#Day 253 of hiding from my friends

[anotherferalrat]

OMG YALL I HAD THE GREATEST IDEA

Stranger by the shore spoilers ahead

So u kno how Justin Briner voices both Deku and Mio...

And u kno the ending scene where Sakurako asks for a goodbye kiss from Shun but Mio's like i think tf not and kisses her instead? Then when she gets on the ferry she yells at him and he responds with srry im young and possessive ehe~

Plsplspls FOR THE LOVE OF GOD-

That scene but *insert member of the bakusquad here* and Bakugou 'It's not weird if its the homies' Katsuki and Midoriya 'GIVE HIM BACK' Izuku

Artists make it happen plssss i will give u a lil forehead kith and my undying loyalty🙏

[dontworrysunflower]

I posted 17,553 times in 2022

1,646 posts created (9%)

15,907 posts reblogged (91%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@moonchildstyles

@reddye23

@goldennstyles

@miss-styles

@stylesmygucci

I tagged 13,375 of my posts in 2022

Only 24% of my posts had no tags

#harry styles - 8,343 posts

#love on tour - 3,140 posts

#fic rec - 1,044 posts

#aesthetic - 425 posts

#vff - 261 posts

#steve harrington fic rec - 258 posts

#tom holland - 253 posts

#sebastian stan - 185 posts

#florence pugh - 170 posts

#ask - 167 posts

Longest Tag: 140 characters

#feral feral feral feral feral feral feral feral feral feral feral feral feral feral feral feral feral feral feral feral feral feral feral fe

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Just a Little Bit of Your Heart | h.s.

summary: you and harry met in 2013 when he wrote a song for your album. since then you’ve grown close and recently got married. you guys have never performed the song together…until now.

a/n: this came to me after his first performance and i couldn’t get it out of my head

warnings: cringey cuteness

word count: 2.44k

masterlist | enjoy!!

(not my picture, credits to owner)

You sat on a stool inside the recording booth, exercising your voice and testing out the equipment. You sang a couple of ranges and moved the microphone around until it was in your face. You watched your manager rush in, a big smile on her face. You smiled nervously at her antics since she was always composed and professional. “What’s with you?” You asked as you took off the headphones from your head and walked out of the booth. 

“It’s been so hard to keep this from you, but I have been in talks with someone who wanted to work with you and he’s written a song for you. He’s on his way up to show you the demo.” Your manager, Sofia, does a little dance behind Lily, who was your sound producer for this album. 

“Who?” You chuckled, looking over at Lily, who just shrugs at you.

Sofia giggles as she plops down on a sofa that’s tucked into a corner of the studio. “You won’t believe me. He’s very famous right now and gorgeous.” 

Your eyes widen at her choice of words. “You, Sofia, find a man attractive?”

She playfully rolls her eyes. “I’m gay not blind.” 

Both you and Lily start to laugh but it's shortened by a knock. Sofia jumps off the couch, “Come in, Harry!”

Your eyebrows furrow, that name sounds familiar, you thought. 

And you would be right, because the door diligently opens to present a tall man, tattoos on display on his golden skin, and his brown hair styled to look messy. He wore a plaid shirt that had the first couple of buttons open, showing off his multiple necklaces and more tattoos. 

Harry Styles. 

You’ve only seen him in passing at award shows, since you can’t get close enough to mutter an introduction. Sofia was right, he’s very popular. He was in the biggest boyband in the world, and he wanted to work with you?

“(Y/N), pleasure to meet you. I’m Harry.” He stood before you, his green eyes piercing into yours, a hand adorned with rings staying between you two. 

You gave him a tight lipped smile and took his hand, shaking it firmly to hide your stress over the situation. “It’s nice to meet you too, Harry. I’ll be honest, I didn’t know you were coming until thirty seconds ago.” 

He laughs and looks over at Sofia. “Yes, well I had asked Sofia to keep it a secret.” He chuckled nervously, his dimples indenting his cheeks. “Thought it would be fun.” He fully smiled down at you. 

He introduces himself to Lily, who was a little starstruck. Before you knew it, he got to work. Pulling out his phone from his back pocket and going into detail about his song. 

Just a little bit of your heart. 

+++

 That was almost ten years ago. After that day, he came by for every recording session, and not just for the song. But for the entire album. Outside of your family, he was the first person you showed the album to, and it was then you realized how important you were to each other. 

You hung out more after that, mainly as friends at first. But it soon turned into more. Harry kissed you at your release party, when he had pulled you away from the bustling crowd to give you a gift. You did your best to keep your relationship a secret, but it became harder as you both acclaimed more fame. 

Around the time he became a solo artist, you both decided that you didn’t care. You guys would go on dates and kiss in public, and everyone ate it up. You would talk about each other in interviews, and you guys would even do some together. His favorite thing to do is talk about you.

It was during lockdown that he had proposed to you. It was late at night (it was barely 10PM, but that was late for you guys) and you were lounging around in your shared living room. You guys were sitting silently when he jumped off the couch, startling you. 

“I’ll be right back.” He mumbled before he ran off to go upstairs, nearly tripping as he took two steps at a time. 

You could hear him shuffling around, his feet loudly stepping as he looked around for whatever he wanted. You hear him running back down the stairs, your smile softening as his hair bounced with every step he took. 

See the full post

740 notes - Posted April 22, 2022

#4

😭

813 notes - Posted May 16, 2022

#3

jumping off a cliff

913 notes - Posted September 20, 2022

#2

this picture. that’s it.

915 notes - Posted June 13, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Harry’s House: Zane Lowe Interview | h.s.

summary— harry films his zane lowe interview with some special guests

warnings — get your translators ready if you don’t speak spanish, family cuteness, bad spanish punctuation/grammar

word count — 3.1k

masterlist | enjoy!!

gif credit: @jakegyllenhals

“Are you sure you can’t sit here with me?” Harry asked quietly, his hand gently holding yours, his manicured thumb rubbing the soft skin of your hand.

“No, mi amor, this is about you.” You looked around the spacious backyard, a camera crew fixing up lighting and equipment by your pool.

“Yeah, so I want you there.” He gave you a cheeky smile before being your intertwined hands and kissing the back of yours. “Por favor?” He smirked against your hand, knowing that when he speaks your mother tongue, it’s harder for you to resist him.

You almost give in, your teeth nearly sinking into your bottom lip in contemplation, but a loud, childish shriek catches your attention.

Your one year old daughter, nearly two years old, is running around the yard, her flowy pink dress flying in the wind, matching pink sandals with white flowers adorning her small feet. Harry follows your gaze and immediately smiles.

“She’s gonna steal the show. She’s your daughter, ya know?” You teased, knowing that your daughter, Teresa, gets her attention seeking trait from her lovely, pop sensation, father.

“That’s okay.” Harry laughed, releasing your hand to wrap his arms around your waist from behind, watching Teresa run around.

She was your little bundle of joy. You got pregnant around the time Fine Line came out, and Harry often says that that moment of his life was the happiest. You kept your pregnancy a secret—which wasn’t hard since everyone had to stay home—and you also had a couple months to yourself once she was born, knowing that when the world found out that Harry Styles was a dad, you would never catch a break.

Everyone found out when the Golden Behind the Scenes video came out, she was about four months then. Harry was laid out on a beach chair with her in his lap, and he was holding her when he was saying goodbye to fans as he wedged into the back of the car, just after a long day of shooting in the Italian coast.

He was at his absolute prime on that trip. We woke up everyone morning to take care of Teresa, leaving you a couple more hours of rest before you would join them. He would stand on the little balcony of their rental, her little infant body sitting on his arm, her back pressed against his chest as they watched the sunrise or sunset.

And she loved the water. It was so clear and crisp. At first she was frightened by the cooler temperature, but she soon got accustomed and Harry used any excuse to take her out into the water. That was why he had a pool excavated at their house so he could always have moments like that with her.

He just loved being a dad.

“We’ll be right inside.” You told Harry, turning in his hold, your arms coming up to play with his hair, brushing his growing locks to the side. “Right there,” you pointed to the glass wall of your home, which looked into your large living room, a big, blue velvet couch right in the middle. “para qué nos puedes ver. Okay?” You spoke as you fixed the beaded necklace adorning his neck.

He sighs dramatically, leaning his head back, exposing his neck to you. You push up to your toes to kiss it, taking in his sweet scent.

“Fine.” He grumbled, his hands moving down to your ass, massaging softly over your slip dress.

“Hey man, you ready?” An unfamiliar accent spoke, ruining the moment between you and Harry.

Harry just nods before reluctantly letting you go, but not before sneaking in a little ass squeeze.

You give him a pointed look and hit his chest, making him giggle before you come apart. “Teresita!! Dale un besito a papí.”

She runs up to you, her curls sticking out every which way, her little cheeks red from the heat. “Stay with papí?”

You gave a small grown before picking her up. “Papí has to work, mi vida.”

She frowns, her head resting against your shoulder as she catches her breath from all her running. “He’ll be done really soon okay? Do you wanna watch a movie? We can sneak some of papís ice cream, yeah?”

Her face lights as she excitedly nods, her feet kicking in the air as you hold her.

“Teresa! Come give me a hug!” Harry crouched down as you put her in the ground, his arms opening for her to jump into, literally. “I love you, chiquita.” He spoke into her hair, raising back up on his feet. Her little arms wrap around his neck. “Love you too, papí.” He gives a loud peck on the side of her head, making her giggle loudly before looking over at you, one of his hands leaving Teresa and waiting for you to hold. “Love you too, baby.” He spoke softly and sultrily, his eyes looking down at your lips before he captured them with his.

He pulls away to look at you in the same way, eyes down at your lips, his lips puffy and pink and so, so kissable. That’s the face that led to you getting pregnant.

See the full post

975 notes - Posted May 16, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[finnzhal]

Father Figure

Father figure!Stolas x Gn!Reptilian!reader

@cirrustix Asked ;; Hi hi , I saw your reqs were open , and can I request Helluva Boss , with Stolas and a gn!reader that's around the same age as Octavia but they're a reptilian , and Stolas is a father Figure to them

Hi hello !! Thank you for requesting ! ♡

I only wrote headcannons for this . . I'm sorry if this isn't what you wanted , if there's something wrong please do tell me ( ◜‿◝ )

If anyone's interested on requesting go here first !

I'm not really familiar with reptiles and I have no idea what type of reptile Soo . . I figured to go for the anaconda . You can ask me again but with a different reptile , I got all of the INFOS from google . My explanation sucks and I'm terribly sorry if it doesn't make sense at the end of the little backstory

TW mentions :: The word Sharp , Shed

Some Traits of the character ::

Same Age as Octavia [17 years old]

You're about 253 cm / 8 feet. [anaconda are so huge and tall ffs]

You can change into your fully snake form without have a human like upper body

Snakes have poor eyesight

Amazing swimming ability

Sharp [eye color] glowing eyes

Anaconda can hold their breath for 10 minutes

How did you guys Met ? ?

Well firstly .. You and Octavia met before meeting her father .

You were around 7 years old alone in Hell , You have no idea where , when , or how you ended up in this world . You're scared and started to slither around so slowly and carefully looking at the unfamiliar places after a few days ,, Surviving on your own , having your own little habitat behind some buildings , You were upset that there was no tropical forests but it's better than having no place to sleep in . You saw this colorful yet terrifying amusement park / carnival [?] With blasting music and kids screaming of joy . . Some kids are ,, well crying but let's ignore that

You secretly creeped in with no one catching you . You were in the shadows looking at the games , food , toys , kids , everything . You can't help but smile and roam around for more out of excitement , a couple of kids sees you and they were terrified . You were about 5'8 , Sharp Teeth and Nails , Dark green with brown and black spots Scales , long below body tail , Long snake tounge sticking out of your mouth , Intimidating energy coming from you , You stare at them back . They run away from you dropping everything from their hands abandoning their plush toys , trying to find their parents for comfort . It upsets you that the kids your own age were scared of you , You grab the abandoned Plush toy off the ground you peaked interest in it and grab it closer towards you . You heard this cute little sing song coming towards a tent , You being a curious and anxious kid , You slid in and colorful lights flashing and powerful music blasting . You quickly slither into something just to hide from the flashing lights and loud music , Snakes are rather sensitive to Flashing Lights [Mostly UV lights] and loud music . You got stressed out and quietly cried out of frustration . After a few minutes hours , it stopped . A few kids were laughing, some are crying , You try to quickly get out but a strange owl kid were looking at you , INFRONT OF YOU . You blabbered random words that doesn't makes sense , She just giggled and ask why were you crying . After a few minutes of talking with her , You now know her name and her name was Octavia , a stranger owl man calls out for her and You both saw her parents . They look like they had a fight , It made you worry but Octavia run towards her Father he twirl her around then hug her tightly . Her mother rolled her eyes and it landed on you , she scoffed and walk away . After the daughter and father's laugh slowly tone out , Her father ask who's her friend she was talking to . Octavia introduce you to her Father , Named Stolas . You both stared at each other's eyes , you gotten awkward and Octavia got on the ground and grab your hands .

You three had fun for the rest of the day , Stolas grew interest on you and was in awe when you and Octavia were having such a good Bonding .

After a few years , You and Octavia were now teenagers and still friends . You definitely saw how she became more introverted and closed off as she grew up and that didn't stop you from being her friend and you totally understand her because of what she's going through . Stolas appreciates on how much you cared for his daughter and couldn't thank you enough for that

Now on the actual Headcannons

Stolas calls you Baby Boa . That's it .

He takes care of you like you're his own Child alongside with his daughter Octavia after he knew about what happened to you . Him and his wife fought for hours when she heard about it .

He takes photos of you and Octavia everytime he gets a chance to . From the little Halloween costumes when you guys were little Owlette and Boa , He always talks about it nonstop

Young You and Octavia reminds him of himself and Blitzo back in the day , It warms his heart everytime

When you were feeling blue , He's always there for you and comforts you everytime he can . You're like his own child now

He asks you to come by whenever Stella is not home , Whenever Stella sees you .. it's like flame everytime

Both of you know that you living in the castle would bring more fights so he ask Blitzo to find you a place that's good for you and no other demons / imps getting you . He doesn't want you living behind a broken building dear

It made him happy that you and Blitzo get along pretty easily , Blitzo always feel like taking care of a puppy whenever you and him hang with the others

He buys you everything you need and I mean everything . Food , water , everything you look at is now on your little bed .

When he found out that you have an interest on astronomy , Plants , stones . He immediately talks about it with you for hours and shows you his possessions , tries to make Octavia join in but fails

Whenever it's time for you to shed your skin , He'll ask his guards to help you but of course . He'll ask first , Understands if you want to be alone

Is Amazed at your swimming ability and always ask to try this and that trick . He knows Anacondas can hold their breath for 10 minutes and if you can hold more longer than that , he'll starts to get worried , he also bought you your little pond like tank

Everytime you turn into your fully snake form and try to scare him out of the blue , He will act like it didn't scare him but on the inside he almost shitted his pants

He loves it when you wrap your whole body around him as a form of affection / hug and rubbing your head against his . You tried this on Octavia and she'll try to deny it but absolutely missed it because you always do this when you guys were young

He'll always attempt on cooking your favourite food although he will NEVER cook a bird

You really love both Stolas And Octavia , They're like your new family and They both also loves you .

My first ever request !! I hope you like it , though I kind of dislike it since it's a bit ooc of Stolas . . [?] But I had ton of fun ^^

And feel free to ask for anything !!

Have a nice day ꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖ ♡

[lifeofanerdygirl]

I posted 3,082 times in 2021

598 posts created (19%)

2484 posts reblogged (81%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 4.2 posts.

I added 1,647 tags in 2021

#supergirl - 355 posts

#supergirl season 6 - 308 posts

#supercorp - 194 posts

#batwoman - 193 posts

#lena luthor - 170 posts

#batwoman season 2 - 124 posts

#kara danvers - 118 posts

#wynonna earp - 72 posts

#wynonna earp season 4 - 57 posts

#batwoman season 3 - 56 posts

Longest Tag: 112 characters

#i'm not trying to hate on the show i just hate how it seems that supergirl has gotten pushed aside because of it

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

230 notes • Posted 2021-03-28 14:00:45 GMT

#4

We know William goes and investigates the Super Friends for Andrea. So obviously the more time he spends doing this, the more he'll put together. He’ll realize that Sentinel is dating Guardian. Brainy is dating Dreamer. Martian Manhunter is the father figure of the group. 

That just leaves Supergirl and Lena Luthor. Oh, they are just friends/work partners, he'll think at first, but then as he watches them more he notices that they seem to act like more than just friends. They way they look at each other and seem to have a special connection between them.

One day he brings this up to Kara and she freaks out and says oh, no I think they’re just friends, rambles on a little bit and then comes up with an excuse to leave. 

However, this causes Kara to think about how her and Lena act around each other and it makes her face the fact that she is in love with her. She wonders if Lena feels the same way. To test this out, Kara decides she will tell William’s theory to her. That way she can gauge her reaction before telling Lena how she feels.

Meanwhile, William starts thinking that Kara acted the way she did because she is jealous and also in love with Lena. It makes sense now why she never wanted to date him.  

253 notes • Posted 2021-08-21 23:10:05 GMT

#3

Lena when Kara gets back from the Phantom Zone: Oh, by the way, I kind of moved into your apartment while you were gone because I said ‘screw you Lex’ and left Luthorcorp so now I’m broke.

Kara: *Internally screaming because now she gets to live with Lena Luthor and be around her even more. However, she’s also panicking because oh my Rao she doesn’t know if she can hide her feelings for much longer.* Sweet!

315 notes • Posted 2021-04-14 02:35:47 GMT

#2

Lena Luthor + game nights + red/blue sweater + that smile = 🥰

382 notes • Posted 2021-12-01 15:01:17 GMT

#1

Same Lena same. Eyes on the beefy Kryptonian prize.

394 notes • Posted 2021-09-25 02:26:48 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

[blood-gulch-reds]

Here is my secret Valentime's day fic for @not-madder-red !! Enjoy :)

When Dexter Grif was in highschool, Valentine's day was a day to be spent alone in his room downing discount chocolate by the package and rewatching season 253 of the bachelor, criticising the stupid people on the trash TV, and secretly wishing he had someone to laugh at the bachelor with. Over all, Grif never really cared about Valentine's day. But now that he actually had someone to watch TV with, he felt as though he owed it to Simmons to do something... Nice for Valentine's day.

While this mind set of niceness was... Well... Nice, it presented a set of problems. First off, Grif and Simmons had only just started dating ( if you could call watching star trek holding hands instead of not holding hands a date) for 4 Earth months. So in a romantic sense, Grif was absolutely in the dark about what Simmons enjoyed romantically. Secondly, Grif never really did Valentine's day and had no idea where to begin. Did Simmons expect roses? Did he think Grif would get him chocolates in a cardboard box? Out of all the things that the happy couple had talked about before tying the knot, romance was one subject that was never brought up to often.

And lastly, Grif had completely forgotten about Valentine's day until he woke up (at noon) to find that Donut had decorated the whole base with hearts cut out pink and red construction paper and plenty of glitter.

"Rise and shine buddy! Happy Valentine's day!" Donut sang from the kitchen,where he was preparing heart shaped sandwiches. 

Realization hit Grif like a bag of bricks and his face showed it. The only thing he was capable of saying was "I forgot it was Valentine's day". He slumped down into a chair at the kitchen table and donut set a plate down in front of him with a ham and mustard sandwich (sans the crust) cut in the shape of a heart with chips on the side.

Donut smiled curiously as he began to wash dishes. "Sure is!" He chirped in a chipper tone. He turned the water off and grabbed a dish towel to dry off some plates. "Hey, I could have sworn you didn't do Valentine's day? Why the change of... Heart?" He Snickered at his own stupid joke and thought Grif didn't show it (or any emotion besides shock for that matter) his distaste for the pun was immeasurable. 

"Well..." Grif began, absent mindedly taking a bite out of the sandwich. "Ia neavur- mm-" he decided to finish chewing the food in is mouth before talking, an unusually civil thing of him to do. Donut picked up on this gesture immediately and deemed whatever Griff was about to say as extremely important. He put away the plate he was holding and gracefully sat down at the seat across the table from where Grif was seated. "Mm damn that's a good sandwich. Where was I? Oh, right" Grif wiped his mouth with a napkin and took a breath. "I never really felt like... Well I never really got the whole point of it, y'know?" Donut nodded intently, slowly leaning more and more forward. "It's a fuckin Hallmark holiday- a chance for the big corporations to make money or whaterever and a chance to pick up some discounted candy for the lowly working man. But now that..." Grif drifted off for a moment, a slight ting coming to his cheeks. His eyes wandered elsewhere and Donut dared not to disturb him. "Now that Simmons and I... are a thing... I think I get it. I wanted to make our first Valentine's day special and like, get him something? but now it's just too late" Grif finished. A look of genuine disappointment spread across his face.

Donut perked up. Finally, a moment in need of his expertise!  "Too late? That's totally not true at all!" Grif looked up hopefully. If he was trying to hide his inner dialogue, he was failing miserably. "Look Grif, you've got the whole rest of the day to figure out what you're going to get the love of your life for your guy's first ever Valentine's day together as soul mates!!" Grif shrunk down into his hoodie and let out a groan. Donut pressed on anyway. "If you don't know what to get him, why not pick some flowers for him? It's shallow, but shows that you're trying".

Grif sat up and thought for a moment. "That's... That's not a bad idea." Grif then stood up and scarfed down what was left of the sandwich before walking towards the door. "Maybe I can turn this thing around... I don't have a ton of time but," he stoped and smiled to himself. "It's worth a shot. Thanks for the food Donut!" He said as he closed the door behind him.

Donut yelled "Wait! You forgot to put your dish away-" but Grif was already out the door. Donut rolled his eyes and placed the used dish in the sink. "These love birds..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

12:30 p.m.

Grif was gitty to get Simmons the perfect gift and, although Donut's flower idea was cute, he deemed him correct in saying it was a bit cliche. Grif wanted something a little more personal, and who better to ask about relationship then his ever romantic sister.

When Grif walked over to the 'blue house', as they had dubbed it, there was the ever familiar scent of burnt toast and chaos in the air. Before Grif could even process what was going on, there was a loud crash as panini press came flying through the window, followed by even louder yelling from Kai.

"ITS NOT THAT FUCKING HARD BRO I DONT EVEN KNOW HOW YOU BURNED- oh hey Dex!" Kai stormed out of the house, fuming, but her tone quickly changed when she saw her brother. Grif was stunned, but tried to quicky get over it as he had a job to do.

"Hey, Kaikaina. I had a question if you're not busy-"

"WHY IS THE WINDOW BROKEN? tUCKER‽" Washington's voice rang shrill in Grif's ears. Kai's face went pale.

"Why don't we take a walk?" She offered with a guilty smile. Grif pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.

"Yeah- ok that sounds good." The two of them walked toward the shore. Although they'd never talk about it aloud, the beach here fondly reminded them of home. Not the chaos of thier mother, nor the periods of time without food, but the gentle laughter they shared making each other feel better. Grif decided to start off with some light conversation. "Soooo," he began "what was that all about"

"Uhg it's bullshit! It all started last night when Tucker got drunk and put his dick in a-" 

"Woah! Ok never mind! Jesus Christ...", Said Grif, who realised there was no use trying to decipher blue team's bull shit and it would probably be best to just get to the point. "Look it's Valentine's day and I wanna get something nice for Simmons. Any ideas?"

Kaikaina stood still for a moment, just looking at the ground in awe. "I thought... I thought you didn't do Valentine's day."

Grif flushed "yeah well, things are different now". He was going to stop there but quickly added on, "and I only got like, a couple hours so... If you have any suggestions I'd like to hear 'em".  

Kai lit up like a Christmas tree. " 'if I have any ideas'? Bro I've been waiting for you get laid on Valentine's day since we were in highschool!" Grif's cheeks and ears darkened in tone while the patch of Simmons skin on his right cheek turned bright red. 

"Just get on with it!" 

Kai smiled. " Ok ok... You need a gift idea? Here's one: get him something he's been talking about for a few weeks." Grif was about to thank Kai for her genuinely good advice before she continued, "that way he'll know that you're a good listener and be way more eager to let you go down on him like a tow truck!!"

"I second that! Chicks- er- bottoms are totally into good listeners!" Said Tucker, who had appeared our of seemingly nowhere.

"Where the fuck did you come from???" Kai inquired, shifting her weight onto one hip.

"Oh, you know-"

"No. We don't." Grif interjected.

Tucker shrugged. "I needed to get away from base for a while. It's was getting to chaotic for me-

"That and Wash probably threatened to skin him for burning breakfast and breaking a window" Kai teased. Grif smiled at Kai's remark and watched Tucker throw his hands up defensively.

"Hey! First of all, you broke that window. Secondly, I needed some space from caboose! He's all emotional because it's Valentine's day. He misses church." 

Grif suddenly had an idea. No one was more... Soft? Innocently romantic? Genuinely kind?? Then caboose. Kai and Tucker were bickering like lovers often do (not that they were together... Or maybe they were? Grif didn't know, nor did he want to know) so he slipped away and he was off to find Caboose.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1:20 pm.

When Grif finally made it to the blue's house, things had seemed to settle down. He let himself in and found a very defeated wash sitting at the kitchen table, clutching a cat shaped mug. Carolina was looming over him, clearly trying to be comforting. They both looked up when Grif came in, but otherwise didn't acknowledge his presence. 

"Uh... Hey. Is caboose around?" 

Wash mumbled into his mug, "how did he burn a bowl of cereal…." 

"Yes, I think he's on the roof" said Carolina, who looked sympathetic and tired.

Grif noded and showed himself upstairs. The aftermath of whatever happened this morning clearly has left it's scars on everyone and Grif and absolutely no intention of finding out the full compendium of events that had occurred. He made his way into the attic and through the small window on the south facing side of the house that led to a flat, sturdy spot on the roof. The Reds' and Blues' houses were built exactly the same, but they mirrored each other. Sarge absolutely refused to believe that the houses were identical and claimed that the Red house had three more roofing tiles, making it superior. 

Grif opened the window and crawled out onto the roof to find Caboose sitting with Church's helmet, a glass of orange juice, a copy of the old earth show Friends, and a red heart shaped paper folded down the middle. Grif felt bad disturbing him, but it had to be done. "Uh, hey man. Happy Valentine's day…"

Caboose looked up (he had been looking at the clouds) and smiled. "Hi Gruff!!! Happy Valentime's day" he look around as if something were the matter. "Where is Cinnamons? It is Valentime's day and you two aren't together?" 

Grif crawled up next to him and pulled out a bag of Hershey's kisses. He offered some to Caboose and said "yeah about that… I want to get him a gift but I don't know what to get him. I figured you might have an idea?". 'Why am I even asking?' he thought to himself. 'if Donut, Kai, and Tucker of all people couldn't give me good enough advice why am I even here‽ Desperation?'. 

Caboose was quiet for a moment before thoughtfully saying, "when church was still here, he didn't like it very much when I gave him hugs, but he really liked this one show?" He held up the copy of Friends, and Grif nodded intently. "So we would watch it together alot! On Valentime's day, I would make him a card like this one-" he pointed to the red heart shaped paper and Grif noticed that there was writing on the inside. Not Caboose's writing because the penmanship had bitchy (and legible) undertones. He concluded that it was Church's card to Caboose and suddenly Grif started to put everything together. "I liked cards and he liked Friends! So we did that together. I miss him alot sometimes", Caboose concluded. 

Grif tapped him on the shoulder. "I know man. We miss him too." There was a moment of bitter sweet silence before Grif said,"thanks Caboose. I have to get going to Sim-... Cinnamons." 

"Ok! Happy Valentime's day Gruff!" Caboose said cheerfully. Grif smiled and climbed down. He set off to town, with a pretty good idea of what to get Simmons.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

2:30 pm

Grif got stuck in traffic

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

3:05

The store was crowded with men and women with the same last minute, albeit good, intentions.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

4:00 

Grif waited anxiously in line at his final stop. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

5:00 

Grif was stuck in more traffic. The sun was just starting to go down.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

7:30 

Halfway home. Traffic finally let up

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

8:40

Grif finally made it home, but despite all his delays he just sat in the warthog for a moment. The silence was killing him, but he needed time to collect his thoughts. After breathing for a minute or two, Grif grabbed his bags and hopped out of the vehicle. He knew Simmons had been working on some computer repairs (his side hussle for a little extra spending money, not that they needed it as Kimbal provided for their every need) in his 'lab'. He called it his lab, but everyone else called it Simmons' room that he turned into a workspace after he kinda sorta moved into Grifs' room. Actually, everyone else called it the nerd cave. Grif made his way up to the nerd cave and lightly knocked on the door.

The music that had been playing was hushed and a few moments later Simmons opened the door. "Grif! Hey man." He said, smiling widely. He was a mess. His hair was just long enough in the front to be held back by a hair tie, which formed a tiny little hair stump on the back of his head. He was sweaty and had clearly been working non-stop for the last who knows how long (Grif did- he had been working for 14 hours straight at his own discretion) made clear by the 3 empty coffee cups on his desk. His cybernetic eye was softly glowing, meaning that he had been extensively using it to magnify whatever teensy circuit boards he had been working on. Tldr: he was truly a geeky, nerdy mess. Grif thought he look amazing.

"Hey Simms.. hey can you uh-" for a moment he hesitated. What Simmons thought this was stupid? What if he hated this whole stupid holiday? What if he thought- no. Grif shook his jitters and said, "can you take a break for a sec?" 

Simmons wiped his face with his sleeve. "Yeah dude of course what's up?" Grif reached into one of the paper bags on his arm and pulled out a medium sized bouquet of roses. They were shades of orange and maroon, to colors that held a good deal of significance to the two of them. He stuck out his arm, offering the flowers to Simmons. He looked away and shoved his free and in his pocket. "I uh.. I picked these up for you" Simmons didn't move for a moment and Grif's world came crashing down. He thought it was stupid. Donut was wrong, Kai and Tucker were wrong, caboose was wrong everything is so fucking stupid how could he be this dumb? He was about to walk away when Simmons gingerly took the flowers in his robotic hand. "Grif… these are beautiful. You went to town just to get these for me?"

"Well, no." Said Grif. Simmons looked a little disappointed at this. Grif realised what we said and how it came out before quickly adding, "no! I- I mean I like got more then just flowers for you uh… here" he said, getting a small tissue paper wrapped object out of the second bag. Simmons gently tore away at the paper and gasped with glee when he saw a Phillips Head #000 screwdriver. "Oh my god! Dude! I've been talking about how I need one of these forever!" Grif smiled, feeling much more confident in his Valentine's grifs. Simmons took the little tool (the screwdriver, not his boyfriend) back to his desk and placed it carefully on top of a book. He came rushing back to give Grif a hug. "Thank you so much dude."

Grif was taken back at how much Simmons really did appreciate his gifts. It felt nice to make him smile like this! But there was one more gift in store…Grif broke away from Simmons grip and pulled out a small velvet box. Simmons looked on in with anticipation. "When we were in blood gulch", began Grif. "We went to the Vegas and you hated every minute of it but you pushed through for me. We went back again and again and that one time… what was it? 4 years ago? You hit big on black jack. You were so happy and I was happy for you? It was like 'damn. He's finally enjoying a vacation.' anyway… I went downtown today and got this." He opened the box and revealed a poker chip- a golden one. It was ingraved with delicate lettering that spelled out "for Richard~". 

"Grif…" Simmons started to tear up (loser). He looked up and smiled a genuine smile. "I love it" he said, enveloping Simmons in another, tighter hug. Grif was struggling to breathe, but it was worth it. "N-no problem. Hhhappy Valentine's day." He wheezed out. 

Simmons dropped him suddenly. "I just realized" he shifted his weight "I thought you didn't do Valentine's day…" 

Grif ran a dang through his hair. "Yeah well, I found a pretty damn good reason to start celebrating." 

Simmons lit up. "In that case…" he pulled out a plastic bag filled with limited addition mint oreos and handed it to Grif. "I can give these to you early" 

Grif started crying. "It's a Valentine's day Miracle!"

@rvbgiftexchange

[rllibrary]

Blonde / Joyce Carol Oates / 2000

Above: the British paperback cover (If you want a copy of this version, search ISBN 9781841153728)

Quotes (As always, for educational/entertainment purposes only! Full disclaimer at rllibrary.tumblr.com )

*

"Look, sweetie. You're making too much of it. You've seen a boy's- a man's- thing, haven't you?"

Elsie was so crude and blunt, Norma Jeane laughed, startled.

She nodded, just barely.

"Well, you know- it gets bigger. You know that."

Again, just barely, Norma Jeane nodded.

"It has to do with them looking at you. It makes them want to- you know- 'make love.'"

(130)

*

Monroe was a natural even as a girl. She had brains but operated from instinct. I believe she could see herself through the camera eye. It was more powerfully, more totally sexual to her than any human connection...Her problem wasn't she was a dumb blonde, it was she wasn't a blonde and she wasn't dumb.

(232)

*

And the director is thinking, This girl is the first actress of the twenty or more he's auditioned for the role (including the black-haired actress he's probably going to cast) who has caught on to the significance of the scene's opening, the first who seems to have given the role any intelligent thought and who has actually read the entire script (or so she claims) and formed some sort of judgment on it. The girl opens her eyes, sits up slowly and blinking, wide-eyed, and says in a whisper, "Oh, I- must have been asleep." Is she acting, or has she actually been asleep? Everyone's uncomfortable. There is something strange here.

(242)

*

She was fascinating to watch. Like a mental patient, maybe. Not acting. No technique. She'd put herself to sleep and out would come this other personality that was her yet also not-her.

People like that, you can see why they're drawn to acting. Because the actor, in her role, always knows who she is. All losses are restored.

(243)

*

Where at her audition Norma Jeane had spoken Angela's lines with seeming spontaneity, naively lying on the floor, now on her feet she was paralyzed with fear at the enormity of the risk before her. What if you fail. If you fail. You will fail. Then you must die. If fired from the film she would be obliged to destroy herself, yet she was deeply in love with Cass Chaplin and hoped one day to have his child- "How can I leave him?" And there was her obligation to Gladys in the hospital at Norwalk. "How can I leave her? Mother has no one but me."

(253)

*

"Norma, for Christ's sake. Your director will lead you step by step through your scenes, that's what movies are. Not real acting, like the theater; not where you're on your own. Why work so hard? Turn yourself inside out? You're sweating like a horse. Why does this matter so much?"

The question hovered between them. Why does it matter so much? So much!

Knowing it was absurd, what she could not explain to her lover- Because I don't want to die, I'm in terror of dying. I can't leave you. Because to fail in her acting career was to fail at the life she'd chosen to justify her wrongful birth. And even in her mildly deranged state she understood the illogic of such a statement.

(254)

*

You just can't take your eyes off her. Cass and me, we'd see Niagara a dozen times.... It's because Rose is us. In our souls. She's cruel in ways we are. She's without any morality, like an infant. She's always looking at herself in the mirror just like we'd look if we looked like her. She's stroking herself, she's in love with herself. Like all of us! But it's supposed to be bad... 

(347)

*

It was like only the camera knew how to make love to her the way she needed, and we were voyeurs just hypnotized watching.

(347)

*

About midway in the movie, when Rose is mocking and laughing at her husband for not being able to get it up, Cassie says to me, "This isn't Norma. This is not our little Fishie." And the hell of it was, it wasn't. This Rose was a total stranger. This was nobody we'd laid eyes on before. Out here, people thought "Marilyn Monroe" was just playing herself. Every movie she made, no matter that it was different from the others, they'd find a way to dismiss it- "That broad can't act. She's just playing herself." But she was a born actress. She was a genius, if you believe in genius. Because Norma didn't have a clue who she was, and she had to fill this emptiness in her. Every time she went out, she had to invent her soul. Other people, we're just as empty; maybe in fact everybody's soul is empty, but Norma was the one to know it.

That was Norma Jeane Baker when we knew her. When we were "the Gemini." Before she betrayed us- or maybe we betrayed her. A long time ago, when we were young.

(347-8)

*

So strange! The audience adored Lorelei Lee. They liked Dorothy, too- Jane Russell was wonderfully warm, attractive, sympathetic, and funny- but clearly the audience preferred Lorelei Lee. Why? Such rapt, smiling faces. Marilyn Monroe was a winner, and everyone loves a winner.

Oh the irony was, surely these people all knew: Marilyn didn't exist.

I can't fail. If I fail I must die. This had been Marilyn's secret no one knew.

(429)

*

I was terrified. I wasn't ready. I'd been up most of the night. I kept having to pee! I wasn't taking any drugs, only just aspirin. And an antihistamine tablet Mr. Pearlman's assistant gave me, for a sore throat. I believed the Playwright would take one look at me and speak to Mr. Pearlman and that was it, I'd be out of the cast. Because I never deserved to be there, and I knew it. I seemed to know this beforehand. I seemed to see myself going down those stairs. I held the script, and I tried to read the lines I'd marked in red, and it was like I'd never seen them before. My only clear thought was: If I fail now, it's winter here, freezing. It wouldn't be hard to die, would it?

(497)

*

Pearlman spoke of the Theater as you'd speak of God. Or more than God, for theater was something in which you participated and lived. "Die for it! For your talent! Scour out your guts! Be hard on yourself, you can take it. It's life and death up there on the stage, my friends. And if not life and death, it's nothing." It was what I revered in him. Oh, he could reach right in....

But he exploited you, didn't he? As a woman.

A woman? What do I care about myself as a woman? I never did....I came to New York to learn to act.

Why do you give Pearlman so much credit? I hate it, in interviews, you exaggerate his role in your life. He eats it up, it's great publicity for him.

Oh, but it's true...isn't it?

You just want to deflect attention from yourself. It's what women do. Defer to bullies. You knew how to act, darling, when you came here.

I did? No.

Certainly you did. I hate this, too, the way you misinterpret yourself.

I do? Gee....

You were a damned good actress when you came to New York. He didn't create you.

You created me.

Nobody created you, you were always yourself.

Well, I guess I knew...something. When I did movies. In fact I was reading Stanislavski. And the diary of, of...Nijinski. 

Nijinski.

Nijinski. But I didn't know what I knew. In practice. It was just...what happened when I had to perform. To improvise. Like striking a match....

The hell with that. You were a natural actress from the start.

Oh, hey! Why're you mad, Daddy? I don't get this.

I'm only just saying, darling, you were born with the gift. You have a kind of genius. You don't need theory. Forget Stanislavski! Nijinski! And him.

I never think of him.

Him messing with you...your mind, your talent...like somebody's big thumbs gripping a butterfly, smearing and breaking the wings.

Hey, I'm no butterfly. Feel my muscle? My leg here. I'm a dancer.

Bullshit theory is for somebody like him: can't act, can't write.

Kiss-kiss, Daddy? C'mon.

(503-4)

*

What kind of questions did he ask you?

My...motivation.

Which was?

To...not die.

What?

To not die. To keep on....

I hate it when you talk like that. It tears my heart.

Oh, I won't! I'm sorry.

(505)

*

Pearlman was always saying how surprised he was by you. What you're really like.

But...what'd that be? What I'm really like?

Just yourself.

But that isn't enough, is it?

Of course it is.

No. It never is.

What do you mean?

You're a writer, because being just yourself isn't enough. I need to be an actress, because being just myself isn't enough. Hey, you won't ever tell people, will you?

I would never speak of you, darling. It would be like flaying my own skin.

You would never write about me, either...would you, Daddy?

Of course not!

(505-6)

*

Why don't I remember things better, my mind gets stuck on a role I'm doing, and I...it's like I'm in two places at once? With other people but not...with them. Why I love to act. Even when I'm alone I'm not.

Your gift is so natural, you don't "act." You require no technique. Yes, it's like a match being struck. A sudden flaring flame....

But I like to read, Daddy! I got good grades in school. I like to...think. It's like talking with somebody. In Hollywood, on the set, I'd have to hide my book if I was reading....People thought I was strange.

Your mind can get muddled. You're easily influenced.

Only by people I trust.

(507)

*

It would astonish the Playwright when he came to know the Blond Actress better how, when she didn't wish to be recognized, she rarely was, for "Marilyn Monroe" was but one of her roles and not the one that most engaged her.

(513)

*

"I was thinking, what Chekhov does with Natasha, he surprises you because Natasha turns out so strong and devious. And cruel. And Magda, you know- well, Magda is always so good. She wouldn't be, in real life? I mean, all the time? I mean"- the Playwright could see the Blond Actress shifting into a scene, face animated, eyes narrowed- "if it was me, a cleaning girl- and I used to do work like that, laundry, dishes, scrubbing toilets, when I was in an orphanage and a foster home in Los Angeles- I'd be hurt, I'd be angry, how life was so different for different people. But your Magda...she never changes much. She's good."

"Yes. Magda is good. Was good. The original. It wouldn't have occurred to her to be angry." Was this true? The Playwright spoke curtly, but he had to wonder.

(513-4)

*

There was the Norma who spoke to him and there was the Norma at a short distance from him. The one an object of emotion, the other an object of aesthetic admiration. Which of course is a type of emotion, no less intense.

(586)

*

The Playwright had noticed, as Max Pearlman had pointed out, how women often took warmly to Norma, quite in reverse of expectations. You would anticipate jealousy, envy, dislike; instead, women felt a curious kinship with Norma, or "Marilyn"; could it be, women looked at her and somehow saw themselves? A man might smile at such a misapprehension. A delusion, or a confusion. But what can a man know? If anyone resisted Norma, it was likely to be a certain kind of man; one sexually attracted to her, yet wise enough to know she would rebuff him. What strategies of irony bred out of threatened male pride, the Playwright well knew.

(591)

*

"He doesn't love me. It's some blonde thing in his head he loves. Not me."

(600)

*

"Darling, maybe you should stop feeding those cats," the Playwright suggested.

"Oh, I will! Soon."

"More and more of them will be showing up. You can't feed the entire Maine coast."

"Daddy, I know. You're right."

Yet she continued, through the summer, as he'd known she would. How many scrawny, starving cats showed up each morning to be fed by her, he didn't want to know. Her strange stubbornness. Her powerful will. The man knew himself obliterated by her, in essential things. Only in surface matters was he triumphant.

(605)

*

She knew she did not deserve life as others deserve life & though she had tried, she had failed to justify her life; yet she must continue to try, for her heart was hopeful, she meant to be good!

(625)

*

Monroe wanted to be an artist. She was one of the few I'd ever met who took all that crap seriously. That's what killed her, not the other. She wanted to be acknowledged as a great actress and yet she wanted to be loved like a child and obviously you can't have both.You have to choose which you want the most.Me, I chose neither.

(638)

*

The fairy tale. The Blond Actress would herself come to believe in this fairy tale a man had written for her as a love offering. She would come to believe not just that luminous Roslyn could save the small herd of wild mustangs but that wild mustangs might be saved. These horses, only six remaining of how many hundreds and one of them a foal. A foal galloping anxiously beside its mother. Lassoed and roped by the desperate men, yet they might be saved from death. From the butcher's knife and being ground into dog food. Here is no romance of the West or even of manly ideals and courage but a melancholy "realism" to thrust into an American audience's faces! Roslyn alone would run into the desert in an action blocked out with care by the Blond Actress and her director that would allow her to express, at the top of her lungs, her fury at manly cruelty. (But I don't want close-ups. Not of me screaming.") She would scream at the men Liars! Killers! Why don't you kill yourselves!  She would scream in the emptiness of the Nevada desert until her throat was raw. Until the interior of her sore-pocked mouth throbbed with pain. Until more capillaries burst in her straining eyes. Until her heart pounded close to bursting. I hate you! Why don't you die! She may have been screaming at those men of her life whose faces she retained or she may have been screaming at those men lacking faces, constituting the vast world beyond the perimeters of the crimson velvet backdrop and the blinding-bright photographer's lights. She may have been screaming at H who had eluded her charm. She may have been screaming into a mirror. She'd told Doc Fell she would not need any medication that morning (after even the stupor of the phenobarbital night) and aroused now to pity, horror, rage by the spectacle of the trapped horses she had not needed any drug. She believed she would never again need any drugs. What power! What joy! She would return to Hollywood alone, and she would buy a house, her first house, and she would live alone, and she would do only work she wanted to do; she would be the great actress she had a chance of becoming; she would no longer be trapped by men; she would no longer be cheated of her truest self. The Blond Actress was expressing anger, rage. At last. Except (all observers would claim) it wasn't the simulated expression of anger and rage but genuine passion ripping through the woman's body like an electric current.

"Liars! Killers! I hate you."

(668-9)

*

"You feel genuine emotion, Miss Monroe! That's why you're a brilliant actress. That's why people see in you a magnified image of themselves. Of course they're deluded, but happiness dwells in delusion! Because you live in your soul like a candle that lives in its own burning. You live in our American soul. Don't smile, Miss Monroe. I'm serious, too. I'm saying that you're an intelligent woman, not just a woman of 'feeling'; you're an artist, and like all artists you know that life is just material for your art. Life is what fades, art is what remains. Your emotions, your anguish over your divorce or Mr. Gable's death, whatever-" with an airy impatient gesture taking in all of the world she'd inhabited in thirty-five years or even envisioned: the very memory of the Holocaust evoked out of much-thumbed secondhand books rescued from a used-book store, vessels of Jewish fortitude and suffering, the stale-rancid odors of the California madhouses of her mother's captivity, all the memories of her personal life, as if they were of no more significance to her than a screenplay- "you may as well see your trauma as a newsreel, because others will."

(679)

*

This doctor says there are miracle drugs now

to control the "blues." I said, oh if the

blues go, what about blues music? He asked

is the music worth the agony & I said that

depends upon the music & he said life is more

precious to retain than music, if a person is

depressed her life is endangered & I said

there must be a middle way & I would find that

way.

(683)

*

Mother? What did you want from me I could never give you? How did I fail? I tried so hard. She wondered if, if she'd played piano better for Mr. Pearce and sung better for poor Jess Flynn, her childhood would have turned out differently? Maybe her miserable lack of talent had contributed to Gladys Mortinsen's madness. Maybe something in Gladys had simply snapped.

Still, Gladys had seemed to absolve her of blame. Nobody's fault being born, is it?

(695)

*

Hey I love to act. Truly, acting is my life! Never so happy as when I'm acting, not living.

Oh, what'd I say?  Oh well, you know what I mean.

(Why am I so afraid, then? I will not be afraid.) 

(697)

*

Joyce Carol Oates, Blonde, ISBN 9781841153728

[howtohero]

#253 Invisible Vehicles

Superheroes walk a complicated tightrope. On the one hand, they have many enemies, and they do not want to be attacked every time they go out for some milk. On the other hand, their cars might as well have giant neon flashing signs that say “HELLO PLEASE NOTICE ME”. (We’re mostly talking figuratively here, but our dear friend Boomstone, actually has such a sign mounted on his vehicle because he is very insecure and has a crippling fear of being forgotten. Everyone please send him a kind note in the mail and let him know that you see him.) Superhero vehicles, what with their turbo thrusters, and massive cannons covered in light bars, and the confetti launchers that go off every time they hit the breaks, are aggressively conspicuous in a way that is not always useful to a superhero. The solution to this issue (as we have discovered after numerous failed attempts at solving the problem like “making the cars go so fast that no one will ever see them”) is invisible vehicles! There are a lot of ways to mess up an invisible vehicle though, so we’ve compiled a list of handy dos and don’ts for your perusing!

Do Make it toggleable. You’re not going to want a car that’s invisible all the time. Make sure you’re able to switch it back and forth. To do this, you’re going to need to invest in some high tech stealth panels that reflect the vehicle’s surroundings onto the car itself.  Don’t Spend thousands of dollars in invisible paint. Unfortunately, invisible paint is ludicrously expensive and is only sold by the ounce, so if you want to get enough to cover a car, or gosh, a jet, you’re going to be spending a lot of money. Plus, painting your vehicle with invisible paint means you can’t switch back and forth. You’re definitely going to lose this car if it’s invisible all the time. You lose your car keys every day and they’re not even invisible. Just trust us on this one. If we’re too late and you’ve already sold your spleen to purchase invisible pain... you could uh... use it for pranks? Just paint someone invisible and completely ruin their life. [This is a crime.] Not if you do it to a bad guy. [No, it still is.]

Do Make sure you set up the stealth panels correctly so that they’re reflecting the surroundings of the entire car not just each individual wall. Otherwise, only the walls of the car will be invisible and people will see you floating around town in a sitting position. Looking like a complete idiot. You will still get attacked by bad guys when you drive to supermarket this way. Don’t Turn the inside of your car invisible. This is not a solution to the invisible wall problem. This will cause you to be unable to safely operate your vehicle. You need to see where all the buttons and dials and seat belts are. Don’t think you can just memorize where all the important stuff is in your car and you’ll be fine. Superhero vehicles have like 18,000 extra buttons and doodads in them. Whoever built it for you definitely threw in some surprises that you didn’t ask for. (Whipped cream shooter in case you get into the car with an ice cream sundae and realize you’ve forgotten the whipped cream; “broken” ejector seat that just launches a person into the roof of the car instead of out of the car; AM radio.) You don’t want to first discover them when you can’t see them. (Additionally, do not turn your car invisible by taping a bunch of chameleons to the exterior. That’s not how anything works.) 

Do Make sure you install a radar into your car so you can detect other invisible vehicles in your vicinity. If you’re turning your vehicle invisible, odds are other heroes, villains, and paranoid rich people have the same idea. Being able to detect other invisible vehicles will ensure that these people can’t get the jump on you, and ensure that you don’t crash into them on the highway. Don’t Sneak around and install an invisible car radar in every civilian vehicle in your neighborhood. Why would you ever do this? I get that you don’t want civilians to crash into you, but don’t you understand that in a town that has superheroes, every civilian is just one (1) minor inconvenience away from becoming a full blown supervillain? Use your head man! If you want to avoid getting the car totaled every time you go out, just don’t use the invisibility unless you’re actively trying to hide or sneak up on someone. Or or or, announce to your city that you’ve got an invisible car and advise them to act as though there is always an invisible car near them. Everyone should keep an entire car-length between them and the car they think is in front of them. Everyone should wait a really long time at stop signs. Everyone should always assume there is an invisible car in the clutch parking spot that they found. Perfect. Problem solved.

Do Make sure you can activate the car’s alarm with your keys. If you park the car while its invisible, you’re definitely going to lose it. So make sure you can set off the alarm wherever you are so you can follow your ears back to the car. Now you might think that it would be simpler to just deactivate the invisibility panels when you’ve safely reached your destination and parked your car. But you are wrong. And dumb. And foolish. A real all-star trifecta you’ve got going on there. Do you know what would happen if somebody saw your gaudy super-mobile sitting unattended somewhere? Pranks, vandalism, car-bombs, need I go on? An unattended super-vehicle is a like a wrapped present for a supervillain (or neighborhood street youth) just itching to get one over on you.  Don’t Make your alarm “invisible”. I had a friend who did this once. He made his car alarm silent because he wanted the vehicle to be “invisible to all the senses” which doesn’t actually mean anything. Like you could still touch the car. I mean how do you drive a car without touch it? You could still smell it. And it smelled terrible and I don’t think that guy ever once cleaned it, not even after his run in with Stinky Trashborg the robot who produces stinky trash. Hell you could even taste the car! I’ve licked that car a thousand times to prove this point but he refused to listen to reason. It was just invisible and silent. And you know what happened? He lost it on the first day he owned it. It’s still out there somewhere. If you ever stub your toe or trip on “nothing” odds are that it was Billy’s car. Stupid Billy. (Billy, as you’ll recall, later became a supervillain. Don’t have an invisible alarm folks. It turns you evil.) 

Do Make sure you wash that sucker frequently. Remember, if your invisible dirigible gets dirty, the bad guys will see a moving cloud of dirt that’s shaped like your vehicle. They won’t think you’ve got a dirty invisible vehicle, they’ll think you have a dirt-mobile. That is both embarrassing and poor stealth. People will call you “Dirt Boy with the Dirt Car” or “Wash-Me Man” or “Gross” and that is no way to live.  Don’t Just paint the dirt with that invisible paint you bought way too much of. That is not a solution to the problem! Just clean your car oh my gosh you’re so lazy. This is a real Billy move right here. And Billy held an elementary school hostage. Don’t hold small children hostage, just purchase some soap. 

If you follow these tips, you’ll be riding in style in no time. And nobody will be able to see it! Finally you can live a normal life again where people don’t hurl flowers (or grenades) at your car every time you go out! 

[heartslogos]

the declassified texts of the inquisition’s elite [46]

(734): I looked into her soul, didn't I?

(517): You eye-fucked her soul.

-

253):Any who, I expect to be showered with roses apon my arrival

(360):How about beer and nachos?

(253):A fine substitute!

-

“You know that thing that Mahanon does sometimes, where he looks at a person and its like literal layers of skin come flying off as he flays them alive and leaves them babbling incoherently about every single sordid detail of everything they’ve ever done that’s been even the slightest bit askance off of correct?”

“That’s incredibly detailed,” Max says,”Color me intrigued. What about his default state of existence?”

“I think he’s taught Malika. I don’t know how. I don’t know when. I don’t know what dark bargain she struck and how she paid it, but I think he taught Malika,” Herah says. “Which I’m calling out as bullshit because if there’s anyone he should’ve taught it should’ve been me because I spend more time with him than Malika does. Our jobs operate together more often, too. And if there’s anyone who needs that kind of soul withering thousand yard stare it’s me not her.”

“Isn’t Malika supposed to be the heiress for a less than legal empire?”

“Yeah, but she’s Malika, she’s going to have that shit under wraps without looking like a CGI horror movie effect. She doesn’t need that on her day to day. She’s not even inherited anything yet. She’s not even twenty one. There’s nothing she needs that for. Nothing.” Herah scowls. “How the fuck did she get him to teach her to do that?”

“He likes Malika,” Maxwell points out.

“He likes me. He drove me to the Val Royeaux airport on a Monday. I’m probably right up under Evelyn on his short list of best friends. He once flew out to meet me in Ferelden because I asked him to. If I’m not his second best friend in this entire damned planet I don’t know who the fuck is.”

“Alright, but have you factored in the part where he also delights in bringing torment upon Edric? And how much giving Malika the unholy power of the gaze would send Edric into a panic spiral that would drag him down. Because as much as he likes you, I’m pretty sure that if you combine the fact that he’s fond of Malika and the fact that teaching her any kind of non-standard life skill would give Edric a heart murmur of some kind that’s probably going to tip the scales heavily.”

“Shit. He likes bothering Kaaras though.”

“Yes, but if he taught you how to use the gaze and you used it on Kaaras your poor brother might slip into a coma. Mahanon likes your brother enough not to want him to enter a vegetative state out of self preservation.”

“Kaaras is tougher than he looks.”

“Your more terrifying than you realize.”

“I don’t know why everyone keeps saying that. I’m nice. I’m a nice former mercenary and sometimes hitman. I’m pleasant, even. There’s a reason why I’m on our diplomatic team instead of our intel division.”

“Yes, and that’s because you’ve cheated your way in. We all know who you really report to. Leilana just thinks this is more entertaining and better for Josephine’s mental health.” Maxwell hums, bouncing his leg up and down as he thinks. “You know how you could get even?”

“How?”

“You know Ellana can just look at you and you can feel every single defensive reaction building up inside of you out of some sort of primordial gut feeling that tells you that something terrible is about to happen? To you, to someone you care about, or maybe just some sort of natural disaster happening around you or in the vicinity of something important to you? Like. She just looks at you and the instinct to run, hide, disappear, stand your ground, brace for impact, and every other survival tactic kicks in at once and you just end up having a mental break out of the conflicting desires? She just looks at you and all of the anxiety, dread, fear, and denial in the world crashes down on your psyche dealing a million points of mental damage?”

“That was so detailed I got goosebumps. You should give writing lessons.”

“Get her to teach you that.”

“Genius, Trevelyan. Absolutely fucking genius.”

-

“You are disasters,” Leliana declares as she watches Zevran loop nacho cheese around a long stemmed rose. “Don’t eat it.”

“Don’t worry, no pesticides,” Zevran says. Leliana snatches it out of his hand throws it in the garbage. Zevran pouts at her. She grabs his lip and pulls. Zevran kicks out to trip her. Leliana lets it happen but enters a controlled roll, letting to of his lip to snag her arm around his neck and bring him down with her. Zevran, being Zevran, has planned for this and uses the momentum to tuck and roll so that he rolls over her, arm around her waist.

Leliana’s known this man for years at this point. So she puts in some extra momentum by twisting her shoulders to toss him off and bring herself up on one knee, putting her arm around him to hold him in an exaggerated dip.

“Are you certain that the two of you aren’t the disasters?” Neria asks, observing this from the table as she continues to eat the nachos. She’s dumped a truly horrific amount of pickled jalapeños onto the nachos while Leliana and Zevran were busy.

“Those are mine,” Zevran whines, kissing the underside of Leliana’s jaw before springing up to try and scrape jalapeños and pickled jalapeño juice off of as much of the nachos as he can before it sets in.

“The roses are yours upon request,” Neria replies. “The nachos were forfeit the second your ass left that chair. I don’t even know why I bought these. I’m the one who’s just come back from a three year long stint in the fucking Anderfels.”

“Because you missed wining and dining me so much,” Zevran says.

“There’s no wine here,” Leliana points out. “And you’re the one crashing my reunion with Neria.”

“You both are crashing my reunion with Alistair.”

“Who is also not here.”

Neria smirks as she eats an entire jalapeño. Leliana’s stomach cringes just looking at it. Zevran takes a long pull of water as Neria takes sadistic pleasure in watching them sweat over her horrific iron gut.

“Guess who’s crashing Alistair’s reunion with me?”

Zevran looks at Leliana. Leliana narrows her eyes at Neria. She’s known Neria longer than she’s known Zevran and the woman remains a mystery, impervious to every and all attempts at being known. Except for those made by Alistair. And her dog.

“It can’t be Morrigan,” Leliana says. Morrigan boarded a plane for the Korcari Wilds with Keiran two days ago. Leliana drove them to the airport. Leliana’s the one who booked their damned tickets. Morrigan had been excited for that trip for weeks.

Neria just smiles, reaches down under the table and pulls out a Gray Warden Reserves bottle that hits the table with a loud, solid thump.

“Now if only Sten were here,” Zevran says, beaming. “Not Wynne, she’d finish that entire bottle by herself.”

“Don’t worry, I told her to bring her own,” Neria replies. “Cheers.”

[theartificialdane]

Galactica, part 253

Vows has been exchanged, but what happens next? Follow along as we have dinner, drinks, speeches and everyone is invited to ring in the new years with our favorite couples.

Thank you @veronicasanders for working on this with me, and thank you to everyone else for your patience <3

[Oh look at you my little girl! You were so beautiful up there.] Raja smiled, bending down so her mother could hug her, the two embracing each other tight, Mani barely making it to her daughters chest. Everyone else was leaving the room, getting carefully rushed out for cocktails by Raven’s bridesmaids, the entire thing running smoothly.

[I’m 43 mom.] Raja laughed, only her tiny mom still insisting on calling her and her brother small.

[Oh hush you, you will always be my little princess.]

[Of course.]

Raja didn’t know she could feel such happiness, the fact that Raven had said yes, the fact that they were now legally married still feeling like a dream. Raja touched her wedding ring, twisting it slightly, the metal a comfort, a physical sign of Raven’s love for her, and the promise they made each other.

Mani took a step back, dapping her eyes. [Dad would have been proud.]

Raja froze, looking down at her mother. [I-] They never really talked about their dad, Raja’s heart breaking every time she thought of him, the fact that he had been dead for 11 years not making it any easier, most of all because Raja wasn’t sure that her mother was right, wasn’t sure he would have been proud of her. Her and Sutan had spent so much time hiding so much of what they were from him, Raja never even getting the chance to introduce him to Raven, her dad never getting to walk her down the aisle, Raja never getting the chance to know if he would have accepted her love of girls.

Her train of thought was broken by her mother's gentle touch, Mani taking her hand.

[He would.]

[If you say so.]

***

“Everyone please move closer together.”

Fame rolled her eyes. “How many pictures do we need?”

“Let her have her fun, Famie Dear.”

Detox smiled, hosting Grace higher up on his hip, the little girl’s fingers in her mouth, her mom quickly tugging on her elbow so Grace could look good for the almost endless photoshoot. The photographer was catching the wedding party, making everyone get together for several combinations of group photos.

“I’m just saying. We didn’t have anywhere near this many pictures at my wedding.”

Detox snorted, almost dropping Grace, while Patrick rolled his eyes. They both knew Fame was lying through her teeth, Patrick and Fame’s wedding almost as grand as the one they were at now.

“Okay, maybe we did.”

“And you better own it, blondie.”

Fame smiled, running a hand down Grace’s back, the little girl as bright as sunlight, and Fame knew she would have every single photo from the day framed and put up at the farm. Of course she would. These people were her family after all, and the ones she loved most in the world.

***

��Does my makeup look okay?”

“Let me check.”

Raja leaned in for a kiss, and Raven pushed her away, a shriek leaving her, followed by a happy laugh. “Raja!”

“You told me to check!”

Raven shook her head, the two of them standing together for the several photographers they had hired, Sutan and Violet on each side of them, Raven insisting on the pictures. Violet laughed slightly, quickly stepping in front and opening her bag, pulling out a small mirror so Raven could see herself. Raven checked her reflection, happy with what she saw, but she was still slightly annoyed with Raja.

“Everything has to be perfect you bitch.”

“Excuse me, that’s Mrs. Bitch. I’m a married woman now.” Raja put her arm around Raven.

Raven rolled her eyes, but leaned into Raja. “Alright Mrs. Bitch.” Raven smiled, Mrs and Mrs Bitch. That would make great throw pillows the next time she redid their living room.

***

Bianca walked into the ridiculously over the top (true to form) cocktail hour, scanning the room for Courtney. She spotted her with Adore by a tower of sushi and strode quickly over. As she approached, she gave Adore a warning look and a “get lost” gesture. Adore kissed Courtney on the cheek and scurried away.

“Adore! Where are you-“ Courtney stopped talking as arms slid around her waist.

“I’m sorry,” Bianca whispered, lips against her ear.

After a beat, Courtney replied, “I know.”

“Baby…” Bianca fingered one of the delicate silver straps of Courtney’s dress, hot breath on her neck. “Please…”

Courtney turned around to face her.

“Let’s not worry about it right now, okay? It’s a party. Let’s just have a good time.”

Bianca searched Courtney’s green eyes. She seemed far away, defeated. Bianca tilted her chin up.

“Baby, I really am sorry. Truly.”

Courtney sighed, leaning her head against Bianca’s, wanting nothing more than to melt into her arms until all of her doubts faded away.

“Yeah, me too,” Courtney replied, giving Bianca a soft kiss on the cheek. “Let’s...can we talk more tomorrow, when we get home?”

“Alright,” Bianca agreed, relieved just to be holding her again.

Across the room, a young woman watched them, running her hands through her glossy cascade of blonde hair.

***

“Ladies and gentlemen, please give a huge welcome to our beautiful brides...Raja and Raven!”

A thunderous cheer echoed through the hall as Raja and Raven sailed into the room, giddy and laughing, arms around each other. As glowing and beautiful as ever, Raja pushed Raven out in front of her, directing the crowd to continue cheering for her as she basked in the applause.

Adore turned to Jinkx and giggled, commenting on how of course they’d had a wardrobe change for the party.

“Alright folks,” the DJ continued. “Let’s keep the love going while these stunning ladies share their first dance as married women…” He began to play Jessie Ware’s Desire, turning up the music while the brides took to the dance floor.

You're my desire And this, I always know You've been admired And do you see me glow?

Raven laughed, so happy they had found the time to go to the dance classes together. She allowed Raja to pull her closer, the other woman leading, in total control of everything that happened, and Raven couldn’t wait to follow Raja’s lead for the rest of her life.

***

Raven’s head was swimming, the night going so well, everyone pulling at her all the time, congratulating her, telling her how beautiful she was (which she already knew thank you very much), and how happy her and Raja would be (which she also knew). She was drunk on champagne, her dinner dress looked fucking amazing, her boobs had healed perfectly and Raven felt like a goddess. They were finishing up the meal, the speeches even making her cry a time or two, and Raven had started to look for Raja, so they could go change their clothes a third time. Raja had laughed the first time Raven suggested it, but she had been shopping for it for over a year, and there was no way she wasn’t going to wear each and every dress she had brought for the party. This was /her/ night, and she was going to look like perfection from every angle the entire time.

Raven was just about to signal Juju that they’d like to start getting ready to change again, when Raven noticed that Violet was only picking at her food, Sutan’s arm around her shoulder, but he was clearly caught up in conversation to his right, happily chatting away. Had Violet looked sad all evening? Why was she sad? Didn’t she realise this was Raven’s wedding?

Raven was just about to be mad, when she remembered what had happened the day before, Violet trying so hard to do the speech Raven had asked of her, and then suddenly disappearing, after Courtney pulled her from the podium. Had Raven even said anything? She tried to think back, but all she could think of was how mad she had been at her mom, yelling at Bianca over her girlfriend going rogue, and then, she remembered. Raja coming to her and telling her that Violet wouldn’t do the speech at the reception. Raven felt a slight twist in her stomach. Who had even told Violet that she didn’t need to do it, anyway? Raven knew she had most likely forced Violet to do it in a fit of inspiration. She had those, and sometimes she could be quite aggressive in getting her way. Had they asked Sutan to do the speech instead?

“Hey Vivi?”

Violet looked up, surprise clear on her face at being spoken to. “Yes?”

“Thank you for being here.”

Raven watched the total confusion, Violet clearly not understanding what she was saying, but then, she smiled.

“Thank you for having me.”

***

“Oh god this is so good!” Pearl laughed as she cleaned her plate for the third time, and Laila was in utter awe. She had never seen Pearl eat that much before, a warmth tight in her chest as she watched her girlfriend actually not only enjoy, but also finish the food in front of her. “Why did we ever leave yesterday?”

“You insisted on it.”

“I did, didn’t I?” Pearl smirked, and Laila gulped as Pearl caught her eyes, the other woman looking at Laila as if she was a prey animal. “I did.”

***

“Hello everyone.” Sutan stood up, Raja groaning, but her smile absolutely betrayed her. “I’m Sutan Amrull, and as Raja’s brother, and her best friend, I figured I had to say a few words today. I’ll try to keep it brief.” Sutan reached into his suit, pulling out a few cards. “But I promise nothing.”

The entire hall laughed, a few of them even booing, but it was all in good nature.

“Raja, Raven, I have had the privilege of seeing two people, as perfect as you, not only meet in this crazy world, but also meet at the exact right time. It’s no secret that neither of you have ever been low maintenance. I think I speak for everyone here when I say that you’re both the bossiest bitches around, but somehow, that doesn’t matter when you’re with each other.” Sutan smiled. “Life is short, and today you promised to stay together through sickness and health, and after almost a decade together already, I can’t think of anyone else for either of you.” Sutan lifted his glass. “To the brides. May they live forever!”

***

“Raja, today you married your- wait, wait, I told myself I wasn’t going to cry.” Fame took a deep breath. “Raja, today you married your best friend-” Fame began crying for real.

Everyone chuckled as she tearily finished her toast, allowing Patrick to take her hand and hand her a tissue.

“Thank you so much, Fame, that was beautiful,” Adore said from the stage, where her band was just finished setting up. “You mushy bitch.”

Fame laughed, wiping her eyes.

“Hey also, who’s ready to fucking party?” Adore asked sweetly, as the band began to play. “Dance, motherfuckers!”

***

“Dance motherfuckers” was the most aggressive way Trixie had ever been told to have a good time, but he didn’t mind it at all. He had a baby free night, and an excuse to rock out with the people he loved, even dancing a few dances with Fame. He was sweaty and giggly from the alcohol he had drowned during dinner and cocktails, and he would most likely regret it all tomorrow, Ivan in a new phase of his life, were annoying dad was the funnest thing he could think of, but as Trixie pulled Katya closer, he didn’t care at all.

***

Courtney danced with Alaska and Tati, twirling and laughing, finally letting go of some of the tension she’d been feeling all day. Once Adore had taken the stage, the real party had begun. They were mostly singing covers, with a few of Adore’s original songs tossed in, and Courtney was filled with relief for the opportunity to really move.

She noticed Violet over by one of the bars with Sutan and Karl, taking a prim sip of her champagne and appearing slightly bored. Catching her eyes, she shimmied over and grabbed her by the hand.

“Come dance with us!”

“Oh, I don’t know if I- You’ve already done so much for me-”

“Pleeeeease?” Tati added, batting her lashes and taking Violet’s other hand, Violet’s face instantly going bright red.

“O-okay.”

Giggling self-consciously, Violet allowed herself to be dragged onto the dance floor, following Tatianna like a little lost puppy.

“I figured you could use a break from the grown-ups for awhile,” Courtney whisper-yelled over the music.

Violet laughed, slightly giddy as Tati began to twirl her around, the other girl’s perfume pleasantly invading her senses.

“Thanks.”

“Anytime!” Courtney gave Violet a quick kiss on the cheek and continued to grind against Alaska happily.

Courtney watched Bianca out of the corner of her eye. She’d seen Celia gliding over, a little tipsy, and then the gorgeous blonde was sliding an arm around Bianca’s neck. She bristled slightly, letting out a relieved sigh as Bianca carefully detangled herself and sent Celia on her way, rolling her eyes at Jinkx and continuing their conversation.

Maybe she’d been too harsh with Bianca last night, Courtney thought guiltily. Maybe she’d imagined her girlfriend’s flirting as overblown, because of how annoyed she was to begin with.

Courtney looked back over to Tati and Violet, thrilled that her friend seemed to be helping the brunette loosen up. She flashed Violet a wicked smile, as she bumped hips with Alaska. Thank god for the dance floor.

“Oh look, our stunning brides are back!” Adore called into the microphone. “Please let’s give a huge cheer for Raja and Raven, who have changed for the third time tonight. Raven, your ass looks perfect.”

Raven giggled, waving and blowing kisses, as she and Raja sailed onto the dance floor to join their guests.

***

Patrick slid into his seat beside Fame, handing her a glass of champagne.

“Remember our wedding?” Fame asked, smiling.

“Of course.” Patrick smiled back and puts his hand on the table, letting Fame take it, their rings clinking together. Patrick was so happy to be there with her. He could tell that Fame’s sentimental side had been triggered by the surroundings. All tension from their Christmas vacation seemed to evaporate. “It was one of the best days of my life, and way better than this whole extravaganza, just a humble wedding of us, your dad’s mansion, close friends and family and around 6000 chickens.”

Fame laughed. She scanned the crowd, hoping to see her best friends looking as happy and content as she felt. There was a beautiful, dark-eyed woman by the bar who averted her eyes when Fame looked her way.

Fame leaned over to Patrick, whispering in his ear. “What do you think of the woman over there in the blue dress?”

Patrick swallowed, unsure if this was a test. “She looks...uh, very…”

“Let’s seduce her,” Fame continues, now smirking wickedly.

Patrick clears his throat, one eyebrow lifting.

“I’ll follow your lead…”

***

Juju re-entered the ballroom; she’d just spent nearly an hour putting her three youngest kids to bed, with no help from her husband, and she needed a drink in the worst way.

As if reading her mind, Detox sidled up to her with a martini, looking tipsy and very pleased with himself.

“So, where do you wanna go on vacation?”

“What do you mean?” Juju laughed, taking the drink and kissing his cheek, letting him guide her to the dance floor. Detox pointed to the side of the room and Juju noticed a few iPhones out, despite the security guards who had confiscated their own phones earlier.

“Matthew Sanderson, are those reporters?!”

“No, they’re freelance writers who happened to also have enough waiter experience to be hired as catering.”

Juju hit him and Detox laughed again.

“Come on little bee, don’t be mad! Better we get the scoop than those pretentious assholes from Vanity Faire.”

Juju huffed but lets him pull her in.

“You better take us somewhere real nice.”

“You, me, our demon kids and two nannies. Believe me, this night is going to cover your wildest dreams baby.”

***

“Who knew you’re more than just a good designer!”

“What do you mean?”

Violet yelled over the music, her and Tatianna still dancing together.

“You’re a really good dancer!”

Violet blushed as Tatianna complimented her, then said, “And you’re the most beautiful woman I have ever seen!”

Violet wanted to slap her hands over her mouth, her eyes going wide. What the fuck? Had she really just said that out loud? But Tatianna just laughed, still dancing.

“Thank you! I understand why Sutan loves you!”

Sutan. Her Sutan. Her Sutan who didn’t know that she was angry with him.

“I have to go!”

***

“Max!!” Raven squealed as she spotted the tall britt, his almost white hair making him stand out like a lighthouse. “Max!” Raven threw herself at the photographer, happily wrapping her arms around him. “You have to take our picture! Please please please please.”

“Isn’t that why you invited me?” Max laughed, clearly enjoying Raven’s excitement, the two of them knowing each other extremely well from all the hours they had spent in Max’s studio, shooting Galactica collections. He was also one of a very select few of trusted people allowed to have a camera inside the ballroom.

“That, and the fact that you’re the most beautiful Brit in all of Manhattan, now take some pictures of me and my wife!”

“Tonight is your night, Mrs. Amrull.”

***

“I love this party!” Pearl laughed, her body swaying back and forth. The dinner had been dreadfully boring, her boss crying and Laila not budging on her ‘no sex at an actual reception’ police, but this party was the best ones Pearl had attended in years. She had even cheered from the first row for Adore’s band, the woman smiling at her when she danced to the music. “Laila! We have to watch the ball drop!”

“That happens on Times Square, you idiot.”

“Raven had a perfect replica made for the ball room so that no one had to look away from her and Raja’s New Year’s kiss. Now come on!”

***

“Can I have this dance?”

“You better.”

Raja smiled as she took Raven’s hand, the two of them walking into the dance floor, Raja gently grabbing Raven’s hip as they started to sway together to the tones of the song Raven had picked for their first dance. Raja was beautiful, and Raven couldn’t stop looking at her, her wife, her legally wedded, amazing, beautiful fantastic wife. Raven knew they were being filmed, her years as a model giving her an almost sixth sense for finding any and all cameras, but it didn’t matter, not when she had Raja with her, the other leading her like she always did, and like she always would. The guested started counting down, midnight and the near year coming closer and closer, the seconds ticking past.

“I love you..”

“I love you too.”

Raja smiled and leaned forward, the glitterball exploding as their lips met and the clock struck 12.

“Happy New Year.”

[we-will-begin-again]

I posted 3,030 times in 2021

461 posts created (15%)

2569 posts reblogged (85%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 5.6 posts.

I added 5,728 tags in 2021

#||reblogs|| - 2362 posts

#||musings: james|| - 503 posts

#wexarethewalkingxdead - 451 posts

#||musings: michonne|| - 431 posts

#||musings: javier garcia|| - 407 posts

#||musings: carl grimes|| - 371 posts

#& rick - 362 posts

#||ask meme answer|| - 311 posts

#||out of character|| - 277 posts

#& beta - 253 posts

Longest Tag: 100 characters

#but we didn't see as much of her so i want to assume she was just a little less shitty than salvador

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

See the full post

19 notes • Posted 2021-08-05 11:07:39 GMT

#4

Plotted starter for @betaofthedead

The world ended and for some strange twist of fate, Lucille was still alive. She wasn't a particularly religious person, but this all just felt like a joke —a very cruel one at that— from some higher power who seemed to get their rocks off by making her deal with bullshit. She survived the cancer, survived the surgery and the lack of proper treatment because of the pandemic that broke of shortly before her surgery, and now the population of the United States —and the world, probably— was about 90% cannibal corpses.

Negan was gone. Lucille wasn't sure if he was dead or he'd left, but when she woke up at the hospital, dehydrated and starving, he just wasn't there, neither were any of the doctors or patients, at least not any that were still alive.

That was months ago. How many, Lucille wasn't sure– as if time at hospitals wasn't already weird enough and made it impossible for her to tell how long she'd been hospitalized, television, radios and cellphones didn't work so there was no way for her to know what day it was exactly. But if she had to guess, Lucille would say it had been about a whole year.

Her first winter had been spent hiding in the hospital, barricaded in the cafeteria that it had taken her days to get the reanimated bodies out of in a non confrontational way, eating the nonperishables. But as soon as summer began, she filled a car with as much water and food as the back and passenger seat could fit and left.

Lucille's breath fogged in front of her face, reminding her than any moment now it would start to snow again and she had yet to find a safe place to hide at. The car wouldn't do, cold autumn nights in that car had been hell and each day it seemed that there were more and more of the undead around, even when she attempted to stay away from big cities. Right now, she stood out of her car at a gas station in a town that though possessing some sizeable buildings, was still quite small, getting some fresh air and stretching her legs after hours of driving.

She was about to get back in the car to not waste what little sunlight she had left when she saw someone small —too small to be an adult— rush across the street, too fast to be one of the dead.

"Hey!" Lucille called out, then her mind caught up to her mouth and she wanted to smack herself. A kid would certainly not be alone, right?

But what if they were?

"God dammit," Lucille muttered under her breath before locking the car —as if that would do anything to stop anyone from stealing her shit, hopefully the covered spot where she'd parked it would make it go unnoticed— before she ran after the kid.

28 notes • Posted 2021-01-16 07:38:45 GMT

#3

Send 🎧 and I'll tell you three songs my muse has on their playlist

If you can't see the emoji send "headphones"

29 notes • Posted 2021-06-10 06:13:50 GMT

#2

My Muses As The Onion Headlines

See the full post

36 notes • Posted 2021-05-29 17:04:19 GMT

#1

"Are you sure you don't wanna stay? There's room."

Fellas is it gay to look at your friend like this while telling him there's room for him to stay?

46 notes • Posted 2021-03-06 19:38:13 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

[dfroza]

Today’s reading from the ancient book of Proverbs and book of Psalms

for September 10 of 2021 with Proverbs 10 and Psalm 10, accompanied by Psalm 83 for the 83rd day of Astronomical Summer and Psalm 103 for day 253 of the year (now with the consummate book of 150 Psalms in its 2nd revolution this year)

[Proverbs 10]

The wisdom of Solomon:

When wisdom comes to a son,

joy comes to a father.

When a son turns from wisdom,

a mother grieves.

Gaining wealth through dishonesty is no gain at all.

But honesty brings you a lasting happiness.

The Lord satisfies the longings of all his lovers,

but he withholds from the wicked what their souls crave.

Slackers will know what it means to be poor,

while the hard worker becomes wealthy.

Know the importance of the season you’re in

and a wise son you will be.

But what a waste when an incompetent son

sleeps through his day of opportunity!

The lover of God is enriched beyond belief,

but the evil man only curses his luck.

The reputation of the righteous

becomes a sweet memorial to him,

while the wicked life only leaves a rotten stench.

The heart of the wise will easily accept instruction.

But those who do all the talking

are too busy to listen and learn.

They’ll just keep stumbling ahead

into the mess they created.

The one who walks in integrity

will experience a fearless confidence in life,

but the one who is devious

will eventually be exposed.

The troublemaker always has a clever plan

and won’t look you in the eye,

but the one who speaks correction honestly

can be trusted to make peace.

The teachings of the lovers of God are like

living truth flowing from the fountain of life,

but the words of the wicked

hide an ulterior motive.

Hatred keeps old quarrels alive,

but love draws a veil over every insult

and finds a way to make sin disappear.

Words of wisdom flow from the one with true discernment.

But to the heartless, words of wisdom

become like rods beating their backside.

Wise men don’t divulge all that they know,

but chattering fools blurt out words

that bring them to the brink of ruin.

A rich man’s wealth becomes like a citadel of strength,

but the poverty of the poor leaves their security in shambles.

The lovers of God earn their wages for a life of righteousness,

but the wages of the wicked are squandered on a life of sin.

If you readily receive correction,

you are walking on the path to life.

But if you reject rebuke,

you’re guaranteed to go astray.

The one who hides his hatred while pretending to be your friend

is nothing but a liar.

But the one who slanders you behind your back

proves that he’s a fool, never to be trusted.

If you keep talking, it won’t be long

before you’re saying something really wrong.

Prove you’re wise from the very start—

just bite your tongue and be strong!

The teachings of the godly ones are like pure silver,

bringing words of redemption to others,

but the heart of the wicked is corrupt.

The lovers of God feed many with their teachings,

but the foolish ones starve themselves

for lack of an understanding heart.

True enrichment comes from the blessing of the Lord,

with rest and contentment in knowing

that it all comes from him.

The fool finds fun in planning to do wrong,

but the wise delight in having discernment.

The lawless are haunted by their fears

and what they dread will come upon them,

but the longings of the lovers of God will all be fulfilled.

The wicked are blown away by every stormy wind.

But when a catastrophe comes,

the lovers of God have a secure anchor.

To trust a lazy person to get a job done

will be as irritating as smoke in your eyes—

as enjoyable as a toothache!

Living in the worship and awe of God

will bring you many years of contented living.

So how could the wicked ever expect to have a long, happy life?

Lovers of God have a joyful feast of gladness,

but the ungodly see their hopes vanish right before their eyes.

The beautiful ways of God are a safe resting place

for those who have integrity.

But to those who work wickedness

the ways of God spell doom.

God’s lover can never be greatly shaken.

But the wicked will never inherit

the covenant blessings.

The teachings of the righteous are loaded with wisdom,

but the words of the evil ones are crooked and perverse.

Words that bring delight pour from the lips of the godly,

but the words of the wicked are duplicitous.

The Book of Proverbs, Chapter 10 (The Passion Translation)

[Psalm 10]

The Cry of the Oppressed

Lord, why do you seem so far away when evil is near?

Why have you hidden yourself when I need you the most?

The arrogant in their elitist pride persecute the poor and helpless.

May you pour out upon them

the very evil they’ve dreamed up against others!

How they brag and boast of their cravings, exalting the greedy.

They congratulate themselves as they despise you—

these arrogant ones, so smug and secure!

In their delusion the wicked boast, saying,

“God doesn’t care about what we do.

There’s nothing to worry about!”

So successful are they in their schemes

and prosperous in all their plans!

Your laws are far from them;

they scoff at their enemies.

They boast that neither God nor men will bring them down.

They sneer at all their enemies, saying in their hearts,

“We’ll have success in all we do

and never have to face trouble.”

Their mouths spew out cursing, lies, and threats.

Only trouble and turmoil come from all their plans.

Like beasts lurking in the shadows of the city,

they crouch silently in ambush, waiting for the innocent to pass by.

Pouncing on the poor, they catch them in their snare

to murder their prey in secret

as they plunder their helpless victims.

They crush the lowly as they fall beneath their brutal blows,

watching their victims collapse in defeat!

Then they say to themselves,

“The Lofty One is not watching while we do this.

He doesn’t even care! We can get away with it!”

Now arise, Yahweh-God! Crush them once and for all!

Don’t forget the helpless and oppressed.

How dare the wicked think they’ll reject God and escape judgment.

They say to themselves,

“God won’t hold me accountable.”

Lord, I know you see all that they’re doing,

noting their each and every deed.

You know the trouble and turmoil they’ve caused.

Now punish them thoroughly for all that they’ve done!

The poor and helpless ones trust in you, Lord,

for you are famous for being the helper of the fatherless.

I know you won’t let them down.

Break the power of the wicked and all their strong-arm tactics.

Search them out and destroy them

for the evil things they’ve done.

You, Yahweh, are King forever and ever!

All the nations will perish from your land.

Yahweh, you have heard the desires of the humble

and seen their hopes.

You will hear their cries and encourage their hearts.

The orphans and the oppressed will be terrified no longer,

for you will bring them justice, and no earth-dweller will trouble them again.

The Book of Psalms, Poem 10 (The Passion Translation)

[Psalm 83]

God, Don’t Be Silent

Asaph’s poetic song

God, you have to do something! Don’t be silent and just sit idly by.

Can’t you see what they’re doing?

All your enemies are stirred up in an uproar!

They despise you, Lord.

In their defiant arrogance they rise up

to host their secret council against your people.

They conspire together to come and harm

your cherished ones—your hidden ones.

Our enemies keep saying,

“Now is the time to wipe Israel off the map.

We’ll destroy even the memory of her existence!”

They’ve made their pact, consulting and conspiring,

aligning together in their covenant against God.

All the sons of Ishmael, the desert sheiks and the nomadic tribes, Amalekites, Canaanites, Moabites,

and all the nations that surround us,

Philistines, Phoenicians, Gadarenes, and Samaritans;

allied together they’re ready to attack!

Pause in his presence

Do to them all what you did to the Midianites

who were defeated by Gideon.

Or what you did to Sisera and Jabin

when Deborah and Barak defeated them by the Kishon River.

Do to your enemies what you did at Endor,

whose rotting corpses fertilized the land.

Repeat history, God! Make all their “noble ones”

die like Oreb, Zebah, and Zalmunna, who said in their pride,

“We will seize God’s people along with all their pleasant lands!”

Blow them away, God, like straw in the wind,

like a tumbleweed in the wilderness!

Burn them up like a raging fire roaring down the mountainside;

consume them all until only charred sticks remain!

Chase them away like before a mighty storm and terrifying tempest.

O Lord, disgrace them until their faces fill with shame,

and make them acknowledge the glory of your name.

Make them utter failures in everything they do

until they perish in total disgrace and humiliation,

so they will know that you, and you alone,

are Yahweh, the only Most High God exalted over all the earth!

The Book of Psalms, Poem 83 (The Passion Translation)

[Psalm 103]

A song of David.

O my soul, come, praise the Eternal

with all that is in me—body, emotions, mind, and will—every part of who I am—

praise His holy name.

O my soul, come, praise the Eternal;

sing a song from a grateful heart;

sing and never forget all the good He has done.

Despite all your many offenses, He forgives and releases you.

More than any doctor, He heals your diseases.

He reaches deep into the pit to deliver you from death.

He crowns you with unfailing love and compassion like a king.

When your soul is famished and withering,

He fills you with good and beautiful things, satisfying you as long as you live.

He makes you strong like an eagle, restoring your youth.

When people are crushed, wronged, enslaved, raped, murdered,

the Eternal is just;

He makes the wrongs right.

He showed Moses His ways;

He allowed His people Israel to see His wonders and acts of power.

The Eternal is compassionate and merciful.

When we cross all the lines, He is patient with us.

When we struggle against Him, He lovingly stays with us—changing, convicting, prodding;

He will not constantly criticize,

nor will He hold a grudge forever.

Thankfully, God does not punish us for our sins and depravity as we deserve.

In His mercy, He tempers justice with peace.

Measure how high heaven is above the earth;

God’s wide, loving, kind heart is greater for those who revere Him.

You see, God takes all our crimes—our seemingly inexhaustible sins—and removes them.

As far as east is from the west, He removes them from us.

An earthly father expresses love for his children;

it is no different with our heavenly Father;

The Eternal shows His love for those who revere Him.

For He knows what we are made of;

He knows our frame is frail, and He remembers we came from dust.

The children of Adam are like grass;

their days are few;

they flourish for a time like flowers in a meadow.

As the wind blows over the field and the bloom is gone,

it doesn’t take much to blow us out of the memory of that place.

But the unfailing love of the Eternal is always and eternal

for those who reverently run after Him.

He extends His justice on and on to future generations,

To those who will keep His bond of love

and remember to walk in the guidance of His commands.

The Eternal has established His throne up in the heavens.

He rules over every seen and unseen realm and creature.

Adore Him! Give Him praise, you heavenly messengers,

you powerful creatures who listen to

and act on His every word.

Give praise to the Eternal, all armies of heaven—

you servants who stand ready to do His will.

Give praise to the Eternal, all that He has made

in all corners of His creation.

O my soul, come, praise the Eternal!

The Book of Psalms, Poem 103 (The Voice)

[liskribbles]

Adventure Time Episode List - no fillers

So I've been meaning to do this quite for some time - some pf my friends wanted to catch up with Adventure time, but with the show being 9 seasons in, it's a lil disheartening, knowing there is a whole bunch of filler stuff. So, I decided to make them a list of plot centric episodes or at least those episodes that give more character insight.

Weeding out the fillers. There are, most likely, similar lists around, but this is just how I see the highlights of the show.

* - will mark episodes that aren't plot driven, but I feel are good character or story-wise or give more info for side characters.

** - will mark episodes that are contributions of guest directors and have simply a different visual style. They are usually fillers, but maybe some would like to enjoy the animation.

XX/YY - the first number is the episode of the series, the second is it’s number within the season.

Season 1

1 / 1  "Slumber Party Panic" 2 / 2  "Trouble in Lumpy Space" 3 / 3  "Prisoners of Love" 4 / 4  "Tree Trunks" 5 / 5 "The Enchiridion!" 9 / 9 "My Two Favorite People" *10 / 10 "Memories of Boom Boom Mountain" 12 / 12  "Evicted!" *14 / 14 "The Witch's Garden" 15 / 15   "What Is Life?" 16 / 16  "Ocean of Fear" *17 / 17 "When Wedding Bells Thaw" *18 / 18  "Dungeon" *19 / 19 "The Duke" 20 / 20 "Freak City" 22 / 22 "Henchman" 24 / 24 "What Have You Done?" 25 / 25 "His Hero"

Season 2

27 / 1 "It Came from the Nightosphere" *28 / 2 "The Eyes" *29 / 3 "Loyalty to the King" *31 / 5 "Storytelling" *33 / 7 "Power Animal" 34 / 8 "Crystals Have Power" *35 / 9 "The Other Tarts" *36 / 10 "To Cut a Woman's Hair" 38 / 12 "Her Parents" 41  / 15 "The Real You" 43 / 17 "Death in Bloom" 44 / 18 "Susan Strong" *45 / 19 "Mystery Train" 46 / 20 "Go with Me" *48 / 22 "The Limit" *49 / 23 "Video Makers" 50 /  24 "Mortal Folly" 51 /  25 "Mortal Recoil" *52 /  26 "Heat Signature"

Season 3

55 / 3 "Memory of a Memory" *56 / 4 "Hitman" 57 / 5 "Too Young" *58 / 6 "The Monster" 59 / 7 "Still" *60 / 8 "Wizard Battle" 61 / 9 "Fionna and Cake" 62 / 10 "What Was Missing" *63 / 11 "Apple Thief" 64 / 12 "The Creeps" 65 / 13 "From Bad to Worse" 66 / 14 "Beautopia" 67 / 15 "No One Can Hear You" *70 / 18 "The New Frontier" 71-72 / 19-20 "Holly Jolly Secrets" *73 / 21 "Marceline's Closet" *76 / 24 "Ghost Princess" 77 / 25 "Dad's Dungeon" 78 / 26 "Incendium"

Season 4

79 / 1 "Hot to the Touch" *80 / 2 "Five Short Graybles" 83 / 5 "Return to the Nightosphere" 84 / 6 "Daddy's Little Monster" *87 / 9 "Princess Monster Wife" 88 / 10 "Goliad" 89 / 11 "Beyond This Earthly Realm" 90 / 12 "Gotcha!" *91 / 13 "Princess Cookie" *92 / 14 "Card Wars" 93 / 15 "Sons of Mars" 94 / 16 "Burning Low" *95 / 17 "BMO Noire" *96 / 18 "King Worm" 97 / 19 "Lady & Peebles" 98 /  20 "You Made Me" *100 / 22 "Ignition Point" 103 / 25 "I Remember You" 104 / 26 "The Lich"

Season 5

105 / 1 "Finn the Human" 106 / 2 "Jake the Dog" *107 / 3 "Five More Short Graybles" 109 / 5 "All the Little People" 110 / 6 "Jake the Dad" *111 / 7 "Davey" *112 / 8 "Mystery Dungeon" 113 / 9 "All Your Fault" 115 / 11 "Bad Little Boy" *116 / 12 "Vault of Bones" 118 / 14 "Simon & Marcy" **119 / 15 "A Glitch Is a Glitch" *120 / 16 "Puhoy" *121 / 17 "BMO Lost" *122 / 18 "Princess Potluck" 125 /  21 "The Suitor" *126 / 22 "The Party's Over, Isla de Señorita" 127 / 23 "One Last Job" *128 /24 "Another Five More Short Graybles" *129 / 25 "Candy Streets" *130 / 26 "Wizards Only, Fools" 132 / 28 "Be More" 133 / 29 "Sky Witch" 134 / 30 "Frost & Fire" 135 / 31 "Too Old" 136 / 32 "Earth & Water" 138 / 34 "The Vault" *139 / 35 "Love Games" *140 / 36 "Dungeon Train" *142 / 38 "Red Starved" *144 / 40 "Play Date" 145 / 41 "The Pit" 146 / 42 "James" *147 / 43 "Root Beer Guy" 148 / 44 "Apple Wedding" 149 / 45 "Blade of Grass" 150 / 46 "Rattleballs" 151 / 47 "The Red Throne" 152 / 48 "Betty" *153 / 49 "Bad Timing" 154-155 / 50-51 "Lemonhope" *156 / 52 "Billy's Bucket List"

Season 6

157 / 1 "Wake Up" 158 / 2 "Escape from the Citadel" *159 / 3 "James II" 160 / 4 "The Tower" 162 / 6 "Breezy" **163 / 7 "Food Chain" 165 / 9 "The Prince Who Wanted Everything" 166 / 10 "Something Big" *168 / 12 "Ocarina" *169 / 13 "Thanks for the Crabapples, Giuseppe!" 170 / 14 "Princess Day" 171 / 15 "Nemesis" 172 / 16 "Joshua & Margaret Investigations" 175 / 19 "Is That You?" *177 / 21 "Dentist" 178 / 22 "The Cooler" *179 / 23 "The Pajama War" 180 / 24 "Evergreen" 181 / 25 "Astral Plane" 182 / 26 "Gold Stars" 183 / 27 "The Visitor" 184 / 28 "The Mountain" 185 / 29 "Dark Purple" *186 / 30 "The Diary" *187 / 31 "Walnuts & Rain" *188 / 32 "Friends Forever" 189 / 33 "Jermaine" *191 / 35 "Graybles 1000+" *192 / 36 "Hoots" 194 / 38 "You Forgot Your Floaties" 195 / 39 "Be Sweet" 196 / 40 "Orgalorg" *197 / 41 "On the Lam" 198 / 42 "Hot Diggity Doom" 199 / 43 "The Comet"

Season 7

200 / 1 "Bonnie & Neddy" 201 / 2 "Varmints" *202 / 3 "Cherry Cream Soda" *203 / 4 "Mama Said" 204 / 5 "Football" 205 / 6 "Stakes Part 1: Marceline the Vampire Queen" 206 / 7 "Stakes Part 2: Everything Stays" 207 / 8 "Stakes Part 3: Vamps About" 208 / 9 "Stakes Part 4: The Empress Eyes" 209 / 10 "Stakes Part 5: May I Come In?" 210 / 11 "Stakes Part 6: Take Her Back" 211 / 12 "Stakes Part 7: Checkmate" 212 / 13 "Stakes Part 8: The Dark Cloud" 213-214 / 14-15 "The More You Moe, the Moe You Know" *215 / 16 "Summer Showers" **219 / 20 "Bad Jubies" 220 / 21 "King's Ransom" 222 / 23 "Crossover" *223 / 24 "The Hall of Egress" 224 / 25 "Flute Spell" 225 / 26 "The Thin Yellow Line"

Season 8

226 / 1 "Broke His Crown" 227 / 2 "Don't Look" **228 / 3 "Beyond the Grotto" 229 / 4 "Lady Rainicorn of the Crystal Dimension" 230 /  5 "I Am a Sword" *231 / 6 "Bun Bun" *232 / 7 "Normal Man" 233 / 8 "Elemental" *235 / 10 "The Music Hole" *236 / 11 "Daddy-Daughter Card Wars" 237 / 12 "Preboot" 238 / 13 "Reboot" 239 / 14 "Two Swords" *240 / 15 "Do No Harm" *241 / 16 "Wheels" *242 / 17 "High Strangeness" 244 / 19 "Jelly Beans Have Power" 245 / 20 "Islands Part 1: The Invitation" 246 / 21 "Islands Part 2: Whipple the Happy Dragon" 247 / 22 "Islands Part 3: Mysterious Island" 248 / 23 "Islands Part 4: Imaginary Resources" 249 / 24 "Islands Part 5: Hide and Seek" 250 / 25 "Islands Part 6: Min & Marty" 251 / 26 "Islands Part 7: Helpers" 252 / 27 "Islands Part 8: The Light Cloud"

Season 9

*253 / 1 "Orb" 254 / 2 "Elements Part 1: Skyhooks" 255 / 3 "Elements Part 2: Bespoken For" 256 / 4 "Elements Part 3: Winter Light" 257 / 5 "Elements Part 4: Cloudy" 258 / 6 "Elements Part 5: Slime Central" 259 / 7 "Elements Part 6: Happy Warrior" 260 / 8 "Elements Part 7: Hero Heart" 261 / 9 "Elements Part 8: Skyhooks II" 262 / 10 "Abstract" 263 / 11 "Ketchup" 264 / 12 "Fionna and Cake and Fionna" 265 / 13 "Whispers" 266 / 14 "Three Buckets" 267 / 15 "The Wild Hunt" 268 / 16 "Always BMO Closing" 269 / 17 "Son of Rap Bear" 270 / 18 "Bonnibel Bubblegum"

Hope this helps those, who need it!

[didanawisgi]

Prayers aren’t doing anything. We need gun control laws. We need our government to take action... Or do we?

Ok, so since this is a blog, that means I have to write original stuff from time to time, otherwise it can’t rightly be called a blog, can it? I have many kinds of friends, and I make it a point to be friends with different people, especially ones with different opinions. Here, a family friend of my fiancee posted on her facebook this statement:  “Prayers aren’t doing anything. We need gun control laws. We need our government to take action.” She is very pro gun control and insists that action be taken, however, we politely entered into a discussion about it and I tried to explain why I am against “gun control”.  

I said:  “ I think the most important thing is identifying violent and unstable people early, but the state of our mental healthcare workforce is lacking. The culture and resources dedicated to this needs to shift. I think the political left should focus their efforts there and come up with the most humane ideas. As for gun control in general I am against and will continue to carry concealed. Most of the gun control ideas are either already on the books or knee-jerk and not well thought out. Also the second amendment precludes most of it anyway. I like for things to be practical and effective, so it’s just my opinion that we need to shift focus on how to empower physicians and law enforcement and the judiciary with laws while at the same time allocating more funds to mental health safety nets and research. “

She replied:  It’s hard for me, because I think no matter what we do considering the mental health community (which could take decades) won’t stop mass shootings. When someone has a conceal carry on during a mass shooting, I feel like it just makes it more dangerous because they don’t always know where to shoot, can hurt more innocent people, and could be considered the shooter. What about the mass shooting in Australia? The 1996 Port Arthur massacre resulted in legislation that saw a dramatic decline in gun crimes. It made a huge difference. Was sandy hook (and everything since) not enough to change our legislation? This pattern will continue as long as the NRA has politicians in its pocket.

I then said:  I understand where you are coming from; my perspective is different. Some of the best data and research currently available has put the onus on gun control proponents (for instance check out the Harvard Law study I posted below, that is fairly comprehensive and has good/logical points backed by statistical evidence). Most concealed carry holders have decent training and must demonstrate proficiency and accuracy by law. Also, they are trained/lectured in precisely which instances your gun can be pulled, under protection of the law. The NRA is not really the issue, but the millions of citizens that will not give up any Constitutional right apropos 2nd Amd. that hold their feet to the fire. If the NRA were dismantled entirely today, another would arise in a few months and eventually become just as prominent. I also plan on becoming an NRA member in the future, or whatever gun rights lobby group that will protect my right of self defense, particularly with the rise of white nationalist groups. The first thing the KKK and Jim Crow/government law did was to take away guns from black citizens. If you listen to Malcom X or even MLK (who owned firearms in his home for self defense), the logic and reasons seem fairly sound and self-evident, at least to me. Also, the 2nd amendment and the Federalist papers particularly Madison, make a compelling argument for it as well. Let me know if you want the link, it is a very interesting read. I still contend that the mental health in this country is terrible, even with my first hand knowledge, I still can't believe some of what I've seen. But yes, I understand where you are coming from. There will be no path forward with no improvement if we can't find some common ground on where to take action, as it seems stalemate currently.

She said she would like to read my sources...

Here is the article I cited in its entirety from Harvard Law Review journal: http://www.law.harvard.edu/.../Vol30_No2...

These are some of the more interesting/salient parts in terms of debate: 

INTRODUCTION International evidence and comparisons have long been offered as proof of the mantra that more guns mean more deaths and that fewer guns, therefore, mean fewer deaths.1 Unfortunately, such discussions are all too often been afflicted by misconceptions and factual error and focus on comparisons that are unrepresentative. It may be useful to begin with a few examples. There is a com‐ pound assertion that (a) guns are uniquely available in the United States compared with other modern developed nations, which is why (b) the United States has by far the highest murder rate. Though these assertions have been endlessly repeated, statement (b) is, in fact, false and statement (a) is substantially so. Since at least 1965, the false assertion that the United States has the industrialized world’s highest murder rate has been an artifact of politically motivated Soviet minimization designed to hide the true homicide rates.2 Since well before that date, the Soviet Union possessed extremely stringent gun controls3 that were effectuated by a police state apparatus providing stringent enforcement.4 So successful was that regime that few Russian civilians now have firearms and very few murders involve them.5 Yet, manifest suc‐ cess in keeping its people disarmed did not prevent the Soviet Union from having far and away the highest murder rate in the developed world.6 In the 1960s and early 1970s, the gun‐less So‐ viet Union’s murder rates paralleled or generally exceeded those of gun‐ridden America. While American rates stabilized and then steeply declined, however, Russian murder increased so drasti‐ cally that by the early 1990s the Russian rate was three times higher than that of the United States. Between 1998‐2004 (the lat‐ est figure available for Russia), Russian murder rates were nearly four times higher than American rates. Similar murder rates also characterize the Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and various other now‐independent European nations of the former U.S.S.R.7 Thus, in the United States and the former Soviet Union transition‐ ing into current‐day Russia, “homicide results suggest that where guns are scarce other weapons are substituted in killings.”8 While American gun ownership is quite high, Table 1 shows many other developed nations (e.g., Norway, Finland, Germany, France, Denmark) with high rates of gun ownership. These countries, however, have murder rates as low or lower than many devel‐ oped nations in which gun ownership is much rarer. For example, Luxembourg, where handguns are totally banned and ownership of any kind of gun is minimal, had a murder rate nine times higher than Germany in 2002. The same pattern appears when comparisons of violence to gun ownership are made within nations. Indeed, “data on fire‐ arms ownership by constabulary area in England,” like data from the United States, show “a negative correlation,”10 that is, “where firearms are most dense violent crime rates are lowest, and where guns are least dense violent crime rates are high‐ est.”11 A second misconception about the relationship between fire‐ arms and violence attributes Europe’s generally low homicide rates to stringent gun control. That attribution cannot be accu‐ rate since murder in Europe was at an all‐time low before the gun controls were introduced.13 For instance, virtually the only English gun control during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was the practice that police patrolled without guns. During this period gun control prevailed far less in England or Europe than in certain American states which nevertheless had—and continue to have—murder rates that were and are comparatively very high.14 In this connection, two recent studies are pertinent. In 2004, the U.S. National Academy of Sciences released its evaluation from a review of 253 journal articles, 99 books, 43 government publications, and some original empirical research. It failed to identify any gun control that had reduced violent crime, sui‐ cide, or gun accidents.15 The same conclusion was reached in 2003 by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control’s review of then‐ extant studies.16 Stringent gun controls were not adopted in England and Western Europe until after World War I. Consistent with the outcomes of the recent American studies just mentioned, these strict controls did not stem the general trend of ever‐growing violent crime throughout the post‐WWII industrialized world including the United States and Russia. Professor Malcolm’s study of English gun law and violent crime summarizes that nation’s nineteenth and twentieth century experience as fol‐ lows: The peacefulness England used to enjoy was not the result of strict gun laws. When it had no firearms restrictions [nine‐ teenth and early twentieth century] England had little violent crime, while the present extraordinarily stringent gun controls have not stopped the increase in violence or even the increase in armed violence.17 Armed crime, never a problem in England, has now become one. Handguns are banned but the Kingdom has millions of illegal firearms. Criminals have no trouble finding them and exhibit a new willingness to use them. In the decade after 1957, the use of guns in serious crime increased a hundredfold.18 In the late 1990s, England moved from stringent controls to a complete ban of all handguns and many types of long guns. Hundreds of thousands of guns were confiscated from those owners law‐abiding enough to turn them in to authorities. Without suggesting this caused violence, the ban’s ineffectiveness was such that by the year 2000 violent crime had so increased that England and Wales had Europe’s highest violent crime rate, far surpassing even the United States.19 Today, English news media headline violence in terms redolent of the doleful, melodramatic language that for so long characterized American news reports.20 One aspect of England’s recent experience deserves note, given how often and favorably advo‐ cates have compared English gun policy to its American coun‐ terpart over the past 35 years.21 A generally unstated issue in this notoriously emotional debate was the effect of the Warren Court and later restrictions on police powers on American gun policy. Critics of these decisions pointed to soaring American crime rates and argued simplistically that such decisions caused, or at least hampered, police in suppressing crime. But to some supporters of these judicial decisions, the example of England argued that the solution to crime was to restrict guns, not civil liberties. To gun control advocates, England, the cradle of our liberties, was a nation made so peaceful by strict gun control that its police did not even need to carry guns. The United States, it was argued, could attain such a desirable situation by radically reducing gun ownership, preferably by banning and confiscating handguns. The results discussed earlier contradict those expectations. On the one hand, despite constant and substantially increasing gun ownership, the United States saw progressive and dramatic reductions in criminal violence in the 1990s. On the other hand, the same time period in the United Kingdom saw a constant and dramatic increase in violent crime to which England’s response was ever‐more drastic gun control including, eventually, banning and confiscating all handguns and many types of long guns.22 Nevertheless, criminal violence rampantly increased so that by 2000 England surpassed the United States to become one of the developed world’s most violence‐ridden nations……

Here is part of their Conclusion: This Article has reviewed a significant amount of evidence from a wide variety of international sources. Each individual portion of evidence is subject to cavil—at the very least the general objection that the persuasiveness of social scientific evidence cannot remotely approach the persuasiveness of conclusions in the physical sciences. Nevertheless, the burden of proof rests on the proponents of the more guns equal more death and fewer guns equal less death mantra, especially since they argue public policy ought to be based on that mantra.149 To bear that burden would at the very least require showing that a large number of nations with more guns have more death and that nations that have imposed stringent gun controls have achieved substantial reductions in criminal violence (or suicide). But those correlations are not observed when a large number of nations are compared across the world. Source: Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy http://www.law.harvard.edu/.../Vol30_No2...

I then said, Federalist 10 and 46 represent in my opinion, the chief parts/reasoning of why the second amendment is important.

Here is part of Madison's argument in Federalist 10: "From this view of the subject it may be concluded that a pure democracy… can admit of no cure for the mischiefs of faction. A common passion or interest will, in almost every case, be felt by a majority of the whole; a communication and concert result from the form of government itself; and there is nothing to check the inducements to sacrifice the weaker party or an obnoxious individual. Hence it is that such democracies have ever been spectacles of turbulence and contention; have ever been found incompatible with personal security or the rights of property; and have in general been as short in their lives as they have been violent in their deaths. Theoretic politicians, who have patronized this species of government, have erroneously supposed that by reducing mankind to a perfect equality in their political rights, they would, at the same time, be perfectly equalized and assimilated in their possessions, their opinions, and their passions. A republic, by which I mean a government in which the scheme of representation takes place, opens a different prospect, and promises the cure for which we are seeking. Let us examine the points in which it varies from pure democracy, and we shall comprehend both the nature of the cure and the efficacy which it must derive from the Union." James Madison, Federalist No. 10

So here he argues why a Republic is better then a Democracy, and the idea of the "mischiefs of faction" and how at any given time the majority will in one way or another coerce the minority. Democracy, counter-intuitively then, is the great civilization killer, and easily undermines individual freedom, hence the "tyranny of the majority".

In Federalist 46, he examines the differences and pros and cons of having a Standing army (Military controlled by government) vs armed citizenry: In Federalist No. 46, Madison calculates that the new government could support a standing army but "To these would be opposed a militia amounting to near half a million of citizens with arms in their hands, officered by men chosen from among themselves, fighting for their common liberties, and united and conducted by governments possessing their affections and confidence. It may well be doubted, whether a militia thus circumstanced could ever be conquered by such a proportion of regular troops… . Besides the advantage of being armed, which the Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation, the existence of subordinate governments, to which the people are attached, and by which the militia officers are appointed, forms a barrier against the enterprises of ambition, more insurmountable than any which a simple government of any form can admit of. Notwithstanding the military establishments in the several kingdoms of Europe, which are carried as far as the public resources will bear, the governments are afraid to trust the people with arms."

Here I think we find the seeds of the Second Amendment, and the relationship to standing army (Government controlled) vs an armed citizenry, which if need be (unlikely going to happen, but still) acts as a kind of fail safe to preserve the Republic (atall costs). Democracies do not need a first or second amendment, however a Republic does. (In my opinion). In a Democracy, the vast majority would be fine with gun control, likely not seeing any "modern" need for an armed citizenry, and would just vote on it and it would be so. But the problem is that this is precisely how nations die, and join the eternal cycle of failed states.

I could go on in a further attempt to explain my logic/reasoning as to why I think the second amendment is necessary to preserve the Union (forever), and to preserve the Republic (specifically). But I think I have said enough to at least get my reasoning in a way that does not make me seem like a radical. I think if you really consider it, you will see where I am coming from.

Also, here is an article from one of my favorite philosophers of today, Sam Harris, whom you may be familiar with. He writes with clarity and sound logic. Here is a piece he did on gun control (if you are interested): https://www.samharris.org/blog/item/the-riddle-of-the-gun

Here are some follow up questions in a pod cast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0DYpaLgWIo

Here is some more material on the "dilemmas of democracy" https://www.city-journal.org/.../james-madison-and...

Here's a brief discussion of Federalist 46 https://armsandthelaw.com/arc.../2005/04/federalist_no_4.php

Here is something I wrote that you may be interested in and partly explains why I am "republican" along with what I mentioned about Democracy and the "micheifs of faction": What follows is something I wrote for a facebook “civil politcal debate” as a favor to a fellow freemason in Canada, where I attempted to get at the essential reason why I think we have so much political upheaval, and how to get back to our Constitutional way of life by examining Hamilton’s Federalist No. 17 and the implications therein. “First, I would like to thank Bro. Charles for inviting me to comment in a civil discussion of politics, a subject I usually do not attempt to discuss on Facebook due to the inherent limitations of the medium itself. The format and back-and-forth nature of posts only seems to foster hurried and usually less well thought out arguments “in the heat of the post”. I have come to realize you do not persuade others by quipy remarks or tones that, in your own certitude, just come off as condescension regardless of how well thought out or how right you may be (or think you are). I shall attempt to render my opinion on the first part of your questions Charles, and that is, is the phenomenon like Trump and Brexit a ‘Great Rebellion’? The short answer is in the affirmative, and here is why. Two words: Power, and Sovereignty; but perhaps not in the way you may be thinking. What I mean by power is, where does the actual political power come from in this day and age? From the People presumably, but the fear, justified or not, is that both nations, a Constitutional Republic and a Parliamentary Democracy are no longer responsive to the Will of the People. The Spectre of Oppression rises as the perception of true freedom wanes. People feel more and more disconnected, disaffected, disenfranchised, and trod upon by undue regulation. In many instances, it affects them personally, financially, and has significant influence on their means. And yet, what recourse do they have? Voting ad nauseam with little to show for it? It feels as if no one represents you completely, largely due to entrenched political platform with little maneuverability, dominated by crony kow-towers suffering from Group Think. With each election cycle, we the Peoples of both Nations, feel like our Power, or Self-Evident Liberty to govern ourselves, is slipping away. Alexander Hamilton, in Federalist no. 17, has this to say about the advantage of maintaining matters related to Law and Justice at the Local level: “There is one transcendent advantage belonging to the province of the State governments, which alone suffices to place the matter in a clear and satisfactory light… I mean the ordinary administration of criminal and civil justice. This, of all others, is the most powerful, most universal, and most attractive source of popular obedience and attachment. It is this, which, being the immediate and visible guardian of life and property; having its benefits and its terrors in constant activity before the public eye; regulating all those personal interests, and familiar concerns, to which the sensibility of individuals is more immediately awake; contributes, more than any other circumstance, to impress upon the minds of the people affection, esteem, and reverence towards the government.” Hamilton is essentially saying that Liberty is best maintained locally, in terms of civil and criminal law, and that when done so, is more responsive to the People, and they in turn, are more cooperative and filial with the Government (imagine that! Lol). So, therefore, this is the crux of my point, and where my assumptions rest as to the nature of the problem. Trump and Brexit (and Bernie I would argue) are manifestations of the People’s hope to regain some of the “Power” they intuitively sense they have lost, but few will cite the raison d'être as I have. Naturally then, my solution rests in returning the ‘ordinary administration of criminal and civil justice’ or “Power to the People” in the form of greater reliance on Local and State Governance, and considerably less Federal encroachment in these arenas, which would serve to assuage the Fears, real and imagined, of the Populace, and bring back a more responsive government for the people, by the people. Now that I have clarified (hopefully) what I mean by “Power,” let us move onto Sovereignty, which is defined as ‘the authority of a State to govern itself’. This part is easy, for I see sovereignty as a natural extension of the principle of power, or rather, as an (Fractal-like) iteration of the self-evident Right of Liberty, or to govern ourselves. One of the chief complaints I heard/read from supporters of Brexit was that being in the EU degraded British Sovereignty. Well what does this mean really? It means that the very ‘power’ Trump supporters (and other supporters) want back, a greater ability to self-govern, are the very same thing the Brexit voters want; more freedom, particularly in regards to civil law and the regulations they feel like they have no say or voice in. Their say in the ‘ordinary administration of civil and criminal justice’ is eluding the voters of both nations. Taking back one’s sovereignty is just another way of saying I want more say in civil and criminal law from a governmental perspective. So, this is why I would have to answer the first part of your question in the affirmative; it is a ‘thing’ whose cause rests in the voters declining ability to have a voice in civil, tax, property, etc. law that is imposed on them by politicians orders of magnitude removed from them.”

Anyway, I wanted to share this with my followers, food for thought. I highly recommend reading and listening to Sam Harris philosophical approach to the Riddle of the Gun.  Take care followers and have a Blessed day.

REGIII32

p.s. feel free to debate and argue (followers), I enjoy hearing your thought processes and seeing your evidence.

[anastpaul]

Saints of the Day – 16 September – St Pope Cornelius and St Cyprian of Carthage – Martyrs.  St Pope Cornelius – Papal Ascension:  251.  He was martyred in 253 and his remains were buried at the cemetery of Saint Callistus at Rome, Italy.   “Cornelous” means ‘battle horn’.   Patronages – • against earache; earache sufferers• epileptics; against epilepsy• against fever• against twitching• cattle• domestic animals• Kornelimünster, Germany. Attributes – • pope holding a battle horn or cow’s horn• pope with a cow nearby.   St Cornelius was a Bishop becoming ar reluctant 21st pope, elected after a year-and-a-half period during which the persecutions were so bad that papal ascension was a quick death sentence.   He worked to maintain unity in a time of schism and apostasy and fought Novatianism and called a synod of bishops to confirm him as rightful pontiff, as opposed to the anti-pope Novatian.  He had the support of Saint Cyprian of Carthage and Saint Dionysius.   He welcomed back those who had apostacised during the persecutions of Decius;   the documents that settled this matter prove the final authority of the Pope. Exiled to Centemcellae in 252 by Roman authorities to punish Christians in general, who were said to have provoked the gods to send plague against Rome. Martyr.   A document from Cornelius shows the size of the Church in Rome in his papacy:  46 priests, 7 deacons, 7 subdeacons, approximately 50,000 Christians.   His name is in the Communicantes in the Canon of the Mass.

St Cyprian of Carthage – (190 in Carthage, North Africa – Bishop and Martyr, learned Rhetoritician, Teacher, Writer, Theologian – beheaded 14 September 258 in Carthage, North Africa).   Patronages – • Algeria (proclaimed on 6 July 1914 by Pope Pius X)• North Africa (proclaimed on 6 July 1914 by Pope Pius X, on 10 January 1958 by Pope Pius XII and on 27 July 1962 by Pope John XXIII  NOTE – no, I don’t know why it was done so many times).   St Cyprian was born to wealthy pagan parents.   He taught rhetoric and literature.    He was adult convert in 246, taught the faith by Saint Caecilius of Carthage. He was ordained in 247 and became the Bishop of Carthage in 249.   During the persecution of Decius, beginning in 250, Cyprian lived in hiding, covertly ministering to his flock;  his enemies condemned him for being a coward and not standing up for his faith.   As a writer he was second only in importance to Tertullian as a Latin Father of the Church.   Friend of Saint Pontius.   St Cyprian was involved in the great argument over whether apostates should be readmitted to the Church;  Cyprian believed they should but under stringent conditions.   He was supported St Pope Cornelius against the anti-pope Novatian.   During the persecutions of Valerian he was exiled to Curubis in 257, brought back Carthage and then martyred in 258.   His name is in the Communicantes in the Canon of the Mass.

An excerpt written to Cornelius, bishop of Rome condemned to martyrdom for his faith, from his brother bishop Cyprian of Carthage, himself to give his witness as a martyr a few years later.  Read on the feasts of Sts. Cornelius and Cyprian, martyrs, on September 16.

Cyprian to his brother Cornelius.

My very dear brother, we have heard of the glorious witness given by your courageous faith.   On learning of the honour you had won by your witness, we were filled with such joy that we felt ourselves sharers and companions in your praiseworthy achievements. After all, we have the same Church, the same mind, the same unbroken harmony.   Why then should a priest not take pride in the praise given to a fellow priest as though it were given to him?   What brotherhood fails to rejoice in the happiness of its brothers wherever they are?

Words cannot express how great was the exultation and delight here when we heard of your good fortune and brave deeds:   how you stood out as leader of your brothers in their declaration of faith, while the leader’s confession was enhanced as they declared their faith.  You led the way to glory, but you gained many companions in that glory; being foremost in your readiness to bear witness on behalf of all, you prevailed on your people to become a single witness.

We cannot decide which we ought to praise, your own ready and unshaken faith or the love of your brothers who would not leave you.   While the courage of the bishop who thus led the way has been demonstrated, at the same time the unity of the brotherhood who followed has been manifested.   Since you have one heart and one voice, it is the Roman Church as a whole that has thus born witness.

Dearest brother bright and shining is the faith which the blessed Apostle praised in your community.   He foresaw in the spirit the praise your courage deserves and the strength that could not be broken;  he was heralding the future when he testified to your achievements; his praise of the fathers was a challenge to the sons.   Your unity, your strength have become shining examples of these virtues to the rest of the brethren.

Divine providence has now prepared us.  God’s merciful design has warned us that the day of our own struggle, our own contest, is at hand.   By that shared love which binds us close together, we are doing all we can to exhort our congregation, to give ourselves unceasingly to fastings, vigils and prayers in common.   These are the heavenly weapons which give us the strength to stand firm and endure;  they are the spiritual defenses, the God-given armaments that protect us.

Let us then remember one another, united in mind and heart.   Let us pray without ceasing, you for us, we for you;  by the love we share we shall thus relieve the strain of these great trials.

(via AnaStpaul – Breathing Catholic)

[accio-infinity-stone]

The Sunrise Part 3 (Sirius Black x Hufflepuff!Reader

Part 1  Part 2

Part 3 requested by anonymous (and whoever else wanted it): Dude I love you and your blog but I need 'Sunrise part 3' in my life. Maybe make it about the reader meeting the marauders? Idk ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Word Count: 3, 253 (wow, that’s a lot sorry)

Warnings: A LOT of dialogue in this, sorry. Other than that none. Oh and kissing.

A/N: I’m sorry that it sucks, I feel like this series has just dragged on now. idk

(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

Sirius, Remus and Peter watched as James trudged back to their spot on the couch in the Gryffindor common room after another unsuccessful attempt at wooing Lily, now sporting a very vibrant shade of orange hair instead of his usual raven mess. He flopped down on the couch and let his head fall back.

“What’d you do this time?” Remus asked from his spot next to Peter in front of the fireplace on the floor, sitting cross legged in an oversized sweater.

“I made a red head joke.” James mumbled.

“Again?” Peter asked, laughing as he moved to lay on his stomach, propping his head up on his hands.

“Come on, mate, you know she hates that. It’s as if you want her to hate you.” Sirius said, shaking his head.

“I know! It just comes out, I can’t help it!” James exclaimed exasperatedly.

“You can’t help being a wanker…?” Sirius asked amusedly, not quite understanding how his normally smooth talking friend could become so tongue tied.

“Sod off.” James said, nudging Sirius.   “What did you even say?” Remus asked, looking to James’ almost neon orange hair.

“Something about having orange hair like a carrot.” He said then paused before mumbling the next part “Then she decided to show me what actual carrot orange hair would look like.” Peter and Sirius burst out laughing and Remus let out an amused grin.

“That’s some radioactive carrot you got there.” Peter said, making them all laugh again.

“Bunch of tossers.” James grumbled as he rested his head back on the couch and sighed despondently.

“Aw, cheer up prongs.” Sirius said, grabbing him and ruffling his already messy hair. “Just stop being such a twit and maybe she’ll consider having a conversation with you.” He joked.

“Get off!” James said, pushing Sirius away and running his fingers through his orange hair. “What would you know about it, pads, it’s not as if you’ve ever fancied anyone.” Sirius’ thoughts immediately snapped to you and he gave a nervous chuckle.

“Yeah…guess not.” He said. Remus narrowed his eyes at him and cocked his head. He was always the quickest to sense whenever something was wrong. The three of them had just assumed that Sirius never liked anyone due to his flirty habits and a lack of any romantic relationships. They had never thought that maybe he did have a love interest. Was that even possible?

“Padfoot…” Remus started cautiously. Sirius raised his eyebrows and looked at him, feigning innocence. “You’ve never fancied anyone, have you?”

“What? Of course not.” He answered, a little too quickly.

“Oh really?” James inquired. Sirius gave a tight lipped smile and nodded his head. “So there’s absolutely no one that you’d like to date?”

“No.” Sirius said, leaning further back on the couch, trying to look casual and not like he was hiding anything.

“Y’know, he has been acting a little strange lately.” Remus said to James, raising an eyebrow. Peter was still unsure of what was happening and was paying rapt attention to what James and Remus were saying, trying to piece it together.

“Yes, yes.” James agreed, stroking his chin thoughtfully. “He seems to be paying more attention to how he looks.”

“And, he’s always looking around whenever he goes anywhere.”

“As if he were looking for someone.”

“Indeed.”

“I feel like I need to give you two a pipe and a Sherlock Holmes hat.” Sirius said, unamused. James and Remus flashed him cheeky grins, quite enjoying themselves. “And I thought we were talking about James’ love life not mine.”

“The tables have turned, my friend.” James said. Suddenly Peter’s eyes widened as he finally solved the puzzle and let out a choked cough, earning a laugh from James and a pat on the back from Remus.

“Sirius fancies someone?” He practically shouted, drawing the attention of the whole common room. Sirius groaned and buried his head in his hands.

“That’s what we were figuring out, ya plonker.” James said, shaking his head, although his amused smile refused to disappear.

“Didn’t have to yell it, wormtail, we’re right here.” Remus said, wincing at the embarrassing situation.

“Now even if I don’t like anyone, everyone think will think I do.” Sirius said, sitting back up with a frustrated look.

“Even?” James asked. “So you might fancy someone?” Sirius groaned.

“Piss off, carrot hair.” Sirius said, standing up and stomping off to the dorms, rather grumpily as well, but not before hearing a victorious laugh from James.

———

It was 4:15 in the morning and Sirius was already in his school robes and ready to go. He grinned excitedly at the thought of seeing you again. All tiredness from being up at this ungodly hour being replaced by a joyful buzz. As the weeks flew by since you two had admitted your feelings for each other, his emotions only grew to the point where you were constantly on his mind.

In class; does Y/N think this is the boring too?

At night; is she asleep yet? Maybe she’s reading her book or maybe she likes to go to sleep early. I should ask her.

Sitting with his friends; I wonder who her friends are. Would she let me meet them?

Playing a prank; Y/N would scold me for doing this. I love it when she does that.

Sirius was never one to get lovey dovey and he hated couples who were constantly all over each other and who always wanted to be together. But perhaps now he was beginning to understand the urge. He’d never admit it but sometimes he couldn’t believe that someone as kind and funny and interesting as you could be attracted to him and the thought that you do brought a smile to his lips.

He grabbed the books he’d need for the day’s classes and started to creep down the stairs, keeping quiet so as not to wake anyone up. The dorms and common room were almost pitch black, proving difficult for him to manoeuvre around the place. Sirius had sacrificed many toes against furniture to get to you, something that he made a mental note of telling you about, hoping it’d make you laugh. He couldn’t use his wand to light his way yet as he didn’t want to wake anyone.

Suddenly the common room filled with light as someone cleared their throat unexpectedly, making Sirius jump and whirl around. There, still in their pyjamas, stood James and Remus, hair messy and faces smug.

“Merlin’s beard, what are you doing here?” Sirius said, his heart still beating fast from the shock and from being found sneaking out at such an early hour. He felt as if he had been caught doing something bad by his parents, which albeit they kind of were.

“We could ask you the same question, pads.” James said, raising a questioning eyebrow. Sirius’ mind rushed to find an excuse only to be distracted by James’ hair which was an even brighter shade of orange now. Sirius couldn’t help but think what you would’ve thought of it, you’d probably find it hilarious. The thought of your laugh and your smile made him even more anxious to get to you.

“I honestly can’t focus on anything you’re saying with your hair like that.” Sirius said, grinning amusedly. James gave him an unamused look.

“Stop trying to change the topic.” He said, pointing an accusing finger at Sirius, who was visibly struggling to contain his laughter.

“I talked to Lily and she said it would keep getting brighter for the next few days.” Remus said, making Sirius burst out with laughter that Remus joined in with. James took his glasses off to rub his eyes and sigh, as if he was a disappointed father trying to calm his naughty children.

“Remus, we came here to do something.” James said, desperate for a change of subject.

“I know, but it’s funny.” Remus said.

“Where are you going, Sirius?” James asked.

“For a little walk, I couldn’t sleep.” Sirius lied, hoping they’d believe it.

“Then why do you have your books and wearing your school robes?” Remus asked, raising an eyebrow. Sirius tucked his dark, shoulder length hair behind his ear as his mind rushed to find a believable lie.

“I didn’t know how long my walk would last?” Sirius said, hearing how fake that excuse sounded.

“Then you wouldn’t mind if we joined you?” James asked, making Sirius even more nervous.

“Wait, I didn’t agree to this.” Remus said, turning to James.

“Yeah, moony’s still tired. I can go alone, it’s fine.” Sirius said, quickly turning around and moving to the common room door.

“No no no, we’re coming.” James said. Sirius sighed, he didn’t know what he had expected, whenever James wanted to know something he’d find a way. He turned around and searched his mind for a reason why they couldn’t come.

“But you’re still in your pyjamas.” He said.

“If it’s just a walk, we’ll come back before classes and get changed.” Remus remarked.

“I thought you didn’t want to come.” Sirius said, frowning.

“The fact that you so desperately don’t want us to come, makes me want to come.” He said, shrugging.

“Why don’t you want us to come, pads?” James asked. Sirius pursed his lips as he debated whether to tell them or not.

“You’re not doing anything…illegal, are you?” Remus asked, narrowing his eyes at him. Sirius smirked at the thought that that was the first thing to come to his mind.

“Perhaps.” Sirius said, wanting to see Remus’ reaction.

“He’s not doing anything illegal, moony.” James said, sighing. “What are you doing, pads?” Sirius clenched his jaw. He could tell them, right? They were his friends after all and he knew he could trust them with anything. The thing was, he didn’t know if you’d be ok with him telling anyone. It was a time just for the two of you and before he came along it was just you, maybe you didn’t want anyone else to be there and to know. He was cornered, though, he had to tell them now. Sirius took a deep breath.

“I’m meeting someone.” Sirius said.

“A girl?” James and Remus asked in unison. Sirius looked between them with narrowed eyes.

“How much have you talked about this?” He asked, only to be answered with a shrug.

“We want to meet her.” James said. Sirius rubbed his forehead. He knew he’d have to introduce you to his friends some day if he ever wanted whatever you two had to grow but he was still nervous. He gave a defeated sigh.

“You’ll make a great first impression.” He grumbled. James hand flew to his hair and he gave a bashful chuckle.

“Maybe we should change out of our pyjamas?” Remus suggested. Sirius checked his watch and groaned, he was going to be late.

“No time.” He said and gestured for them to follow him. They both smiled eagerly as rushed after him.

———

Just as the three of them were about to round the corner into the courtyard, Sirius turned around and stopped them.

“Just - just be normal, ok?” He pleaded.

“Wow, you’re really nervous about this, aren’t you?” James asked amusedly.

“I swear to Merlin, James-“ Sirius started.

“We’ll try to be normal.” Remus interjected, placing a hand on Sirius’ shoulder. Sirius pursed his lips, nodded his head and continued walking. He saw you sitting in your normal spot under the tree, reading a book, a look of blissful calm on your face. He took a moment to admire you, your Y/E/C eyes glistening from the light of your wand, soft wisps of Y/H/C hair that had fallen from your messy ponytail swaying in the breeze.

“She’s a Hufflepuff.” James stated, a little shocked. Sirius bit his lip to stop from retorting.

“Hey, Huffles.” Sirius said tentatively. He watched as a smile grew on your lips. You looked up, the smile falling from your face as you noticed James and Remus with him, nervousness growing on your face.

“Sirius?” You questioned, eyes flickering to James and Remus.

“Uh, these are my friends.” He said awkwardly, gesturing to James and Remus who both gave you a small wave. You rolled your eyes.

“Yes, I know who they are, it’s kind of hard to go to Hogwarts and not know who they are.” You said, making Sirius smile. At least you were still your smartass self. “But why are they here?”

“Hear that, moony? We’re popular.” James said, nudging Remus slightly who smiled and shook his head. You suddenly noticed that you were still sitting on the ground so you quickly stood up, book and wand still in hand.

“Hi, I’m Y/N.” You said, back to being nervous again, as you placed your book down on a bench and tried fixing your messy hair. You had only thought you’d be seeing Sirius so you hadn’t bothered to try to look…well…tidy.

“Hey, Y/N.” Remus greeted.

“Can we call you Huffles too?” James asked, pushing his glasses up and grinning boyishly. You looked at Sirius pointedly.

“See what you’ve done?” You said, gesturing to James and making Sirius laugh.

“You can’t use that,” Sirius said to James, “that’s what I call Y/N, come up with your own nickname.” Sirius said. James crossed his arms and stuck his tongue out at him.

“Uhm, anyways, Sirius,” You started, bringing Sirius’ attention back to you. “what are they doing here?” You asked, then looked to James with a questioning look. “And why is James’ hair violently orange?” Sirius rubbed his nape nervously as he tried to formulate his response.

“Well, they caught me sneaking out and forced me to bring them along.” Sirius said, lowering his eyes. “Sorry.” Both James and Remus looked to each other in surprise. Neither of them had ever heard a non sarcastic apology come from him. You sighed and walked up to Sirius, sliding your hand into his. He looked back up to you and gave you one of his special sincere smiles that you so loved.

“It’s alright.” You said then paused. “And the hair thing?”

“James?” Sirius asked, smirking and looking to his orange haired friend.

“Uhhh…” James struggled, bringing his hands to his hair self consciously.

“Lily.” Remus answered for him, grinning in amusement. You hummed and nodded your head in understanding. Unbeknown to James, the whole school knew of his fruitless attempts at winning over Lily and the fact that he constantly made a fool of himself around her. James frowned in confusion and opened his mouth to ask.

“Prongs, the whole school knows that Lilly hates you.” Sirius said before James could say anything.

“She doesn’t hate me, she just doesn’t know she loves me yet.” James retorted, making you laugh.

“Maybe if you didn’t act like such a tosser around her, she’d like you.” You said.

“She has a point.” Remus said.

“I thought Hufflepuffs were supposed to be nice.” James grumbled.

“They are but they also have opinions.” You said. Sirius chuckled and wrapped his arm around your shoulders. “So did you use your wands to get here or did James’ hair light the way?” You teased, making both Remus and Sirius burst out with laughter. You couldn’t help but grin as you felt like part of their group.

“It’s not that bad.” James argued.

“Have you looked in a mirror lately?” Sirius asked.

“Wait, I’m not meeting everyone. Where’s Peter?” You asked. Sirius looked to you and shrugged.

“We couldn’t wake him up.” Remus said. You slowly nodded your head. “So what do you do here this early in the morning?”

“Some good old fashioned snogging sessions?” James joked. You and Sirius looked away awkwardly, a blush rushing to your cheeks. The thing was that you two had not kissed yet. You weren’t sure why, it wasn’t that you didn’t want to. It just never… happened. You were too shy to make the first move and Sirius didn’t seem to want to either, making you very self conscious. Sirius Black, the boy known for snogging hundreds of girls, didn’t want to kiss you. Remus picked up on the sudden awkwardness and decided to change the topic.

“Uh, we should go now, right James?” He said, raising his eyebrows at him.

“What, why-?” James began.

“Because we still have to get ready for classes.” Remus said exasperatedly.

“But-“ James started but was interrupted as Remus dragged him away, giving you a goodbye and a wave as they left. You slowly broke away from Sirius, keeping your eyes away as you gave an awkward laugh. Sirius cleared his throat nervously.

“Sorry about that. I promise not to bring them here again, they were just curious.” He said. You gave him a small smile.

“It’s ok, it was fun to meet them.” You said quietly, making Sirius frown.

“Now, it’s my turn to meet your friends.” He said, smirking. You groaned inwardly at the thought of Sirius meeting Dovie and Annabelle, you just knew they’d make utter fools of themselves, embarrassing you to no end. But you still loved them, despite their kookyness.

“That should be fun.” You said sarcastically, then grew quiet as you focused your eyes on the ground. You were still thinking about the kiss and was feeling a little gloomy.

“What’s wrong, Y/N?” He asked, stepping closer to you.

“Oh, uhm, nothing.” You said. You suddenly felt Sirius’ fingers lifting your chin, making you look up at him. You gazed into his dark, curious eyes as he gently tucked a strand of loose hair behind your ear. Sirius was pretty sure what was bugging you, knowing you so well already.

“You’re amazing, you know.” He whispered. He felt his heart swell as you giggled bashfully. “And beautiful.”

“You too.” You said before you could stop the words from escaping your mouth. Your eyes widened in horror and embarrassment as you stuttered and tried to take the words back. Sirius chuckled and rested his forehead on yours.

“I know I am.” He said. You rolled your eyes at the arrogant boy you loved.

“I love you.” You whispered. He smiled widely and closed his eyes.

“I love you too.” He said. You sighed contentedly, closing your eyes too and enjoying the feeling of your breath mingling together. Suddenly you felt Sirius lean in closer and your breath hitched in your throat nervously. Was he going to kiss you? Was he finally going to kiss you? Was it going to be as wonderful as you’d hoped?

And then he kissed you and it was like nothing you could have imagined. His lips were soft and he was being surprisingly gentle as his hand slipped to your waist and he pulled you closer against him. Your mind switched off as your wildly beating heart took over. Sirius swore that this was the best kiss he had ever had, and that was saying a lot. His whole being shattered as you moved your lips against his and he groaned as you dropped your lit wand to wrap your hands around his neck and tangled your fingers in his hair. You broke away reluctantly for breath and Sirius groaned in protest, making you laugh joyfully.

You were both silent for a while, enjoying the feeling of each other before Sirius smirked cheekily and said: “I’m a great kisser aren’t I?” You groaned and shook your head at him. “Oh and all of Gryffindor might know that I fancy you.”

“Wait, what?’

(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

Well…that is a thing…that is now on the internet forever. Sorry that it’s kinda crappy. Writer’s block is a horrid thing. Constructive criticism is always welcome.

K LOVE YOU BYE

[heartslogos]

the unclassified texts of the inquisition’s elite [11]

(206): How was your day?

(253): Peaceful. I left the house to get paid and get fried chicken.

/

(619): Help I accidentally unlocked this guy's tragic backstory and I need a rewind button!

-

“Just because you’re siblings doesn’t mean you two have to be in each other’s lives twenty four seven. If Kaaras and I were like that I would kill him. No joke, I love him but I can only handle so much of him at a time,” Herah says, handing Ellana some scissors as she continues to cut tags off of her new clothes. “Just because Mahanon went to get food without you doesn’t mean he doesn’t love you anymore.”

“It’s not about Mahanon leaving the house to get fried chicken, though,” Ellana protests, “It’s that he got fried chicken, ate it all, and somehow made the remains disappear? Like. I would have never known chicken was consumed. No bones. No receipts. No bucket or container. Nothing. Why is Mahanon hiding his chicken consumption from me? The only answer is that he’s lying and he did something else and he’s trying to cover it up with food.”

“That's incredibly distrustful of you to say,” Herah says, “Is this the Iron Bull or maybe Leliana talking? I still don’t know why you were moved away from research into being a pilot, when you really should be in the information network.”

“I’m a pilot because I’m the best one we have and I’m going to hold this over everyone for as long as possible to get the best possible benefits,” Ellana says, turning a blouse inside out and tossing it into a pile of clothes meant to be hand washed. “And Bull hasn’t been home in like, two weeks. I kind of miss him, he’d totally have validated my concern about my brother having secrets from me.”

“Siblings are allowed to have secrets from each other,” Herah says, “I mean. You told me that you had a tattoo for almost a full year that Mahanon didn’t know about and that he had three boyfriends in the same time that he hid from you because he know you’ talk shit about them.”

“Those weren’t boyfriends, Herah, those were booty calls, and he knew I’d talk shit because I’d take one look at them and know that my brother was fucking desperate. And those are different. This is different. I sense it. Mahanon is lying about something to cover it up and it’s for…nefarious reasons. I just don’t know how to go about it. It’s my sisterly intuition at work. I know my brother and this is a bad kind of secret.”

Ellana sniffles, “What if he doesn’t trust me anymore?”

Herah looks around them at the collection of clothes, and does a quick mental calculation.

“I’m sorry. This is going to be so fucking offensive because if someone asked me this I would give them a fucking haymaker so hard that they die. But. Are you being emotional about this - instead of the normally petty spiteful you would be - because you’re on your period?”

Ellana scowls.

“You went on a shopping spree, you’re highly suspicious, your moods are swinging towards the self-critical and depressed instead of the normal passive aggressive and cavalier,” Herah says, “Maybe you should think about this later, when you feel a bit more like yourself and not like a hormonal mess.”

“You’re right,” Ellana says, “But I also don’t want to admit you’re right.”

“That sounds more like you. But hey. If this is really bothering you? I can do an investigation for you. If it’d make you feel better.”

Ellana gives Herah a bright smile.

“You’re the best for indulging me, you know that?”

“I can also find the Iron Bull and drag him back. Might have to scrub off his entire first layer of skin first, though.”

-

“That sounds like Sera,” Evelyn muses, “What did you tell her?”

Kaaras shrugs his broad shoulders, “I didn’t answer, I was asleep.”

“Who do you think the guy was? Possible Jenny recruit, maybe?” Evelyn pulls a few more books off of the shelf, flipping them open, “Do you think you’ll need any references on the wind-psychic experiments from Orlais?”

“No, maybe when I’m fleshing things out more. Right now I’m just focused on the effects of telekinesis on physics and current known equations. Thank you. Anyway, Dagna texted me this morning to say that Sera came home completely sober. I guess the tragic backstory made her get out of there fast.”

“Did she tell you the tragic backstory?”

“Not yet,” Kaaras says. “I mean. Sera’s not the type of person to go around telling about other people’s lives. But if this guy is…”

“A bro?” Evelyn suggests.

“She’s going to tell me everything from his social security number to what size socks he wears,” Kaaras continues. “But I don’t know how she would’ve ended up stuck hearing about a guy’s backstory like that if it was the type of person she avoids like the Blight. I mean. Sera wouldn’t even talk to Maxwell for a full month and a half before Malika introduced them by force. Now they’re good friends but based on appearances alone. I mean.”

“Based on appearances alone I’m surprised that Sera didn’t immediately get herself assigned to a different post to avoid Maxwell entirely,” Evelyn says. “He does have that…aura about him.”

“Beach boy meets Labrador,” Kaaras says, “In Sera’s words.”

“More polite words than I expected, honestly,” Evelyn admits. “I wonder what it is about Sera that she gets people spilling their life stories to her.”

“Dagna calls it manic pixie girl syndrome,” Kaaras says, “I didn’t want to ask further at the time.”

Evelyn grimaces, “Yikes. I don’t know what’s worse, that or mother figure syndrome.”

“Mother figure?”

“Oh, you don’t want to know. Trust me you don’t. What time are you supposed to meet up with Sera anyway?”

“Well. She said we were going to head out at one, but given her night I expect her to cancel it honestly. If you’re free we can keep going with the research. Honestly, I kind of hope she cancels. I don’t want to know the tragic backstory either.”