Thirteen is a Hypnosis Mic OC fan division consisting of philosophy major Haruto Hirabayashi, coroner Shirou Sonozaki, and…er…allegedly employed public speaker?? Damien.
Their team was drawn together by necessity to expose a certain conspiracy that affected all of them. Of course, to do that, they’ll need to start trusting each other and being honest...
This mess is brought to you by @hypmicawoou (call me Raz and/or Cherubic! he/they pronouns :V)
Their team color is off-white because I do not love myself and want to make things difficult for me.
Their team “symbol” is a saint medallion of their patron saint somewhere on their clothes (Shirou wears his like a normal person, Damien’s is a tag on his collar, and Haruto’s is hidden in his hair tie.)
This is a canon divergent Hypnosis Mic blog working primarily from the events of DRB2 and using events from the manga and stageplays. I cannot tag for everything, so there will be spoilers.
Want to know more? Some more details including interaction guidelines (spoilers: please interact w/ me) below the cut! Fair warning: I do an interests queue for all three of them but I try to keep post frequency reasonable. Each character has their own tag mentioned in their bio partially for interest blogging purposes.
(Also: this blog is still heavily under construction and things like character art, a finalized logo, and assorted writings like drama tracks are still pending. Bear with me, I’m almost done with this semester and I should have some actual time to do things soon. I am trying so hard.)
Okay, yeah, like I said above, please interact with me! Asks, fanart, fanfic, collabs on songs/drama tracks, memes, reblogs, it’s all good. Just keep it SFW!
I do reblog not specifically Hypmic related posts for an interest queue for each of them. It’s an old tumblr RP blog thing. Basically, it’s just stuff they would like as kind of a character building exercise! I use the character tag listed in their bios for that purpose so if it really bugs you, blacklist that tag but I try to not post spam. :V
I use stage divisions and events that happened during stageplays as part of canon and they will have mentions here. North Bastard and Onigawara Bombers are NOT my fan divisions, they’re part of Hypsute’s storyline. They’ll get mentioned down the line, hence me giving a warning about this. :> I mention this because it’s…ambiguous at the best of times whether or not Hypsute factors into canon. D4 is not here because they are in jail, probably. Dotonbori Divers and Itonokai are technically not DRB divisions but they are running around somewhere or another, I guess.
When in doubt I use manga for my primary canon source when there’s contradictions!
I will try to be semi active but I’m a full time student in a critical year of my current program. I’ll still try to answer asks ASAP but from there out I’m playing it by ear.
Do some of these names look familiar? Were you in the DRRP community a few years ago? If so, hi! Let’s catch up over coffee. I’m back in a different fandom and I will not let my favorite OCs die (this time...........though as far as I can tell Shirou is basically immortal at this point....)
Haruto: Oh, so when Descartes works until five in the morning, he's a once-in-a-millennia genius, but when I do it, it's 'clinically concerning' and 'probably going to lead to a nervous breakdown.'
It's just the one instead of the usual set of three in ARB, my brain is too dead after a philosophy midterm.
Haruto
"'Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity.' Simone Weil. She wrote a lot about love, though more in the sense of divine love. So I wonder what she'd have to say about commodifying love the way that we do. You know, all of the holiday-specific merchandise and selling candies at an upscaled price and shit. Gifts don't matter as much as giving someone the time of day.
Oh, uh, no, I wasn't complaining about the chocolates. Let's just say that's factoring into the attention part, right?"
Damien
"Oh yeah, Saint Valentine! His story is pretty cool. I mean, mostly exaggerated, but that's par the course for saint gospels, right? Let's see, according to folklore, he was a bishop arrested and martyred, and while in prison he sent love letters to the daughter of a judge, which is where the tradition of sending letters to loved ones comes from, allegedly. But honestly, it's more likely it was based on a Roman festival—
Sorry, got off topic. So what are the chocolates for? Valentine's Day? His feast day's in July, though, right?"
Shirou
"Ah, roses. One of the most popular flowers to give, and so varied. Red roses for love is the famous one, but black roses can mean mourning, yellow ones for friendship, white for purity of love, pink for innocence...one of the most versatile flowers when it comes to flower language.
Well, nevertheless, thank you. Though, I'm partial to monkshood myself...ah, but don't handle it. It's quite toxic. So these are perhaps a better idea. Ahaha."
Inspired by @/suginami-division + @/toyama-division, I figured I would do a rundown of the boys' scars since all of them have at least two at this point!
Haruto
Haruto has two scars from top surgery and he's about one step away from exaggerating where they're from to sound more impressive compared to the others in his group. Because when in doubt if someone bothers you about them, you can say "got in a fight with my former self and won" and it's technically true.
...But he also gets a new one along the side of his left rib over the course of the storyline. :> In a story I've only half-written and is after they start meeting some of the other canon (........ish, it's stageplay stuff) divisions. Which was lucky for him, it skimmed off the actual bone, if it'd been slightly lower he'd have a punctured lung to go with it.
He's understandably a little hesitant to show any of them, since the first two are distinctive and it means having to explain...quite a lot. So ironically he's quicker to explain the second one because the story behind it sounds really cool.
Damien
He's got one from a less than glamorous source under his fringe from a freerunning mistake where missing a jump cracked his head open. The others, uh, are a bit more interesting for certain values of the word.
The most noticeable and worst are some chemical burn scars on his lower arms from being careless while handling them (gloves are not enough in and of themselves, he found out), and two cuts across his torso, then one on his lower arm from the rare occasion where he was actively doing field work and got cornered. Neither are particularly gruesome compared to Shirou's whole mess but they are still quite visible.
He's happier to talk about the chemical burns (so he can lecture people on lab safety) and the stab wounds (they're cool and he can do half-truths about being attacked for no reason) but the one on his forehead is just embarrassing, to the point half the reason he has a fringe is to hide it.
Shirou
Shirou is quite badly scarred. He has six on his torso of varying severity (two of which are bullet wounds, one on the front of his shoulder and the other just above his hip. The bullet wounds here are probably the nastiest looking of the scars.) One is just under his neck along his clavicle from where someone tried to slit his throat and missed. He has a third bullet scar that glanced off his upper leg that came from the same gun as the aforementioned one on his hip when the shot went wide, a faint burn scar on his palm from disarming the same person who shot him while the end of the muzzle was still hot from firing a bullet, one long gash on his lower arm because raising your arm to protect your squishier bits from a stab technically is better than getting stabbed in the heart if you have nothing else to block with, and three scars from trying to crash in a window and getting glass shards in there.
And yes, I did deliberately make this add up to thirteen scars.
He knows that this all looks phenomenally suspicious given he's supposed to not be in a particularly violent line of work and the fact you can tell he's been shot at least three times when guns have been illegal in Japan even before the H-Era. As such, he doesn't like talking about them. It could make people ask questions, and he avoids lying at all costs. Unfortunately this is a very difficult subject to weasel his way out of especially with his preference for telling lies of omission and the closest he can really get to lying while giving true statements is "I'm in a dangerous line of work."
Because he is. It's just that the day job of being a coroner isn't that dangerous of a job, but the other one is.
So this is a...very old piece of art, to the point I lost contact with the artist and I'm not sure how to get back in touch with him nor what he goes by now. Unfortunately I don't have one for Shirou yet but this is what Damien looks like when he's playing the role of Shepherd!
I can get you the specific image I was using for Shirou's mask but that's the end of that. :pensive:
"Next few days" actually means "a day," apparently.
Okay, I know that Kyushu dialects are traditionally localized into super strong Midwestern English but that doesn’t translate super well into text and I thought very very hard about the associated stereotypes of people from Kyushu (loud, backwoods-y, friendly, free-spirited) and I think a super thick Vermon’ accent is closer in spirit since it has a lot of the same associations. If there's anyone actually from Vermont, I am very sorry but this is probably better than me trying to write something to the tune of Marge Gundersson.
This almost ended with Haruto using a Scouser accent because it’s way more of a direct parallel so count your blessings this hasn’t resulted in him ending every other sentence with “luv” or “la’.” But diegetically most Japan-to-English dubs are assumed to use American English, so.
So the next two parts are just the usual "let's all sit down and talk about our feelings" things that's going to be standard from here on out. It's also the reason that this ended up being four parts instead of just two. Apologies.
[Thug 1]: They saw him in the warehouse. He dipped off somewhere but he can’t have gone far.
[Thug 2]: Pick up the fucking pace, then. If we’re the ones who catch him, we’ll be made men.
[Haruto, interally]: ...This would be a hell of a lot easier if using mics were an option. But I can’t draw even more of these guys to us.
[Haruto]: (takes in a shaky breath) Okay, here goes….
(A loud clatter as Haruto kicks a can, staggering into the alleyway.)
[Haruto, slurring his words]: Oi! Fuck are you two doing here?
[Thug 1]: The hell?!
[Thug 2, under his breath]: Just some drunk hick, ignore him.
(There’s soft footfalls drawing near.)
[Haruto, now leaning in even harder to his accent and speaking even louder]: Hah? You two don’ sound like you’re from ‘round here. Ah, you got los’, didn’ you? Nobody ever comes t’ this part of town.
[Thug 2]: We’re-- we’re not lost.
[Haruto]: Don’t be shy, now, happens t’ tourists all the time. I’ll show you back t’ town center, c’mon.
(A soft smack as he hits one of them on the back, trying to draw the men’s attentions away.)
[Thug 1]: Hey! Piss off.
[Haruto]: Jus’ a short walk this-a-way.
(Stumbling footsteps as the other two men are dragged forward. The rustle of a cape, boots hitting steel as Shirou climbs the ladder.)
[Shirou, softly enough to not be heard over the angry voices of the thugs]: Thank you.
(Haruto catches Shirou out of the corner of his eye, and breathes a small sigh of relief. It’s short-lived, and followed by a gasp of shock.)
[Thug 2]: Last warning, asshole. Back off. We got better things to do.
[Haruto, internally]: ...Shit. That's a knife. They would be armed, wouldn’t they?
[Haruto]: Hey, hey. I get the picture. I’ll be outta your hair, now.
(He backs away, then runs. One last glimpse at the rooftop. It’s empty.)
[Haruto]: …Goddamnit. How do I get back?
(A soft, raspy bark.)
[Haruto]: ...Huh? Lucia?
(Two more barks. She grabs his pant leg in her teeth and pulls gently.)
[Damien]: O-kaaaay. Well, close call, but the gang’s all back together now, right? This could have gone way worse. Hey, quick thinking, Haruto. That’s twice now you’ve gotten us out of a pinch. You’re a natural-born liar!
[Haruto]: ...Don’t say that like it’s a compliment.
[Shirou]: Given the situation, isn’t it?
[Damien]: Yeah, like, not even a second of hesitation there. Seriously impressive.
[Haruto]: I was just trying to save Shirou’s life.
[Damien]: And you did. Isn’t that worth it?
[Shirou]: Double effect. Isn’t that right, Haruto?
[Haruto]: Hey. Don’t use my words agai—
(He trails off.)
[Haruto]: ...Yeah. You’re right. I guess.
[Damien]: Alright, well, I guess I owe Haruto a better explanation of all this. Let’s get back to the hotel and we can look over the documents then.
(A too-long silence hangs in the air again.)
[Damien]: ...Shirou. You got the records, right?
[Shirou]: ……
[Shirou]: I need to go back in.
[Damien]: You absolutely do not.
[Haruto]: He’s right. Those guys were armed. I almost got stabbed and I was just being annoying. And they’re actively looking for you. What is going back in there going to accomplish?
[Shirou]: We can prove that Chuouku’s been collaborating with the yakuza. The heat will die down soon. I can still finish the mission.
[Damien]: Yeah, if you want to die. They’re not just going to turn and go home in an hour, man. And there’s no guarantee they’re not going to figure out you’re after the paperwork and not their money and move that somewhere safer.
[Shirou]: ...It’s worth it. Haruto, didn’t you say you knew this was a risk we’d all take?
[Haruto]: …
[Haruto, thinking]: There’s no way he’ll listen to reason. He’s just not that kind of person. He’s completely driven by his own ideals. But I can work with that.
[Haruto]: ...Hey. What are you going to do if we win?
[Shirou]: What?
[Haruto]: You heard me. Let’s say we pull this off. The Party of Words is gone. Solaris is exposed. You and I both know you’ve been working yourself to death trying to make that happen. What are your plans once that’s out of the way?
[Shirou]: I don’t see what this has to do with the issue at hand. Why make plans for the future when there’s no guarantee we’re going to see it?
[Haruto]: That’s my point. Shirou, you’ve got something you’re willing to die for, but that’s only half the equation. What do you have to live for?
[Shirou]: …
[Shirou]: What about you? Neither of us have been doing much else for the past couple years.
[Haruto]: I mean, to start with, I’ve got a dissertation to finish. And theories to prove. I can’t prove anything if I can’t live what I’m preaching myself, nobody's going to let a hypocrite change the world. And I’m not aiming to die before I change the world.
(A pause.)
[Damien]: ...What are you all looking at me for?
(He sighs.)
[Damien]: I...look, I don’t know if we can actually change the world the way you guys want. I just know I can change myself. And I know this is the right thing to do to change myself. Whether or not this works, I can at least be a revolution to myself even if I’m not a revolution to the world.
[Haruto]: So. There you go. I’m not saying we have it worked out, but we’ve at least got an idea of what we want to do.
(There’s an uncomfortable pause.)
[Haruto]: C’mon. Shirou, let’s go. We need you. We’re not a team without you.
[Damien]: I’ve got contacts in other places. Something else is going to turn up.
[Shirou]: ...Alright. Let’s go back. I suppose we have a tournament to win as it stands.
I have finally gotten into Paradox Live and now I understand how these things work. Hooray! Let's get to the ominous foreshadowing.
Haruto Hirabayashi
Character quote: “Lucky you! You get to work with the greatest mind of the century! That’s Haruto Hirabayashi, spell it peace-grove-sun-soaring!’
Trauma quote: “It’s...it was just a flip of the coin, right? I’ll stay in touch. Thanks for your time. [dial tone beep] Ahahaha...that man left me with nothing but bad in the end, huh?”
Character tags: #Brightest mind of the century, #Cogito Ergo Sum, #Mori boy genius
Trauma tags: #I watched him waste away, #Born under a bad sign, #A sickness unto death
Damien
Character quote: “C’mon dude, relax for a second. There’s another sunny patch right there. You look like you need it. Everyone does, we’re living unnatural lives. God didn’t put us here just to work until we die. And God didn’t give us the world just to let some people hoard it. Also, even if He did, this part is public property so it’s not trespassing and you can’t arrest me.”
Trauma quote: “Hey…don’t get me wrong. I don’t hate you. I wish things had been different for us. So, for both of our sakes…don’t go looking for me. до свидания.”
Character tags: #Stray dog with a cause, #The dog-saint, #Born again
Trauma tags: #Sins of the father, #A name I had to leave behind, #Дворняга
Shirou Sonozaki
Character quote: "I’m Shirou Sonozaki. My deepest condolences we had to meet like this, but I’ll be working their case. Please rest assured I’ll do everything in my power to make sure whoever did this is brought to justice.”
Trauma quote: “Fluid still in the lungs. Confirming death by drowning. Corpse lividity places….places time of death at 11PM. C...compound fractures along both femurs—oh God...”
Character tags: #The Sin-Eater, #Bourbon and formaldehyde, #Like a thief in the night
Trauma tags: #I can never be forgiven, #You’re gonna carry that weight, #Dead man walking
I'm so tired I forgot to post the actual punchline to the joke about my life in the drama track update which is that I'm going for a second major in philosophy. The joke is on me. I'm dying. Don't send help. It's too late for me.
>disappears for 4 months
>drops another cliffhanger
>refuses to elaborate
Seriously though, this should be the last long-term hiatus (please God I don't need anymore excitement in my life.) To make a long story short my employment, financial, academic, and home life related matters are way more stable now and I can hopefully get back to writing things that are not school related. I don't want to make a full post on why I've disappeared and I hate infodumping about life stuff anyways, so we'll just leave it at that.
A-NY-WAYS. Let's pick up where we left off! Link to the first part if you need it because it's been a hot minute. We're looking at.........probably two more parts after this, which I'll shoot for putting up within the next few days but I'll post something frivolous and short and silly and not at all ominous tomorrow to fill in the gap. Absolutely no reason to be concerned about the boys or what's going on in their lives or pasts. Trust me. :)
(but seriously it will be a low-effort fluff post so don't get too excited lol)
(Footsteps as Shirou walks down an alley.)
[Damien]: Yo. Done with the final casing. Or, uh, Lucia is. Heh. You get the footage I sent?
[Shirou]: I did.
[Damien]: Still think it’s doable? They’ve stepped up security.
[Shirou]: I’ve done far worse than this.
[Damien]: Yeah, yeah. I don’t see why you need to warn them. You’re making things way harder on yourself.
[Shirou]: What’s the point of doing this if they don’t know what they’ve done wrong?
[Damien]: Sure, but you could do it after the fact.
[Shirou]: Anyone could take credit for it then. I have copycats.
[Damien]: (sighs) …You know what? Sure. Can’t argue with that logic. Just try to not make a habit of this for every job we work. Street toughs are one thing, going against someone with real money is another. Like, you know, Solaris.
[Shirou]: Fortunately, we aren’t dealing with Solaris. I’ve run dozens of jobs just like this against people smarter than Tomabechi. Have a little faith in me.
[Damien]: Got plenty of that or I wouldn’t be here. So. Ready to go?
[Shirou]: As long as you’ve got my back.
[Damien]: Always. Gimme a sec to get to my post. C’mon, Lucia.
[Haruto]: …Okay, this can’t possibly be the right side of town.
(He sighs and slumps against a wall.)
[Haruto]: I was sure I saw him head this way. How can he walk that fast that quietly?
[Passerby…? 1]: This is a waste of time. Nothing’s happening.
[Haruto, thinking]: Whoa. Those guys look rough. Better get out of the way.
[Passerby…? 2]: Yeah, I know. Dunno why he’s so wound up. It could just be a fake. Someone trying to rile us up, y’know?
[Passerby…? 1]: C’mon. He’s gotta just be an urban legend. There’s no way someone’s that good of a thief.
[Passerby…? 2]: No. Trust me. This is the real deal. The flowers, the note, the handwriting…it’s Gabriel.
[Haruto]: ….Hold on a second. That name…
----------------------------------------------
[Haruto]: I got it! What about Metaxu? Like, the Platonic concept—I mean, I’m not a Platonist but Weil kind of took it and ran with it in a really interesting way. It’s the perfect MC name, right? It’s all got to do with communication.
[Damien]: Hey, so, you know that division from Ikebukuro? The one that’s made up entirely of teenagers?
[Haruto]: …Yeah?
[Damien]: Well, they’re going to shove you in a locker because you’re a nerd. Pick a different name.
(Haruto crumples up a paper and flings it at Damien.)
[Haruto]: Oh, you’re one to talk, Reprobus!
[Damien]: Hey! That’s different, he’s cool. He got torture-murdered and never broke throughout it. And he still healed the guy who killed him.
[Shirou]: According to one account of many. I mean, we can’t even be certain that Reprobus was even Saint Christopher’s prebaptismal name.
[Damien]: It’s a saint gospel, most of it is exaggeration at best. Might as well pick the most badass one.
[Shirou]: Well, fair enough. I’d imagine that’s exactly what the writers were thinking.
[Haruto]: That still puts me back at square one. I’m out of ideas. I guess I could just use my own name like that one guy from Shinjuku but that’s boring.
[Shirou]: What about Phoenix? It still keeps up the…religion-related themeing we have. Phoenixes are used frequently in hagiography.
[Haruto]: Theme? I see how Damien’s does that, but what does Kingslayer have to do with religion?
[Shirou]: Ah. It’s after the archangel Gabriel. He was supposed to be the angel who presided over the death of kings.
------------------------------------------------
[Haruto]: …You are fucking kidding me.
------------------------------------------------
(The wind kicks up. Shirou’s cape rustles.)
[Damien]: Alright. Nest’s all set up. Shepherd, in position.
[Shirou]: Gabriel, in position.
[Damien]: Curtains are up. Showtime.
(Shirou lets out a long exhale. There’s a soft scraping of his boots against concrete, far gentler than it should be. A whoosh of air as he leaps off his perch from rooftop to rooftop. After a few moments, he stops.)
[Shirou]: Ready to breach. How’s it look in there?
[Damien]: Absolutely infested. Your best bet’s through that window on the third floor. Goes into a supply room nobody’s using.
[Shirou]: I’ll see what I can do.
-------------------------------------------------
[Haruto]: It can’t be Shirou they’re after. Right? I’ll just…
(He taps out a phone number. It goes to the dial tone, and rings. Once, twice, then seven times before…)
[Phone]: It’s Sonozaki. Apologies, but you seem to have missed me. Please leave a message after the tone.
[Haruto]: Fucking hell…
(He shoves the phone in his pocket, rather aggressively. Footsteps as he paces in a circle.)
[Haruto]: I shouldn’t take the risk it's someone else. Right? Just in case. I mean, I do nothing and if it is him, he gets killed. I do something, and…
(A pause.)
[Haruto]: What even is something in this case?
[Haruto]: God. Okay. Do or die, right? I just have to find him first.
(He hums in thought.)
[Haruto]: …Huh. They say your last instinct is to look up for something, right? Okay, here goes…
(It takes a few jumps for him before he finally hits the first bar of the fire escape ladder. With a wheeze of effort, he pulls himself up, his boots hitting the metal rungs.)
[Haruto]: Alright. Now…
(He pauses, followed by a small quizzical noise.)
[Haruto]: Don’t tell me someone else had the same idea. Wait, is that…?
(Rapid footsteps as Haruto closes the gap between him and the unknown figure)
[Haruto]: Hey!
[Damien]: Jesus Christ—what the hell are you doing here?!
[Haruto]: What am I doing here? What are you doing here!? And what’s with the dog mask?
[Damien]: Keep your voice down! Does it look like I’m doing something where I want to be recognized? (He takes in a long breath to steady himself.) Okay. So I’m guessing that Shirou never explained anything to you.
[Haruto]: Apparently not.
[Damien]: Cool. Great. Short version is, there’s some documents in there. Stuff from the capital. He’s getting it, I’m spotting for him.
[Haruto]: …Thanks? That was very forthright of you.
[Damien]: Well, not much point in lying now. It’s a tossup whether or not he’s getting out alive.
(The personal comms Damien is using crackle to life.)
[Shirou]: …Shepherd? What’s going on? Who are you talking to?
[Damien]: ....Fuck me, I left the comms hot—
(He lets out a sigh of frustration, causing a static pop in the comms.)
[Damien]: I mean, obviously Haruto.
[Haruto]: Wait, is that Shirou? Tell him if he does get out of this alive I’m going to kill him. Metaphorically.
[Damien]: …He says hi.
[Shirou]: Don’t tell me he—how much does he know?
[Damien]: I think that’s the least of your worries right now, dude.
[Shirou]: You didn’t invite him, did you? I told you I would be able to explain this on my own.
[Haruto]: So those guys are trying to kill him? Goddamnit, I knew it. What the hell did you get him into?
[Damien]: Would you all just—I can’t talk to three people at once, Christ. Gabriel, hold tight, I’m going to get you an exit strategy. Lucia, away to me. Haruto, firstly, this isn't my fault, it was his idea, secondly, how the hell did you figure out what we were doing?
[Haruto]: Shirou was acting weird and left the hotel, I ran after him, there were some sketchy guys talking about Gabriel, it took me like half a second to figure out that was Shirou.
(A moment of quiet as Damien thinks this through.)
[Damien]: Yeah, okay, good footwork. Probably for the best at this point. (Pause.) Where were those guys you were talking about?
[Haruto]: I don’t know, over…that way, I guess?
(A rustle of fabric as Damien shifts towards the indicated direction.)
[Damien]: Shit. That…was our exit. (A too-long pause before he activates the comms again.) Gabriel, we’ve got…complications.
[Shirou]: I’m pinned, aren’t I?
(Damien swears under his breath. When he speaks, it's uncharacteristically tense and anxious.)
[Damien]: Please don’t do anything stupid, just give me a second to think. I’ll work it out.
[Haruto, internally]: I...don't know what I'm doing. But Shirou isn't the kind of person to save himself. So...
[Haruto]: Hold on. I’ve got an idea.
(He digs into his bag and pulls out a flask. The top unscrews with a slight squeak as the cork pops. He takes a long draw of it.)
[Damien]: (The flattest possible affect you can imagine for him.) Interesting start.
[Haruto]: Look, I’m gonna have to sell this. Tell Shirou to stick to the plan and take that route out. I’m going to distract the guys trying to cut him off.
(He exhales, jumping up and down a few times to roll his shoulders.)
Yo, long time no see. The gist of what's been going on, there's several wings to it and I don't want to go into a ton of detail so I'll try to keep it brief:
First off, the past few months have been bad on a personal level. My inactivity started when I got seriously ill for a few weeks. That got followed up with several family emergencies, trying to sort out my school transfer and running into a ton of issues, paperwork getting lost in the mail, not getting into my dream program, you get the idea, Most of it's over now (...........except for the part where I have to apply for grants, if you're not American then everything bad you've heard about the American education system is 1000% true, for the love of God please help me.)
Aspect two: I've been working on what's easily my most challenging writing contract yet (most wordcount I've ever done, requires the most collaboration with other writers, most research-intensive) and desperately trying to meet the deadline for that. I've got my first drafts in on time, so I now have some breathing room until my redlines come in and I have to edit. Hence, why I'm finally back. :V
So, I still have a lot of muse for everyone....unfortunately I have no object permanence and have forgotten how to write script format well so trying to wrap up the second drama track has been really slow going. I'm probably going to be doing prose format "drama tracks" from here on out just because I am completely incapable of switching tracks mentally from one format of writing to the other and having to swap between a technical writing mode and storytelling mode is about as much as I can handle. Still gonna finish the second as-is though! Especially since it's most of the way done.
That said, I'm probably gonna do a monster AU story or two for Halloween within the net few days and I've got Damien's solo bit of that AU 75% done so that's likely coming up before the last part/s of the drama track.
Anyways. I think that's all the housekeeping. Thanks for sticking with me! I have...a lot to catch up on, so that's my next goal. After going to sleep.
