#tempest alphabet

[sxfiamd]

Clayman's Revenge chap 26 spoilers!

Hi guys, I love the Tempest alphabet. Heres what i got

Shown in the panel is a massive gravestone to honour the victims of Milim's backstory. Those who had died in Soma. I am not okay

It's says:

"Rest In Peace"

And then goes on to name every single person who died

I've only translated a few names, but the majority all have relatively western names such as Penny, May, and Rid (before later on, just turning into random letters such as Xn.)

I'd also want to mention this panel:

I just find it very interesting. It really put into perspective the kind of suffering the people were going through under "Clayman's" previous rule. We already knew of this, but this panel really paints a picture of what it was like.

Over-all I really enjoyed this chapter, it was nice and sweet yet really gave insight into more of Clayman's thoughts and feelings, especially now that he's begun to realise that he had been a victim to mind control. I haven't much to say. Sorry for the short talk, but I just wanted to point out my own feelings on the chapter.

I love Clayman's Revenge! It sheds a light on a relatively forgotten storyline, and I find it really entertaining. We don't see many things that take place just before the main story, either. Of course, we get thrown back a few thousand years in the LN every now and again, but the younger perspective is what I especially like about this spin-off.

I enjoy tagging you in Clayman stuff, @demonlordclayman

[brainyxbat]

UsoVe- Birthday Disaster

Summary: Venus' special surprise for her beloved boyfriend doesn't go as planned. Happy Birthday, Usopp!

A soft, angelic humming floated from the kitchen, alongside a hint of a wafting, chocolatey scent. Tempeste G. Venus, the spellcaster of the Straw Hat Crew, was busy at work in the Thousand Sunny's downstairs kitchen. The calendar read April 1st. A very special day; specifically, her boyfriend Usopp's birthday! And she had a surprise planned for him; one that involved the risk of sneaking into the kitchen, without the crew's chef, Sanji, knowing about it. But it was a risk she was willing to take.

He was too busy celebrating with the others anyway to notice her. She was surprised he didn't have anything already; then again, he always prioritized the girls over the boys anyway. Even her, despite the fact that she was in a relationship with one of said boys.

"Done!" She beamed after pouring the chocolate cake mix into the cupcake liners in the pan. "Now for the moment of truth!" Once the oven was ready, she slid the pan inside, and eagerly shut the door. "And now, I wait."

"Hey, Venus-san~!" Brook called out. "The birthday boy's looking for you~!"

"Coming!" She called back, and glanced at the oven on her way to the stairs. 'I should only be a few minutes,' She thought, as she emerged out on the deck. An excuse could come later.

She spotted the man of the hour, smoothed out her skirt, and ran straight over, her gogo boots padding through the soft grass. He looked so handsome in his grey puffy pants, and black, red, green, and yellow tank top. His bee-striped cap was adorable under his goggles. "Heeey~!" She practically sang out, as her adorably messy, wrapped ponytail flew behind her.

Usopp turned, and brightened up at seeing his girlfriend joining them. "Hey, V! I was getting worried!"

She quickly pulled him into a firm hug of ecstasy. "Happy birthday!" She giggled.

"Thanks!" He held her close, and kissed the top of her head. "What held you up? Is everything okay?"

"Um... I couldn't decide what to wear," She replied with her pre-planned excuse.

"Ah. Well, you look perfect in everything."

"Thanks," She blushed, as he tucked her short, loose hair strands behind her ears. "So uh, what're we doing right now?"

As she joined in the festivities with the crew, things began to happen.

Bad things. Her "few minutes" turned into a few hours.

And had it not been for Chopper's keen nose, as they were sitting around chatting, she would have never known. "Hey, you guys smell something?" He asked around, and they all began sniffing the air.

"Hm?" Venus perked up with them. "Yeah, it's..." It smelled like something... burning. Her eye widened. Wait, burning?! The cupcakes! "Oh my God!" She scrambled to her feet, tore herself out of her boyfriend's arms, and made a hasty beeline, not noticing the others reacting.

"Venus?" Usopp ran after her with concern, his worry only increasing with her frantically muttering "No!" a hundred miles a minute. "Is everything okay?" She almost flew down into the kitchen, obliviously slamming the door shut behind her; before he could try following her down, he lunged back to avoid getting smacked in his long nose. "Venus?!"

Robin turned to Sanji, as the sniper disappeared after the young witch. "Did you start on something?"

"No I haven't, Robin-chwan. Not yet, anyway; it's a little too early for lunch."

"Whoa, it's smoking!" Luffy's eyes widened at the smoke billowing out of the open door, and the crew gathered outside, after Zoro whipped it away with a few slashes of his swords.

In the kitchen, Venus threw the oven open, coughing at the thick smoke, and thrusted the pan out of the heat. Panting heavily, she slammed it down on the table, and investigated her attempted creations. They were burnt to a crisp; hard as rocks, stuck in the now indistinctive liners, and far beyond edible. Tears welled up, and spilled out of her eye, turning into full-on sobs, as she dropped to her knees on the floor, and buried her face in her hands. Her plan had fallen into shambles; because she got distracted, her special surprise was completely ruined.

"Venus?" Shit! He knows! She heard him gasp, and quickly kneel down in front of her. "Venus! Oh my God, are you hurt?! Did you burn yourself?!"

"N-no," She choked out, "I..."

"What's that smell, V?" Usopp looked to the table, and saw the pan. "What are these?" After prodding at one of the burnt mounds, he looked down at his sobbing girlfriend in curiosity, and concern. "Venus? What were you doing in here?" He knelt down again, and held her shoulders. "What are those?"

"I..." She tried to respond, but her sobs overpowered her words, "I-I-I was... I-"

"Come here, V, come here." Usopp hugged her firmly, and rubbed her back. "Just calm down, and tell me what happened, okay? I got you, baby." As she cried in his shoulder, he gently shushed in her ear, and soothingly stroked her hair.

After almost a minute, Venus was calm enough to clearly explain. "Well," She sniffled, and wiped her eye. Thank goodness she had no makeup on. "I... I wanted to d-do something special f-for your birthday, so I, I wanted to bake some ch-chocolate cupcakes. I thought I would only b-be a few minutes, but... I lost track of the time, and it had b-been a few hours." More tears fell, and Usopp wiped them away, listening intently, as her cries started to worsen again. "I, I had something great planned, and I wrecked it!"

"Sweetie, it's-"

"I'M SUCH AN IDIOT!!!" She almost screamed.

"Venus, stop, please!" A heartbroken Usopp held her hands down from her face, as she sobbed harshly. If there was one thing he hated, it was his girlfriend putting herself down. "You're not an idiot, darling. Please don't talk about yourself like that. I-"

"Usopp!" Sanji raged, now fast-stomping down the stairs with Nami trying to hold him back. "What did you do?! How dare you make Venus-chwan cry!"

"Sanji, I didn't-"

"It was me!" Venus shouted through her tears. "He didn't do anything; it was me!"

Franky squeezed himself in. "What happened, little sis?"

"I, I was trying to make cupcakes for Usopp's b-birthday, and... th-they got burned, b-because I accidentally left them for hours!"

"What?! You used the kitchen by yourself?!" Nami exclaimed in shock. "Sanji-kun, did you know about this?"

"No."

The navigator turned back to the young witch, towering over her, and put her hands on her hips. "What were you thinking?!" She scolded, oblivious to Venus sobbing her heart out all over again. "Why would you use the kitchen alone, when you clearly weren't ready?! Now the kitchen's gonna smell like burnt chocolate for-!"

"NAMI, STOP!!!" Usopp screamed furiously, holding his girlfriend tightly. "JUST STOP IT!!!" His outburst turned the room completely silent, aside from Venus' heart-wrenching sobs, before he took a deep breath. "She gets it! It went wrong! She doesn't need you, or anyone yelling at her for it! Just back off, and leave her alone already!"

"Why don't we all wait outside?" Robin suggested, as Sanji escorted Nami to the stairs. "Let them talk alone." They all filed outside, with Robin helping Franky out in particular.

Usopp sighed, and cupped her head as she cried. "Don't let Nami get to you, baby. It's alright."

"B-but I-"

"Sweetheart, just the fact that you worked this hard to do something special for me..." His hand moved to her damp cheek. "I appreciate it so much. I appreciate you, always." She sniffled, though to his relief, she was more calm. "You're the best girlfriend anyone can ask for. It's okay to mess up; we all do it. But V..." He stayed as gentle as he could to avoid more sobs. "You should've asked Sanji to help you, if you wanted to do this. It could've been much worse; you could've hurt yourself."

"I know," She almost whispered, "I just wanted to do something myself."

"I understand, but there's nothing wrong with getting help. We're all a team, no matter what. If you want to try this again, ask Sanji for help; I know he'll be happy to do it. Maybe a little too happy." He smiled when she giggled at his last statement. That was what he hoped for. "There's that smile."

She blushed when he swept her long bangs back and kissed her cheek, where her old scar marked her skin. "I won't get swept up," She added on to his joke, making him chuckle. "But yeah, I'll ask Sanji for help."

"Good." He leaned in for a short kiss, his hand rested over her soft hair. "I look forward to it; take your time with it, V."

"Will do," She promised, and stood up with him, "Let's go back outside."

"Okay." Hand-in-hand, they exited the pungent kitchen, and emerged to the deck, where the others waited.

Venus noticed that Nami had a guilty look on her face, and shyly approached her. "Sorry I snapped at you."

"It's okay," She assured with a smile, then turned to the chef. "Hey, Sanji? I was, uh... hoping to try that again. Will you help me, please?"

"Of course, Venus-chwan~!" He practically glided over. "It would be my pleasure!" Usopp rolled his eyes with a smirk; he trusted him to not steal his girlfriend, but he still went a little overboard.

"Thanks." She turned to Usopp, pivoted on her toes, and they shared another kiss. "We'll just be 20 minutes, half hour tops."

"Okay, V. Like I said, take your time with it."

"Yep," She nodded.

"And thanks again; you really are the best." He kissed her forehead over her bangs.

She blushed bashfully, as her gaze fell to her shoes. "O-only the best for you." She looked back up when he stroked her cheek for a moment, wiping the last of her tears away, before joining the rest of the crew. "Just you wait, Soppi; it'll be the best treat ever!" She giggled, and eagerly bounded back to the kitchen. "Come on, Sanji!"

"Yes, Venus-chwan~!"

Usopp laughed, as the chef floated after her. "She really is the best. Now, where were we?"

"So what do we do about the smell?" Venus asked, waving her hand by her nose after catching the scent again.

"No worries; we'll keep the door open today, so it airs out. Would you like to make a cake this time around?"

"That'd be great," She replied, "The cupcake liners are totaled now."

"That's alright," He beamed, "Sit down, I'll clean off the spoon and mixing bowl."

"Oh, I'll clean one of-"

"Nonsense, Venus-chwan~! A lady shouldn't have to clean up! Here, look for my recipe while I clean them. I'll make our lunches while you frost later."

"Okay," She giggled, then sat at the table, and flipped through his cookbook, as he started scrubbing. She gingerly nudged the cupcake pan away out of embarrassment; she decided it'd be best to not cry anymore, or this redo would take even longer.

-

A little over a half hour later, they were waiting for the chef, and the witch to come out. "I hope everything's okay," Usopp remarked worriedly, "You guys don't think she's upset again, do you?"

"I doubt it," Zoro replied, "If she was, that idiot would be flipping out more than her. That can be spotted a mile away."

"True."

A few minutes later, he perked up at some footsteps leaving the kitchen. "Hey, birthday boy~!" Venus called out cheerfully. "It's done!"

He rushed over, and smiled brightly; as the crew readied the picnic blanket, she proudly held a flawless, sweet-smelling chocolate cake topped with chocolate frosting, and "Happy Birthday Usopp!" was written on the center in yellow icing. The writing was a bit sloppy, but he loved it that way a lot more than if it was like typewritten work. "Venus, it's perfect! Thank you!" After Sanji took the pan for her, carrying it and their lunches simultaneously, he pulled her into a firm hug. "I absolutely love it!"

"I'm glad you like it!" She happily returned the gesture. "I couldn't have done it without Sanji!"

"Always happy to help a sweet, lovely lady like you, Venus-chwan~."

"Chill out, Perv Cook," Zoro snarked.

"Huh?!"

"Don't start anything!" Nami ordered.

"Yes, Nami-swan~!"

Venus took the cake back, so the crew brought out plates, drinks, and silverware. "Sorry the first thing didn't work out."

"It's okay, baby. This looks amazing; you both did great."

"Thanks," She blushed, as he kissed her temple.

After a few minutes, everyone sat around the cake, as Sanji used his lighter on the two number candles. "There we go, birthday boy."

"Thanks!" Usopp leaned in, everyone watching in participation; when he blew them out, they all cheered enthusiastically, Venus hugging him from the side and kissing his cheek. "Let's eat!" Once the candles were out, Zoro cut the cake into perfectly even pieces. Before Sanji could prioritize the girls over the birthday boy, Venus quickly took over, and handed her boyfriend the first piece. "Thanks, V." She took a plate next, and while the rest were handed out, she snuggled up to him. She smiled wider when he moaned in delight. "Venus, it's so amazing."

"I'm glad," She giggled, and started on her own, "Sanji took care of getting it in the oven, but I did everything else myself."

"I'm very proud of you." He nuzzled his temple on hers, as Sanji argued with Zoro over whose piece was bigger. "You did great."

"Thanks, babe." She sipped her cola, and had another bite, "I think it turned out really good. Though the writing-"

"No nitpicking," He playfully scolded, "It's perfect. Also, I like the little bit of crunch inside there."

"Oh, it's chocolate chips. That was my idea; Sanji said he hadn't tried that before, but was willing to give it a go."

"You're a genius, V."

"Thanks," She blushed again. Feeling mischievous, she smothered frosting on her lips, and planted a large, chocolatey kiss on his cheek. "Mwah~!"

"Hey!" He laughed, with the others joining in. "Venus!"

"You got a little something there!" Luffy pointed to his own cheek with a wide grin.

Usopp's eyes widened when the captain's head was leering towards him, tongue out. "No-no-no-no-no!" He covered the spot, and shoved him away.

"I'll get it!" His girlfriend leaned in next.

"Venus! V! No!" Usopp tipped over on his side from her playful advancement, and held onto her waist. He laughed even harder when she began sucking on his cheek, and licking the frosting off. "Th-that tickles!" His laughter turned into cackles when she tickled his neck, back, and armpits with both hands.

Everyone was besides themselves by now at her silly attack, as she soon let him breathe. "Tickle the birthday boy!" Luffy shouted, and at his command, they all began clamoring.

"NOOOOO!!!"

-

Later on, Usopp was on night watch, as appointed. Great way to end his birthday... sorta. He yawned, as he fought off his fatigue from the exciting day. He smiled at the memories; Venus actually had another gift for him, in the form of a ram figurine with a face strongly resembling the prow of the Going Merry. He almost cried, but kept it together, as everyone admired it.

He vaguely heard the sound of whispered arguing, but paid no mind. Following it was footsteps; he looked over, and perked up at Venus approaching, now in shorts and a crop top, along with her robe and slippers. Her hair was down, and flowing to her waist. "Hey, you."

"Hey yourself," She flirted, and sat next to him.

"I didn't know you were set to go on night watch tonight."

"I'm not," She shook her head, "I just decided to join you."

"Oh, you don't have to-"

"I want to," She insisted, and snuggled up to him, "I want to keep you company."

"Thanks, sweetheart." He held her close, and kissed her forehead, before nestling his cheek on her scalp.

"So um, did you have a good birthday?"

"Absolutely. It was really great."

"I'm glad. Um, again, I'm sorry about-"

"No apologies, V," He cut her off, "There's nothing to be sorry about. You didn't mean to lose track of time; it happens to all of us. Besides, the cake was amazing."

"Thanks. Sanji was a good help. I didn't let him flirt with me, though."

"Good," He snickered.

She smiled, and kissed his cheek, then snuggled her head in his shoulder. "Happy birthday."

"Thank you." He smiled warmly, and brushed her bangs from her face when she yawned largely. "Um, you can sleep if you want."

"No, no. I'm doing night watch with you; gotta stay awake for that."

A few, short minutes later, she was out like a log on his shoulder. Usopp chuckled under his breath, and kept her close. "No need to apologize for this, sweetheart," He whispered, "You being here is enough. Goodnight, darling; I love you." He kissed her hair, and continued his night-watching duties, as she slept peacefully.

Good way to end his birthday.

[bluesidez]

GymRat!Miguel Part 10

content warning: “vague” descriptions of American colleges (iykyk), Winston [Earth-928/ Earth-TRN590] is here with a cool prosthetic arm (he originally has three! so I thought it would be cool to incorporate his robot arm back somehow), suggestive at parts so MINORS BEWARE (although you shouldn’t be looking at this series at all 😒), Miguel is the baby of his friend group, if the Spanish here is wrong please lmk!

word count: 3.8k, proofread so there should be no mistakes (something short and sweet!)

In case you missed it, you can find GR!Miguel’s full SFW + NSFW Alphabet here!

Prev | Next ✩°｡ ⋆⸜ 🎧✮ Masterlist

GymRat!Miguel who has become one with his room. The bed is comfortable, the AC is just right, and more importantly, he can hide here in solitude.

His parents decided to host Gabriel’s graduation party, Gabriel’s college acceptance party, and a Fourth of July party all at once. It was nonstop trips to Sam’s, Party City, and the grocery store.

Gabriel got a full ride to a prestigious art school up north and his parents were using every second of the summer to make time for him.

They didn’t do nearly as much for him when he graduated and got a full ride. Although, Miguel guesses the shiny Range Rover from Tyler parked outside was enough to soothe the old wounds trying to reopen. Plus, Gabriel really deserved it. The chances of getting in were low, but Miguel helped every step of the way and now a bright future in the Big Apple was calling his name.

Still, if his dad called him to cut the grass or season another pack of meat, he might lose it.

GymRat!Miguel who was glad to see you were still enjoying your summer. He was probably the first to watch your stories, like your pictures, and even comment on your little notes.

He hoped it came off as endearing and dedicated because sometimes he worried it was annoying and clingy. He couldn’t help it, though. You’re always on his mind nowadays.

Today you had posted clips of you and your friends at a Boba shop. He could hear your laughter as you zoomed in one of your friends fighting for their life after sucking up a boba ball.

He smiled to himself as he played the video a few more times just to hear you.

GymRat!Miguel who decides to play a Gacha game on his phone to distract his wandering mind.

There was a character he wanted and he wasn’t stopping until he got her.

GymRat!Miguel who three domains, a farming session, several 10-pulls, and a lucky spot later did not get the character he wanted. He was heartbroken, shattered, and inconsolable.

He groaned and flipped over to the wall, choosing a few colorful words to complain.

GymRat!Miguel who’s half-asleep state is interrupted by Gabriel doing their special knock and poking his head inside.

“Whatdoyouwant,” Miguel pushed his face further in his pillow in hopes that it would make him disappear.

“Broski, your friends are here,” Gabriel sang as if he were a white suburban mom with too much time on her hands. “And they bombarded my TikTok stream so if you could please retrieve them, that would be nice.”

Miguel poked his head up, “Are you rating people’s talents again?”

“Even better. I’m being an NPC and making bank!”

“Why don’t you ever play the saxophone or something?”

“Because that’s not what the people want me to do, Miguel. The people want to see me go ‘Lick a lil sum!’ over and over again. They eat it up.”

Miguel squinted at the bright light coming from the hallway, “In a pickle suit?”

Gabriel looked down as much as he could with his constricted movement, only his appendages sticking out of the holes, and looked back to Miguel with gritted teeth.

“If you would have put your Nightwing costume back on, I could have been Robin and we could have made money together. But it seems that you hate me.”

GymRat!Miguel who watches Tempest push the door open further and shuffle around a seething Gabriel.

“I still don’t know why you’re dressed like a Spongebob character,” she laughs at his green tights.

“I’m not Kevin! Stop saying that. There’s no glasses. There’s no crown. There’s no pants!”

Lyla poked her head around him.

“‘Lewser.’”

Gabriel yelled and turned around, waddling back to his room, “I’m not letting the Geek Squad bully me!”

“You say that like you’re not one of us!” Winston shouted after him, shells and beads in his hair clanking together.

“One of us, one of us, ONE OF US!” the trio started to chant at Miguel’s door.

Gabriel just let out incoherent noses until he was able to shut his door.

GymRat!Miguel who feels like hissing when Tempest opens his blinds.

“Please, no more!” he whined into the pillow.

“What’s with you two today? So snappy,” she mumbles.

Winston stood by the door with his hands on his hips, “Have you been in here all day?”

Miguel sits up, “No.”

“You look like it,” Lyla snickers, kicking a bag out of the way.

“We haven’t seen you in like, forever, and you’re acting like you don’t really care,” Tempest pulls up her long, ruffled skirt to plop on the bed next to Miguel. “Are you sick?”

“No.”

“Did someone die?” Winston pulls out Miguel’s gaming chair to take a seat.

“No.”

“Wait!” Lyla’s voice makes everyone jump. “You failed your class for the first time and now your life is ruined.”

“What? No, never.”

GymRat!Miguel who perks up at the sound of the text tone he picked just for you.

“Look!”

“I just found this picture of us”

“We’re working hard 🫡”

“I’m putting in overtime”

“There’s no PTO”

“Only work”

“We get paid in kisses”

“Only kisses?”

“Everything else is a bonus check for being the perfect employee”

"Aka my girlfriend"

“And what does that bonus check look like?”

“Hmmm”

“She looks divine”

“She tastes really sweet too”

“Inside and out”

“What does your bonus check look like?”

“He’s big and hot 😌”

“He looks really nice when I love on him”

“He feels really good”

“Be very lucky you’re not near me rn”

“What?”

“I’m just describing my elite employee!”

“Aka my bf”

“I feel really good?”

“Yeah!”

“You’re my teddy bear”

“….and you also feel good in other places that I won’t be spelling out”

GymRat!Miguel who doesn’t feel Tempest leaning over his shoulder until her voice snaps him back to reality.

“No fucking way you got a girlfriend and didn’t tell anybody.”

She snatches the phone from his hands.

“Temp, give it back!”

“And you’re getting freaky with her while we’re right here!”

“No, I’m not-”

“It says right here ‘she tastes really sweet, inside and out.’ It’s in 4K!” Tempest shoved the phone in Winston’s face who gets the derpiest smile.

“My man!” he reaches his hand out to Miguel to dap him up, ending it in the handshake that only the two of them know. “You finally got a girl and you putting in that work. Let’s. Fucking. Go.”

“At least someone is on my side.”

“I never said I wasn’t on your side. I’m just stuck on the fact that you didn’t tell anyone. No texts, no socials. Just tumbleweed in that big ass head of yours,” Tempest pushed a duck nail against Miguel’s temple. “Like you could have died, and we would have never known.”

“I’m sorry, Temp, it’s been a hectic year.”

“And now it’s summer. We’ve got nothing but time,” she grabbed a pillow to place in her lap. “So get to talking Migster.”

“Yeah, while I can understand waiting to tell us about your girl, this is like, what, the second strike for you? First, no yacht and now this? Aggy,” Winston shook his head.

“All three of you had plans! I checked!”

“And it’s looking like you’ve been with her for almost a year. Wow,” Lyla said from a bean bag on the floor.

Miguel reaches to snatch it from her, teeth gritted in a way that mimicked his brother.

“I never knew you could get so romantic! Maybe scratch the arcade idea off, though. You get way too competitive.”

Tempest hit Miguel with her pillow, “An entire year?”

“Cold-blooded. I should smack you next,” Winston struck his metal arm back like he was getting ready to swing.

Miguel held his hands up, “I’ll finally let you teach me how to play Halo!”

Winston sat back, “2k too, and all is forgiven.”

“Halo and one round of 2k.”

“Deal,” Winston shook Miguel’s hand. “You’ll be hooked once you get the hang of it.”

“God, I hope not,” Lyla mumbled.

“Says the one who yells at children on Roblox,” Winston bit back.

“You don’t hear what those heathens say, I do!”

GymRat!Miguel who is forced to make a short PowerPoint about his past year while his friends help Miguel’s parents set up even more.

“I want a Final-worthy presentation by the time we get back! I even showed you where to get the cute templates,” Tempest fusses from the door before she closes it.

GymRat!Miguel who calls you while they’re gone.

“I mean, if it were me who just found out that my closest friend told me essentially nothing about their partner for that long, I’d be pretty upset too.”

Miguel groans as he leans back in his chair, “That is pretty fucked, isn’t it?”

“But, because I was with you most of the school year, I know that you were just preoccupied with other things. Figuring out college, checking off a lot of adult firsts, making new friends, dealing with family, totally scrambling your way through getting your first girlfriend.”

“Hey…”

You laugh at his annoyed expression and snap a picture, “I’m sure if you just explain things to them, they’ll understand.”

“I hope so. I already promised Winston a game of 2k.”

You scrunched your nose in the cute way that Miguel adored, “I’ll take a gamer, nerdy boyfriend any day. Might draw the line at 2k, I fear.”

“My face doesn’t cancel out the bad connotation?”

“Depends. Will you cancel on me in place of playing with your friends?”

Miguel’s eyes looked to you on his laptop with a frown on his face, “Never. I don’t think I’d do that for anything that can be rescheduled. Did he do that?”

Miguel didn’t want to say his name because it left a bad taste in his mouth.

“More than I’d like to admit, yes.”

“If I ever see him, I might punch him.”

“Miguel.”

“I’m so serious. There hasn’t been one good quality about him yet.”

Only the fact that he was a good stepping stone to get to Miguel, not that he would ever say that out loud.

“He was…nice when I met him.”

“Just nice?”

“He had a cute face!”

Miguel’s frown deepened, “I don’t want to talk about him anymore, actually.”

GymRat!Miguel who finished his PowerPoint with the help of you.

Honestly, you just had to sit pretty in the corner of his monitor.

GymRat!Miguel who was ready to present once his friends got back, each of them sporting a Fanta in their hands.

“Nobody brought me one?”

Tempest made a noise of satisfaction when she took a sip, “A cold one is waiting for you when you finish, buddy.”

Miguel rolled his eyes and set up the PowerPoint.

GymRat!Miguel whose presentation is dragged even further because everyone keeps asking questions.

Section 1: New Experiences

“Only you would attract sorority girls despite the clear baby boy energy radiating off of you,” Tempest said.

“I mean, look at him,” Lyla gestured to Miguel’s body. “We still see our big baby, but that body? That’s what people notice first. We should have prepared him more.”

Miguel’s face fumed as he went to the next slide.

“And only you would make friends with the cafeteria lady. She saw the baby aura,” Tempest quipped.

“L-let’s just move on,” Miguel mumbled.

“You’re on the robotics team!! There’s our Miggy,” Lyla rounds her words like she was talking to a child.

“Guys, Miguel is going to be a tomato if you don’t stop,” Winston chides.

Section 2: Family

“I’ve been waiting on somebody to get that gremlin Kron and you finally got him,” Lyla shook her head with a chuckle.

“I’m sorry about your mom, though. She didn’t really like us too much either when we first started to hang out,” Tempest pulled her knees up to her chin.

“Mind you, I had a mean set of braces, suspenders, and high water pants when we first met,” Winston said.

“Oh my god. Remember when she thought Tempest was tricking Mig into doing her homework?”

“When all I was doing was comparing answers because Miguel was the only one who could keep up with me in that class,” Tempest snickered. “Glad me and Mrs. O’Hara moved past that because I was definitely looking out for you more than she was.”

“Remember when she thought you two were dating?” Winston asked.

Miguel groaned, “That was so fucking embarrassing.”

“You think now I read as a raging lesbian or what?”

Section 3: My Gorgeous Girlfriend Whom Which I Love

“The same guy who lectured me for 10 minutes over not jumping out of a car to hold the door for my girlfriend left his girl at a party?” Winston snickered.

Lyla played with the end of a braid in her hair, “Chivalry is dead.”

“Get all your jokes out now, because we’re going strong,” Miguel waved everyone off as he flipped to the next slide.

“Is that her?” Lyla sat up as much as she could in her sinking seat.

“Yeah,” Miguel’s smile grew at the picture of you from a coffee date on the screen.

“Look at him,” Winston pointed a finger. “He can’t even speak. He’s gone.”

“She’s hot! Nice job Miguel,” Tempest clapped with a giddy smile on her face. “You’re like, lovestruck over there.”

Miguel continued to flip through the several slides he had of you, face sinking further into his palm as he stared at you like he’s never seen you before.

“Does Xina know you have a girlfriend?”

“Woof,” Tempest and Winston said in a low voice simultaneously.

Miguel tilted his head with a confused expression, “What’s with the ‘woof’? Why are you all looking like that? And where is Xina, anyway?”

“She said her parents wanted her to go visit family, so she’s far, far away right now.”

“Did you know she’s transferring to your school?” Lyla asks.

“Why? I thought she was going to an Ivy League somewhere. It was all she talked about.”

Tempest’s eyebrows raised, “Can’t stay at an Ivy League if you fuck up your scholarship.”

"She told me that she didn't like it there," Winston looked confused.

Lyla and Tempest just stared at each other in disbelief.

“If you worked your ass off from starting a non-profit to being the school valedictorian, just to get into one school, would you just up and leave after one school year without finding better options?” Lyla deadpanned.

“Hey, we don’t know what happened. Maybe she really didn’t like it there, guys,” Miguel said.

Lyla and Tempest both gave Miguel twin looks as if telling him to get serious.

“Well, if she’s going to your school, I’m sure you’ll see her at some point. Maybe she’ll tell you,” Winston suggested.

“Yeah, Miguel. She’ll tell you anything if you ask,” Lyla folded her arms with a smile.

“What does that mean?”

“It just means,” Tempest waved her hands around. “She’s enamored by you.”

“Guys. Stop.”

“She’s not lying. Every time we hang out together, she’s always clinging to you,” Winston said.

“It’s been years and she’s never told me anything,” Miguel reached to exit the PowerPoint. What was about to be a 10 minute yap session about you was now turning into something else. “I doubt that if she felt that way, she still feels that way now.”

“Maybe you’re right,” Lyla shrugged.

Tempest nodded her head, “Good on you for being so optimistic.”

Miguel squinted his eyes, “You two are freaking me out.”

GymRat!Miguel who sat with his friend’s words once they dropped him off back home after an impromptu day of fun.

He really needed to get out of the house to reset, but he couldn’t help but to worry about Xina.

He was there when she worked herself to the bone just to even be considered for the top schools. When she got in, she was over the moon.

What could have possibly made her stop now?

GymRat!Miguel who wakes up to sound of his dad laughing and yelling outside of his window.

He dragged himself to the window to see him running around with his brothers with a nerf gun.

It would be a pretty funny sight if it wasn’t 7 in the morning.

GymRat!Miguel who goes through his morning routine of booting Gabriel up, taking his morning run, and eating a hefty breakfast.

He sends you a picture of himself right after he finished the run, sweat dripping down his neck and his skin glowing from the hot sun.

Knowing you were probably still asleep, he doesn’t expect a response until later. So when you call him immediately, he’s filled with surprise.

“Sending thirst traps at ass o’clock is crazy,” you say as soon as the call connects.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“So you just happened to take the perfect picture in the sun with your skin all wet?”

“Are you saying that I’m photogenic?”

You roll your eyes and Miguel laughs, happy to see you.

“Where are you going?” Miguel asks, noticing the fluffy headband you’re wearing that’s holding your hair back.

“We’re going to my aunts house and she lives about two hours away so I got up early to get ready.”

“Bebe, qué hermosa eres.” (Baby, how beautiful you are.)

You pause what you’re doing to turn and stuff your head into a plushie to scream.

“You can’t tell me that,” you say when look back to the camera, fanning your face. “I won’t stay focused.”

“But it’s true. You’re stunning.”

You groan and slide down your chair, “Miguel, please. I need to focus.”

“Ok, ok. You still look amazing.”

“Thank you,” you say, patting the back of your hands against your heated cheeks.

“I wanna kiss you.”

“I’m hanging up.”

Miguel laughs as you bring the phone to your face.

“I wanna kiss you, too,” you say before ending the call.

GymRat!Miguel who blows your phone up with teases after that.

It all shuts up once he sees your outfit of the day.

“You can’t do this to me”

“Baby????”

“This is agony”

GymRat!Miguel who is the loudest when Gabriel makes his grand entrance to the party, graduation cap snug on top of his curls. His family is popping mini confetti and string cannons while his little cousins blow bubbles.

GymRat!Miguel who catches Gabriel at any chance he was idle, snapping picture after picture like a proud parent.

GymRat!Miguel who stacks his plate high full of food to the shock of no one.

GymRat!Miguel who almost gets knocked down by Gabriel when he opens his gift of specialized sheet music. After years of hearing the songs Gabriel would blast through the house, he compiled together a music book with covers done by different artists.

"I'm going to play every single one of these for you," Gabriel says with a geeked-out smile.

"Oh boy."

GymRat!Miguel who watches Gabriel scream as their neighbor's dog runs towards the fireworks that he set on the ground.

Miguel always thought there was nothing going on behind those little eyes.

GymRat!Miguel who feels Gabriel slide next to him in the corner of their backyard. A place where the two of them used to do everything from hide-and-seek to sharing secrets to pretending to be superheroes.

Gabriel leans his on Miguel’s shoulder, eyes watching the small fireworks their cousins bought.

“Mig?”

“Yeah?”

“Did you ever get scared when you left home?”

Miguel was quiet for a second, “At first, I was. I was leaving what I knew, but once I got used to it, it was like a weight off my chest.”

The two sat for a minute, listening to their family sing and laugh.

“I’m really fucking nervous.”

“About leaving?”

“About everything,” Gabriel took a shaky breath. “I’ll be so far away. I won’t know anyone. And you…”

Miguel’s sleeve was wet.

“You won’t be there if I need you.”

Miguel turned and pull Gabriel into a hug, arms tight as he felt Gabriel cry into his shoulder.

“No tengas miedo, Gabri,” Miguel’s voice cracked as he rubbed his brother’s back. “I’ll be a call away, ok? Right there if you need me. I promise.” (Don’t be scared, Gabri.)

"Te voy a extrañar." (I'm going to miss you.)

"Yo también te voy a extrañar." (I'm going to miss you, too.)

After a while of the two calming down and making promises to continue their weekly calls, Gabriel leans up and covers his eyes with his arm.

“I told myself I’d save my tears for the move-in day, but it’s just now hitting me how much I’m going to miss seeing your stupid face.”

Miguel laughed and thumped him across the head, “And I’m going to miss hearing your stupid laugh across the hall. But what did you do when I left?”

Gabriel turned to avoid Miguel’s face, “Ma thought I was dying or something. She kept bringing random shit that I liked to my room for three weeks because ‘Te pareces a Ígor, mijo!’” (You look like Eeyore, mijo!)

Miguel bit his cheek as he ruffled Gabriel’s hair. He still saw the little baby who followed his every move. The baby that laughed hard when he read books with a funny voice. The baby that stood up for him front of their mom when he couldn’t even stand up for himself on the playground.

The kid who stayed up with him to beat some game because their dad wouldn't buy them memory cards for the PlayStation. The kid who tried food once he saw it on Miguel’s plate. The kid who refused to go to summer camps without him.

Here he was, sitting in front of Miguel, getting ready to start a new chapter.

“Oh god, Miguel don’t start crying again. It’s gonna ruin the tour,” Gabriel groaned and dug his head into his arms.

“I’m not, I’m not, I’m sorry,” Miguel hurriedly wiped his cheeks, hot tears filled with his thoughts escaping. “You’re going to kill it in New York. By the time I get there, you’ll be so used to it that it’ll be like breathing air.”

“I hope so,” he sniffles and looks back up. “I need to impress Dana.”

“And there he is,” Miguel shook his head. “I’m sure she’ll be happy to visit.”

“Yeah. I already have some places planned for dates.”

“Smooth. That’s the Miguel in you.”

“Shaddup.”

GymRat!Miguel who calls you closer to midnight.

"How was the party?"

"It was pretty good," Miguel moved to settle further into his bed. "Gabriel was happy."

Hearing the tone in his voice, you pouted, "Are you ok, though?"

"Yeah, I'm just. I'm feeling a lot."

He felt he might cry again, thinking about his little brother in a place all by himself, thinking of his parents being empty nesters, thinking of his feelings from yesterday.

"You want to talk about it?"

Miguel shook his head, "Tomorrow."

"Whenever you're ready, I'll be there."

"Thank you," Miguel smiled. "That means a lot."

GymRat!Miguel who feels better listening to you chatter until you fall asleep. His head isn't filled with so much noise and your voice is like a calm breeze.

He can't wait to see you again.

divider by: @thecutestgrotto 🩵

a/n: I was thinking of this video when I was writing Lyla talking about Kron + that smoking duck gif. I also doubt there are many nerds alive that play 2k, I just wanted Winston to play it lol. Anywho, I was going for a boho-chic vibe when I imagined Tempest (with red locs), a maximalist + art deco vibe with Lyla, and an elevated streetwear style with Winston. Winston also upgraded his prosthetic arm to mimic Link's from Tears of the Kingdom. As for Xina...we'll see! 😗

As always, like, comment, and reblog. Let me know how you feel! 🩵

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[masterjedilenawrites]

List of books below, taken from the Star Wars wiki. Only included: Original Novels, Novel Adaptations, Script Books, and Young Adult Novels. Please no comments about books that are missing from the list... it is what it is.

The High Republic: Convergence - Zoraida Cordova

The High Republic: Path of Deceit - Tessa Gratton, Justina Ireland

The High Republic: The Battle of Jedha - George Mann

The High Republic: Path of Vengeance - Cavan Scott

The High Republic: Cataclysm - Lydia Kang

The High Republic: Into the Dark - Claudia Gray

The High Republic: Light of the Jedi - Charles Soule

The High Republic: The Rising Storm - Cavan Scott

The High Republic: Out of the Shadows - Justina Ireland

The High Republic: Tempest Runner - Cavan Scott

The High Republic: Midnight Horizon - Daniel Jose Older

The High Republic: The Fallen Star - Claudia Gray

The High Republic: The Eye of Darkness - George Mann

The High Republic: Defy the Storm - Tessa Gratton, Justina Ireland

The Vow of Silver Dawn - His Majesty the King

Dooku: Jedi Lost - Cavan Scott

Padawan - Kiersten White

Master & Apprentice - Claudia Gray

The Living Force - John Jackson Miller

Queen's Peril - E.K. Johnston

Queen's Shadow - E.K. Johnston

Inquisitor: Rise of the Red Blade - Delilah S. Dawson

Queen's Hope - E.K. Johnston

Brotherhood - Mike Chen

Catalyst: A Rogue One Novel - James Luceno

Thrawn Ascendancy: Chaos Rising - Timothy Zahn

Dark Disciple - Christie Golden

Thrawn Ascendancy: Greater Good - Timothy Zahn

Thrawn Ascendancy: Lesser Evil - Timothy Zahn

Ahsoka - E.K. Johnston

Thrawn - Timothy Zahn

Lords of the Sith - Paul S. Kemp

Tarkin - James Luceno

Most Wanted - Rae Carson

Solo: A Star Wars Story: Expanded Edition - Mur Lafferty

Rebel Rising - Beth Revis

Crimson Climb - E.K. Johnston

A New Dawn - John Jackson Miller

Jedi: Battle Scars - Sam Maggs

Lost Stars - Claudia Gray

Leia, Princess of Alderaan - Claudia Gray

Thrawn: Alliances - Timothy Zahn

Thrawn: Treason - Timothy Zahn

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story - Alexander Freed

Battlefront II: Inferno Squad - Christie Golden

Heir to the Jedi - Kevin Hearne

Doctor Aphra - Sarah Kuhn

Battlefront: Twilight Company - Alexander Freed

The Princess and the Scoundrel - Beth Revis

Alphabet Squadron - Alexander Freed

Aftermath - Chuck Wendig

Shadow Fall - Alexander Freed

Aftermath: Life Debt - Chuck Wendig

Victory's Price - Alexander Freed

Aftermath: Empire's End - Chuck Wendig

Last Shot - Daniel Jose Older

Poe Dameron: Free Fall - Alex Segura

Shadow of the Sith - Adam Christopher

Bloodline - Claudia Gray

Force Collector - Kevin Scinick

Phasma - Delilah S. Dawson

Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Alan Dean Foster

Galaxy's Edge: Black Spire - Delilah S. Dawson

Star Wars: The Last Jedi: Expanded Edition - Jason Fry

Resistance Reborn - Rebecca Roanhorse

A Crash of Fate - Zoraida Cordova

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker: Expanded Edition - Rae Carson

[beebopboom]

Acrostic ✨Clues ✨

So a neat little thing Good Omens did for the promo for s2 was create some character playlist.

Very quickly though it was discovered that each and every one of them contained a hidden clue word. By taking the first letter of the first word of the song a word related to the character would emerge. For the two examples below the words were “Ineffable” and “Tempting”.

Now this technique is called Acrostic,

Acrostic - a composition usually in verse in which sets of letters (such as the initial or final letters of the lines) taken in order form a word or phrase or a regular sequence of letters of the alphabet

it’s a technique mostly seen in poems to contain hidden words, often the authors name.

but I wouldn’t be bringing this back up if it wasn’t for nothing and that’s because we see this technique in the show as well.

When Jim is really embodying his role as Assistant Bookseller he takes it upon himself to reorganize the books by the first letter of the first word of the first sentence - sounds familiar.

Except he’s doing alphabetically not to contain a hidden word you say? 

Well hold on to that real quick while I point out another clue Jimbriel says,

“There will come a tempest, and darkness, and great storms. And the dead will leave their graves and walk the earth once more. And there will be great lamentations."

Well now that I brought that quote back to your attention we are just going to focus on one particular word, Lamentations.

because what if I told you that the first four poems in the Book of Lamentations are written in an acrostic style.

Not just any style either but where each poetic verse begins with a letter of the Hebrew Alphabet. 

Now the Book of Lamentations is separated into five poems from different pov’s about the destruction of Jerusalem in 587 B.C. by the Babylonians.

The organization and rigid structure to the first four poems was really meant to contrast from the grief and disorder the people were going through. Structure that the last poem loses. Hm Interesting.

(we are not going to be looking into what this book is about I am just pointing out structure similarities here)

Expect this not the only way this structure can be used.

Acrostic structure’s are also often used as a mnemonic device. This is a learning technique that helps with memory retrieval or retention by associating things with something easier to remember, like say trigger words.

So then is it really a surprise that Jim, our Amnesiac Archangel, keeps using this structure subconsciously?

[fischotterkunst]

i just like Codes and Ciphers so when i realized that the fantasy text in Tensura (specifically, in the app game, Isekai Memories) corresponded to the roman alphabet and was unable to find said text online, i decided to crack it myself. here's the results, minus a few letters that haven't showed up in canon yet, with sources below the cut if you're curious how i did it!

the first thing i had to go off of was the loading screen, on which the text switches between "NOW LOADING" and this:

which gave me a few letters to get started! so i began applying these letters where i found them again, using signage found around Tempest which gave some other letters via context clues:

and other text scattered throughout the game that also had context clues:

with a good portion of the alphabet assembled, i set out to tackle the mother of all sources - THIS wall of text:

which turned out to be song lyrics and therefore a fantastic Rosetta Stone to fill in most of the blanks.

the devs seem to have used this as Lorem Ipsum as needed, since it crops up a couple more times:

finally, i tackled this monstrosity, and while i didn't get any new letters from this, it did turn out to be something plot-related and is pretty interesting cause it looks like Great Sage actually kinda glitches out for lack of a better phrase?

oh and as of now i have ONE number symbol:

so here is the assembly of letters that leaves me with:

i will def add the rest if they ever crop up in game! but for now that concludes my findings.

[lighthousepigeons]

Dante, teaching Tempest her alphabets: Repeat after me. A, B, C, D...

Tempest: A, P, L, G

Dante, being supportive: Yesss, Tempest. Remix!

[dwarf-vader-of-middle-earth]

The Making of Izohr, Kahzan-Mah'lukar of Demons

Although all Demons took an oath of eternal silence within the presence of Humans, Devon knelt before King Ythar, a small smile forming across his face. "Your majesty, I thank you truly for harboring me across this journey. You now wield the Eye of Tempests, as you sought, and so your journey ends, correct? You'll be returning to your realm?”

It was hard to notice any response beneath the covered face of Ythar who, as all Demons, hid his identity from Humankind all the same. The king simply continued to shine his newfound dagger in silence, but gave a single nod.

“Then… I wish you a safe return, your majesty. May your travels fare you and your knights well,” Devon said.

Suddenly Ythar released the dagger from his grasp with the cloth, and stepped forth toward the Human.

Devon’s eyes widened. “Y–your majesty? What are you–”

“G’hat ulkar’n, altoris! Izohr! STAND STRONG AND RISE!” The Demon king dropped before Devon and plunged the Eye of Tempests into his heart, watching the Human croak his final mortal breaths.

The darkness came immediately to Devon, who fell limp within the king’s arms. His eyes fell shut, but his soul dipped further and further into an abyss which seemingly beckoned his shapeless essence.

Ythar slipped the dagger into its sheath once more, watching as Devon’s skin turned pale silver, and from his spine grew wings and a tail. Horns extended from his head, and claws from his fingers and feet. Nodding, the king looked upon the new Demon. “Shadow embrace you, whelp. Our Ancient Lord welcomes you at last, and I shall carry you home. G’hat nute, nimhe.”

So like 5 or 6 years ago, I came up with a random scene for a short story about a Human man made into a Demon after he helped the Demon king and his knights to retrieve an artifact. Since then, I've developed an immense lore for this universe, and an entire conlang for the Demons. Some lore in as best a chronological order I can do is placed below the cut.

Thousands of years ago, two gods were born: Mhyrros of Humans, and Izohr of Demons

Mhyrros and Izohr created Humankind and Demonkind respectively

Both species were susceptible to death, but Demons otherwise remained immortal unless slain by something or someone

Izohr discovered the alphabet by looking to the stars which formed constellations, each one a letter that spoke a meaning to their soul

Izohr granted speech to the Demons

Demons taught speech to Humans

Demons could use magic by stringing letter of their alphabet together based on the meaning of each combination used

Spells drained the Demons immensely depending on how many letters were used

Izohr was known as "akanharkt" or "bright-soul" and therefore they were able to use magic without limit

Mhyrros and the other Humans feared this god for their unlimited magical power

Izohr's power spread to other Demons they made, by chance, and the akanharkten roamed the world

Humankind grew immensely fearful of what the akanharkten would do with their power, and set out in a crusade to slay them all

The last to be slain was Izohr themself, the Demon god, who then perished, and thus no akanharkten remained

Izohr ascended to eternal shadow, and demanded their Demons never reveal their faces or voices to Humans again as punishment

Cue thousands of years passing, and no Demons are born akanharkt

Ancient artifacts of Izohr have begun showing up in the world, and the current Demon king, Ythar, seeks to collect these

Ythar happens upon a Human named Devon, who offers his assistance to the king to lead him and the knights to a temple he knows the location of

When arriving inside the temple, Ythar finds the Eye of Tempests, the very dagger Izohr wielded millennia ago

Devon is homeless, has no money and no family, but needs to be repaid

Ythar uses the power imbued within the Eye of Tempests and stabs Devon, turning him into a demon, and the king names him "Izohr" in light of the god who once lived

This new Izohr begins living as a Demon, now in the care of Ythar

Izhor shows immense magical prowess, and mastery, seemingly capable of using magic without limit

Priests determine Izohr is akanharkt, just as the god Izhor was

This new Izohr is the first akanharkt to be born since the original Izohr's death

Whether this Izohr is the reincarnation of the deceased god or not is up for debate

No less, Ythar does adopt Izhor as his son after learning he grew up without family. He dubs Izohr "Kahzan-Mah'lukar" or Prince-Knightlord. Knightlords are the highest rank a Demon knight can achieve, the only other of whom exists being Ythar himself.

[talesofsorrowandofruin]

The Great OC Alphabet Caper: Dazzle Edition

(Credit to @sleepyowlwrites for this idea)

For characters introduced in the other books, see these posts: The Unfortunate Moth • Silver Glass • Houses Full of Deceit • There Stands a Spectre • The Tempest and the Night

Major spoilers ahead!

Cecilia

Name: Cecilia Billingham

Age/Pronouns: 27(?), she/her

Brief physical description: Blonde, brown eyes, average height

Brief list of defining traits: Amateur actress, nurse-in-training, and murder suspect

Excerpt:

"Of course I remember the dinner," Cecilia Billingham said. "I did something very childish during it. Of course it was wrong, but Mr. Otterbourne made me so mad!" Yo-han had found her in the medical department. She was in her nurse's uniform and cleaning syringe tubes. Above the sink, as a way of making sure the students paid attention, was a poster describing the infections caused by not washing hands and medical equipment properly. It was printed in English and Chinese. It had illustrations. Yo-han regretted having breakfast. "He'd drunk too much, of course. He told Mildred she was the greatest actress living and he'd find a company who appreciated her properly and didn't hand lead roles to actresses who couldn't act — meaning me, of course. So I put salt in his drink when he wasn't looking. He didn't notice at first, but when he did, the look on his face!" She grinned at the memory.

Trivia:

Her first name is borrowed from a character in Five Little Pigs

She plays the title character in The Duchess of Malfi

Becomes a suspect because she had the opportunity to commit the murder, but no known motive

Jack

Name: John Courtenay

Age/Pronouns: 20s, he/him

Brief physical description: Dark-haired, brown-eyed, and slightly above average height

Brief list of defining traits: Amateur actor and director, history student, and murder suspect

Excerpt:

"I last saw Edward at the awards ceremony that afternoon," Courtenay said. He had been on his way to dinner when Yo-han found him, so they went to the university café together. The overcooked rice and watery soups on offer ruined any appetite Yo-han had. He ordered a cup of tea. Courtenay ordered a bowl of soup, and poured an unhealthy amount of salt into it. "Only way to give it any flavour," he said when he saw Yo-han's face. "They call it vegetable soup, but I think it's just the water left over after they boiled the vegetables."

Trivia:

Played the Pirate King in The Pirates of Penzance, which he also directed. Becomes a suspect because he wanted the award for best director, and Edward won it instead

He's named after two people I know in real life

He was supposed to have a larger role. Instead he only appears once

Vasily

Name: Count Vasily Goncharovski (alias), Victor Wilkinson, Jiang Ying (江嬰) (real names)

Age/Pronouns: Mid 20s, he/him

Brief physical description: Black hair, brown eyes, tall

Brief list of defining traits: Amateur actor, medical student, and the most likely murder suspect

Excerpt:

Now that the blow had fallen, Vasily surprised himself by how calmly he was able to take it. He followed the policeman outside. St. James' had an ornamental pond in the courtyard. The policeman brought Vasily to a bench on its banks. Vasily sat down. The policeman stayed standing. Vasily couldn't have spoken if his life depended on it. He waited for the sentence to be declared. The policeman said, "I'm Assistant Detective Seo Yo-han and I'm investigating the death of your friend Edward Hannay." Vasily blinked up at him. He understood each word, but none of them made any sense. After an uncomfortable pause, he realised Seo was waiting for him to speak. "E-Edward?" he repeated. He almost blurted out something more. The world shifted on its axis. He understood. The whole thing took on the shape of a monstrous farce. The police didn't know. He was safe. He was trapped. This would drag itself on, day after dreadful day, with no end in sight.

Trivia:

He pretends to be a Polish count. He's really a half-Chinese American. His alias is both an in-joke and a clue that only Tumblr users are likely to spot: "Goncharovski" isn't a real Polish surname as far as I know (it's a real Russian surname), and Goncharov is a famously non-existent film

Why does he pick a Russian name instead of a real Polish one? In-universe, because he stole his alias from a random Russian, and it's not as if there are many Poles (or people familiar with Polish names) in China who'd be able to spot the difference. Out-of-universe, because I want to show he's a fraud from the start

Plays Bosola in The Duchess of Malfi

Edward's childhood friend. Edward is the only person who knows his real identity. He's trying to hide his real identity, so everyone assumes he killed Edward to stop him revealing it

He's the link joining two seemingly-unrelated cases

His real (Chinese) name, Jiang Ying, is a reference to Mo Dao Zu Shi: Jiang from Jiang Cheng, Ying from Wei Ying (AKA Wei Wuxian)

Has more issues than a gossip magazine

Edward

Name: Edward Hannay

Age/Pronouns: Mid 20s, he/him

Brief physical description: Brown hair, grey eyes, average height

Brief list of defining traits: Amateur actor and director, history student, murder victim. Secretly married to Wei Yang.

Excerpt:

Edward Hannay blinked and rubbed his eyes. He must have had more to drink than he thought. For a minute he could have sworn he saw Miss Billingham put something in a glass. Miss Billingham handed the glass to Otterbourne. He drank it in one go. He didn't comment on an odd taste. Edward decided he was seeing things. It was the champagne. This was the first time he'd had it. Otterbourne had bought it specially for the celebratory party. Like all directors Edward had had many differences with his producer, and the party was one of them. He wouldn't mind a small celebration. A few drinks and a cake in the university's dining room, or even in the theatre itself. But Otterbourne, who always had more money than sense, insisted on dragging the whole cast to a nightclub. It was run and mostly attended by Americans. Being in it gave Edward the disconcerting feeling that he had stepped right out of China and into an alien country.

Trivia:

Plays Ferdinand in TDOM, which he also directs

His surname is a reference to Richard Hannay (hero of a series of thrillers by John Buchan)

He only appears in person twice. All his other appearances are posthumous Rashomon-style flashbacks from other people's perspectives

Everyone has a different opinion of him and this is reflected in their version of events

Qiu Heng

Name: Jiang Qiu Heng (江秋恒)

Age/Pronouns: Mid 20s, he/him

Brief physical description: Black hair, brown eyes, average height

Brief list of defining traits: Disappeared without trace. At first everyone thinks he was kidnapped. The truth is much more complicated.

Excerpt:

Why had Jiang Qiu Heng demanded fifty thousand yuan when he knew his father could afford more? What did he intend to do with the money? Yo-han tried to picture Jiang's intentions. His father would pay the ransom. Jiang would walk out of his hiding place and back home, claiming the kidnappers had released him. He would have ¥50,000 of his father's money that he could quietly put in his own bank account. Had he come up with an elaborate fake kidnapping for money?

Trivia:

He started as a plot device to get Yo-han to Shanghai. He gradually became more and more important

He's named after Luo Qiu Heng from Miss S

Kiyoshi

Name: Kanayama Kiyoshi (金山 潔)

Age/Pronouns: Mid 20s, he/him

Brief physical description: Black hair, brown eyes, average height

Brief list of defining traits: Amateur actor, history student, important witness

Excerpt:

Kanayama lived in a boarding house near the university. He was possibly the only tidy student in the entire university. When he showed Yo-han into the small room that served as kitchen, dining and sitting room, Yo-han was amazed to find his books were neatly stacked on the shelves. The only hint of untidiness was the blackboard hung on the wall. It read, 690s, followed by a series of notes. Yo-han recognised the characters for Wu Ze Tian, Byzantine Empire, and several mentions of battles.

Trivia:

Plays the Cardinal in TDOM

Witnesses the murder, but doesn't realise what he saw until much later

His surname is a reference to retired Takarazuka actress Yuzuki Reon (whose real name is Kanayama Chie). His personal name is from a list of most common Japanese names in 1912 (the first time name trends were recorded). Kiyoshi would be around 35 in 1912, so this is a slight anachronism but hopefully not a glaring one

Wei Yang

Name: Meng Wei Yang (孟 未央)

Age/Pronouns: Mid 20s, she/her

Brief physical description: Black hair, brown eyes, average height

Brief list of defining traits: Secretly married to Edward. Convinced Victor/Vasily is the killer.

Excerpt:

"I need someone to help," she said abruptly. "I came to you because you met Edward." "Edward…?" Yo-han echoed, wracking his brain for who that was. The rude foreigner? No, he had a Russian name. Miss Meng took a deep breath. "My brother doesn't know about this. He signed the death certificate, he doesn't think there's anything wrong, but I know there is!" That at least was easy to understand. To make sure, he asked, "Edward is dead, and you think his death is suspicious?"

Trivia:

Her personal name comes from the title character of the TV series The Princess Wei Young ("Young" is a mis-transliteration of 央, "yāng". How did the title translator make that mistake? Your guess is as good as mine)

Her surname is borrowed from the actress Meng Zi Yi

Zhan

Name: Meng Zhan (孟 战)

Age/Pronouns: 30s, he/him

Brief physical description: I picture him as looking like Luo Yun Xi (this is either a screenshot from a drama I haven't seen, or part of a photoshoot):

Brief list of defining traits: Wei Yang's brother. Police inspector. Doesn't believe Edward's death is suspicious.

Excerpt:

After the weeks of uncertainty and conflicting theories associated with one case, Zhan was relieved to find this new case looked straightforward. Dr. Luo's findings were clear and to the point. "He's been dead at least twelve hours. Cause of death—" Here the doctor became very technical, before summarising with, "A fall that caused a fractured skull and internal bleeding." "The body was found beneath a flight of stairs," Zhan said. "That's simple enough. He was drunk?" The doctor said, "Yes," in a tone that warned Zhan the case wouldn't be as simple as he hoped.

Trivia:

His personal name is borrowed from Xiao Zhan

Otterbourne

Name: Simon Otterbourne

Age/Pronouns: 30s, he/him

Brief physical description: Brown hair, brown eyes, average height

Brief list of defining traits: TDOM's producer. Becomes a suspect because he and Edward had a fight before the murder

Excerpt:

There was the opening Yo-han had been waiting for. "What do you remember from that night?" "Not much," Otterbourne said. "Someone put salt in my drink. Stupid prank, the sort of thing Barbary would do. And then Millie and I danced until twelve." "Someone saw Hannay with another man that night. Would that have been one of the other actors?" "Might have been," Otterbourne said indifferently. "Barbary lives on the other side of the university and Huang lives in the university itself. His father is a Maths professor. Hannay could have met up with either of them on their way home."

Trivia:

He's named after two characters in Death on the Nile: Simon Doyle and Rosalie Otterbourne

Spoiler: he's the murderer

Adding the general Case-files taglist: @akindofmagictoo, @sam-glade, @sarahlizziewrites, @oh-no-another-idea, @cljordan-imperium,

@mrbexwrites, @lightgriffinsect (Let me know if you want to be added/removed!)

[zekes-original-character-rambles]

Sup I’m Zeke this is the blog to talk about my ocs and keep it organized lol.

main is @monstrousmaws

I hope you enjoy nonsensical rambles about my little guys cause oh boy are you gonna get them

you can find all posts about a specific OC by going to their tag which is their full name

e.g “Abigail “Arachne” Spinner” or “Leon” or “Melanie Brooks”

alphabetical list of all my ocs below the cut

Abigail “Arachne” Spinner

Ace

Adam

Alex

Amelia Brown

Amethyst

Amnesia Torres

Anatomy “Ana”

Anglerfish “Angie”

Aster Hart

Arcadia “Arcade” Star

Avery Fitzgerald 

Bambi

Bianca

Black Brew

Bones Dumont

Briar

Bubbles Pierrot

Bunny O’Riley

Butterfly

Cade King

Candle Shine

Carnival “Val”

Cecil

Chance Angel

Charlie Lantern

Christopher “Chris” Otho

Chrysalis The Fae King

Clyde

Comet

Crow Dunn

Cryptid

Cyan Jones

Damien Hart

Dash Bloodwing

Echo

Edie Von Zarovich

Eio Carla Shara

Emily Brooks

Emmet Ward

Ethel

Evelyn Ward

Everything “Eve”

Featharchism “Feathery” 

Fern

Frigid

Galadriel

Ghost Edwards

Ginger “Gingi” Kindheart 

Green Hart

Hayley Gray

Hex

Hexadecimal 

Honey Vespidae

Izzy

Jane Doe

Jaqueline “Jack/Jackie” Lantern

Kane

Kirigu

Kit Crimson

Laika Roberts

Leela

Leon

Leona Murray

Lizard “Lizzie”

Malevolent “Mal”

Mallory Hart

Marionette “Mari” Graves

Maroon

Mausoleum “Lee” Terminus

Maya

Melanie Brooks

Michael

Michael “Mikey” Hallow

Millipede “Millie” Danger

Mistophelees 

Mold Infested Automaton “M.I.A”

Monster

Mordred Banneret

Morgan Asphodel 

Nana Watcher

Natalie/Nathan Skye

Nicky

Niko Watcher

Onyx Smith

Persephone Smith

Poppy Jackson

Poseidon

Rags

Random

Reynard

Robo

Ruby

Sabrine

Salem Green

Saskia Blight

Saturn

Scout Brown

Shapeshifter

Snail Rose

Sugar Bailey

Swallowtail

Tempest

Theodosia “Thunder” MacNamara

Tox Matthews

Valentine Carmine

Viola Kelly

Violet

Wither

Zanthe Brighton Shara

[thepreposterousprequel]

Chapter the Third

M: Welcome back to another exclusive interview with Prufrock Prep's one (and only) reporter. Proceeding down the alphabet, we have—by random coincidence—arrived at D. D: Thanks for having me on the show, M. And I prefer to think of it as an inclusive interview myself. M: Okay, sure. But first, let’s both get this awkwardness off our chests. D: Who said anything about awkwardness? M: What I mean is you and I are the two candidates running in this election—the only two candidates. We're both trying to end up as the second-in-command at this school. D: I know. And I respect you for that, M. That should give us more to talk about, not less, don’t you think? M: I see. And I respect you for that, D. I just feel so much respect. It's like... have you ever felt something—like a sort of burning—but you're not quite sure how to express it, and— D: My favourite word's "luminary," by the way. M: Hmm? Oh, yes. Thank you kindly for the reminder. Now let’s get to the heart of it: you played a foundational role in the group we all know as Vaudeville’s Finest Denarians. D: Oh, when it comes to that, I’m only the tetartagonist, really. M: It sounds like you’re making up words again, D. D: It means “fourth actor." K and L are clearly the protagonist and the deuteragonist. And B(ea) outplays me—you can be sure about that. M: I see. So you're not even putting *me* in the picture? Or C? D: You’re new. Fifth and sixth actors. And there are the other trainees, which brings our number up to ten. M: I see. In that case, who's the... Decagonist? D: I'd say... F. Or maybe E. But probably F. J and H are definitely more in the middle. M: You may be alienating a few of your voters, D, you know. D: Okay, M. What I meant is that F and E are younger and have a chance to be the protagonist someday. They'd be the first to agree with that.

M: Of course. But L is young, too, you know. D: But he's also L. Also, if this is about inclusivity at the school, let's remember you're the one doing "exclusive" interviews here, M. Anyway, my point was that, currently, we're the perfect number for The Decameron. I hope your readers know about our first performance. M: Of course. And what's our theme? D: The power of fortune. M: I have to say: your performance in the dress rehearsal was simply dazzling. How are you so good at bringing fortune to life? D: It's just a slice of life for me, I suppose. M: Of course. Now, first question: D: *laughing* You mean the interview hasn't even started yet? M: *ahem* What will you do for the school if you win the election? First of all, what title will you assume? D: You'll remember Ish called this "an election for an indeterminate student position." So the eventual title really can only be assumed. M: *sighing* Only Ish... D: I don't know what word I would use, but it definitely would not be "king." There’s a character named King Duncan. He's in a very fascinating drama, but very early on, he gets murdered. That doesn't feel like a good omen. M: I know that play. Would you say Duncan is a good king? Would you structure your leadership style after his? D: After he’s dead, does it matter? M: For the sake of the play? Not really. So I'll let you dodge that question, but not the shipwreck one. It comes up in all sorts of Shakespeare plays. Twelfth Night, the Tempest... D: Well, if you'd asked me yesterday, I would have said B(ea) in a heartbeat. But now, I think I’d go with... H. If our lives depended on it, he could save us with a flying machine made only of coconuts and seaweed, I'm sure. M: So... not B(ea)? D: No. Unfortunately, no. *pause* M: Why not? What's changed? D: B(ea) and I are… not together anymore. M: Wow. I’m sorry to hear that, D. You know, I hadn't even met you before you two were dating. D: Yes. It's true, M. This is my first time saying it out loud, but B(ea) and I are, in fact, taking a pause. And I'm okay that we're taking a pause. *pause* D: Okay, I was sobbing all night. I mean, we’ve had our disagreements, but I thought... Anyway, it felt sudden. M: I'm here for you, D. I mean—we're *all* here for you. And for B(ea). D: Thanks, M. I need this space. You know, the worst part is, B(ea) and I had this dance performance planned for tonight. There's a message we need to convey through the music. An important message. M: So... A dance partner? That's what you need? We do already tap dance together, you know. D: It was supposed to be the foxtrot. The Victor Foxtrot Delta, to be precise. And Bea is kind of irreplaceable. But maybe... M: Whatever message this music is supposed to convey, I'm sure the two of us can convey it through tap. D: So... M: Yes! I'll tap dance with you. D: Tonight? M: That seems a bit sudden. But absolutely! D: Are you sure? We've never performed together. M: ...but we have *rehearsed* together plenty. D: Well if *you* want to, then I couldn't thank you enough! We'll have to talk about costumes. It's got to be something fiery. M: *laughing* How did we get here… You’re distracting me! Very few Ds do that to me. D: Wait—we're still recording? You *are* editing this interview down, right? And I mean a *lot*. M: I only keep the important bits.

On your very first day at Prufrock Prep, dear reader, after disembarking from whatever kayak, submarine, or paraglider you happened to be traveling by, you will likely be pressured into a session of evening entertainment put on by the Department of Wooden Performances before the sun even sets. I, for one, have spent countless hours captive to the less than captivating acts—the mangled magic tricks, the aberrant acrobatics, the violent violin sonatas—with only a handful of pearls worth polishing into a positive review article to show for it. Tonight is my chance to infiltrate.

“You spectacular students never cease to amaze me," says the department head, Professor Remora. We sit overlooking the island's amphitheatre in the sunny afternoon. "But if I'm honest, I came here for the bananas.” These bananas comprise the entirety of his salary, he explains, "and it's worth it." Some combination of the climate and volcanic soil is ideal here, apparently. He peels another from the crate next to him and eats it as I type. The arts are often underfunded.

Evening finds me in a place I'm more than familiar with by now: the antechamber underneath the stage. What I'm not familiar with is the bustle of performers, and I'm awestruck. The lighting—fireless candles—was provided by the Department of Steely Resolve, along with the entry onto the stage—a rising platform through the trapdoor. There's a faint thrumming sound coming from each of the fireless candles as they light up the scene. It fits the mood perfectly.

Jacky and Jenny are the next to take the stage. I can't imagine the stage would want to be taken, if anyone bothered to ask. As a final touch to their costumes, they're adding more and more powder to their already pale faces, continuing as the platform rises through the trapdoor. Their act on the stage above us sounds something like an invigorating rendition of "Somewhere over the Rainbow." It's either that, or perhaps the championships of the welterweight boxing tournament.

"What a lovely performance!" says the opera singer preparing to take the stage next. "I'm glad Jenny finally got her chance." If you need a definition of the word "magnanimous," then look no further than the student who programmed the performances, Beatrice Anwhistle. We have a long chat about the inspiration for the piece she's about to perform. Underneath her warm, calm demeanor, I sense a hidden depth of grief and struggle.

"Duncan's done all the work for our act, really. He's one cool alligator," says Bea, wistfully. "And Héctor cobbled together the wings." "You're being magnanimous, again, Bea," says Duncan Quagmire IV, clarinet in hand, tap shoes on feet. With minutes to go, he's finally showed up for their number. Words start pouring out, as if from a pitcher. "I'm so sorry to come at the last minute, Bea. I wasn't sure if you wanted us to say anything to each other, so I thought I'd just wait, or else stand hunched in a dark corner, and then come in, maybe jumping on the platform as it rises, but I also didn't want you to worry I wouldn't come, so I—" Bea breaks in and hugs him. "I'm the sorry one, Duncan, for our little misunderstanding. I'm glad to see Moxie step in tonight, but I'd have been happy if it was still us. All I wanted was...a slower tempo. For now. That's all."

Duncan gasps. "You mean... you want us to go on?"

"Don't be so gobsmacked," she says, smiling. "You and me both know the show must go on." Their platform slowly rises into the misty evening air. As applause dies down, the intro comes to life: a slow and sublime clarinet and piano line, strumming like a heartbeat. Then Bea's voice breaks the air with "Song to the Moon" from Rusalka. With the atmosphere now in pieces, the magnificent tones easily travel as far as the Moon—a waxing gibbous tonight. If any space traveler stood on the lunar surface that night, they must have been moved to tears by the song directed especially to them. This will be an impossible act to follow.

I take a deep breath. Short-short-short-long, I recite in my head. Then short-short-long-short, then long-short-short. That's all there is to it, Mallahan. Repeat those three over and over. Your message will be received.

After Bea is finished with her song as well as three encores demanded by the audience, her platform descends back into the antechamber. It's my turn. "Shake a leg!" she tells me as we trade places. The electric stage light stings my eyes and the blurred audience disorients my balance. But Duncan's hand reaches out to me, and our act has begun.

"You were fantastic on the stage!" Duncan tells me afterward. "A phenomenon!"

"You were the one carrying the show, really," I say, slowly regaining my breath in the antechamber. "All I was there for was to help the show go on."

"And the message to go on," he adds. "Honestly, I can't thank you enough, Moxie. Someday, I'll do something in return that will help your passion for journalism go on."

"That's a bit vague, but... I like it," I say, thoughtfully. "The world is too quiet here. We need more journalists. We need a world abuzz with the news. Then maybe all those mysteries Snicket and I solve will no longer need solving."

"I'll convince someone else to join you, then, as a journalist," he says. "I don't know who... My firstborn child?"

"I'll take that as a compliment," I reply. "And as a promise, Quagmire. On the record."

Much as I'd like to continue narrating the evening's entertainment with a glowing review of the next piece on the program—"A Dialogue between Hippolyte and Olaf"—I have a question to ask Duncan. A mystery to resolve. I interviewed him about Vaudeville's Finest Denarians this morning. But why did he join the group in the first place?

"My instructions were simple: follow the bats. It was for Bea. She's a baticeer, you know."

"So that's it," I say. "You were looking for bats down here, and you found Vaudeville's Finest Denarians. Mystery solved."

"We found much more before that, Moxie Mallahan," says Duncan, suddenly even more mischievous than usual. "There was the eye of the snake carved into the wall. And then there was this." Somehow, he pulls a skull out from behind his back, holding it up at arm's length and looking into its eyes.

“There’s a painting I studied once. It was years ago, but it's one that sticks in your mind. The scene shows nothing more than a person screaming, hands to his face under an orange sky. The result is terrifying. Colors and shapes mash and bend like hot caramel, and it feels like reality itself is melting. I’ve never seen whoever it was that modeled for the painting, and certainly not his skull, but if I did, I imagine it would look like what I hold in my hands now.”

“So,” I summarize, “The skull is… long.”

Duncan sighs. “If you’d like me to speak like a journalist instead of like a poet, then, yes: all I could have told you was, ‘The skull was long.’ "

"Holding up skulls and soliloquizing in dark antechambers seems a bit too gothic for you, Quagmire. Are you sure you don't have an evil twin?"

"No," he tells me, with another cheeky smile in the torchlight. "He's an evil triplet."

“To carry a torch” is a set of words with at least two meanings. One meaning is to hold a piece of wood designed for the purpose of being lit on fire to give light to the surrounding area. Duncan and I had already done that far underneath this stage. And then there’s another, more figurative torch that one may carry. Though beautiful, it is the most scorching torch of all.

"Good talk, Moxie," says Duncan, sticking his hand out for a shake. "The arts and the media each benefit from a professional working relationship." As the act onstage finally comes to a close and intermission begins, he puts down the skull and heads towards an exit. "I wonder if Bea has plans for the weekend..."

[gloriousmonsters]

what is the new book concept?? (if you don’t mind sharing — but if you do mind it’s ok not to reply)

also what is that font you used btw? is there a full alphabet somewhere and if so would you mind sharing the link? i like that it’s a very understated gothic-looking serif. or very calligraphic looking i guess

sure thing!! with the understanding it's a lot more half-baked than most of the ideas I've been talking about, so i'm going to briefly walk you through the few ideas that went into it before explaining (also briefly) what it is so far, lol. Also, the font is Fondamento - it was one of the fonts available in Photopea (free online photoshop-like) which I used to make the cover, but it looks like it's also on Google Fonts. If you want to know how I did the bronze metallic-ink-ish look for the text I can expound on that as well, btw, or you can just enjoy the font :)

So I've been having a resurgence of my Tempest emotions

(for those who are unfamiliar. i would summarize it, but it would take a long time. just. find a summary and read it with a MASSIVE grain of salt that's labeled 'prospero is an asshole and nobody understands Caliban but tumblr user gloriousmonsters and the poet Robert Browning')

and this time reading it was especially having fun with the parallels between Caliban and Miranda's characters and also thinking about how EXTREMELY weird and screwed up their relationship would have been growing up.

Despite interpretations/stories based on it sometimes having it otherwise, in canon neither of them seem to have ever seen or spoken to Ariel (at least in capacity as A Person You Can Talk to; Caliban is more aware of the spirits Prospero commands in abstract, at least). Aside from Prospero, who is notoriously not good at being present for what he's supposed to be looking after, they are the only human being the other one knows. It's serving twisted Eden vibes. It's serving tmg's 'the last man on earth'. it's serving 'not that Prospero would have encouraged it, but to an extent they must have seen each other as family, right? especially in Miranda's case, considering she grew up her entire life with him. the psuedoincest is off the charts'. Then shit goes bad (in whatever way you want to interpret) and now suddenly they're in a place of seeing each other daily, because Caliban does literally everything around the place, but having an uncrossable rift of mutual hurt and betrayal between them* that has little choice but to curdle and get worse because neither of them can do anything to change their situation. Depending on how lines are assigned, they never speak to each other in the play. And they have nobody else to talk to save for cursing out Prospero (Caliban) or trying to get in two words between Prospero's monologues (Miranda). And then the play events happen and they just part ways because Prospero has decided it, after probably expecting they'd be stuck in this forever. And then the next-to-only person you've ever known is on a different landmass and you're probably never going to see them again. it's So fucked.

Anyway I was revolving all of that with quiet awe in my head, and going 'man, I want to write a fucked up Caliban/Miranda book, but I don't have a non-play plot and I don't want to just write a prequel'

Then I encountered Caliban upon Setebos for the first time, and despite the fact i could still nitpick some things it slaps insanely. Only good Tempest fanfiction. It's a long poem consisting of Caliban theorizing about Setebos--a god his mother supposedly got her witch powers from, but that Caliban knows very little about. He theorizes that Setebos is either indifferent or malignant or both--impossible to predict, driven by whim. The only other divine force is 'the Quiet', an even more inhuman and incomprehensible force that doesn't do anything at all; cosmology is cruel, the world a sandbox under the eye of a god with as many arms as a cuttlefish, capricious and sadistic, whom we can only hope will someday grow decrepit and sleep, which is the closest to it being dead we can pray for--

It was about this point I realized Caliban/Browning was inventing the Lovecraft mythos 50ish years ahead of schedule, and got hit by the lightning bolt of 'PUT ELDRITCH BEINGS IN IT' and, five seconds later 'CALIBAN DESERVES TO BE A MAGICIAN' and five seconds after that 'miranda deserves to break out of being her father's Perfect child, let's set it in the future and kill Prospero off'

So Bitter Heart (taken from a line in the poem, 'Caliban/a bitter heart that bides its time') is conceptually a dual perspective novella/short novel focused on how about nine years after the conclusion of The Tempest, Miranda (unmarried, I'll handwave it; Ferdinand bores me so much sorry dude) finds her father dead and surrounded by rambling half-incomprehensible notes, remnants of a type of magic that's far different from his old ways, and a creeping sense of Wrongness that begins to slowly manifest in distortion, mutation and decay of elements of reality. People search for solutions while Miranda tries to find the source of the bizarre power in her father's notes and what hidden books she can unearth from his study, but she hasn't made it very far before a man comes to Milan at the behest of someone who's decided we should throw magic at the magic problem--a man she's heard rumors of as the hot new 'guy you keep in your court for a bit to show him off at parties because he's learned and also Moorish or something, he has this crazy backstory that's probably fake but is a lot of fun, also he does magic probably' in other cities, but never met.

A man who, when they meet face to face, turns out to be Caliban, who after about a year of 'finally peace and quiet' realized that living completely alone on an island was going to drive him insane and also he still really wanted revenge on Prospero (and had a lot of ambiguous ideas about what he wanted from Miranda) so he scraped together what Prospero had left behind and taught himself magic for the next few years until he could figure out a way off the island. He's extremely annoyed that after that, and after spending more years building himself up and finding his footing in the outside world, Prospero had the nerve to die RIGHT before he showed up, even if he wasn't promised a reward if he can stop people's arms from turning into fishes and shit he'd find out what did it so he can give it a piece of his mind. Miranda understandably never planned for this scenario and has a really hard time knowing what to feel about it, but she and Caliban form a tentative truce in order to try and figure out wtf Prospero was doing before he croaked.

There'll be intercut flashbacks to their past and the time they spent becoming incredibly codependent and eventually tipping into confused romantic attraction and sexual experimentation, which both of them have tried very hard to convince themselves was a bad idea for one reason or another, it clearly wasn't and will never be good for them, etc; and of course in present day they both immediately resume having bitter gothic sexual tension and trying to ignore the instinct that, now they've met each other again, they're the only two real people in a world of dreams and spirits.

Also they have to find the entrance to an eldritch realm and figure out what's coming through and how to stop it, and have a lot of insanely weird and pretentious thoughts/conversations about God and sin and abuse and vengeance/hatred and so on. So that's the mess Bitter Heart is at the moment :P

*ymmv may vary on how justified on either side depending on the situation, obviously

[odettecarotte]

From that freak Robert Graves' tome "The White Goddess":

"To sum up the historical argument.

'Gwion', a North Welsh cleric of the late thirteenth century, whose true name is not known but who championed the popular minstrels against the Court bards, wrote (or rewrote) a romance about a miraculous Child who possessed a secret doctrine that nobody could guess; this doctrine is incorporated in a series of mystical poems which belong to the romance. The romance is based on a more primitive original, of the ninth century A.D., in which Creirwy and Afagddu, the children of Tegid Voel and Caridwen, probably played a more important part than in Gwion's version. (This original has been lost though, strangely enough, the same dramatis personae occur in Shakespeare's Tempest: Prospero, who like Tegid Voel lived on a magic island; the black screaming hag Sycorax, 'Pig Raven', mother of Caliban the ugliest man alive; Prospero's daughter Miranda the most beautiful woman, whom Caliban tries to rape; Ariel the miraculous Child whom Sycorax imprisons. Perhaps Shake- speare heard the story from his Welsh schoolmaster at Stratford, the original of Sir Hugh Evans in The Merry Wives of Windsor.)

The miraculous Child set a riddle, based on a knowledge not only of British and Irish mythology, but of the Greek New Testament and Septuagint, the Hebrew Scriptures and Apocrypha, and Latin and Greek mythology. The answer to the riddle is a list of names which correspond closely with a list that Roderick O'Flaherty, the seventeenth-century confidant of the learned Irish antiquary Duald Mac Firbis, claimed to be the original letter-names of the Ogham alphabet, which is found in numerous inscriptions in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, England and the Isle of Man, some of them pre-Christian. Its invention is ascribed by Irish tradition to the Goidelic god Ogma Sun-Face, who according to the account given by Lucian of Samosata, who wrote in the second century A.D., was represented in Celtic art as a mixture of the gods Cronos, Hercules and Apollo. A connexion between the Ogham found in inscrip- tions and a fifth-century B.C. Greek alphabet from Etruria, the Formello- Cervetri, has been proved; nevertheless there is evidence that an earlier form of Ogham, with a slightly different order of letters, was current in..."

Like..."a mixture of the gods Cronos, Hercules année Apollo" ok that's just a new god?

Irish ancient history and the lore of the island's connections with the Mediterranean sounds like non-stop conspiracy theories and I have absolutely no grounding in the archeological record so I'm just trying to pick up on Graves' vibe.

[moribundt-mores]

Fandoms

By no means an exhaustive list (we're getting there) of everything I enjoy. Sometimes it's genuine "write 10k words" levels of brainrot. Sometimes it's just nostalgia (or my particular brand of trash). Either way I'm here to wear my influences on my sleeve and perhaps find other likeminded degenerates. ( ´ ◇ ` )ﾉ♡ Everything is listed in alphabetical order. ✧ Are my current obsessions (so long as I remember to update lmao). Parentheses contain my particular favorites from a set.

Television

ANIME

❀ Ace of Diamond ❀ Akame ga Kill ❀ Arakawa Under the Bridge ❀ Banana Fish ❀ Code Geass ❀ Fukigen na Mononokean ❀ Free! ❀ Gankutsuou ❀ Garzey’s Well ❀ Ghost Stories ❀ Gregory Horror Show ❀ Hetalia ❀ King of Bandits Jing ❀ Kono Danshi series ❀ Kyo Kara Maou! ❀ Legend of the Galactic Heroes ✧ Mawaru Penguindrum ❀ Natsume Yuujinchou ✧ Neon Genesis Evangelion ❀ Princess Nine ❀ Princess Tutu ❀ Samurai Flamenco ❀ Sarazanmai ❀ Shin Sekai Yori ❀ Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu ❀ Speed Racer (Mach Go Go Go!) ❀ Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann ❀ Tsuritama ❀ Uchouten Kazoku ❀ Zetsuen no Tempest

OTHER ANIMATED

✿ Archer ✿ Courage the Cowardly Dog ✿ Dead End Paranormal Park ✿ Gravity Falls ✿ Hazbin Hotel ✿ Helluva Boss ✿ Infinity Train (Season 2, 3) ✿ Miraculous Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir ✿ Moral Orel ✿ Southpark ✿ Superjail ✿ The Little Prince (2010) ✿ The Boondocks ✿ Ugly Americans ✿ Venture Bros

LIVE ACTION

❁ Andor ❁ Arrested Development ❁ Black Mirror ❁ Fleishman is in Trouble ❁ Haunting of Hill House / Bly Manor ❁ In the Flesh ❁ It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia ❁ Mindhunter ❁ Our Flag Means Death ❁ Penny Dreadful ❁ Psych ❁ Russian Doll ❁ Severance ❁ The Boys ❁ The Sandman ❁ The Handmaid’s Tale ❁ The Prisoner ❁ The Umbrella Academy ❁ Trial and Error ❁ Twin Peaks ❁ What We Do in the Shadows ❁ Young Royals ❁ 13 Reasons Why

WEB SERIES

❁ Alien Stage ❁ My Student Spirit ❁ Petscop ❁ SCP

Comics

MANGA+

❥ Acid Town by Kyuugou ❥ Aku no Hana by Shuuzou Oshimi ❥ Angel Diary by Lee Yoon-hee and Kara ❥ +Anima by Natsumi Mukai ❥ Are You Alice? by Ikumi Katagiri and Ai Ninomiya ❥ Arte by Kei Ohkubo ❥ CLAMP (Tokyo Babylon, X/1999, and Tsubasa) ❥ Elfen Lied by Lynn Okamoto ❥ Fukigen na Mononokean by Kiri Wazawa ❥ Fullmetal Alchemist by Hiromu Arakawa ❥ Full Moon by Arina Tanemura ❥ Ganbare! Nakamura-kun!! by Syundei ❥ Golden Days by Shigeru Takao ❥ Hai to Diamond by Mika Sadahiro ❥ Houseki no Kuni by Haruko Ichikawa ❥ Junji Ito ❥ Kaori Yuki (Angel Sanctuary and Fairy Cube) ❥ Kinoko Inu by Kimama Aoboshi ❥ Let Dai by Won Soo-yeon ❥ Lychee Hikari Club by Usamaru Furuya ❥ Moritat by Li Seon Ui and Seo Gyeong ❥ Natsume Yuujinchou by Yuki Midorikawa ❥ Oooku by Fumi Yoshinaga ❥ Osamu Tezuka (Buddha, Metropolis, Kimba the White Lion) ❥ Oyasumi Punpun by Inio Asano ❥ Pick of the Litter by Yuriko Suda ❥ Sakura Gari by Yuu Watase ❥ Seven Days by Venio Tachibana ❥ The Promised Neverland by Kaiu Shirai ❥ Your and My Secret by Ai Morinaga ❥ .Hack//The Legend of Twilight by Rei Izumi and Tatsuya Hamazaki

OTHER COMICS

✧ Cinderella Boy by Punko ✧ Cursed Princess Club by Lambcat ➳ DC (Batman / Batfam) ➳  Everything is Fine by Mike Birchall ➳ High Class Homos by Momozerii ➳ Interview with a Murderer by KJK ➳ Jackson’s Diary by Paola Batalla ➳ Marvel (Spiderman, Deadpool, X-Men) ➳ The Sandman by Neil Gaiman & many, many more

*I don’t really read superhero comics anymore but if I do pick up an issue it’s gonna be Spidey or Batfam

Film (TBU whenever I go thru my Letterboxd)

ANIMATED

❥ Akira ❥ Arashi no Yoru ni ❥ Studio Ghibli (Earthsea, Howl’s Moving Castle, Spirited Away, and Castle in the Sky)

LIVE ACTION+

❥

Games

VISUAL NOVELS

✜ Boyfriend to Death series by ElectricPuke, Gatobob, Darqx, & more ✜ Beyond Eden by Studio Pieplus ✜ Ciconia no naka koro ni by 07th Expansion ✜ Echo by Echo Project ✜ ENIGMA: by Uzumeya ✜ Hashihime of the Old Book Town by ADELTA ✜ The Letter by Yangyang Mobile ✧ Umineko no naka koro ni by 07th Expansion ✜ Your Turn to Die by Nankidai ✜ 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim by Vanillaware

RPGM

✜ End Roll by Segawa ✜ Etrayu by Lucy Fox ✜ Freebird Games (To the Moon) ✧ Hello Charlotte by etherane ✜ OMORI by Omocat

GACHA

✜ Argonavis AASide (εpsilonΦ and Fujin RIZING!) ✜ Ensemble Stars (RYUSEITAI and Valkyrie) ✧ Fate Grand Order ✜ Fire Emblem Heroes ✧ Genshin Impact ✜ Granblue Fantasy ✜ I-Chu ✜ SinoAlice ✜ Touken Ranbu ✜ Twisted Wonderland ✜ Valkyrie Connect

SERIES

✜ Ace Attorney by Capcom (Apollo Justice) ✜ Atelier by Gust (Mana Khemia: Alchemists of Al Revis) ✜ Fire Emblem by Intelligent Systems (Awakening, Sacred Stones, Thracia 776, Three Houses) ✜ Persona by Atlus ✜ Pokemon by Game Freak (Pokemon Black/White) ✜ Sonic the Hedgehog by Sega ✜ Zero Escape by Chunsoft

OTHER

✧ Baldur's Gate III by Larian Studios ✜ Cultist Simulator by Weather Factory ✜ Dragon Age Origins by Bioware ✜ Ecco the Dolphin by Appaloosa Interactive ✜ Edna and Harvey by Daedalic Entertainment ✜ Heroes Rise by Choice of Games ✜ Hamtaro HamHams Unite by Pax Softnica ✜ Hamtaro HamHam Heartbreak by Pax Softnica ✜ Hollow Knight by Team Cherry ✜ Lunar: Dragon Song by Japan Art Media ✜ Nier: Automata by PlatinumGames ✜ Night in the Woods by Infinite Fall ✜ Sally Face by Portable Moose ✜ South Park the Fractured but Whole by Ubisoft ✜ South Park the Stick of Truth by Ubisoft ✜ Stanley Parable by Galactic Cafe ✜ The Beginner’s Guide by Everything Unlimited, Ltd. ✜ The Last of Us by Naughty Dog ✜ Warrioland 4 by Nintendo ✜ Whispered World by Daedalic Entertainment

Theatre

PLAYS

❥ Angels in America by Tony Kushner ❥ Leopoldstadt by Tom Stoppard ❥ Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead by Tom Stoppard ❥ Shakespeare (Hamlet) ❥ Six Degrees of Separation by John Guare ❥ Sleep No More by Punchdrunk ❥ The Normal Heart by Larry Kramer

MUSICALS+

✧ Bare: A Pop Opera by Damon Intrabartolo & Jon Hartmere ❥ Evillious Chronicles by mothy ❥ Frankenstein: A New Musical by Mark Baron & Jeffrey Jackson ❥ Kagero Project by Jin ❥ Les Misérables by Claude-Michel Schönberg, Alain Boublil, Jean-Marc Natel, & Herbert Kretzmer ❥ Marchen by Sound Horizon ❥ Moira by Sound Horizon ❥ Pippin by Stephen Schwartz, Roger O. Hirson, & Bob Fosse ❥ Queen of the Night by Dirt Poor Robins ❥ Roman by Sound Horizon ❥ Stephen Sondheim (Sweeney Todd and Company) ❥ Tommy by The Who

Literature

CANONICAL

❦ A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess ❦ A Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee ❦ A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket ❦ Arthurian Legends ❦ Camp Half-Blood Chronicles by Rick Riordan ❦ Charles Dickens (A Tale of Two Cities, Great Expectations, Oliver Twist) ❦ Confessions of a Mask by Yukio Mishima ❦ Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky ❦ Earthsea Cycle by Ursula LeGuin ❦ Frankenstein by Mary Shelley ❦ Franz Kafka ❦ His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman ❦ James Ellroy (The Big Nowhere) ❦ James Joyce (Dubliners) ❦ John Fowles (The Magus) ❦ Jorge Luis Borges ❦ Kokoro by Natsume Souseki ❦ La Comedia by Dante Aligieri ❦ Lloyd Alexander ❦ Lord of the Flies by William Golding ❦ Nip the Buds, Shoot the Kids by Kenzaburo Oe ❦ Oscar Wilde (The Picture of Dorian Gray) ❦ Piranesi by Susanna Clarke ❦ Ryuunosuke Akutagawa (Hellscreen, Cogweels) ❦ Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle ❦ Simon Snow Trilogy by Rainbow Rowell ❦ The Binding by Bridget Collins ❦ The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald ❦ The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien ❦ The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen ❦ The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry ❦ The Neverending Story by Michael Ende ❦ The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller ❦ The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner ❦ Two Brothers by Eugene Schwarz ❦ Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

LIGHT NOVELS

❦ .Hack// series by Tatsuya Hamazaki ❦ Fate/Prototype: Fragments of Sky Silver by Hikaru Sakurai & Nakahara ❦ Full Metal Panic by Shoji Gatoh & Shikidouji ❦ Legend of the Galactic Heroes by Yoshiki Tanaka, Naoyuki Kato, & Yukihisa Kamoshita ❦ Kyo Kara Maou! by Tomo Takabayashi & Temari Matsumoto ❦ Spice and Wolf by Isuna Hasekura & Juu Ayakura

[fischotterkunst]

im really guessing the team behind the Tensura app game (Isekai Memories) didn't expect some freak (me) to spend a couple hours Rosetta Stone-ing the text used in Tempest because after much cross-referencing i have enough of the alphabet to uncover a partial message (excuse my sloppy handwriting my tablet was bugging):

in case that's all illegible, this is what i ended up with:

IS RED I DON'T UNDERSTAND PAST MIDNIGHT I THEY'RE SAYIN' THE WOMAN IS DAMNED WITH A WA__ __ HER HA THE LAND PEOPLE REACHIN' HIGHER WE WERE

i translated the text under the english wording first and expected some kind of magic reference but as i got further i realized stuff was starting to rhyme i began to suspect they just plugged in random song lyrics and i was completely correct

so. i mean i still get the alphabet which was my initial goal but also.

i'll have the alphabet cleaned up in a bit with sources so if anyone else wants it. that'll be a thing now.

[tssidesfics]

@amateurmasksmith Thank you for giving me a prompt that wasn't romantic, bless you so much for that, you're amazing.

*

There is nothing more infuriating and illogical than a sick Logan, something Janus was all too willing to say directly to his face.

"Thomas is sick," he informed him. "Ergo, we are sick. Ergo, we all need to rest. This is not resting. Close the computer, change into sleep clothes, and lay down on the fucking bed."

"I am Logic. Logic does not rest or take breaks. I must work. Leave me be."

Janus pinched his sinuses, taking calculated breaths.

Elsewhere in the Mindscape, the other Sides had been corralled. Virgil had probably been the most difficult of them to wrangle, too anxious about Thomas being set back on work by a sick day that he was literally climbing the walls to avoid Janus and speak in Tempest Tongue to Thomas about an impressive variety of worst-case scenarios. It had taken assistance from Remus, who was easily the sanest while sick considering the snot and coughing was gross enough to keep him satiated, creating a sleeping drought Janus then directed to the ceiling and sprayed directly in Virgil's face. He had plummeted to the floor with a satisfying thump.

Roman was next in line, whining about how princes were invincible or something stupid. Despite his obstinance, he was also easily the most annoying about his illness, complaining about every symptom when the rest of them--excluding Janus, who had taken measures to resist the virus as long as possible so to make sure no one else was negatively impacting Thomas' health--were suffering the same effects. Janus only had to offer him chicken noodle soup with edible glitter to make him sit his ass down and stay there, although it unfortunately only encouraged the whining. Thankfully Virgil, still on the ceiling, had dropped a book on his head and knocked him out.

A merciful deed that Patton had veraciously objected to while coughing himself hoarse. He hadn't protested in the slightest about the sick day. They always affected him the worst and his only ask was that everyone make a little camp in the commons so he could make sure everyone was all right while also resting himself. His solution to the idiots of the Mindscape was also much sweeter than Janus' breed of "sit your ass down now before I color all your belongings pink (Virgil)/lock you out of your room and give Remus run of the place for a week (Roman)/slightly disorder your alphabetical and chronological systems while moving all of your pens slightly to the left (Logan)."

Speaking of Logan, Janus was currently delivering on that threat.

"What--?" Cough. "What in the name of Galileo do you--?" Cough, cough. "Get away--"

It wasn't easy to push Logan away considering one of the symptoms was vertigo. Janus just put a hand to his face, uncaring for the fingerprints that would leave on his glasses, and gave the gentlest shove, sending him staggering and crashing into his desk, holding his head and making a nauseated noise.

Janus methodically went through his filing system, moving around documents and entire file categories. "The sooner you change, move to the commons, and lay down, the sooner I put all of this back where it belongs."

"I will--" Cough. "I swear I'll--"

"Don't make me get Rage."

Logan glared at him for that one. Rage was currently sitting up downstairs, grumbling about the bug. Every time he coughed, his head erupted. He was also the only one in the Mindscape Logan arguably respected due to their extensive and complicated history. He was also the most violent and would have no qualms kicking Logan's ass over the whole matter. Janus didn't either; neither did Remus. But Logan would ignore them. He would not ignore Rage.

"Change. Downstairs. There's a color-coordinated bed waiting for you. I won't tell you again."

The glare did not alleviated as Logan snapped himself into a different set of clothes--because he was "above onesies," so it was just a blue, somehow still pressed, sleep shirt and plain black pajama pants--and begrudgingly made his way downstairs.

Out of sheer pettiness, Janus continued disordering Logan's room for a few more minutes--what? It was funny--but then the illness caught up with him. He made his way downstairs, snapped into his own sleepwear--yellow, black and red styled like a king snake's pattern--and crawled into bed.

Everyone stared at him.

"What?" Janus demanded, the first cough tearing out of him.

"Wow, kiddo!" Patton beamed. "We all expected you'd be--uh..."

"A raging hypocrite," Virgil finished helpfully, except his tone was unabashedly hateful. Janus had spent years convincing himself that didn't sting by that point, so it ran off his back.

"Nah, Jannie always lays down right away. Only reason he didn't this time was because you're all kinky."

Patton choked. Roman made a melodramatic sound and fell back like he was dying. Virgil screamed into a pillow. Rage flicked lava at him, which Remus caught in his mouth. "Spicy."

"Uh...kiddo, I don't think that's the...word."

"What? Enjoying suffering is kinky. You all like to suffer. Ergo, kinky."

"Not even I have the energy to argue with him," Logan grumbled. "Let it go."

Janus rolled his eyes, plugged his ears, and slipped a sleep mask over his eyes. Everyone was laying down. His job was done. Later he'd get a bubble bath out of the whole affair and the Mindscape could burn while he did. He'd earned it.