#when will we receive financial compensation!!!
Text
VIVZIEPOP IM TIRED!!!! 😭😭😭
#when will we receive financial compensation!!!#hazbin hotel#helluva boss#stolas#stolas goetia#blitzo#stolitz#just look my way
8K notes
·
View notes
Text
Help two disabled trans girls make it through July
Me and my wife had to completely drain both our bank accounts at the beginning of the month paying rent and back rent from last month. And we still have $675 in utilities and internet bills coming up in a week. I don't know how we're gonna be able to feed ourselves let alone afford our hormones and my wife's Ozempic($185 per 4 weeks)
We're already been out of hormones for weeks with not being able to justify refilling my prescription because of the financial pressure we've been under. We've both been completely cut off from any kind of familial financial support, mainly my parents essentially just telling us to "figure it out ourselves" when they know what we're living on isn't sustainable at all and not nearly enough to facilitate having savings for emergencies.
Meanwhile we've still had continuing hardships with my wife's dental health, she's still has over a dozen cavities, 4 chipped teeth and a broken impacted wisdom tooth that needs extraction as soon as possible. At this point she can only chew with 1/3 of her jaw very slowly and it really hurts me to watch her go through this every day
I'm trying to get a part-time job but currently all I'm being offered are internships that don't start til the end of July/start of August and I still don't know if there's any chance of me receiving any sort of salary or compensation for the job I'll be doing..
Paypal: @QueenSizedDonger
1K notes
·
View notes
Text
Sunday x Reader
Marriage of convenience
I arrived in Penaconia to relax with my sister, her husband and their daughter, my niece. Being the head of one of the most famous corporations, I took upon myself all the expenses of my vacation to Penaconia. I really wanted to please my loved ones with a vacation in a place like Penaconia, but who knew that I would almost meet death during this vacation...
The mercenaries followed us even to the Hotel of Dreams. Unfortunately, the sister and her husband died protecting their daughter, but... But these bastards did not even spare the child!
I can understand when an adult is killed. No matter how you look at it, an adult will always have sins that he will hide, but this is a child! The little angel that my sister has been waiting for so long! What did this little angel do wrong?!
I would have died too if the hotel staff hadn’t found me. They provided first aid to me and tried to save my niece, but it was all to no avail. She died...
While I was in the hospital, Sunday himself from the Family visited me. It’s understandable why; No matter how you look at it, this is a case of greatly affecting the reputation of the Hotel, but to be honest, it doesn’t matter to me, I just want the heads of those mercenaries and the customer who so wanted my death and the death of my family.
- Please accept my condolences, Lady (Y/N). We are able to compensate financially for the damage, but it seems to me that you will not accept it...
- You are not to blame for what happened. I myself should have been more careful, because I have many enemies, but who could have thought that these scum would kill even an innocent child!... - anger stupefied me. I wanted the death of these bastards and guessed who it could be, I was ready to rush into them right now and strangle them.
- Please, lady (Y/N), pull yourself together. I understand your anger, people like this shouldn’t live anyway. Now the best option would be to lie low and prepare a plan to expose your enemies. They probably think that you, as the head of your corporation, are already dead, so why not play on their self-confidence? As the head of the Family, I will help you and provide everything to help you,- Sunday’s words carried weight. I really need to pull myself together, and no one knew about my trip except my deputy, which means he is involved in this.
I had no choice but to accept Sunday's offer. I'm not in the best situation right now and I need any help I can get. I see what a hypocrite he is, looking for benefit from this situation, but to be honest, I don’t care. I already have nothing to lose, my hands are free from the shackles of family and nothing stops me.
With the help of Sunday, the right people found out about my “death,” which helped me recover physically and find out that my deputy was to blame for this whole situation. So I was right... All that remains is to find evidence of his guilt and then my revenge will be accomplished.
- Milady, I apologize if I disturbed you, but I would like to offer you a deal. I hope you don't mind? - again that nasty fake smile.
- I have nothing to lose anymore. So talk about your proposals.
- You see, my friends and parents really want me to get married, but to be honest, I don’t want it. Since your revenge will soon be accomplished, you will be able to return your corporation, but the position will be very precarious after what happened. I would like to offer you an arranged marriage where you will receive support from the Family and I will get rid of all the talk about marriage.
The offer is more than good, because I really need support and yet, looking at it, you can understand that he is up to something. Well, it doesn’t concern me, if he wants to get my corporation through a marriage of convenience, then you’re welcome. I don’t even want to work after everything that happened.
A couple of months later, we found the necessary documents about who killed my relatives and that they tried to frame me. You should have seen the face of these scum when you saw me alive. It’s a joy for the soul to see how they lost everything in one moment, just like I once lost everyone.
After the trial, Sunday and I got married. I had to forcefully squeeze out my emotions so as not to ruin the event with my indifference. My corporation was under the wing of the Family, received the necessary support and I felt calmer, just like Sunday. He was no longer pestered with questions about marriage; now he is a family man himself.
Children from this marriage... To be honest, this topic is quite painful for me, after everything that happened. No matter how you look at it, there is no love in our marriage. We respect each other, but this is not love. The child was not conceived out of love, he may be injured in the future, but I don’t want that.
- What are you thinking about, my wife? - It’s disgusting to hear something like that from his lips, but I need to get used to living with him until I’m old.
- About children. Even though this is an arranged marriage, you will need an heir, right?
- Of course, an heir for organizations like the Family, this goes without saying, but until you feel better morally, I will not insist on children. After all, you will carry the pregnancy and you will also have to endure all the hardships of pregnancy. Let's put this topic aside for now.
It was unexpected...
In fact, in many arranged marriages, children do not grow up in love. They were literally conceived by force. In such marriages, men do not even think about how difficult it is for a woman during pregnancy. Simple respect and understanding that it would really be difficult for me during pregnancy was for me the beginning of respect for such a person as Sunday.
Yes, he is still a hypocrite, but at least he respects my interests and consults my opinion. I’m his wife, even though it’s under contract, but I’m still his main priority. This was a revelation to me, because I thought Sunday was arrogant and a hypocrite.
After a couple of years, I was able to let go of deceased loved ones and became a trusted person in Penaconia. Even if it was an arranged marriage, there were many people who did not trust me, but after a while I corrected this situation. Resurrection and I have a close relationship, we respect each other, but there is no love as such. The topic of children was never raised, but my heart feels that this conversation is not far off.
An heir is needed not only for the Family, but also for my corporation. It's only a matter of time before I get pregnant, but preferably soon, because there are already unpleasant rumors going around.
- Wife, why were you so lost in thought that you didn’t even notice me? - Sunday apparently just returned from work, since I didn’t notice his presence.
- Yes, I just remembered some unpleasant gossip, nothing like that.
- Is this a coincidence, not those rumors that you are still not pregnant?
- Still, I heard... - the conversation, of course, had to begin sometime, but not on such a note...
- It’s hard not to pay attention to them when they strive to pay attention. Of course, I wanted to talk to you about this topic, but I didn’t think it would be on such an unpleasant note, - sitting next to me on the sofa, his expression showed dissatisfaction. He didn't like the gossip about our marriage. It was clear that some wanted our divorce.
- It’s worth starting to think about conceiving a child, isn’t it? - we did not look into each other’s eyes, each looked at the ceiling and thought about his own. And although I did not receive an answer, but by the way Sunday’s wings began to twitch, one could assume that he agreed with me, - Will you fulfill one of my wishes?
- What? - Apparently, I was taken by surprise by Sunday. Until today, I have never asked him for anything, let alone desire, - Yes, of course...
- When the baby is born, please give him all your parental love. Both my sister and I were unwanted children. The father needed a son to be the heir, and the mother hated us. I literally replaced my sister's mother. I can live in an arranged marriage, but I cannot live with a person who will hate his child. I just ask... Love our future child just like I do...
And although Sunday himself should have gotten to the bottom of my past, because I didn’t tell him, such a desire came as a shock to him.
- I promise. I will do everything possible to ensure that our child grows up in love.
#sunday x reader#hsr x reader#honkai star rail#honkai star rail x reader#hsr headcanons#honkai star rail sunday
155 notes
·
View notes
Text
now that my brain has somewhat unscrambled itself i have gotten most of my thoughts in order about season 3.
and the first thing i will say is: i loved it.
while it was gutwrenching and polarizing in some ways and i feel that i am entitled to financial compensation for what its done to my mental health, i loved this season for pretty much almost everything it did.
i cannot fault people for having issues with much of the characterization and plot choices made—that’s been the trend during the entire run of the show after all, and imo it’s a testament to the phenomenal way it generates nuance—but i wanted to share my feelings on the recurring opinions i’ve seen about some of these things.
first, i do not blame simon at all for the things he said in the final scene. he’s a child who has been receiving endless verbal and physical harassment on top of all the trauma he is still trying to heal from. he just watched his boyfriend lash out in anger and hurt—while not at him, but it must’ve been a close resemblance of how he might’ve seen micke act. at least, that's what i thought, though i've seen others say otherwise.
and yes, wille is not micke, but just because wille’s source of outbursts is different from micke’s doesn’t mean simon is wrong in drawing similarities. at least he's finally getting a true glimpse into what wille has had to deal with. i've honestly grown to like that they didn't have simon immediately comfort him though; wille's mental illness is not his fault, but it is his responsibility, and instead of pushing a message of unhealthy co-dependence, the show has simon be honest: "but i see that everything hurts you and that hurts me too." and to me, that's so important.
plus, it doesn't make their love any less genuine. wille is a victim of the circumstances; he is not evil, and he is not undeserving of simon. he just has a lot of growing and healing to do, a lot of unlearning and exposure therapy because he's still blinded by privilege even when he tries not to be.
speaking of, i have so many thoughts about wille that i feel like i need to save for its own separate post, but to sum them up: i'll still defend him with my life, and he needs to get the fuck away from that institution.
also, the fact that the responsibility of controlling simon's media decisions was placed solely on wille confused me at first like—why wouldn't they get a professional to give him proper media training?
then i realized, this could be the royal court's way of sabotaging their relationship. they knew that making wille the one to tell simon what he can and cannot say or post would create distance and animosity between them. despite the ramifications of simon's behavior on social media, it seems they still thought it best to have his boyfriend be the one to try to mold him into the system. because they knew that's how they could get rid of him. in conclusion, fuck the royal court (we been knew but still).
one of the standouts this season was their transparency regarding the show's politics. it not only works well with the show's arc (wilmon is public, everything's out in the open now and there's nothing to hide), but also it felt necessary at a time where censorship has been rapidly gaining momentum. it felt so refreshing for these characters to talk so openly about racial discrimination and queerphobia and class disparities, forcing both character and viewer to acknowledge that they exist and you should feel uncomfortable about it.
i don't think i can add much more to what was already said about it—most of the fandom is more eloquent and observant than i am anyway—i just wanted to reinforce how important this season is to myself and the story even with how controversial it is to fans right now. a lot of people may disagree with me and that's fine.
#young royals#wilmon#simon eriksson#prince wilhelm#yr spoilers#yr s3 spoilers#ad speaks#i don't know how they're going to tie everything together in under an hour but so far this season is strong enough for me to like it despit#what ending we receive#and i know i'm in the minority in that sense but i've been spending most of the hiatus trying to keep myself from setting expecations#so i haven't really been let down too much#i really don't want to let this show go though :'(#forever my heart#yr season 3#young royals season 3
162 notes
·
View notes
Text
I've been seeing some....odd takes about the Watcher situation, and as a huge fan of Puppet History, I have really only one thing to say about it:
Worth it.
If you're really struggling financially to keep up the production, to the point that you're making the rash decision of starting from the ground up on an entirely new platform with no consumer rapport, why bring back a series that is, by its very premise, exorbitantly expensive?
The extra $6 a subscriber that they were banking on (Which, let's be real, even with their "Everyone can afford it" attitude, they had to have known that not all 3 million subscribers would have paid for it) isn't going to the art. It isn't paying for the studio or the employees or the existing Watcher content or brand.
The extra money is so that Steven Lim can afford to bring back an already costly show at a higher production value than the original Buzzfeed production, which was already needlessly expensive to begin with. Whatever's left over might go to Watcher.
Additionally, I think of all the Buzzfeed originals to revive, Worth it has to be the most tone deaf in this economic climate. A large big mac meal at your standard McDonald's drive through is $9.19. Federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour. It is no longer entertaining to watch people spend money you could never dream of having on a Michelin star restaurant. It is even less entertaining when you're the one funding it.
I agree that Watcher should be fairly compensated for the content they produce. I agree that something probably needed to change in the business model to help bring in revenue. Hell, I don't even disagree with charging fans something for new and upcoming content that we've previously received for free.
But if this was really about them hurting to keep their company afloat amid rising production costs, they would not be advertising a new series where the cost that we as the consumer do actually get to see onscreen is the equivalent of (this is specifically taken from Buzzfeed's "Worth it: $4 burger vs $777 burger video", where the estimated cost of the food alone is $2,397. Not including tips to waitstaff, other items purchased, and assuming they did not feed Shane. Also not adjusted for current inflation or price gouging) 260 large big mac meals at McDonald's.
109 notes
·
View notes
Text
Non-paywall version here.
"When Arley Gill, head of Grenada’s National Reparations Committee, envisioned his work seeking repair for centuries of enslavement on the Caribbean island, one thing was certain: It was going to be a long slog.
But just two years since its founding, the task force is fielding calls from individuals around the world looking to make amends for ancestors who benefited from enslavement in Grenada.
“If you had told us this would be happening, we wouldn’t have believed you,” Mr. Gill says, crediting a burgeoning movement of descendants of enslavers getting wise to their family’s history and taking action.
In Grenada’s case, the momentum began with a public apology made by former BBC journalist Laura Trevelyan and her family in February at a ceremony on the island. They apologized for their forebears’ enslavement of people in Grenada and their enrichment from it, pledging an initial contribution of £100,000 ($130,000) toward education on the island.
“She opened the doors for people to feel comfortable” coming forward, says Mr. Gill.
In April [2023], Ms. Trevelyan and journalist Alex Renton co-founded an organization called Heirs of Slavery. Its eight British members have ancestors who benefited financially from slavery in various ways...
Heirs of Slavery says wealth and privilege trickle down through generations, and that there are possibly millions of Britons whose lives were touched by money generated from enslavement.
The group aims to amplify the voices of those already calling for reparations, like Caribbean governments. And it supports organizations working to tackle the modern-day consequences of slavery, both in the United Kingdom and abroad, from racism to health care inequities. But it’s also setting an example for others, drafting a road map of reparative justice for enslavement – at the individual level...
“Shining a light is always a good idea,” says Mr. Renton, who published a book in 2021 about his family’s ties to slavery, donating the proceeds to a handful of nongovernmental organizations in the Caribbean and England. “You don’t have to feel guilt about it; you can’t change the past,” he says, paraphrasing Sir Geoff Palmer, a Scottish Jamaican scholar. “But we should feel ashamed that up to this point we’ve done nothing about the consequences” of slavery.
Start anywhere
Most Africans trafficked to the Americas and Caribbean during the trans-Atlantic slave trade ended up in the West Indies. The wealth generated there through unpaid, brutal, forced labor funded much of Europe’s Industrial Revolution and bolstered churches, banks, and educational institutions. When slavery was abolished in British territories in 1833, the government took out a loan to compensate enslavers for their lost “property.” The government only finished paying off that debt in 2015.
The family of David Lascelles, the 8th Earl of Harewood, for example, received more than £26,000 from the British government after abolition in compensation for nearly 1,300 lives, while “the enslaved people were given nothing,” Mr. Lascelles says. He joined Heirs of Slavery upon its founding, eager to collaborate with peers doing work he’s been focused on for decades.
“People like us have, historically, kept quiet about what our ancestors did. We believe the time has come to face up to what happened, to acknowledge the ongoing repercussions of this human tragedy, and support the existing movements to discuss repair and reconciliation,” reads the group’s webpage.
For Ms. Trevelyan, that meant a very public apology – and resigning from journalism to dedicate herself to activism...
For Mr. Lascelles, a second cousin of King Charles, making repairs included in 2014 handing over digitized copies of slavery-related documents discovered in the basement of the Downton Abbey-esque Harewood House to the National Archives in Barbados, where much of his family’s wealth originated during enslavement.
“What can we do that is actually useful and wanted – not to solve our own conscience?” he says he asks himself...
“Listen and learn”
...The group is planning a conference this fall that will bring together families that benefited from the trans-Atlantic slave trade along with representatives from Caribbean governments and Black Europeans advocating for reparations. In the meantime, members are meeting with local advocacy groups to better understand what they want – and how Heirs of Slavery might assist.
At a recent meeting, “there was one man who said he wanted to hear what we had to say, but said he saw us as a distraction. And I understand that,” says Mr. Renton. “Maximum humility is necessary on our part. We are here to listen and learn, not try to take the lead and be the boss.”
Mr. Renton’s family has made donations to youth development and educational organizations, but he doesn’t see it as compensation. “I see this as work of repair. If I sold everything I own, I couldn’t begin to compensate for the lives my ancestors destroyed,” he says."
-via The Christian Science Monitor, August 1, 2023
Note: I know the source name probably inspires skepticism for a lot of people (fairly), but they're actually considered a very reliable and credible publication in both accuracy and lack of bias.
#slavery#reparations#antiblackness#racism#colonialism#united kingdom#uk#granada#caribbean#social justice#ancestry#black history#black lives matter#reparative justice#enslavement#abolition#systemic racism#good news#hope
242 notes
·
View notes
Text
Hi everyone, I'm the official subtitle editor for 2ndJerma and Jerma Stream Archive. I've been working to make Jerma985's videos more accessible through closed captions and subtitles. Jerma985 videos are subtitled regularly. You can view the definitive playlist of them here:
I also provide play-by-play updates on Twitter (@JermaSubtitled) to keep you informed on when and which videos have captions finalized and published.
Subtitling is a labor-intensive task that requires a lot of time and effort, but it's worth it to make sure that everyone can enjoy Jerma's content. However, I don't receive official compensation for my work. (writing, reviewing and editing captions) Without official pay, it can be difficult to justify the time I put into managing subtitles. That's why I'm reaching out to the community for support.
If you appreciate the effort I put into providing subtitles, please consider supporting me on Patreon. You can join for as low as $3/month, and all proceeds go towards continuing to make Jerma's videos accessible. If you'd like to give a one-time tip instead, you can do so here. Every little bit helps and is greatly appreciated. Your funding is 100% responsible for keeping Jerma985 subtitles running.
I understand that not everyone is in a position to contribute financially, and that's okay! Just spreading the word and letting others know that these subtitles exist and are available is a huge help. Thank you for taking the time to read this post. With your help, we can do a great service for YouTube accessibility.
Up next, a recap of what happened in March 2023:
I update interested parties each month about what's been added, and I'll start posting them here if there's sufficient interest, plus any additional musings. So here's the recap from March:
The community has provided so many submissions I'm nearly overwhelmed! I have a lot to review. Every caption will be published, it's just a matter of time. Those not present have been added to the queue.
First, overlap from February is SCORN by me, Erasmus Magnus. It highlights an interesting conundrum of subtitling: how to intuitively portray something said for a deaf/HOH audience, in this case a filtered voice. Feedback I received including that of @maplecaster led to the final result, and I think it works tremendously well.
Second, we have The Short Sniper by community regular, kitpigeon. Short and sweet, high-quality subs for one of Jerma's low-profile videos. Great job.
Next, we have Receding Randy transcribed by @maplecaster. This was some fine stuff. I'm embarrassed how long it took me to sync it, but that's only because I'm something of a perfectionist. I try to limit the time sink, but I want the best for the subtitles, and it only makes sense to polish the time to be as good as the text content.
After that, we have an absolute classic in the form of Grab that Grotto 5—no relation to Grotto Beasts—by @graysaregay. Well done on this. I did some executive editing for some tricky stuff like the text-to-speech voice. I'm really glad this ol' classic nearing a million has captions now.
And finally, italoplumber has provided a German translation of The Max Cow Capacity Compulsion. Never would've guessed he was popular in DACH countries, but I suppose it makes sense. It's in his name. Willkommen in Jermany.
And that's it! If you want to see more about official Jerma985 subtitles, including musings and related information, consider following! And again, play-by-play updates can be found on Twitter at @JermaSubtitled.
#jerma985#jerma#subtitles#closed captions#auditory processing disorder#accessibility#hard of hearing#deaf and hoh#youtube subtitles#subtitled jerma
251 notes
·
View notes
Text
Rewrite The Stars
Chapter Three
Summary: One photo changes your whole life, when you accidentally bump into a celebrity and the world starts to believe that you are a couple.
chapter two chapter four
A day later and you were already going crazy, all you did was avoid the paparazzi and reporters. Which didn't stop them from getting information about you. At least you've been busy reading the contract. It's no surprise that I'm not the biggest beneficiary of it. But that doesn't mean you won't gain anything from it. I mean, you'd be signing a contract that authorizes you to do your best to make the world believe you've conquered Pedro Pascal. And you'd earn a commission for the time worked, like a acting job. The only inconvenient things are that it's up to Pascal to decide when the relationship ends, and you couldn't inform anyone about this agreement. You want to sign the contract, no doubt you do. But first you need to work out some details with Mr. Pascal. And luckily, you have his agent's phone number. You then ventured this morning sending a message asking Pascal's agent to ask him to meet you.
"Did you sign?" Asks a voice behind you that you recognize as your future fake boyfriend.
"Negative. But I will sign it. I know your agent wouldn't agree to modify some aspects of this contract." You tries to look confident but you actually didn't expect Mr. Pascal to come.
"What modifications?" Pedro speaks curiously, looking at you fixedly which makes you a little nervous.
"If we're going to pretend to date, you're going to have to actually pretend to be my boyfriend. I don't want to be the only one trying. I saw that in the contract, I will have to be your fake girlfriend even during family moments." You speak almost stuttering. Damn, there's no way to pretend to be casual in front of Pedro.
"That, I can do. Of course, we only have my spare moments. It's important to me that my family also thinks that what we have is real." Pascal speaks next to you. In fact you two are in a shopping mall parking lot. He's wearing a cap and a hoodie, so you think no one will probably notice. It helps that your meeting is happening in the early hours of the morning, when there is hardly any movement.
"Another thing I would like to ask is that the end of our relationship be something mutually agreed upon. Before you misunderstand me, I will not refuse to end our false relationship.I just want to be warned in advance and be able to determine how we are going to fake our end." You say, looking into his eyes. He appears to be carefully analyzing your request.
"As long as you know that when it's over, it's over. But I think it's fair that you say something about our breakup. Our fake breakup." Pascal seems to want a confirmation that you understand the fact that everything will be fake.
"And one last thing, after we're done pretending all of this. I don't want to receive any more financial compensation for this." This was perhaps the information that surprised him the most.
"You don't have to do this, it's only fair that you get paid for your work." He speaks as if he finds your request strange.
"You said exactly the right thing, getting paid for my work. My job is to fake date you and when it ends, it's like being fired. See, do I know how to see things professionally? No need being afraid that I won't be able to be a professional just because..." You hesitate to say the first thing that came in your mind.
"Just because?" Pedro questions, approaching you who is afraid to say what you are thinking.
"Just because I'm clearly your fan. But I have to be honest, I need financial stability more than taking advantage of our situation. As soon as I'm done playing your girlfriend,I'm going to focus my strength on having a normal steady job and getting on with my life." You won't admit your crush on him so easily, but the truth is that you really need this opportunity.
"I will do everything in my power to meet your demands. But you know this will mean that another contract will have to be made." Pascal says while holding his hands in his pocket.
"Until then, you'll have to trust my word. I'll be your fake girlfriend with all the perks and bonuses of that situation." You say, extending your hand to Pedro, who extend his hand. You two shake your hands together as if making a deal. Until you two hear a strange noise, from a curious person who probably knows no limits.
"Want to do something risky?" Mr. Pascal says while we are still practically holding hands.
"What?" You ask curiously, since you thought he would want to hide. He then pulls you close to him and gives you a hug. A long hug that seems very tender. When he stops hugging you, he kisses your forehead as if he really were your boyfriend.
"See you tomorrow, girlfriend. Everything you need will be ready tomorrow." He speaks and heads towards the car. Whoever was watching us leaves with him. And you go home quickly.
tag: @wanniiieeee
#fanfic pedro pascal#pedro pascal x y/n#pedro pascal x you#pedro pascal x reader#pedro pascal fanfiction#fake dating
81 notes
·
View notes
Text
BRF Reading - 31st of July, 2023
This is speculation only
Cards drawn on the 31st of July, 2023
Question: Why did we get that article supporting Queen Camilla's "joy in jewels" (and who was behind it)?
Introduction: The article came from the BRF. It shows a petty side of Queen Camilla that reflects how unhappy she is in her role as Queen.
Card One: The Ten of Pentacles
This is a card of financial security, of reaching a point of completion and success. You have enough money/assets/financial stability to look after your family and to pass on a legacy to your descendants. It is a card of family, legacy, inheritance, affluence, and tradition.
The legacy energy is coming through strongly here. Queen Camilla wants part of her legacy to be "the one with the jewels". She wants to be seen as the queen who wore the jewellery, like Queen Mary. There is a minor energy of gloating here as well - a mindset of "I am the queen so I get to wear the jewels" - but it is not the dominant energy. The dominant energy is that regardless of how she actually feels about gems and jewellery, Queen Camilla wants to be remembered as the one with the jewels - that is part of the image of herself as queen that she wants to leave for posterity.
There is also an energy of tradition about this card. I think that Camilla is trying to be what she thinks of as a "traditional queen", even though that image does not really fit her as a person.
Card Two: Death, Reversed
Death is a card of change that can not be reversed, of moving from one state to another and not being able to go back. This reflects Camilla's passage from being the Duchess of Cornwall to being Queen. That change is permanent, and she can't go back to her prior life, no matter how much she might want to.
Death in reverse is resisting the change shown by the upright card, and/or being unhappy with it, and/or being stuck in negative patterns (not changing out of them). The energy I get from this card is one of unhappiness. Camilla is unhappy with her life as Queen, she does not like it, and she is resisting the changes to her life that come with the change as much as possible. Her wearing the big jewels feels like a way that she is compensating herself for this change. The energy is "I don't want it and I don't want to do it, but if I have to do it then at least I can wear all the jewels and rub my status in everyone's faces". It is coming from a place of deep unhappiness. Camilla is unable to rise above this negative behaviour and make something positive out of it, such as embracing her duty and finding satisfaction in doing it with a smile, or looking for the positive points of her new role. Instead she seems stuck in the grumbling, petty energy that is stubbornly refusing to change with her changed circumstances.
Death is also one of the card that signifies King Charles, as it represents Scorpio and he is a sun sign Scorpio. In reverse, it says that King Charles is unhappy about this situation, most likely because Camilla is unhappy and he wants her to be happy.
Card Three: The Sun, reversed
This is another card of unhappiness. The Sun in reverse is being pessimistic, looking at the dark side of things, having negative attention on you, not being able to find any joy in life, etc. It is also the card of being conceited and letting your ego run rampant.
The energy of this card is one of negative attention and of indulging your ego. When Camilla wore all the jewels at a state banquet in Germany, she received negative attention for that act, and I think that upset her as she was expecting a positive reaction. The article is in part a push back against the negative comments she received at that time. It is also a massaging of her ego (she is the only living member of the BRF with 'joy in jewels') as it presents her in a very positive light.
The article is also pushback for The Princess of Wales wearing a flower tiara at the coronation. I feel that Camilla expected to be on all the front pages the next day, and she was upset that she wasn't, and she was also upset that The Princess of Wales had circumvented the 'no tiara' rule with her floral headdress without breaking the rule. I'm not getting jealousy of The Princess of Wales, but rather that Camilla expected to be the centre of attention and she wasn't, so she is upset about that, and this is her way of getting even for it. Camilla is indulging her ego and letting it dictate her actions, and that never ends well.
Wearing the big jewellery is also a way of indulging her ego as she sees it is a way of focusing the attention on her, and that is what she expects to happen now she is Queen - that she will be the centre of attention at any event that she attends. Camilla does not seem to realise that it is the inner light of a person that determines if attention is paid to them or not, and that by indulging her ego and her pettiness like this she is making herself less appealing to people.
Underlying Energy: The Hierophant
The Hierophant is the card for marriage and for institutions. Here it represents the BRF. Camilla has married into the BRF and currently she is very unhappy because of the role that comes with her marriage. If it continues, that unhappiness and her expression of that unhappiness (wearing all the jewels to rub her status in everyone's faces and to get all the attention etc), could end up being a threat to the stability of the BRF, but that is not the case at this point in time.
The Hierophant card as the underlying energy says that the article came from the King, most likely in his role as husband of an unhappy wife, and this is supported by the unhappy Charles card (Death in reverse) appearing directly above the Hierophant in the spread.
The Hierophant card also tells me that the BRF is the source of the behaviour that prompted the article in the first place and the source of the article itself. Camilla is unhappy with her role in the BRF so she wears the jewels to make herself feel better, she was criticised for wearing too many jewels and she was upstaged by the Princess of Wales in a floral headpiece (not jewels) on her coronation day, so she is using the power of the BRF to get back at the people who criticised her with the support of her husband, the King. The BRF is the thread that runs through everything here, both as an institution and as the people involved.
I drew a clarifier for this card and it was the Page of Swords - spiteful communication that spreads over the world. Camilla really did not like people commenting on her appearance at the state banquet in unflattering terms, and she did not like the attention being on Catherine at her coronation, so this article is her petty revenge.
Cards: Three out of four cards in this reading are major arcana, so this is a big deal for Camilla and we will see it play out in public in the future.
Conclusion:
The article was put out by the BRF to massage Camilla's ego and as a push back against recent criticism about her. It was supported by King Charles, who is currently unhappy with the situation because his wife is unhappy and he wants her to be happy. If putting out articles like this makes her happier, he will put them out as much as he can.
Camilla is not a happy woman. She has reached the pinnacle of her career, being Queen, and she does not like it. She is resisting the changes that come with her new position with all her might. She is also stuck in petty patterns of behaviour that she is unable to leave behind her.
Camilla does not like people saying anything negative about her. She expects all the attention to be on her now that she is Queen, and she expects it to be positive attention. When that does not happen, either because people react negatively to her behaviour or because they focus on other members of the BRF, she uses her new position to take a petty revenge on those she sees as thwarting her, such as putting out articles like this one.
The energy from these cards is of someone who is deeply unhappy and who is stuck in negative patterns of behaviour, while at the same time they are misusing their power to boost their ego and take petty stabs at people who they see they as obstacles to their plans (this didn't work out the way I had imagined because of X, let me take petty stabs at X to make myself feel better).
I feel that Camilla has an image of how she should appear as Queen (e.g. the one wearing the jewels) and she is stuffing herself into that image regardless of whether it reflects her as a person or not.
The tragedy of all this is that Camilla is better than this. She has shown in the past that she is capable of rising above negative attention and continuing to live her life as she wants to live it. She needs to find that inner dignity again and to find the positives in her new role, making it into something that she can be happy or at least satisfied to work within. As an example of this, instead of having her legacy as 'the Queen with all the jewels', maybe she could aim for being 'the Queen who made a major difference to domestic violence sufferers' or something like that - take the focus of her thoughts off herself and instead put it on what she can do for others, as a continuation of her past work in this area.
If Camilla continues on her current path - being petty, indulging her ego, expecting all the attention, resenting being Queen and resisting the changes to her life - then she will continue to be very unhappy. The only way she can turn the situation around for herself is to let go of her ego, take the higher path, focus on the positives in her new status, and make the role of Queen something that reflects her, not her idea of what a Queen should be like.
82 notes
·
View notes
Text
Over the years we’ve been asked many times about how to run a fandom zine, so to finally answer those questions here is our incomplete and rough guide/collection of questions to ask yourself on good practices for running a fandom event or charity zine. By no means is this an exact how-to, but we hope this will help answer questions and prompt you in the right direction for running a clean and organized event safely and responsibly!
Purpose
What is the purpose of your zine (or event)? Why are you doing this? Is it for fun? Are you raising money for charity? Are you doing it because you just want to and because you love fandom and your ship? Is it a combination of all of the above? Will it be fan fiction? Fan art? Gifs? Video edits? Music? A combination of any? Are you going to run a big bang or reverse bang? Are you running a gift exchange for the holidays? These are all incredibly important questions to ask yourself when you first decide you want to lead a zine or event!
If this is for charity, decide your charities before you launch anything. It is good practice to have a solid plan on what you want to do and what you want to accomplish before posting an interest check. It is better to be prepared and have to postpone your zine or event than to try to run a project with no clear cut agenda. Projects that do not have a clear path or set agenda have a much higher risk of fizzling and falling apart.
When choosing your charity, make sure to research them first before making your final decision. To best protect yourself and make sure your money is going to a real cause your charity should be a 501(c)(3) registered charity and you should be able to view their IRS 990 form on their website, or on a helpful website called Charity Navigator.
WARNING. If you are involving money, it is in your best interest NOT to include photoshop manipulations, gifs, videos, or any other form of media that includes real photography or the voices of your characters (this includes voice actors). Actors and companies are very strict in their contracts about how their likenesses and voices can and can’t be used for profit. You would be risking the integrity of your event as well as financial responsibility. If anything, you could potentially receive a Cease & Desist with a threat of legal action.
If you are concerned about the safety of your money, draw up a contract with any partners that protect those funds from being stolen-or result in legal consequences if so. If you are running a non-fandom event and paying your artists, you will need to speak to a lawyer to make sure you safely and legally can compensate them for their work. Find and speak to a lawyer or financial advisor to see what your options are.
Audience
Who is your audience? Events and zines with narrower focuses are easier to maintain. Are you prepared to keep a close audience or are you going to go broader? If you are thinking of a broader event you should look and see if other people from different fandoms are interested in running a fandom project to help you organize the process and spread the word. Do your research on fandom relations. Some fandoms are often not held in favorable light by other fandoms and trying to marry two together may result in a failure to organize. If you are determined but may not have the audience, start small with something like a fic exchange and see how it goes.
Though not necessarily true, a good way to gain an audience is by generating content. Have you been active in the fandom you want to run your zine/event for? If so, how have your posts been doing and have you been interacting with other people? People are more likely to trust and join a project if they at least know of the person running it even if they aren’t a “BFN” (Big Fandom Name). There is no way to truly determine if you will even get an audience as much of fandom’s attention now is based on what’s the newest and what is going to bring the most instant gratification. Fandom events take a lot of time, how will you maintain your audience during the lulls?
Organization
How are you going to organize this? What social media platforms do you want to utilize? Will you set up a Discord? Only contact via Email? How will you collect and organize the contributions? Google drive folders or documents or an AO3 collection? Will you have your contributors email you word docs or PDFs if you are distributing?
Is it a call for all admissions or will you have curated limited slots? Are you doing an invitation only event? If you are doing applications, what are the requirements? How will you vet people? Allowing transphobic creators into a zine raising money for trans charities is not ideal, which is why we encourage having the vision for your event before you put out an interest check. What is your schedule? How long do you want to dedicate to the entire process while still allowing adequate time for people to contribute? How are you going to share it?
What if it’s 100% digital? Will you do an online collection on AO3? If not AO3, how are you compiling it? Will you have the contributors send you a PDF that you will then stitch together? Will you find someone with design experience to do it for you?
What if you want to print? Who will you print with? How will you ship? Will you offer it internationally? It is possible some printers will not want to work with you if you are trying to do monetary sales on fan fiction and fan art for fear of copyright infringement. Make sure to do your research for online companies (Lulu does not like to do this, Smartpress is a decent option) or look around at a local printshop (tends to run more expensive, especially now with continuing material shortages). If you are doing print things get trickier, especially if you need to adhere to print specifications-usually CMYK, 300dpi, press ready PDFs following the printer’s templates for safety area and document bleed-at a minimum. You’ll have a smoother time if someone on your team (or you) have some sort of design experience. It’s easy to put words on a page to print. It’s hard to make them look good.
At a glance digital considerations:
Where to host (do not tie money to ao3, see note in Outreach & Promotion)
Create a visual standard (colors, sizes, ‘logos’, etc)
Create submission standard (word count or other content requirements, location, file type/size, etc)
At a glance print considerations:
Digital layout for print
If offering both digital & physical versions, you will want to have files tailored to each application (see notes about bleed & printer templates above)
Finding and working with a vendor
Shipping
-International packages come with their own caveats about where will accept what shipping companies
-Physical items: generate labels, acquire boxes & protective stuffing, physically package items (where? Enough packagers?)
-Schedule pickups
-Size of product will affect size & therefore cost of shipping per item
At a glance overall considerations:
Sales vendor/storefront if applicable
Tracking sales items
Tracking costs & transparency documents
Tracking participant communications
Tracking customer communications
Upkeeping social media posts & communications (& generating content)
Tracking participant deliverables
With all of this considered, clear communication is key. Having clear expectations of deliverables, dates, and timelines for your participants and as well as clear responsibilities between leadership individuals will help you be successful.
Timeline
Your timeline is important and you should try your best to stick to it. Have it posted, have an FAQ, again be transparent about both internal scheduling for your contributors and public scheduling for those watching.
When creating your schedule, it may be helpful to do a ‘workback’ schedule - pick an ideal final date, and working backwards, add in estimated times and dates for every single task and deliverable to see what is realistic to accomplish for contributors and for leadership. If you are ordering physical items, build in buffer times - particularly remembering that with today’s chaotic global supply chain, things may take more time. Required check-ins can be helpful for visibility and prevent procrastination.
Also do your research on your fandom. Have there been previous events? If so, are you potentially overlapping with other events? Potential overlap can harm both events, so look around and think about potentially starting when one is finishing up or has just finished so you can reach a bigger pool of creatives. Don’t be afraid to reach out and talk to other event organizers, they may be wanting to participate in other events that aren’t theirs but have been unable to due to scheduling. BUT, don’t let others’ schedule dictate your own, you need to stick to a calendar that you know you can abide by.
Quality and Curation
An “all welcome” zine or event is far different from a curated zine or event. What is the quality of work you are looking for? People are more likely to interact with work that is of better quality if it involves money, so if you are wanting to raise money or pay your participants (or have enough funds for production and shipping alone), then you might need to think about running a curated project. Even with talented contributors, if the time isn’t right or if something changes with the event leadership the quality can still be affected.
Another consideration when deciding on curation is physical (and to a lesser extent) real estate. If you are printing, costs of printing itself and shipping are affected by page size and number and weight, so remember to account for this when looking at curation, printers, shipping, and finances.
When thinking about curation and before opening applications, leadership should be in agreement on how many spots for each type of media are ideal, and what parameters the project is looking for ie x amount of fanfiction or fanart or both, certain styles, certain themes, certain content, certain subjective qualities etc. Those are qualities based on submitted work but there could be other factors you might filter your participants by, such as age if you have explicit content, previous participation in fandom work, etc. Having these clarified will help the team confidently select participants as well as give applicants better expectations and understanding of the decisions made.
Rejection, unfortunately, is the reality of a curated project. It can be difficult to turn an application down because you can see the passion and excitement, but the work isn’t right or ready for the project. Not everyone will be accepted if they don’t meet the standards that you are looking for, and not everyone has the formal creative background through school or career to teach them how to navigate these rejections. There will be some people who don’t have experience applying to something like this before or who won’t understand why they weren’t chosen or take a rejection as a personal attack. You must be prepared for upset or inappropriate responses and be able to act calmly and professionally while sticking to your decisions, and without lashing out. If you need someone on your team skilled in PR or customer service, this will be a good time for them to help you. This is your project, and you must stick by what you set out to do.
Outreach and Promotion
How are you going to find contributors? Are you going to rely on word of mouth or ask people to join? Do you have a minimum count of people you would like to join? How are you going to spread the word? Social media accounts? What kind of content are you going to generate to keep up the attention to the project? How will you get this content-yourself or asking those interested to help?
Find your core audience and cater your posts to catch their attention. Use hashtags, graphics, buzz words etc to bolster this. Retweet/reblog/share to your stories regularly a few times a week to keep the momentum. The more you put this on people’s radar, the better chance you’ll have at it stabilizing and gaining momentum. There is no “easy step” to starting and maintaining an event.
**Remember, please DO NOT use Ao3 as a platform for promoting a monetary project. You may use it as a means of distribution and sharing but be conscious of how that work is presented. Bringing money into Ao3 risks the legality of what the OTW’s legal team has fought and won for fandom.
Finances
Things get harder when money is involved. If you plan to sell your zine or raise money through your event it is in your best interest to make it 100% not for profit. If you are creating a fanzine it is highly recommended that it is solely for charity to protect yourself from copyright and receiving a cease and desist letter (and possible legal retaliation).
This means your contributors nor you will be receiving a single monetary amount for anything, everything will be going to the charity (or charities) you have chosen. If you choose to print, you will have to account for 30-50% of your gross going to production and shipping and any other materials you may need. If you are determined to raise money, offer your zine or the content as a limited exclusive offer for a few months before allowing your contributors to post. Doing so helps drum up excitement and generate sales therefore helping you raise more money.
An easy and clean way to raise money is either through PDF sales or a fundraiser where interested supporters share a receipt of a donation so you don’t have to touch a cent. Your gross profit would then become your net profit, and you can give the entirety of the funds raised without messing with the logistics of printing and shipping. Don’t get yourself in trouble. Account for every cent.
Taxes
Talk to a tax accountant for guidance for your state and country.
While you may not be planning on counting your raised money as taxable income and donate every cent, the IRS (or other government tax offices) may not think so. Make a financial plan that protects you from owing extra income tax as some charities don’t accept PayPal donations and you will need to transfer funds through a bank account-or plan to take a small percentage to pay taxes on or consider registering as an LLC depending on how long you want to be in operation. You can then of course turn around and donate the percentage taken to truly donate every cent. Don’t get yourself in trouble. Account for every cent.
Transparency
If money is involved you MUST be transparent.
This will not only protect you and your contributors in the long run, but gain trust. This means records of all receipts, record of orders, record of donations, EVERYTHING (with your personal information blacked out). Show a record for any reimbursement of materials if you choose to take that reimbursement. Not sharing the bare bones of your financial records can open you up to questions and criticisms and grow distrust-which would then hurt future endeavors.
The first step is to open a new clean paypal account for zine-only transactions, this will help you with transparency. Don’t get yourself in trouble. Account for every cent.
Dedication
Here’s the kicker. If you don’t have the dedication to run your project, it will suffer and possibly even fail.
Running a fandom zine or event takes a lot of time and energy on your part. They simply don’t spring into existence just because you think it would be fun and you have the passion for it. Things would be so much easier if that were the case!
Some events will be easier to maintain than others, like fic exchanges. Big bangs can also be as easy or as hard as you want them to be depending on the number of contributors and if you are doing a regular-or reverse bang, or an open or closed big bang.
Zines usually require a lot more dedication and effort to complete because of printing, production, shipping, and finances. At the shortest, these endeavors can last from three months to six to eight months, with zines ranging up to a year or over depending on internal scheduling even if your supporters only see it publicly for a couple months. Even if you do try to do everything right, sometimes projects just don’t work out. Anything could happen to halt or slow down the process, but it’s up to you to keep it going if you can and if you want to.
In the end, this is a fun project that you can do. But there are many moving parts to make sure that it runs smoothly. In short: take your time, get your ducks in a row, and have a clear goal of what you want to accomplish because it will take a lot of work. Good luck!
241 notes
·
View notes
Text
Our Guest Chapter 2
Vampire!Sun, Vampire!Moon, Vampire!Eclipse x Hunter Reader
(You arrive at a sinister and luxurious castle with the innocent intention of checking why its mysterious residents haven't been paying any taxes or utilities for the past several centuries. Very useful excuse for a vampire hunter to have when trying to do some good old infiltrating. The three vampire lords however, fully intend to capture and seduce you, but that is a bit difficult when you keep asking them about their financial books. Will they be able to make you theirs? Are they onto your little schemes and playing along? Will you finally get that plate of cupcakes? We'll find out)
The storm continued to reign and rage, asserting authority over the night sky.
Lightning pierced the vast horizon, akin to a vein branching into infinity, pulsating with pure electrical energy.
The darkness didn't mind being defeated by such a force. If we allow ourselves some poetic freedom, we may even say it enjoyed it greatly, for the triumph of light offered a breathtaking spectacle as compensation.
Wondrous illumination, casting shades of pale pink and white, tinges of blue here and there, creating an illusion of ethereal smoke, or perhaps even a gathering of spectres, having their macabre symposium among the clouds, conspiring to terrify mortals with such a magnificent display of celestial power.
Wait for it, count the seconds, anticipation and excitement blending into one.
Finally, the roaring echo of Their Thunderous Majesty reverberated across the heavens.
Luminous lightning and threatening thunder, inevitable companions, eternal partners in crime creating a memorable show capable of stirring the sensitive sensibilities.
A feast for the senses, amplified when combined with the majestic atmosphere of the castle, echoes of thunder across the halls, shadowy corners being graced with mere seconds of flickering light as the storm saw fit, revealing all sorts of scultpures and portraits that changed details from the last time you had glanced at them. Blink and you miss it, but the promise of the whole spectacle repeating itself remained.
While your dinner was being prepared, you had asked your gracious hosts for a short tour of the household. For very legitimate inventory check purposes. It was only logical that an auditor would get an overview of the suspiciously large amount of precious possessions that would place both the Louvre and the Hermitage Museum to shame. You had also asked for further insight into their official records containing more details of the origin of acquisition and nominal value of each item.
Sun's rules had stipulated that you were strictly forbidden from wandering around on your own, so that limit was a bit of an inconvenience, but beggars cannot be choosers and you went along with it. The Viscount and the Marquis would be your primary guides for the time being, while the Grand Duke had gone to fetch the jewellery he had promised.
Alright, no problem. At least you would be getting an overview of the basic layout of your new surroundings, right? Right?
Oh, dearest Y/N, you got your wish granted in the worst way possible.
What you received was less of a coherent house tour and more of whatever type of delirium Dante had been experiencing when Virgil was taking him along on a casual joyride across the Nine Circles of Hell as if it were a macabre theme park with no entrance fees to be paid.
All aboard the Pandaemonium Express, darlings, hosted and organized by the Celestial Coven.
Viscount Sun was fiddling with an obscenely large bundle of keys, opening random doors of various shapes and sizes, revealing the contents of chambers for barely a few moments before closing them quickly after. You would be graced with several seconds of whichever horror was living its best life in those rooms, ranging from a group of ghosts and a boogeyman having a poker night, all the way to macabre apparitions and disfigured beings crawling and contorting their form all over the ceiling, chanting and whispering in unison.
Sun did his best to remain as cheerful and manic as possible, slamming another door shut to stop a few wailing wraiths from escaping.
“Nothing suspicious there, my pretty, we got nothing to hide.“
“I have questions.“
“What a coincidence, I too have questions! I had many of those over the course of my life. We have so much in common, love, it must be a sign from the universe that our souls were destined to meet.“
He opened another room that was seemingly safe to actually step inside. Cautious, you entered, observing all the paintings hanging from the walls. It appeared to be a collection of the works of Antoine Watteau, serene, idyllic, innocent. The faint lights in the room suddenly flickered, before going completely out. Strike of lightning, darkness once more, lights back on.
You blinked in surprise as you saw that all of Watteau's picturesque works were replaced by Francisco Goya's portrayals of witches and demons, Henry Fuseli's “Nightmare“ and Edvard Munch's “Love and Pain“. How fitting, especially since that particiular work from Munch had always been referred to as the “Vampire“.
“Care to explain that, my lord?“
“Optical illusion and masterful application of special effects. I cannot divulge more details than that, a magician never reveals the secrets of the trade.“
“Not that. How did you get your hands on originals that are officially in several different museums across the globe?“
“Mad skills.“
“Is that a confession of smuggling?“
“My words linger somewhere in the realm of jester's privilege, love, all to brighten up your evening. Why worry over their veracity? Perhaps it was an old gift from the original painters that had a bond of friendship with our ancestors. Or perhaps there had been a very elaborate heist some decades ago that deserves its own picture show. Who knows?“
He made an elegant bow and allowed you to exit the room first. You continued onwards in the hallway, focused on your notes. Well, as much as you could, considering the impractical writing tool the Viscount had so kindly and innocently provided.
Aesthetic be damned, the accursed quill was a nightmare to work with. You had punctured so many holes in the paper and gotten more ink on the side of your hand than on the document itself.
As Sun was closing the door, right before it clicked, lightning struck again. For a moment the paintings were covered in rivulets of blood, then all of it vanished, yet another forgotten echo of the past.
You were acutely aware of Moon's presence in the penumbra beneath the vaulted ceiling, the lunar-themed vampire's impish giggling echoing in the halls every once in a while.
He was still keeping to his theory that you could use a good and proper scare, so he made sure to keep soaring with the aid of his cord, eyes of unforgiving scarlet, giving him a truly demonic aura in the shadowy recesses of the lofty structure. He couldn't help his inner insane conductor that wished to command the orchestra of your cardiovascular system to fit his tempo.
He couldn't let Sun have all the fun with you, after all.
Moon made sure to make full use of all the hidden traps the castle had to offer, pressing sconces or pulling levers, cackling wickedly as various mechanisms would activate.
Swinging pendulums with curved blades would dash past you, conveniently missing their “target“, but still achieving the effect of being an inconvenience. Well-timed arrows being shot from hidden automatic crossbows in the walls, trapdoors opening at random, medieval knight armours coming to life and standing in your way.
Madness and shenanigans notwithstanding, you did your best to remain composed and maintain the typical indifference of an administrative official. You even asked the living armours if they had a valid permit and other documents necessary to wield glaives and other spearlike weaponry, and one of them almost began to cry because he didn't have any of that. You ended up patting him on the back and saying “there, there“ to offer emotional support.
Sun would look upwards and give his twin a stern glare, but that hardly had any effect on Moon's behaviour and barely fazed him. However, Moon did seem rather upset with your lack of fear. How cruel of you, giving the maestro nothing to work with.
Moon untied his dark cloak and snapped his fingers, letting the elegant cloth transform into a myriad of bats and sending them in your direction. From a rational perspective, one could merely interpret it as domesticated bats coming to greet a newcomer, nobody saw the magic trick in the shadows anyway.
You froze as the little rascals began to fly around you. Alright, challenge accepted. If Moon wanted to play, then you would play, but the tune would be set according to your own personal preference. We could ignore professionalism for a moment. Before Sun could take any action to stop Moon's tomfoolery, you acted first.
“Please hold these papers and quill for me, my lord Viscount. I need my hands free.“
“Wait, what?“
Animal familiars served as extensions of one's soul, and vampiric bats were no exception. It was more than obvious that Moon harboured a certain fondness for you, and therefore it made sense that his familiars would never be truly hostile to you. You held up your hand and made an affectionate coo at the dear creatures, calling for them as if they were kittens. As expected, a cute little bat landed on the palm of your hand, looking up at you with curious eyes. You patted its head and gave little scratches behind its ear.
To say that Moon almost had a cardiac arrest would be an understatement, his control over his own familiars falling apart as all of them were collectively sharing the joyful feeling of getting head scratches, himself included.
You extended your other arm, as if offering a nice resting place for the other darlings to hang onto. As expected, the bats huddled together and made themselves comfortable by hanging from your sleeve, all in a nice row. The one from your palm happily joined them.
You looked up at Moon and smiled, satisfied with your work.
“Your pets seem to like me. By my understanding, after seeing all of your contraptions, this castle operates as an unregistered haunted house attraction? It would fail plenty of safety requirements, my dear Marquis.“
“Allow me to remind you of the ancient saying about winning battles, but not the war itself.“
“What an odd war this is.“
There was a wisdom in being passive, at least temporarily. Not only did it force the other party to be active and therefore show their metaphorical cards first, it also allowed you to read more into their modus operandi. Besides, it offered an opportunity for you to acquaint yourself with certain nuances that would otherwise remain hidden knowledge. Behaviour patterns, sounds, habits, reactions, all of it was precious information.
Old rule of keeping friends close and enemies closer. Especially if your opponents were within stabbing distance. True, you could be the one that ends up injured first, but that brings us again to the usefulness of waiting for the other to initiate the lethal dance. After all, there was no greater pleasure than getting an enemy close enough to attack you, you pull out their own blade from your flesh, whisper a polite “thank you“ for the free weapon they had so kindly provided, and stab them right back. Where it counts, right in the heart.
No hurry. We got no train to catch.
You smile at the abyss, it smiles back, you give each other a high five, perfect summary of your approach to impossible situations. A puzzle to solve, a mathematical problem, and all the obstacles in front of you were a group of factors that you could play with in order to create a solution.
And, by heavens, the euphoria of solving a problem was far more powerful than any fear of death. Fear was powerless in the realm of manic joy. Defeat the monsters by showing them that you are far more insane than they could ever hope to be, letting them know that they were trapped with you and not the other way around.
Speaking of which, you had been memorizing the pattern of Moon's traps and listening to the specific sounds they produced when activated, their combination forming a sequence of notes, ascending and descending, as if he wished to create a parody of an arpeggio. Of course, it was inevitable for him to use musical theory on absolutely everything. If your calculations were accurate, then you knew exactly what would be coming next.
You had also noticed that the arrows were adjusted to miss their mark by exactly ten centimeters, and a tiny click would be heard right before they were released.
Focus. You had to utilise another part of yourself, the one that only understood cold discipline, the same sober force that had broken the hypnotic spell the trio had placed you under when you first arrived on their doorstep.
Let the Northern wind banish the euphoria away for the time being, it had done its part of providing insane genius. Allow frost to take over, you needed the calm precision of Winter for your next stunt, turn off all primary instincts. There it was. Reach for it. Don't breathe.
Sun's eyes widened in absolute shock as you swiftly caught a passing arrow with your bare hand as if it were second nature.
You needed the events around you to go even slower. Keep focusing, there had to be a mechanism on the lower area in the corridor that could stop the next trap. Another click. You found it. Pendulums would be coming soon.
You ignored Sun's words as you proceeded to move towards a wall, noticing a small opening. More metallic sounds were soon heard coming from within. Without thought, you shoved the arrow inside with the precision of a surgeon, hitting straight between the cogs of the concealed apparatus, blocking any further motion. The pendulum that had already been released suddenly stopped mid-swing.
Silence reigned for several seconds. You heard Moon land right behind you. His thoughts were in a fine disarray, but what truly surprised him was the sound of your heart and flow of your blood. Or rather, a sudden almost complete lack thereof. The former giddy cadence had slowed drastically, almost as if you had forced your system into temporary hibernation.
Moon glanced over at the little bats that were still resting on your other arm, and he huffed as he noticed that they were napping without a care in the world, choosing to remain unbothered by their master's current thoughts as if they simply turned on a mental answering machine to receive his commands instead. Adorable traitors. He snapped his fingers, trying to get his point across, and the darling creatures woke up and flew away, refusing to form back into his cloak.
Slowly, steadily, your warmth returned, Winter melting back into Spring. It was a gradual process and you needed to return to the desired equilibrium gently. The downsides of your peculiar technique were that that you would feel very hungry after using it and more sensitive to cold when returning to your normal functions. You sneezed. Oh, damn it, not again.
You spoke, voice a bit more stern than you intended:
“I hope we are done with these tricks and traps finally, shall we move onto the next room, gentlemen?“
You stood in front of the next door, waiting patiently for Sun to unlock it, casual as if nothing even happened, while the boys were trying to process the whole situation, the lack of explanations driving them insane.
Vampires were known to be obsessive creatures, always needing to keep their mind occupied and craving answers to their questions. Curiosity and knowledge were a consolation prize when blood was not available, providing a similar ecstasy. It was therefore no surprise that plenty of them found solace in scholarly disciplines, such as music, art and philosophy.
A gentle flame bloomed in Moon's heart, slivers of desire and pleasure flickering alongside those of pride and interest. You had the audacity to cause his creations to malfunction and this only made him wish to build even more of them, he would give you all the puzzles in the world to solve, beyond those that required solutions to musical riddles.
What a hunt it could be. Finally a true challenge in the doldrums of immortality, an aurora borealis appearing in his night sky after an eternity of starless darkness.
So many new possibilities, a vampire of his calibre chasing after the only person capable of silencing their heart, leaving only the sweet scent of their blood to tease and torment him. Nevertheless, it did not escape his notice that you needed some time to properly return to normal after such a feat. He would be there to soothe you. Moon knew very well how to take care of priceless instruments.
Sun came over to your side, cautious, but very much intrigued. He returned the papers and quill to you, grinning.
“I have questions, dear comet.“
“Let me see, how was it you worded your replies earlier regarding all of those odd occurences? Ah, yes. What a coincidence, I too have questions. A magician never reveals their secrets, and so on, and so forth.“
“Using my own weapons against me?“
“Of course. I'm not going to waste those in my arsenal, have you seen the prices for new ones these days?“
There was some trouble with opening the new door, as no key seemed to work on the lock. If anything, the room seemed as if nobody had touched it in ages. Sun groaned.
“I could have sworn it was this one. I may need your help, darling. Pick a key, any key, your guess is as good as mine.“
“This one with the little heart seems cute.“
“Tenth time's the charm.“
Moon smirked and commented:
“I can always go fetch a drill.“
The Viscount made a happy noise as the lock finally clicked, but his joy was short-lived as a solid avalanche of heavy leather-bound books and scrolls of parchment comically buried him as soon as he opened the door. The Marquis burst out laughing.
“Well, that's a sad way to die, brother.“
“Shut up!“
The tomes were in a dire condition and as soon as you reached for one, the binding partially fell apart. You managed to decipher that at least some of them held some financial information, but whoever had compiled it was probably either dead drunk or not paid enough to care. You knelt down, removing a few books to help dig Sun out.
“Sir, these records are basically antediluvian.“
“So is the dust. Do you mind categorizing them year by year by yourself, love? Could take you a while, really. Days. Months. A decade. You know, I propose you just move in at this point, no problem.“
“This is absolute chaos and the charts here make no sense. Was there anyone tasked with keeping track of the transactions? Debts, income?“
Sun and Moon gave each other a look, both of them humming in thought and inspecting the vast corridors of their brilliant minds, arriving somewhere on the forgotten level that had a sign with “to delete later, seriously“ written on it.
They whispered to each other:
“Didn't we have that notary, Moon?“
“Yes, we did. Somewhere in the early Baroque era.“
“The chap's probably not alive now, is he?“
“He could be, if I play a note or two.“
Sun frowned at him, narrowing his eyes and speaking in a tone as if dealing with a troublesome child.
“Out of the question, not a topic of discussion. You can hardly control yourself once you start going crazy with your musical necromancy powers.“
“I am officially offended by such a statement. The dancing dead are always a delight to see.“
“Yes, especially that one time on the national news on a Sunday evening. Thank goodness mortals have no concept of common sense, so they proclaimed it a zombie flash mob and turned it into an annual trend.“
“You can't let things go, can you?“
There was something heartwarming about their childish banter, and you could not help but smile. You didn't know what was more adorable, their wisecracks or the fact that they were convinced you couldn't hear them. Oh, well.
The corridor was illuminated by lightning once more, drops of rain still continuously hitting the windows, providing a soothing combination of sounds, and soon enough the roar of thunder reverberated all across the castle. Personally, you would have loved to simply snuggle up in a soft blanket, with a collection of priceless hardcover books nearby for you to read, but we digress.
While the boys were still busy with their verbal swordplay, you took the time to gaze through the window. The garden area had a very intricate design, serving to enchant and bedazzle the beholder. Shrubberies and flower bed areas were placed to replicate the shapes of constellations, labyrinthine paths and lanes forming the shapes of the sun and the moon, fountains with sculptures that no master could ever replicate. It reminded you of the style that André Le Nôtre had been known for, but Sun's variation was ten times more magnificent.
The Viscount was truly an incredibly talented man when it came to visual arts, his work was breathtaking. Speak of the devil. You heard him whisper next to your ear.
“A shame that we cannot take you out for a stroll through our gardens tonight, love.“
“I see you two are done arguing?“
“We were too charmed by the wonder in your eyes to continue. You seem mesmerized. Perhaps we can enjoy them another day, when the weather permits. There are so many gazebos, labyrinths and hidden havens for us to explore together. I place additional lighting during our dance parties. Visitors love to frolic in the garden area the most. It offers a perfect shelter for clandestine activities, where gentle sighs and tender kisses are exchanged between loving promises.“
You shuddered as you heard Moon speak, his hands squeezing your shoulders, massaging them.
“An ideal location for a good game of hide and seek, in my humble opinion. Especially if it slowly evolves into a chase. Fair warning, dearest, I always win, so I expect you to place maximum effort if you want to escape me.“
“There is no greater pleasure than stealing victory from someone who is far too accustomed to it.“
Moon gave you an affectionate nuzzle, making your heart rate slightly increase, and he made sure to keep memorizing the harmonies of your blood. The skin of your neck was warm and silken. It would be so easy to puncture it with his sharp teeth and any lesser vampire would have already done so with wild abandon. Not yet, no, he craved the reward that came after a proper capture, precious and well-deserved.
Nevertheless, a small part of him would have loved to enjoy the simplicity of domestic bliss, without the thrill of the hunt. It would be nice to assist you in preparing for your slumber. Brushing your hair, letting the tingling sensations along your sensitive scalp lull you further into the embrace of slumber, singing softly or playing an instrument for you. Perhaps one day.
Your voice brought his attention back to reality:
“I do warmly recommend investing in an emotional support plushie, sir.“
“Oh? Hardly a sound financial advice. I already have one here, no need to seek others.“
“You know, since you're already at it, could you please focus your ministrations a little to the left? I am feeling some tension and ache there.“
“Of course, Your Majesty. Although, do you permit me to do my best to properly help you with that health issue?“
“Alright, granted.“
You stiffened as you felt his hands around your neck, but his hold was gentle, akin to what one may expect from a medical doctor. He traced his fingers over the carotid sinus and the vagus nerve area, applying pressure on the nerve and proceeding with a gentle massage. There were many benefits to such a manoeuvre and the effects were almost instantaneous for you, allowing you relax.
Moon had registered that your little hibernation technique had a strain on your body, regardless of your remarkable recovery abilities. Rather terrifying recovery abilities, more like. By all means, it was a miracle that you were even alive. Skill level notwithstanding, such a drastic back-and-forth change in blood flow intensity and oxygenation, coupled with the lack of an adequate presence of leukocytes when needed, was bound to temporarily mess up the immune system, create issues with blood circulation and cause muscle aches.
He focused, listening attentively. Your blood was singing softly, a gentle lullaby of past, present and future. With sufficient focus, he could read many things about you, but for now chose not to. Again, it would be too easy and there was no glory in easy prey. Oh, but how magnificent it would be to enjoy such a composition.
Every vibration was carved in the texture of flesh, almost in a similar way that sound was perfectly preserved in the grooves of a vinyl record, or the metal pins on the cylinder of a music box being able to replicate a melody. Your blood could hear all that had ever happened to you, after all. Even if all cells eventually replaced themselves, flesh regenerating and changing over the years, all of them would still whisper secrets to each other, containing them forever. For Moon, it would be like listening to a recording.
Pleasant tingles went down your spine and, surpringly enough, it did make you feel better. You closed your eyes, fully leaning into Moon's touch, much to his delight.
“I have to admit, you are really good at this, my lord Marquis.“
“The pleasure is all mine.“
He could get used to this idyllic scenario. It was certainly different from what he would feel while hunting or feeding. Each individual hunt was often a dramatic symphony that he conducted as if possessed, letting the rhythm completely take over all sanity and consume him in the same manner he would take all drops of blood that a person had to offer, shuddering from the tragic swan song of a dying heart offering the last bit of the nectar of life, grande finale, all for him, only for him.
Corpses had no music left in them. Therefore, he would keep some blood for his ink for composing, and in that way have a record of the person's inner workings forever at his disposal, along with the possibility to summon the body back from the dead if he so pleased. If there were to be a dire need for an urgent army of the dead, he could temporarily revive thousands through the usage of his own blood, writing specific notes and chords with it and then simply playing the tune on an instrument.
Coincidentally, it was a nice surprise and a change for you, as well. Any other vampire would have used the opportunity and take advantage of your vulnerability in that moment.
Your humanity was an asset that you would use regularly to lure the ravenous beings of the Night. Your scent was sweet and therefore perfect bait, especially if you were letting your heart slow its rhythm, thus tricking the vampires into thinking that you were dying and helpless. They would come, starved, ready to feast, and you would pierce their heart the moment they were close enough, unexpecting. You were silent and you were quick, moving like a midnight curse, unyielding and inevitable.
But let us return to our current adventure.
Sun wished to have his fair share of your attention once more, so he reached and combed his fingers through your hair, sharp claws caressing your scalp, sending tingles down your spine. You could honestly get used to all of that pampering, you almost fell asleep right there and then. Sun spoke:
“Since we cannot play outside, perhaps we should use this opportunity to think of a story together. The weather adds to the spooky atmosphere, after all, doesn't it?“
You hummed, still too relaxed to care what was going on.
“Will we ever get some work done here, sir? We still got rooms to go through.“
“No, I don't think so.“
“Alright, I will take the bait. What shall we make? A horror story?“
You had always been a great admirer and avid reader of horror fiction, dear Y/N, both classical and modern. However, you were of the opinion that the common perception of such tales had become rather stagnant, as if those stories had already given all the lessons and messages they had to give.
You had half a mind to one day write a collection of essays to give a new perspective regarding that particular genre. For instance, contrary to common sense and popular expectations, natural law dictated that sooner or later an administrative official or a legal professional was bound to enter the abode of a vampire.
It would be fun if you were to rewrite the whole summary of “Dracula“ into “aspiring solicitor visits a charming old vampire, helps him purchase real estate in several easy steps and this becomes everybody else's problem.“
Moon released you from his embrace and grinned.
“Perhaps a tale about a group of devilish fiends that lurk in the dark of your chamber and wait to steal you away.“
“You know, that is rather hilarious if you think about it.“
“Oh?“
“Imagine, they just sit there and look at the time every once in a while as they wait for your potential entrance so they could potentially kidnap you. What if your plans change and they just end up sitting there in the corner for nothing all night? I suppose they would read a nearby magazine or something.“
That certainly got a laugh out of him. Alright, enough tomfoolery, the three of you agreed to improvise as the story went along.
As was customary in most dark fairy tale beginnings, there was a walk through the forest. We cannot have you go with a bicycle, imagine the hassle. It would not be as frightening and serious if the handsome monsters had to jog along to keep up with you while trying to lead you astray or trick you into their clutches. Although it would be hilarious if they were to run after you with a net, but we digress.
A character named Darling Red Riding Hood was carrying a basket full of cakes and other treats, on their merry way through the perilous realm that belonged to two very trustworthy hunters that were totally not wolfish demons in disguise. Quite a lot of irony to unpack there, in your opinion.
“Gentlemen, we should make a whole compilation of parodies of fairy tales.“
“Don't get out of character, we are coming to the good part.“
“Sorry, sorry. My, such big hands you have, my dear Viscount Sun.“
“The better to hold you with, precious.“
Moon, of course, had to protest:
“I thought I would be the one doing the holding, brother.“
“Well, you already got the eyes and the teeth part, don't be greedy.“
They settled for a compromise of both doing the holding, otherwise a whole war would break out.
“Does Darling Red proceed to run or should I just make them initiate a pillow fight with their opponents?“
“Oh, no, anything but the deadly power of the pillows.“
“If we make a chase scene, I would love for Moon's character to trip over the carpet at least once.“
“How rude.“
Eventually, the three of you created several ending scenarios and agreed that you would properly choose one during the course of your stay. Under the condition that Sun makes all the notes, since you were very much done with the whole quill fiasco.
The situation was rather absurd and you had no idea how things had gotten to that point really, but you were having fun in that specific moment and it also allowed you to acquire a more relaxed perspective of things. For instance, you were very well aware that Grand Duke Eclipse was taking a suspiciously long time to get the collection of jewellery ready. What on earth was the old man doing?
Sun tapped your shoulder to get your attention.
“Any other silly ideas to note down? Potential sequels?“
“I was thinking about another ending idea. What if there never was a grandmother and Darling Red Riding Hood just used that as an excuse to trick the wolfish fiends into going to the cottage first, trapping them inside?“
“That would be very sneaky and wicked.“
“Well, so is stalking people in the forest for nefarious purposes. Double standards, I see.“
“And what will Darling Red do with their newly acquired prisoners?“
“Well, the house isn't going to vacuum itself and someone has to do the cooking.“
Sun and Moon looked at each other before cackling.
“What an elaborate plan just to get someone to do the housekeeping for you. But maybe they predicted the whole plot all along and have their own schemes. I am certain they would find a way to trick Darling Red and return the favour. Write all of that down, we got some good material here that we can expand upon.“
“I am trying, give me a second.“
“Having some trouble there? That notebook has seen some better days, I reckon. What a dangerous little impaler you are, puncturing that poor piece of paper ever so cruelly. And look at all those smudged letters, what a fine mess.“
Oh, enough was enough.
You huffed as if you were an offended princess, holding up the quill to Sun.
“I wish to return this item and report it as a faulty product. I also regret to inform you that the ink doesn't dry, either.“
“Give it some time, it is all a matter of practice and the correct position of the wrist. As for the ink, well, I hardly ever had such problems. Medieval monks used to ascribe manuscript errors to a sly demon named Titivillus. Mayhaps he is the one interfering with your efforts.“
He winked at you. You were not having it.
“My lord Viscount, falsely accusing an innocent demon in such a manner. I would feel slighted if I were him. Perhaps even file a lawsuit for slander.“
“Gracious goodness, heaven forbid, we don't need another administrative affair on top of this one. Besides, I would take this writing problem as a sign that you need to quit your current job altogether.“
“Excuse me?“
“You are excused. You see, I find myself in need of an art model. If you ever get bored of your tiresome profession, I shall be waiting, welcoming you with open arms. You should be lying on crimson velvet, inspiring beauteous images, not walking around in the rain from door to door like a street urchin.“
“Tempting, sir, but we will have a problem if you keep making me write with this torture device should I choose to stay.“
You sighed as you looked down at the ink stains on your hand.
“I do hope these markings are not permanent. Will warm water and soap suffice to get this out?“
He contemplated the answer for a while. Sun was hardly fazed by your attempts at being cold with him. Blood never told a single lie and the sweetness of yours was certainly guilty of high treason, displaying a palette of dawn-coloured emotions that no ice could keep contained. Frozen fruit remained sweet and there was no wine more precious than the one made from special grapes collected in Winter.
Sun saw artistic value in each and every gesture, shades and colours that he would make sure to remember so he could create a similar version on the canvas.
The fabric of your clothes, each lock of your hair having its subtle and delicate texture, slight curls at the ends after drying from the rain. Your cheeks, soft eyelashes, the way your eyes reflected the distant source of light, the curve and shape of your lips, he wished to immortalize all of it in countless paintings.
To your surprise, Sun reached for your ink-stained hand, holding it gently as if it were a fragile bird, inspecting the patterns.
“Sir?“
“Permit me one simple gesture to prove my devotion, same way you allowed Moon to do so.“
You blushed as his fingers caressed your skin, a part of you apprehensive of the ink making a mess on his hands, as well. You were about to speak, but words evaporated the moment you realized what Sun was doing. He traced his index finger along the stained area, commanding its shape and direction, and suddenly the ink flowed as if it were a living tattoo, rearranging itself into the shape of a comet.
Sun then pressed his lips to the newly made image, his reverence almost palpable.
“Comets are made out of ice, but their full potential is released the closer they come to the warmth of the sun, their companionship creating the vapour that forms the comet's tail. You would be doing me a great honour if you chose to be my assistant in creating similar wonders, love.“
You were certain that there were little sparkles in your eyes, but let us remain professional.
“I will keep your offer in mind, Viscount. Nice parlour trick, I'll give you that. I hope you don't charge your guests for witnessing such shows.“
“I could simply say I am freelancing for compensation that is selectively given. A donation, if you will.“
He meant what he said, he wanted a partnership, body and soul. Nevertheless, his darker side was equally potent, dreaming of your warm blood colouring the flowers on his canvas, gentle droplets on each petal, giving life to his art in ways no mortal ever did.
He was fully aware of the perils of his own duality and the consequences of losing control of himself. There was nothing more disturbing than using kindness for evil and he made an effort to only apply that part of himself when it was for the benefit of the entirety of the Celestial Coven.
Viscount Sun possessed an additional ability that no other vampire had ever been gifted with: he could freely walk in the daylight. Therefore, he was often the diplomat of the group, the link to the outside world that kept up their pristine image in the eyes of mortals. He was gentle and therefore lethal, prancing happily and collecting everyone's trust and adoration with his charm. Giving someone your trust was akin to carving out your heart and handing it over to them with a smile, the tender organ still beating in the palm of your hand.
Being the one most accustomed to keeping up appearances, it only made sense for him to be gifted with the power over images and illusions. Additionally, this allowed him to see through his paintings as if they were a magic mirror, and it was not uncommon for him to gift special portraits to those that the coven had an interest in monitoring from afar, be it either people in important positions or those they needed information on.
He did not possess Moon's hunting instincts, but he excelled in psychological torture. Allowing certain prisoners to escape, letting them spread the word to all the denizens in the local town that there were vampires living in the castle. Sun would then casually appear in broad daylight, dressed in his best suit, grinning and wishing the former prisoner a good day, watching them whimper in shock. Needless to say that everyone around them would become more than convinced that the accuser was insane.
There had always been such a joy in Sun's eyes, a kindness seemingly so sincere, as if inviting an audience to a magical wonderland of his own making, a picture he himself had painted, promising and coaxing, never mentioning that there were no real exits once entered.
You were well aware of all of his shenanigans and past deeds, which is why your common sense commanded you to be very careful with him. However, he was also adorable, so you could permit yourself a moment or two of indulgence. Reasonable dosage.
You cleared your throat when you realized you were silent for far too long.
“Out of curiosity, are there any secret passageways around here? Seems only natural, we already have everything else that constitutes a typical Gothic story scenario.“
“Yes, but those are hardly practical. Last time we installed those, Eclipse got stuck in the walls. We miscalculated the tunnel measurements, you see. After a while we heard some very cranky noises, but we couldn't pinpoint where he was exactly. Took an eternity to get him out.“
Fun and games came to a stop when a dark voice spoke:
“Why, thank you for sharing that silly story with our beautiful guest, Sun. My good name shall never recover.“
The Viscount looked over at the end of the hallway. The familiar regal figure was standing there, gazing out the window, studying the storm absentmindedly. His expression was almost soft, pensive. Sun called out:
“All in good fun, esteemed brother. We would never mock you, heaven forbid. I see you brought all of your paraphernalia with you.“
You blinked in shock when you noticed the absurd amount of coffers, chests and trunks around Eclipse, including a large jewellery cabinet that bore the crest of the Celestial Coven. The man had casually hauled over a king's ransom to your presence as if it were the most normal thing in the world, without any of you even hearing him appear.
Eyes of gold and liquid honey were now focused on you, but they did not seek to enchant you, at least for the time being. Something was different about his general demeanour. You had no idea what to expect, whether you should be alarmed, concerned or intrigued.
“Are you alright, sir?“
“Would you pardon an old dreamer for getting lost in his reveries? Also, I ask for a moment of your time, diligent scribe, it won't be long.“
“Of course, no problem.“
“Much obliged.“
Another blink and he was gone, his form disappearing in smoke. You winced, alert and prepared for a confrontation should the situation demand it. Sun and Moon both had a knowing smile, aware that their brother had prepared a beautiful show for you.
“Relax, comet. You do love parlour tricks still, don't you?“
“I think I am reaching my limit for one evening, honestly.“
The nearby window opened on its own accord, strong winds playing with the heavy velvet curtains. The passing droplets of rain suddenly halted their course, hovering in the air, before floating towards you. With bated breath, you watched them glow and transform into tear-shaped diamonds.
A single thread of a spider's web was summoned from a dark corner, undulating in the air, radiating light as its properties were subjected to a miraculous metamorphosis into a chain of white gold.
The chain proceeded to connect the diamonds together, particles of dust in the air becoming incandescent and transforming into filigree for each jewel. Unconsciously, you extended your palm and watched it land there, incredulous of what you had just witnessed.
Eclipse's voice was at your ear, tender, almost a purr.
“Alchemy is a divine scholarly discipline, morning star. A minute oscillation in structure on the atomic level can alter the physical properties of any object in existence. The same logic applies to all parts of nature, from the humble rock in the groumd, all the way to the exalted blood that courses through our veins and gives life.“
He reached for the newly-made treasure from your hand and gently placed it around your neck, his fingers lightly playing with a lock of your hair after he finished. From what he had silently observed, diamonds seemed to partially resonate with your soul, but didn't quite fit to serve as its new home. The energies of your spirit kept interchanging during the evening while you were playing with his brothers, vernal bliss turning into a kingdom of frost, back and forth.
What other jewels would be appropriate for your spirit? Emeralds? Indicolite? When it came to your inner essence, it was important to dedicate the diligence of a true craftsman that was observing the structure of a gem under a lens. Moreover, it was of crucial importance to match the energy of the blood with the proper stone.
As for you, dear Y/N, you had no idea whether you should continue to marvel at all of the wonders presented to you, or if you should start to lowkey panic over the amount of spiritual energy that the Grand Duke had accumulated in his considerably long career of snatching human souls by sealing their blood in jewels. Alchemical transmutation was a monstrous power and to see its application was both incredible and terrifying.
Alright, you had already been aware that he would be the most dangerous out of the three. Nothing new. However, you required more information. You were mostly acquainted with the way Sun and Moon were able to use their powers in practice, as well as knowing where they drew the line and boundaries they would never cross. You needed to have the same experience with Eclipse to properly build a strategy against him. Another mathematical problem to solve, a challenge, a mystery to unravel.
The Grand Duke placed a finger under your chin to get your attention.
“A miracle, our darling is speechless.“
“I am merely processing the fact that you could singlehandedly crash the entire international gem market this way.“
“Oh, my, how villainous of me. I should be stopped.“
“Well, that is why I am here, correct?“
“Beauteous Venus, bright herald of both morning and evening, you combine within you the lethal gift of dawn and the comforting shelter of dusk, but I assure you, your little inspection will never make this noble house fall. Now, shall we continue?“
With a swift motion, he produced a golden key out of thin air and made his merry way to the many chests and coffers he had brought, opening them and revealing all that was stored within. Handmade music boxes, pocket watches, rings and bracelets galore, crowns, diadems, sceptres, various complex tools and instruments, bejewelled daggers. All of it made by his own hand.
Sun and Moon did not wish to remain on the side and they happily joined the fun, helping you unbox priceless items as if they were regular Christmas gifts. Giggling, you playfully placed a tiara on Moon's head and plenty of rings on Sun's fingers, as well as an obscene amount of pearl necklaces around his neck.
“We look ridiculous.“
“On the contrary, I think this appearance will be very useful should you ever apply to work at an airport.“
“How so?“
“With all those sparkles, it will be very easy to help navigate the plane to where it needs to land.“
“Very funny.“
A few items caught your eye in particular. With childish curiosity, you reached for the ornate sabres that were stored in one chest, the quality of their material and design beyond description. There were various other types of swords, such as elegant rapiers and light smallswords. Blades were a thing of immense beauty and you harboured almost the same type of weakness for them as you did for chocolate cupcakes. And books.
As was expected, Sun was quick to reprimand you.
“No, no, sharp objects down. Bad comet.“
“But they are pretty.“
“You will poke someone's eye out.“
“That doesn't make them any less pretty. Also, rude. I am very skilled when it comes to duels with historical weapons, thank you very much.“
“Now, what was it you said to those poor knights earlier this evening? Do you have a permit to wield those?“
“Actually, I do.“
The economic principles of supply and demand had a tendency of functioning the same way one would expect from cosmically linked soulmates. It was in that particular moment that both you and Eclipse realised a few things. He needed a way to get to your blood without initiating a full frontal attack and you needed a way to learn how he functioned when in action, even if it was all a part of the little absurd farce all four of you were partaking in.
It was therefore no wonder that the Grand Duke took the opportunity as soon as it presented itself.
“Did someone mention a duel?“
There was nothing worse than being in the same room with an unstoppable force and an immovable object, especially when both of them had a penchant and passion for swords. Eclipse was setting down some basic rules for you to follow and you were adding some adjustments to them, especially those dealing with collateral damage. Modern fencing regulations be damned, let's go wild. The Viscount and the Marquis exchanged a look of concern. They certainly were not in the mood for acting as makeshift daycare attendants and they could feel the migraine coming in their direction in a metaphorical car with broken metaphorical breaks.
You sealed the deal with a handshake, a true professional one this time. No time for hand kissing when it came to business.
“To finalize, what will lead to direct victory, my lord?“
Eclipse tilted his head, grin widening, red circles appearing in his golden eyes.
“First blood.“
AO3
#vampire sun#vampire moon#vampire eclipse#sundrop x reader#moondrop x reader#eclipse x reader#sundrop#moondrop#fnaf sun#fnaf moon#fnaf eclipse#five nights at freddy's#daycare attendant x reader#daycare attendant#vampire au#jester's privilege chronicles#amary's chronicles
19 notes
·
View notes
Text
Octavinelle
Octatrio/Prefect (Yuu,MC,OC) Romantic Poly
One-sided Riddle/Prefect
SCHOOL UNITY: Heartslabyul
“This is workplace harassment, you know.”
Azul let out one of his dramatic gasps, gloved hand placed over his heart as if the Prefect had landed a mortal blow.
“How could you say such a thing, my pearl?” he asked with a liberal tone of offense that he had to internally fight to keep when their beloved human’s expression remained a very unimpressed and very dry glare. “I am a merfolk of my word and I would certainly never break a term of contract, especially for my dearest employee!”
“I never agreed to this.” They said pointedly, crossing their arms over their chest and refusing to cooperate with how Jade was attempting to take their measurements.
“Aa, but you also didn’t NOT agree to it.” Azul said smoothly, flashing a charming smile. “You see, angelfish, your work contract includes the requirement for the approved uniform to be worn each shift that you are to be paid for.”
“This isn’t the uniform! I already HAVE my uniform and it’s not…THIS!” they threw their hands up into the air in frustration.
“You do have a set of our common uniform, yes, but I have come up with a brilliant idea that will help us improve attendance and sales. For these special promotions the uniforms will be…unique.” He said cheerfully, clapping his hands together and ignoring the snickering from Floyd behind them.
“Koebi-chan is going to be even more adorable than usual!” he cackled from his place on the couch where he was flicking through various catalogues and fabric books. “I’ll have to squeeze you even more than normal to handle it!”
“Jade!?” they complained, tugging their arm away from the calmer tweel as he tried to measure their wrist and fingers. “Why are you okay with this? Isn’t it going to be a lot of work for you to make these things?”
“Perhaps,” he replied smoothly, though his eyes couldn’t hide the dark glee he was enjoying from seeing the prefect so flustered and defiant. “But I have found that sewing, while not my favorite hobby, does have it’s own sort of charm. Especially when I will have such a cute model.”
Azul couldn’t hide his chuckle when their lover groaned, dropping their head into their hands and trying to hide the faint blush on their cheeks. They had gotten somewhat used to the tweel’s form of flirting, but thankfully not completely. Thankful for the Octavinelle trio at least. Their blush really was lovely.
“Do not fret, my pearl, you will be compensated handsomely for your part in my sche-plans. If my projections are correct, you will be receiving a ten percent increase for the promotional shifts you work and if the outcome is greater then I will raise it accordingly.” He promised, knowing instantly that he had won them over.
Oh the stubborn human refused outright to let him take care of their living expenses – spouting some nonsense about not wanting the three to think they were with them for financial gain, as if Azul wasn’t willing to do it even if they were – but they wouldn’t argue against pay raises that were fair for work done.
The prefect’s shoulders sagged and they let their hands fall away to turn a pouting but resigned look up at him.
“Thirty percent.” They shot back.
“Fifteen.”
“Twenty-five and not a madol lower. I can see some of the sketches from here and if I’m going to be wearing that in front of the whole school then I’m going to get what I deserve.” They said stubbornly, not realizing that Azul had actually planned for at least forty percent going to the Prefect if he had to.
“Then it’s a deal, my dear.” He nearly purred, almost being able to feel the stacks of madols in his hands that he would be earning with this idea.
He shook their hand before leaning down to place a teasing kiss on the back and then spinning to all but skip to his desk.
“Be sure to run the designs by Vil, won’t you, Jade? He has quite an eye for these things you know and I’m sure he’ll simply ADORE what we have cooked up.”
“And that stalker of his will get the word out quicker than anything!” Floyd cackled.
“Arms out, angelfish.” Jade grinned.
The prefect groaned but gave in.
-
“Cater, really, there’s no need to pull.” Riddle frowned in consternation, tugging his wrist away from the overexcited ginger who couldn’t stop babbling about this ‘special promotion’ thing that Mostro Lounge had started advertising.
“Ya don’t understand! If we’re not early we won’t be able to find a seat! I can’t miss this kind of photo op! My likes are gonna be through the roof! I wonder if the Prefect will let me get a picture with them.” He rambled with a wide smile as he typed away on his phone at a speed that made Riddle’s mind boggle.
“You’re going to have to have to get behind us!” Ace cackled. “We’re their besties, ya know!”
“We should definitely take pictures since Sebek and Jack couldn’t come.” Deuce agreed with a nod, Grim hanging off his shoulder.
“Well I’m gonna order the biggest tuna dish ever!” the monster said happily, dreaming of the delicious food that was waiting for him.
“I wonder what the theme is going to be.” Epel said thoughtfully from between the two card soldiers. “Vill-senpai has really gotten into the planning once Jade stopped by a few weeks ago. He won’t tell me anything about it though and Rook just giggles and starts spouting poetry no one can understand.”
“Well, we won’t be staying long.” Riddle said firmly. “Midterms are in a few days and all of you need to stay focused on not falling behind.” He ignored the groans from the first years and Cater.
Trey just laughed as they passed through the mirror into Octavinelle dorm grounds and patted his friend on the shoulder.
“I’m sure they will do fine. This will be a good stress relief for everyone.” He said, trying to ease some of the housewarden’s annoyance at being dragged along.
Of course, he gave the excuse of needing to ensure that the others didn’t go overboard, but it was impossible to miss how he caved once he heard it involved their Ramshackle Prefect.
“Perhaps but-“
The group paused when they saw the entrance to the restaurant was decorated with roses and various displays that definitely gave off a ‘Heartslabyul’ vibe but with a distinct elegance that spoke of Azul’s influence.
“What is this ‘theme’ supposed to be?” Riddle questioned as Cater gasped and rushed forward through the other students in line to enter and began taking pictures both of the entrance and himself as well with them in the background.
Epel blinked and looked around in confusion as they entered, the Queendom of Hearts décor continuing on farther.
“I don’t know, Vil just said something about ‘school spirit’ and ‘loyalty’.” He shrugged.
“Yeah, the fliers the twins were passing out just said Heartslabyul gets a ten percent discount tonight on top of the ticket promotion.” Ace said, grinning as he looked around at the rather packed lounge – mostly by familiar red, white, and black uniforms.
“Oh hey! Jade-senpai!” Deuce said suddenly, waving his arm at the tall vice-housewarden.
The eelmer’s calm smile widened just a bit as he walked in their direction, giving a polite bow.
“Welcome to Mostro Lounge, Housewarden Riddle. We were hoping you would be joining us this evening. Azul was quite positive that you would enjoy yourself. Might I show you all to a table?” He said, looking quite different in the black suit, black striped shirt, and blood red tie and gloves. There was a single white rose in his lapel pocket.
Riddle gave the tall – TOO TALL! – eelmer a distrusting glare but gave in finally at Cater’s very insistent begging.
“Very well.” He sighed, shooting a harsher glare at Ace when the boy gave a little cheer and pumped his fist.
“So what’s all this about!?” Cater asked excitedly, holding up his phone to record Jade’s answer.
Jade chuckled smoothly as he led the group through the crowd of students towards a large table near the center of the room that had obviously been reserved for the Heartslabyul housewarden. The décor was a bit more elaborate without being gaudy and everything was set up to the Heartslabyul rules.
“Why, Azul wishes to give back to the school, of course.” He said, even pulling the chair at the end out for Riddle. “After so much has happened he’s wanted to strengthen our bonds as NCR students and help to share the diverse cultures of our dorms with all on campus. It really is quite a shame, after all, that there is so many interesting traditions and styles that the other houses only barely get a peek at.”
Riddle glared again but did take the seat offered, looking around the room and noticing that while there WERE many Heartslabyul students there were quite a lot from the other dorms as well, even a couple from Ignihyde who were congregating in a corner. While it wasn’t like the houses completely segregated themselves from each other, friendships across dorms were less common than among dormmates and clubs. Now, though, there were more students intermingling, particularly with the Heartslabyul students than normal. Azul’s plan was obviously working.
“I suppose…if it means that more students will be able to experience a piece of our traditions…then it is fine.” He finally conceded. “But I will have none of our Queen’s etiquette broken! They may not be under my purview but-“
“Fret not, Housewarden Riddle.” Jade assured him before the red head could work himself up into a lecture. “Azul has scoured your exhaustive collection of rules and made adjustments to both cutlery and the menu accordingly.”
Riddle glared, still not trusting the octomer in the slightest but had to give in when it really did seem like everything was being handled well and with respect.
“Very well.” He finally agreed, making Jade’s grin widen to show the sharp, shark-like teeth.
“Then please, enjoy yourselves and I will send your server right over.”
Trey sent Riddle a comforting smile as the other boys all began looking through the menus and chattered away at the options available. All had a Heartslabyul flare but were different enough to be a special treat for even those of the dorm.
“You shouldn’t worry so much, Riddle. It’s just dinner. It’s not like Azul is tricking us into a contract. We’ll even get to see…the…oh, my.”
Riddle blinked when Trey’s gaze moved past and settled on something behind him.
Expecting a trap of some king, Riddle snapped his head around.
Instantly his face burst into a brilliant crimson.
“Welcome to Mostro Lounge, everyone! I’ll be your server today so please let me know if there’s anything I can do for you.” The Prefect chirped.
Riddle wasn’t even capable of forming thoughts let alone respond.
“Whoa! What do they got you dressed up in?” Ace cackled, leaning around Deuce to take in their friend’s ‘uniform’.
“Whatever do you mean, Ace? This is the Queendom of Hearts, after all. Isn’t it only proper for the Queen to be served by his most loyal servant?” They smiled sweetly, one of the fluffy white rabbit ears peaking out of their hair flicking slightly.
Riddle almost swallowed his tongue.
“You’re the Queen’s right hand rabbit!” Cater cried in delight, jumping from his chair and zooming to their friend’s side to start taking pictures.
The Prefect only smiled and even did a few poses in the detailed uniform. Red and black puffed shorts that would have been utterly indecent in Riddle’s eyes if it wasn’t for the cream-colored tights pattered with dark red, lace detail along the thighs and card suit symbols trailing down the length of their legs to the black and gold heels. A cream, black and gold corset vest sat over a red silk shirt with a large cream bow around their neck. The tails of the shirt were cut specifically to frame the white bunny tail set at the base of their spine and twitched every now and then as the ears did – showing they were either magical or electronic.
And sitting in the middle of their bow was a rose that was brighter red than the rest of the outfit.
A red matching the exact shade of Riddle’s hair.
Riddle felt like his heart was going to break out of his chest when the Prefect turned their sparkling gaze and smile on him. WERE THEY WEARING LIPSTICK!?
“Since you are a VIP customer, Riddle-sama-“ Oh my sweet seven. “-I’ll be seeing to your every need. Please don’t hesitate to call on me whenever you like. I’m at your beck and call. Now, what would everyone like to start with for drinks?”
Riddle wasn’t going to survive this.
-
“You are an evil man, Azul.” The Prefect said when they dropped onto the couch in his office at the end of the night, throwing their legs into Jade’s lap with a groan. “And I want thirty-five percent.”
The octomer chuckled from his place at his desk, counting the stacks of madol that had flooded in that night with glee.
“Of course, my pearl. I should reward your acting skills, after all. You far exceeded my expectations.” He said, looking over to their lover as Jade gently removed the heels from their feet to set aside and began massaging their aching limbs.
The Prefect let out a soft moan that was far more distracting than they intended, and closed their eyes to relax and be pampered after their hard work. Jade’s fingers really were something else.
“Yeah, yeah, well don’t expect that level of schmoozing all the time.” They warned. “You’re just lucky that it’s fun to make Riddle-senpai blush so much.”
“Isn’t it!?” Floyd cackled as he skipped into the room, draping himself over the back of the couch and tugging their human up into an awkward but enthusiastic kiss before dropping them back on the pillows. “And don’t worry! I taught the catfish from Savanaclaw to keep his hands to himself.”
“Yes, I do apologize for that, my dear.” Jade said. “I knew that table was going to be difficult and I shouldn’t have sent you to them. It won’t happen again.”
The Prefect hoped that the guy still HAD hands.
“It’s fine.” They waved it off, repositioning themself better on the pillows. “I was expecting that to happen eventually.” They admitted.
There was a beat before Jade gave a low chuckle.
“Fufufu…I see, so that is why you requested the heals to be reinforced.”
“They are called ‘stiletto’ heels for a reason. No one enjoys having a shoe puncture through their foot.” They answered with a yawn.
Hearing the guy’s squeal had been pretty satisfying.
Jade must have thought so too with how his hands were wandering.
“Be that as it may, we will take steps for such incidents to be prevented in the future.” Azul assured them, his brow furrowing at the one memory of the night that was less than pleasing.
The Prefect just nodded with their eyes closed, knowing that their lovers would handle it even if they were perfectly capable of doing it themself.
“Just don’t forget my bonus.”
Azul couldn’t help but chuckle, watching as their human allowed Jade to maneuver them and divest them of the different pieces of the costume until they were only left in the silk shirt. He let his gaze trace over the lines and curves of their legs that still draped across Jade’s lap as the eelmer calmly folded each piece and set them aside.
Remembering how vicious their smile had been when they broke that brute’s foot.
Sometimes it was impossible for him not to imagine what their little angelfish would be like as a merfolk. How beautiful their fins would be…or tentacles. He loved them exactly as they were but it was such a shame that the chance for such a devastatingly being to be trapped on land.
But they wouldn’t be trapped forever.
Azul had plans for that as well.
Glancing down at the madol stacked around him and the piles of paperwork that he still needed to do, he allowed himself a chance to celebrate their success and swiftly gathered and locked everything in his vault before making his way over to the sofa and bending down to gather the Prefect in his arms.
They obligingly wrapped their arms around his neck, knowing that their weight was nothing to the octomer, and laid their head against his shoulder.
“If you’re scheming something, you’d better be ready to do all the work because I deserve a pillow princess night.” They said blandly, causing Floyd to cackle and jump to his feet.
“Koebi-chan is so cute when they get demanding.” He teased, grinning when the Prefect stuck their tongue out at him over Azul’s shoulder.
“Of course, dearest, anything you wish.” Azul smiled, not even bothering to act like they had to make deals anymore to get anything they wanted from him.
After all, there was only one contract that he was working to convince them to accepting in the future and there was still an empire he needed to build first.
Only the best for their angelfish.
------------------------------------------
Did Azul place Riddle's table in the middle of the Lounge so that it would maximize everyone's view of the Prefect?
Yes.
Is he jealous that practically the whole school has a crush on their Angelfish?
Also yes.
Will that stop him from taking advantage of that fact while also rubbing in how the Prefect was with them?
Not at all.
Hope you guys like it! Dedicated to my sis who thinks our octotrio works best with a little prefect right in the middle.
Once I get my AO3 page set up I'll cross post these so that they'll be easier to find.
#pinkskytwst#twisted wonderland#twst wonderland#twst prefect#twst#octavinelle#twst azul#twst floyd#twst jade#twst riddle#polycule#azul ashengrotto#azul x reader#azul x oc#azul x prefect#azul x yuu#azul x jade x floyd x prefect#twst fic#twst fanfic#@aviagax
200 notes
·
View notes
Text
introduction / pinned post.
Howdy - I'm Maddie, but you can call me Minerva, minervamagicka or any of the three. I've been playing the Sims since 2010 and making CC for just about as long; though my current focus is Sims 4 equestrian-themed content in collaboration with my partner in crime, Schrodcat, who you can find on DA. Both of us will have a hand in just about everything that is to be released on this tumblr & to DA.
cc master folders
I've reorganized my SFS into folders that I'll be linking below for folks to refer to when searching for my CC. If you'd rather get everything in one go, this is the easiest way to do it!
Click here to view the SFS folder for all of my SIMS 3 content.
Click here to view the SFS folder for all of my SIMS 4 content.
These folders (or, well, just the TS4 folder) will have all of my CC added to them as its' released so they'll always be up to date!
p.s. if any creators would like an SFS code please message me!
donations
I'm not going to proselytize too much concerning my stance on modding and financial compensation here, as it could be an essay in and of itself. What it comes down to is this; everything I ever post for download will always be and always shall be 100% free. It will never be paywalled, hosted behind an ad.fly link or for purchase. However, for those who may want to buy me a coffee so I can fuel my caffeine addiction and keep posting at the speed of sound;
My Ko-Fi & SchrodCat's Ko-Fi / SchrodCat's Patreon
Again; financially supporting one, either or both of us will not grant access to anything exclusive or tangible beyond our gratitude. Additionally, donating with suggestions or requests will not mean those ideas will be automatically fulfilled as if they were a commission. This is just if you wish to express some thanks and get us some drinks!
requests / 'can you do xyz?'
I'm always happy to receive any requests or suggestions for what to release next, however me & S already have quite the list of personal ideas we want to get through first. Therefore, any requests we get will be secondary to those until we finish.
'what are you working on right now?'
S & I have set up a proper Trello board to track our progress on our original meshes & game conversions. You can view it here!
'how can i learn to mod?'
My friend Schrodcat wrote an excellent DA post on this topic with links to resources & some very solid advice on getting into CC creation or modding in general.
'you didn't make [xyz game model], how dare you convert it to the sims?!'
As I've seen an uptick in off-site concern over my [Game]toTS4 conversions, I'm adding this disclaimer to my pinned post that I do not convert models for profit, and I do so transformatively and as a fan of the original work. If it continues to bother you that I do so without the explicit permission/support of the games I port from, I kindly ask you to not engage and to leave my blog.
To learn more, I recommend reading my initial statement on my SSO ports, or, if you're interested in learning more about my stance on modding and my belief in the 'moral economy' of modding in general, this published journal covering the subject may of interest, or this journal article explicitly discussing the use of copyrighted material in modding.
🎊 latest release
→ [MMxSC] Loose Ring Snaffle Bridle
62 notes
·
View notes
Text
As long as women live in poverty and are vulnerable to exploitation there needs to be greater regulation in commercial surrogacy.
As we all know, pregnancy generally takes around nine months, plus recovery time. And humans aren’t great at having much more than one or two children at once. That really limits how many children one person or couple can have at a time.
Or at least it used to.
Assisted reproductive technology and gestational surrogacy have changed what’s possible for human reproduction. For those suffering medical or other obstacles, surrogacy can be a miracle solution to parenthood. Others, however, are pushing the limits on the possibilities provided by the new technology.
1,000 Children, Please
Japanese businessman Mitsutoki Shigeta made headlines in 2014 when Thai authorities discovered nine babies being cared for in a mostly unfurnished condo in Bangkok. The children were all genetically related to Shigeta, and born by surrogacy. Mariam Kukunashvili, a co-founder of the Thai fertility clinic that assisted Shigeta in finding surrogates, reported Shigeta to Thai authorities after Shigeta “revealed plans for more than 1,000 children.” Kukunashvili and Thai authorities were concerned that Shigeta may be involved in human trafficking.
Yet a Thai court later awarded Shigeta custody of all nine of his children, in addition to other children who were genetically related to him, and found elsewhere. After hearing evidence, the court also found no evidence of human trafficking. So, a happy ending?
Not quite.
Shigeta’s case was not the only one grabbing headlines as to the questionability of surrogacy. Another nightmare case around the same time. There, an Australian couple conceived twins via a Thai surrogate. After the twins’ birth, reports came out that the parents returned to Australia with only one of the twins, leaving behind the other twin, who had been diagnosed with Down syndrome. (Although it later came to light that the parents tried to leave with both babies and were unable to.)
In 2015, Thailand responded by banning non-Thai citizens from paying Thai women to act as surrogates, including the potential of a 10-year prison sentence for violators. The result was a complete shutdown of Thailand’s international surrogacy practices.
As frequently happens, when one country shuts down international surrogacy, another country sees a rise in business. In the past couple of decades, the Eastern European country of Georgia has seen surrogacy grow in popularity. But that looks like it may all end as well.
20 Kids In A Year
Shigeta isn’t the only one to look to surrogacy to have a high number of children in a short time. One couple in Georgia has received media coverage over their fast-growing family. With the help of surrogates, the couple, Kristina and Galip Ozturk, have had 21 children in just over a year. And they have plans for additional children. Like Shigeta, the Georgia couple have the financial means to afford surrogacy, as well as a large staff to care for their growing families.
Georgia Closes Its Doors
Last month, Georgia introduced a bill to shut down compensated surrogacy in that country and to specifically exclude all international intended parents. Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili announced on June 12, 2023, that a bill was in progress to tightly regulate surrogacy in the country.
Unafraid of embracing homophobic rhetoric, Garibashvili specifically cited concerns that same-sex couples may be having children in Georgia, and taking them home. But others noted, as though it were a good thing, that there was already a process in place in Georgia preventing same-sex couples from accessing surrogacy services.
The new law in Georgia is expected to pass this fall. It prohibits women in Georgia from being compensated for surrogacy, limiting the practice only to “altruistic” surrogacy arrangements. It also prohibits Georgian women from carrying pregnancies for foreign couples starting in 2024.
That’s bad news for couples like the Ozturks, who are unlikely to be as successful at finding willing surrogates if they are not permitted to pay them. Though at 21 kids, they can hopefully declare victory and be finished. The real issue is that the new Georgia law is bad news for international hopeful parents, who may be unable to afford the price tag in the United States for surrogacy.
US Guidelines
The United States has not turned a blind eye to the issue. In 2022, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) issued “Recommendations for practices using gestational carriers: a committee opinion.” Among the list of criteria for rejection of intended parents is an “inability to maintain respectful and caring relationship with a gestational carrier,” ”ongoing legal disputes,” and — on point here — “Intended parents’ reproductive plan is to pursue concurrent pregnancies by embryo transfers to more than one gestational carrier or seeking concurrent pregnancies for a gestational carrier and intended parent.”
Most fertility clinics in the United States are members of ASRM and committed to following ASRM guidelines and recommendations. So while it is not technically illegal to pursue multiple surrogacy pregnancies at once in the United States, it may now be difficult to find the medical providers to support the plan.
When intended parents take family-building to an extreme, the temptation can be to cast doubt on the appropriateness of surrogacy generally. But that is a misguided reflexive reaction. Regulation can solve the problem of those trying to build an army of children. But for those with limited options who turn to surrogacy for the hopes of a child, eliminating surrogacy means eliminating one of the most viable options to family formation.
So let’s hope that stories likes the Ozturks’ and Shegeta’s don’t ruin it for others.
Ellen Trachman is the Managing Attorney of Trachman Law Center, LLC, a Denver-based law firm specializing in assisted reproductive technology law, and co-host of the podcast I Want To Put A Baby In You. You can reach her at [email protected].
#anti surrogacy sunday#babies are not commodities#Mitsutoki Shigeta#A guy has custody of over nine children he had by surrogates in smother country?#Men creating children who have no recognized mother#How happy are the kids being created by the dozen?#Nannies are not the same as mothers
55 notes
·
View notes
Text
Pillowfort Premium Launches April 17, 2023!
Get ready to enhance your blog with Pillowfort Premium launching on April 17, 2023!
Note: This is a long post. We have placed the remainder of this FAQ under the cut.
What is Pillowfort Premium?
Pillowfort Premium is previously known as Pillowfort’s Premium Features Suite. Pillowfort Premium is our solution to building a more sustainable form of income that doesn’t rely solely on donations and registration key purchases. Developing Pillowfort Premium has been a collaborative effort with our community throughout the years. User feedback helped our team decide which Premium Features would launch first.
Make no mistake; We will continue to offer a wide-range of features for free. Pillowfort Premium only provides users with additional experience enhancing features catering to different needs and preferences.
Why does Pillowfort Premium exist?
In order for Pillowfort to remain online we need money to cover our various expenses such as hosting & data fees, staff compensation, etc. We do not receive any funding from corporate investors or venture capital because we are committed to keeping our user experience a priority. While this allows us more freedom, our company continues to face financial challenges such as being charged higher processing fees because we allow adult content. A breakdown of our monthly expenses is available on the Donation page.
Can I still use Pillowfort for free?
Yes! Pillowfort Premium just adds new features; everything on Pillowfort that was already free to use will remain free.
What are the Premium Features?
The Premium Features launching on 4/17/2023 are:
Multiple Avatars ($1.99USD / month) - Upload up to 200 avatars that you can choose from when making a post or comment.
Higher Image Upload Limits - ($2.49USD / month) Pillowfort Premium Users will be able to upload up to 4MB rather than 2MB. We recognize that this feature being part of Pillowfort Premium rather than free may upset some users. Unfortunately, multimedia data fees are one of Pillowfort’s top expenses, and so in order for us to host larger images we need to make sure we can cover the higher fees that will result.
Premium Avatar Frames ($1.49USD / month) - Decorate your avatar with premium frames. All existing frames that have already been released will remain free. We will continue to add more premium frames in the future!
This is only the first wave of Premium Features, with more planned to launch in the future.
If I have an existing subscription, do I have to cancel it to sign up for Premium?
Nope! If you have an active legacy subscription (i.e., a donation subscription made before the release of Premium), you can easily convert it to a Premium subscription, and you can add an additional donation amount to your Premium subscription if you wish to continue going above and beyond in supporting Pillowfort!
What is the refund policy for Pillowfort Premium?
Pillowfort Premium, including credits, can not be refunded. If you no longer wish to subscribe to Premium, simply cancel at any time and keep what you paid for– you’ll retain Pillowfort Premium access until your next payment is due. After that, you will no longer be able to use Premium features. We will however issue refunds for certain scenarios, such as if you accidentally enter a huge donation amount, there is some billing issue on our end, etc.
Help! What happens if I'm charged twice?
If you notice multiple payments to Pillowfort Blogging LLC there are a few things to check.
When you add a new premium feature to an existing subscription, you are charged the new cost of those features immediately, and your subscription will be charged on that date from then on. If you are only removing features from your subscription, your payment date & interval will remain the same as before.
Check the status of your payment on your bank statement. If the payment shows as pending or processing this is a temporary authorization charge by your payment provider.
If you take the above steps but still think you were overcharged, contact Staff and our customer service team will help you out ASAP.
What are other Premium Features coming soon?
Subscription Gifting - Users will be able to purchase subscriptions that can be gifted to other users. You will be able to gift a Subscriptions to a specific user, or your gifted Subscription can be added to a communal pool for any unsubscribed users to take from. Users who gift subscriptions will receive a special badge they can display on their profile.
Post Promotion & Advertisement Opt-Ins - Users will be able to promote their posts by paying a fee. (Note: You do not have to be subscribed to any other Premium features to promote a post.) By default, this promoted content will only be displayed on a separate page specifically for viewing promoted content. While this will mean potentially less revenue, it is important to our business philosophy to respect our user’s experience and not force advertising on everyone. As a trade-off however, users can choose to opt into viewing promoted content in their home feed, and will receive a discount on premium features for doing so.
Will the Multiple Account Management and Draft & Queue Features become a Premium Feature?
No, these features will be free to all users. Despite rumors that we’ve seen circulating to the contrary, the Multiple Account Management System and Draft & Queue have never been planned as a premium feature.
I have donated to Pillowfort in the past. When will I receive my credits?
Every user who has supported Pillowfort before 11:59pm CDT April 16, 2023 will have the total amount of their prior donations credited to their account, which will have the total amount of their prior donations credited to their account, which can then be applied toward the cost of Pillowfort Premium. When you go to create a new subscription, or convert an existing subscription to Pillowfort Premium, you will be able to see how much credit you have available. It may take a little while after the launch of the Premium system for all users’ credit to be calculated and applied, but we will announce when we will begin rolling out credits shortly after Pillowfort Premium is live.
(Note: Only donations that you have made through the Pillowfort site will be applied to your account. Past payments made through our Kickstarter, PayPal, etc. cannot be applied.)
84 notes
·
View notes
Note
So l applied for a job as an English teacher (where I live it's taught as a second language) and my experience teaching is for like kids 10 and older, and this is for preschool, kids aged 2-5. So I never thought the would call me, because I was honest and told them l've never taught children that age, but they did and the problem is they gave me less than 24hrs to prepare for a class (they didn’t even give me the topics). And they're asking for pp presentation, didactic material ... And I just had to say no, they knew I didn’t have experience with children that young and I obviously don't have adequate didactic materials to bring for the children.
Yet I kinda feel bad and guilty for not having a job, and I can't help but think that maybe I'm the problem, I've been looking for a job for months and this isn’t even my university major. In my area they ask for like 3-5 years of experience, and this is for “people that just graduated” the salaries are minimum or barely above the minimum, they just don’t match the years of experience they’re asking for.
People they just don’t want to hire you to gain experience, I know you’re supposed to gain some with internships but I had at least half of my university time online because of the pandemic, some of my classmates even had online internships. And some jobs they outright tell you that they’re asking for “real experience” so those don’t count. Then if someone hires you they hold it over you, they expect you to leave everything behind and give 100% to the job, as in working and insane amount hours, at crazy times, if they’re generous they pay you the minimum but most of the time they have you there as an unofficial intern that it’s extremely lucky to receive some financial compensation; I mean who would’ve thought that we have to eat and try to survive week after week.
Honestly most days have become this despairing experience and this feeling in my chest and stomach just doesn’t go away.
Im sorry for this very long and sad anon message, it’s just that I’ve seen some anons leaving you similar comments. And you sound like a very mature wise person, I love that you talk about a lot of things 💖
First off, I'm flattered that I am seen as a good place for the younguns to come ask for sympathy and/or advice (I am a good internet grandma, etc). So yes, I shall give you hot cocoa and a nice spot to sit down and chat, metaphorically speaking.
I'm sure you've heard this before, but just so you know and/or hear it again: you're not alone, tons of young people are in the same boat, and it isn't your fault that we live in late-stage capitalism and the job market simultaneously wants 3-5 years of experience for an entry level job and pays you literal shit (but also wants you to somehow spend enough money all the time to keep the economy afloat, NO WAGE ONLY SPEND). Especially when Covid upended everything and now people want to discount online learning/work experience when there was literally no other option. It is a big bucket of crap all around, and while it can absolutely feel like a negative reflection on you personally, or that you're not good enough or not trying hard enough or not open enough to doing things completely out of your comfort zone because you have no other choice, it's not. There are tons of people who really WANT to be employed and have a steady job and at least enough to cover their basic necessities, but due to late-stage capitalism, it's just very hard. You are not the only one and this is not a personal character flaw or failing on your part.
You should not have to take a job you are completely uncomfortable with, especially when they give you literally zero chance to prepare adequately and don't give you any resources or time to support that transition (they'll begin as they mean to go on, etc). And likewise, I want to note that your university major/degree is not a binding contract that you can only work in that field, that you're a failure if you don't get a job in that field, and you have to look in that field first and foremost. Plenty of people do one thing in college and something totally different in their career, and it's okay if that happens, or if you have to work outside your college major for a while or even for the rest of your professional life. So as far as that part goes, I definitely don't think you need to feel any guilt about looking wherever you can, since as you note, the competition is hard for everybody and there's just not enough to go around (by design, since capitalism runs on manufactured scarcity). Once again: not your fault, you're not a failure, and you're doing your best. That is worth a lot.
I know that it sounds trite to say keep your chin up, but keep your chin up. When it comes to teaching ESL, it might be possible to freelance, to offer sessions virtually or over Zoom, advertise among your family and friends, etc., or other bit-part things to tide you over until you find a job (and take it from me, sheer bullheaded stubbornness is half the battle). There are also online tutoring sites and agencies such as Tutora (which I briefly taught for as a broke PhD student) or Study.com that can match you with remote/online work opportunities and get you some clients, rather than you having to do all the work to find and recruit them by yourself. This obviously won't take the place of an actual job, but it might help you patch some cracks and string together some income until you can find one.
Good luck! I'm rooting for you.
16 notes
·
View notes
Last Seen Blogs
mysticladystranger
Untitled
biggerbaggg-blog
biggerbaggg
tantichristanti
Miss Simple Christanti
malcoksix-blog
无标题
probentengcom
ProBENTENG.com