#i currently DO NOT HAVE THE MONEY to get materials for a project like this

[ravengales-glade]

*If you had the money to pay a small business

Please answer assuming you had the money! This is hypothetical, I simply want to see if there is a market for myself (IN THE FUTURE) or other people ^^

[snifferz]

man fuck a level art SO SO MUCH, fuck that shit and send it to hell for a thousand years

i love art but im genuinely so sick of my sixth form art classes bc ill get advised to do one thing, change up my whole ass artstyle and genuinely rlly ruin my motivation for personal art

and then get a C and get told everything was a load of shit for ten minutes straight by another teacher i didnt get the advice from

[fingertipsmp3]

I haaate when apple pay doesn’t work and I have to type my credit card number in because now I have to actually comprehend the ways in which I am damaging myself financially

[sophiamcdougall]

You're a reasonably informed person on the internet. You've experienced things like no longer being able to get files off an old storage device, media you've downloaded suddenly going poof, sites and forums with troves full of people's thoughts and ideas vanishing forever. You've heard of cybercrime. You've read articles about lost media. You have at least a basic understanding that digital data is vulnerable, is what I'm saying. I'm guessing that you're also aware that history is, you know... important? And that it's an ongoing study, requiring ... data about how people live? And that it's not just about stanning celebrities that happen to be dead? Congratulations, you are significantly better-informed than the British government! So they're currently like "Oh hai can we destroy all these historical documents pls? To save money? Because we'll digitise them first so it's fine! That'll be easy, cheap and reliable -- right? These wills from the 1850s will totally be fine for another 170 years as a PNG or whatever, yeah? We didn't need to do an impact assesment about this because it's clearly win-win! We'd keep the physical wills of Famous People™ though because Famous People™ actually matter, unlike you plebs. We don't think there are any equalities implications about this, either! Also the only examples of Famous People™ we can think of are all white and rich, only one is a woman and she got famous because of the guy she married. Kisses!"

Yes, this is the same Government that's like "Oh no removing a statue of slave trader is erasing history :(" You have, however, until 23 February 2024 to politely inquire of them what the fuck they are smoking. And they will have to publish a summary of the responses they receive. And it will look kind of bad if the feedback is well-argued, informative and overwhelmingly negative and they go ahead and do it anyway. I currently edit documents including responses to consultations like (but significantly less insane) than this one. Responses do actually matter. I would particularly encourage British people/people based in the UK to do this, but as far as I can see it doesn't say you have to be either. If you are, say, a historian or an archivist, or someone who specialises in digital data do say so and draw on your expertise in your answers. This isn't a question of filling out a form. You have to manually compose an email answering the 12 questions in the consultation paper at the link above. I'll put my own answers under the fold. Note -- I never know if I'm being too rude in these sorts of things. You probably shouldn't be ruder than I have been.

Please do not copy and paste any of this: that would defeat the purpose. This isn't a petition, they need to see a range of individual responses. But it may give you a jumping-off point.

Question 1: Should the current law providing for the inspection of wills be preserved?

Yes. Our ability to understand our shared past is a fundamental aspect of our heritage. It is not possible for any authority to know in advance what future insights they are supporting or impeding by their treatment of material evidence. Safeguarding the historical record for future generations should be considered an extremely important duty.

Question 2: Are there any reforms you would suggest to the current law enabling wills to be inspected?

No.

Question 3: Are there any reasons why the High Court should store original paper will documents on a permanent basis, as opposed to just retaining a digitised copy of that material?

Yes. I am amazed that the recent cyber attack on the British Library, which has effectively paralysed it completely, not been sufficient to answer this question for you.  I also refer you to the fate of the Domesday Project. Digital storage is useful and can help more people access information; however, it is also inherently fragile. Malice, accident, or eventual inevitable obsolescence not merely might occur, but absolutely should be expected. It is ludicrously naive and reflects a truly unpardonable ignorance to assume that information preserved only in digital form is somehow inviolable and safe, or that a physical document once digitised, never need be digitised again..At absolute minimum, it should be understood as certain that at least some of any digital-only archive will eventually be permanently lost. It is not remotely implausible that all of it would be. Preserving the physical documents provides a crucial failsafe. It also allows any errors in reproduction -- also inevitable-- to be, eventually, seen and corrected. Note that maintaining, upgrading and replacing digital infrastructure is not free, easy or reliable. Over the long term, risks to the data concerned can only accumulate.

"Unlike the methods for preserving analog documents that have been honed over millennia, there is no deep precedence to look to regarding the management of digital records. As such, the processing, long-term storage, and distribution potential of archival digital data are highly unresolved issues. [..] the more digital data is migrated, translated, and re-compressed into new formats, the more room there is for information to be lost, be it at the microbit-level of preservation. Any failure to contend with the instability of digital storage mediums, hardware obsolescence, and software obsolescence thus meets a terminal end—the definitive loss of information. The common belief that digital data is safe so long as it is backed up according to the 3-2-1 rule (3 copies on 2 different formats with 1 copy saved off site) belies the fact that it is fundamentally unclear how long digital information can or will remain intact. What is certain is that its unique vulnerabilities do become more pertinent with age."  -- James Boyda, On Loss in the 21st Century: Digital Decay and the Archive, Introduction.

Question 4: Do you agree that after a certain time original paper documents (from 1858 onwards) may be destroyed (other than for famous individuals)? Are there any alternatives, involving the public or private sector, you can suggest to their being destroyed?

Absolutely not. And I would have hoped we were past the "great man" theory of history. Firstly, you do not know which figures will still be considered "famous" in the future and which currently obscure individuals may deserve and eventually receive greater attention. I note that of the three figures you mention here as notable enough to have their wills preserved, all are white, the majority are male (the one woman having achieved fame through marriage) and all were wealthy at the time of their death. Any such approach will certainly cull evidence of the lives of women, people of colour and the poor from the historical record, and send a clear message about whose lives you consider worth remembering.

Secondly, the famous and successsful are only a small part of our history. Understanding the realities that shaped our past and continue to mould our present requires evidence of the lives of so-called "ordinary people"!

Did you even speak to any historians before coming up with this idea?

Entrusting the documents to the private sector would be similarly disastrous. What happens when a private company goes bust or decides that preserving this material is no longer profitable? What reasonable person, confronted with our crumbling privatised water infrastructure, would willingly consign any part of our heritage to a similar fate?

Question 5: Do you agree that there is equivalence between paper and digital copies of wills so that the ECA 2000 can be used?

No. And it raises serious questions about the skill and knowledge base within HMCTS and the government that the very basic concepts of data loss and the digital dark age appear to be unknown to you. I also refer you to the Domesday Project.

Question 6: Are there any other matters directly related to the retention of digital or paper wills that are not covered by the proposed exercise of the powers in the ECA 2000 that you consider are necessary?

Destroying the physical documents will always be an unforgivable dereliction of legal and moral duty.

Question 7: If the Government pursues preserving permanently only a digital copy of a will document, should it seek to reform the primary legislation by introducing a Bill or do so under the ECA 2000?

Destroying the physical documents will always be an unforgivable dereliction of legal and moral duty.

Question 8: If the Government moves to digital only copies of original will documents, what do you think the retention period for the original paper wills should be? Please give reasons and state what you believe the minimum retention period should be and whether you consider the Government’s suggestion of 25 years to be reasonable.

There is no good version of this plan. The physical documents should be preserved.

Question 9: Do you agree with the principle that wills of famous people should be preserved in the original paper form for historic interest?

This question betrays deep ignorance of what "historic interest" actually is. The study of history is not simply glorified celebrity gossip. If anything, the physical wills of currently famous people could be considered more expendable as it is likely that their contents are so widely diffused as to be relatively "safe", whereas the wills of so-called "ordinary people" will, especially in aggregate, provide insights that have not yet been explored.

Question 10: Do you have any initial suggestions on the criteria which should be adopted for identifying famous/historic figures whose original paper will document should be preserved permanently?

Abandon this entire lamentable plan. As previously discussed, you do not and cannot know who will be considered "famous" in the future, and fame is a profoundly flawed criterion of historical significance.

Question 11: Do you agree that the Probate Registries should only permanently retain wills and codicils from the documents submitted in support of a probate application? Please explain, if setting out the case for retention of any other documents.

No, all the documents should be preserved indefinitely.

Question 12: Do you agree that we have correctly identified the range and extent of the equalities impacts under each of these proposals set out in this consultation? Please give reasons and supply evidence of further equalities impacts as appropriate.

No. You appear to have neglected equalities impacts entirely. As discussed, in your drive to prioritise "famous people", your plan will certainly prioritise the white, wealthy and mostly the male, as your "Charles Dickens, Charles Darwin and Princess Diana" examples amply indicate. This plan will create a two-tier system where evidence of the lives of the privileged is carefully preserved while information regarding people of colour, women, the working class and other disadvantaged groups is disproportionately abandoned to digital decay and eventual loss. Current and future historians from, or specialising in the history of minority groups will be especially impoverished by this.  

[hypodermicfroggy]

= PROJECT MOON LORE GUIDE =

(I've posted a guide like this on Steam, but I figure it couldn't hurt to put an updated version on Tumblr, too. Also, a warning: This post is going to be very, *very* long.)

Hello, current Project Moon fandom and future/want-to-be fans!

Do you enjoy Limbus Company but don't know how to get into the other games and media to appreciate the greater lore of the series? Do you not actually have the money, time, or patience to endure a brutally punishing (and sometimes even janky) roguelike management sim, deckbuilder, or gacha game because we live in a capitalistic hellworld like the one this very series criticizes? Struggle with getting access to supplementary materials due to controversies and language barriers?

(Pictured: PM Twitter and the Limbus Steam Forums, on any given day. Seriously, what is wrong with some of you people.)

And especially important: hate how Reddit and Steam are full of dudebro coomers who are openly hostile to F2P, non-day one players who might grapple with all the previous issues on top of being more invested in story than waifus?

Then read on under the cut!

= o = o = o = o = o = o =

This guide contains a comprehensive list of resources for you to be able to enjoy the Project Moon series to its fullest, including links to wikis, playlists, and more. Even if you can't play the games, I personally think those who can actually appreciate the series shouldn't be gatekept from the truly fantastic story and world that the games hold. Except Canto 6, we don't talk about Canto 6.

AND AN IMPORTANT REMINDER: THERE WILL BE SOME SPOILERS FOR CERTAIN PARTS OF THE SERIES, AND PLEASE ACKNOWLEDGE THE CONTENT WARNINGS BEFORE YOU GET INTO ANYTHING HERE! This is a very dark series that tackles and shows very heavy topics and content!

For those who can't read the text on the image, some of the common trigger warnings for this series includes:

Animal Cruelty

Drug Use

References to Alcohol and Tobacco

Injury and Dismemberment

Homicide and Suicide

Violence and Torture

Cannibalism

Kidnapping, Abduction, and Captivity

Psychosis

Diseases, Seizure, and Dyspnoea (aka shortness of breath)

Familial Homicide and Domestic Violence

Reference to Clowns (Coulrophobia)

Themes of Occultism and Spiritualism

Audiovisual Depictions of Gore

Uses of Sharp and Pointed Objects

Hospital and Medical References

References to Gaslighting and Bullying

Body Modification and/or Deformation

Flashing Lights (Photosensitivity)

Disorientation Induced by a Shaking Camera

Strong Language and Demeaning Words

Reference to Traffic Accidents

Uses of Guns and Instruments of Violence

Discriminatory Violence

Religious Torture and Violence

Enforced Ideology and/or Actions

War and Mass Conflict

Anyway, if all that didn't scare you off, on to the guide!

= o = o = o = o = o = o =

=WIKIS:

When in doubt, there's always the wikis for being references and useful sources, from gameplay to story elements!

>>Cogitopedia - A WIP wiki run by members of the community, working on adding in-depth content for all of the games and supplementary materials.

>>LobCorp Wiki - Has data on every abnormality, including inaccessible ones and cut ones (such as Price of Silence).

>>Library of Ruina Wiki - Has the lore from key pages, and also has cut content like the CGs from the original planned ending.

>>Limbus Wiki.gg - Has ID Uptie stories and info about Mirror Dungeon encounters. (DO NOT USE THE LIMBUS FANDOM WIKI, IT HAS BEEN ABANDONED/VANDALIZED.)

>>Library of Project Moon - A WIP fan blog whose purpose is to consolidate translations of the literary source novels and related works for Limbus Company and the PM games as a whole.

= o = o = o = o = o = o =

=LOBOTOMY CORPORATION:

Summary: Lobotomy Corporation is the first game in the series. It is a roguelike management sim where you play as "Manager X", tasked with handling employees and various monsters known as Abnormalities in order to generate daily quotas of a power source substance known as Enkephalin and a mysterious "Seed of Light" project. You are aided by an alleged team of AIs known as the Sephirot, and your very own personal assistant AI, Angela. It's often been likened to "anime SCP Foundation."

This is the game where everything begins, and without it, we wouldn't have the plot of Limbus (or anything else for that matter). This is where the Golden Boughs come from, this is where Abnormalities come from, this is even where Distortions come from - but we're getting ahead of ourselves on that front.

>>This playlist will allow you to watch all the cutscenes from the game, in order, for the canon ending.

>>This video also has the cutscenes, albeit not in order, HOWEVER, it does have the alternate, non-canon endings A and B (which are timestamped in the link for convenience).

>>WordsmithVids (also on YouTube) also has what is generally considered to be the most popular summary of the game.

(NOTE: Some people disagree with WordsmithVids and his interpretations of some of the characters as well as his content being "meme-y," so I advise you to watch at your own discretion and draw your own conclusions. That being said, if people have better recommendations, please send them to me instead of just complaining and bitching without offering solutions like that one guy on Steam did, thank you.)

= o = o = o = o = o = o =

=WONDERLAB:

Summary: Wonderlab was a webcomic by the artist MIMI/Whitezombies, originally posted on the Project Moon Postype account. It follows the adventures of several employees - often called "nuggets" in fan parlance - Catt, Taii, and Rose, in a Lobotomy Corporation branch facility as they go about their day to day activities.

This webcomic was taken down after the Summer 2023 Incel Controversy, when incels stormed the Project Moon office in Korea and made enough credible threats that the former Limbus CG artist known as Vellmori was fired, and it is currently part of a second conflict over copyright. However, primarily for archival and personal reference purposes, the comic has been saved and rehosted in several forms.

>>Internet Archive version. This has just the comic in an on-site readable format.

>>A backup archive on Google Drive. This features the individual pages, a downloadable .zip of the archive, and a readable Google Docs version.

For those who may have ethical concerns about downloading a webcomic that was pulled due to controversy (understandable), once again, >>WordsmithVids has a summary.

(NOTE: This is NOT the place to discuss either the Summer 2023 incel controversy *or* the current (Summer 2024) copyright conflict. There are far better places to do that with people who are far better informed on the topic than I am. This post is solely for providing references and archives of lore material to help guide people into this series. DO NOT attempt to bring up the controversies here, I will not be acknowledging them outside of mentioning why certain supplementary materials may have been pulled and have had to be mirrored. I am just an archivist, not a lawyer or discourser.)

= o = o = o = o = o = o =

=LIBRARY OF RUINA:

Summary: Library of Ruina takes place some months after the events of Lobotomy Corporation. A "Grade 9 Fixer" known as Roland finds his way into the mysterious, tower-like Library that has sprung up in place of the former main facility of L Corp, where he encounters Angela and the other Sephirot (all now Librarians). He begins assisting her in finding "the perfect book", which involves enticing people to come to the library through the sending out of curious invitations.

Now, unfortunately, there is not a playlist that splits up the cutscenes or puts them in order for Ruina.

>>These two videos have them all in compilation.

HOWEVER. A wonderful and dear friend of mine (@citroncynique <3) has allowed the guide they sent me to be reproduced/copied.

>>As such, there is a guide on how to watch the cutscenes in the order that makes the most sense, utilizing the timestamps of the previous two videos. It is not a perfect system, but it works at least.

>>WordsmithVids also has at least two summary vids out.

However, due to financial issues at last update, he has not been able to continue his summary of Ruina. I am including them regardless. >>As well as his Patreon in case people want to support him in hopes of making it easier for him to work on the vids again.

>>There is also an almost FOUR HOUR LONG video essay that delves into Angela's character specifically after the events of LobCorp and Ruina. It is not required viewing like the rest of the materials here, however, I think it still deserves a mention just for the amount of effort and care that went into it.

= o = o = o = o = o = o =

=DISTORTION DETECTIVE:

Summary: Taking place at roughly the same time as Library of Ruina, two Fixers known as Ezra and Moses and an N Corp. Taboo Hunter known as Vespa investigate the Distortion Phenomenon that is rapidly starting to spread across the City after the events of the previous games.

Originally released as a webnovel on Project Moon's Postype, Distortion Detective has 42 chapters and is technically incomplete/on hiatus. Project Moon, surprised at how popular the webnovel was, decided they wanted to potentially make an entire game based on the story. As of this writing, that has not happened (yet) but at least one character from the novel has appeared in Limbus Company, so there is still hope yet.

>>The DD series in its original form on Postype. This version was posted chapter-by-chapter, on Project Moon's Postype account and is (as of this writing, at least) still readable there.

>>A backup archive on Google Drive. This has the entire webnovel in a single document format (both Docs and downloadable PDF) featuring NishikujiC's official chapter illustrations up to Ch. 26, and includes the now-cut comic adaption of Ch. 19 by the artist Monggeu/koug99.

= o = o = o = o = o = o =

=LEVIATHAN:

(Lord, this one. Like it wasn't a big enough pain in the ass already.)

Summary: After the events of Library of Ruina, and operating as a direct prequel to Limbus Company, Leviathan follows the Color Fixer Vergilius (aka the Red Gaze) as he grapples with his own personal traumas and comes into conflict with the Ring Syndicate, before being recruited as a guide for the LCB.

Leviathan originally started as a webcomic by Monggeu/koug99. Health issues with the artist resulted in the comic being discontinued and turned into a webnovel, whose translation was never completed and had to later be finished by fans. The comic portion has since been taken down as of the Summer 2024 copyright conflict and controversy, much like Wonderlab was. Once again, however, this has been mirrored for archival and reference purposes.

>>Original source of Leviathan on Postype. Due to the copyright conflict and the translation hiatus, the only chapters available are Ch. 12-15. The link is still included for posterity reasons and just in case the copyright conflict results in the chapters being restored.

>>A backup archive on Google Drive. This link includes the comic chapters, as well as the SnakeskinFS English fan translations for the last five chapters that were never completed, all in PDF form.

= o = o = o = o = o = o =

=LIMBUS COMPANY:

Summary: After all the events of the previous games, a mysterious up and coming business known as Limbus Company has taken it upon themselves to send a group composed of 12 "Sinners" and their mysterious clock-headed Manager Dante to delve into the now-abandoned L Corp facilities in search of mysterious artifacts known as Golden Boughs.

Finally we come to the end of the shrubbery maze. Limbus Company is the latest chapter in the currently unfolding story of Project Moon and the City, a gacha game being used to fund other projects under the company umbrella.

Many people, once again, have ethical concerns about patronizing a gacha game. I for one agree with them, even as one of those patrons.

>>This playlist features all of the cutscenes for each part of the game story released so far (up to Intervallo 6.5-2/Murder on the WARP Express as of this writing).

>>There is also this site, which operates as a pure datamined text archive of all the story content.

>>And this site, which has all the in-game Observation logs as told by the Sinners, about the Abnormalities and enemies encountered in-game.

= o = o = o = o = o = o =

=BONUS/SUPPLEMENTARY:

This section, liable to be updated at any given time, is for links to materials or fan-creations that don't necessarily fit with the strictly canonical story materials found in the games and webnovels themselves but which otherwise provide useful resources or analysis. Note that the vast majority of material here is supplementary and not required, but recommended.

(Except the literary sources. You will read those, and that is a threat. I can't take another Wings-forsaken illiterate opinion on Canto 6, I'm going to start Distorting and biting people if YOU PEOPLE DON'T READ THE DAMN SOURCE NOVELS.)

YouTubers and Video Essayists:

Frey Chaqma - Frey has done lots of work for the PM community, such as spearheading the Absolute Pride Resonance charity event for Pride Month 2024 as well as discussing the lore of the games and the City as a whole.

Tsunul - Another YouTuber who discusses lore but who also often delves into more interpersonal matters relating to the fandom and controversies that can affect the game community as a whole.

Esgoo - Although Esgoo does not necessarily get into lore so much, they are often tauted as one of the biggest names in the fandom for, if nothing else, their meta-analysis and basic gameplay/strategy material, as well as their community involvement.

hydrojoy's essay on Benjamin - in addition to Angela, hydrojoy also did an in-depth analysis on Benjamin, aka B, aka Hokma, from Lobotomy Corporation and Library of Ruina and their impact on the story.

MetiNotTheBadGuy's PM Character Essays - Meti has done several excellent character breakdown videos on some of PM's most notable villains/characters, including Roland, Kromer, and Dongrang.

= o = o = o = o = o = o =

=ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:

Citroncynique. For being a truly amazing artist, putting in the effort of making a watch guide for Ruina's cutscenes, and getting me into this series and ruining my life forever by jingling a bugman with PTSD in front of me (<3).

MIMI/Whitezombies, Monggeu/koug99, NishikujiC, and Vellmori. Although several of these artists have left PM and the community on bad terms, I still think their efforts should be appreciated and supported, now more than ever.

SnakeskinFS. For finishing Leviathan's English translation.

Folex, Bek, WordsmithVids, hydrojoy, and the Lobotomy Corporation Archive. For posting their cutscene and summary/analysis videos.

NeedsMoreDoge. The Steam user who provided the original guide and backup on how to read Leviathan that I myself utilized.

The less than pleasant members of the community who spurred me into making this guide in the first place, out of pure spite.

And of course, readers like you and those members of the community who make me so happy to be here and be a part of this fandom. Genuinely, thank you all, I have never felt as welcomed as I do in the Project Moon circles I run in.

In addition to the references included here, I recommend you get involved in your PM community as well! Join communities and Discords, support content creators on social sites, help contribute where it's needed and in whatever way you can! The best way to counteract the worst elements of any fandom is to be a guiding and helpful element in your own right.

Thank you all for reading, and I hope this guide helps you out!

[scam-alerts]

🚨Scammer Alert🚨 + 🔎Scam Exam(ination)🔍

Example account: @muralmagicsworld (banned)

Accounts also running this scam: @craftpatch, @shadyduckgladiator

(Note: There are probably a lot of scammers running this scam. This post is mainly talking about the blog that I managed to find and document with my own two eyes.)

1- Type of Scam this account is performing: Muse Scam

The muse scam is a variant of the fake check scam in which the scammer will contact the victim over social media and claim to want to use their image for an art project. The scammer will often use a stolen social media account to increase their credibility. They will offer a generous sum of money and offer to pay via check, and the victim is instructed to send money to the scammer for “materials” via an irreversible method. The victim is under the illusion that the funds cleared when the bank makes the money available thanks to current regulations. Usually the fake check deposit will be reversed in a few weeks, but it can also take several months.

If you do not have the funds to cover the amount, your balance will go negative. Your bank will usually charge a fee for depositing a bad check, and your account may be closed depending on the severity of the scam. source (reddit)

Additional info about the muse scam. (from malwarebytes)

2 - How I know this user is performing a scam.

Part 1: The request. (on a post made by a bot no less... lol)

Part 2: The blog an their posts.

The blog's earliest post was made on November 11th 2024

Using google lense (the photo icon you can use to look up an image on the internet) I was able to find these images linked to a youtube channel and an instagram account made by an artist known as Andreas Liss.

The woman in the first instagram post's name is credited, by the original artist, to be the lovely Anastasia Dmitrieva.

Where as the scammer... well.. They decided to call her... Jennifer.

-----

Final words: The muse scam is quite common and it's recently migrated from instagram to tumblr. If you are someone who posts pictures of yourself or your animals, always remember this: If someone tells you they're feeling 'inspired' and they'll draw you or your pet but you have to 'pay for art supplies' and they're willing to send you a $1000+ 'check/money order' and 'you can keep the rest' because they're feeling 'oh so generous'?

It is and always will be a scam.

Other helpful guides on spotting scams. (by @kyra45)

-----

Disclaimer: This post is only meant to serve as documentation and reference material so that others know: why this person is a scammer, and to provide more information about the scam they are running. I do not, in any way, endorse harassment or mass reporting these users. Only report posts related to asks, comments, or messages if you GET them or ones like them. Thank you.

[the-clumsywitchtarot]

Pick-a-Card Reading: What Makes You So Loveable?

Pile 1 Pile 2 Pile 3

Cards

Two of Wands (Reversed)

The Devil (Reversed)

Ten of Swords (Reversed)

The Lovers

King of Wands

The Hermit

I didn't necessarily intend for these readings to be about what makes you lovable romantically but that is what came out. I see that you are someone that has great boundaries when in a relationship or you are currently working on developing strong boundaries before entering your next relationship. I see that you aren't someone that let's a relationship bind you or change who you are, you remain true to yourself and wish for the other person to do the same. That's one of the things your partner loves about you, you don't change yourself to please them and you don't expect them to change themselves to please you. You prefer a relationship where you can help each other grow and become better versions of yourselves but you aren't looking to remake them just as you yourself aren't looking to be remade. With the hermit I can also see that you aren't clingy in relationships and you enjoy your alone time and pursuing your own hobbies but at the same time you are still capable of showing love and passion towards your partner. I keep hearing that you are the dream partner! You're not detached but you also allow room for your partner to breath and not feel guilty for not calling or being with you every second of every day.

Cards

Five of Wands

Queen of Pentacles (Reversed)

Four of Swords

Four of Pentacles

Ace of Pentacles (Reversed)

Ace of Wands

I see that this pile is willing to fight for what they think is right even if it is futile or unlikely to have the outcome you are desiring, you still go for it. I feel like some of the people that chose this pile are into activism. With the queen of wands and ace of pentacles in reverse I feel like you are someone that isn't super into material wealth and would much rather focus on what feels good to you. This is one of the things that makes you so loveable, you would gladly turn down an opportunity to make money if it meant compromising your ethics or hurting someone. Even though the four of pentacles typically means holding onto money, I can see this more so being about you holding on to experiences you've had and valuing that more than having lots of money. I feel like you have recently been gaining a new zest for life or something you've just discovered and it has made the energy you project even more amazing than your energy normally is.

Cards

The of Cups

Ten of Wands

Knight of Pentacles (Reversed)

Five of Pentacles

Eight of Pentacles

The Sun

I see that this pile gives off a joyous energy no matter what they're going through, the three of cups is really standing out to me I can see you being the life of the party. For some of you this comes out in a very flamboyant wild way and for others it's like a get together just wouldn't be the same if you didn't show up. I see you being the kind of person that could even make a funeral more pleasant as strange as that may sound. For half of the people that chose this pile, your wild vibrant energy is what makes you loveable and for the other half that chose this pile your peaceful energy is what makes you lovable. I'm getting that some of you are like taking an upper and some of you are like taking a downer (in the best way possible).

Please let me know if your reading resonated and always remember not to make a decision based on a reading unless it's one you feel completely comfortable with. Thank you for visiting my tarot page!

All the best to you,

- Erika, The Clumsy Witch

[clonerightsagenda]

For now I think I'm going to use #crude monsters as my catchall tag because I respect a clever title. I'll try to backtag stuff but given tumblr's search function I'm going to pile all my current thoughts in one place so this one at least will be tagged.

Thesis

I've observed a theme in SFF works from the last decade connecting the undead/death magic with fossil fuels/climate change in a way that makes even more literal our contemporary society being powered by dead things (fossil fuels) and positions climate change/pollution as a 'haunting' we've brought upon ourselves. The specter of communism may have been haunting Europe, but the specter of petrochemicals now stalks the globe, and it's getting hot (or cold) in here.

Examples I have collected so far:

The Locked Tomb by Tamsyn Muir

This is the most blatant. House society runs on death even more visibly than our own. It was created by a man working to save the planet, but even his original project betrays a belief that humans can't possibly escape their extractive relationship with Earth - it relied on freezing the entire population until the Earth could recover, instead of changing anyone's behavior. John wipes out our society, but he ends up recreating a lot of its harmful structures, including a reliance on extraction and death. The Houses rely on labor performed by skeletal servitors (more akin to the original zombie-as-enslaved-labor than the modern ravenous swarm). They use material goods primarily made of plastic or human bone/tissue. The Empire expands by killing entire planetary ecosystems and harvesting the death energy, spawning vengeful hauntings that target necromancers (people born from and benefiting from this extractive process) and Lyctors (necromancers who have gone even further to make continual death and extraction core to their identity). John, the leader of the empire, is powered by the death of Earth, and that's what's literally keeping the lights on - when he's briefly killed, the sun starts to go out. Society's view of human life as fuel trickles down to the interpersonal level as well, with many characters blurring devotion and consumption, taking it as a personal rejection when someone refuses to eat them, or deciding that the kindest alternative to the societal status quo is mutual self-immolation (nuclear fusion?).

Beyond the resurrection beasts serving as the vengeance of slaughtered ecosystems, we also see the aftereffects of this regime in the River, which is filthy and polluted. The Cuyahoga River catching fire became a key symbol and tipping point in the environmental movement in the late 60s/70s, and here we have a river that's been befouled by however John broke the world.

Lockwood & Co by Jonathan Stroud

In this series, Britain is plagued by something no one wants to name. It's not haunting, it's a Problem. They're not ghosts, they're Visitors. The dead don't have names, they get nicknames like natural disasters. But at the root is a group of wealthy industrialists who are exacerbating a crisis and profiting off of it at the same time. Business leaders are invading the afterlife to extract a product literally made out of dead people, which stirs up the dead and heightens the Problem. Then they turn around and make money off it by selling key supplies and services (silver, iron, agents, etc.) The reliance on children's Talents is reminiscent of climate change rhetoric around young people. Polls suggest young people are the most aware and concerned about climate change (after all, like with Visitors, they can see and feel it most clearly). Many adults in Turbohaunted Britain are willfully ignorant of the situation, brush off their own responsibility, and talk about how "the children will save us", cheerfully dropping the problem into the laps of a generation that did not cause it but will inherit its worst effects. Of course it's not just children who suffer - the process of invading the Other Side is actively killing the people doing it as well, and yet they still won't stop, driven by extractive greed.

This extraction is also displacing a large population. The dead entering living Britain are victims, but they're dehumanized by the real wrongdoers who need an easy scapegoat and the money they can make off one. The later books in this series were published around the height of the European refugee "crisis", when Europe saw high numbers of migrants from Middle Eastern and North African nations experiencing instability that Western oil interests contributed to. Rather than recognizing their responsibility and welcoming these people, Europe as a whole mostly rejected and vilified them, and nations across the globe continue to latch onto cases where migrants do hurt someone as evidence that they're all dangerous monsters, using them as a smokescreen to deflect attention from the rich corporate architects of our collective misery.

The Scholomance by Naomi Novik

This is my third example, and I might be stretching the undead thing a bit, but not too much imo. In the Scholomance series, privileged magic users, primarily in Western and wealthy nations, live in extravagant protected enclaves, leaving everyone else at the mercy of dangerous monsters. It's eventually revealed that enclaves are literally built on the backs of human sacrifices, which spawn a tar pit-like monster (mawmouth) that roams around devouring people - mostly those unlucky individuals who don't get through the enclave gates, meaning the people who benefit are also the least impacted, just as we've seen with warming and climate disasters. Their comfort comes at a direct cost to everyone else. Mawmouths are made out of that original sacrifice but accumulate their screaming, perpetually dying victims, and El is eventually able to defeat them by reminding them that they're "already dead", so I'd say they're at least undead-adjacent.

When a Chinese wizard learns the secret of enclave construction, he confronts the Western enclaves, who refuse to stop. So, his faction feels they have no choice but to build their own enclaves, even if that makes the problem worse. It's reminiscent of how the West scolds "developing" nations for increasing their population and emissions despite having enjoyed the fruits of living large, carbon consumption-wise, for decades. ("We had our fun, now we're going to wag our fingers at anyone who doesn't want to sign emissions treaties. We're not following them though.") The New York enclave makes a more ~ethical~ mawmouth (Orion = greenwashing??) but mostly so they can weaponize it against anyone who argues with them. Orion being created as part of this arms race and El being born to 'balance' him out again hearkens to the idea that the children will somehow save us, and also revisits that children are the most impacted by our warming future, stuck cleaning up earlier generations' messes.

Hi Nay by Motzie Dapul

This connection was made during a Discord conversation and not by me, so I really need to relisten to the podcast with this framing in mind. A group of mostly wealthy Elders gain magical power through sowing the Toronto landscapes with Foci that harvest energy from death. The ones that bother with justifications say it's for the greater good and the deaths at least are random chance, but in reality the Elders are safe and their Foci impact the unprotected, just as we pretend natural disasters and pandemics are great equalizers when really they and other climate-induced destruction hit frontline populations hardest. Just like the wealthy in our world, they're profiting off of people's deaths and looking the other way as man-made disasters caused by their actions destroy people.

Additionally, the use of death magic at scale destabilizes the barrier between the worlds of the living and the dead, and locations where a Focus has activated in the past are more likely to experience problems again. Essentially it's a feedback loop, the way we see exponential warming and increased disasters as different 'symptoms' of climate change feed off each other. Foci creating corrupt, repulsive "miasmas" that distort the world around them is also reminiscent of ecological damage and pollution.

The showrunner has indicated future episodes might tackle this theme more directly, so I'm excited about that!

Limitations

Of these four works, three were written by white authors living in what I would categorize as an extracting area of the world rather than an extraction zone. All four works are at least primarily in English for an English-speaking audience. This does not reflect the frontline communities most vulnerable to the current ravages of climate change, and I would not be surprised if this theme has arisen in works I have not found, either because they did not make it through mainstream publishing's gatekeeping or because I do not speak the language.

That being said, hauntings often have their logic. There's unfinished business, someone (something?) wants revenge, people crossed lines they shouldn't have. So perhaps this theme popping up in extractive countries is an acknowledgement of that culpability, admitting that we dug up these angry dead, and now we don't know how to put them back to rest. Shame the rest of the world is paying for our trespass.

I'll continue to keep an eye out for more examples of this theme; feel free to let me know if you spot one!

[farmerlesbian]

Hi! Leather anon back again. I would absolutely love the shop list, Mod Alfalfa, if you have the time! Thank you all for helping out a (wannabe) leather dyke here, I probably won't have the time and money to really get into the subculture for at least another year but in the meantime... I can look!

Hi sorry finally getting around to this! Been busy!

First, I'll give the caveat that I have not purchased from any of these shops so can't vouch for them. One exception, I do have the Camryn harness from Switch Leather co. which I like and would recommend! I like that it's custom sized so I could get it with long enough adjustable straps so it can be cinched to fit both me and my partner, I also liked that it was relatively locally made by hand and is made with real leather so it'll wear nicely and last a long time if I care for it.

Okay let's get to the list of links! These are various styles and aesthetics, things they specialize in, materials, locations, price points, types of kink and bdsm. These are in no particular order at all. As I went through my bookmarks and saves I made sure to stay focused on leather shops specifically, so this list is not including models or influencers/popular people, publications like zines or blogs, photographers or artists, kink things of other adjacent varieties, sex toys, or other assorted things like that. Hard to limit it but I have to keep this list focused! Shop around see what you like. Reblog and add your recommendations or thoughts!

Switch Leather Co. / Instagram (I have the Camryn harness)

Nocturne Leather / Instagram

Riverqueer Leatherwork / Instagram

Fruit Leather Fetish / Instagram

Leather Coven / Instagram

Kolby Brianne / Instagram

Relena's Vegan Bondage / Instagram

Boundaries Leather / Etsy / Instagram

BDSFemme Leather Instagram

Little Death Leather Instagram / Kofi

Theirs + Theirs / Instagram

Emma Alamo / Instagram

Transform Leather Co. / Instagram

Daddy's Leather Shop / Instagram

Ocelotl's Trade / Instagram

Leather Archives Instagram - not a shop but nice to follow

Black Bone Co / Instagram

Ryce NYC / Instagram

Doghouse Leathers / Instagram / Craftingroom Instagram

Current Lace and Leather Instagram (I have a hanging plant holder! It's super cute)

Shop Tina Villa / Instagram

Lupine Leather Co. / Instagram

Yama Craft Space / Instagram

Fleet Ilya / Instagram

Toxic Vision / Instagram

Agate Leather / Instagram

Creepy Yeha / Instagram

Cassandra Von Creep / Instagram

Spill Adornment / Instagram

Peg n Pedal / Instagram - not leather, but repurposed bicycle tubes

Rodeoh / Instagram - not leather, but fabric harnesses

Leather Dyke Club / Instagram

Gnat / Instagram

Leonard Condemine Instagram

Church Leather Instagram

Love Lorn Lingerie / Instagram

Dewy thee occult Instagram - not seeing a way to purchase but felt worth including

Manmade Skins / Instagram

Naassene Leathers / Instagram

Cabbage Cottage / Instagram

Activest Project / Instagram - not leather, but polypro webbing straps

Devil's Remains / Instagram

Pansy Leatherwork / Instagram / @thyfleshc0nsumed

Also, all this said, don't be afraid to buy a hide or some vintage leather items and work with it yourself! You could get an old bag and rip the seams out and use the leather for something new, or find an old jacket and turn it into a vest and add spikes, or get a hide and have a collars and floggers making craft party with your friends!

[elitistcinema]

Cruel Intentions vs. Do Revenge

I never shit on any new movie I disapprove of because I think that’s what frustrated old men and failed filmmakers-turned filmcritics do. I also think it’s disrespectful to all involved artists – cast and crew - to rate a film’s value with however many stars out of ten as a film is after all ART and its entertainment or artistic value is therefore highly subjective. However, I’ll have to make an exception for Do Revenge (2022) as it pays homage to Cruel Intentions (1999) and it’s a good occasion to compare the state of teen entertainment of 1999 and 2022.

Let’s get budget, star power, and directors out of the way first: If we consider inflation, we can estimate a budget of $18.5 million for the creation of Cruel Intentions and an estimated budget of $25 million for Do Revenge which makes the pair very comparable. When it comes to star power, Sarah Michelle Gellar was already famous as the main protagonist in the Buffy (1997) tv show before she appeared in Cruel Intentions and Ryan Phillippe had his break with I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997). I admit that I have never heard about any of the talent in Do Revenge prior to this film but I guess that’s my own fault. Considering the tsunami of shows on all these streaming platforms, I don’t think I can be blamed. I’m saying that Sarah and Ryan were iconic actors already and Mendes, Hawke, and Abrams are not (I’m sorry). I appreciate that Sarah Michelle Gellar has a minor role in Do Revenge as well and consider her as an asset for this Netflix film. Considering the looks and theme of the Do Revenge, it was always meant to be a Netflix film and seasoned writer/director Jennifer Kaytin Robinson did a good job fitting it into their current portfolio. Cruel Intentions started as a passion project by first-time director Roger Kumble with very little money and was then picked up by Columbia.

Now we get to the entertainment value: Do Revenge has good production value in terms of costume, locations, and other eye-candy. Cruel Intentions had these assets too – the difference is that Kumble staged them masterfully. I’d argue that Theo van de Sande’s magnificent cinematography in Cruel Intentions can’t even be compared to the very standard work of Brian Burgoyne in Do Revenge. The reason for that is that Theo and Roger were inspired by Bertolucci films like the Conformist (1970) which made the simplest scenes a joy fest for the viewer’s eyes. The style of cinematography in Do Revenge was not inspired by an old Italian master but by the brand image of Netflix and maybe – only maybe - by Cruel Intentions – it left no impression on me. Do Revenge has good acting and good direction, but the dialog is often “on the nose” and cliché. The plot twists and the duality of its characters are enjoyable, but this is overshadowed by a general lack of originality. I find the character’s omnipresent strive to publicly expose their counterparts annoying and meaningless. It’s like publicly showing Sebastian Valmont’s diary– but not as dramatic (where’s the soundtrack, where are the cool montages?) and very repetitive. Somehow, I find Drea’s Yale ambitions not very believable – just like Rosehill’s crazy graduate party/orgy that is supposed to be attended by ivy league material exclusively. Aren’t these people supposed to be smart, eloquent, and have some academic ambition? Sebastian Valmont and Kathryn Merteuil were deliciously evil when they had to be and wickedly smart and charming when we wanted them to be just that. The characters in Do Revenge are written without much depth because they are always the same: ditzy and politically correct – even when they’re making fun of wokeness. Seriously, imagine any of Do Revenge’s main characters (rich ivy league candidates) using a pocket watch, journalling regularly or being a real book worm – it doesn’t work. There is no serious ambition, sophistication, or enjoyable dark academia trait to be seen in these shallow personalities. If you’re going to adapt and pay homage, why not use the cool stuff?

Do Revenge’s sexy scenes unfortunately won’t stun its audience with iconic locations, scandalous dirty talk, or explosive chemistry like Cruel Intentions. They are watered down and uninspired. This brings me to my next point: Nobody would be able to distribute a film like Cruel intentions nowadays. It’s dialogue is too hardcore and unapologetic for the teens of now and for the woke streaming platforms who love their virtue signaling. That is also why it’s impossible to portrait any of Do Revenge’s characters as iconic as the celebrated and often copied protagonists of Cruel Intentions – they had an edge and they made their props and their rooms work for them. It is my understanding that is forbidden and not marketable to have a teen movie with edgy characters like that, who have class and have become style icons. If Sebastian Valmont was alive in the universe of Do Revenge, he would be the character who can’t be found on Instagram or tik tok – he’d tell you that “that’s for geeks and pedophiles.”

Do Revenge had everything going for it but it doesn’t work at all and that makes me sad.

[celticcrossanon]

BRF Reading - 22nd of August, 2024

This is speculation only

Cards drawn on the 22nd of August, 2024

Question: Why Does King Charles want Prince Andrew out of The Royal Lodge?

Note: The energy of this reading is very heavy. I feel like I have a huge burden on my shoulders, weighing me down, as I shuffle and draw the cards. There is also a reluctance to ask the question and interpret the cards, as if it is too much work. The moment I walk away from the reading, that energy vanishes, so it is definitely connected to these cards.

Interpretation: It is part of a change or set of changes that The King wants to implement.

Card One: The Five of Pentacles

This is the card of being in exile or being in disgrace, which is Prince Andrew's current situation. It can also be a card representing abandonment, loss, and isolation, and I think that is how Prince Andrew feels at the moment - abandoned by his family.

The energy of this card is that Prince Andrew is not exiled enough - he needs to be exiled more, to publicly suffer more, It is a strange energy to have about someone who is already exiled, but that is what is coming through the cards - he needs to be exiled more and it has to be done in a very public way.

Card Two: Death

Death is the card for Scorpio, which is the sun sign of King Charles, so this sense of Prince Andrew needing to be exiled more is coming from The King.

Death is a card of endings, change, and transition, which represents Prince Andrew leaving The Royal Lodge. The push to get him out is definitely coming from The King himself, and it is part of a transition to something else, a change or set of changes that The King wants to happen.

I drew a clarifier for this card and it was the Ace of Pentacles. Aces are new beginnings, and Pentacles are about wealth, social status, material things, so this change is to do with money and with status. Of course it will be cheaper for The King if Prince Andrew is not in The Royal Lodge and he is not paying the security bill, but it could be a way to reduce Prince Andrew's status within the Royal Family, or have something else to do with the general area of money and status.

The Death card can be a literal death. I think that whatever change/s The King wants to happen, he is feeling his mortality and he is pushing for the change/s to happen before he dies. There is a sense of tidying everything up before he passes.

Card Three: The Eight of Cups in Reverse

The Eight of Cups is about walking away from a situation. When the card is in the reverse, you can't walk away, you are stuck in the situation.

The energy of this card is that The King is stuck with the situation of Prince Andrew and what to do with him. There is a reluctant energy to this card, as if The King would rather walk away and leave the situation to others to deal with, but he can't - it is his responsibility to solve this problem.

The Eight of Cups is one of my death cards, because of the picture on it (Psyche descending to the underworld), so again there is this sense of death around this issue - it is something that The King wants to resolve before he dies. Again, I feel that regardless of how much time he actually has left to live, The King's mortality is weighing on him very heavily at this point in time, and he feels like he has to deal with outstanding issues and tidy them up before he passes on.

Underlying Energy: The Two of Pentacles in Reverse

The Two of Pentacles is about balance, about investing your time and energy wisely, deciding which projects will give a good return and which will not. When it is in the reverse, things are not balanced. You are putting too much time and energy into one area of your life and not seeing a return for it, or you are overextended, or things are unorganised and chaotic - there is an imbalance somewhere that needs to be addressed.

The energy of this card is that The King feels that things are not in balance. He feels like he is giving too much and not getting enough in return. Removing Prince Andrew from The Royal Lodge and implementing whatever change/s he has in mind is his way of trying to right the balance and make things equal again.

Dominant Suit: Pentacles. This is about money and status. The only major arcana card is the Death card, so the focus of the reading is The King and whatever change(s) he is trying to bring about.

Conclusion:

The push to have Prince Andrew leave The Royal Lodge is coming from The King. It is related to a change or set of changes that The King wants to implement before he passes on. The change/s have to do with money and status.

The King feels that things are out of balance - he is giving too much and getting too little in return - and he wants to right that balance. Removing Prince Andrew from The Royal Lodge is part of the adjustments necessary for making sure that things are balanced.

The King feels that he is stuck with the situation about Prince Andrew and it is his job to fix it. He doesn't want to do the actual mechanics of fixing it - he would much rather hand that over to someone else and have them do it - but he can't, he has to remove Prince Andrew from the Royal Lodge himself, and that has become part of this change that he is pushing through.

There is also a sense that Prince Andrew has not been exiled enough and he has to be seen by the public to be exiled more.

This reading isn't 100% clear. I will come back to it in the future if necessary to see if I can get more details about why Prince Andrew has to leave the Royal Lodge and what this change is that The King wants to manifest.

[bts-0t-7]

Slithered | JJK | Chapter 1

Pair: Mafia Jungkook x F Reader 

Summary: Jungkook was wandering the streets in the middle of the night and coincidentally passed the little flower shop you work at. Due to your odd working hours, you don’t have much socialising on a daily basis much less customers. So just imagine your shock when a handsome man, clad in all black, entered your shop in the ungodly hours of the night. Never would you have thought that the polar opposite of the worlds would collide and cause such a trouble. 

Genre: Fluff, mafia au, soft reader 

Chapter Warnings: mild violence, mildly creepy JK watching reader close up shop (if anybody does this irl, please smack the living shit out of them. Stay safe!), rape (I won’t go much into detail of this during the scene but it is implied. Do not be insensitive on this topic. For those who are sensitive on this, please do not continue reading)

A/N: Bold is for flashback.

WC: 2579

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Jungkook didn’t know how he ended up in an alley that sells flowers in the dead of the night and neither did he know why he was here. He was taking a stroll in, spending some time to himself when he smelt the citrus scents of the flowers, following them to where it currently led him. Most of the flower shops in this area are closed for the night or temporarily not receiving walk-in customers. 

However, there are some shops where they are open and busy. There may be no customers in the shop but orders seem to be piling on the desks where the arrangements are made. Jungkook spotted a swift-moving medium, constantly running from place to place in the shop. He stopped right outside it. The interior was made in a way where the arrangements of flowers made the whole shop seem like a home. 

A home full of plants.

But even from outside, Jungkook could clearly see the neat arrangements and lining of the labels. You, on the other hand, were running around the shop, trying to get the necessary flowers and stocks to make the last arrangement before the driver arrived and collected them. This project was big on money and your boss would be furious if you were to ‘fuck it up for him’.

Jungkook entered the shop, doorbell chiming as he pushed open the door. Your head whipped up from your working station, instantly greeting him at the front door. 

“Hello! Welcome to Fior Arrangements!” You chirped. It may be two in the morning but you worked the night shift while your other colleagues work the morning and evening shifts. Most of them did not want to work night shifts so you took on the initiative. 

Not that you minded. 

You never had much of a social life due to your personality and you had always been quite a night owl. Most of the time, there were fewer people at night, which means that packaging orders would be easier than in the daytime. 

“Hello.” The young man bowed. 

“What brings you here?” You asked, honestly curious as to why a man wearing a full suit with a coat over, would come in the middle of the night. Anybody could see that he was stocked.  His boots were, his hair slicked back, and the material of his clothes looked soft to the touch. “Any flowers in mind? 

He shook his head. 

“Well, every flower has a meaning.” You pointed to the labels on the walls. These are the names and meanings of the flowers. Feel free to look around and call me if you need help!” 

Jungkook nodded at you. 

As he walked around, reading the labels, he spied a few blurry-looking men walking into the shop. Instinctively, his hand shot to the gun hidden under the lapels of his jacket only for you to cheerily greet them. It shot a pang of jealousy through him.

Why was he jealous? He just met you!

Jungkook silently shook his head to clear his thoughts. With half his attention to his surroundings, he overheard the conversation between you and the men. You seemed to know them very well, conversations easily flowing between you. 

“Yep! There are more at the back. You know where that is.” You laughed and Jungkook’s heart felt like it stopped. And started. And stopped and started again. It was so pure and melodious that he would do anything to keep you laughing like that. 

“How are your kids, Peng?” 

“Not too bad. Just refusing to study as usual.” The guy in the black shirt and oversized jeans told you. 

“I mean… It’s kids these days. Plus, I’m sure when we were at their age we didn’t want to study either.” You snickered. 

Peng laughed. “True, true. Very true.”

The four men spotted Jungkook walking towards the cashier as you signed the papers and stamped them. Handing them the customer copy, you waved them goodbye and finally headed over to Jungkook. 

“Hiya, need help?”

Jungkook nodded. 

“Well, what is the occasion?” You asked. 

Jungkook didn’t come here for a specific reason. In fact, he didn’t even come up with a reason. So he just shrugged and answered, “Just wanted something calming in the house. It’s far too empty.”

That could by far be the worst lie he ever came up with. 

But all you did was nod and head over to the pails of flowers, picking up stock after stock. You then carefully cut off some of the stems and plucked some leaves, arranging them in a glass bottle. Your body covered most of the work at times and Jungkook stayed at where he stood. He didn’t want to spoil the surprise for himself. 

You didn’t take long, expert hands moving nimbly to arrange the flowers prettily. You turned over to him with the glass bottle in front of you, walking over to give it to him. 

“How’s it?” Jungkook could see that you were nervous. The little ticks of indication like the furrows of your brows and wringing of your fingers behind your back. 

“Do you always do this for customers?” Jungkook gently smelt the flowers. Lavender was the most prominent scent. 

His favourite and you didn’t even need to ask. The scents weren’t strong and it did was already doing wonders to calm him. 

You looked back at him, humming and shaking your head. “Just you and a few other more privileged customers. Seems like you’re one of them on the list now.”

Your eyes sparkled as you turned to him. Perhaps you knew the brands he wore or perhaps you guessed that he was more than rich. But as he brought out his card to pay, you declined him. 

“No need. You looked like you needed this. So it’s on the house.” Your smile was blinding and at that moment, Jungkook knew that he would have you even if it took years and years. He would protect you. 

You were closing up that day. Usually, the shop is 24 hours and the next colleague of yours who would be doing the morning shift would be the one to clean up the place. However, it was a public holiday and the flower shop was closed. Your boss had given all employees two days’ break so after your shift, you had to tidy up and ensure that all the flowers are placed in their exact locations a the back of the store so that they do not wilt by the time the shop re-opens. 

Honestly, you couldn’t be happier. While your job was fairly simple and relaxed, going without a day’s break even on the weekends can truly drain your energy. You don’t have much time to yourself and it can affect you when you are overloaded with your senses. 

Turning off the lights, you shut the door and lock it, the door code being with an indication that it has been locked. Scanning your surroundings and patting yourself down, you hummed, glad that you did not forget anything. 

As you started to walk back home, you felt an eerie feeling in your gut. One that warns you that something is most certainly not right. The hair on your neck started to stand as you got goosebumps, making a sharp 180-degree turn to walk back to the store. You were instinctively aware that there were more than three pairs of footsteps following you. And every time you sped up or slowed down, they would keep the same pace.

So you did the next best thing your overdriven brain thought. 

You ran. 

Jungkook was driving his car up the little hill to visit the flower store. He wasn’t sure if you were still on shift then. He knew from silently watching you the past few days that your shift ends at five in the morning. And currently, the time was 5.30 am. 

The road got too narrow for Jungkook to continue driving up so he threw his car into parking mode and left. 

He was only going to take a while. 

But as he got out of the car, he sensed that something was wrong. The air did not feel right and as much as he wished that his sensitivity would not follow him when he was off work, life has its way of throwing stones at him. 

A shrill scream broke him out of his trance. If it was anybody else’s scream he probably would have just continued with his plans and walked up the the store. But he recognised the voice - the sound. 

Yours. 

Your scream - filled with terror and pain. 

Without thinking, Jungkook ran towards the approximated direction where he had heard you. Your second scream for help was abruptly cut off making him pump his legs and arms faster. He didn’t want to think of all the horrid things that you might be going through right now. He needed to get to you. 

Jungkook came to a stop the moment he saw you, held by your throat, against the wall. Your hair and clothes were in a mess, eyes bloodshot, and valuables strewn everywhere. But the most avergrating thing was the six males standing there, choking you as tears streamed down your cheeks, laughing. 

Blood rushed to his head. 

How dare they. 

How dare they touch you. 

Jungkook didn’t care for consequences as he pounced on the men. 

You tried to run but they were too fast and too silent for you. You were pinned against the wall and stripped down against your own will. 

“Now pretty lady, how about I do the talking and you do the answering?” 

You didn’t want to but all you could do was struggle and struggle as they manhandled your body, stripping you bare of your own dignity. You cried and struggled as they took their turns, your body betraying you.

“Hey now, why are you crying, pretty?” They laughed, gagging you. “You’re enjoying it, see?”

Tears streamed down your face. You weren’t. You weren’t. 

And yet, you knew that nobody was going to come help you. To come stop these men from doing more than they already did. You were so close - so close - to resigning to your fate when you were suddenly dropped to the ground. 

Too tired to keep your eyes fully open, you watched through hooded lids as a mass of black pounded onto the males. You should’ve been scared - you should’ve cowered back, pleading with him to not come for you as well - but you didn’t. 

Especially as that mass of black picked you up into his arms, snarling and hissing words that seemed incoherent to you, you felt safe. Perhaps it was the adrenaline doing the job but you curled yourself deeper into him. His hands were gentle, unlike the ones that handled you earlier. These hands were calloused - probably seeing worse days as they skimmed over your naked body - but they were respectful. They did not venture where the rest did and you found yourself wrapped up in a jacket before being lifted up once again. 

Unable to keep your eyes open any longer, your head rolled to the side as you blacked out. 

Jungkook has seen many things in his short life. Twenty-six years and he has seen death one too many times.  But nothing has scared him more than seeing you black out and going limp in his arms. Pressing two fingers on your neck, Jungkook confirmed that you were still breathing. In shock you most certainly were but now Jungkook needed to bring you home and he did not know your address. So the next best thing was to bring you to his home. 

As Jungkook’s black Mercedes Benz GT63S pulled up to the front lawn, he hurried out, passing the car keys to the butler and carrying you into the house. 

In the midst of the whole case, it completely slipped his mind to inform his family that he was bringing somebody home. All he had done was hurriedly call the group’s private doctor, not caring what the guy was up to. 

“Kook, what the hell! You can’t just bring a random person home like this!”

“Oh shit -”

“Fuck that girl is naked!”

“Jeon Jungkook, what the shit is wrong with you?”

“Did you fuck a girl out?”

“JUNGKOOK!”

Jungkook couldn’t be bothered. He’ll explain later. Right now, he needed the doctor to check you over and ensure that other than the physical and psychological trauma you’re going to have once you wake up, you were fine otherwise. 

“A little bit of a bump on the back of her head, scratch marks and bruises. That’s about all.” The doctor placed some pills on Jungkook’s bedside table. “I suggest you give these to her, twice a day after meals. Antibiotics. You can give her paracetamol if needed. Ensure that she is kept hydrated.”

Jungkook thanked the doctor and leaned over to cover you with the sheets when the doctor stopped him. “It would be best to clean her up first.”

With that, the doctor left, leaving the six men standing at the threshold of his bedroom door. They watched as he got a few clothes, cleaning you up, making sure to use soft cloths so that you would not wake from the oversensitivity. Only after Jungkook deemed you clean enough did he take out his silk pyjamas and tug them over you. 

The boys had silently excused themselves, only leaving Jimin as he helped Jungkook dress and tuck you into bed. Closing the curtains, he turned off the lights, leaving the moonlight on so that the room would not be encased in total darkness with the possibility of scaring you if you woke up without him there. 

Jungkook knew that the topic at hand would not be easy to talk about and he most certainly knows that he was in the wrong as well. Well, a little bit in the wrong. 

He would never apologise for bringing a person in need home, much less you. So as Jimin and he entered the living room, the boys were all seated, faces holding stoic glares. 

“Jungkook -” Hobi hyung started. 

“She works at the flower shop. She was the one I told you about - the reason why my room has a glass of flowers.”

“Still, you cannot just bang her up and -”

“She was raped.”

The silence in the room was pregnant and suddenly everybody’s breathing sounded too loud. 

“I parked the car in the middle of the hill as it was getting too narrow for me to pass through. I couldn’t get there fast enough. By the time I reached, she was already taken.” Jungkook harshly rubbed his face with his hands. He wished that he could’ve been there earlier - faster. If only work hadn’t kept him up, the whole situation wouldn’t even have happened. 

A soft hand landed on his shoulder, patting him gently. “Don’t beat yourself over it, Kook. It was good that you made it there.”

“But I couldn’t stop her from -” His throat choked up. He just couldn’t bring himself to finish the sentence. 

“Some things are inevitable.” He looked up from his crouched position to look at Namjoon Hyung. “What matters is that you got there.”

Jungkook nodded. 

“I think today was more than enough of a fulfilling night. Let’s go to bed.” Seokjin Hyung called out and grunts of agreement were heard as everybody got to their feet. 

[britt-kageryuu]

At the Purple Dragons, Genius Built Tech Workshop~ A.K.A The Dragons Den!

The former Purple Dragons are working on their current projects, making some prototypes, programming some new apps, playing Rock, Paper, Scissors on who takes the call for Tech Support. The usual day working under their former Enemy and Current Employer.

Though this changed up when Kendra asked for some more work, and ended up becoming the one to run the official VTurtles! clips channel. Kendra had been pretty annoyed until Donnie presented her with the contract for this new job on top of her current work.

Who was she to turn away having more money added to her paycheck?

The only downside was just going over the streams for good material, which meant she would tend to listen to the VODs while working on other stuff. And making notes on what would be good parts to edit together, and what effects to add.

Jeremy and Jason were at first a bit jealous that Kendra was getting more work, but then realized she would has less free time between projects. The VODs can get pretty long, especially the random insomnia streams.

They had all customized their Mini Turtle Droids to act as helpers, and help them keep track of time mainly. The three are only considered cousins of Shelldon and River, but not as equipped for the extensive AI updates of the originals.

"How mad would Othello be if we set up our own VTuber thing? Pretend to be a VTurtles manager. Like how that one company has a manager also be a VTuber?" Jason asked with some hesitation, not really sure about the idea himself.

"Nah, it would be a lot to do on top of the big projects on schedule." Jeremy answers while he was working with a later prototype of the AR Glasses, "Even if we already have models in the system, Othello hasn't told us what they are for. And if we misused them, well we might get fewer projects sent our way."

Jason paused and quickly turns to Jeremy with a frantic look, "Wait, we already have models?! Like fully rigged and everything?!"

Jeremy just raises an eyebrow, before bringing something up on his computer, "Yeah. Found them pretty shortly after we got moved here. Did you really not check out the files we have access to? Way to lose some Purple Dragons Pride."

On the screen are to open files labeled P.D. Jace, P.D. Jer, and P.D. Ken, all three show 3D models of winged humanoid Purple Themed Dragons of different body types. Each file also has a sub section labeled 'Preset Outfits'.

Before they could continue with a slight freak out, Donnie comes in talking to a camera being carried by Shelldon, with River running around to move anything that might trip him.

"And here are the Top Three Techs in this department. Now don't think you'll get their true identities, I made models to hide that. And I know you want to question why Purple_Wyvern is here. She works for GB, and yes she's paid extra for the Clipper Stuff." Donnie kinda rambles while showing some of the workshop.

Kendra pauses what's she doing to glare at Donnie, but lets her droid join the other two as they go greet their older cousins.

"And greetings you three. Are you having a good time in the Dragons Den?" Donnie leans back, while swiveling his head, to ask the three droids.

The three were a mix of chatter and digital chirps, trading head bonks with River, and Shelldon, then going to almost ram into Donnies head in excitement.

"Calm down, and go back to helping the Dragons. Okay you three we'll do individual interviews later if you want. This is going to be just a prerecorded section I'm going to add to a stream later. Now to head to the next location! Leo is you please?!" Donnie doesn't wait for any of them to answer, and just leaves through a blue portal like he didn't just randomly disrupt them briefly.

"Well that might explain why we have premade models." Jeremy says with a bit of bewilderment. "To hide our identities with the AR filters."

Jason meanwhile was freaking out for a new reason, "Did you hear what he said?! He called us the 'Top Three Techs'!!" He collapsed onto his chair from the rush of what happened in such a short time.

Kendra just scoffed, "Of course we are. The other techs in this company don't get their own workshop. They're in a different warehouse in a different burrough." She gives her droid some pets after it returns to her station, "And I know they don't have personal AI bots to work with, just a couple lone bots that Othello with control remotely to check on things." She starts back up she was working on, "Now back to work, Othello sent word that we get to show off the new tech on the next company broadcast."

The two follow her lead, after closing the files with the models on them, and get back to work. With some effort from Jason because of just the wild 10 minutes of rushed chaos.

Just another exciting day in the Dragons Den.

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

Masterpost

Was a bit bored and thought 'I should write some more behind the scenes types posts' for my AU.

The three droids don't really have names yet. I can't figure what the Dragons would name them.

[strangefable]

oh my GOD the comments on that post about lit students not reading more than middle grade are so infuriating.

one person said they are a lit student and then immediately followed it by saying 'no one enjoys doing it you just have to' and like. my guy. you're wrong. i very much DID and still DO enjoy analyzing literature and structuring coherent arguments about how and why. you are IN THE WRONG FIELD if you do not enjoy it.

it is FINE to like to read rick riordan. it is FINE if you just like reading for fun! it's a great hobby! no one is expecting you to change that!

but if you want to STUDY LITERATURE in an academic setting, you are going to fucking FAIL if the only books you like are middle grade and your strongest arguments are 'i like it because it's fun' or 'i like it because it teaches good lessons' or 'idk i just like it'

YOU ARE GOING TO FAIL. you are missing the point entirely. YEAH you SHOULD enjoy your assignments at least SOME of the time. you should LIKE reading a story and figuring out what it means and how it's being told and the mechanics involved. you should be enjoying this. that is very much entirely the goddamn point of studying a subject on a college level.

if you just want a degree just to get you a high paid job after, STOP STUDYING LITERATURE. get a business degree or project management or marketing or accounting or programming. i promise that'll make you way more money. and you can still hate your classes. and you can still read the fun books you like.

literature classes are very good at teaching you how to think critically and solve problems and research well and form cogent arguments. but they're not gonna make you The Big Bucks™. (even if you are doing it as pre-law, you are still unlikely to make it if you hate arguing your point so much and hate researching. my guy, that is what the legal field is almost entirely.) in the working world of adults, my degree means very little to most people. UNLESS they are actually acutely aware of the skills i learned from it. (many many MANY people who do the hiring have no fucking goddamn clue.)

a lit degree impresses no one, trust me. so if you're not passionate about it, stop studying it. pick something else.

that is the beauty of college and university, btw. you get to pick the subject you are most interested and passionate about and study it in depth. this is why you pick a lit degree, otherwise you are robbing yourself and punishing yourself. it's okay if it's not for you! pick something you'll like better! you will still learn lots of valuable skills!

and you won't hate every waking moment of your college years!

but by god. if you do not like reading challenging material, if you do not like arguing what your interpretations are and how you got there, if you do not like figuring out why those curtains are blue, do not study literature.

if you cannot offer a more complex book as a favorite to your professor than percy jackson, you're going to hate college. unless you are one of the VERY rare breeds who can argue how rick riordan's work builds on the themes of the original myths and subverts or fails to subvert them, and how the themes and narratives strike real life current event chords (and specify and give details so many details) it's not gonna fly. it just is not what an academic setting is for.

percy can still be your favorite, but you gotta have something bigger to offer in a college class. it doesn't even have to be a 'dusty old canonized white guy'. you can pick a newer author, but they'd better be writing in an adult genre. literary fiction. magical realism. even hard science fiction. try toni morrison. bell hooks. sandra cisneros. there is so much beyond just the 'boring dead white men' out there that is worthwhile and still on the same level.

my dudes i studied tolkien in college, a deep dive with a leading tolkien scholar. i also studied children's literature from an academic (as well as child development) standpoint. it's not all grapes of wrath and ulysses i promise. but it is a lot denser than the things you find on the middle grade and ya shelves.

there is nothing wrong with those books. they're literature too. but in academia you've gotta stretch further out. you have to challenge yourself. this is The Point™

[feuillesss]

please can u do ateez san general readings? what opportunities will be coming in for him and any projects he may receive? thanks very much im enjoying your readings so far!

Ateez San General Reading

***DISCLAIMER***

I do not know these idols personally! This is just my interpretation of the cards that I pulled, please take this reading with a grain of salt. For entertainment purposes only.

( day/month/year - 10/11/24 )

San General Reading

How has San been doing recently?: ( Aoswrev/Kioc/7wa/Jus/Star/ )

It seems like San is over thinking a lot, there's a lot going on in his mind. He's struggling to find clarity in a situation, there's a lot of miscommunication and arguments going on. He's having difficulty expressing himself and his concerns. I'm getting the vibe that something may have gone wrong in his work life, someone may have messed something up / something may have been messed up, and he's being very diplomatic and mature about it. San is holding his ground, speaking his mind and fighting for what he believes in, though he may be very defensive. He's been pondering over a decision that he needs to make, possibly related to this incident, he's thinking about it very carefully and fairly. There's a lot of hope and inspiration here, he's been feeling very motivated and confident in himself and his abilities. But really I'm just getting the feeling that there's a lot of confusion here, he doesn't really know what's going on.

Opportunities he may receive: ( 5pent/Magic/Judge/9pent )

Okay, these were kind of hard to interpret for me lol, but let's get into it. It seems like he might lose a job opportunity which might have made him a lot of money, but he's currently being evaluated and considered by different brands/sponsors. It seems like there is an opportunity for him on the horizon, so look out for that.

Is he getting enough rest:

It seems like San has a lot of passion for what he does, he seems to love being an idol. He's definitely not getting enough rest, I'm getting a lot of fear and anxiety here as well. He might have gone through a hard time recently and feels blessed by these opportunities, feels like he has to work very hard to be worthy of it. He might be feeling trapped and restricted, maybe a bit depressed and/or struggling with some kind of addiction. He might be feeling out of control and putting too much value in material wealth, he doesn't feel fulfilled.

[p5x-theories]

Merope's Confidant

(last updated 11/21/24!)

This post documents the fully filled-in information on Merope gained through progressing her Confidant! It contains things that could be considered spoilers for her Confidant, as part of the information is a summary of its story.

Merope is available in the evenings most days, when it isn't rainy. Her Confidant isn't tied to any social stat, but certain rank-ups do require the player to possess a particular Persona with a specific skill. The required Personas are: Jack Frost (with Lucky Punch), Neko Shogun (with Tarukaja), Lilim (with Attack Enhancement I), Unicorn (with Treatment Enhancement II), Byakko (with Bufudyne), Daisoujou (with Spirit Drain), and Dominion (with Matarukaja).

Her Confidant also requires changing a heart in Mementos.

Favorite Presents

(An asterisk (*) marks the special presents added with (and unlocked through) Miyu Sahara’s Confidant, which are liked by all Confidants currently in the game.)

AMN005's First Album The first album of the legendary female idol group AMN005 has collectible value.

Coasters The coasters on sale at maid cafes are popular with many people.

Penlight Glow Stick A penlight glow stick that emits soft yellow light will make your idols pay attention to you at a glance.

Idol Keychain An idol keychain made of acrylic material.

Maid Model This expensive maid model was once a popular product in maid cafes.

Cat Hairpin This kitten-shaped hairpin is very cute.

Luxury Sunglasses Sunglasses that can effectively block ultraviolet rays.

Latest Digital Camera The latest digital cameras not only have a higher resolution, but are also easy to operate.

Weight-Bearing Wristband Muscle training tool that can be used on both wrists and ankles. The weight can be adjusted freely.

Limited-Edition Keychain* This keychain has a unique shape, and is well-made, but there weren’t many of it produced. It has a certain collector’s value.

Bulk Snacks Value Pack* A combo pack containing a variety of traditional snacks that will remind people of the taste of childhood.

Advanced Essential Oil Combination* A value-for-money set of essential oils, with multiple functions to help you relax your mind and body.

Chestnut Cake* Fragrant chestnut cake with mild sweetness to suit most people’s tastes.

Musical Snow Globe* A snow globe that plays music, and can be shaken gently to make snow fall inside.

Desktop Incense Machine* A household incense machine that is small in size, so it can be placed anywhere.

Violets There are small violets hidden among the elegant white lilies, but they also have a unique charm to them.

Personal Information

Birthday: ?? Zodiac Sign: ?? Age: ?? Profession: ?? Height: 174cm Weight: ?? Blood Type: ?? Interest: Chasing stars Features: Throwing heavy objects...?

Story

Character Details A servant of Igor, the master of the Velvet Room, she faithfully and rationally carries out her master's instructions. Currently, she supports the activities of the Phantom Thieves as a dedicated receptionist.

Personal Data 1 Following Igor's orders, Merope searched in the human world for a way to help me, and creating the Phantom Idols was the answer she found.

Personal Data 2 As a dedicated receptionist, in order to better assist me, Merope developed a series of "special plans" to help me gain a deeper understanding of myself.

Personal Data 3 To Merope, an "idol" is an existence that responds to the needs of the world by creating a personality. She thinks that obtaining a Persona is similar to how an idol creates a stage persona. Her "special plans" were formulated on this basis.

Personal Data 4 But as her "special project" progresses, Merope seems to gradually realize that there are still some differences between me and an idol…

Personal Data 5 For the smooth advancement of her "special project", Merope hopes to find a role model for me to learn from by getting in touch with professional idols in Akihabara…

Personal Data 6 A girl named Narumi Nashimoto attracted Merope's attention, and Merope called her an outstanding idol. Merope launched a series of investigations into and contacts with Narumi, all in order to help me learn more about Narumi's job… at least, that's what Merope said.

Personal Data 7 In order to learn more about idols, Merope took me to participate in Narumi's photo session, and even did a lot of research into preparations beforehand. It's just that these preparations seemed to have little effect when she actually faced Naruru.

Personal Data 8 In the process of continuing to "observe" Naruru, we unexpectedly learned about Narumi's family background, and the fact that she was being exploited by an unscrupulous agent. In order to save Narumi, Merope commissioned me to change the heart of her evil producer.

Personal Data 9 I successfully changed her producer's heart, and the diligent Narumi finally received the treatment she deserved. She was so happy that she gave me and Merope tickets for her cafe's upcoming fan appreciation event. Seeing her smile from the heart, Merope was also very happy.

Personal Data 10 In order to better support Narumi, Merope taught me special CALL skills for idol fans. Through the advancement of her "special project", Merope and I have gained a lot. Though I don't know when it happened, it seems Merope also became a fan of me...

Voice Lines

Japanese VA: Yukari Tamura | Chinese VA: Hui Xu

(As I can only add up to ten audio files per post, I'll only include the Japanese lines below! Feel free to ask for the Chinese ones, though.)

I'm your receptionist, Merope. It's a pleasure to meet you.

I serve my master in the Velvet Room, the narrow place between dream and reality, mind and matter.

In order to avoid the coming ruin, I need to help you hone your desires.

My relationship with you...? I will make special plans for you, and you will put them into practice... Do you wish to have any other relationship?

You wish to know my arm strength...? Although this is not a difficult question to answer, please feel free to imagine for now.

Regarding my master, please forgive me for being unable to provide you with more information at the moment. Please understand.

As a fledgling idol, she also has experience in designing a persona... It's very lucky we met her. Please look forward to my next proposed special plan.

Confidant-Specific Bonuses

Rank 1 Road to Idols: The player gains access to the Contract function for summoning Phantom Idols.

Rank 5 Special Treat: Archangel's fusion is unlocked.

Rank 7 Ideal Image: Setanta's fusion is unlocked.

Rank 9 VIP Seats: Anubis' fusion is unlocked.

Rank 11 Under the Spotlight: Okuninushi's fusion is unlocked.

Rank 13 I Believe it is Justice: Narcissus' fusion is unlocked.

Rank 15 Fan Feedback: When fusing a 2- or 3-star Persona that's rank 4 or lower, there is a chance of gaining an additional Persona.

Rank 20 Dancing Alone in the Shadows: Kohryu's fusion is unlocked.