Comic Archive

Prologue

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Chapter One: RUINS

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INTERLUDE: DOG DAYS

part 1 part 2

Chapter Two: HOMESICK

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KISSIN' BOOKS BY MERRY

Hello! I write queer, medieval romance books - and you can find them below. Currently, I'm working on the Hartswood series, which is three separate, standalone stories with connecting characters.

My books are available wherever books are sold, online, and in ebook/audiobook format.

One Night in Hartswood

Oxford 1360

When his sister’s betrothed vanishes the night before her politically arranged marriage, Raff Barden must track and return the elusive groom to restore his family’s honour.

William de Foucart ― known to his friends as Penn ― had no choice but to abandon his intended, and with it his own earldom, when he fled the night before his enforced marriage. But ill-equipped to survive on the run he must trust the kindness of a stranger, Raff, to help him escape.

Unaware their fates are already entwined, the men journey north. But amidst the snow-capped forests an unexpected bond deepens into a far more precious relationship, one that will test all that they hold dear. And when secrets are finally revealed, both men must decide what they will risk for the one they love…

You can read more about ONIH here!

And browse my ONIH tag here 💖

All the Painted Stars

The first sequel to One Night in Hartswood! Out 28th March in the UK and 5th November in North America.

Oxford 1362

When Lily Barden discovers her best friend Johanna’s hand in marriage is being awarded as a prize at a tournament, she is determined to stop it. Disguised as a knight, she infiltrates the contest to fight for Jo’s hand. But her conduct ruffles feathers, and when a dangerous incident escalates out of Lily’s control, Jo must help her escape.

Finding safety with a local brewster, Lily and Jo soon settle into their new freedom, and amongst blackberry bushes and lakeside walks an unexpected relationship blossoms. But when Jo’s past catches up with her and Lily’s reckless behaviour threatens their newfound happiness, both women realise that choices must always come at a cost...

You can read more about ATPS here!

And browse my ATPS tag here 💜

Watch this space for Hartswood Book 3, aka Ash's Book!

❁ flora, twenty, she/her

❁ scream within the storm of uncertainty and run with flowing blood

welcome to my flower patch ❁

canonical wife to fyodor

18+ blog, minors dni

❁ masterlist  ❁

tags ❁ who is flora?  ❁  requests are: ☆ open ☆   

Just a little something I wanted to do, because it's one of my favourite go-to tropes. 💚😩

Marvolo x MC 💚

Maid at Gaunt Manor MC, I just love this vibe

She had been a maid at Gaunt Manor for a few months now, living in the servents quarters of the estate. The job was fairly standard for the most part, cleaning, helping in the kitchen, general serving, and she made a decent living from doing her job there, though she didn't get much time to herself.

The morning started like any another, with the senior housekeeper Miss Lyons fussing at them all to get ready and start their duties. MC rolled her eyes behind her back as she put on her pinafore before heading over to the main part of the Manor.

She always enjoyed doing her cleaning duties, the Dark Academia feel to the Manor was her aesthetic and she adored looking at all the antiques around the place and the beautifully carved wood work, though she'd seen it all many times now since working there, but nonetheless, she never got tired of seeing it.

There was also another reason she liked her job there so much, and that was the Gaunts eldest son, Marvolo. The two of them would often share looks across rooms, his cheeky smirk as he'd give her glances around the house made her swoon, but of course, she knew her place in this house. The two of them rarely got chances to talk, and even if they did, it would be frowned upon, she'd get an earful from her senior if she was ever to be caught flirting or even standing around talking to him, and she was pretty certain Marvolo would get equal treatment from his parents if he was to be seen doing to the same with her.

She headed into the library room, her favourite room of the Manor, and began dusting the shelves, putting books away, making sure everything in there was tip-top. She stopped for a moment, looking at one of the books she'd picked up. Seeing it was a romance novel, she opened it up, reading for the first few lines. "Good morning" a deep voice from behind her spoke, in a panic she dropped the book, then looked over towards the door, seeing that Marvolo had wandered in, "Good morning, Sir" she bowed slightly "I was just-" before she could finish her sentence Marvolo chuckled and approached, picking up the book she'd dropped and looking at it "Dont panic so much..I don't care that you were enjoying a little reading rather than doing your job" he smirked. MC couldn't help but blush a little and let out a small nervous giggle. Marvolo handed her the book with a curious look on his face "You can borrow it, if you like..Take it back to the quarters with you" MC shook her head slightly "My senior would throw a fit if she saw me with it, she'd question where I got it from" a small frown crossed Marvolos lips "Then you tell her I let you borrow it" MC looked up at him again "I'm not even supposed to be talking to you, never mind borrowing books from you." Marvolo stepped closer to her. She'd never been so close to him before. She felt her heart race a little. "Then perhaps late in the evenings, you could sneak to my room for a couple of hours, And I could read it to you, we could make a nightly thing of it..Could be fun?" A devilish little grin curled onto his lips as he looked at her, waiting for her reaction. MC felt like she must have been as red as a tomato from hearing those words. His voice stabbed her like a knife every time she heard him talk. She whispered coyly "I'd love that..But there would be hell to pay if I got caught" Marvolo reached out, tucking a loose bit of hair that had fallen out of her bonnet behind her ear, before he whispered "The offer is there, when you have the confidence to take it" he smirked once more, he then moved away from her once they heard footsteps approaching, and made his way over to a chair in the house library room, MC quickly picked up her duster and began working on a shelf, acting like she'd been doing it for some time. Miss Lyons entered the room. "There you are!" She scowled. "What's taking so long? You're needed upstairs" MC turned to her, bowing again "Yes, Miss Lyons, apologies, I was just finishing up in here" The older woman clicked her tongue in irritation before noticing Marvolo sat looking at her from the chair "Sorry, Sir. She'll be out of your hair in a moment." Marvolo gave her a fake half smile. "No worries. She's no trouble at all. In fact, she's a very good worker, you're lucky to have her." He narrowed his eyes at the senior housekeeper "And what have you been doing today so far? Other than telling your staff what to do?" MC wanted to chuckle, but naturally she couldn't, Miss Lyons hesitated slightly before speaking "I..I was about to also make my way upstairs. To see to the bedrooms." Another fake smile "Good" Marvolo grinned. "Everyone has to pull their weight around here, wouldn't you agree?" MC could hear the badly hidden panic in her seniors voice. "Yes, Sir. Absolutely." Miss Lyons turned to MC. "Come along now, girl," she spoke before leaving the room. MC gathered her things before going to leave the room herself to head upstairs, she turned back to look at Marvolo, giving him a sweet smile, he returned her smile with a wink and another cheeky grin of his own. MC's heart fluttered as she left the room, wondering if she should take him up on his offer, thoughts crept into her mind of what they could get up to together, in the night, alone in his room.

~

hiii welcome to my fic rec masterlist. see my other posts too if you like (horror original trueform queer)

housekeeping first. i've bolded my favorite ones in each category. i tried not to replicate categories i've made a seperate rec list for, however there are definitely some duplicate fics. if you have any questions about the categories or the fics themselves, feel free to send an ask. that being said, it's been a while since i've read a few of these but what can you do. anyways yea heed the author's warnings and minors don't click on that one category please.

all time favorite fics: empty spaces in between the lines & settle.

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classics (imo)

so says the sword ~ the cost of a thing ~ tell me about the dream ~ on drowning ~ the dean winchester beat sheet ~ four letter word for intercourse ~ psalm 40:2 ~ the cheapest room in the house

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post-canon (ish)

on labor ~ and what'll you do now, my darling young one? ~ now, baby, i'm sure ~ fenario ~ hold onto your voice, hold onto your breath ~ swimming with the fish pond fish ~ give me a reason to carry on ~ built to roam ~ command me to be well ~ aching in the absence of you ~ take the bones, begin anew ~ bellvue ~ blackwater lakes ~ stay ~ sometimes you'll find that i'm out of my mind ~ reach your hand inside me and touch my very soul

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cas-centric

sufficient for thee ~ looking for a creation myth ~ by your ancient names ~ athathema ~ this was your child ~ the sun on his face ~ shade ~ what's in a name? ~ killing time ~ it's such a mystery (the way you know me) ~ the anatomy of flightless birds

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extra lore

you can keep holding on ~ flight ~ forgotten ~ all things shining ~ down to agincourt

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mostly sex but also makes you think

riptides ~ wavelength-gasm ~ i wanna get outside (of me) ~ you see me in the lovely garden tending ~ of our house ~ dying to let you know ~ tell your man ~ this is religion ~ want you to know

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specific mental health issues

use cinderblocks to build a staircase ~ peace comes upon me (and it leaves me weak) ~ aftermath after aftermath ~ empty spaces ~ leave the stones unturned

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short one shots

death of a salesman ~ easy, gentle kiss ~ saw you hiding in the ivy ~ clouds in the sky of my soul ~ i spread forth my hands unto thee ~ patching up an angel ~ it's gettin' old ~ of goats and lasagna ~ magnetic north

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endverse cas or godstiel (aka angst and gun fellatio)

epilogue ~ with a taste of your lips ~ heaven help the fool who falls in love ~ this is my gun (there are many like it, but this one's mine)

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bonuses which i dont know how to organize yet but are very much worth a read

honey-baked ~ stories are made of mistakes ~ remaining grace ~ canticles ~ plain language ~ my week ~ the skeletons in both our closets plotted hard to fuck this up ~ am i a man, or am i a muppet? ~ in my eyes (you're second to none)* ~ the tunnel of love ~ penny & pound

Anyways here’s some stuff i would do if disney came up to me and said hey write ducktales season 4 -

- Webby has a major identity crisis because of the clone thing, that’s her main plot this season. She’s trying to figure out who she is whilst the entire world is continuously comparing her to Scrooge.

- BIG emphasis on family vs biology.

- If in writing this s4 i can’t make any changes to the previous seasons then i don’t think i can get rid of the dad thing bc like, it’d be weird if they made a big deal abt her calling scrooge dad and then nerfed it next season, like as a viewer i’d find that weird, so we’re keeping that. With the extension of her, at some point, starting to call Beakley mum

- Maybe our big “twist” this season is that webby isn’t related to scrooge, but she still calls him dad in the end

- Huey is ALSO having an identity crisis! We’re playing with the fact that his arch didnt get revolved last season. He’s always been the smart one out of his brothers, but now Louie is shaping up to be a successful business person and Dewey is gonna be a pilot, and Huey has no idea what he’s doing with his life.

- May and june are with donald and daisy on their like cruise thing the whole season, and appear once per episode via a zoom call on an ipad. Donald and daisy appear sometimes too. Their whole running bit is that they’re convinced they’re now leading a normal life but it becomes increasingly obvious they’re just as weird as donald (affectionate). The four of them appear in person in the season finale

- We will not be introducing any new characters for no reason I swear to god. The only new character i’m even CONSIDERING introducing is Morgana and that’s it. This season will have a much heavier focus on our actual main characters. Aside from maybe morgana the only “new” characters would be mentioned, like an adult talking about their parents or showing a picture

- Beakley officially retires this season (not immediately, a couple episodes in, we get an ep about it)

- She also feels very guilty about all the lying so in an effort to stop doing that she has now flipped to the opposite end of the spectrum - brutal honesty. She speaks her mind 100% of the time and she rarley has nice things to say. You are never more than 5 minutes away from beakley roasting the shit out of you because that was just on her mind

- For simplicity’s sake she never had any kids before webby, that was a complete lie and the “Mrs” thing was an alias. I don’t want to spend time introducing three new characters, i wanna focus on our existing ones.

- For the first episode or two she is intentionalyl side lined, and then we get an ep more focused on her which shows she not only feels incredibly guilty abt the events of last season, but she also feels liek she doesn’t have a place in the family and is just there bc she’s the housekeeper. This episode would end with her finally officially retiring and staying in the manor, showing that she’s there because she’s family, not because she’s staff.

- Once retired we also get an episode that just shows beakley going stir crazy bc she’s bad at being retired lol

- An episode about sccrooge and beakley bonding! Scrooge sees webby and her friends together, or maybe they ask him who his best friend is and he’s like ah me and beakley! But then realises they haven't been as close in the past few years and whisks her off on a good ol mcduck and 22 adventure

- Hdlw sibling content. We are getting a reference to them seeing eachother as siblings like it or not. Maybe it happens bc webby goes “Hey, technically i’m your cousin” and the boys go “uh, no. you’re our sister, end of”

- W e b l e n a. Not clickbait. We resolve lena’s outburst at may and june from last adventure, we see her and violet talking and violets like “you dont see webby as your sister. You’’re very gay for her”

- LP being smart. We get some of that. We see his emotional maturity.

- Louie and dewey kinda take a backseat this season. They get some episodes and they’re, yk, there for a lot of them as supporting characters but their main archs are mainly resolved, so they mainly get some mini stuff this season

- Our big bad this season is probably negaduck bc like i said im not introducing a new villain

- I do think it’d be kinda cool to have a fucked up heron who clawed her way out of non existance and is in this fucked up glitched half alive state, who’s only purpose and thoughts are to destroy mcduck and 22

- Also at least one flashback episode, maybe a mothers day special that has the kids bonding with della and beakley in the present, and keeps having flashbacks to della and bealey having an adenture in the past

- Webbys starts calling della Aunt Della, the boys start calling Beakley Aunt B (usually i like the idea of them calling her granny like webby but if she’s calling beakley mom then that doesn’t make sense. Also it’d play into the “you have a very strange family dynamic thing” since they’re siblings but also theyve got two seperate moms)

- The boys get a bonding ep with scrooge to show he still values them even though webby is his “”real kid””

- Ep abt the boys missing donald on his trip :( maybe this is the first time we see donald on the facetime call

- I like the idea of sometimes there just being. Other people in the facetime calls. Like the kids are trying to talk to may and june and the three caballeros are int he background. Storkules is serenading donald and daisy. “Oh yeah those are our other parents. Donald and daisy have quite the polycule going on. You should see aunt min- *connection failed*”

- I wanna do smthn with the darkwing trio that can resolve with gos calling drake dad (maybe in the finale he gets injured and shes like NO DAD)

- Maybe an ep where webby finds out gos and dewey are close and she’s like wait. But WE are best freinds and hes like bruh youve got lena why cant i vibe with gosalyn. And webby tries really hard to have beef with gos but she just can’t do it she’s too nice and they end up being a trio

- An episode where fergus and downy visit the manor. And it turns out they’ve met beakley before bc scrooge used to bring her over sometimes and they’ve long since gone “yup thats our daughter. Wdym you just has the sibling talk recently bro we’ve known this for years we have 3 daughters moving on”

- Maybe matilda comes too and she and beakley have a sister bonding ep (bc beakley and scrooge will prolly have already had a few this season)

- I’d wanna have the kids bonding with fergus and downy for the main plot bc honestly we’ve not seen much of that lmao. Also donald talks to them on his zoom call bc yeah idk

- DELLA TALKS ABT HER TRUAMA. FROM BEING ON THE FUCKING MOON.

- Dellumbra :)

- bonding ep for the boys and beakley

i want a yandere to cut up fruit for me bc i lauv fruit!!

makes me think of a wifey yan!! (i use wifey as a general adjective for like. a doting, housekeeper-ish person!! not meant to be gendered, kinda like girly yan!)

a yan who takes care of you, who prepares your lunches for school together, is at your house more often than not, cleaning and cooking and doting on you!! maybe they’re also a childhood friend who’s very comfortable with taking care of you and being around you at all times!! i know you would probably get sick of this typa yan chami, bc ik you mentioned you’re very independent!! (waaaa so cool :000) but imagine you voice this independence in some way; maybe you tell them straight up that they’re being too overbearing, or you begin coming home later (knowing that they’re already there waiting for you, with dinner and a warm bath drawn and ready), or maybe tensions snap when they greet you at home on a cold day, with what seems to be…someone else’s scarf wrapped around your neck. someone who maybe also cares about you as much as they do. you’re nuzzling into it a bit, and your cheeks are a little flushed.

they don’t like that.

-sunny :3

aaaa a housewife yandere.... theyre so violent by nature! not with their darling of course but with anyone who dares mess up their perfect little life!

they cook, they clean, they make sure everything is perfect for you and to make the plot more interesting, they arent even your partner! theyre just a friend! they have a delusion they are and when youre off working, they love going into your room and imagining they share it with you <3 make your bed like its gonna have two people sleeping it in, sometimes 'misplace' their clothes and hang them up in your closet, put their toothbrush right next to yours, anything that makes it look like you two are married!

they even attend work events with you! attached to your side, holding your arm or hand, well... anyone would mistake you two for a couple! housewife yandere just laughs while you awkwardly laugh along and kindly correct the stranger but housewife is screaming on the inside. sometimes, when theyre running errands, theyll even put a big flashy ring on their hand and 'casually' bring you up in conversation, saying your their partner <3 working so hard for them! they just want a happy, married life!

better hope you dont want kids cause they absolutely will kidnap one or more for you but dont worry, they only take kids who are up for adoption!

i bet they have a little yandere club too, that they call their 'book club' so they get all of their tips and tricks from there! a very morbid version of a housewife monthly type of thing. and if you start dating... well, the book club wont even bat an eye when your yandere asks how to get blood out of their grout.

youve known housewife your entire life! theyre your best friend! you two are so close and you even joke about being soulmates! so when you start gushing about someone from work while they take your coat off and lead you to the bath... well, they plan on bringing you your lunch tomorrow just so they can size up their competition and i just know theyve got connections. a local butcher who is more than willing to rent them space in their freezer, another housewife from down the street who has a partner that enjoys collecting weapons, so many friends who will keep an eye out for any 'suspicious' activity, even some housewife friends who are more than willing to say theyve been seeing your crush hanging around their childrens schools!

i also imagine housewife yandere to be very.. functional! unlike sensitive yandere, they dont mind other people and even have a pretty good social life! they even have a few farmer friends who wont even bat an eye if they show up with a body bag full of 'pig food'. but if someone threatens their fantasy... well, no one suspects the poor little housewife! while you mourn over the loss of a date or friend, housewife yan is right there holding you close and whispering reassurances. hell, theyll even show up to the funeral and offer to bring over a few meals to the deceased's family! no one even notices theyre hateful looks towards the casket!

Heya darlin! Mind if i ask for some AFO/ shie hassaikai shenanigans? Like, were his maid/butler/servant (ik you always try to include everyone), and we have some sorta insane luck, maybe a quirk, or mayve the universe decided to bless us, and we use it to constantly have fun screwing around with AFO/ shie hassaikai?

You dont needa write fir all of them if you dont have energy!

Love ya dearie! 🧸♥️

(Hi, thank you for giving me the option! I'll just do AFO for now and then later if requested, I can do the Shie Hassaikai as well. I know I can just do both of them at once but I'm trying to pick back up my steam for now. Hope this come out well!)

~Annoying the Old Man~

headcanon|scenario|imagine|match-up

-Most would call you beyond lucky to be able to get away with acting the way you do around someone like him. He's pretty much a villain in every sense of the word, yet you are the complete opposite. The reason you're granted the chance to live like this is simply because he's developed close feelings for you and refuses to let go at this point. So he endures you even when it tends to be a bit annoying from time to time.

-You were originally hired to be a butler/maid/help to him. That old mansion aint cleaning itself and there's no way he had the time (or dignity) to be caught dead dusting by the drapes or mopping the floor. He hired you and at first was caught off guard just a bit by your silly personality. Nonetheless, you were good at doing your job and you'd somehow managed to grow him...to an extent.

-Suddenly it became less about your work schedule and a little more about how much time you could spend with him. You'd also noticed the sudden change as well. He asked you a couple times to have lunch with him on his treat. He also started presenting you with gifts often as well. It was probably easy to tell his confession was coming by the time it finally did. However, it's important to note that he let you continue to work under housekeeping even though he was fully ready to hire someone else to do it for you. You mentioned something about how it gave you something to do around the house and he accepted.

-Now to rewind, I will bring to light again that you were probably the most annoying person he'd met at the time which is also why it's a shocker he ended up falling for you. There were constant pranks being pulled (unsuccessfully since he was very vigilant of his surroundings btw). You also tended to tap into the exact things you knew would get underneath his skin like repeating a noise or phrase over and over again. Other times you'd definitely take a very high risk by popping the back of his neck or head when passing him, but he's grown used to it and knows when to expect it so he can deflect your hand easily.

-Whether you want to call it love or just toleration, you get away with it anyhow.

episode 7 thoughts dump (part 1/2)

(this will be referencing this post of mine and this one too)

(part 2 because this is getting too long)

ok so putting things under a cut again bc spoilers obviously <333

(edited a bit because damn i wrote this on a whim)

OK SO ! most of my predictions are. somewhat correct, if not just misplaced in the wrong areas of the episode

the episode IS centered around rei having to realize that kazuki's role in the house is difficult because he has to take care of so much (laundry, cooking, getting miri ready early and sent off to daycare) so i wasn't wrong about that

this conversation is very nice to listen to as well because the thing of kazuki taking care of almost everything if not everything in the house is finally addressed! and they talk about it! somewhat. to mixed results

and he is doing his best my god he is doing his best you're doing so great you cringefail of a man (/pos) but i'm glad that this episode pushed him to a point where he just realizes he has to help kazuki more

this minute pause spoke to me so much because he was about to yell at her but stopped himself before he could..... amazing little detail

OK. NOW. THE SCENE THAT SPAWNED THIS ENTIRE POST. there must've been some kind of falling out between rei + miri and kazuki because he was screaming "I'm... not your housekeeper!" during dinner i'm suspecting that they finally got on his nerves if they never pick up after themselves properly or just the small stuff piled up onto kazuki and he had enough despite usually not really minding the fact that he has to do most if not all of the house chores but another theory i have is that the scene with the photograph is connected and because of the stress, it leads up to him taking it out on rei and miri. i'm distraught i don't want to see this episode but i have to. mfs gonna have a sk8 episode 7 situation and i'm powerless to stop it

recalling this from the second linked post, they do have some kind of falling out!!! and it does refer to the fact that they don't pick up after themselves!!! (and that they don't try to make it easier for kazuki himself)

the other theory is wrong because the thing with his wife doesn't really come up until karin's in the picture ok no i worded that incorrectly, thank you person who replied under the post

the scene is connected! but it did start off from the start of the episode itself, and his the stress that leads up to him going on strike is just from rei and miri not appreciating what he does enough..... poor unappreciated malewife

but yeah they did end up having a sk8 episode 7 but without them actually arguing in person, kazuki just dipped and left early in the morning

he really said he's not going to be coming back home for a while and they can fend for themselves

and kazuki seems to be on a solo mission, which is probably something rei and miri knows about considering they dont look too panicked by kazuki’s absence (rei looks a little frazzled from the daunting housework chores he has to deal with)

(episode 7 trailer post) ok so the solo part is wrong, but now we do know that rei and miri know that kazuki's out of the house and rei is frazzled by the housework

the day of reckoning has arrived for one suwa rei frfr..... it only took one whole day without kazuki doing things for him to realize

kazuki was nice enough to leave notes around for him so he doesn't get TOO lost trying to prepare miri

this means that since they got miri, he hasn't been going out to fool around in the night life and is at home taking care of miri and rei..... interesting

onto the more meatier part of the episode, THE TRAUMA !!! ill go back to the fluff when we're done here <3333 let's start with rei's since it's the tamer part and since we're on the topic of rei having to experience what it's like to be the sole caretaker of the house for once

he cant cook and doesn't know which plate in the fridge is for eating

this reminds me of the very first episode where kazuki tells rei that he left food in the fridge for him that he didn't eat because it was cold

maybe because kazuki papa wants you two to have a balanced meal !!!! also the laundry left out on the couch.... did kazuki just never fold it?

he does not know her schedule At All (to be fair, so does she in some way but the point stands)

but he does have a calendar that he did not check before leaving probably out of panic

time to nitpick a little at rei's choices with good intentions (he's doing his best but these are Not It fr)

why is miri being exposed to the rain like this!!! should've taken the car i feel like because this right here

is what leads to this

poor miri got sick and rei doesn't know what to do so he immediately calls kazuki who doesn't pick up

so he thinks of an alternative,

but the medicine isn't allowed for anybody below 12 so he thinks of another alternative,

but he doesn't know where the hospital is!!! so he ends up in kyutaro's doorstep as a last resort....

Note: referenced a post by @thedarkestcrow several times which I think is a really interesting one. Can’t seem to paste in the link🤨🙄 it was an ask answer about Sebastian’s contract

Hey also if anyone can tell me how to do “read more”on mobile… please tell me 😂🤦‍♀️

Just some character uh, idk analysis/hypothesis??

The more I think about it, the more I reckon Sebastian’s problem is that he has an unfortunate mother hen syndrome which he either isn’t fully aware of OR, more likely, is aware of but actively tries to deny. This is of course going off the assumption there is no governing body for demons like there is for reapers since we’ve never seen anything like that? And that Sebastian’s contract is something he made up for himself with no actual consequences outside his own judgement.

Sebastian goes above and beyond to critique and perfect the conduct of other people who are under his authority. His contract (which I won’t even get into atm lol) only states the following stipulations as far as I recall:

Yet he goes out of his way to not just keep OCiel alive but to rear him as he sees fit. He tries to feed him balanced meals and regulate his sugar intake, he demands the child brush his teeth well, instructs him diligently in various academic subjects etc.

Some of this you could argue is for the sake of the mission, i.e. making OCiel as versatile and cultured as possible in order to maintain social connections necessary for revenge. But I kind of have to wonder, is it even necessary? Like is that degree of adhering to societal expectations really required to reach the end goal? I mean maybe I’m wrong here but I feel like there’s other cheaper, quicker ways they could investigate who’s behind the cult than making alliances with other nobility and whatnot. 🤷‍♀️ Sebastian seems to spend more time teaching OCiel dancing or Latin than bloodily interrogating suspicious people who might be connected to the cult.

Same could be said for how Sebastian treats the servants. He praises them when they manage to or at least make good efforts at upholding high standards of etiquette and efficiency in their roles as housekeepers, even though he knows that isn’t really what they’re useful for. They were hired to be bodyguards in essence. I get that they want housekeepers around to make it look “normal” so people won’t question the Phantomhive household but I just find Sebastian’s dedication to molding them into proper servants a little more intense than is probably necessary? Could be he is just tired of doing everything alone but also this guy built a wholeass mansion in a night alone with magic. He could magically clean the whole house alone if he really wanted to, probably? Or maybe he’s running low on MP from not eating lol. Idk I’m just saying he seems to almost enjoy being a teacher even if his students piss him off.

He tells Will he’s “tired of messily sampling every dish available to him” and how that’s his reason for basically starving himself. I guess it would be like… idk a farmer raising a single giant pumpkin and waiting to eat that instead of growing lots of crops and eating regularly? An obsession with cultivation at the expense of well-being.

At one point the reaper says this about Sebastian compared to other demons:

This suggest you don’t *need* to make a contract to eat a soul, which would mean Sebastian’s suffering is self-inflicted. Because he’s obsessed with rearing and tending to things.

He says he enjoys “playing butler” and what that behavior translates to in Sebastian’s day-to-day life is essentially being a care giver. He enjoys raising and caring for things weaker than himself.

We see a similar behavior when it comes to cats. The main difference here I think is that cats dont seem to be considered demon food as far as we can tell. He doesn’t ever try to write off or hide his love of cats. Keep that in mind for later.

He also mentions that there are pets in his world but he basically indicates that he finds them ugly and unappealing. So having affection for other beings doesn’t seem to be an unusual thing for his species per say? It’s just what they find cute is very different from Sebastian.

There is no discussion of the demonic world other than this, Sebastian never returns there or mentions having friends or something akin to family there etc. He never spends time with other demons in the manga canon even though this panel kind of implies they have some sort of world or society? He seems oddly divorced from his own kind, doesn’t he? Or is that just me that thinks so idk

I think ultimately Sebastian finds what is, for his own kind, considered probably ugly and stupid livestock somehow endearing and cannot really cope with that. He is probably considered weird or creepy by members of his own species, and while he’s aptly aware of that he can’t help but be amused by humans and want to impress them. He doesn’t just fulfill the contract he goes out of his way to do it in a fashion that makes humans go “oh wow.” It’s not for the sake of impressing other demons!! They’re not watching. He doesn’t associate with other demons, ever. Only reapers, who I might add were once human dunno if that matters tho. He wants humans to *like him* he goes out of his way to charm humans that will do nothing for him except satiate his own ego and attention span.

But he eats them to survive. And also as a demon, he isn’t supposed to grow attached to humans. So he’s battling with this cognitive dissonance constantly, I theorize. Like he kills and eats people but at the same time, he likes raising them like pets? He loves teaching them things and is proud when he cultivates a human that really stands out among other humans. I have reason to believe he is an outcast in his own society and part of him is pained by that? Idk it’s all speculation but I’m fuckin autistic and stuff so I have to write essays about it.

I can’t find the damn video but there was this one VA live reading of a hypothetical scene where OCiel is dead after Sebastian ate him and he’s still going thru the motions of celebrating the kids birthday like… WTF? This man ate his pet and realized it was a mistake major wtf moment

Sebastian is like one of those Karens that breeds exotic cats and gets competitive at CFA shows…my human is a prime specimen give me an award

hiiii 0046!! i have only known him for a short while as a new mutual but i have to say hibiki is sooo cutie pie sweeties and i love his sillyness :3 if you dont mind can you tell me more about him?

i know hes an android but i dont know why he was created and what his job is.. what company does he work for?? at 12 too? good lord do androids have labor unions XD ??

also very interested in cmy2k in general... how were androids developed? what types of jobs do the have?? and what sprt of abilities?? so so curious .... anyways have a great day 💕💖

HI THANK U ABSOLUTELY I CAN TALK MORE ABOUT HIM!!!!!!!! getting to infodump about CMY2K and Especially hibiki is my greatest joy in life

originally, hibiki was created for housekeeping! so like cooking and cleaning and such. but he kinda can't stand cooking anymore, and his original human kinda-sorta wiped his memory and threw him in the Literal Trash so he doesn't really work for Anybody anymore, but hibiki is always desperate to feel useful to others so he kinda turns that around to mean "he works for Everybody". plus there's only really one company that produces LiviCom androids [living computer androids] which is the Halosoft Electronics Corporation^_^

he's actually ten but he would be So happy to be mistaken for twelve LOL and androids Don't have labor unions but that aspect is kind of a Huge Deal in CMY2K's plot, mostly robots just wanna unionize. but the think about robots Hibiki's age in particular is that uh, halosoft Doesn't actually produce child androids? at least, they don't Mass-produce them, which means the only clue about hibiki's original human is that hibiki was a custom-model. halosoft specifically Intentionally doesn't mass-produce child androids because that would be a whole bigass Ethics issue they don't wanna have to PR their way out of, human customers would likely be too disturbed about child labor and other gross shit to want to Purchase A Whole Child. hibiki is the only one

IN GENERAL in CMY2K's world androids developed alongside the personal computer! so the history of robotics very closely mirrors the history of computing. consumer androids in particular mostly became viable as a general-use type deal around the 70s, and then REALLY all of a sudden exploded in popularity in the 90s. 1999-2000 is around when CMY2K is set

androids can have pretty much Any job, but Especially jobs that humans don't want to do, like retail and service and accounting, those are some of the most common jobs for androids [those jobs are all color-coded Green in the general four-way LED color-coding system in which green works primarily with money, blue works primarily with repair or healing so both human doctors And mechanics, pink works primarily closely with humans like housekeeping or babysitting, and orange works primarily "to get your attention", like entertainment or security or anyone who'd be wearing a hi-vis vest. those aren't the Only colors but Are the most common, and not all androids that have those jobs are the associated color, especially for androids specifically commissioned by a workplace, like mantid who is pink and green because he works in a botanical garden. it all depends]

android Abilities are also closely related with their jobs, but in a "this could easily be modified for combat" type way because CMY2K has a loooot of fighting in it. hibiki isn't a typical example, but he has rocket boots [to reach high shelves] and arm cannons [originally just vacuum cleaners] and also kinda-sorta psychic powers [an adaptation of something All androids can do, called Interfacing, which is basically "touch-based telepathy between technology", but hibiki goes one step beyond and can also go into androids' heads psychonauts-style to literally smack some sense into them from the inside out, and also telekinesis i think as long as it's an electronic]

other android abilities are things like "stronger and more sturdy than both a human Or a machine they'd operate", like tex who was a construction bot; electrokinesis, like voltaire who manages an electric power plant; fuckin uhhh laser sniper arm cannons like mantid who works pest control in a botanical garden and is supposed to kill bugs without damaging the plants they're on; refrigeration bot that can freeze shit; really it's megaman rules so it can be basically anything, like carmine was originally a phlebotomy bot who jailbroke and now drinks the electricity from other androids to keep xyr charge like a vampire. anything a human can do a livicom can do better

i also have a bigbig infodump on a bunch of [but not all] major characters in CMY2K on my spacehey, right over here:

and i fully intend to write another about the worldbuilding and android functionality n shit later^_^

YOU HAVE A GREAT DAY TOO!! smilesbig^_^ :D <3<3

Do you have any headcanons for new batdr characters? (Audrey,toon Bendy etc?)

boy do i! admittedly i haven't rotated audrey as much as i shouldve since i played batdr but in my defense ive been thinking about ben

it got long so under the cut

audrey:

i think it'd be sweet if she started to regard henry as her other father. idk if anyone has ever told her that her dad def had a crush on him but i feel like she'd still find a good mentor in him. at least someone who will listen to her.

she keeps on seeing boris around the studio and really wants to meet him but hasnt had a good excuse to (she also wants to test out her theory that all borises like to be pet like tom was)

i think that in the new cycles/iterations she should be able to figure out how to change peoples designs. like how the lost ones got more details in batdr as opposed to batim? maybe give searchers the ability to talk and all that. legs even. just to improve quality of life down there

idk what the hell happened at the end of the game but im gonna choose to ignore how it seems like she betrayed the ink demon after he trusts her because :(

ben:

baby boy. baby

yes hes still the ink demon even post game dont look at me. i. look, im taking this as a (BOOK ACCURATE) jekyll and hyde situation. same person, he just acts differently based on what society expects of him. but he didnt want to be a monster, he was forced to become one because thats what his creator (joey) thought of him as (like frankenstein!). he contains multitudes

so post game, i think he can finally start to slowly put down those walls and act as a middle ground between both extremes. he can heal, he can learn how to trust again.

that being said i think he should still be able to transform into ink demon form if he felt like it. as a treat.

not a headcanon but i forgive him, personally. if you were treated like a monster your whole life wouldn't you be ANGRY? he's done nothing wrong besides all the atrocities

i have a lot of feelings about him as you can see

autistic. i will not be elaborating

betty:

i think she should unionize post game

she'd still be audrey's housekeeper cause she likes the work but she has dental now

has weekly tea with malice, allison, heidi, and an honorary porter (and audrey when shes there) to exchange gossip

keepers:

i want them dead

poor norman was probably dissected to be studied to make them

idk if they have human in them or if theyre purely mechanical but it's probably old gent workers

i usually respect mad scientists but i hate them so much

should be killable in game change my mind

porter:

i think he got the rope after allison gave him the advice to always carry rope

i like to think he's from the heavenly toys department... probably likes to tinker and make new toys

heidi:

queen

accidentally overhears a lot of gossip when shes hiding

wears a bow because she thought it looked cute on bendy and therefore she wanted one.

doesnt hate the ink demon because when he appears its just impromptu hide and seek (if you're caught you die :D!)

archie carter

i dont actually have any interesting headcanons for him but a really funny story is that i was with my friend while she was playing and we got to his log and we both were like wow he has such a nice voice tf fav background character?? and two days later i found out it was superhorrorbro mike and i was mortified because i WATCH his videos and i didn't recognize his voice 😭 it was so embarrassing

still my favorite new background character (who has a log)

wilson:

i also dont have any headcanons for him but i hate him and i hate that audrey was siding with him for some of the game even AFTER learning about how the keepers tortured ben and augh ill stop talking

Dont know if I’d call this a book haul post or not, but I figured I’d post an update with all of my recent book acquisitions because I’ve been inactive for a while and I’ve slowly been picking up some books Im really excited about.

Some notable books I’ve gotten recently include:

Chinua Achebe - The African Trilogy

I LOVED Things Fall Apart, it was a book that occupied my mind during all of my waking hours when I read it. I wanted to read the rest of the trilogy and decided to sell my paperback and replace it with this hardcover of the entire trilogy. Very excited to read these last two books and maybe even re-read the first.

Marilynne Robinson - Housekeeping

This is actually a book I’ve already read. After I read it the first time, I gifted my paperback to my mother and since then, I’ve been reflecting on the novel and I’m starting to feel like it might be my favorite novel I’ve read. It’s full of such gripping, visceral prose from cover to cover and the more I thought about it, the more I thought I wanted to read it again. So now I have this 40th anniversary edition of the book to replace the one that previously occupied my shelf.

Marilynne Robinson - Gilead

Naturally, loving Housekeeping so much, I wanted to read more by Robinson and picked this up as it’s one of her most universally beloved. If you notice in the picture, there’s a bookmark in this one because I’m already 100 pages into it. For the unaware, this book is written in the form of a letter, written by an old pastor for his only son. Essentially, the book is structured as if the pastor is telling you all of this directly with no chapter breaks or changes in perspective. Very unique experience and I think I’m really getting a lot out of it. I’ll post another update about this one soon.

Gabriel García-Márquez - One Hundred Years of Solitude

I don’t have much to say about the contents of the book themselves. I am excited to read this because I planned on reading a lot more Latin American literature this year (as you can probably see from the shelf picture). Though I’m a tad miffed because I went out of my way to find a copy without the “Oprah’s Book Club” stamp on the cover and ThriftBooks sent me one with it anyways. Aaaaaaaa why do all books have these on them now, why can’t these just be stickers I can remove after buying it, why do these have to be permanent?

Anyways, I have a lot of reading to do now and I’ll update y’all on it during the coming weeks.

welcome to my twisted mind, im abt to be so annoying abt my gay little notebooks & also sigma grindset

bought a leuchtturm notebook for almost a week's grocery money bc i wanted a separate planner for work. (I found myself expanding my scratch-pad & phone to do lists into like weekly plans so i felt like doing that more purposefully in the moment instead of reconstructing work plans in my at-home planner would help me out)

however, the things i want from it i feel like sth i could have achieved w an A4 notebook from the supermarket stationary aisle lmao. finally becoming the kinda person i secretly looked down on for like the 5 years since i started doing bullet journal-adjacent organizing, the type who buys an expensive planner to crack open on january 1st (instead of starting in the middle of the week in a random notebook you already have and not allowing yourself to use a highlighter until youve proven you can keep the journal for a couple months. Like a smart and normal person would)

Anyway ive used it since wednesday & as an object rly like it, never had a dot grid journal before (decadent), the B5 format is superior for my purposes, tho i wish it had a pen loop bc one of my few aesthetic indulgences is bringing a separate planner pen from home. (not even purely aesthetic, i have an easier time processing thick black script, my eyes kinda slide off of ballpoint pen writing)

Not sure how much mental strain its relieving for me so far tho tbh. Im used to spinning plates in my head so i obviously didnt stop doing it in 4 days even if its all also down on paper, plus i feel like maybe im doing rookie overplanning and writing down things that a) dont need it b) move up and down the priority scale a lot given how unpredicatble work is. So writing some things down on a specific date introduces more pressure and chaos bc i know im not actually supposed to do it but it is written down. Thats sth that will iron itself out over time tho, Ive already made some provisions against it.

Anyway, otoh ive done literally twice as much chemistry this week as usual + kept up w housekeeping way more. But i may have just been keeping myself in line w anxiety over being completely alone w my work w no immediate day-to-day accountability for the first time ever and the planner is incidental. However, having a thought like "oh i should..." and immediately writing it down in a place where i know for sure i will later sit down with and consider how to best implement it, bc thats what that place is exclusively for, feels p good.

The ultimate goal ofc is not to do twice as much chemistry and wash my glassware on time, but the much more ephemeral and difficult fantasy of anxiety relief & freeing my mind from work when im not engaging w it productively. So like, how will i ever know if the planner is helping at all given that the world is a nightmare and none of the shit i do matters, and even if i were to achieve less anxiety abt it, being at peace and despair to the point of resignation dont look that different from each other

“Look, said Suttree, leaning forward. When a man marries beneath him his children are beneath him. If he thinks that way at all. If you werent a drunk he might see me with different eyes. As it is, my case was always doubtful. I was expected to turn out badly. My grandfather used to say Blood will tell. It was his favorite saying. What are you looking at? Look at me.

I dont know what you're talking about.

Yes you do. I'm saying that my father is contemptuous of me because I'm related to you. Dont you think that's a fair statement?

I dont know why you try and blame me for your troubles. You and your crackpot theories.

Suttree reached across the little space and took his uncle's willowing hands and composed them. I dont blame you, he said. I just want to tell you how some people are.

I know how people are. I should know.

Why should you? You think my father and his kind are a race apart. You can laugh at their pretensions, but you never question their right to the way of life they maintain.

He puts his pants on the same way I do mine.

Bullshit, John. You dont even believe that.

I said it didnt I?

What do you suppose he thinks of his wife?

They get along okay.

They get along okay.

Yeah.

John, she's a housekeeper. He has no real belief even in her goodness. Cant you guess that he sees in her traces of the same sorriness he sees in you? An innocent gesture can call you to mind.

Dont call me sorry, said the uncle.

He probably believes that only his own benevolent guidance kept her out of the whorehouse.

That's my sister you're talking about, boy.

She's my mother, you maudlin sot.

Sudden quiet in the little cabin. The uncle rose shaking, his voice was low. They were right, he said. What they told me. They were right about you. You're a vicious person. A nasty vicious person.

Suttree sat with his forehead in his hands. The uncle moved warily to the door. His shadow fell across Suttree and Suttree raised his head.

Maybe it's like colorblindness, he said. The women are just carriers. You are colorblind, arent you?

At least I'm not crazy.

No, Suttree said. Not crazy.

The uncle's narrowed eyes seemed to soften. God help you, he said. He turned and stepped onto the catwalk and went down the boards. Suttree rose and went to the door. The uncle was crossing the fields in the last of the day's light toward the darkening city.

John, he called.

He looked back. But that old man seemed so glassed away in worlds of his own contrivance that Suttree only raised his hand. The uncle nodded like a man who understood and then went on.”

if u dont mind me asking... do you know what happened to svatalfheimer? most of their fic is gone and u seem to be friends

Oh Svar's doing great! Just doing some online housekeeping afaik, they like to redux their fandom presence whenever they switch primary fandoms which like can't relate, all y'all gotta deal with my mish-mash of nonsenses at all times, but some people like to keep things bafflingly neat idk