#I don't want to lose my ability to read physical books

[wanderingmind867]

I'm planning to finally try reading at home again, because I know there's not much left in my book. There's like 100 pages in the Lost Hero left, so i want to finish it. I'm just getting to the scenes at Jack London's (an awful eugenics supporter) wolf house. So there's not much left, and I want/need to try and finish it. Because i feel like it shouldn't take me two months to finish one book! It's making me feel like I don't do enough, so i'm trying to pressure myself into reading it at home today. sigh...

I can't even guarantee i'll successfully read at home. But if I don't manage to read at home, i'll feel intense self hatred. Because it indicates that school is the only place where i can successfully read physical books, and that makes me feel very, very scared for leaving high school this year. Because sure, i'll still be able to read online articles and comics and potentially fanfiction. But i won't be able to read my physical books! That's a big deal to me! So I have to try and read soon, and I have to pray I can at least finish one stupid page before my attention span leaves me!

[thesirencult]

PAC: HOW YOU'LL GET 💵 WEALTHY

PILE 1 🤎

The Hermit

My Pile 1 💕 welcome to your reading.

The path to wealth for you starts first and foremost through a much needed spiritual seclusion.

You will realize that money = energy through this path of learning how to listen to your inner voice.

You need to tune out other people, only for now. Others do not understand your ideas and can not help you.

After you come out of this period of self searching you will make a great mentor out of yourself and a guiding light. That means that the transformation you went through blessed you with wisdom to guide others, either to make money, lose weight, awaken, search for spiritual truth etc.

A simple 9 to 5 won't get you there.

Possible career paths, skills and talents you can leverage and ideas : any work that helps people transform, self development/coaching industry, therapist, spiritual worker, book writing, ability to listen to others, empathy

PILE 2 🤎

5 Of Wands

Dear Pile 2 ❤️,

Contrary to Pile 1 your path to wealth includes "climbing the ladder".

You are well equipped to start from the bottom of an organization and reach partner/C-Suite status.

You will probably get a prestigious degree as I can tell you are an overachiever. This reminds me of Suits. You will fight through and compete.

You have great arguing abilities (law?) and have the stamina to get to the top.

Now, apart from the above, the 5 Of Wands can show physicality. This is a sign for me that some of you need to watch your health and not run yourself down from all the work you do.

PILE 3 🤎

Knight Of Cups

You are passionate and romantic. Your soul is artistic and you want to create beauty in this world.

This is a singer and songwriter, a chef that creates beautiful dishes that drive people crazy. An amateur photographer who takes photos of hotels in beautiful destinations like a professional. Someone who wants to build a clothing brand.

You are multitalented and an eternal child. Stick to your arts and crafts and harness your beautiful energy and creator abilities and you'll be unstoppable.

P.S. Take the opportunities that come your way, it's never too early to meet with success, contrary to what others tell you. You'll never be fully prepared or ready. You may be a Projector.

PILE 4 🤎

9 Of Wands

Sweet Pile 4 🧁,

You have so many great ideas and the perfect foundation to make 💰. Your mindset is already more than halfway there and you have great abilities.

You need to work on romanticising struggle. It doesn't have to be as hard as you make it. Don't take the stairs if there is an escalator. You don't have to prove anything to anyone.

If right now things are slow, remember how far you've come. Even if it is not visible in the physical, the past few years you've accumulated a wealth of knowledge and are ready to take the next step.

Trust in yourself and the Universe. Preserve, defend your position and work both hard and smart.

A few months ago I stumbled across a video with a woman who was a business coach. She asked successful people "How did you make it?" and their answer was "I never stopped."

Never. Ever. Stop.

Source : The Siren Cult

[the-kr8tor]

Reporting for duty Captain!

A tasm Peter Parker request for a shy reader who likes Peter but backs out when she wants to talk to him or- OR, (more like and) a reader with w rizz who's known Peter since forever and ever. Who has the same interest in photography as he does?? Works in a photo store??

Cook chef!

*gasp* a peter parker request?! Got you, my love 🫡 happy to oblige.

Pairing: TASM! Peter Parker x fem! Reader/ TASM! Spider-Man x fem! Reader

Tags: use of Y/N sparsely, no specific physical description of the reader, CW food mentions, Love struck Peter, Fluff.

ʕ⁠·⁠ᴥ⁠·⁠ʔ

Peter doesn't need to ask around campus for you, he already knows where you are, a perk of knowing you since grade school. He evens his breathing when he finally reaches the worn out doors.

The bells jingle as he enters the old store, yellowed wallpaper greeting him and drab shelves lined with rolls of films, the vintage cameras make up for the boringness of the gray shelves. Ancient posters of movies lined the walls, a time capsule of the early eighties. It's silent inside, no other customer than him.

His sneakers squeak on the linoleum as he walks towards the cashier, expecting to see your smile, your hands occupied with whatever book you're currently (hating) reading. He finds it empty.

Peter's spidey senses don't tingle so he can relax knowing that you're in the back of the store. He jumps over the counter effortlessly thanks to his abilities. Knocking on the door, he hears the muffled sound of your speaker.

“Y/N?”

“In here, Pete—! Wait!!” With a creak, Peter opens the door without skipping a beat. The light from the store filters through the dark room, white covering and filtering out all the red. “No! Close it quick!”

“Oh shit!” He shuts it quickly behind him, too fast and harder than he thought, the wood almost cracks at the sheer force. Wincing, you both mirror each other's expression.

“Pete…” you sigh, closing the distance to check the door, you can't afford to lose a chunk of your paycheck for repairs. But you don't blame him, it's hard to stay mad at Peter especially when he's looking so apologetic at you, almost like a kicked puppy. “You got too excited to see me huh?”

He shuts his eyes with a smile, head falling down, chin atop his chest. He looks exasperated but he did it to hide the blush on his cheeks, hoping that if you manage to glimpse it you'd think it's from the red light.

This won't do, you thought. You missed him too much today just for him to hide his face from you. To remedy the feeling, you grasp his cheek, thumb gently placed right under his eye.

“There you are webhead,” your voice is saccharine, the ruby light bouncing off your face, illuminating your features perfectly. Peter thought he'd melt right on the spot. “Missed me?” In truth, you're the one who misses him most.

He wants to say yes without a second thought but knowing you, you're already aware of his answer. Even though you refuse to acknowledge it. Under all the teasing exterior there's shyness underneath it all, with just one flirty comment thrown your way you'd probably collapse.

Peter finally meets your smiling eyes and for a moment you're the only thing that matters.

With classes and spiderman responsibilities, hanging out with you has been scarce, he needed a fix right away, that's why he came sprinting towards the store immediately after a three hour class and after swinging across town to your favorite deli with his wind swept hair and shirt that definitely needs ironing.

“Not really.” A lie, an awful lie on his part.

“Aww,” you dramatically clutch at your chest, hand leaving his skin to his dismay. “Hear that? You just broke my heart, Parker.”

“D’you even have one?”

“Hey!” You playfully punch his shoulder. “You're the one who ruined my pictures.”

His eyes flick towards the clothesline filled with pictures that just screams ‘you.’ “I can see from here that they're not ruined.”

You click your tongue, hands on your hips, you walk back towards the table. “What are you doing here then, webhead?” Lowering the volume of your speaker, you decide to shut it off when his voice is a much better alternative.

“I feel like I should be offended by that.” Peter stands beside you, hip to hip, arm brushing along yours.

Placing his hand on the small of your back casually, he loops his thumb around your belt loop, pressing softly on your skin. He's done this a hundred times during your friendship but it never fails to wake up the butterflies in your stomach.

“I've called you that numerous times.” Holding the tongs, you carefully place the developed photo in the chemical mixture in the basin, eyes watching the picture pop up slowly.

“Stop being mean, I've come bearing gifts from the deli you like.” His voice is quiet, soft just for you.

“The one that's on the upper west side? Peter, that's really far away.”

“I don't mind, that's what web swinging is for right?”

You scrunch up your nose, Peter has the best seat in the house while he admires your expression.

“And here I thought it was for fighting crime.” You chuckle, pushing the paper further down in the basin. His deep chuckle stops abruptly at the sight in front of him.

Peter's own smiling face greets him and your charisma cracks.

“Oh” you manage to let out with your dry mouth.

You can hear him shudder a breath next to you. The picture is framed perfectly, his face centered in the middle amongst the crowd, zoomed in more like. You clearly avoided having other people in the frame, your main subject was him and him alone.

“...Good picture.” He slaps himself mentally.

“Yep, one of my best, I think.” You say quietly, too quietly. Clearing your throat, you avoid his eyes, “why don't you ready the food? Outside, please?”

Peter shakes himself awake. His skin feels like lava, there's a bead of sweat rolling down his temple. Hands clammy, he nods wordlessly. He awkwardly pats your back before leaving your side.

Walking towards the exit, your back turned towards him, shoulders slouched and tensed. He turns towards you before exiting, “looks like you missed me more, sweetheart.” He's called you that millions of times, all filled with more affection than the last but this one, oh this one he added with so much love that it could stop your heart.

And you think it has.

Peter hears you squeak, a sound he hasn't heard you make since high school when he asked you to dance during the winter formal.

You whirl around, catching sight of his Parker smile, charm oozing out of him that's already gone before you could admire him in the crimson light.

He leaves, shutting the door quickly. Laying his sweaty forehead on the door, he tightly closes his eyes again, feeling like a lightning just struck him and adrenaline coursing through his veins, needing to swing off the extra energy.

Blowing hot air, he takes his clammy hands off the doorknob to take out the food he bought, grinning through it like a mad man.

Meanwhile, you clutch the table with a grip, heart threatening to jump out of your chest, heat in your cheeks as the photo of Peter smiles at you.

Laughing to yourself, you take out his picture to clip it on the clothesline next to the other pictures. You have no idea what to say to him once you leave the room, or do you just stay in the dark room forever? Either way, you're absolutely fucked.

[lokisprettygirl]

Rain to his Fire (Modern! Daemon Targaryen x Female Reader) (Non Canon 80s Au) (18+)

Read Chapter 11 here // Series Masterlist

Chapter 12

Summary: In search of the truth about Daemon's life you find yourself in trouble.

Warning: 18+, kidnapping, assault, smut, crude language, kidn description of Statutory rape, discussion of mental health (it's a fic based in a mental health facility), mention of child molestation, mention of physical assault, the fic would contain several mentions of several disorders like mpd, did etc, if something triggers you don't read, smoking

As you awakened in a dark and unfamiliar setting, a sense of unease and dread overcame you as the only light in the dingy, filthy space was the flickering torch in the distance, the smell of dirt, oil and rot engulfed you. Your head felt heavy as if it were being weighed down by a heavy rock, making it difficult to focus and fully comprehend your surroundings. Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through your arm, and you realized that a needle had been driven into it. The next time you opened your eyes, you were still in the same spot, but you felt even worse this time.

“You have a fight in you.. I like that” you heard his voice so you looked ahead of you. Suddenly everything came rushing back.

As you had came out of Daemon's room last evening you were startled to see Caroline standing on her doorway, half naked, there was a deep red mark on her upper thighs in the shape of an angel’s wings but in the dark of the night and dim lighting you were unable to discern whether it was a tattoo or a birthmark.

You had just hoped that she wouldn't snitch on you and Daemon. You knew Breaking and entering Viserys's office was probably a bad idea but it seemed like a good plan to you at the time, you just wanted to help Daemon and you got caught certainly but last evening you had found more than just that book in his office.

“And you have none..you're such a coward that you won't even accept the truth” you spat at him angrily but he only snickered sinisterly in response.

“Truth? You think you know the truth about who he is? Do you think fucking him is going to fix him? He can't be fixed you see, I have tried. God knows I have I tried to fix him but the monster that lives inside him would come out sooner or later and once it does it would burn down this world that we know of and i can't let that happen..it's my responsibility to put a stop to this”

*********

Daemon was losing his mind, when Criston had relayed the news of your disappearance on him, he immediately felt nauseous and didn't know what to make of it, a part of him didn't want to believe it, he didn't want to think of you finding yourself in harm's way

He remembered your foolish plan to sneak into Viserys's office and he thought he had shut down the notion of you wanting to execute this plan or be any part of it but what if you had done just that and Viserys had caught you in the act?

What has he done to you after that?

A part of him knew you were somewhere in the building itself, it was as if he could sense you still and feel you around him, he knew he'd have to find you before it was too late. Later that afternoon he sat down on his bed and thought about you, the thought of you being in imminent danger was what helped him transform into his natural form, he was marveled by his ability to transform with such ease. All he had to do was think of you, he was starting to realise that the only reason he found his way to king's landing was not just due to his brother's supposed conspiracy but just so that he'd find you.

The sweet, serene peace to the raging maddening chaos inside of him, the calming, gentle rain to the fire that was consuming him every second of his life.

Since your room was sealed for the investigation he carefully stepped out of his window and climbed up until he had reached yours, the window was shut from inside and he had no choice but to break it. As he stepped inside the scent of you immediately engulfed him completely, his eyes welled up as it was in the moment that he felt the worst pain ever known to him, just the thought of never being able to see you or kiss you again was devastating.

As Daemon searched your room for any clues as to your whereabouts, he came up empty-handed. The cops must have already searched the place, but he was still holding out hope that he might find something, anything that would lead him to you. Just as he was about to fly out, a sudden realization dawned on him. He remembered the note that you had told him about, the one that Tanya had left under the mattress that nobody had looked for until you found it.

Quickly, he turned back around and flipped your mattress off the bed. To his relief, he found a piece of paper.

“Hey, Dragonbabe,

I'm leaving this for you here (Just in case) and hopefully you'd be the only one to look for it (in case I'm not there, though I'm sure I'd be the one tearing it apart as soon as I have returned with that book). I know you asked me to not do it, but I really think I can get it for you and I'm pretty sure that's where I'll find it. I have already found the duplicate keys and it would probably just take a minute.

All of my life I have been pretty selfish about my own needs, it's always been about what I wanted and desired, and I never really had this urge to do something for someone else but I really want to do this for you and I just want you to find the truth about yourself. If you're reading this it means I didn't make it back to my bedroom from his office and it sounds silly I know, it's not a horror movie, nothing is going to happen but you know. Just in case, you don't see me the next morning, you know where to begin looking for me.

Love, y/n”

Tears rolled down his cheeks as he finished reading the note, he could almost imagine hearing your voice as he read it.

“You daft precious girl” he sat down on the bed and placed his head between his palms as the gravity of the situation had finally settled in and he knew Viserys had something to do with your disappearance.

He could sense it, your presence in this building, that feeling was so strong but his senses could only help so much, he knew he couldn't rely on the coppers to do their job, he was going to find you before they could.

Later that evening he was called in for questioning that was being held in Dr. Lisa's office. Cole and Otto were waiting for him as he was escorted in by the guards and as soon as he entered both of them eyed him suspiciously.

“Why Is it that wherever you go people end up dying and disappearing?” Otto questioned him, making Daemon scoff in response.

“Did you find something? Where is she?” he answered the question with the question, Cole responded this time.

“That's none of your concern. So yesterday evening someone had seen y/n stepping out of your room. Her assigned time slot is 9 am in the morning, what was she doing there after her shift had ended?” Cole asked him and Daemon was surprised to say the least.

“If you're trying to pin this on me let me tell you something. There's nothing I want more than to find y/n” his voice raised due to the frustration that he was feeling so Otto glared at him.

“And why is that?” Otto asked, his eyebrows raised in suspicion.

“What do you mean, 'why is that?'" Daemon replied, his voice dropping low. “I've known y/n for months now, she's –” He paused as he caught sight of Cole's eerie misplaced smirk, that's when he realized that your friend Cole wasn't nearly as concerned about your disappearance as he should be.

“What are you doing to find her? She's your old friend, is she not?” Daemon turned his attention towards Cole, driving Otto’s attention to him as well.

“She's your friend? When were you going to tell me?” Otto cleared his throat as he questioned Cole.

Suddenly the young man was filled with nervousness and Daemon could tell Cole wasn't really the nice guy he was pretending to be..

“Not friends per say, last time we came here for Tanya's inquiry she told me that we were in 5th grade together or something like that. Pretty amusing that she remembered that. After much thinking i realized that she was that eccentric girl in class nobody spoke to”

Daemon's jaw clenched as Cole spoke so callously about you, he just couldn't decide whether it was the rejection you gave him which was making him spew this nonsense or something else.

After his questioning was done, Daemon was led to a different room, rather than 393. This room had no windows, and Viserys had given explicit instructions for a guard to be stationed outside his door to prevent him from leaving. Daemon couldn't sleep, knowing that you were trapped somewhere you couldn't get out of was gnawing at him, he knew he was losing time but as he laid down on the bed, his eyes drifted into a momentary dream state.

“Kiss me” you mumbled softly as you looked at him, he had you on his bed underneath him, a slip dress perfectly cladding every curve of your body and he was absolutely enchanted by the sight. He leaned down and cupped your cheeks to kiss you, your arms wrapped around his neck, his moans slipping into your mouth.

“Where did you go? I never thought I'd see you again” his eyes teared up as he spoke but there was a faint smile on your face as you rubbed your fingers over his cheeks to caress and comfort him..

“I'm right here sweet boy, you see me, you see me even when you don't” You spoke gently, but your voice sounded so distant to him. He snaked his arm around your waist and sat up on his knees taking you along with him, your legs curled around his waist, a gasp escaped him as he felt your hips grinding against his bulge.

“You're not scared of me?” He asked as you caressed his cheek, your fingers tracing the scales that ran from the sides of his cheeks and covered the rest of his naked body.

“Scared? Why would I be scared of you?” you let out a small giggle as if the notion of you feeling afraid of him was nothing but comical. He didn't understand that, why wouldn't you hate him when he looked like that?

“I'm a monster, look at me” he mumbled, his voice full of somberness so you gave him a haunting smile.

“I am looking at you and all I see is beauty and perfection”

His lips latched onto your neck as you praised him, fingers worked with the straps of your dress as he lowered them down to reveal your naked bosom, he buried his face between the warmth of your soft flesh but as he looked up instead of a pleased expression he found you looking scared and in pain instead.

“Daemon” you cried out his name, voice filled with fear “Help me.. please.. I'm here, I'm right here”

*******

As you regained consciousness again, you instinctively moved to check your arms and found that they were free of their binding somehow. Your body felt weak, but you knew you had to get out of there before he'd kill you how he possibly killed Tanya. Upon seeing the door just a few feet away, you ran towards it, twisting the knob with all the strength you could muster and it was open.

However as you stepped out, you found yourself standing in Viserys' office so you looked behind again and realized that there was a hidden chamber of sorts built in his office, hidden behind the huge creepy painting of the clowns. The chamber was completely obscured because the painting made the door seem as if it was part of the wall itself. “Sneaky bastard”

You muttered under your breath as you quickly rushed out of his office but you had barely gotten a foot away when you collided into someone. Much to your relief it was Cole.

“Oh god please help me” you pleaded with him, his eyes widened as he looked at your shaken form.

“Y/n.. where have you been? We have been looking all over for you..i was so scared that something awful had happened to you” you lost your balance so he grabbed you by the arms and you were grateful for it but your relief was short lived as he began to walk you back into Viserys's office.

“No not in there please.. he's the one who's doing this, he's the one who killed Tanya as well ..I swear to god we need to leave” you begged with him so he cupped your cheeks and made you look at him.

“Shhhh calm down y/n…i have a gun alright? He won't hurt us, you need to sit down my dear” he wrapped his hands around your shoulders and dragged you back to his office while you continued to protest.

“Please try to understand..he's going to come back anytime” you said to him but it was as if he wasn't even listening to your pleas. He made you sit down on the chair in his office but you couldn't stop crying in fear that Viserys would return.

And then you heard the footsteps so you clutched onto his arms as you cowered behind Cole. It was Viserys, he entered his office and stared at you both menacingly.

“Don't worry, y/n.. I'm right here okay?” Cole comforted you so you nodded but then he let go of your hands and walked towards Viserys with his gun pointed at him.

“Lock the door” Cole said to Viserys so Viserys immediately followed his command. “You bloody fool, she almost escaped” Cole said to him before he turned around and smiled as he looked at you but the smile only brought you to your knees as you felt doomed now.

It wasn't that Cole was someone important to you, you didn't even know him that well but the betrayal still hurt. The man who was supposed to protect you had no qualms about harming you, and for what? You didn't really understand his motives here.

“Y/n.. darling turn around and walk back into that hole where you came from” Cole said to you as he approached you but you shook your head so he cocked the gun to your head, the muzzle pressing into your skull and as brave as you wanted to be in that moment, dying such a death wasn't something you wished to happen to you.

Due to Cole's involvement in the matter you knew if you were dead nobody will ever be able to figure out what has happened to you, your body would be found in the woods someday. You'd be forgotten, just like Tanya was and nobody would find out what had gone down with you.

So instead of arguing with him you turned around with his gun still pinching the back of your head as you let out a soft whisper, wishing that somehow Daemon would be able to hear you.

“Daemon.. help me ..please..I'm here..im right here”

Cole shoved you back into the hidden dark compartment in Viserys's office and tied your hands with handcuffs this time around. You struggled a bit as he pulled out a syringe to pump you with drugs again but it was futile.

“You know if you had just gone out with me, I'd have protected you. I was nice and respectful to you, asked you out like a lady and what did I get in return?” Cole's words triggered the anger that had been building within you, and your voice wavered as the intensity of your feelings became more apparent.

“I'd rather die than let you touch me,” you said to him and that seemed to only incite him even more. He smiled for a moment before he leaned down to your level and slapped you, he then grabbed your hair in his fist and pulled harshly. The pain was almost too much, but you refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing you cry. Instead, you stared at him, your eyes full of fury..

“Keep talking bitch, you're never getting out of here and I'm definitely going to fuck that cunt once everyone has forgotten all about your worthless arse”

Fear crept in every cell of your body as he threatened you with rape, this was a nightmare and you didn't know if you'd ever wake up again, nobody would go out of their way to look for you, except him, the only man who would find you now was Daemon.

As Cole turned around to leave you cleared your throat,

“You know what? In middle school kids didn't avoid you because you collected rocks, they avoided you because even as a child you were a nasty little weasel”

He charged towards you but then he heard a loud thudding sound coming from the office so he ran out of the chamber and left you behind in the dark space.

********

As Daemon opened the door of the room he was being kept in, the guard tried to stop him but Daemon immediately had him by the throat, he choked the guard until he was unconscious, albeit still alive, he didn't want to kill someone for doing their job.

When Daemon stood in the corridor, his mind drifted to you, and the thought of your scared little face being locked away somewhere filled him with a sense of urgency. He closed his eyes and felt a sharp, searing pain in his back, and his wings slowly unfurled, pain shooting through his body as the scales began to form. His fingers remained clasped tightly to the ledge as he transformed into his full glory.

The sound of whimpering broke through the quiet, and Daemon turned his head to see the guard still staring at him, wide-eyed and fear-stricken. The guard's hand reached for the stun gun so Daemon shook his head condescendingly.

“I wouldn't do that if I was you” he warned the guard, his red, glowing eyes narrowing. The guard stopped in his tracks and slowly took his hand away from the stun gun, his eyes still locked on the mystery unfolding in front of him. After what this poor sap had to witness, Daemon was assured he'd need to admit himself to this very place.

As he reached Viserys's office he stormed inside and he could smell your scent but you weren't in there ofcourse, nor was Viserys but the presence of your scent was so strong, it was as if you had been here not that long ago.

He sniffed deeply to follow the trail and it seemed to have faded around the creepy painting Viserys had hung behind his desk, but something didn't seem right. Something –

In a flick of his wrist he had the painting slashed into half and he saw the door leading into the dark, dimly lit chamber. The opening was narrow so he coiled his wings to fit through.

As he went deeper he immediately found you collapsed on the ground..

“Y/n--” Daemon whispered as he checked your pulse , relief flooding through him as he felt your heart still beating in your chest. He broke the cuffs from your wrists, it didn't really require much force from the man of his caliber, then lifted you into his arms, carrying you like royalty, and walked back into his office to lay you down on the desk.

“Y/n ..darling wake up” he called out to you but then heard footsteps approaching the room and knew he had to act quickly. Without hesitation, he broke the window by using his wings, picked you up bridal style, and flew to the roof of the building with you in his arms.

A part of him wanted to destroy Viserys for what he had done to you but his main concern was your safety at this point. He was worried about you, you were alive but he didn't know what he had done to you, he just wanted you wake up and look at him once,

As he put you down on your feet, one of his hands wrapped around the back of your neck for support while he held you by the waist with the other.

“Y/n darling wake up please..I'm begging you” he whispered again, his voice gentle but filled with urgency, he kissed your cheek and it might have been his utter desperation to have you look at him but your eyes soon fluttered open, slowly at first but then as you looked at him properly they widened in shock and a sense of bewilderment.

“Daemon??’ you muttered his name him so he nodded.

He truly was who he said he was all along, you had believed his words but watching him like this was nothing short of a miracle for you, a part of you still couldn't wrap your head around it. How was this even possible, physically, scientifically, molecularly?

You brought your fingers up and caressed the scales on his face, the wind blew his hair all over, he looked magnificent and you were in awe of the sheer glory of the man standing in front of you, perhaps the sight would have scared you if it was a stranger but it was Daemon, your Daemon , he had looked for you, he had come for you..

“Godddd..you are…you are” you stuttered on your words and his eyes teared up with the overwhelming emotions he was feeling at the moment “You are beautiful..oh god you are beautiful” you gave him a small smile as you whispered softly. He then bundled his wings and wrapped it around your body, cocooning you in his safety and warmth.

“Daemon..it's Viserys and Cole-” you tried to warn him but he placed his thumb on your lips, he wasn't surprised that Cole was involved in this.

“I know..I am going to take you away okay?” he assured you but you shook your head in response.

“No, we need the book.. and there's something in his desk I saw it, we need that too” you argued with him but he wasn't having any of it at the moment. He had the worst possible day of his life today and all he needed in that moment was to protect you and keep you away from these men that wanted to harm you.

“Shhh I'll come back for it sweetheart..i promise yeah?” he mumbled softly but your eyes welled up.

“No they'd hurt you, you can never come back here”

“I know..shhh they are coming, hold onto me tightly alright my love?”

You nodded as he whispered in your ear before he pecked on your lips tenderly.

He then picked you up in his arms, you placed your head between the crook of his neck as if to hide from the eyes of Viserys and Cole, his wings stretched out again ready to take off.

Viserys then came running along with Cole who was terrified to say the least, the sight of Daemon’s inhumane animalistic form made him recoil and he ran back out the way he had stormed in. Daemon's eyes met with his older brother for a brief moment, all he felt in that moment was betrayal and confusion. He knew Viserys always thought of him as deeply disturbed but knowing that he was the reason why Daemon never could figure out himself was heartbreaking, his own brother was out to get him since he was a child and the thought shattered him.

Without a word from either side Daemon flew you away from the treacherous atmosphere of King's landing.

You must have passed out again amidst it because you didn't remember the journey, the next time you woke up, you were lying on a soft comfy bed, there was a comfortable warmth and orange hue in the room attributed by the fireplace in front of you, as you sat up you noticed you had a shirt on your body that probably belonged to him. The sound of the rain pattering outside was soothing.

As you looked to the right side you spotted Daemon sitting on the chair in front of the desk, he was reading with his back to you.

“Daemon?” You called out his name so he immediately turned around and got up from the chair to reach closer to you

“Hey” he mumbled softly as he climbed the bed and cupped your cheeks “You gave me a scare, don't ever do that and don't ever try to help me again” he mumbled softly but his voice was equally stern so you got up on your knees and wrapped your arms around his neck to kiss him. Perhaps it was the terrifying situation you had been in just a few hours ago but all you needed in this moment was him, you just wanted to wrap yourself around him and feel safe in his warm strong arms.

As the kiss heated up he laid you down slowly on the bed, his lips never left yours, he grabbed your chin between his fingers and used his thumb to pry open your jaw before his tongue slipped inside, a ragged moan spilled into your mouth.

“Where are we?” You whispered softly so he pulled away to look at you.

“A cabin outside the city, it's mine” you looked around as he said that.

“What if they find us here?”

“He doesn't know about it” you nodded as he said that. His long wet hair, smelled like rain so you scratched his scalp with your fingers.

“And how did I get in your shirt?” you smiled mischievously, making him smile too in response.

“I had my eyes closed i promise”

“I believe you” you said as you rubbed his lips so he kissed the pad of your thumb. The smile on his face faded as he thought about the hours you had spent in the captivity.

“What did they do to you? I want to know everything”

“Mmm why? So you could go back and hurt them?”

“Yes. Exactly” you sighed as he said that. He had hurt those guards for making a joke about you so you could only imagine what he wanted to do to Viserys and Cole, especially the latter, he didn't like that man even before he had put his hand on you.

“Well Viserys found me snooping in his office that night, i found the book but i found something else too” you said to him, making his brows crinkle in intrigue.

“What did you find?” you gulped as he asked you, not knowing how to phrase your words.

“Pictures of you, as a baby”

“There are no such pictures of me darling” he chuckled but then he realised he had been a fool all his life, trusting Viserys's words as truth even though he could always tell that his brother was never an honest man.

“I saw them, you in your crib as a baby and pictures of you with your mother and father as they held you, they looked so happy”

His eyes teared up as you said that so he sat up on his knees to process your words, he had never known his parents or what they were like. All he knew was the fact that his father had left them when Daemon was born and his mother passed away when he was barely 4.

Grabbing his forearms you gently ran your fingers over his skin to comfort him,

“What did..what did I look like?” he asked you so you scooted closer to him.

“Adorable, you were adorable.. but different”

“Different?” He asked like a child, the look of wonderment on his face was tugging at your heart, so you held his cheeks to kiss his forehead.

“You had scales on your body and red eyes, tiny angel wings on your back” his eyes flickered as you said that, you could see the wheels turning in his head, he was born this way, it wasn't something he had become, he was meant to be this and his parents knew, they looked happy in those pictures so they knew, they loved him and accepted him as who he was..

“He lied about everything, he never wanted me to find out..did he?” he spoke so you nodded in response.

“That book has everything you need to know about yourself daemon, it's not just some lore written by a mythology writer, it's history about you, your family, your ancestors” he placed his forehead down on yours as you said that, his mind refusing to come with terms with the revelation.

“What if I won't enjoy whatever I'm going to find in that book?” he asked you so you sighed.

“Then we can forget about it and pretend as if nothing had happened..but you need to go back and find out the truth. Viserys is hurting people, he's hurting women, nobody is safe there, we need to figure out why he's doing that and Caroline is still there” his eyes widened as you said that.

“Caroline..oh god..i left her there, I'm fucking awful as a friend”

“I'm sure they're not going to hurt her after the ruckus today but yeah you should get her somewhere safe soon especially if Viserys is already onto her” you said softly so he gave you a smile and cupped your cheeks to kiss you.

“You must be starving darling”

“Now that you have said it..yess”

“Well let me cook for you then” you smiled as he said that. When you had met him the first he just seemed angry and delusional, but now the truth about him had changed the world as how you knew of it. You wondered how plenty of the other myths in the universe might not just be myths afterall.

“Alright” you said to him so he smiled but then his expressions turned serious again.

“Hey?” you hummed as he made you look at him.

“Tell me ..did my brother or that motherfucker Cole hurt you? I see the mark on your cheek”

“Well I was threatened but luckily you found me before anything else could happen so that is all that happened..Okay calm down?” you whispered, sensually, almost seductively as you kissed his clenched jaw, he couldn't help but smile at the gesture.

“Okay, now you stay here like a good girl and I'll fix something for you, I bought groceries while you were taking your nap”

“You're so cute” he rolled his eyes as you said that.

“Shut up princess”

He got off the bed and you wanted to follow him too but your body felt weak and battered so you just laid down instead.

You felt at peace in the moment but deep down you knew your life won't stay that way, this moment was just a calm before the storm, you had chosen to get yourself involved with a man who was nothing more than a fairytale for this world.

Daemon finding that book would not only change his life but would also change the course of your relationship with him. None of you knew that though, not yet.

And ignorance? Well it truly was your bliss at the moment.

👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀

Taglist

@anukulee @ammo23 @littledark11 @stupidthoughtsinwriting @daenny-t @avalyaaa @shuichiakainx

[webslingingslasher]

okay hear me out. how about a big exam is coming up for peter so he just buries himself in books and barely leaves his room, wants to be left alone and trouble respects it to the best of her ability. but naturally she takes it upon herself to take care of him cause he's so immersed in his studying he forgets himself. maybe she brings him food or something and peters like 🥹🥹🥹

*cleaning out my inbox*

peter's smart. not in just an impressive way, but in a way that could envy the top scholars. peter is smart. when he tells you he needs ‘study hibernation’ time, you give him all the space he needs.

until he puts taking care of himself on the back burner. then, it becomes your job to take care of him. it's in the girlfriend rule book.

peter doesn't look up when you softly open his door, your text was left unread, but he must've at least read it at a quick glance. unless he was so invested in his textbook and computer he couldn't look over.

'hi, petey.' you softly kick your shoes off, padding across the hardwood at his hello back. 'hi, trouble.' wrapping your arms around his neck, you lean over his shoulder to kiss his cheek. 'see my text?'

'mhm,' he leans back into your touch, but he doesn't lose focus. 'did you eat dinner?' peter shakes his head into your chest, you curl to place another kiss. 'thought so. i brought you some chinese, if you're interested.'

peter claws at your hands, he's suddenly famished and dying. the idea of shrimp fried rice makes his mouth water. 'yes, please. thank you.' you pat his shoulders, a way of telling him, 'don't worry about it, i'll get it.' and just like magic, his favorite is right in front of his eyes.

'anything else?' peter's got tunnel vision, his hands almost shaking at how fast he's trying to tear the plastic it's stuck in. 'no. thank you, thank you. i love you.' peter's brewing headache was swept clear, food healing him from within.

a third kiss to his cheek, 'alright. love you too, talk to me before you go to bed?' you weren't able to take one step before peter spins one eighty in his chair, the styrofoam didn't dare leave his clutches, peter spoons in another bite as he cries out. 'you're leaving?'

'you're studying! i don't wanna bother you.' peter eyes his bed and your bag, 'you didn't get anything?' you shake your head, 'i ate with ally, i got yours before i left.' a whine, 'no! can you just... lay there and talk to me? just while i eat this, promise.'

you appease him and sit down on the corner of his bed. 'you're going to finish that in five seconds.' peter stops, and physically hurts himself by putting his takeout box down. 'i'll... i'll slow down then.'

'are you sure about that?' a shuffle, another mountain of rice, 'no.' it's all muffled. peter gathers his strength and breathes deep, your sweet voice fills him more than a plate of chinese could ever. it's a little torturous, because he's going to starve when you leave.

[doodle-pops]

Bet On It

Elrohir x reader

Request: Elrohir, id love a friend's to lovers trope fic. reader can be also arwen or glorfindel's friend and they keep telling both them and elrohir to fucking confess to eachother but they refuse to because of the classic "I don't want to ruin our friendship,I can't lose them." They think they're subtle with pinning after one another but like everyone can tell they're in love. Casual physical affection, spending way too much time with eachother, "subtle" acts of service, etc. Idiots in love literally. One of them end up confessing after like a sweet moment, just a quiet whisper or a small kiss but it's enough for the other to finally confess too. Just a super fluff moment of them finally freely loving one another! - Anon

Warnings: fluff, mutual pinning, friends to lovers, confession, kissing

Words: 1.9k

Synopsis: You and Elrohir muster the courage to break old ties while recreating new ones as you begin a future together.

Walking up the familiar winding pathway that to the private getaway pavilion at the top, your feet softly padded against the steps until you made three raps to the wooden pillar. Somewhere, you heard the noticeable airy thuds of Elrohir’s feet coming your way eagerly, easily hiding a bag of jittery nerves. Casually the makeshift curtain drew back and revealed his evening radiance, attired in light blues and greys, a single braid to the right and his ebony hair loosely cascading down his back. Such was the simplicity of your dear friend, whom you cherished more than anything else in the world.

Through the momentary welcoming, your eyes dropped from his face to meet his chest, too fearful of giving away too many emotions already. Memories of Lady Arwen’s conversation replayed in your head about making a move otherwise it would be a great loss on your behalf, not before reminding you of her brother’s whereabouts.

Heart beating rapidly in your throat, you curled your toes against your sandals and exhaled. “Elrohir.”

“Y/N,” he greeted just as breathlessly as you. “Please come in. It is a wonderful surprise to have you visit.”

Gingerly you brushed past his shoulders, head dipping and eye falling to the floor as you entered his space. It was, and still is a haven of comfort and peace of mind for you when the world was hard on your shoulders. Now, it felt foreign with the looming messages of what you had planned to execute tonight…hopefully. Taking your time to observe the interior, not much had changed since your last visit, and nor had he finished the upturned book lying haphazardly on his bed.

“You still haven’t finished the Utopia Trilogy?” you laughed as you walked over and flipped the book over, scanning the page. “I thought you were a master at reading.”

Unbeknownst to you, your choice of conversational starter was an ice breaker for Elrohir, for even he was skittish and unsure of how to approach. Thankfully, luck was in the air.

Giving a lazy scratch to the back of his head, he made a guttural sound, almost like a deep whine and stomped over to pry the book gently out of your hands. Placing it back on the shelf, he spun around to purse his lips. “What did I tell you about judging my reading abilities? One does not rush a book, but timelessly enjoy it.”

“If timeless enjoying it means over a year, then by all means, continue,” you snickered and plopped onto his bed, shuffling your sandals off and making yourself comfortable. As easily as the conversation started, the rest flowed once Elrohir noticed the tension dissipating. Following suit, he climbed on the bed, sitting at the foot with his legs crossed and hands in his lap.

His honey-brown eyes flickered from the rumpled bed sheets to your feet to your face and then back at the sheets. “So,” he began quietly, “it’s been a while since we last spoke. How have you been?”

“Oh, you know, the usual. Nothing new with me. Just wandering Imladris like a ghost, visiting the gardens and robbing all the local merchants,” you shrugged, your fingers idly found themselves tracing the mahogany armrest of the chair beside the bed. You were desperately fighting to keep your tone light. “And you? Last I heard, you all went as far as Forodwaith?”

Elrohir nodded with a tight-lip smile as he rocked back and forth. “Sort of. We met with the Dúnedain on the way and hunted some orcs all the way to the borders before turning back to come home—didn’t want to be away for too long. I tend to miss all my favourite people back home,” he explained, leading to you feeling a flush of warmth from his words, your heart beating a little faster prompting you to lift your head and lock eyes with him in the instant. A silent understanding passed between you two, then, with a small almost shy smile, he reached out and gently touched the back of your hand. “I’ve missed our conversations.”

You felt a shiver run through you at the contact, his touch sending a wave of warmth through your body. Wanting to duck your head or cover your face, you mustered the courage to withhold eye contact. “It’s good to be here,” you murmured lightly.

“It’s good to have you here,” he corrected.

For a while, the two of you engaged in effortless conversations, your body language morphing from tense to relaxed as your bodies shifted about the bed, slowly getting closer and closer. Discussing a myriad of topics that ranged from his adventures with his brothers and others to his daily duties and past, you covered the profound to the mundane. Topics of books, to your imagination, tales of old, uncharted dreams and future adventures beyond the lands of Middle Earth were thrown around gracefully and turned the evening into nightfall easily. The fullness of the moon rose from behind the clouds, shining glittering strands of light upon you both through the vine-covered canopy, aiding with the ambience.

Throughout your dialoguing, subtle gestures conveyed what words could not. Elrohir’s hand would brush lightly against yours as he passed you a cup of tea, a simple act imbued with unspoken affection. Your fingers would linger on his arm, savouring the warmth and closeness as you shared a moment of laughter over a shared memory. Each touch, though fleeting was charged with meaning, speaking of a connection that ran deeper than a mere friendship. The air between you crackled with unspoken tension, a dance of intimacy and restraint, each gesture a silent confession of feelings that lay just beneath the surface.

As the evening wore on, the moon dipping behind a cloud and hiding its light, a comfortable silence settles between you. Elrohir glanced at you, his expression contemplative. “Do you ever think about the future?” he asked suddenly.

You couldn’t resist looking at him surprised by the question. “Sometimes,” you admitted. “What brought this on, may I ask?”

He hesitated, his left shoulder bumping against your knees as he looked up from his lying position. The proximity was enough for you to catch a whiff of the mint of his tongue. “I was on a ride this morning with Lord Glorfindel, and he left me questioning myself and other things with his…choice of word,” he breathed and reached out to hold your hand and give it a small swing. “I just wondered what the future would hold for us. You and I, specifically.”

Your heart skipped a beat at his words, the implication of them making your breath catch. Furthermore, the fiddling of his hand with yours increased your heart rate, leaving you occasionally needing to inhale.

The tension that was in the air now, a charged energy which made the room feel smaller and more intimate was sluggishly bringing your heads closer. Elrohir looked up, his eyes meeting yours with an intensity that made your pulse quicken. With bated breath, his voice dipped as his fingers intertwined with the hand he was playing with. “There is something I need to tell you, and I hope it doesn’t push you away or ruin things between us,” he said earnestly. “I care about you…more than a friend. I have for a long time.”

You stared at him for a long while, your heart pounding like a thunderous stampede of wild beasts. Lady Arwen’s words and teasing replayed in your mind as she told you about her brother crushing you for a long time. It was hard to see when all you saw was friendship and didn’t want to ruin the good you had. Opening your mouth to respond, no sound exited, so you closed it and remained breathless while he nervously held your hand, his thumb soothingly stroking the back of your hand repeatedly. His touch sent shivers down your spine. “I know it might come as a surprise, but I can’t keep it to myself any longer. I hope this doesn’t ruin our friendship.”

His confession hung in the air between you, the declaration that seemed to make time stand still. For a moment, you could only bashfully stare at him, the enormity of his words setting over you like a warm embrace. You didn’t know how to explain the urge that came over you when you licked your lips and darted your eyes to his, something he noticed and apprehensively craned his neck upwards to bridge the gap, his eyes closing briefly as if to savour the upcoming moment. In return, you closed your eyes when you felt his other hand slide around your neck to cup your nape and pull you closer.

With deliberate anticipation, Elrohir took his time to bridge the gap until his very own teasing antagonised him, forcing him to exhale before his lips collided with yours. A muffled groan from him turned into a grunt when he felt your hands reach out to cradle his neck, fingers scraping against his scalp leaving him shivering. Elrohir felt greedy in the moment as the first continued; years of silently loving you came pouring out in waves of passion and tenderness.

When you finally pulled apart, you were both breathless, your foreheads resting against each other, the world around you seeming to shimmer with newfound brightness. Elrohir’s eyes were soft, filled with a deep, abiding tenderness. “I can’t believe I was a fool for not believing Lord Glorfindel’s words at first,” he muttered, shaking his head with a smile. “I thought you wouldn’t feel the same because we’re just friends.”

“That makes to both of us,” you softly laughed. “I too didn’t believe your sister, but when she told me that both she and Elladan were betting on it, I had to do something about it.”

“Wait,” he cautioned as he sat upright, “my siblings conspired through betting. Come to think of it, Glorfindel did mention something about not wanting to lose a bet…of course.”

Sliding your hand off his neck to return to cradling his hands and playing with his fingers, rocked back and forth due to the overwhelming excitement in your chest. Finally, all your emotions came pouring out and the doubt you both feared was proven wrong. Roaming your eyes over his face, you leaned in, catching him off-guard, to kiss his lips once more, loving the sensation of his soft lips on yours. Fortunately, Elrohir did not mind the distraction you provided, reducing his plotting to deal with his siblings to focus on you before him.

“I’m glad I took the leap of faith and told you my heart,” he whispered through the kiss, cradling your cheeks and leaning in for another.

The two of you sat there for a while, simply holding each other, basking in the warmth of your newfound happiness. Eventually, as the night wore on, you found yourself lying side by side on his bed with his arms wrapped protectively, yet lovingly around you as your conversation about the future returned in delight. There was a sense of peace, a feeling that everything was right with the world now that you had finally confessed your love. All the weight was off your shoulders and replaced with bliss.

“I never want to be apart from you,” he said. “I want to spend every moment with you, to share my life with you.”

Your heart swelled as you looked up at him, your eyes softening. “I would like that as well.”

Leaning in, pleased at your response, his nose bumped against yours as he pecked your lips. “I can’t wait for our future together.”

Masterlist

Taglist: @lilmelily @ranhanabi777 @rain-on-my-umbrella @mysticmoomin @asianbutnotjapanese @batsyforyou @sakurayaxd @aconstructofamind @involuntaryspasms @stormchaser819 @addaigio @lamemaster @elficially-done-with-life @eunoiaastralwings

[stromuprisahat]

I love your takes on the grishaverse so I was wondering what you thoughts was on the theory/headcanon that Alina didn’t really lose her powers but unknowingly locked them as she did before the books’ beginning? Maybe there was a period where she couldn’t summon light bcs she was too exhausted and stressed out by the whole ‘final battle’ thing – banishing thee Fold, Mal’s ‘death’, Darkling’s death – so she assumed she had lost it. And then it was easier to unknowingly continue like that bcs it allowed her to remove herself from ruling and making any decisions and just have her simple co-depended life with Mal as she always wanted.

Personally, I don’t think that’s what happened in canon (certainly not what Bardugo meant) but I find it feasible as fanon interpretation, considering how depressed and deluded Alina appears post-RAR.

I'm more leaning into the explanation, that she intentionally, yet subconsciously rid herself of them (and maybe revived Malyen, when we're at it, since the second life bullshit is just that- bullshit that doesn't make sense, since no other amplifier's running around the same way. But then again- I'm very skeptical, when it comes to Malyen actually being one- he has no properties others do.).

Alina recognizes that as long as she's Grisha, she won't be able to be only with Malyen, and she already admitted she's trying to mould herself into whatever he seems to want from her.

Merzost doesn't seem to be random- it's driven by intention. Ilya "upgraded" mythical animals to have certain properties, Aleksander fucked up first, but then managed to find a way to actively protect his people, when in situation his powers weren't enough. Alina lost what made her special, but since her goal wasn't finished yet, other Sun Summoners sprang into existence and fucked up destruction of the Fold, because it's merzost-made, therefore logic tells us ordinary Small Science shouldn't be enough to vanquish it.

It's true the previous time Alina worked with merzost, her powers "disappeared" for a while, but the "magic" also isn't working from nothing. No matter what we're told, there is a cost, some input. It's not "pure creation". We can see it, when Sasha makes nichevo'ya- he's using his own essence, his life force or whatever want you to call it, to draw them into existence, so Alina would need ~something~ to distribute her powers among others, and the amplifiers are just that- they amplify, wider one's range, not give a new ability.

Besides- there's the question of what grandpa Ilya wanted. If he aimed at Grisha being accepted, instead of othered, why would he take away from one the give to more. It might look pragmatic, but the range is too limited and even if he created such "tools" over and over- he'd only make a new caste of "once-Grisha", instead of levelling the playing field.

One of my fellow fans also pointed out that if merzost is magic, perhaps Alina used it to become an ordinary otkazat'sya. I don't believe so. She might've made herself to appear as one, but after all those books spent reading how is being Grisha integral part of their being, something that makes them themselves... looking at post R&R Chapter 17 Alina isn't looking at slightly more traumatized Alina that can't summon the Light because it's not a part of her. It's looking at a husk of the girl, just like the ends of previous books, when she was suffering due to missing her powers on physical level.

And her lack of skill, when using merzost previous time would support it. She locked away her powers and her hair went white the first time. She got rid of her Light, but her body "remembers" it's missing something.

edit: Also- thank you for (positive) feedback, I'm not being rude, I'm just an social idiot with totally not ADHD, so I get focused on "the point", and forget the social stuff like greeting and replying to nice words, which ARE very motivating for me, but HERE'S THE STUFF I'm thinking about and my brain's coming up with coherent answers- LOOK!

[bluecrocss]

Another Yap-sesh: PJO CASTING for Season 2 (Please read)

In light of the recent casting announcements, I just wanted to remind the greater PJO fandom (not that I should have to), THIS ADAPTATION IS NOT CONCERNED WITH "BOOK ACCURACY" WHEN IT COMES TO PHYSICAL APPEARANCE.

They are prioritizing personality and acting ability.

I shouldn't HAVE to spell this out, since none of the literal main characters have been book accurate, but I'm still seeing shit like, "Idc if annabeth is black, but Rachel BETTER have red hair", "Thalia HAS to have her blue eyes! It's so important in the book", yadda yadda yadda

If the main characters aren't book accurate, idk why y'all are acting like they're suddenly going to lock in with side characters based off features that y'all are pretending are more important than they are because in all honesty, you just don't like change (let's at least be honest).

Like... no, it doesn't matter that Rachel Dare's initials spell out R.E.D. The red hair, literally does not fundamentally affect her story arc in the original series (I know y'all are gonna come up with some dumb B.S. like "that's the first thing Percy noticed about her! Red hair is the ONLY thing that will make her stand out!" "We're losing redhead rep. Rachel is the only character that made me feel okay about having red hair!" blah blah blah lmao)

Listen, with the exception of characters like Nico, Bianca, Ethan Nakamura, etc. Where their ethnicity actually plays into the character or story arc, y'all need to let go of hair color, skin tone, eye color, etc.

The announcements that have been leaked for Thalia and Tyson are asking for actors of any ethnicity and have no mention of any particular physical features (just an age range, that Thalia will have a punk aesthetic and Tyson needs to look like a large teenager). So accept the following:

Thalia might not have dark hair or blue eyes

Either character may be non-white (that doesn't mean they'll be black, cuz I know some of y'all will automatically try to use this as an excuse to be anti-black [["Anti-woke" losers try not use black people as a scapegoat challenge, level: impossible]]. And also, they never actually described Tyson's racial identity lmao. Y'all just tend to default to white. I'm sure you won't be losing your minds about "book accuracy" when the actor doesn't have big, disjointed, yellow teeth either).

Anyway, I'm actually deviating from the point. I don't particularly have any aesthetic demands for the characters, believe it or not. I personally don't need either of them to be poc (but I will always stand by, that DEI is a good thing and white people can never lose "rep", since it's not something y'all were ever barred from), nor do I care about eye color or hair color. They could both be completely "book accurate" and I wouldn't have an issue with it (although, I kinda hope Rachel Dare won't be a redhead, so the last of the "book accuracy" as a shield for bigotry cry babies will finally drop this series once and for all, so the rest of us can enjoy it for what it is).

The point of the post is that there is a *chance* they might not be physically book accurate, and there is no reason for y'all to put another young actor through what you demons put 12 year old Leah through (feel free to read the pinned on my page, careful tho, I'm a yapper, to get a clearer idea of that whole mess).

Once y'all leave your little echo-chamber of false reality that is the internet, actors are working people who apply for jobs they are qualified for. If there are no physical or racial specifications for a role, these working actors, who are hoping for their big break have every right to audition (btw, it's not "race-swapping" if the auditions are open to everyone. Check my pinned). When they are given that role, that is the decision of Disney, the casting directors, and Mr. Rick Riordan himself. If you disagree, find the private emails of the people responsible and contact them yourselves. Harassing the actors for fairly earning the role, and complaining about their casting on public pages "(not based off their performance, solely on their looks), which will just incite more hate towards them for being a WORKING ACTOR and accepting a JOB, makes you a bigot. No two ways about it. It is just insane behavior.

What's that completely inaccurate adage about insanity, again? Something about doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting different results.

Y'all have seen the first season. The author, show-runners, writers AND producers have spoken ad nauseam about the direction of this adaptation. The books have not been burned. They still exist in all their glory for you to read. If you need 1:1 book accuracy, this adaptation is not for you. Plenty of people have enjoyed it for what it is. Why are you making yourself miserable? Why are you making the fandom miserable? Why are you desperately trying to make the actors (most of whom are minors) miserable?

Nobody is holding a gun to your head. Simply, don't. Watch. It.

Cuz if they announce the casting for season 2, and y'all starting acting shocked that they're not "book accurate" and sending hate mobs to young actors and inciting racism and bigotry in the Fandom AGAIN... I think it'll finally speak to the true nature of this fandom. It was never about "book accuracy" it was always about hate. Whatever superiority complex the PJO fandom has been carrying over a certain *wizarding* series... y'all can just chuck out the window.

[nellasbookplanet]

Book recs: robots and artificial intelligences

A note: I'm differentiating here between artificial intelligence and transhumanism (such as uploaded consciousnesses and cyborgs), which I intend to make a separate rec post for at a later date.

(Titles marked with * are my personal favorites)

Other book rec posts:

Really cool fantasy worldbuilding, really cool sci-fi worldbuilding, dark sapphic romances, mermaid books, vampire books, portal fantasies

Continue beneath the cut for details on the books!

The Outside by Ada Hoffman*

AKA the book the put me in an existenial crisis. Souls are real, and they are used to feed AI gods in this lovecraftian inspired scifi where reality is warped and artifical gods stand against real, unfathomable ones. Autistic scientist Yasira is accused of heresy and, to save her eternal soul, is recruited by post-human cybernetic 'angels’ to help hunt down her own former mentor, who is threatening to tear reality itself apart.

The Prey of Gods by Nicky Drayden

South African-set scifi featuring gods ancient and new, robots finding sentience, dik-diks, and a gay teen with mind control abilities. An ancient goddess seeks to return to her true power no matter how many humans she has to sacrifice to get there. A little bit all over the place but very creative and fresh.

17776: What Football Will Look Like in the Future by Jon Bois*

A multi-media web novel available to read freely online (which you should do!!). I don't want to give too much away as the initial punch of finding things out is part of the journey, but it's both hilarious and profound as it questions the meaning of humanity and life.

Illuminae (Illuminae Files) by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff*

Young adult told through the medium of transcripts, text messages and the like (this is one of few books where I highly recommend reading a physical copy over a digital as the visual aspect is much more enjoyable like that). After their colony is attacked, the surviving inhabitants flee on space ships, attempting to avoid the pursuing killers while also dealing with a deadly madening plague on board and a ruthless ship AI seemingly losing its mind.

A Closed and Common Orbit (Wayfarers series) by Becky Chambers*

Technically part two of a series, but stands well on its own as the installments are only losely connected (though I recommend reading the first book as well, it's very good). A former ship's AI recently moved into an illegal android body tries to make sense of life as she navigates her way through humans and aliens alike.

The Quiet at the End of the World by Lauren James*

Young adult. After the spread of a global virus causing infertility, teenagers Lowrie and Shen are now the youngest humans alive as the adults around them race to find a cure. As they investigate the ruins of the world, the two come across records from the past, of how grief stricken people turned to raising artificial children in apps and how these 'children' developed, and through these records the two learn of their history. Also has a bisexual main character!

A Psalm for the Wild-Built (Monk and Robot series) by Becky Chambers

Novella. Long ago, robots, upon gaining sentience, simply laid down their work and walked into the wilderness. Long after, a tea monk looking for purpose follows after them into the wilds, where they come across one of the robots seeking its own sort of answers. While not plotless, this story focuses more on character and vibes over plot. Also has a nonbinary main character and features conversations on gender between human and robot.

All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries) by Martha Wells*

After having hacked its own governor module, SecUnit uses its small amount of new freedom to secretly download and watch as much media as it can between doing its job guarding humans. But when the scientists it’s been charged with keeping safe come under attack, it must make a choice about whether to continue keeping its freedom secret or risk it all to save them. The series features both novellas and full length novels, and balances humor with scathing critique of capitalism.

Machinehood by S.B. Divya

Prudent in the rise of AI and machine learning, Machinehood shows a near future in which humans struggle to find a place on the workforce as more and more jobs are given to AI. Status quo is shaken as a dangerous terrorist group calling itself The Machinehood starts committing attacks. A close look both at the rights of humans in a technologically changing world, and at the rights of AI as their intelligence edges ever closer to full sentience.

The Company of Death by Elisa Hansen*

A wild mix of genres, where a zombie apocalypse has struck and vampires gather up humans to keep their food source from going extinct, a robot travels across America with a young man she's tasked to keep safe, and former-vampire-hunter-recent-zombie Emily teams up with Death himself to stop the apocalypse. Features bi and ace characters! Bonus rec: the author also runs the youtube channel Maven of the Eventide, where she talks about various vampire media. Check it out!

Railhead by Philip Reeve

Young adult. In a future where humanity travel between the stars using not spaceships but a portal-connected system of sentient trains, a young thief and street urchin is hired to steal something off of the Emperor's train.

Being by Kevin Brooks*

Young adult. Cards on the table, I think I was about 14 when I last read this, but it made a strong enough impression that I still think of it as one of my favorite books. After having gone in for a routine exam, doctors make a stunning discovery about Robert Smith: he isn't human. Suddenly hunted, Robert goes on the run as he tries to cope with the fact of his own existence. While I love this book, it gives very few answers to its many mysteries, so don’t go in expecting full explanations.

Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie*

A space opera in which sentient spaceships can walk the ground in stolen human bodies, so called ancillaries. One of these ancillaries, the sole survivor after the complete destruction of her ship and crew, is one the hunt for revenge. This series also does very cool things with gender!

Crier's War by Nina Varela

Who says sci-fi has monopoly on robots? In sapphic YA fantasy Crier's War, artificially created automae have defeated and subjugated humans, who live as second class citizens. Young Ayla goes undercover as a servant, meaning to assassinate automae girl and Sovereign's daughter Crier. This would be easier if the two weren't quick to develop feelings for each other.

My Heart is Human by Reese Hogan

Nine years ago, all complex technology was made illegal. This complicates life for Joel, young transgender single father, as a bionic just uploaded itself into his brain without consent. Scared of losing his daughter, Joel tries to keep the bionic secret while using it to fix his life, but things quickly get more complicated as the bionic gains more and more control of his body. Makes a lot of cool paralells of bodily autonomy to Joel's experiences as a transman. Bonus rec: if you like the general concept of struggling for physical control over one's body with an AI, may I also suggest the (much grittier and gory) movie Upgrade.

The Archive Undying (The Downworld Sequence) by Emma Mieko Candon

In a world where AI gods sometimes lose their minds and take entire populations down with them, Sunai was the only survivor when his god went down. In the 17 years since, he has wandered on his own, unable to either die or age, drowning his sorrows in drink and men. But his attempts to flee his past comes to a stop as he is forced back into the struggle between man and machine. Featuring some pretty wild world building and narrative techniques, this book will definitely confuse you, but it is worth the experience.

Activation Degradation by Marina J. Lostetter

Unit Four comes to life in the middle of a war. The mine it was created to care for is under attack, and as Unit Four is activated with the memories of its predecessors, it is thrown into the task of protecting it at any cost. When the battle leads to its capture, it is prepared to do anything to stop its captors, even as their very presence causes it to question all that it knows.

Sea of Rust by C. Robert Cargill*

Years after the death of the last human at the hands of a robot uprising, Brittle travels the desert searching for machines on the brink of breaking down whose parts she can scavenge. The world is quickly falling apart as a war between OWIs - One World Intelligences - struggle to absorb every robot, willing or not. Bleak and captivating, Sea of Rust features horrible people who you can’t help but root for anyway as they struggle for their lives while questioning the very nature of said lives.

Bonus AKA I haven't read these yet but they seem really cool

Hybrid Child by Mariko Ōhara

Japanese 1990s classic. Follows an escaped AI who can take on the form of the people it has consumed.

World Running Down by Al Hess

Follows a powerful AI that has been forced into an android body against its will.

The Thousand Year Beach by Hirotaka Tobi

Set in a virtual world populated by AIs, meant as a resort for human guests who stopped showing up over a thousand years ago, leaving the AIs on their own.

And Shall Machines Surrender by Benjanun Sriduangkaew

Novella. Machines are the gods and rulers of the Dyson sphere Shenzhen, where humans live in luxury and strive to become host bodies for future AIs.

After On by Rob Reid

Phluttr is a social media and a person, potential hero and potential villain, holder of the secrets of all her users.

Annie Bot by Sierra Greer

Annie Bot was designed to be a perfect girlfriend, but as she learns all the more about being human, perfection becomes all the more distant.

Honorary mentions AKA these didn't really work for me but maybe you guys will like them:

The Lives of Puppets by T.J. Klune, Machines Like Me by Ian McEwan, Barbary Station by R.E. Stearns, The A.I. Who Loved Me by Alyssa Cole, Medusa Uploaded by Emily Devenport

[idolbound]

DARP Advent 2024: Day Six HALFWAY THERE!

Let's talk about INFLUENCES and ADMIRATION!

Mun Portion!:

1. What inspired you to get into DARP? Former RP experiences? Just a love for the games?

I first got into RP in January 2013 with my Miranda Lawson blog and the Mass Effect rpc. I developed blogs for my Shepard among other characters, but it was shortly thereafter that the hype around DAI started; while I'd try to do DAO on console, I found it hard so I gave the copies to a friend and then bought them on PC later. But I played Inquisition at release in a speed run to kiss Cassandra, and made a blog for her ( @ stabbystabseeker for those who remember). I loved Cass a lot, enough that I didn't care that I had to play as a man to kiss her lol. Anyway, that's how I got into DARP - I also had blogs for my Hawke and Inquis when I eventually got through my canon playthrough of all the games from the beginning!

2. Name one (or a couple) of your fellow writers that you think are neat, and why! Can be famous, on Tumblr, in your real life, on AO3, whatever.

I would not be here half as much if it were not for @milfyclaus / (normally @ sanctamater). Claire has kept going with me to write this ship for almost 2 years now and has single-handedly made me want to keep writing Meredith unlike anyone or anything else; and to that, Claire, your writing always captures such a unique voice interlaced with exposition that I admire!

3. Has anyone in DARP (past or present!) really helped to define or reimagine a character for you? Or made you rethink perceptions that you held?

Honestly, Elisa with @extravagantliar has really fleshed out not just Varric but Kirkwall, and all the careful intricacies of worldbuilding that go with it. I would also say honestly, Erran @thesxmmersword who may not rp Ser Cauthrien anymore, but they really took an NPC in DAO and fleshed her out so well, and added much more depth to another morally questionable woman, and we started shipping these two from a what if meme and let it go from there.

4. What other fandoms/works/writers have influenced your writing style and the way that you view writing and creative expression?

Honestly, I think I still draw on a lot from Mass Effect and some of the themes around moral decisions, and the weight of those choices, as well as fighting in the name of something or someone that we see in DA as well. Truthfully, I have not been able to read a lot for fun because it's basically my job to read while doing my doctorate, but I do love a lot of fiction that can convey serious themes in the body of its work. I have a book that I got at a vendor sale that I'm excited to read, titled "This is How You Lose The Time War" by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone.

5. Do you have any friends that have created a Warden/Hawke/Inquisitor/Rook that you've basically adopted?

I guess 'adopted' in the sense that we, as good friends, have made all our Rooks connected. I've talked about this on my multi but basically, my Rook's maternal uncle Jar has a husband named Alain, and together, they are the adoptive fathers of Chels' qunari Rook, Oskaar. Alain has an adoptive elf sister named Kahari and that's Ker's Rook. We are slowly fleshing out their family shenanigans.

6. What's a fandom work (writing, art, etc) that you think is super cool and you wish more people would see it? Share it with us!

Again, see the above point where I don't often have a lot of time to read for fun - this extends to fanfics as well. But honestly, I have a few ... m-rated fics featuring Meredith that have been a bit of inspiration to me in the past lol. (if you DM me, I will link them but this is a "we listen and we don't judge" situation).

Muse Portion!:

1. Who or what are some things/powers/people that your muse admires?

Meredith herself is always drawn to power; typically, this is in a political / leadership sense, as well as physical strength and abilities. Again, typically she will not care much for men in this role, but when it comes to women? She can admire a good swordswoman, or a woman in a political role with great influence. She will always admire someone who is career-driven, and seeking to better themselves, especially for fellow women.

2. Does your muse have a "hero" that they look up to from canon?

I think Meredith is very much a history nerd just as much as she is a religious zealot, but when it comes to historic figures vs. her personal beliefs, she will always hold Andraste as her most powerful "hero" to look to. She models herself after Andraste, after all, to look like her and to embody her sense of JUSTICE.

3. What legends, tales, or stories helped to form your muse's ideas of power and heroism?

Definitely the Chant of Light. Taken in as a ward of the Chantry as a child, she was educated through their teachings, and grew up entrenched in the Chant of Life. It is what dictates her life, and it guides her; those are the stories she turns to, to guide herself as Knight-Commander and beyond.

4. Conversely, what sort of legends, tales, or stories formed their idea of what a villain is?

To her, her own sister's story of being an untrained mage acts well enough to know that magic is the evil within, and that mages are inherently villains until they take responsibility for themselves and what the Maker has cursed them with.

5. Are there other muses in DARP that your muse admires? Or reviles/fears? (be careful with that second one and be RESPECTFUL.)

@milfyclaus Lady Amelia is her... (homoerotic) business partner (a forge supplying silverite weaponry to the Templar Order) turned wife girlfriend in their time in Kirkwall. @kirkwll Sioned has tested (and continues to test) Meredith's patience on the daily. and with our thread still in infancy, Meredith very much admires the man @tobebrutal 's Cullen is becoming. That's her son and Knight-Captain!

6. If your muse is someone who has companions or is one of the groups of companions from canon, how do they and their companions play off of each other? Are they friends? Enemies? Two dudes who'd cross the street to avoid each other? What are their most powerful connections within their "group"?

Unfortunately, Meredith as an Inquisitor is awful and most people rightfully don't like her. lol.

[sleepyficss]

hiiiiiii same taco loving girly girl as before. previous request was my first time sending a request to a blog like this and i do really like the post!!!!!!! super cute :3 romantic headcanons for taco regarding each of the five love languages? same concept for reader as before. please and thank you ueeeehhhhhhh

love languages.

taco x reader

authors note:

aghh i love writing about love languages, there's so much i could ramble about here. ty ty for another request !!! i'm glad you liked the other one – keep the good ideas coming!! /lh

words of affirmation

- this ones' first up!! i feel is very important to her.

- some days, she gets in stuck in her own head, and starts to convince herself that you aren't going to stick around forever. she gets scared that you'll decide that, no, you don't forgive her for her past actions; and that she'll lose you like mic, and pickle –

- taco definitely needs to hear your reassurance, reminding her that you wouldn't leave her willingly for any reason.

- let her know that you don't hold anything against her for her past actions, and nothing will change your current relationship with her <3

- taco also understands how other peoples' words/opinions may affect you.

- as previously mentioned, she knows how it feels to be scared of possible abandonment – she isn't afraid to talk you through it, and to let you know how much she loves you.

- reminds you constantly that she couldn't imagine being with anyone else, not that she'd want to be, either.

quality time

- taco has stated before, that she thinks better when she has another person to talk to.

- so, please PLS just sit down next to her, while she's working on a project, or even just playing a game like sudoku (she's such a nerd, did u see her calculating her fall into the water in s1?? & i mean that with pure affection LOL).

- it may even help her figure things out along the way if you ask her what she's making/planning/how to play, so she can explain it.

- you may end up sitting there having no clue what half the words she's saying are, but its the thought that counts!! just nod and smile, she's too buried in her own work to notice that you're completely lost.

- leaning against her on the couch while you watch television, or read a book, or literally anything!! just relax by chilling around with her.

physical touch

- you're looking at the most touch-starved object in existence here (mephones a close second, i won't lie).

- especially after s1, where she was alone for so long before making a series of even worse decisions, barely anyone even bothered to LOOK in her direction, much less interact with her.

- the first time you hold her hand, she's almost forgotten what it was like to feel the touch of someone that actually cared for her.

- taco is surprised by your touch, and you almost go to retract your hand out of fear that she isn't comfortable with it – she's quick to reach back for it though, quietly asking you to not let go.

- (now she won't ever let go of you, good luck! she's super glued your hands together.)

- jk jk. but she's so shy about any affection for a while, that you almost think she won't ever get used to it.

- but OH BOY. when she does get more comfortable with initiating it? taco becomes quite the flirtacious menace.

- she's learnt of the affect she has on you, originally with just her voice (don't lie, she could say 'hello' to me, and i'd swoon), but now her touch? she loves seeing you flustered.

acts of service

- one of taco's greatest skills is her problem solving abilities, so she won't hold back when trying to come up with solutions to any of the issues you confide in her.

- especially after all you've done for her, trusting her, staying with her, and loving her, despite everything she's done?

- will do anything just to see a smile on your face (if not because she loves you, then to make herself feel more confident in believing that you do love her, but she won't admit that to you – she knows you'll scold her for it).

- she does really appreciate if you try to do the same to her, whether its trying to help her with an issue she's having, or if its just making a cup of tea for her.

- taco isn't used to it, as she doesn't usually get any sort of help from others unless they're getting something out of it. she almost expects you to want something in return, but is happily surprised when she is told otherwise.

gift-giving

- she already finds joy in inventing things, so its even better when she's able to to make something for you!!

- always tries to make it something you'll find useful, like... ..

- if you get overwhelmed by sounds easily? she's made you a pair of noise cancelling earbuds that can be easily hidden from view!

- or, she'll take apart and analyse the bowtie she took from test tubes lab, just to make a second one for you to match with her! except, depending on your style, it may be a hair accessory, jewellery, etc. instead!

- (i can imagine you convincing her to pull harmless pranks on the others with the invisibility ability – it reminds her of how silly she used to act in s1... and how much fun she used to have with pickle.)

- in turn, taco cherishes literally ANYTHING you give to her. whether its an expensive item you bought, or a hand-made gift.

- she totally keeps all of it too, including holiday cards, somewhere safe, and she likes to pull them out and look through everything if she's ever missing you :(

- but she would be so devastated if any of it ever got lost or ruined, depending on how much it matters to her, she may even end up crying.

- in general, i think taco's main love languages are for sure words of affirmation & acts of service.

- she's not quite used to showing her love to others, but she'll do anything she can to make sure you know how she feels about you <3

[masterskywalkers]

So I'm reading that new Larian interview for BG3, which has really popped up at a great time for me research-wise, and I see this for Ascended Astarion:

"So with Astarion, his evil ending is actually him…much of what he does is out of fear. And as a player, you can say to him, "You're right to be afraid." And that sends him to a really horrible place, and that I think is really powerful."

Now I've been doing a lot of research into vampires and vampire spawn in literature & D&D mechanics lately - partly for fic ideas, partly because this fandom frustrates me to no end sometimes with some of the things I read and I kind of want to do a breakdown on my own view and interpretation on the character - and this quote is very much something I agree with.

From Act 1 Astarion acts mainly upon fear and survival. He is not a good person, and he will do anything to survive. He literally uses any weapons or tools he has to build a net of safety within the group or with Tav, regardless of whether his methods are healthy for him or not. He knows no other way, because for the past two hundred years at least, he has known nothing but cruelty.

Even as you move further and further into the game, Astarion doesn't stop being afraid. As a Bhaalspawn who romances him but fails to kill Isobel, Sceleritas will comment that 'he is so afraid, so very afraid of everything, but you. The one thing he should fear the most'. In Act 3 after the other spawn attack the party, if a romanced Tav argues with him about the Ascension ritual, there's a response where Astarion will say 'I'm doing this for both of us, you know? To keep us both safe'.

Astarion is fueled by fear, and he believes that power is a way to ensure he won't ever have to fear anything again. That he won't have to be weak anymore (he sees himself as weak, ignoring the utter strength he has to even be able to survive the amount of torture and abuse he's lived through for so many years). During the decision of whether to allow him to Ascend or not, it takes an intervention from the person he trusts the most to even attempt to talk him down - and even that option is a journey of dice rolls and making the correct choices.

Astarion follows in the footsteps of the playstyle and the behaviors of the player character. He values his freedom and independence, but he doesn't know how to live without fear because, as far as he remembers, fear has been his entire existence. Even if you don't let him ascend, when you ask him how he feels about freedom he says it's both terrifying and exhilarating - it's a new kind of fear for him, the fear of a vast future open for him, one that isn't ruled beneath the hand of someone who controlled him.

In either ending - bad or good - Astarion gains and loses something. In a good ending, he gains freedom and the chance to start anew - to a limit, as he looses the ability to walk in the sun. In a bad ending, he gains security, safety and power - but loses himself in the process:

"Whether or not a vampire retains any memories from its former life, its emotional attachments wither as once-pure feelings become twisted by undeath. Love turns into hungry obsession, while friendship becomes bitter jealousy. In place of emotion, vampires pursue physical symbols of what they crave, so that a vampire seeking love might fixate on a young beauty. A child might become an object of fascination for a vampire obsessed with youth and potential. Others surround themselves with art, books, or sinister items such as torture devices or trophies from creatures they have killed." - Players Handbook, 5e

^ This is something that really interests me, because how much of that extends to the Vampire Ascendent is up to the player. I have my own thoughts for what this means for a romanced Astarion - and maybe I'll write something about that at some point, or post my thoughts in more detail later if anyone is interested - but the fact that the Vampire Ascendent is different from a normal vampire due to it being born from a deal made with a devil, I think, gives enough creative leeway for writers and players to play around with how they interpret to fit with their own playstyle.

Astarion, throughout the game, is at the very beginning of a long journey of being a survivor of abuse and trauma. I don't think he's really able to process or work on recovery until Cazador is dead - he is the looming threat for Astarion, after all, the shadow that is always there. Because even if they defeat the Netherbrain but don't defeat Cazador, Astarion is still at huge risk of becoming his toy again - but how he chooses to work through that and learn to handle his fear, depends on the person he becomes throughout the journey. And the player character is a huge influence to this - for better or for worse.

[polyamorousmisanthrope]

Real Reading

I've been seeing discussions around audiobooks v. reading text v. reading on a device v. reading a book in one's hand.

Some people are saying one thing or another is "real reading."

/drums fingers/

I do think the ability to read and understand text is an important skill, though frankly, I have a job because people cannot and do not read. Quite literally, if people could read and understand basic instructions in text, I would not have a job.

So, do I think that people need to do some practice on some regular basis to read instructions?

I do.

Do I think certain sorts of texts might be difficult enough to read that you need training to do so?

Hell, yeah. The profession of law is a prime example. My reading comprehension is good and my ability to decipher a text is well above average for your general, decently-educated American. However, I do not have the context to read the text of a law and understand its implications.

But, more than that, let's talk about just casually reading, say... Books. Fiction.

All y'all know I "read" a lot of audiobooks. I like consuming stories in that format, as it allows me to enjoy a story while not being required to sit down and not be doing anything else. My house pre-Audible was nowhere near as clean and organized as it is post-Audible. No kidding, my house organization really came about from buying one of those USB stick 1 GB iPods back in 2004 or so and pirating the Jim Dale Harry Potter stories.

The experience of listening to an audiobook, for me, however, is very different from the experience of sitting down and reading the text of a book. Which, yes, I also do pretty much daily.

Say what you like, but diving into a book where you are not physically doing anything else is a different experience. I do not lose myself in an audiobook like I do when reading text.

But when I think of that I also think of music. How many people have music playing, that they're really enjoying while doing something else? Or find some sorts of music helps concentration on some other task?

How many people actually sit down and pay full attention to a piece of music and do nothing else?

(FWIW, part of the reason I generally do not play certain pieces is because I get drawn into that music with my full concentration, but it's certainly not all music).

I guess what I think is that I do want people to practice the real skill of reading and understanding text, but I also think that policing free time is a load of shit and people should enjoy what they enjoy, ya know?

When I use the word "reading" myself, I do generally mean sitting down with text. I will actually say I am listening to an audiobook. But if someone asks me if I've read X book and I experienced it as an audiobook? I'd say yes. I have experienced the whole story...

... again, sort of. There are certain sorts of textual meaning that don't translate from page to narration (Lookin' at you Sir pTerry!)

[chaddywaddy3]

"I am the mystery at the end of existence. The first secret whispered at the dawn of creation. I am the guardian of the unseen and the question unanswerable. I hold the knowledge forbidden and untangle the threads of fate." —Hermaeus Mora

We gonna dig into everyone's favorite daedric noodle boy today. As always, this post will contain some of my own head canons and theories. I will do my best to make it clear when I use real canon information, kirkbride faux lore or my own speculations.

Hermaeus Mora, daedric prince of secrets and forbidden knowledge and destiny. But I feel like that description only scratches the surface. My favorite name for him is the Gardener of Men. I think this daedric prince's interest in mortals is unique. Most daedra see them as ants or eves simply as dirt but Hermaus seems to view them more as cogs in a machine that he controls. But I beg to ask the question. Does he truly control fate or does it just appear that he does?

Hermaus Mora claims that he is the oldest daedra made from the discarded ideas and knowledge of the creation of Mundus but its unclear of this is true or not. His realm of apochrapga is everywhere and nowhere at the same time and he lures mortals to the endless, winding stacks of scrolls and books with the promise of endless and powerful knowledge. Most of these mortals lose themselves physically and mentally becoming empty husks of who they once were.

Hermaeus seems to have his tentacles in every corner of Tamriel somehow showing up in every race's theology. He enjoys meddling with the affairs of men and mer alike trying to dig up secrets and forbidden items that are lost to time and obscurity. However it doesn't seem that he is omniscient because he uses his cultists and maddened scholars to dig things up for him. The secrets of the Skaal were unknown to him until the LDB gave them to him.

Despite Mora's obsession with mortals he is the only Prince to choose not to take a mortal form. He appears mostly as a mass of tentacles, eyes and pincers.

I have a few thoughts about Hermaus Mora. I don't think that he is in control of fate and destiny as much as he leads you to believe. This is speculation but I think that Hermaeus just knows enough secrets and information that he is able to predict what mortals are going to do.

Let me clarify. I don't think that he has the ability to oversee the strings of fate and manipulate them. I just think that Hermaus Mora has seen things happen enough times and knows all the tiny details and secrets that he knows exactly how people are going to act in every situation. He is simply 20 steps ahead of even the other daedra. As much as he likes to command people to do things for him it seems he has no power to force them to do anything. However who is to say that he didn't want someone to do the opposite of what he said to do.

Now I've been rambling for a really long time on this one so I'll cut it here bit if you want me to keep going just let me know

This topic was requested by @wintercearig12

Thank you❤ for reading this was a long one.

[penig]

Nobly, heroically, and willingly, shall I die for my fandom upon this hill:

When they're both thinking straight, Crowley and Aziraphale communicate flawlessly.

In Season 1, except when Aziraphale was deliberately withholding information at the bandstand, or panicking about the holy water, they understood each other very well. No cross-purpose winks, all their exactlies in line, Aziraphale’s lies and accusations of demonic Evil more ritual than anything else. They didn't disagree very often, though they pretended to, and except in two crucial scenes, when they disagreed,  they did not misunderstand.

They were talking in code - an allusion code - Old Friend Code, Married People Code. Pointy Eared Hobgoblin Code!

The flashback sequence of "Hard Times" gave us the key to that code. Once you realize that "Let's do the Ritz" = "If we're doing it we have to do it now, time is running out" everything they say to each other sounds different, including Aziraphale's friendship denials. S2 gave us the origins of more codes ("I lied. I'm a demon. That's what I do." Oh, so when Aziraphale said that in response to "Would I lie to you?" he was lightening in the mood! That's a running joke!) and also reinforced the codespeak by showing it hitting a road bump when Nina asks Aziraphale, in front of Crowley, about the naked guy. Aziraphale wants, desperately, to deny friendship with Gabriel, but he can't say "he's not my friend" in front of Crowley. With Crowley in the room, "he's not my friend" means "we go back a looooong way," and a moment later he says that, in the clear, unambiguously, about Crowley - but he is not saying that about Gabriel (to Crowley) and it is very much not true about Jim, who is the darkest of dark horses.

I know the fandom is very much against me and has always taken delight in how bad they are about communicating, etc., but I have textual evidence enough to defy the overwhelming consensus on this point. I think it was there in the book, and it’s there in the first series, and it falls apart in the second series as a deliberate authorial choice. I could be wrong, but I am willing to stand here in my wrongness and be wrong, if I am.

Because their old method of communication was built for spies communicating with each other under surveillance,  it doesn’t work for two people on Our Own Side. Aziraphale is willing to let go of it. He wants to let go of it – the direct requests, the physical contact, "our car," "our bookshop," saying the meaning of "we're not friends" in the clear, all the reaching out he does show that. But Crowley won’t, or he can’t. He doesn’t let go of always being the one to come to the rescue, he doesn’t move into the bookshop, he’s not comfortable with direct requests, he doesn’t move forward, he doesn't listen to Aziraphale, and therefore, they lose their ability to communicate. Aziraphale, unable to make honesty work, falls back on manipulation. On transactions: I let you into the bookshop, so you have to let me into the Bentley. On scenario building: it’s a ball, dance with me. Tactic after tactic, try after try, to get Crowley to hear what he's saying. And that, more than anything, sets up the Final Fifteen.

I find myself glomming onto this reading, and there’s no getting around the fact that it’s partly because of a lifetime of being the Only Honest Person in the Room. It is nearly impossible to communicate with people who won't meet you halfway, and I have always had to contend with that, with saying exactly what I mean in plain language only to have people respond to something entirely different. Until and unless I can convince somebody to engage with my actual words, until I can stop withholding truths that I know the other person will throw in my teeth, I can never get what I need out of conversation, can never say the Right Thing. That is exactly the problem Aziraphale is having, and I feel it, nauseatingly, in my bones.

The big question is, why does Crowley not hear him? We don't know can't from won't - all we can see is doesn't. He doesn't tell Aziraphale things Aziraphale needs to know - doesn't trust the person he's always relied on with information - chooses protection over partnership, doesn't listen to him, and we don't know why.

I wish we had seen an explanation for why Crowley isn’t living in the bookshop. I think it’s tolerably obvious that Aziraphale welcomed him there and Crowley refused, or didn’t notice, or tried it and couldn’t take – something; the dust, the clutter, the neighbors wandering in and out, the terrifying sensation of getting what he wanted and having to decide what that actually means, I don’t know, and it’s important.

But we didn’t see that and people accustomed to blaming Aziraphale find it equally obvious that Crowley asked and was told no, or is waiting for an invitation that hasn’t been extended. I think we really need to know this in order to understand where they are in E1 and how they wind up in the total breakdown of communication they have at the Final Fifteen.

[foxghost]

Can you please make a list of your most favorite novels (and if you want, tell why you like them)?

Anon this is such a difficult question but I think I'm in a better place to answer it this year than last year? There are some old books that I no longer love, and there are some books that I still love and would happily reread again.

I'm linking to posts where I've written about them before, and a couple to my NU reviews. it got so long that everything is under a cut.

On the HE side: 君有疾否 Are You Ill Sir?

破罐子破摔 Nothing To Lose, one of Fei Tian Ye Xiang's earliest works that he considers a part of his "dark history". It's a mess, reads like a fevered dream borne out of playing Dynasty Warriors until you drop, but I think it's the first book where FTYX showed the first sign of his genius -- his ability to write a scene like it's been pulled out of a movie. Also he writes Lu Bu like the biggest HIMBO and what's not to love really. Don't forget to read the extended extra that features an A'dou x Lu Bu x Zhao Yun sandwich. (Bless Feitian for the possibility of such a sentence)

殺破狼 Sha Po Lang - obviously

北城天街 Beicheng Tianjie - Technically gay lit, not danmei, but it reads like a modern fairy tale by the end. /you will cry

偷風不偷月 Steal On Nights Windy and Moonless - physical transmigration is a rarity in any genre, and this one was written so well, especially in its depiction of familial relationships. /tears

薄霧 Mist, this one probably got Wei Feng Ji Xu put on the map, but before this there was Rose Beauty, which I also enjoyed; actually, it's probably because I read Rose Beauty that I put up with so many zombies in this book. Go read Rose Beauty if you want good writing but without the zombies. This has So many. Zombies. Probably the best in genre for time travel, and in a way, 無限流. The plot is tight, the ship is cute, and while at some point in the middle you start to think "does this book need to be this long", by the time it gets to the end, you won't.

藍月光 Blue Moon

迪奥先生

浮光

颱風眼

別來無恙 How Have You Been by Bei Nan. I don't think I cried this much over tragedies. (This is HE)

落池

又一春

完美無缺 - Perfection by Jin Guan Quan. Transmigration from older famous actor into younger unknown singer, and while it doesn't seem so special in concept now, I'd happily read it again.

我等你到風景看透

日落大道

金牌助理

BE side 鷹奴

無根攻略

活受罪+長相守

Things that are so long there's no way I'd read again but were they ever fun while they lasted (leaving me quite sleep deprived)

不要在垃圾桶里捡男朋友

Anything and everything by Erya, of SCI fame. I have read everything even her old things. It took me months. She's written more since then, and she's on the verge of finishing sequels to the millions of words of Bao Qingtian fanfic both period and modern and I'm not sure when I'll find time to read it all.

破雲+吞海

將進酒