, gossip spreading over the room like a flame. There was no body. The nails holding the lid in place had been pried up. The inside looked as if it had been torn apart. Iago's unctuous voice seemed to float to the top of the clamor like a scummy film as he intoned that the Hoshidans were more dastardly than they gave them credit for, to resort to something like this. Beside her, Xander shook with barely contained fury. 

    “...no... No, Father would not stoop to such pettiness as this... he would not desecrate our sister's body just to further stoke Nohr's fervor... He wouldn't!” Once again, that indescribable chill ran through Azura's veins, like a cold hand tightening around her chest. Hesitantly, she reached out to the older man, pausing for a moment before gently tugging on his sleeve. He could have ignored her, he could have rushed over at once and confronted their father. She was secretly hoping he would do just that, but instead, the crown prince shifted his focus to her. “What is it, Azura?” She opened her mouth, but remained silent. She wasn't even sure what she was hoping to gain by speaking up. It might have even been better to just stay silent, but she could not stop the words from spilling from her mouth. 

    “...I haven't seen Gunther all day...” For a long moment, Xander just stared at her, nonplussed, but slowly, the meaning of her words dawned on him. He reached up, burying his face in his hands and looking more broken than Azura thought a man could look. 

    “Why...? Why are these deviants hellbent on taking my little princess from me...?” She had no answer for him. She regretted opening her mouth. It was easier to lay the blame for this at Garon's feet.