#quill-pen

[rom-e-o]

Manfred asking where babies come from.😅

Hey, he's a curious boy! You know he asks it with point-blank delivery, and 99% of the time, Emmrich is more than capable of providing a perfectly accurate and anatomically correct answer. He'll provide diagrams, all without so much as a blush. In his mind, there's nothing embarrassing about anatomy or procreation, and sexual behaviors are perfectly normal. Plus, I mean ... it's not like it's knowledge he has use for. It's not like he's a horrible boy

I can see the conversation starting in so many ways. Some humorous. Some somber. Some embarrassing, haha.

For example, if the team is passing through a town and Manfred sees a woman nursing her baby, he might point like:

"Tiny! Human?"

And Emmrich, after apologizing to the woman for Manfred pointing at her, gently corrects him, "That is an infant, Manfred. A newly born human! A baby."

"Baby? Baby! Cuuuute!"

"Ha! Very much so. Hmmm, that's right. I suppose you've never seen one before. No wonder you're curious! It's perfectly lovely to pay compliments to others, but please remember your manners and take care to not point next time, okay?"

"Okaaay!"

After all, Emmrich and Manfred mostly keep to the catacombs of the Necropolis, and there aren't many births there, haha. There are wonderfully staffed and clean medical wards, cozy homes, and other places for that.

Another possibility, albeit a macabre one, is that Manfred sees a baby for the first time when Emmrich is tending to the last rites of a group of victims after a terrible accident. Sad, but not impossible, considering Emmrich's line of work.

Now, the favorite option, imo? If Manfred asks at a completely inappropriate time.

Imagine Rook and Emmrich announcing to everyone that they're having a baby. I see them (him especially) favoring a more intimate approach, where they tell everyone the news individually.

When they tell Manfred, he just sits there for a moment before saying, "Baby?"

"Yes," Rook says, patting her belly. She's a few months along, but Manfred wouldn't have known what that meant. He just saw her tummy changing shape, nothing more.

"In a couple months, you'll have a new sibling! Isn't that exciting?"

Manfred leans forward, staring at Rook's stomach from a very close distance. Then, very gently, he pokes her. She laughs, and Emmrich encourages gentleness. "Carefully, my boy. Very gentle."

"Baby ... whereee?" he asks Another poke. "NO baby!"

"Well, it hasn't grown yet!" Rook says. "Well, not all the way, anyway."

"Growww?"

The realization hits both of them as Rook gives Emmrich an amused smirk. "Ah. You haven't had 'the talk' yet, dearest? That's surprising."

"Well, um ... why would he need to know?" Emmrich offers meagerly and with a little blush.

"Emmrich! Your own boy, walking around without basic anatomical knowledge? I'm positively shocked."

"He's a skeleton! He's never asked, and I'll confess, I had no reason to really think about it. At least not before meeting you."

"Aww, how sweet."

Meanwhile, Manfred is not satisfied. "Where? Howww?"

Rook lets out a delighted guffaw and Emmrich sighs, his cheeks now undeniably pink. He mumbles softly against his hand, "Oh, dear."

You see, explaining sex and procreation is all fine and dandy when they're concepts between to hypothetical people. But, explaining it to Manfred when Rook is pregnant involves a little self-admission. Something pretty much any parent could feel awkward about, I'd imagine, haha. It's already a big topic (so big that there are some adults that are even ignorant to how it all works, sadly) AND you add the caveat of Manfred knowing his parents did that deed. And Manfred isn't known for being timid or keeping secrets well, haha.

I imagine that's a LONG night of answering questions (lots of repetition) but ends with Manfred laying his head over Rook's belly and hugging her softly.

"New sibling! Yay!"

[st0r-fruit]

Update:

Kamitani worked: Bryant is staying away from the dressing room. But his gross, drunk friends are catcalling and heckling from the bar during Bess' performance and starting to throw glasses and bottles at her when she doesn't comply with their rude requests. Some of the glasses and bottles still have drinks in them.

GRRR CURSE THOSE MENS

*Ryu voice*

"...This man, I swear. Alright, I have two possible options:"

"We should probably bring in Mr. Wolf, and hire some body guards." (If Bess already met Wolf)

"Or, replace all glasses with a rubber-copy glasses, crank up the volume to reduce their nasty catcalling, and have Bess wear a liquid-proof dress and maybe use liquid-proof makeup and hair spray to keep her dry from the throws. I hope they give up soon seeing their efforts are being defeated by OUR doubled efforts."

(this is so fun i really like rp-ing with you quill)

@quill-pen

[adjpngs]

(1) Nephele Moth, (2) Cabernet Wax, (3) Garden Statue of Fortuna, (4) Vintage 1920's Bank Log, (5) Vintage Letter Opener and Magnifying Glass, (6) Nostalgic Impressions Quill Pen (Holder), (7) Hardcover Vintage Book, (8) Preserved Garnet Red Roses, (9) Large Skeleton Key

[strayingawayy]

ʷʰʸ ᵈᵒᵉˢ ʸᵒᵘʳ ˡᵒᵛᵉ ᶠᵉᵉˡ ˡⁱᵏᵉ ˡᵒⁿᵉˡⁱⁿᵉˢˢ? ;

ᵇᵘᵗ ⁱᶠ ᵗʰᵉ ʳᵉᵃᵈᵉʳ ᶠᵉˡᵗ ⁱᵗ._

(inspired by hyunjin's quill pen)

the moonlight spilled softly through the window, casting long shadows on the floor. hyunjin sat by the edge of your bed, his fingers tracing the lines of his sketchbook, the quiet scratching of his pencil the only sound in the room. you watched him from your spot, wrapped in a thin blanket, the silence between you two palpable, heavy.

for a while, you'd convinced yourself that his presence was enough. the way his dark eyes would light up when he smiled, the way his fingers would brush against yours when he passed you in the hall—those fleeting moments of connection made you believe that, perhaps, you were getting what you needed. but lately, it felt as though you were floating beside him, never really close enough to touch the surface.

you had always been afraid of this feeling, of giving too much and yet still not having enough. the ache of wanting more from someone who seemed like they had nothing left to give.

"hyunjin," you called softly, your voice trembling slightly. he didn't respond immediately, too focused on his drawing, his eyes flicking back and forth from the page to the shadows cast on the floor. you swallowed thickly, feeling the weight of the silence between you grow heavier by the second.

"do you ever feel like you're alone, even when you're with someone?" you asked, the words leaving your mouth before you could stop them.

he paused. the pencil hovered over the page, and for a moment, you thought he might not answer.

"why would you say that?" he murmured, his voice low and almost distant.

you felt the sting of your own words. “i don’t know... maybe because sometimes, when i'm with you, i still feel... lonely.”

his head snapped up, eyes meeting yours in a flash of confusion and something darker. he set his pencil down, running a hand through his messy hair, and leaned back on his hands, looking at you more intently now. “what do you mean?”

the space between you two felt unbearably large, and yet, you couldn't seem to close it. “you... you’re always here, physically. but you’re not really here, are you?”

hyunjin shifted slightly, a brief flicker of discomfort crossing his face. his gaze dropped to the floor as he processed your words, and his lips parted as if to speak, but he held back.

"i don’t understand," you whispered, feeling your heart race. "why does your love feel like loneliness?"

you had been holding your breath for so long, and the question hung in the air, sharp and vulnerable.

his eyes softened, but his lips remained pressed in a tight line. slowly, he walked over to the bed, sitting next to you. his warmth radiated through the thin fabric of the blanket, and you felt a moment of relief, like you could finally breathe. but the distance still lingered—an invisible wall that neither of you seemed able to break.

"sometimes," he began, his voice barely above a whisper, "i think it's because i’m scared of giving too much. you need so much of me... but i don’t know if i can be everything you want. what if i fall short?"

you met his eyes, searching for any sign that this was more than just the casual hesitation of a relationship. there was something deeper there, an ache of his own that he had never shared.

“i don’t need everything, hyunjin,” you said, reaching out to touch his arm. “i just need you—the real you. not the version you think i want.”

he flinched slightly at your touch, but there was no retreat in his eyes, no defense. he leaned forward, closer to you, as though the weight of his own emotions were too much to bear from a distance.

“i’m sorry,” he murmured, voice thick with something unspoken. his lips brushed against your cheek in the softest, almost fleeting touch, but it felt like a promise. “i just don’t know how to love like you do.”

your breath caught in your throat, the closeness making the air between you burn with longing. “you don’t have to, hyunjin. just... just let me in.”

his hand brushed against your cheek, so tender you almost doubted it was real. "i'm afraid you'll see that i'm not enough."

“you are,” you whispered, your voice trembling. “you are enough for me.”

for a long moment, neither of you moved. you simply stayed there, close enough to feel the unspoken connection between you two, the weight of your shared isolation pressing down on your hearts. the moonlight bathed you both in silver, and for a fleeting moment, the loneliness began to fade.

but even as his lips gently touched yours, soft and questioning, you both knew there was more to navigate—more pain to untangle before you could truly be together, in every sense of the word.

the distance wasn’t gone, but it was a little smaller. maybe that was enough—for now.

[oldschoolfrp]

Orbs, candles, snakes, miscellaneous body parts -- I should tidy my desk more often (Nicholas Bibby, White Dwarf 38, February 1983)

[amnhnyc]

POV: You’re in the middle of the ocean and, for some reason, you need to write something down. To your surprise and delight, you discover that there are about three hundred species of sea pen! Unfortunately for you, none of them can be used for writing.

Named for their resemblance to old-fashioned quills, sea pens are actually not single animals: They are colonies of polyps. All of the polyps work together and each has a role to play. There are feeding polyps that catch plankton, as well as polyps that circulate water to keep the colony balanced and upright.

Photo: diverdan55, CC BY-NC 4.0, iNaturalist (Ptilosarcus gurneyi pictured) 

[libraryofva]

Recent Acquisition - Postcard Collection

All I really want to say is Happy New Year, friend, to-day.

[illustratus]

King John reluctantly signing the Magna Carta by Arthur C. Michael

[autumnallunaphotos]

The writer’s desk 🖋️

“A tattered heart full of unsung tales

An amber soul brimming with poetry”

- R. F. Greystone

[offonaherosjourney]

I've seen people that have tried Dracula Daily before saying that when the book reaches those long stretches of time with no updates it's very easy to fall of the wagon. Well... not for me. JONATHAN HARKER YOU BETTER START WRITING SOON AGAIN BECAUSE I MISS YOU. Grab a pen and open your diary because I need to know what Dracula is secretly cooking you for breakfast!

[domina-spatha]

Corrections

[rom-e-o]

Just for consideration for future doodles:

Emmrich in a sweater and slacks. With glasses, of course.

Hmmm, yes. I see you. 😏

I need to do a longe-sleeve sweater version, but I yearn for his concept art biceps.

[st0r-fruit]

Ryu, help! Bess' sleazy boss for her lounge singing job (Mr. Larry Bryant) refuses to leave her alone and give her space. The creep has even taken to bursting into her dressing room unannounced. She needs a guard at her door who won't back down, regardless of the threats hurled their way.

ALRIGHT A SCENARIO

*Ryu voice*

"Ah, this is tricky. I could ask Kamitani to guard the door for you, as he has more physical abilities than me. If that doesn't stop him, I can pretend to work there and give somewhat a poison to make him faint and unconscious. What we do with the body i don't know yet. I hope this helps, Miss Bess!"

@quill-pen

[strayingawayy]

why does your love feel like loneliness?

the rain tapped against the window, but inside, the room was still — like time itself had frozen, suspended in a moment too long held. you stood by the window, eyes lost in the blur of falling water, a reflection of the storm that churned inside you.

and then, the door creaked open.

hyunjin stood in the doorway, framed by the dim light spilling from the hallway. his gaze met yours, but it wasn’t the soft gaze you remembered. this one was heavy with things unsaid, things unspeakable.

he didn’t move, and neither did you.

finally, he spoke, his voice low, like he wasn’t sure if it was his own or the weight of everything he had left unsaid. “you’re here.”

"where else would i be?" you whispered, though you weren’t sure if you were asking him or yourself.

his hands clenched at his sides. his eyes flickered over the room, over you. it was like he was afraid to look at you too long, as if the sight of you might break something fragile inside him.

he stepped inside, closing the door with a soft click. the sound lingered, stretching between you like an unsolvable riddle. you didn’t want him here. not really. but you couldn’t bring yourself to leave, either. there was nothing left to say, and yet all you could hear was the hollow echo of your own heartbeat.

"you said i could tear it up. that when it hurts, i could tear it up," you said, voice shaking just enough for him to hear. your words hung in the space between you like smoke.

he flinched as if your words were a slap, but didn’t speak. instead, he stepped closer, his gaze glued to your face, but avoiding your eyes, as if scared of what he might see there.

"you told me to," you continued, staring out the window again, though you couldn’t stop the bitter laughter that bubbled up in your throat. "you told me to build memories, but then you just… left. like it was nothing." you turned to face him. "what was it to you, hyunjin? was i nothing but a scribbled note you could toss away when it got too hard to read?"

a silence fell between you. his lips parted, but the words that came didn’t feel like they belonged to him. "i never meant to hurt you," he said softly, like a confession, but the weight of it felt hollow.

"you never meant to," you echoed, the sharpness of the words surprising even you. "but you did."

he looked away then, as if ashamed to be seen. his hands trembled at his sides, and you saw the distance in the way he held himself. there was something behind his eyes — something you used to be able to read. but now? it was a labyrinth, and you were trapped outside.

the scent of him lingered in the air, like a memory of someone else. you wondered if he even noticed anymore. if he remembered when you were the only one who knew his scent by heart, when his skin was your favorite place to hide. but now — now there was something else.

"why does it feel like this?" you found your voice breaking, and your hands clenched at your sides. "why does your love feel like loneliness?"

he didn’t answer at first. instead, he took a step closer, and you could feel the pull between you, like gravity was trying to bend the laws of the universe just to bring him closer. but you didn’t want him near. not like this.

his voice was barely a murmur. "i didn’t know how to love you, not the way you wanted."

the words sliced through you, and you took a shaky step back. "then why did you tell me to stay? why did you ask me to build something with you if you weren’t even going to try?"

"i tried," he said quickly, his voice strained, but the doubt that lingered in his words said everything. "i thought i could do it. i thought maybe i could give you what you needed. but every time i tried, i felt like i was just tearing everything apart."

"and so you left." the sentence wasn’t a question. you knew it already. it was his way of loving — of running away before the hurt got too deep.

his eyes flickered with pain. "i didn’t leave because i stopped caring," he said, but his voice wavered, unsure. "i left because i didn’t know how to keep loving you. how to make it something real."

but you didn’t have to leave," you whispered, eyes stinging. "you never had to leave."

the silence stretched between you like a chasm, deeper than anything you had ever known. you looked at him, and there was no clarity. no understanding. just the shadows of things that had once been, and a void too vast to fill.

"i was always afraid it would be like this," he admitted, his voice broken. "i thought i could laugh it off. but now... i don’t think i can."

you watched him, the weight of his words pressing on your chest, the emptiness inside you a mirror to his. he didn’t love you like he should have. he loved you in fragments, in parts that didn’t fit. he loved you in ways that kept you at a distance, a love that never came full circle.

and yet…

you didn’t know if you could ever love him the way he needed, either.

"you never stopped loving me, did you?" you asked, voice trembling, but there was no answer — not one you wanted to hear. because you already knew.

you turned away, your back to him, not out of anger, but exhaustion. "why did you love me, only to hide it from me?"

"i didn’t know how to let you in," he whispered, the words almost lost in the quiet. "i didn’t know how to love without destroying it."

and there, in that silence, you understood. his love had been a shadow, a ghost that could never fully exist in the light. it was always half there, half hidden, too afraid to be real.

the rain outside picked up, a quiet symphony of sorrow that mirrored the aching emptiness between you. you didn’t turn around when you heard his footsteps fade. you couldn’t.

somewhere, in the distance, the faintest whisper of spring seemed to brush against the cold, but it was too far away. too late.

the door clicked shut. the room was silent again.

and this time, you didn’t cry.

___

ty to my sweethearts @hwajin @astraystayyh for this one ❤️‍🩹

[arielleshaina]

The prompt over on Twitter for today is #SketchesWithLucy, so of course I had to do some more pen sketches. Did I stay up till 5am in order to finish? Maaaybe...

[5-turtleducks-in-a-trenchcoat]

Sasha (who's askin) Racket, my beloved.

I didn't even mean to finish this originally, but I have motivation for once so why not.