#who is mikhail

[sho-haizono]

Wait isn't that . Mishas voice ?

[kyouka-supremacy]

Mikhail Bulgakov, The Master and Margarita (1967) Kafka Asagiri, Bungo Stray Dogs chapter 114.5 (2024)

[withoutheartwedallfallapart]

All of you who says that there is no other love interest for Will other than Mike really did forget about Mikhail Antonov and it shows.

[feroluce]

So I finally had time to sit down and play through 2.3 this week and man I have a lot of Feelings about all of it, but today it's about Gallagher and Mikhail because!

The devotion of a dog! Gallagher's dedication lasting beyond Mikhail's death and then some! The way he let himself be seen through knowing it would mean his own death because it would help to accomplish his and Mikhail's dream! The immense regret and long lasting guilt of not helping Mikhail when he needed him! THE WAY MISHA CALLS GALLAGHER "MY HOUND-"

Ahem. I'm normal I swear. Anyway.

And one of my favorite displays of this undying loyalty? This.

This is the record you unlock in 2.3 after Siobahn brings up Gallagher's death in the Dreamjolt Hostelry. Right after "to the Nameless resting in peace... and to Gallagher."

La Messe de l'athée translates to The Mass of the Atheist. It was a short story about a man who goes to church, and is surprised to see another man whom he knows is an atheist attending mass, all alone. When questioned, the atheist says that he attends for a friend. This friend had banded with him when they were both poor, and acted as a father figure to him. The atheist managed to pull himself from poverty with his help, and did everything he could to repay and take care of his friend thereafter.

The friend died of illness some years later.

The atheist is still an atheist. But he attends mass on the behalf of the religious friend that saved him, and recites the prayers he heard whispered on his deathbed. These borrowed prayers are the closest a man like him could get to being a true believer, but he always holds out hope that those beliefs might enter his head.

There is so much in there, in the story they decided on as our final memento of Gallagher, that this is what was chosen to immortalize him, and ARGH OTL

[ruvviks]

The Dobrynin family is a corpo family through and through, rooted in Arasaka and Orbital Air going back by several generations; though their powerful position within the corporate world ends with the children of Nadya and Matvey Dobrynin. With Vitali and Daniil fired from Arasaka and Kang Tao respectively— the former indirectly getting his parents fired, too— and Roksana having refused to set foot within a megacorporation from the start, the family begins crumbling apart at the very seams when clashing interests lead to grudges, betrayal, and pointless acts of revenge. ↳ read the unrevised fic here if you're interested!

taglist (opt in/out)

@shellibisshe, @florbelles, @ncytiri, @roseeway, @stars-of-the-heart;

@lestatlioncunt, @katsigian, @radioactiveshitstorm, @estevnys, @adelaidedrubman;

@celticwoman, @rindemption, @carlosoliveiraa, @noirapocalypto, @dickytwister;

@killerspinal, @euryalex, @ri-a-rose, @velocitic, @thedeadthree;

@kanos, @swordcoasts, @ordinarymaine, @claudiawolf, @strafethesesinners

[sicahyart]

So glad we're finally getting a Mikhail figure

[nikothebookdragon]

which figure skating programme permanently altered your brain chemistry?

(any discipline!)

fs fans pls interact, trying to find some moots who are equally obsessed with this crazy sport :')

[cy-lindric]

Hi! I just saw your La Dame de Monsoreau art and it's just perfect! I also wanted to ask if you saw the russian 1997 adaptation of the book? The costumes and the casting is sooo marvelous, I think you would really enjoy it!

Thank you !

I haven't seen it yet ! But I watched Королева Марго and I loved a lot of the visuals and performances so I'm excited to hopefully watch it soon, since it's the from same production team. I think a kind soul actually uploaded a version subbed in french on YT so I'm planning to dig in after I come back from vacations !

I sometimes do watch threads on my side twitter (@julotdulac) with screencaps so I'll probably talk about it ! Idk if you guys would be interested in seeing me do something similar on here, or if that'd just be too spammy...

Anyway, looking forward to it !!

[rjfischer]

young bobby fischer visiting mikhail tal in the hospital (1962)

[prettyasukas]

Just think, if Truman wasn't kidnapped right then at the end of Psychonauts 1, then the Couch would have exploded in his jeep.

[awkwardgtace]

Good Hunting

hey hey gt july day 6. Stories might slow down after this one. Been a bit busy and couldn't prep plus a week long trip in less than a week. I will still do the entire month of them though!

Ian goes out into the forest to prove he can be hunter like the others in his village. It doesn't go as planned.

Good Hunting

“You’re weak.”

“A waste of our time.”

“Just be quiet and accept what you get.”

“All you are is a burden!”

The words echoed in Ian’s head as he trudged through the forest. He would prove he could be useful to the village. A hunter like everyone else. He’d said as much as he left. On his own he would hunt something for the village. Something the others had to use a group for. He’d bring it back and prove they were wrong. Prove he belonged.

Ian ran all the lessons through his head again and again. All the ways to stay undetected. Keep his movement slow and quiet. Avoid anything that could potentially make a noise under his weight. He wasn’t the perfect choice for a hunter, but he could do it. He’d prove it to the village and himself.

The sound of a snort made him freeze. Luck could be on his side just for once. He held his breath, pulled a sword from his side, and waited. The snort sounded alongside a rustle in the brush. It just had to walk away. The easiest kills were from behind. That’s what he’d been taught.

Unfortunately, luck wasn’t on his side. A gigantic boar’s face broke through the brush in front of him. He fell back in shock. The warm breath against his skin made him shudder. Ian forced himself to his feet. The boar snorted at him. It was bigger than anything the others brought back. That didn’t matter. If he was smart he could win.

Ian inched back from the boar. Its beady black eyes stayed trained on him, but it didn’t charge. His sword felt heavy in his hand. The boar scraped one hooved foot against the ground. He tensed. It moved.

As he dodged to the side, Ian swiped his sword at the boar. The metal snapped on contact. Ian’s blood turned to ice as he watched half his sword hit the ground. The boar reared on him again. Ian turned and ran.

The boar’s steps matched the loud thumps of his heart in his ears. There were two options. Take the path towards the village or go deeper into the forest. It should be an easy decision, but the sword made it hard. He was given one supposedly used by the other hunters, but it snapped. Ian closed his eyes and veered off the path into an unknown danger ahead.

He tore through the brush as he neared it. Stumbled over roots and fallen branches. Begged for some the boar to lose interest. The heavy grunts of the animal were right on his heels. He tried to duck under a low branch, but his foot got caught in an exposed root. He fell forward, the boar’s shadow eclipsed him immediately. He flipped onto his back, forced to face the monster about to kill him.

The boar knew it had won. It sauntered over lazily. Confident its prey couldn’t escape. The awful stench of its breath was the last thing Ian would ever smell. The thing's mouth came close to him. The snout pressed against his head. He could feel as it smelled him. The way the air was pulled in.

The idiocy of his choice settled on him then. This boar was big enough to bite him in half. He never could have escaped. Ian tried to use the broken sword to at least injure it, but the metal wasn’t strong enough. The boar knocked it out of Ian’s hand with a huff. He watched, tears in his eyes, as the broken weapon landed just out of reach. Even if it wouldn’t help, it gave him hope while he held it.

The boar’s mouth settled right above his head. He stared at what was about to kill him. Tried to be brave, but couldn’t keep himself from squeezing his eyes shut. That only made the moment worse. The boar’s weight grew as it settled in for its meal. It knocked the breath out of him. He swore it was enough to crush the life out of him. That would be a better way to die than the boar eating him. 

The boar squealed. Loud enough it made his ears ring. If that wasn’t bad enough he heard a loud, familiar crack. A bone had broken. He waited for the pain, but it never came. Instead the squeal grew louder.

Ian tried to move his arms. The boar’s legs started to scrape the ground around him, the squeal morphed into more of a screech. He never would have imagined this was how boars handled their prey. Another crack. Louder. Sickening. The boar’s weight increased. Ian couldn’t breathe. It lasted for only a moment before the weight was gone.

He took deep breaths as he tried to sit up. His body was sore. Only sore. That unfortunately made sense once he looked up. The boar, its body rather, was in the air. Held by a hand that went up and up and up to a person’s pale face. Ian hadn’t heard of giants before. For a second he thought he might be saved.

Then the stranger opened his mouth. Ian watched as a forked tongue poked out between fangs. Dread filled him. There was only one creature that big with those features. He couldn’t pull his eyes away as the being shoved the boar into his mouth. It was gone after a few swallows. Ian was so much smaller than the boar; he wasn’t even enough for a mouthful.

“Lucky I showed up, kid,” the giant creature said. Ian scrambled back as a scaled green tail slithered into view. The man rested his arm on it, as if it was natural.

“A-a n-naga?!” Ian croaked. The naga’s slit blue eyes rolled. The green tail slithered out of view. Ian scrambled away from it. He couldn’t let this happen.

“Yeah, yeah,” the naga waved a hand, “I’m a big scary naga. Clearly here to eat you after I saved you.”

The biting sarcasm told him enough. At least that he wasn’t a meal, but Ian couldn’t get rid of his fear. He looked towards the sword. He knew it wouldn’t help, but he’d feel safer. The naga’s eyes didn’t leave him. It wasn’t smart to dive for the sword… He did it anyway. 

As soon as his body left the ground, hands surrounded him. It was more terrifying when he saw the skin was a rich brown rather than rosy pale. He tried to fight against the hands holding him. This one had to be a lot smaller. It needed both hands to hold him. The sword could maybe pierce this skin.

“Calm down,” the new naga said. Ian ignored the way it sounded. Focused only on escape. If he got out, maybe he could hunt something smaller. With a sword barely stronger than the wooden training weapons…

Slowly, the fight left him. The swords of his village were known for their strength and durability. A hunter’s sword never would have broken against the boar’s hide. He was given that one on purpose. The village didn’t want him. There was no one there for him since his brother died. Going back would only bring him more pain.

“We’re not going to hurt you,” the one holding him said. This time Ian couldn’t ignore how familiar it sounded. That made the idea of giving up all the sweeter. “I’m going to take you home.”

“I can’t go home,” Ian whispered as he went limp. Apparently that made the naga want to see him. One of the hands moved. It took a while for him to choose to look at this naga’s face. A naga was a better death than a boar. They might at least make it painless. 

“Ian?!” the naga shouted. It made him flinch. He stared up at the eyes of the naga. A bit of his fear came back. He didn’t know any nagas. “You shouldn’t be out here… what happened? Why can’t you go home?”

A finger rubbed his arm. It was familiar. Just like the voice. Ian forced himself to really look at the naga that held him. He recognized the green eyes, even if they had slit pupils now. The face was one he’d seen a million times. The sharp features that almost hid how kind the person really was…

“Mik?” Ian asked, his eyes wide. “Is that really you? Y-you’re alive?!”

“Wait, this is the one you always talk about? The little brother?” the other naga’s voice made Ian flinch. The fingers around him curled in. Shielded him. It reminded him of the way his brother would protect him from the others in the village.

“Alec, not now,” Mik’s voice was stern. The glare was familiar too. The second the eyes were back on him they were soft and concerned. Just like his brother… “It’s me Ian. You’re safe, I promise.”

“How-I-” Ian swallowed to try and force the words. “You died… You never came back after a trip to gather herbs. That’s what everyone said.”

The fingers curled in around him more. He was brought up to meet Mik’s eyes. Now he could see the fangs the brother he knew didn’t have. A finger curled over him and Ian finally noticed the sharp, black claws. He wanted to trust this version of his brother, even if it ended in his death.

“Well, that’s a bit of a long story,” Mik said. The way he turned his head away was the same. How he looked up to avoid answering. A lot bigger, but the same.

“Come on Mikhail,” Alec said. Ian jumped as a massive arm landed on Mik’s shoulders. He could see just how small his brother was in comparison. “You’re gonna avoid it still. I’ll tell him if you won’t.”

“Alec let me-” Ian was grabbed by the bigger naga. Dropped in a palm with fingers he couldn’t hope to match.

“The kid here was always a naga. Sometimes a kid hatches that looks human. Sometimes they are human. Either way they’re given to a village that knows about the situation. Didn’t happen for Mikhail here.”

“Why not?” Ian asked. Mik’s fingers were on Alec’s hand. Clearly trying to take him back.

“Hunters from your village saw two nagas with a little human. Killed them and took the kid. Brought him home and gave him to some others.”

“Alec!” Alec’s hand moved down enough that Mik's fingers found him. Ian was wrapped in them. It almost made him feel like a doll. He was set back in Mik’s cupped palms. “None of that matters anymore. Ian, why can’t you go home?”

Ian looked back up at Alec. The larger naga shook his head and looked disappointed. Mik was probably right. The past didn’t matter anymore. At least not all of it. Ian had questions he needed answered. Ones that he had to know before he could explain why he couldn’t go home.

“Why did you leave?” Ian asked. His voice cracked as he did. Revealing his pain.

“Ian…” Mik pulled him close. Pressed him against his chest. The closest thing to a hug Ian had since the day his brother never came home. “I didn’t have a choice… The others saw scales on my legs and made me leave. I was going to leave on my own, but they noticed my height change… I’m actually still growing.”

“That’s right,” Alec said. “Kid’s gonna be as big as me eventually.”

“Is that why you didn’t come get me?” Ian wiped at the tears he couldn’t stop. “I’m just a human. Is it because I’m too small or because they killed your parents? Do you hate me? ”

“Of course I don’t hate you!” The pressure around him grew. Only for pale fingers to force their way into the small spot of safety. Ian was forced to stare up at Alec. Face a lot softer, kinder.

“He did try. It’s how I found him. Those hunters nearly killed him when he got close… Which reminds me, why didn’t that sword of yours hurt the boar? The metal is strong enough to cut my skin.”

Both nagas stared at him. He couldn’t avoid the question. Alec had a knowing look. As if he had the answer Ian didn’t want to give. Why he couldn’t go home. Why the sword broke. He bit his lip, but Alec moved away. Came back with the sword pinched between claws. Ian wanted to come up with a lie, but the larger naga smelled it.

“This isn’t the right metal,” he growled. Ian hugged himself. Mik’s fingers curled in around him.

“Ian, did you sneak out? Is that why you can’t go back?” Mik asked. Ian didn’t want to answer. They said Mik tried to get him, but that didn’t mean he was wanted. Two gigantic nagas and he was a human. Eventually he’d barely be the size of Mik’s fingers. He would be a burden around the naga too.

“No…” he whispered. The fingers surrounded him completely. He couldn’t see anything but skin anymore.

“They sent you out here, didn’t they?” Mik’s voice was harsh. Angry. Ian shook, he couldn’t remember the last time he heard Mik angry. The fingers moved and revealed him again, he didn’t want to see him. “With a bad weapon… You can’t go back because they don’t expect you back.”

Ian nodded. The words wouldn’t leave him. He expected to be dropped. Left behind how the village expected. Killed by something big enough to crush him. Maybe Mik or Alec would take pity on him and kill him fast. So he didn’t starve or get crushed later.

“Guess you should go get the kid set up,” Alec’s voice snapped Ian out of his thoughts. He looked up, shocked to see tears on Mik’s face. That one he’d never seen. “I’ll catch something for you kids to eat. I’m the adult and all that.”

“You still haven’t told me your age,” Mik mumbled. 

Fingers curled over Ian again. He was brought close to his brother’s heart. It sounded the same. Just how it did when they were the same size. After nightmares or bad days of training. There was just enough space he could see the trees pass by. He had no idea what it meant to get set up.

“...I tried to get you a lot Ian,” Mik whispered. “Even after Alec found me. I couldn’t get close enough to our house to get your attention without alerting the whole village.”

“What would you have done if you got my attention?” Ian asked.

“Asked if you wanted to come with me.” Mik paused and opened his hands enough Ian met his eyes. “Neither of us ever fit in there.”

“So… you aren’t going to send me to some other village?”

“Not unless you want to go. Alec actually knows a few of the villages that talk to nagas. He’s gotten stuff in case I managed to reach you and you wanted to stay. I told him you were good at making weapons so he got some of those tools. Mentioned using his claws to make them so you could go in the forest and keep the danger away.”

“So… you really want me to be around?”

Mik brought Ian up to his face. It was intimidating and comforting. A face Ian knew well. One that had been his rock. The only one who tried to understand him. Now they were literally different species. They weren’t the same or even close to being similar. Ian was going to be smaller than his fingers. That didn’t stop Mik from pressing his forehead to his hand. Just like all the times when Mik would talk Ian out of his spirals. Foreheads pressed together so he couldn’t look away.

“I missed you Ian. Of course I want my little brother around,” Mik whispered.

“I missed you too,” Ian sobbed. An action seeded in idiotic bravery turned out better than he could have imagined. His brother was back and he’d figure out Alec eventually.

[fairy-writes]

GUYS GUYS

HOLD EVERYTHING

LOOKIT

i got my commission back from the amazing and lovely @yumezai with mikhail and my character idris!

(yes i know mikhail technically has shorter hair than he does in the anime but in this story he gets a hair cut)

her instagram

idris's story!

[textingtroublesanswers]

It seems so! Though from what I understand it's not as strong as from an animal or human source, so you end up needing more plant matter and to do more refinement, but people will still grow these hybrid healing plants at home for minor injuries and wounds. I've heard of people growing a variety hybridized with mint since it's very hardy and easy to spread. It just can be a little difficult to get your hands on one of these plants in my time. You either get ones that are more difficult to keep alive but do a better job of healing or you get hardier plants but the healing factor isn't as strong.

Though before all the science was going towards the... whole.... parasite... thing... I'd heard they were trying to see if they could use mushrooms too, seeing as the healing factor seemed to mess with the chlorophyll of plants, but if they can get it to work with mushrooms there's no chlorophyll to effect!

Maybe looking into either avenue could be beneficial!

-🦖

(I love science fiction, I love theoretical science, I love science that may someday become reality, I love youuuuu。･:*:･(✿◕3◕)❤)

Mod B: I'm not a huge fan of sci-fi, especially sci-fi that takes place in space or on other plants, but man do I adore some speculative biology!

Ludwig watches you carefully as you talk, nodding along in certain moments, "Mhm, I see. That is all very fascinating. I will have to look into this myself, maybe I'll manage to start the research process for such plants earlier in this timeline than in your original one. I will have to bring back one of these plants with me when we go to the future." He bounces Maria on his knee a bit, looking around himself for something to write on.

[elegyofthemoon]

ok i dont think this is anything related to the watchmaker and all that stuff, but i think its insane that the Family turns traitors into memory zone memes because the concept of the memory zone memes is just that they were created by the true Dreamscape and from the emotions of those within the Dreamscape

this was from the emoscape with Mr McCoy in Dewlight Pavilion, where he was ordered by the Dreammaster to turn his siblings, who were apparently selling information to the IPC about the Family, into memory zone memes, but now i'm wondering just how many people got turned into memory zone memes for being a traitor

I would have said too that maybe the Family - trying to seek out the traitor and the killer of the first Oak Family Head - framed the Watchmaker and possibly turned him into a memory zone meme as well, but the Family is trying to search for the Watchmaker so that's less likely the case. But I just love seeing how fucked up actually the Family can be AND getting more information about the Dreammaster since there really isn't much of anything

[ruvviks]

Mikhail and Vitali were inseparable; when they weren’t studying or getting into fights, they would hang out at Mikhail’s place to smoke and get drunk on cheap rum and vodka, to then pass out in each other’s arms and sleep most of the next day away. They promised each other— no matter what would happen— they would never leave each other’s side. Yet after starting university and college respectively, they did not see each other for a little over six years, leaving them both heartbroken and wondering what went wrong.

by lucas expedidor // catch me if you can; eden // clementine von radics, from 'courtney love prays to oregon' // sam sax, cruising: a broken tiara // 'ceramic home' by heavensghost; quote from john murillo // 'something's changed' by laiikastears // i don't want to watch the world end with someone else; clinton kane // fortesa latifi, from 'the truth about grief' // audre lorde, the evening news // frank o'hara, biotherm (for bill berkson) // heading home; ruben // 'preface to a dream' by alessandra casini // tokyo; caroline kole // langston hughes, poem // haruki murakami, norwegian wood // julie buntin, marlena // by lute // by aleksandr popov // anyway; noah kahan // christa wolf, cassandra: a novel and four essays

[ciderbird]

The last post reminded me of something I was reading up on recently. In 1812 Alexander was forced to fire Speransky, his state secretary (who’s reforms were growing unpopular with the nobles and the tsar had to placate the public), and the latter came out of the emperor’s office after the 2 hour long interview “pale and covered in tears” and when asked said that the tears weren’t his.

Alexander really called on him to fire the man and ended up being the one crying