#Festive breaks Scotland

[dunalastairhotels]

The Dunalastair Hotel Suites: A Distinguished Choice Among 5 Star Hotels in Pitlochry

The Dunalastair Hotel Suites stands out as a premier choice among 5 Star Hotels Near Pitlochry for those seeking unparalleled luxury and elegance. Nestled in the serene village of Kinloch Rannoch, this boutique hotel combines traditional charm with modern sophistication. Guests are welcomed into beautifully appointed suites that offer stunning views of Loch Rannoch and Schiehallion mountain. The hotel's location provides easy access to the breathtaking natural beauty of the Scottish Highlands. Whether you are interested in hiking, fishing, or cycling, The Dunalastair Hotel Suites serves as a perfect base for exploring the surrounding landscapes and enjoying outdoor adventures. Dining at monadh-dining, the hotel's fine dining restaurant, is a highlight of the stay. Guests can indulge in exquisite dishes made from locally sourced ingredients, served in a refined and welcoming atmosphere. With its blend of luxury accommodations and exceptional service, The Dunalastair Hotel Suites truly embodies the best of high-end hospitality in the region.

[heelanhomestead]

Are you looking for a cosy festive break … our wee holiday let cottage is still available for Christmas. It will be beautifully decorated, and a warm welcome awaits.

For more details please visit our website below … 🎄🎁 ☃️

www.heelanhomestead.co.uk

[acesofspadess]

The Met

summary: you get ready for your first Met Gala that's full of surprises.

notes: fluff, fluff, and more fluff, this was so cute to write and as always reader is a POC.

“Hi Vogue, I'm y/n and I'm here with Pleasing at the 2024 Met Gala.” You were beyond words with emotion at being at your first Met Gala. The video Vogue had decided to do with you was a small get ready with me that you immediately accepted on the spot. As you walked into the serene hotel room full of your ‘get ready team’. You sat in the chair you were set to get your hair and makeup done in.“It’s unbelievable that i'm actually here in New York getting ready for the Met.” you spoke softly as your make up artist applied the beginning steps of your skincare. 

“You need something darling?” The voice of the one and only spoke from off camera only a sliver of him could be seen from the mirror you faced. You smiled looking at him through the mirror. “A kiss before Ella makes it impossible to do so.” You laughed softly at your own joke as he came over and the camera had a full view of the soft but love filled kiss you shared.

You and Harry had been together for almost a year romantically. You had known Harry since you both starred together in Don't Worry Darling as Jack and Alice. You two had quickly become the best of friends and were someone he confided in all the time. You travelled with him to Venice for the film festival, and came to the rest of his New York residency shows, and his birthday shows before your job pulled you away from him.

Not that you were really with him. His romantic relationship with Olivia was all a stunt. But he and Olivia were friends which he told you made it alot easier to do.

When they broke up in November of 2022 he came to you crying. You had thought it was all fake at first judgement, and he confirmed it was, but that he couldn't any longer spend his time pretending. 

You -better than anyone- knew what it was like to pretend after playing so many different characters. He had spent that night in your arms and you wonder if that's where it all actually started.

You were pulled away once again with months and months of press for your role in Barbie. It wasn't until the end of May that you finally had a decent break before picking up Bridgerton again for your season. You had stayed in touch with Harry for all 6 months and when he knew you were shot of anywork he flew you out to Scotland just in time for his show.

You spent countless time with him and his close friends getting to know them better and personally. You were beyond proud when he sold out Slane a few weeks after you had joined him on tour. Before he went on stage you were sitting with him in his dressing room as you calmed him down.

“Haz, you are the only person I know that could ever do something to this magnitude right now. You did this and I know you can go out there and be the best singer and person I know.” you cupped your hands around his cheeks and closed his releasing a deep breath. “You're amazing Hazza, and I know you know that.” he giggled softly and nodded his head. “Thank you,” the way he whispered your name wasn't like he had before. He looked at you with so much passion and you knew exactly the proximity between you- or lack thereof- and he knew exactly what he was doing when he looked at your lips then your eyes. “Harry-” “Y/N”

“You've got to be on stage in about 10 seconds.”

“I'm aware.”

“So are you gonna kiss me now or-”

That was all it took for you both to let yourselves completely and utterly fall for each other.

In September he introduced you to Niall which made you cry, but not as much as you did when he got down on one knee a few weeks later on October 15.

You wanted to keep the wedding very secluded and in a place both of you called home. Your wedding was small but everyone you could have ever wanted was there (with your own one direction reunion) and it was kept from the public.

The past few months as a married couple were the best months you've ever had, and now you were here, at the Met Gala, being the first to bring his brand into the luxury scene and the both of you couldn't be more proud of each other.

“Okay one more.” he whispered, giving you much more than just one before Ella and Lyric were shoo’ing him off to finally start. “I love you, darling. Thank you for being here with me.” you held his hand as he backed away. “Thank you for believing in my brand and bringing it to life. I love you forever.”

The video resumed as you talked about the details of your hair, make up and dress before you were fully done and ready to step out of the hotel. You wanted to be able to scream that you wearing your husband's line and when Harry kissed you as you walked out and told you, “show them who my wife is’ you knew he was ready and you were more than happy to oblige.

You had just made it to the Met Gala and as you stepped out you waved letting your wedding ring shine. The train to your dress was long -extremely long- and you needed about 5 people to help you lift it. 

As you waited in line, many people shouted your name and you waved to all the fans lined up on the streets sending them kisses in thanks. It was finally your turn to walk the stairs and they had cleared everyone in your path for you to be on full display.

The shutter of thousands of cameras and shouts wanting to gain your attention for a photo were drowned out when you saw someone you didn't think you would. “Harry over here please.” You heard someone shout and you laughed loudly, of course he would. You waited at the second landing of stairs for him and you kissed him as he finally stood next to you. 

“Why didn't you tell me?” you laughed in between poses. “Wanted you to have your moment. I'll see you at the top.” he walked up the rest of the way  stopping at the top just out of the way for the photographer to get you and your entire dress without anyone in the pictures. You and all the people helping you with your dress walked up to the top to take your final photos. You saw Harry in an interview with Emma not too far from LaLa Anthony who you knew you were interviewing with.

“Y/N!! Holy- Girl you look so sexy.” you laughed as you kicked your leg out showing off the slit. “I feel sexy in this dress. It took ages to put together.” you laughed with her. “Yes I was getting ready to ask, who are you wearing?” You couldn't help the smile that plastered on your face. “Oohhh I know that smile.” LaLa laughed and you nodded. “I'm wearing Pleasing. It's their first ever luxury fashion debut and I'm so glad I got to be a part of this experience. I got to help design this with Harry Lambert, and Harry Styles. They wanted to choose a colour that not only matched the theme, but really complimented my skin tone. We wanted to really focus on the ‘time’ part of the theme so each flowers centre has a clock in the middle. It took almost 25,000 hours to make this dress and Im really just so honoured that Harry and Pleasing gave me this opportunity.”

LaLa praised your response, “They chose the right person to debut on let me tell you. The way the colours bounce off the brown of your skin and the slit and the shape. You truly do look wonderful. Now we did see Harry walking up. I want to ask him about some things on your dress.”

You both looked around for him. “He was just here, I swear.” LaLa spotted him and waved him over, his eyes litting up when he saw you.

 “Hello.” he kissed Lalas cheeks before stepping next to you. “Hello, beautiful wife.” he kissed your cheek. “Hi my beautiful husband.” you teased back knowing exactly what he was doing. “Husband? Wife?” Lala gasped and you both smiled as you held up your hand. “Yes, I've finally managed to tie him down.” you all laughed and his arm snaked around your waist. “This is the best news ever, husband and wife, debuting your brand- Harry how do you feel?”

You watched as he spoke and swore you fell more in love with him at every moment. “But my beautiful wife put the idea of wearing Pleasing to the Met, and giving the vogue club members a pleasing room. This all goes to her, all we did was make the dress.”

You scoffed at his humbleness. “Yeah, like that was a walk in the park.” He shook his head at you blushing. “I'll say this final thing. Harry has done an amazing job at getting pleasing to where it's at and this dress and his outfit are his and Pleasings and I just can't wait for you all to see what he brings in the future.”

LaLa hugged you both before you walked away with Harry holding your dress for you. “Thank you so much for wearing this. You have been apart of Pleasing since the beginning and I couldn't imagine anyone else wearing this. You have truly made me the happiest person alive. I love you so much. ” He whispered to you as you walked inside. “I have loved you in many ways since we first read together. I am honoured to have been by your side through Pleasings beginnings, and i simply cannot wait to see what you do next.”

He kissed you softly again and again and again, and you simply could not wait to be back in the hotel room in his arms. 

[callofdudes]

Christmas Time.

This is a very Merry Christmas to all of you guys and to my best friend @itsscromp , it's almost been a year. Thank you for being around so long, merry Christmas. Italics nods to past conversation.

Christmas time wasn't a happy thought for Simon. All his life if had been a tradition that was swept under the rug and buried. Buried with his family. A time when he would lock himself away and rather come out when it was all over.

When there wasn't snow on the ground to remind him of everything that could have been.

But this was different.

Johnny had invited you all to the MacTavish home for Christmas, that included Simon. Price, Gaz and you.

Simon hadn't wanted to go. The festivities just weren't for him. He honestly didn't...

"Merry Christmas, Simon. Will I see you there?" Johnny smiled softly up at him, so much hope in those soft blue eyes that could split a man's soul into two.

"I'll consider it."

He was packing up what little things he had for his trip back to Manchester. Ready to be alone with his thoughts and hide from the world.

Zipping up his duffle bag and seeing you in the doorway. "Will you join us at Johnny's for the holidays? I'm sure it would be less lonely." You gave him a soft, sad smile, but Simon didn't react.

"I'll think about it."

He had left base at a later date than you others had. Attempting to weasel out of another leave. But eventually headed his way home.

The whole flight back home he stared out the window. Checking his phone randomly, then rubbing his tired eyes.

Seeing the kid in the seat next to him and his dad. Going on and on about how they'll be giving presents and seeing all the cousins. How he couldn't wait to see what his uncles and aunts got him.

The smile on his face wider than the sun.

Simon tried to brush it off, seeing the gloomy weather as they landed. The clouds grey and rain drizzling down, hitting him with the usual chill.

Slinking with his bag to a cab and watching the rain fall a little harder. Floods of messages coming in from the group chat where Johnny was talking about what would happen and where you all could expect to be driving.

Simon stared at it, face resting against his palm. He dropped it again, pulling out the plane ticket Johnny had bought for him.

Johnny had paid to have him home for the holidays.

He bounced his knee in the cab lightly, seeing his already packed duffle bag. Seeing the emptiness of the streets. Feeling cold and so alone.

He clutched the ticket tightly, finally breaking his silence. "Turn around."

The cab driver looked back at him through the mirror. "What's the mate?"

"Turn around, take me back to the airport."

The cab driver was a little confused but agreed, turning the car around and driving the half an hour back to the airport.

"Here you go, want me to wait?"

Simon contemplated it, staring at the ticket.

"No." He got out, passing the man some bills and took his duffle bag. Slinging it back over his shoulder and heading into the airport.

It was busy, his head a mess, his stomach swirling sickly, but he kept pushing himself through the chaos.

Finding the flight that matched the ticket, seeing he had five minutes until they closed that terminal. His last chance to turn back. Maybe it was just a sign to go home. To never consider this again. To abandon the holidays.

His phone pinged, pulling it out and seeing Johnny's new message.

"We'll have another little one joining us this year, I can't wait for you guys to meet him 😊"

Simon stood there. Who knows how far from the terminal. Not that much time...

Johnny had gone to lengths for him to be there. His family would be there.

So he ran. He ran for that terminal without a half a thought. Ran to the terminal, seeing the woman there ushering the last passengers on. Simon passed her his ticket and she smiled. "Welcome aboard."

His heart pounded, slowly getting onto the plane, seeing all the people going to Scotland.

The adrenaline slowly wore off when he found his seat. Sat at the end in another seat that couldn't accommodate for his size. Shoving his bag under his feet instead of in the over carriage.

And he made the flight.

Enduring the distance between England and Scotland. He was nearly falling asleep and feeling cramps in his knees when the pilot called overhead they'd be landing in five minutes.

Simon felt the plane land. Waited until they were all ready to get off and stepped down into the soggy Scottish weather. He looked around, taking in the new place.

A slight fog coating the ground, drifting through the open stretch of asphalt. He swallowed, seeing flickering lights around the entrance to the airport.

He wandered around the place, looking back through all the group chat texts and finding the texts Johnny had sent about his address and where to find him.

Thank goodness because Simon did not know his way around. Calling a cab and telling him the address. He watched the sights go by as they drove. The lights flickering and the blow up Christmas ornaments in the front yard.

They made him want to crawl back into his skin and hide. Go home and forget. Forget the blood, the pain, the hurt.

It was nearly an hour drive, and Simon was exhausted. Finally they pulled into a housing group, stopping along the road at a corner street. Stairs leading up to an absolute beautiful house. Decorations, a wreath, lights and all. The large dark brown color gave rustic cabin vibes to the home.

"Here we are." The cab driver turned to look at him. "You have yourself a Merry Christmas."

Simon pulled out the money for him from his wallet. "Yeah... You too." He got out, grabbing his dufflebag.

He slowly wandered up the steps, seeing the light passing through the glass at the top of the door.

His entire world closed in on him. His body feeling rigid with ice in his veins. He looked down at his shoes, trying to calm himself before reaching up.

He knocked on the door firmly, standing there and waiting. He heard voices and then the door opened.

Johnny smiled brightly, stepping out onto the mat. "Lt! You made it!"

"Simon's here??" He hears you call excitedly from inside the house.

And suddenly Simon's entire world feels warm. Like those movie scenes where all the darkness flees and the sunlight filters down onto their face, warming their insides.

Johnny hugged Simon, kissing both his cheeks in a warm Scottish greeting, stunning Simon a little.

"Come in, come in." Johnny takes his dufflebag before he can speak and brings him inside. Simon looks around the warm place. The entry way opening up into the living room where you all were hanging out.

"Nice to see you, Simon." Price smiles from the couch next to Gaz, sipping some hot chocolate. Simon looks around, stunned.

Everything is moving so fast. But they're just... Welcoming him in. Johnny smiles. "You've met my wife once before, she's making us dinner."

"Lovely to see you Ghost." She calls with a soft smile.

Simon takes off his shoes and moves slowly into the living room. It feels... Surreal.

He notices you, holding a swaddle of blanket in your arms. You smile up at him softly. "Come say hi." You whisper, nodding to the seat beside you.

Simon slowly walks over, looking down at the small child wrapped in soft clothes, passed out for a nap.

"Whose this?" He asks, not reaching out to touch.

You give Simon a soft smile, holding the baby out for him. And after much hesitation he invites the child into his arms.

"This is Johnny's son. Joseph."

Simon's eyes flash with recognition, going completely silent for a moment. He looks back at Johnny who gives him a knowing little smile.

Simon looks down at the small child, his guard becoming more protective by the moment. The small babe waking and seeing the new person, cooed to him with a rosy soft smile.

You smiled softly, leaning over against his shoulder. "I'm really happy you came." You whispered.

Simon looked around his group. His family. Gaz, Price, Johnny, his wife and his newborn son. And you.

"Why wouldn't I?"

You smiled brighter, hugging him gently, and he wraps an arm around you, holding the both of you.

Simon eventually handed little Joseph back to Johnny, watching the newly father coo and cradle his little one.

"Whose hungry??" His wife called with a smile.

"ME!!" You and Gaz both rush to the kitchen for anything she has ready for you to devour. Price chuckles and followed along behind with Simon, patting his shoulder lightly. "Well done son, well done."

Simon sits at the table, pulling up his mask to eat, watching you all joke and talk. Johnny's wife including you in on all the conversation, making Simon feel so much more welcome.

And by the end of the night, Johnny gave Simon a room with you, knowing you'd both be ok with it.

He set down his bag, looking out the window into the dark night, sighing softly.

You also came in, getting into bed. "I'm glad you came."

He looked over at you. "Johnny didn't tell me he had a son."

"They just did, he wanted it to be a surprise for all of us." You smile softly. "Why?"

He thought of blood covered snow, lights flickering to an end. The charred remains of a family home. A young laugh. Happy eyes. A new start. Something for the Riley family to finally cling onto. The hope of this young child squashed.

He hummed and shook his head. "It's nothing, just a shock."

You nod, fluffing the blanket. "Christmas cuddles?? Come on, I know you want 'em!"

He scoffs softly, but crawls in, letting you wrap your arms around his torse. His hand spreads out between your shoulder blades, resting his chin on top of your head.

You smiled softly, squeezing him close. "Merry Christmas Simon."

"Merry Christmas y/n..."

He closed his eyes, feeling safe and comfortable to fall asleep in your arms, knowing he's here with his family.

Not everything has to stay stained. And maybe just for this Christmas, Simon could make it the best Christmas he was ever going to have.

[hearthandheathenry]

All About Beltane

Beltane, also known as Bealtaine in Irish, is a Gaelic holiday traditionally held on May 1st or the halfway point between the spring equinox and the summer solstice. It is believed to be named after the Celtic sun god Belenus. It was widely observed in Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle Of Man, and is one of the 4 major Celtic fire festivals. It is mentioned in even the earliest Irish literature and marked the beginning of summer and used as the marker to drive cattle into their summer pastures. Although public celebrations have mostly fallen out after the 20th century and many traditions have been mixed with other cultural holidays (such as the Roman holiday May Day), many Celtic Neopagans and Wiccans still celebrate, and many local traditions still continue, causing it to now get a cultural revival.

Traditionally, rituals were held to protect the livestock that moved pastures, along with crops, dairy products, and people, and to encourage growth. It was also important to appease the Aos Sí, or nature spirits/fairies, which were believed to be more active then.

According to early medieval texts in 908, druids would make two bonfires and drive cattle between them to protect them from disease. In the 18th and 19th centuries, bonfires continued to be an important part of the celebrations. Before the bonfires were lit, all hearth fires were put out, and then relit using the fire from the Beltane bonfires after the celebration.

Continuing into the 19th century, cattle were still driven over or between flames, or sometimes around the fires or made to leap over. The people themselves did as well for good luck and protection. Once the fires died down, people would dab themselves with the ashes and sprinkle them over their crops and livestock. Torches from the bonfires would also be brought home and carried around the home or boundaries, and also used to relight the hearth.

Food was also an important part of the Beltane festival, and usually included a feast of lamb, which, historically, was sacrificed. In 1769, it was written that a hot drink, called a caudle, made of eggs, butter, oatmeal, and milk was served, along with tossing a bit on the ground as an offering. A Beltane Bannock, a type of oatmeal cake, was also written to be important and had a few traditions around it.

In one tradition, the Beltane Bannock had nine knobs on it and each person would take the bannock and face the fire, proceeding to break off the knobs of bannock one at a time and tossing them behind their shoulder as an offering to the spirits for protection over their livestock and from predators (one for the cow, one for the sheep, one for the fox, etc). Afterwards, they would drink the caudle.

According to other 18th century writers, there was another Beltane Bannock tradition where the bannock would be cut into slices and one was marked with charcoal. The slices were then thrown into a bonnet and everyone would take one out while blindfolded. According to one writer, whoever pulled the marked bannock slice had to leap through the fire 3 times. According to another, the person would instead be pretend-thrown into the fire and for some time afterward people would talk about the person as if they were dead. This may have always been symbolic, or it may have been a tradition from a time where actual human sacrifice was used. This tradition was also near identical to May Day traditions that occurred in Wales and other parts of Europe, however.

Other traditions including flowers and plants were also observed, especially ones that evoked fire. Documents from the 19th century cite that yellow and white flowers, such as primrose, rowan, hawthorn, gorse, hazel, and marsh marigold was used and placed at doorways and windows. Sometimes they were strewn into garland, and other times they were made into bouquets, made into crosses, or fastened to them. They were also fastened to cows and milking/butter equipment.

Decorating a May Bush or May Bough was also a widespread tradition, and it usually consisted of a small tree or branch (typically hawthorn, rowan, holly, or sycamore) decorated with bright flowers, ribbons, candles, painted shells or egg shells from Easter, and more. In some traditions they also decorated it with gold and silver May Balls, which were hurling balls, that were then either given out to children or gifted to winners of a hurling match. It was also known as the only acceptable time to cut a thorn tree, as they were associated with fairies and may have also been a relic of worshipping tree spirits. It would either be decorated where it grew, or branches hung over windows, doors, roofs, and barns either inside or outside. Traditionally, it was the responsibility of the eldest of the house to decorate it.

The tree was usually left up until May 31st, but in some traditions it would be burned in the festival bonfire after singing and dancing around it. In Dublin and Belfast, May Bushes were brought into town and decorated by the whole neighborhood, with each neighborhood competing for the most beautiful bush. These competitions could also lead to neighborhoods attempting to steal others May Bushes, which eventually led to the May Bush being outlawed in Victorian times.

Appeasing the fairies was also a big part in Beltane celebrations, with many traditions revolving around offerings to the fairies and also warding them off, as there were many fears around them stealing dairy. One protection tradition was to leave 3 black coals under the butter churn. Another was to hang May Boughs on the milk pails. And yet another was to hang cattle tails in the barns. Flowers were also used to decorate the cattle's horns for good luck.

Farmers would also lead a procession around the boundaries of the farm and would "carry with them seeds of grain, implements of husbandry, the first well water, and the herb vervain (or rowan)", stopping at the four cardinal points of direction starting at the east, and performing rituals towards each direction at each stop. These processions were said to bring protection of their farm produce and encourage fertility. Some people also made the sign of the cross using milk on the backside of cattle for good luck.

As for fairy offerings, one tradition was to pour milk or leave food at places associated with the fairies such as "fairy trees". In Ireland, cattle were brought to "fairy forts" where a small amount of their blood was poured into the earth with prayers of the herd's safety. Sometimes, the blood would be left to dry and then be burnt.

Visiting holy wells was also a popular way to celebrate Beltane. Visitors would walk sunwise, moving from east to west, around the well while praying for health. They would then leave offerings of coins or cloth. The first water drawn from the well on Beltane was thought to be especially potent, and would bring good luck to the person who drew it.

Morning dew on Beltane was also thought to bring goodluck and health, and maidens would wash their face with it or roll in it at dawn or before sunrise on Beltane. It was also collected in a jar, left in sunlight, and then filtered. The dew was said to increase sexual attractiveness, maintain youthfulness, protect from sun damage, and ensure skin health during the ensuing year.

Modern day celebrations may vary from these more traditional festival activities, but many choose to incorporate or take inspiration from the traditions at least. Popular traditions still revolve around bonfires, feasts, decorating a May Bush, and focusing on protection and growth.

Beltane Associations

Colors - yellow, white, red, green

Food - lamb, milk and dairy, beef, bannocks, caudle, cakes

Animals - cattle, sheep, other herd animals

Items - primrose, rowan, hawthorn, gorse, hazel, marsh marigold, holly, sycamore, yellow and white flowers, flower garland, greenery, morning dew, dairy products

Crystals - citrine, fire agate, fire opal, carnelian, red and yellow jasper

Other - protection, fertility, good luck, fire, smoke, ash, sun, bonfires, farming

Ways To Celebrate

light a bonfire

jump over or dance around a bonfire

decorate a May Bush or May Bough

craft and hang flower garland

bake Beltane Bannocks

collect morning dew

create some caudle

ward and protect your home or property

leave offerings for the fairies

focus on protection, growth, and luck magic

enjoy time in the sun

have a feast

create a bouquet out of yellow and white flowers

visit a farm or petting zoo

[weirdowithaquill]

Traintober 2024: Day 31 - Dusk

Tidmouth Train to Hell:

Pip and Emma stared at the timetable, not quite sure what to make of it. “Why is there a massive gap?” Pip finally said, still trying to wrap her head around the odd space from dusk until the next day. “Oh, that’s a Halloween tradition,” replied Bear, looking over from his own train. “Every Halloween they put us all away early for some reason. Never quite understood why, but each to their own and all that!” Pip scoffed, while Emma looked more bemused than anything.

The High-Speed diesels were still new to Sodor, and had only been once before, on trial during the summer period. This was their first October on the Island of Sodor, and all month they’d been amazed to find that the engines were far more interested in the holiday and its various traditions than the mainland was. Particularly, it was extremely popular amongst the native Sudrian people, who had been performing several rituals and festivals since the start of the month.

Emma had been far more curious about the whole thing than her sister, and decided to ask one of the older engines, in hope of getting some information. “Well,” hummed Percy, “it’s a Gaelic thing. Sauin, I believe the Sudrians call it. It’s like Samhain up in Scotland, and is all about the end of the harvest season. I remember how much Sir Topham the First put emphasis on listening to the local Sudrians about how important the rituals and festivals were. For example, at the start of the month is the cleansing ritual; it’s a bit like a spring clean, but in autumn. It used to be when the men would go out and start chopping wood for winter according to Edward.” At that moment, the signal clunked up to show green, and Percy puffed away.

Pip snorted from her end of the train. “Asking about all these silly holidays again?” she asked. “They’re not silly!” protested Emma. “They’re—” “An excuse to get more days off work,” finished Pip crossly. “Now come on, we’ve got a train to pull.”

Pip and Emma ran the WildNorWester express to London, stopping only at Crovan’s Gate, Barrow and Preston. It meant the two were often the most out of the loop on all the important gossip of the railway, as they were over on the mainland and missed it. One such titbit of gossip the pair missed was the track repairs being done at Crovan’s Gate. On their return run a week later, Pip and Emma were stopped at the platform to wait while several old signals and a set of points were replaced.

Their repair shed had recently been completed and stood on one side of the line while the narrow gauge railway sat on the other, the mainline trapped between the two and the Works. Pip and Emma had been switched onto the wrong side of the line to avoid a massive section of missing track. This put Emma right next to the Skarloey Railway sheds, where Duke was resting. “Excuse me,” Emma called. “You’ve been on Sodor for a long time, Duke – do you know much about Sau---een?” “Sauin,” corrected Duke kindly. “And I certainly do. My old line used to run through the heart of old Sodor, so I learnt all about it.” “Not this again!” groaned Pip from the other end of the train. Duke and Emma ignored her.

“Sauin is a festival to celebrate the end of the harvest, the start of the winter season… and the point in time when the barrier between our world and the Otherworld is at its weakest. The month begins by preparing for winter and giving thanks to the sun, before pivoting to asking for protection from the winter gods and giving sacrifices to the ancestors as thanks for their guidance. Then, it ends with Sauin itself, which is better known as Halloween. People celebrate the wicked and supernatural, then stay indoors overnight with scriptures for protection painted on the doorway to ward off evil spirits. It’s said they begin to break out of the Otherworld at Dusk, and party in our world until midnight…” Duke broke off, looking contemplative. Emma wasn’t sure why, but she felt uneasy all of a sudden.

A group of people walked along the platform, offering blessings to the stranded passengers and burning incense. Pip refused to be blessed, and then the group made their way over to Emma and Duke.

“Ah, if you wouldn’t mind,” Duke said. A man stepped forward, painting a sigil on Duke’s forehead in red paint before waving the incense around him. Duke smiled warmly, his old eyes closing as he relaxed while the ritual was performed.

“Oooh, can you do me next please!” asked Emma. The group nodded. “Of course we can,” one said. “Explain it to Emma while you do,” Duke added. “She’s new, and this is her first Sauin.” The man stepped forwards, dipping his thumb in some more paint.

“Alright then Emma, I’m going to paint a sigil for protection on your forehead in Ancient Sudric, and then we’ll bless you with the incense.” A few of the more curious tourists wandered over to watch, intrigued by the ritual. The man painted the sigil in careful strokes on Emma’s forehead, and then several of the others walked around her as much as they could, waving the incense over her radiator grills and wheels.

“Thank you!” said Emma happily when they finished. “I… I actually feel better already.” “You should,” hummed Duke. “It’s a popular Ancient Sudrian tradition to get blessed prior to Sauin night – just in case you’re caught out after dusk.”

Pip just rolled her eyes down at her end of the train.

Emma asked a few more questions while they waited, before finally deciding to broach a topic she’d been unsure of since she’d begun asking around about Sauin. “Why is the timetable completely empty on Sauin night?” she asked. Duke frowned. “I said everyone stays inside, so why would anyone want to take the train?” “What about tourists, or goods?” quizzed Emma. “This is Sodor – there’s always another reason.” “You’re… not wrong,” sighed Duke. “Every Halloween, a train runs from the Rolling Bridge to Tidmouth. It’s on no timetable, and has no schedule. Some engines assert it leaves at dusk, while others suggest it crosses the island in the blink of an eye. What is known about this train is that it arrives at Tidmouth at exactly midnight… and continues on through the buffers.” “Through the buffers?!” squeaked Emma. “What, do they crash the train on purpose?” “Oh no,” sighed Duke. “It’s a train to the Otherworld – though some of the workers call it the ‘Tidmouth Train to Hell’. It’s pure black from one end to the other, and absolutely no one is allowed to set eyes on it.”

“What happens if someone does?” asked Emma, spooked. Duke sighed. “Well – a man was walking along the line in ’37 when he saw it. He was found a gibbering wreck on the trackside, white as a ghost and shivering like mad. He spent the rest of his life in a mental asylum, poor chap.”

Emma winced; at that moment, the signal turned green, and the two High-Speed twins were cleared to go. The passengers hurried back aboard, and the twins set off.

“It’s poppycock,” sniffed Pip as they rocketed along. “Ooooo, be afraid of ‘The Tidmouth Train to Hell’. Duke’s trying to have you on. I bet if you ask a sensible engine like Henry or Gordon they’ll tell you it never happened!”

Pip was proven very wrong. Emma decided to ask the pair that very night, and to Pip’s surprise they immediately confirmed Duke’s story.

“Oh, old Jefferies,” hummed Gordon. “Duke told you about him? I’m surprised he didn’t use one of the earlier cases – when I arrived, people still didn’t believe in it, and we’d find three or four every Halloween stumbling about the line screaming and gibbering and acting like lunatics. I remember very vividly Glynn going down the line and picking them all up in a compartment coach so they could be kept separate and brought to the hospital safely. By the end of the 20s, every had learnt better than to be out on Halloween. Sir Topham always ensured that we were in our sheds on that night too, and his son and grandson have both followed his example.”

Pip and Emma were both stunned!

“So… it’s real?” asked Emma slowly. “It’s very real,” Henry said grimly. “I’ve seen a peek of it through the shed windows. It’s a frightening thing, let me tell you! All black, with great red headlamps and it’s puffs sound like screams. We all stay in here and tell ghost stories and try not to think about it. And I’d suggest you do the same – I know you’ve got the last train of the day. Do not be late getting here.”

Emma agreed that she definitely was going to be on time, and even Pip seemed nervous.

The week went by, and the two new engines watched as more and more Sauin festivals were held. These were less and less about the harvest, and more and more about the oncoming winter and the spirits. A number of the native Sudrians and older engines began to have protection sigils painted on their foreheads when they went out; Duke was joined by Skarloey, Rheneas, Thomas, Edward, Henry and Gordon within a few days. Donald and Douglas, who’d learnt about Samhain back in Scotland, had their own sigils written in Scottish Gaelic. Duck and Oliver got their own Scottish sigils written in support of their friends.

All around them, Pip and Emma watched as Sodor prepared for Sauin night. Hotels filled to capacity, with large parades held celebrating the spirits in several of the bigger towns and cities.

And then finally, Halloween came. The day was incredibly slow, with barely any passengers at all riding with the railway. Pip and Emma wondered if it was worth pulling their train at all – at least, until they set out on their last express of the day. It was packed.

“Why are there so many?!” exclaimed Emma. “We’re going to be barely able to hold them all!” “It’s everyone heading to the mainland to avoid Sauin night,” James said, puffing in. “You’ll be hard pressed with this many – I think it’s cause there was a fog warning put out earlier; no one wants to be caught out past dusk with that in place. Spirits and fog? No thank you!”

James steamed away to shunt his coaches into their siding, while Pip and Emma prepared to head off. It was a struggle setting off. Every single seat was filled, and a number of others stood in the corridors, making the trip extremely difficult. Even more piled on at Crovan’s Gate, where almost all the Skarloey engines had already been hidden away in their shed. Emma watched the slowly descending sun with worry.

“If we get held up on the mainland even once, we’re not going to be back for dusk,” she fretted. “We’ll be fine,” replied Pip. “Worst comes to worst, we’re a little late. ‘The Tidmouth Train to Hell’ isn’t a threat to us.”

Oh how wrong Pip was.

The big sheds at Tidmouth were filling to capacity rapidly. The usual crowd had filed in, as had Edward, BoCo, Thomas, Percy, Toby and Daisy. The sheds were so full that the tank engines had to share a road between two of them; Duck and Oliver on one line and Percy and Toby on another. The scripts had been painted on the doors, and the storm shutters rolled down on the windows. Daisy huffed grumpily, glaring out at the yards as thick fog and mist wafted in. “I hate having to spend the night here, it’s so bad for my swerves!” “Oh belt up!” groaned Thomas. “It’s better than being out there – no one wants to be out there.” “Speaking of out there, where are Pip and Emma?” asked Gordon. “Dusk is in half an hour, and they aren’t back.”

Edward, sat on the turntable, winced. “I heard they had a full train leaving Tidmouth. I wouldn’t be surprised if they’ve been waylaid. Let’s just hope the stationmaster at Barrow parks them there for the night.”

Pip and Emma would have no such luck. The pair were late leaving London and Preston, filled up once again with people wanting to get home for the holiday – but the platform at Barrow was deserted. The fog had truly begun to set in, leaving long shadows where none should be.

“You can’t stay here,” the stationmaster said grumpily. The sun was beginning to sink over the horizon. “There’s no space, and you’re not a Northern engine anyway. Go back to Sodor.”

Pip and Emma both tried to argue – but it was no use. At least the lack of passengers meant they didn’t need to wait around. The pair roared out of Barrow, trying their best to claw back time from the setting sun. Dusk was coming fast: too fast. The fog was willing it on faster, thick cloud cover blocking out part of the sun and making it increasingly harder to see.

Vicarstown flew by, followed by Henry’s tunnel and then Crovan’s Gate. Clear signals guided them through each station, the two honking their horns loudly. It was almost as if they were heralding the dusk, trying their best to make it back home before night came. Dark figures watched their progress from deep in the shadows, hiding where neither twin could really see them. “Faster Pip, faster!” called Emma. “I’m giving it all I can!” called back Pip.

Finally, Tidmouth came into view, one door still rolled up for them. Pip and Emma were quick to back through it, the door slamming down behind them just as the last rays of the sun vanished over the horizon, leaving behind only the fog.

“Cutting it close there,” said Gordon darkly. Both Pip and Emma winced. “We were held up on the mainland… a lot. And then the stationmaster at Barrow wouldn’t let us stay there.”

Gordon huffed. “Stupid man – he’s got no sense. Why, the other day!—”

He was cut off by James shushing him. The two shot glares at each other, before allowing Edward to pick up his story again.

The old engine wove stories throughout the next few hours, telling tales of twisted grins and haunting ghouls heralded by owls, of spirits sent to help and those sent to destroy. The engines relaxed, enjoying the night even as the hours ticked on. Pip and Emma could have fooled themselves into thinking it was just another horrible storm trapping all the engines in the shed.

That is, until a most horrific sound pierced through the air, shattering Edward’s story and leaving all the engines deathly silent. The clock showed a minute to midnight. The sound came again, a ghastly howling and screeching and moaning that seemed to work its way into the engines’ frames and bury itself there, leaving them all shaking. The doors and windows began to rattle and shake, as if hundreds of people were banging on them, trying to pry them open.

“Out after dusk!” they howled. “They were out after dusk!” Pip and Emma began to shake, terrified.

Another ear-piercing whistle filled the air, made of even more tortured howling and screeching. Then came the screams. As the engine thundered towards Tidmouth, each beat of its cylinders sounded like the screams of the damned. The entire shed seemed to shake, as the horrific banging and rattling continued.

“Out after dusk! Out after dusk! They belong to us! They belong to us!” Pip and Emma quivered, petrified. The other engines looked equally terrified – all except Edward. As the cacophony reached a peak, he took a deep breath.

“You are not welcome inside. We are protected. This shed has been blessed; these engines have been blessed. You are not welcome inside!”  

“ONE HAS NOT!” boomed the creatures outside. Pip gasped – she had refused the blessing!

The engine grew nearer; time seemed to slow. Edward took a level breath, and spoke again.

“You are not welcome inside. We are protected. This shed has been blessed; these engines have been blessed. You are not welcome inside!”  

“ONE HAS NOT!” came the furious reply. Before Edward could speak again, there was a horrendous roar and scream of whistles, brakes and steam – the Tidmouth Train to Hell had arrived. It roared past, it’s red lamps illuminating against the doors. The shed walls groaned, as if nearly at braking point. The windows rattled harder, dents being made it the metal. Daisy shrieked and fainted.

Thomas began praying under his breath in one language; the twins did the same in a different one. The train sped into the station, thundering towards the buffers. One dent slammed against the glass of the window next to Pip, cracking the glass. A gnarled nail pierced through the shutter.

“You are not welcome inside. We are protected. This shed has been blessed; these engines have been blessed. You are not welcome inside!”  Edward thundered again, his eyes darting over to the shutter.

The train hit the buffers.

The creatures outside let out a chorus of tortured screams. They were in agony, ripping away from the sheds and howling in pain. The nail was torn from the shutter, giving Pip just enough space to see dark figures writhing on the ground.

The clock ticked over; a new day began. The creatures let out one last screech. The floor seemed to open up around them, hellflames licking up at the night fog and illuminating the entire night in a sea of blood red. The creatures screaming and screeched, dragged downwards and suffocated in the earth before they could be scorched alive by the flames.

And then there was silence.

“Oh…” managed Pip softly.

Everyone looked shaken. Edward sighed softly, and looked over at the twins. “The last time an engine was out after dusk and wasn’t blessed was in 1916, during the war,” he said quietly. “Thomas mightn’t remember it – but I do. It was a loaned engine who told us all that Sauin was stupid… that is, until the creatures of hell surrounded the sheds and began demanding we give him over. Glynn kept trying to keep them out, but he slipped up. The engine’s shed door was ripped open suddenly, and he was… dragged out. We never say what pulled him out – but whatever it was bent that door open like it was a tin can and shoved it back down afterwards. We all heard the loaned engine’s screams as it was given to the creatures and torn piece from piece…”

Edward paused, and gazed at the shed doors, looking wary.

“It’s said that engine became the Tidmouth Train to Hell, crossing the island and giving the spirits and creatures time to roam free before arriving in Tidmouth and condemning them all back to hell, to make sure none can inflict that fate on another.”

He finished his story and looked around the silent room. Daisy was still unconscious, and it was a miracle none of the others had followed. Everyone’s eyes were fixed on the dent shutter and cracked window, a stark warning of how close the creatures got.

No one slept that night.

And suffice to say, Pip and Emma were never late again on Sauin.

Back to the Master Post

[lykaonimagines]

Mistletoe - Sherlock x Reader

Meant to have this up by Christmas, but I still wanted to put it up :) Might have rushed the ending a bit, but hopefully you all like it ^_^

Paring: Sherlock Holmes (BBC) x Detective F!Reader

Word Count: 2,486

Description: When an argument finds Sherlock and Y/N under a mistletoe together in the center of Scotland Yard, Y/N uses the moment to spite Anderson... and maybe for some other reasons too. 

Other Things: Establishing relationship. Embarrassed Sherlock. Mistletoe making them realize feelings trope. I just don’t like Anderson 🤷🏻‍♀️

Warnings: Some swearing. Suggestive. Making out and flirting, but not particularly NSFW.

Masterlist

“Sherlock you know we need a full write up of the case,” Lestrade sighs as he walks through the precinct with Sherlock, Y/N, and John at his heels. 

“I fail to see why John or I need to be here while you write up a report Gram,” he pouts, crossing his arms as they walk.

“You were part of solving the case, we need your side of it. As I’ve told you a thousand times before.”

“I’m sure Y/N could adequately give you that information, she was beside me nearly the entire time. Frankly she’s the only one that kept up this time, and this is the job she’s paid to do in this building. Our presence is entirely unneeded.” 

“Runs around behind you for three days straight and you want to abandon me to paperwork at the first opportunity,” Y/N teases, lightly elbowing the detective. “I see how it is.” 

“Oh, and how is it Detective Y/L/N?” He counters, turning toward her as he lets John pass them both. “Do I have to hold your hand for the paperwork as well?”

“Yes, just like how I held your hand when you nearly fell off that rooftop.” 

Sherlock’s mouth opens then snaps shut quickly, a frown pulling at his lips. “If it was such an inconvenience you could have let me fall.” 

Looking over at the brooding detective, Y/N loops her arm through his and pulls him closer, “I would think we’ve worked together long enough now Sherlock, that you know I’d never let something like that happen to you if I could do something to stop it. And not just because I generally try to protect people if I can in this job.” 

“Oh, then why me specifically?” He challenges, bringing the two to a halt. 

“Well I-” she begins before being interrupted by Lestrade’s voice. 

“Looks like we got two under the mistletoe over here!” He shouts loud enough for all the offices and desks to hear. 

Y/N and Sherlock freeze as all eyes turn toward them, her arm dropping from his as they both glance up to see the festive plant hanging over their heads. 

Their gazes both drop slowly from the offending plant to one another, Sherlock’s eyes suddenly wide with fear. 

“Greg don’t make her kiss the freak, whatever punishable offense she’s committed isn’t that bad. Firing her would be kinder,” Anderson says with a smug smile from his desk. 

Sherlock’s face contorts briefly before looking to the floor at the comment, his usual snarky reply strangely absent.

“Sherlock?” She whispers, he glances up at her quickly, an unfamiliar emotion in his eyes that he seemingly tries to push away. 

Setting her jaw sternly, she glances at Anderson with a scowl before grabbing ahold of Sherlock’s lapels.

“Y/N-” he begins before her lips press firmly to his own. 

A sound of surprise escapes his throat as her lips move on his, his own tightening beneath hers a second later. His hands drift up to her cup her jaw as she opens her mouth to his. 

As his tongue touches hers, their moment frozen in time shatters, breaking apart immediately as whistles and catcalls finally reach their ears. 

Flushed red up his neck and cheeks, his lips wet and already slightly swollen from her unexpected onslaught, Sherlock stares back at her with a look of surprise and embarrassment. 

“Alright?” She asks quietly under her breath, smoothing his lapels back down under her hands. 

“I believe so,” he responds equally as quiet, his eyes searching her intently. “Possibly.”

“Is everything… ok here?” John asks as he approaches the two, his eyes flickering between them. 

“Why wouldn’t it be?” Sherlock snaps back, turning his face away from John. 

“Just give us a minute,” Y/N reaches for Sherlock’s sleeve and pulls him quickly behind her toward the break room. 

Pulling the door open, she sighs in relief to find it empty. Tugging him in behind her, she drops her hold on him as the door shuts behind them. 

They both steal glances at one another, the drip of the coffee machine the only sound in the room. 

Taking a step back, Y/N crosses the room and tears open the fridge, snatching a water bottle from the bottom. She tosses it to Sherlock as she walks back.

“And this is for…?” He questions. 

“You’re dehydrated, clearly haven’t been drinking enough while we’ve been on the case,” she shrugs and nods toward it. “Drink up.”

“You’ve deduced that have you?” He asks with a raised brow, opening the bottle and taking a long drink. 

“Your tongue was in my mouth, I didn’t have to deduce anything,” she grins, bursting into laughter as he momentarily chokes on the water and glares at her. 

“Was that necessary?” 

“It was rather funny.” 

“Yes, well,” he glares at her and sets the bottle down on the nearby counter. “If we’ve just come here so you can inform me you disliked it and clarify that it only happened to spite Anderson, you can save your words, it’s obvious.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard you be wrong twice in one sentence actually.”

Sherlock’s brow furrows and he crosses his arms tightly around himself, “Explain.”

Suddenly finding interest in her fingers, Y/N looks down as heat pools in her cheeks, “I’m sorry. I’m nervous and I’m making a mess of this. I meant while annoying Anderson was the reason it happened so quickly, it wasn’t the only reason I did it. And I most certainly didn’t dislike it. Pretty far from that actually.” 

Looking up at him, he tilts his head and she continues, “I also wanted to apologize for not asking first. His comment about you set me off, and I just went for it.”

“You didn’t just kiss me to spite him?” He asks incredulously. “You mean to say… that you…” 

“Wanted to kiss you? Yes,” She finishes as he stares at her and blinks rapidly. “I know. I’ve heard you’re married to your work and don’t do that sort of thing. But I think you deserve the truth after that at least. Lestrade has known for awhile, he teases me about it. Probably why this happened at all today.”

“You’re part of my work,” he finally says sharply, visibly cringing at his own words. “That is to say… my work is not in the way of… more.” 

“You would want that?” She asks in surprise, her own eyes widening. 

“I… enjoyed the kiss,” he admits. “I wanted it to happen.”

Stepping in closer to him, Y/N carefully takes Sherlock’s hands in her own, “So you’d be amenable to doing that more often then?”

“I’d be amenable,” he says softly, his eyelids lowering as he ducks his head down. “Very amenable indeed.”

“Good,” she barely whispers over his lips before sealing them together. 

His hands drop from hers, finding her hips and pulling her in closer as his lips move eagerly against her own. 

Pulling her lower lip into his mouth, nibbling at her lip before soothing it with his tongue. She groans lowly into his mouth, her arms wrapping firmly around his neck. 

His hands shift to the back of her thighs, encouraging her to jump up and wrap her legs around his waist. 

Her lips break from his, trailing sloppy kisses from the edge of his mouth along his jaw.

A low growl rumbles in his chest against her as her lips reach just below his ear and sucks at the skin there. Maneuvering them around, he presses her back into the nearby wall and adjusts his hands to firmly grip her behind. 

Y/N’s fingers tangle in the curls at the nape of his neck, lifting her lips from his skin and chuckling as she looks at the reddening skin. 

“Just marked me have you?” Sherlock asks with amusement. 

“Mhm, maybe got ahead of myself there. I’ve wanted to get my mouth on your neck longer than is decent to admit,” she grins and leans her head back to see his face.

“I’m learning all sorts of things about you today aren’t I Detective Y/N?” He grins back at her almost shyly. 

“I suppose you are,” she shrugs and presses her forehead to his. “I would like some clarification from your side though.”

“You need clarification?” His brow raises. “I’ve currently got my hands on your arse, and you’ve got your legs around my waist. I think there’s little room for interpretation.”

“Well I meant, what did you mean by wanting more? Are you just wanting a friend with benefits, or something more committed.”

His brow quickly furrows at the question, his head tilting as he studies her, “I can’t pursue this if you aren’t mine, only mine. If you don’t want to commit to me-”

“Good,” she says interrupting him and pressing a brief kiss to his lips. “I didn’t want to assume. I’m perfectly happy committing to this with you. I had thought you would be the one to not want that kind of commitment.” 

“I don’t have much experience in that realm. And I suspect it’s going to be intense once I allow it all out,” he warns. 

“Well we’ll figure it all out together. I want this Sherlock, with you.”

Sherlock leans his head forward, briefly burying his face against her neck and exhaling contentedly. “Plan to be spending far more time on Baker Street.”

“Of course,” she replies, running one of her hands through his hair. “We should get back though, I’m still technically working.”

“You’ve been working nearly three days straight, your shift is over,” he grumbles against her skin. 

“Well it is, once we finish that paperwork you were going to abandon me for,” she teases lightly. 

Groaning unhappily, Sherlock pulls his face back and lets Y/N down to her feet, “Fine I’ll assist you. But only so you can leave faster. I’ve got a shower, clothes you can borrow, and Chinese takeout nearby the flat, so there should be no issue with you just coming straight back home with us.”

“Oh really, that’s what I’m doing?” She questions with a playful smirk. 

“You can’t expect me to be perfectly fine with us going to our respective home after just these ten minutes, now that we’ve gotten to this point,” he pouts and crosses his arms. 

“Good point. Though I’ve never seen you in anything but a suit, do you own other clothing I can wear? Otherwise I do have to drop by my flat first.”

Rolling his eyes, he reaches out to lightly grip her chin, “Do you think I sleep in suits?”

“Hmm,” she hums and looks up at him. “Admittedly most of my thoughts of you in bed haven’t involved clothing…”

Sherlock’s face flushes again and he presses his thumb to her lower lip, “I’ve gotten myself a handful haven’t I?”

“I think that would be true both directions,” she adds.

“That would be a fair deduction,” he agrees releasing his hold on her and offering his hand. “Let’s go get the paperwork settled then? The sooner we can leave the better.”

Her hand slips into his, a half smile on his lips as they exit the break room and head back toward where they had left John and Lestrade. 

“£20 on that they’ve all achieved fuck-all in that time and have been standing around gossiping like school children,” Y/N jokes, smiling at the near snort that leaves Sherlock. 

“I don’t bet against the obvious dear,” he remarks as they turn the corner and find themselves the center of attention once again. 

Standing up straighter, Sherlock ignores them and pulls Y/N along with him toward Lestrade’s office. However, just as they reach the doorway, he pauses. 

Taking a step back he whistles, “Anderson!”

The man in question looks up in disdain.

Sherlock turns his head sharply making the now bright red patch just below his ear deliberately obvious and winks smugly, firmly gripping Y/N’s hand and heading into the office. 

“Was that entirely necessary?” She chuckles, glancing at his self-satisfied expression.

“Entirely. For several reasons. The most important being he still had hopes you’d be his next free weekend affair.”

“He WHAT?” She shouts her lip pulling up in disgust. “I’d never in a thousand years, what the fuck.”

“I’d told him before you would be appalled by the idea, he called it jealousy and that I needed to ‘butt out.’ Not entirely inaccurate. Had he managed it, I’d have told his wife myself out of spite.”

“Surely you knew the possibility was zero,” she says with a raised eyebrow. “Even if you didn’t realize my feelings for you. Me being interested in Anderson? A married man and an asshole. What a catch.” 

“Are you two about done?” Lestrade calls out from his desk, motioning to the empty chairs beside a very smug looking John. 

“Good news I’d presume?” John asks as the two of them take their seats. 

Sherlock rolls his eyes and reaches over to lay his hand on Y/N’s knee, “Let’s just get this over with so we can all go home.”

“In a hurry to go somewhere?” Lestrade asks with a grin. “Any reason why?”

“Not at all Deputy Inspector.”

“Well if that’s the case, maybe you can stay and help with-” Lestrade starts before Sherlock cuts him off.

“The perpetrator was the affair partner of the wife. The wife was part of the plot, for life insurance money so her and the affair partner could leave the country with the money. She however put in her notice to leave her job prior to her husband’s death, he bought the poison through the city’s homeless network, left his finger prints on the victim’s mug. We found crumpled love letters in his trash, incriminating texts in their exchange. He informed his family he’d soon be moving abroad after he ‘took care of a problem’,” Sherlock rattles off and stands up quickly from his seat, grabbing Y/N’s hand to pull her from her seat. “I think we’re done here. John can fill in anything we may have missed, he took notes. Good day Deputy Inspector.” 

Giving an apologetic smile to her boss as she’s pulled from the office, Lestrade sighs and shakes his head with a slight smile and waves them off. 

“Off to Baker Street are we?” She asks with a laugh as he navigates them through the precinct and out the entrance into the frosty night air. 

“Precisely,” he grins and pulls her in closer to wrap his arm around her shoulders. “We need time to properly bond, I don’t plan on letting go of you for some time.”

“Is that right?” She teases and slips her arm under his coat to wrap around his waist. “Sounds like a good plan to me.” 

 ----

Sherlock Taglist: @stephenstrangeaddictions  @strangeions  @asgardianprincess1050  @rbymoon  @elisa20beth  @black-and-white1  @gaitwae @azu21 @mirikusashes @bubsonnobx @yuu-chan-is-still-a-student12 @catsr0pia @strangelockd @lokidokieokie @icytrickster17 @celilice1​ @callsign-sunshine @hollieclare

If you want to be tagged in any future Sherlock stuff (or Doctor Strange) let me know or fill out the taglist form on my pinned channel navigation/masterlist. 💙

[sailoryooons]

A Spring Offering Collaboration

As the veil thins, the magic strengthens. Let our festival leaders take you on a magical journey to experience the wonders of Beltane and be blessed with the power and spirit of Spring.

Disclaimer: This is a collaboration put on for members of the BTS Fantasy and Fangs Server. The depictions of Beltane and its customs are the initial inspiration, but the stories may not represent the original customs, practices, and beliefs from the original practice. These stories, characters, and festivals used here are not meant to represent any real or factual people, places, or things.

Rating: Most works feature 18+ content and are NSFW. Each work will have its own set of warnings.

Coming throughout the month of May.

Festival Leader: @sailoryooons

Title: Break

Pairing: Seokjin x f. reader

AU: Witches

Genre: Angst, smut

Summary: Seokjin has been at your side for the last few years. He's your closest friend, and the one person you don't think you can live without. But what happens when you discover that he might be the source of the curse he's been trying to help you escape from?

Read Now

Festival leader: @colormepurplex2

Title: Flowers of Fate

Pairing: UnseeliePrince!Yoongi x Human!f.Reader x UnseelieGuard!Jungkook x SeeliePrince!Jimin x WoodNymph!Namjoon

AU: Fae/Magick

Genre: Smut, fluff, angst

Summary: You grew up hearing whimsical tales and ballads of magic and the hauntingly beautiful fae from your late grandpa. In an effort to feel closer to him and experience the joy he so often spoke of, you take a spur-of-the-moment trip to Scotland to partake in Beltane— a festival that took center stage in many of his stories. But, in a shower of yellow flower petals, you find yourself getting far closer to your grandpa's stories than you ever thought possible.

Read Now

Festival Leader: @quirkybtsarmy

Title: Hoseok

Pairing: Jung Hoseok X reader.

Genre: Horror, fluff, romance

AU: College/University AU, Carrie AU

Summary: Gwangju Music Academy is a prestigious school that has many different personalities walking its halls. There are promising musicians, dancers, producers; you name it, they are. Two of those personalities are Jung Hoseok and L/N Y/N. But what happens when the Beltane Festival which celebrates the union between South Korea and Ireland reveals Hoseok's darkest secret?

Read Now

Festival Leader: @theharrowing

Title: An Ghealach

Pairing: Jimin x reader

AU: Speculative horror

Genre: Angst, smut

Summary: Field Linguist Jimin Park travels to a remote island called An Ghealach off the coast of Ireland to research and document an endangered language, just in time for the community's Beltane festivities. What he encounters is both horrifying and mesmerizing beyond his wildest dreams.

Read Now

Festival Leader: @gimmethatagustd

Title: What the Fire Gave Us

Pairing: Shadow elemental!jungkook x water elemental!(f)reader

AU: Supernatural, dystopian

Genre: Angst, smut, fluff

Summary: You were born with a Gift that the world wanted to turn into a weapon. All Jungkook wanted to do was show you that you could find love, even in the dark.

Read Now

Festival Leader: @beahae

Title: Essence

Pairing: Fem!Reader x Jungkook, Fem!Reader x Taehyung

AU: UndefinedMagic!AU

Genre: Smut, some darkness/angst

Summary: Jungkook is on cloud nine after meeting what he can only describe as the girl of his dreams on the morning of the festival. Interestingly, Taehyung explains he is experiencing something similar when he comes back to their tent to get ready for the celebrations of the night.

Read now

[marmotish]

Remember, remember.

@hp-12monthsofmagic

Traditionally, the magical community doesn’t observe Bonfire Night.

In the late 16th century, King James VI instigated the North Berwick witch trials - the first major persecution of witchcraft in Scotland. On the night of Halloween 1590, King James VI and his bride, Anne of Denmark, were caught up in a storm on the voyage back to Scotland. This misfortune was blamed on witchcraft, which was the start of trials which would last two years.

So it was no surprise that when in 1605 the Gunpowder Plot failed to take out the King, it wasn’t particularly a cause of celebration for magic-users. Their memories and thoughts remained with those persecuted during the trials, tortured til they either confessed or died.

Halloween on the other hand, with roots in Samhain/Samhuinn, is considered the Witches New Year. It’s observed from October 31st to November 1st, and it’s Hogwarts’ biggest event.

People are encouraged to wear their “witchiest” clothes, complete with witches hat.

Bonfires are lit

Turnip lanterns are carved to ward off evil spirits

There’s games involving treacle scones and apples. Braver students can try some of Hagrid’s treacle scones.

Prof Trelawney volunteers to do readings for students, which are very popular amongst couples. Break-ups peak around this time of year.

Among the merriment and festivities, it’s also a time for remembrance of those lost. The time of year where the veil between the world of the living and the world of the dead is at its thinnest.

[dunalastairhotels]

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[scotianostra]

Happy Birthday Bill Forsyth the Scottish film director and screenwriter.

Born in Glasgow July 29th 1946 and educated at Knightswood School. On leaving aged 17, he answered an advertisement for a “Lad required for film company” and spent the next eight years helping make short documentary films.

Leaving documentary production in 1977, Forsyth wrote the scripts for Gregory’s Girl and That Sinking Feeling in the hope of breaking into feature films.

Obtaining finance, however, proved frustrating and problematic. The BFI Production Board rejected Gregory’s Girl three times. Forsyth later said, “I remember one torment of a meeting when I tried to explain that Gregory’s Girl was really a structuralist comedy… I suspect my script was too conventional although nobody actually told me as much.”.

That Sinking Feeling was eventually made in 1979 with amateur actors from the Glasgow Youth Theatre, including John Gordon Sinclair (who later took the lead in Gregory’s Girl , its tiny £5,000 budget was raised from a variety of sources.

Forsyth’s distinctive voice as writer-director is already apparent in this tale of a robbery of stainless steel sinks by a gang of unemployed Glasgow teenagers - intensely humanistic and humorous yet with an underlying seriousness of purpose. This ability to create a self-contained yet believable world with a keen sense of the absurd and bizarre in the everyday is perhaps only rivalled by the work of British television writer Alan Plater. The film opened to great popular and critical success at the Edinburgh and London Film Festivals but was unable to secure more widespread distribution.

Gregory’s Girl was Forsyth’s breakthrough film. This acutely observed story of adolescence and first love set in a Scottish new town was rapturously received by both critics and public alike. Forsyth’s reputation seemed to be secured by the success of his next venture, Local Hero, a first collaboration with producer David Puttnam.

In 1999 he made Gregory’s Two Girls as a sequel to Gregory’s Girl, with John Gordon Sinclair playing the same character, but it received mixed reviews.

Gregory's Girl, to me, is still a very funny film, but it feels dated, that's not to say that it hasn't stood the test of time with some folk, indeed The Glasgow Film Theatre (GFT) showed a 4k version of the 1980 cult classic last August 1which was followed by a Q&A session with some of the cast including Gordon Sinclair(Gregory), Clare Grogan.

In 2022 the popular Scottish actor Peter Capaldi spoke of how Bill Forsyth saved him from living off pakora and lager after featuring him in Local Hero. The Doctor Who and The Thick Of It star praised the Scots film director in an acceptance speech after receiving a Bafta Scotland Award for Outstanding Contribution to Film & Television.

I love Capaldi's affection for our country, speaking to the audience while holding his Bafta, Capaldi said the award was “for getting lucky, and for being lucky enough to be born in Scotland”.

He said: “Forty years ago I was just up here (in Glasgow) as an art student, living off pakora and lager for breakfast.

“Bill Forsyth scooped me up and put me in Local Hero.

“It was an act of kindness and confidence that baffled me and much of the industry to this day, but I wouldn’t be here without him and nor would a lot of others.”

Capaldi landed this breakthrough film role aged 24 playing Danny Oldsen, a naive young oil industry executive, in the film.

A number of actors, including Dee Hepburn, will be a part of a celebration of the films of Bill Forsyth at the Outwith Festival of music and arts which takes place in Dunfermline from September 3-8. It will also screen That Sinking Feeling and Local Hero at the city’s Carnegie Theatre.

[dynamoe]

Billy Quizboy as the rabbit-toothed guitarist DAVE HILL of glam rock band SLADE— sporter of the worst bangs in rock n' roll history*— circa their 1973 Christmas #2 Merry Christmas Everybody**, which was covered as the annual Venture Bros holiday song this year by Pete White, Master Billy Quizboy, his mom and her lovers (the elderly superhero polycule).

→ hear the cover on KenPlume's youtube → go to the Billy Quizboy & Pete White index

(I know with the orange hair/eyepatch he looks like Ziggy Stardust— the Quizboy:Slade ratio is a delicate balance.)

Merriest Twelfth Day of Christmas to you, to Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer and to Slade and anyone else still reading who gives a shit.

Slade is more of a British thing, really. They had a ton of British hits in the 1970s as a glam rock band, but didn't break into the US until the 1980s (when they replaced Ozzy Osborne at the Reading Festival) with Cum on Feel the Noize, pivoting to be more hard rock/metal.

Noddy Holder was more of the “face” of Slade (head to toe plaid, mutton chops, tophat covered in mirrors). I suspect the all-plaid outfit on Col. Gentleman in the Vbros cover art is a take on Noddy's look... or he ignored the brief and dressed as one of Scotland's own Bay City Rollers. Slade suffered from a lesser case of Cheap Trick syndrome, where every member dressed like they were in a different band. Dave dressed full spaceman-- face glitter, every variety of metallic fabric available (lurex, glitter knit, vinyl, lamé) in shades of silver. The other guitarist whose name I won't look up wore a red lurex suit (I guess that would be Pete's outfit in their cover band) which he had to keep replacing because he sweated so much on stage the fibers literally melted (one of the suits was preserved by the V&A on an episode of Secrets of the Museum)... No one cares about the drummer. 

The only reason I know anything about Slade — I'm no rock trivia geek, I’m a comedy nerd — Slade was a constant punchline in 1990s Brit Comedy. Noddy appeared on Never Mind the Buzzcocks in the LaMar era. 1993 sketch show The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer had a recurring mini-sitcom “Slade in Residence” (the band living in a suburban home together, wearing their stage costumes, eating nothing but cup-of-soup, obsessing over monster truck rallies and­— the key to their appeal to Vic and Bob, I imagine­— whining in thick Black Country accents.)

Billy is my Covid muse and if he stars in the annual Christmas cover (he had only sung before on 2006's VentureAid; read poems on their take on the Beatles Fan Club records), it's not like I CAN'T draw something despite saying I was done with this shit. I promised you guys a *technically* Christmas Billy drawing and I *technically* delivered.

Now I'm gonna switch to drawing characters I own so I can finally make some money. Godblessuseveryone. ___

*Dave Hill was just being a futuristic spaceman, those micro-bangs were the hottness on all the skater girls of the late 1990s. I even had 'em.

**Having the #1 song at Christmas is a big deal in the UK (as you may remember from the Bill Nighy segments from Love Actually) and the 1973 slug match between Slade's Merry Christmas Everybody and the eventual winner Wizzard’s I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday looms large in music trivia, to the degree that I was sure Astrobot Go was going to release a cover a day later of some other (more fan-favored) characters doing their version of Wizzard to rain on Billy et. al’s parade.

→ Wizzard

So which character dons the beard and harlequin eye facepaint to be the guy from Wizzard? Probably Hank, right?

→ go to the Billy Quizboy & Pete White index → Nobody'sSweetheart on Instagram

[todays-just-a-daydream]

Charting the rise of Oasis in summer 1994 via archives of Music & Media (pan-European music industry magazine in the 90s). Issue dates from each clip left to right: 13 August; 27 August; 3 September; 17 September; 17 September.

Radio reports in industry magazines tell the story of Oasis climbing the UK charts and breaking into Europe in late summer 1994. Music & Media in the 90s was the European version of America’s Billboard magazine. While the record charts were the focus, each issue also included a section in new releases (both singles and albums) as well as station reports. Each week radio stations would report their lists to the magazine and include what songs they've added to their rotation. The way I understand it, A lists are played more than B lists, which are played more than N lists.

I went through the August-September 1994 issues of Music & Media searching “Oasis” for any relevant clips.

Note: Keep in mind all dates reflect the issue that the content was in and that there was a slight lag (generally 1-2 weeks) in industry news outside of the UK.

Following Live Forever’s release

The third Oasis single, Live Forever, gets added to the BBC1's N list on 6th of August upon its release, due to consistent interest in each single since Columbia (White Label Demo) in Dec 1993.

The single also makes the B list for Virgin 1215 AM London. The next week, Forth RFM in Edinburgh adds the song to its A list. One week later, the song gets a small mention in the New Releases review section of the magazine:

Is it a fata morgana, or is Oasis for real? We've had so many over-hyped British bands now, that we prefer to take a back seat. But then again we haven't heard such good pop since the La's.

Two weeks later, 27th of August, Live Forever reaches no. 10 on the UK singles chart.

The magazine reports this in a small blurb describing them as "Scottish band Oasis", possibly due to the concentration of the band’s support being in Scotland. Radio Clyde in Glasgow adds the song to its rotation. MTV Europe also adds the video to its new videos list.

At the start of September, Definitely Maybe gets a review in the new album releases, where Live Forever is called “a masterpiece.” I should add industry mags are typically dry and not prone to hyperbole.

Radio Clyde's head Bobby Hain writes that Oasis has become "local favourites" since performing at T in the Park festival a few weeks before.

At the same time, Live Forever gets added to more radio playlists. Red Dragon FM in Cardiff adds the song to its B list. In Europe, Radio 21 in Brussels, Het Station in Hilversum (Holland), and Polskie Radio 2 in Warsaw (Poland) add it to their A list.

By the 10th of September MTV Europe adds the Live Forever video to its Buzz Bin. This week Sveriges Radio in Stockholm (Sweden) adds the song to its A list, with Radio Stella FM 106 in Helsingberg following the next week.

But it takes until the 17th of September for Oasis to get a full length article in the magazine, entitled "Oasis Is No Mirage Of the British Hope and Glory" (above). It mentions the skepticism in Europe of British bands that don’t live up to the hype. But argues Oasis is the real deal. It singles out Sweden as the first European market where the band has broken out from the UK. It calls the band’s songs “retro pop,” lists some influences from Neil Young to T-Rex, and leaves with the idea Oasis seems like a “universal band” that can translate to other countries.

The case study of Sweden

The band plays the Hultsfred festival in Sweden 13 August 1994. This is also the site of the classic Gallagher interview where Noel claims their music will stand the test of time. There’s also bootlegs of a radio broadcast of the show, but it’s not clear if it aired live at the time or was simply recorded and broadcasted later in 95.

Noel and Liam both bragged about making headlines in the country for starting a bar brawl after they played this festival. Did this play a factor in the band’s early chart success there?

Notably mentioned by Music & Media, by the 3rd of September, Swedish radio stations are already picking up Live Forever, while most of Europe is still working through older singles.

Sweden becomes the first country outside of the UK for Definitely Maybe to chart (even a week before Ireland), entering the chart at no. 14. The album reaches 4 by 17th of September (to compare the album is at 9 in Ireland the same week).

Along with sales elsewhere, it’s enough to pull the album to 10 in the European charts.

Did the bar brawl help album sales in Sweden?

When looking at Oasis gigs in August/September it’s not surprising Sweden is the first to chart. They play Paris in June and New York in July. But Sweden is the first place outside the UK they have two gigs in less than one month. The festival gig in August and another one a few days after the first album is released.

Now I know controversy sells is a 90s maxim and Oasis used outrage to their advantage. But I remain skeptical of the claim they made front page headlines from the bar brawl. It seems to me that’d be a clipping you could find online if it happened. I don’t have access to Swedish papers to directly verify the pages (if anyone has access, lmk!). But I could do a quick search of archives of two popular newspapers, a morning newspaper and an evening one, to see "oasis" mentions in 1994:

While “oasis” gets mentioned a few times before August (some nonband mentions including a guy named Kenny Oasis drive earlier mentions), it’s steady afterward in reference to the band.

The results of a search for “oasis” in Dagens Nyheter in 1994 includes a thumbnail of the page and the relevant excerpt to check context. Below are the excerpts visible for August/September and a rough translation (any Swedish fans out there correct me if I’m wrong).

The 11th of August has a short article on page 20 about the Hultsfred festival they were set to play on the 13th.

On the 15th on page 24, the band gets mentioned in a review of the festival:

När Oasis spelade vid sextiden var det väldigt mycket folk i Saharatältet

(When Oasis played at six o'clock there were a lot of people in the Sahara tent)

On the 18th in the entertainment section of ads, Definitely Maybe as a pending Oasis album is mentioned. There’s also an ad for another show with Oasis on the bill with Pavement at the top and Jeff Buckley. This is most likely the 2 September show at the Gino.

On the 24th, Liam’s face makes an appearance on page 21 along with other band/artist photos. The photo caption reads “Liam Gallagher i Oasis renodlar det som andra påbörjat.” (Liam Gallagher's Oasis refines what others have started.) with a photo credit to “matthias bardå Filmiskt” so good bet it’s from the Hultsfred festival.

The 31st of August shows the closest Oasis gets to the front page at the time. On page 2, Live Forever is mentioned in a list of things to complain about (an opinion piece? satire? it’s not clear): Yvs över exportaktiernas uppgång, yvs över Oasis ”Live Forever”, men herregud, att yvas över ett land, ett stycke mark, det är väl. (Howl about the rise of export shares, howl about Oasis' "Live Forever", but oh my god, howl about a country, a piece of land, that's fine.) The mention does suggest the song is already recognizable to Swedish readers by the time Definitely Maybe is released.

Oasis at the Hultsfred festival is still being talked about 2nd of September (page 77):

Beatles anses vara en inte oviktig förebild för Oasis. Och det bekräftades i Hultsfred.

(The Beatles are considered a not unimportant role model for Oasis. And it was confirmed in Hultsfred.)

On page 75 the same day, an ad for the Gino show that night. But Oasis is now top billing (no Pavement).

Same issue, the show gets mentioned on earlier pages (page 20) in context of the band’s climb:

Oasis klättrar raskt och spelar dessutom i Stockholm i dag, fredag.

(Oasis is climbing fast and is also playing in Stockholm today, Friday.)

The rest of September, Oasis gets 8 mentions in the paper on pages 20-29.

Now without access to each article in full, I can’t be certain there is no mention of the bar brawl in all of this. But these excerpts do suggest that it’s a nonissue at least in this paper. Their festival show is well attended, people remember it, another show is set for a few weeks later and is advertised as the postfestival chatter ramps up the album release excitement. They return a second time for more buzz and the album hits the top 5 a few weeks later. But obviously that’s boring so bar brawl narrative it is.

[brian-in-finance]

Video 📹

Outlander Executive Producer Maril Davis Breaks Down Season 7 Mid-Season Finale & Teases a Big Controversial Moment Next Year

Seven years in, audiences can’t get enough of the love, pain, war, heartbreak, drama, trauma, time-travel that Outlander delivers. The mid-season finale of Outlander surprisingly left Jamie and Claire smiling and arriving in Scotland! Jamie and Claire, happy? What? Is this Outlander? Yes, it is. And in its seventh season, it’s stronger than ever. Executive Producer Maril Davis exclusively sat down with SheKnows to break down that exciting mid-season finale, talk about the second half of season 7 which will air sometime in 2024, and even gave a few hints about season 8, the final season of this epic show, which went from the thousands of pages of Diana Gabaldon’s book series to television screens across the world. Davis also reveals her favorite moments in season 7 for both Sam Heughan and Caitríona Balfe. She discusses her favorite Jamie and Claire scenes, explains why one of their signature love scenes from the book couldn’t make it in this season, but teases that there’s plenty of intimacy next year, but also “tragedy.” In Austin at the ATX Festival in June, Davis and Balfe revealed Balfe would be directing a full episode for the first time in season 8. And when will that be exactly? Davis lets us in on that tidbit, along with a few other bits about Jamie and Claire’s love scenes, and why she’s excited for next year. And finally, she hints that there is a controversial scene that fans will see in the second half of season 7, involving Claire and not Jamie. Uh oh. Brace yourselves. Watch the video for the full chat.

Davis sat down with us on the 9-year anniversary of when Outlander first aired on Starz. “It is kind of hard to believe it’s been 9 years, it feels like yesterday we just (kind of started),” she admits. There was no better day to break down the mid-season finale and talk about the future of Outlander, but also the end, than the anniversary of the long-running hit show.

Starz / Robert Wilson

First up, Davis broke down the memorable Claire Fraser sword scene and pretty much confirmed Balfe is actually a bonnie wee swordsman. “She wields that pretty well, huh? I’m like, ‘Have you done this before?’” Davis recalls, “somehow that sword disappeared, I wonder where it is now?” She shed a little light on what it was like shooting the legendary sword scene, revealing that in the book it’s “quite a long scene!” “Certainly, there were discussions early on, could we cut that scene down a little bit, but we all decided, you know what, it was so iconic, and it’s such a powerful Jamie-Claire scene. You know I love that dynamic between them, that she basically wants to kill him, because he was almost killed. That is the Jamie and Claire.” Simply put, “That is quintessential Jamie and Claire, quintessential Sam and Caitríona. And I think they always have fun doing those scenes too. You know the back and forth… I love it.”

Starz / Robert Wilson

Season 7 compiles parts of books 6, 7, and 8, so it’s a lot to take on. Does Davis feel sad as a book reader about any story they couldn’t fit in. “Honestly, there’s a Marsali-Fergus storyline that we didn’t use, because Lauren (Lyle) had her other other show (Karen Pirie), and César (Domboy) was busy, and we just kind of decided in previous seasons we weren’t using them as much as we could. Also, there’s a Denzell storyline with a character named Dottie that we didn’t fit in, that I wish we would have, but it was such a big season, and there was so much material to fit in… As a whole, I loved this season.”

Starz / Robert Wilson

Although Davis loved the first half of season 7, she says she’s most excited for the audience to see the second half, “because it gets even crazier.” With the SAG-AFTRA strike happening, none of the actors have been able to chat about the show and all their amazing work this season, so we asked Davis what her favorite scenes for Heughan and Balfe were. She confesses she loved when Heughan was sitting in the dark waiting to confront (ahem, murder) Richard Brown (who deserved it). In the mid-season finale, “Turning Points,” Davis says, “I loved when he sees William across the enemy lines and he almost shoots him… And that kind of look of realization on Jamie/Sam’s face, I think it’s so powerful. It’s such a great season for him. He’s done an amazing job.” Davis can’t help but list all the scenes she loved Heughan in thus far, but teases he’s got great things coming in part 2 of season 7.

Starz / Robert Wilson

As for Balfe, like Heughan, Davis can’t just name one scene she loved. So, she names many. “I really do love the scene with Claire and Jamie, third or fourth episode, I mean I love her stuff with Tom Christie, both on the ship but also at the tavern was so amazing. But also, I love their (Jamie and Claire’s) love scene after that. Oh god, she’s had so many great ones too! I do love the sword scene, too. I love how she rips into Jamie… and is kind of so angry, because she was so scared. Caitríona always does that so well.”

Starz / Robert Wilson

As for Jamie and Claire love scenes, Davis chats about one of the love scenes that didn’t make it in the show. For those wondering if it was a question of timing or if it was difficult to translate that book scene to the screen, Davis says, “It was a combo. We just didn’t have, kind of, the set up that was described in the book is not the one that we had found. Wasn’t anywhere to really do that. Story-wise, it just didn’t fit this time. It’s always hard – listen, we’re not going to ignore the fact that we know obviously fans would want that scene, and we would want to do it too, it’s just hard to fit it in.” Davis continues to explain how the story might work well in the book, but then having to compress scenes in the show, “Sometimes in the book, it works out better those times in the book during war, like when Jamie’s like, ‘I have to have you,’ and Claire’s like, ‘I have to have you,” and you’re in the middle of some battle sequence… quite honestly, the transition on the screen is not as easy. In terms of the writing of something like that, and for the actors also, their justification of it too as well.” Fair point, it would be a little strange for Jamie and Claire stop the war to have sex. Or would it be the most brilliant way of stopping a war. You decide. Make love not war as they say. Is that where that saying came from? From Jamie and Claire ending wars with sex in the past?

But fear not, Davis assures everyone that there are “a few iconic scenes coming up in the second half, that if you’re a book fan that you’ll know and love, there’s some tragedy, but there’s also some lights at the end of the tunnel, and perhaps iconic scenes that are coming for Jamie and Claire, that I think book fans are waiting for. They know what they are. Wink, wink.” And Davis actually winks. So, she means it. She continues, “So, they’re coming. And also, some things I think fans aren’t looking forward to but still were essential to the book to do. And we did them!” Book readers will know what Davis is hinting about. And if we can play detective… Balfe also hinted at something coming down the pike with Claire and two men. The first already happened with Tom Christie. And separately, David Berry hinted that things get complicated for Jamie, Claire and Lord John. So, we asked Davis how they might have handled it, and she confesses, “I think it’s hopefully satisfying for the people who love that, and for the people who don’t love that!” Her answer only leads us to more questions! “Lots of wink winks going on,” she evilly laughs.

With the actors’ and WGA strikes happening, preparations for Outlander season 8 understandably have had to pause, but Davis let us in on what had been planned already. Balfe and Davis had announced at the beginning of the season that Balfe would have her directorial debut. Davis says they know which episode she’s doing, “We do know, she’s going to be first up, she’s not doing the first episode, but she’s going to be first up. Because the only we can pull off her directing is if she preps the first block, and that’s not to say she’s doing on in the first block, because sometimes we mix blocks around, but it’s the only way she can prep.” Davis goes on to explain for Balfe, who’s in the show so much, as director she’ll need about 5 weeks to prep. Doing it first will give Balfe plenty of time to prep.

As for scripts being broken down, and if everyone had read book 9, Davis says that season 8 will primarily be book 9 with some other stuff throw in. “Season 7 combines a dash of 6 and 7 and 8.” So how far did they get before the strike? She says, “We were in the room, so certainly some of the season is broken, we don’t have the end yet though.” Terrific, maybe that means Outlander will never end. Wink, wink?

Since the Droughtlander has begun and is going to be another long one, what can Davis leave us with? At the beginning of the season, she gave us one of her signature “heard on set” lines. She says she will look for one later to tease the next block of season 7! But leaves us with this, “I honestly think the second half is crazier than the first… William, Jamie, Claire, John – John Bell! Young Ian, everyone is going to have a real rollercoaster in the second half, and face kind of their worse fears. And… some come out of it okay, and some do not.” What?! She laughs, “Take from that what you want.” What we’ll take from that is months of stress. Thank you, Maril Davis. Wink, wink, wink. All the winks to you.

As for the exclusive Maril #HeardonSet line, you’ll just have to wait until she comes across it on her phone. As Claire Fraser would say, we’ve got time. Okay, fine, she’d probably say it more British, “We’ve got bloody time.” It’s true, there’s plenty of time to re-watch the first 8 episodes of season 7. And to be honest, you can probably re-watch all of Outlander, read all of Diana Gabaldon’s books, and all of our recaps. Before you know it, the drought will be over, and hopefully the strikes will be too (with writers and artists being fairly compensated for their amazing work), and all of a sudden, you’ll turn on your TV, and there Jamie and Claire will be having all the fun in Scotland with no stress or bad things happening at all. Wink, wink.

She Knows

Remember… Caitríona’s prep for directing a Season 8 episode will begin five weeks before the season’s filming starts. As an actor, she’s required on set during filming, so regardless of which episode she directs, she’ll do her prep before any episode is filmed.

[hexjulia]

Historians calculated the staggering value of colonial profit for Willem III (also king of England, Ireland and Scotland), Willem IV and Willem V for a report published at the request of the Dutch parliament last week before a widely expected apology over slavery from the Dutch king.

The study, State and Slavery, is the first to quantify the financial value to the Dutch House of Orange-Nassau of colonial trade that included enslaving at least 600,000 African men, women and children and between 660,000 and 1 million people from Asia to be tortured, exploited and robbed of their freedom and their names. It is a legacy for which Willem-Alexander is expected to present a formal apology in Amsterdam’s Oosterpark on 1 July, the festival of Keti Koti (breaking the chains), 150 years after Dutch slavery in effect ended.

The €545m equivalent exceeded the money that the rulers, known as Stadhouders, took as heads of the state and military. Between 1675 and 1770, William III netted 1,094,998 guilders in his share of profits from the Dutch East India Company – the equivalent of €196m today.

[beevean]

I think I understood another key with which to read Shizune's route, in particular her bad ending:

Hisao cheats on Misha if he gets overwhelmed by Shizune's personality.

Shizune means well, as she genuinely enjoys making people happy, but she is a controlling, overbearing person. This is the core of her character. I pointed out how she is the only girl who, the Saturday before the festival, doesn't wait for Hisao to come to her, but instead she is the one physically dragging Hisao out of his room. This is what she does: she drags people into her life, and then takes control, because otherwise she's not quite sure of how to keep people nearby.

This is not a good thing. Misha shows why it's not a good thing. Shizune kept Misha nearby despite her heartache - of course because she liked her as a friend, not just out of selfish reasons, but her "comparmentalizing" mentality still caused the poor girl pain.

If you choose to "comfort" Misha, we get this line:

After all, I've only had sex once before, and I was restrained to a chair. This time, I'm in control, like I'd wished then.

When Shizune and Hisao had sex at her place, she seized complete control. She tied him to a chair, which is the equivalent of gagging him, and then rode him, without him being able to do anything. Hisao noted that she seemed to alternate between aggressiveness and naiveté, like a girl pretending to be a woman: most likely, she also saw this act as a challenge to win. The thing is that Hisao didn't sound fully on board:

NARRATOR: "I wonder exactly when it was that I started being attracted to her. Not just attracted to her physically, but drawn to her. And, I wonder why. She's pretty, but then, also very combative. Not just that, but she seems to like being that way. The way she's acting now, however, and at other times, doesn't really fit that image. I'm starting to think that maybe her tying my hands might have been for more reasons than just the most obvious." NARRATOR: "Still, that aggressiveness that she flashes around as comfortably as a business card is real. I don't know whether or not that kind of attitude could be considered dangerous. If it is, I wonder what kind of person that makes me. It was probably the first week I was here. A week doesn't sound so long when I think about it, but at the time it did. Even though I pretty much thought my days were numbered that week, it still seemed to go by so slowly. Even if she can't hear me, it puts me at ease. I started to realize that I didn't have that much to complain about. But there's still... Well, never mind."

Hisao's sentiment is pretty much "it's nice, but". The last line might refer to his hesitation at having been put in this position of submission, which he decides to brush off, but still lingers.

He wanted control. He wanted at the very least a higher degree of freedom. The freedom Shizune didn't afford him, because Shizune has seized control of his life, and the only time Hisao is even allowed to make a choice, it's when she's nowhere to be seen.

And he can choose to break free from Shizune's control in the worst way possible, getting closer to the less overbearing Misha. Remember: the route falsely implies that Misha is crushing on Hisao, before the big reveal that she's actually interested in Shizune.

At this point, whether Hisao slept with Misha or not, Shizune realizes that she's been a bad friend and girlfriend for yanking people around, and she comes out with the grand plan of asking Hisao to cheer Misha up for her.

The branching point between good and bad ending is that in the latter, not only Misha never recovers, but Lilly shows up again.

This scene is mostly remembered for being a huge continuity error: what is she doing here, isn't she supposed to be in Scotland? That's true. But aside from this, it's interesting that Lilly has one last conversation with Hisao the moment his relationship with Shizune has started to irreversibly spiral.

This scene only exists for Lilly to voice Hisao's, and maybe the player's, thoughts about Shizune:

LILLY: "I wish you hadn't been so quick to join. I don't like the way Shizune runs the Student Council. Did you know that she scared off most of the old members? That is why I think she tries to surround herself with people who won't oppose her. And they don't. It's like a dependency bubble."

LILLY: "Is that so? Either way, there is no point in attempting to force them to make up. Always try to confront everything head-on is what Shizune would do, but it doesn't work in the real world. At some point, it's just being stubborn, not bravery or good intentions."

LILLY: "When I joined the Student Council, I thought it would just mean helping everything run smoothly and helping people out, like being the class representative. Instead, every day consisted of having Shizune stomp around, using Misha like a megaphone, to talk about how we had to outdo the last Student Council, and create more and more events, and make them increasingly larger."

HISAO: "Yeah, sure. The point is, I think I understand what it's all about now. You're really giving Shizune too much of a hard time." LILLY: "That might be true, but when it comes to how she treats individual people, she doesn't do very well." NARRATOR: "Unfortunately, that one is a little harder to argue."

It's all about Shizune's flaws. It's all about her abrasive personality, her stubborness. Lilly accuses her of wrapping herself in a dependancy bubble, of using Misha like a megaphone, and by the end, not even Hisao can defend her. He might understand Shizune's vision for the Student Council, but he has grown tired of everything Lilly has pointed out - after all, it's why he went behind her back, right?

And to an extent, he's right, because when things come to a breaking point, Shizune once again falls into her old selfishness: it's her who decides that she wants to be away from other people, because she has decided thar she's a terrible person who poisons every relationship of hers. Of course, Hisao really has no fucking right to call her selfish anymore, after what he did... but he does have a point. It's just sad under multiple angles.

Of course, you can also choose to see his decision to "comfort" Misha in another way: him succumbing to passivity once again.

"As much as I pretend to protest, I've allowed things to come to this point. Even though I knew so far ahead of when she actually came out with it that this was what she was getting at. At the very least, I was okay with this outcome. If I needed any more proof, it's simple: I still haven't turned her away. I could have at any point, and it was wrong of me not to do it sooner, but now, not doing so is something beyond simple carelessness."

Hisao goes along with having sex with Misha because welp, might as well at this point! She wants this, so sure, why not.

So in summary, Hisao pushing Misha away in the good ending might be seen as 1) him taking a decision without Shizune's influence at all, 2) him respecting both Misha and Shizune enough to do the right thing, without any resentment or lingering crush getting in the way.

Sadly I wish I had more to say about Shizune's good ending, because I like her route, but that ending has little to do with her as a character and it's more about the theme of graduating and moving on. It is to note, of course, that if you do get the good ending, Hisao is rewarded with another sex scene with Shizune, and this time he's able to gain the control he wanted, the two being finally equals. And at least Shizune is able to recognize her flaws without pushing her friends away, because she had proof that they care about her and she has a positive impact on them.

Shizune's route is fun to analyze. It doesn't have the major feels, and most of the complaints against it make sense, but reading between the lines was the intent and personally I have a lot of fun with it. It helps that Shizune is a very well written character, reasonably flawed but still compelling. Kind of a shame that the bad ending is better written than the good ending, though.