#at least if i'm not actively looking for owls

[wingsyliveblogs]

And now, let’s continue the episode! Our next scene opens with...

...uhhh... whatever’s going on here?? King is doing his best, that’s what’s going on.

Eda’s looking very cool, but what’s she getting dressed up for?

Ah, that would explain it! 

In all honestly, I’m not entirely familiar with what a chaperone generally does at a prom, though? That being said, there’s a fair chance that it’s the exact opposite of whatever Eda’s going to do.

Also, King’s little baby apron is incredibly cute. 

grommentators.........

Oh, that poster is amazing. 

It appears that Gus has been forgiven for not interviewing King last episode, and they are now teaming up to provide grommentary commentary and wear sunglasses indoors! Truly, a feat only the coolest of dudes can achieve.

[leoascendente]

PAC/ Your destined person 💘

Hi loves and welcome to this new PAC! I'll be taking a time from this blog to focus on another projects, it doesn't mean that this blog will be unactive, it is just that I won't post that much pacs or astrology, I'll be more focused in my Spanish blog for a while. Anyway, private readings will still be open and from time to time I'll post something over here because Tumblr is and always will be my safe place.

Take a deep breath before choosig your pile and pick the picture you feel called the most, because this is a general reading it doesn't have to fully resonate, keep what does and leave what doesn't for somebody else, you can always choose another pile :)

For private readings click here

My blog in Spanish here

Decks: Romantic tarot, dark wood tarot, tea leafs oracle, romance angels oracle, love oracle cards

All pics are from pinterest, credits to their owners

Pile 1/ Pile 2

Pile 3/ Pile 4

Pile 1:

Who is your destined person?:

(Cards: 6 of swords, 3 of pentacles, 6 of pentacles, moon, hermit, queen of wands, king of swords/ hermit rev, death, wheel of fortune, 5 of pentacles, sun)

This person probably comes from a very different backgroud than you, it will seem like you don't have much in common at first, they have probably moved from the place they were born and are getting used to the new place. They are a hard worker, right now they are putting a lot of effort in this area of their life, probably to help financially their beloved ones, I'm hearing to help their parents, they are so focused in making money that they are not nurturing other aspects of their life like socializing, the good thing is that they don't seem to care about it. They got the hermit with two different decks, once upright and another time on reversed, it gives me the feeling that they feel very comfortable in their solitude but at the same time they are craving significative connections and a reason to get out of their isolation, for some reason they feel very exhausted but they can't sleep at night, they are like an owl, by night they seem to be more active even though they should be super tired because their work is exhausting (I'm writting this at 13:31 on my clock, maybe it's a relevant number for you or this connection). This person has some emotional issues that keeps them up at night, it's like they need these few extra hours of the day that they are taking from their resting time to relax when the rest of the world is quiet, maybe it's because they are far from home or because they miss their family, because this is related to their emotional world but for what I see here they are thinking too much about others and not about themselves and their mental peace. Anyway, this person is really attractive, for what I see in the cards, they have some not-so-secret admirers that are chasing them or looking desperately for their attention, whatever they are trying is not working with your person, your person seems to be an introvert or at least, they need to feel emotionally connected to something or someone to invest their energy fully on it, I could even say that they are a little shy when it comes to interact with other people. this person has an strong masculine energy, also I keep hearing the word resilient so this may be the most noticable trait about them, the thing here with the admirers is that they are chasing your person, like taking the masculine role but only for their outside appearance, your person seems to need something more to connect with someone and they prefer to court that to be courted. Right now they are closing chapters, there's a massive divine intervention in their life even if they are not aware of this, this is happening for their highest good because they need to get out of this hermit mode and start experiencing good things. They seem to be a little apathic and their lack of rest could be affecting their health too, even if they want it or not, a change is coming to align them, there will be a shift in their luck very soon, especially to help them financially because they seem to be struggling in this aspect. your person is really calmed and peaceful, very goal oriented and commited to what's important to them, you'll love the kind of person they are and the peace they'll bring to your life.

Your connection:

(Cards: deception, new love, this could be the one, playfulness/ girl with a snake, heartbroken, the phoenix, heart with a key, wedding rings)

Okay, your person had a very tough relationship with a toxic person that played with their heart and left them in the dust, this might be one of the reasons why they are avoiding so much human contact, especially with romantic interests, their heart is still recovering from this heartbreak. When you appear in their life, everything will trasform, it will be so magical and unexpected that they won't know what to do, you'll catch them off guard, everything will feel different with you, it's like they've been in a grey and clouded place and you appear to make the sun shine again in their life. This past relationship marked them but knowing you will make them realize that not everyone is the same, you will make them gain hope in love again, it will happen naturally and your relationship will be blossoming peacefully but with certainty, from the first moments they'll know that you are meant for them and will work to make you know it. This is a soulmate connection so you'll feel very comfortable with eachother like you know the other from a very long time, I see a lot of funny dates together, like an exhibition of some kind (I'm translating directly from google but I mean those places wih a ferris wheel, bumper cars, cotton candy and those places where you get a teddy bear if you drop all the bottle from the shelf, something that sort, please comment me the correct name of this lol). An important thing I see here is that your person might be shy at first and will try to make things the right way, not forcing anything, but what I like the most is that even though they have their heart wounded, they won't pay this pain with you, in fact, you'll be a reason to stop thinking about the past pain and focusing on the precious future you could share together, you'll ignite them faith in life, they'll find motivation again, they might even realize that they weren't as comfortable in their solitude as they wanted to project. I see a fast commitment, I also see that they will leave you the key of their home so you can stay there even when they are working, they'll try to make you part of their day to day life and will be very honest with your from the start, you can ask them anything and they will respond with all the truth, even if the truth doesn't leave them in good place, they want you to know every detail about them, you can also trust in them to share whatever you want, they will be super understanding and compassionate.

Signals:

(Tea leafs: sunrise, woman, feather, bull, desk, scissors, caterpillar)

By the moment you are about to meet your person, you'll be finding out the true intentions of a woman in your life, I don't know why but the energy of this woman gives me really bad vibe, like a two faced person, is someone that you should put distance with in order to protect your energy because in terms of love she could often have bad experiences and she will not be happy for you when you find your soulmate. There also this message of not sharing your ideas about the future, not just in love but about your goals or plans in work too, if you are thinking about initiate something by your own just keep it private for a while, or at least just share it with your closest ones because this woman or femenine energy around you don't what you to thrive. The good thing is that you got the card of the sunrise, so you'll be having a lot of new ideas that will lead you to find success, I'd suggest you to write down those ideas,take time to organize them and start implementing them in aries season, at the beggining of the spring, energies will be at your favor. For your person they'll be working really hard, there might be a chance for a rise or getting a higher position in their work field and they'll be focused into that, for others of you there might also be the chance that your person will be getting another job with a better salary, I'm getting especially this second option because your person seems to be very unhappy in their current job and they need better conditions, it also seems like there is some opposition from someone in their work and your person has to keep themselves in a defensive position to deal with it and they don't want this no more, they know they deserve a healthier work enviroment, maybe there's an abusive boss here. There's the possibility that you are really close to meet eachother because of the cards on tarot and this message so be aware of your surroundings because your person is closer than you imagine :)

Channeled messages: a puppy, sexy but don't know it, romantic dates, strong arms, meet them in a public place like a park, a market or a place with art or literature involved like museums or book stores, gift giving, a soft pink or white dress, night dates, overthinking, financial struggle, 999, 1333, virgo, scorpio, cancer and leo, might be seasons for you two meet or your person's sign.

Pile 2:

Who is your destined person?

(Cards: 9 of wands, 4 of swords, 7 of pentacles, 10 of pentacles, justice, death, world/ devil, justice, queen of pentacles, judgement, king of wands)

Okay, lets start saying that you know this person but never had anything romantic with them besides a crush for some of you, they are someone that is familiar to you, maybe you have talked at some point or is simplier than that and you follow them on social media or something that sort, you know eachother but there's almost any interaction between you two. I usually say on private readings when I see that the consultant know their person that Universe has a wicked sense of humor and sometimes, this person can be so random as your crush on primary school, someone you talked once in a party, a friend of a friend and those kind of things, so don't be dissapointed when you see that you know your person because many times, even though you know them, they can be the most random person you could ever imagine. Right now your person is going through some legal issues, it can be a divorce for some of you but for others it might be more related to an spiritual awakening where they are taking resposibility over things they have done in the past, like paying some karma and realizing why they are paying it. The good thing is that your person is closing a chapter, this awakening can be hard, because of the devil card, but it also will bring them a big relief and a change in their reality for the best, there's also a change in their way to face life. For what I see in the cards, your person is wealthy or well positioned in life, probably has a high position in their work field, for some they can work in something related to laws but is an enviroment with a lot of competition and stabs in the back, you have to be a little ruthless to thrive in that area, there's also a chance that they already have a child or kids near them, if you have children, your person will get along very well with your kid too. Your person has an strong temper, the good part of it is that they are very protective of what they love and don't mind getting into trouble if that means keeping their beloved ones safe. The not so good part is that they can be too impulsive and irrational when angry, their passionate spirit can take the best from them sometimes, they will be your total opposite so if you have a natural calmed and peaceful temper this pile is for you. Your person is someone brave, a natural extrovert with a lot of charisma, they can draw all the attention of a room to them just with an smile, they are also very sexy, physically they are extremely attractive, they could also be a Libra or Sagittarius sun sign. Your person hasn't been an angel in their past, even though they are a nice person with a good heart, it seems like they did ot take the best decitions in their past and now they are regreting some mistakes. They are really handsome and charming, I see they haven't faced rejection in their past and that has led them to be too confident, they are the kind of person who always gets what they want, do you know Dexter from the show One Day? your person reminds me of him in the good and the bad traits. Anyway, they recently had an experience that made them realize the path they were taking and they want a diferent direction, they don't feel fulfilled and knows that can get something better for themselves, they are also facing the consequences of their actions si they might need some extra time to get into your life.

Your connection:

(Cards: this could be the one, trust, children, worth waiting for/ talking, golden mirror, sword and rose, self indulgence, love call)

You'll share a very special bond, I see trust issues from both of you but at the moment you start something together those issues will fade, it's like your souls will recognize that you both are meant for eachother, feelings will bloom naturally. I see different scenarios for your pile so take what resonates with you, for the people who already know who this person is, the cards invite you to keep hopeful but patient, just trust the Universe and focus on your bussiness meanwhile your person puts their life in order and solve the issues they are currently dealing with, you deserve to enjoy their best version. For others of you who can't figure out yet who your person is, the cards have a similar meaning, to stay optimistic visualizing your ideal relationship, you'll have to wait a little more than the other piles because your person is dealing with issues they need to resolve before meeting you, again, you deserve to enjoy their best version, your vibration is very high so having your person right now in your life with their current circumstances could affect negatively your energy, so this wait is a divine protection for you. Things will start by flirting between both of you, maybe some casual dates at first but for what see in the cards, there's a lot of communication here and it makes sense because through communication trust gets reinforced and that's what you both need. You both will be very different but will have so much in common, your experiences in life or even your tastes or hobbies, your favorite artist or the kind of music you like, it will start by something simple but then you'll realize how similar you truly are, you will mirror eachother in every aspect, for some with an spiritual development I see this person is your twin flame. A nice thing a like about your person is that they will allow you to stay in your femenine energy, the card of self indulgence gives me the feeling that they'll provide for the things you like, just as an example, if you are into a saga of books but you don't have enough money to afford everyone of them so you go buy it one by one, your person will buy you all the saga so you can enjoy your hobbies. For some of you I even see that your person pays for your beauty treatments like getting your lashes or nails done. I see that they'll like to take a protective role with you, if you are easilly stressed, especially in regards of legal matters or burocracy, your person will take care of it so you don't have to worry, if you have any dream or goal you want to achieve your person will also provide you a safe space so you can develop it, especially for those of you who are into arts or something that involves creativity

Signals:

(Tea leafs: teapot, mule, wreath, shield, stork, wedge, heart)

Your signs to know when your person is about to enter your life will be a dissapointment with a friendship of your same sex, you might have an idea of who this person is because you have been seeing red flags from them in the past but you have turned a blind eye with them, especially in terms of stubborness and not wanting to change their habits. I'm getting that they are the kind to mourn and complain over things that they could easilly change, even you could have given them advices in the past but this person is unwilling to change for the better so you'll have to take them out of your life before your person comes. The tea leafs say that this won't be easy for you because you love and appreciate this person but by having them in your life you have to stay in a protective state, the shield warns you that you need to protect yourself from this person because they are consuming your energies. For your person, they'll be in a process of creating something new, I'm getting that it will be related to work, they'll be moving in silence because there's someone near them that don't want your person to be successful in this new project, anyway the project will thrive regardless of what other people try to mess with it. Your person will be just about to get their victory when they get in a deeper contact with you, they'll feel like things are getting better for them after everything they had to go through, you'll be like their ultimate victory. They'll know it's you because they'll feel safe by your side, having in mind that they are surrounded by snakes, getting in contact with you will feel for them like being in precence of angels.

Channeled messages: protect yourself from evil eye, black turmaline, long term relationship, karmic debts, late night conversations, a lot of sexual energy, love letters, release the old so the new can enter, the goddess Kali, law of attraction, subliminal audios, stay in your femenine energy, the bee and the flower, trust the process, 1111, 222, sagittarius, libra, scorpio

Pile 3:

Who is your destined person?

(Cards: queen of cups, king of pentacles, queen of pentacles, 3 of wands, fool, king of cups, 10 of pentacles/ ace of wands, 8 of pentacles rev, 5 of swords rev, judgement, emperor)

This person is your soulmate/twin flame, they are your divine counterpart so you will notice it from the very first moment you meet them. Getting into who your person is, they come from a wealthy background, their family seem to be very rich to say the least, they have been a pampered child all their life, in fact, if they work is because they want to not because they need to. Your person has been raised by parents that are soulmates so they know what true love is and knows that they want that type of connection for them too, they are a romantic and are not afraid to express it, they are also very well mannered so expect them to be chilvalrous with you, they are a true gentleman. They are so open to love that is overwhelming, they fantazise an daydream a lot about you, how you look, your way to walk and your smell, they have you so much in their head but they feel frustration not knowing who you are and when you will appear, they look for you everywhere they go and in every person they meet, yu cold even feel their energy calling you, if you have romantic dreams with someone but you can see their face clearly it is your person calling you in, you can intuitively feel them, I'm also getting that if you are able to see the face of someone familiar to you in dreams like a famous person just check that person you dream about because they might reselble the characteristics of your person. They have a melancholic soul, like a poet from another century, they are very deep and emotional, they have so much love inside they want to offer but they feel frustrated because they don't find the right person to share it with, they don't want only to share love they want someone to share all their life with, they feel like they already have it all to live a happy life but there's this missing peace of wanting to share all their abundance with someone else. There's this phrase of the movie 'into the wild' (my favourite movie ever <3) that says 'happiness is only real when it's shared', I feel that your person resonates a lot with this phrase, they have people they love around but they crave a romantic connection to create a family with, btw, they are really into marriage and family, they also like children and animals and they love your person too. Your person has a sensitive heart and the pain of their solitude has led them to get involved with people with superficial intentions or toxic behaviors, mostly because of your person's money, they had a relationship in the past that left them feeling empty and that's why now they are giving themselves time to be alone and with their family, I see they have siblings that are playing a major role into your person's emotional healing. Idk if you'll know about this book, it's called fallen hearts by V.C Andrews, it is part of the Casteel saga but the character that reminds me of your person appears on the second book, his name is Troy Tatterton, I suggest you to read it or let me know if you already know them :). I also see that your person has traveled a lot, for some of you, you could even live at distanced places where you'd had to travel to see eachother, it may be in one of your person's journeys where they finally meet you.

The connection:

(Cards: true love, getting to know eachother, playfulness, wedding/ casette, hammer, camera, separation, twin flames)

Oh goddess, this is so beautiful it makes me want to cry! If it was up to your person they would marry you as soon as they meet you, after all their painful journey, when you appear in their life they'll feel like the skies will open up only for them, they'll know it's you and will court you from the very first moment, they will be flirty but charming at the same time, I see you'll feel the same too. Even though that feelings will be intense at first, you both will make the effort to get to know eachother on deeper levels to check your chemistry and compatibility, everything will feel light and easy, you'll get along super well, they'll make you feel like you are in a safe place, if you are naturally introverted they'll make you feel protected and, in case you are an hyper independent person, you'll feel like you can finally relax and release some of the weight over your shoulders. At some point you'll have distance between you two but it won't separate you, I see you will make the best of every moment you spend together and, after a little time your person will offer you a seious commitment so you can start your life together as a couple, it might also be a soon engagement. I see that you'll be watching the pictures and videos you make together, especially if decide to travel, I see a fancy cabin near a forest where you are staying together to spend some alone time with nobody else there to bother you. The time you spend separated will play a major role for you two to decide that you want to be together forever, I see that your person will have a harder time being away from you, that's why they won't hesitate at the moment of offering you commitment, probably they give you a promise ring or tell you to get married, it will happen sooner than usual but both of you will feel certain about this relationship and what you want from it, you'll fit like puzle pieces and you'll both will understand why things didn't work with anybody else in the past.

Signals:

(Tea leafs: gong, key, shark, caterpillar, dagger, camel, unicorn, carriage)

For you, you'll be receiving good news about something you have done, it will be something exciting for you, a successful outcome for something you put a lot of effort in, you could even celebrate it with your close ones because this will make you very happy. There's a little warning for you about being responsible with your money but also I see you could loose something important like a jewel or something with big material value like a phone or something that sort, so if you suddently loose soemthing important take it as a sign that your person is about to enter your life. For your person I'd confirm what I said before about the trip, the carriage means a journey either be a mental or physical but I feel that it's a trip for vacation. This journey is because they have been through a period of worries and stress, they just have solved a problem before making this trip, this solution will involve some changes in their life that will align them with their highest good so, overcoming this obstacle will finally lead them to you, their most desired wish. They'll be taking a time to release all the tension they've been holding, it is surely oon holidays so check the calendar just in case, they'll be with more people in this journey, probably their siblings, your meeting will be something spontaneous, neither of you will be expetiing it

Channeled messages: Water sign, earth moon sign, family money, colors red and green, divine counterparts, white doves and sunflowers, many options in love, send you romantic phrases or pictures that reminds them of you, settle down, a midset change, aries season, 777, 1818

Pile 4:

Who is your destined person?:

(Cards: knight of wands, 10 of cups, moon, queen of pentacles, 8 of pentacles, knight of swords/ 7 of cups rev, 9 of swords, queen of pentacles, fool, empress)

Your person got the queen of pentacles repeated with two different tarot decks, this gives me the feeling that they feel plenty with the current direction of their life, with the 10 of cups I'd confirm that they feel happy and fulfilled and everything is working out for your person. Besides that luck is on their side naturally, your person has fought to be in the place they are right now, they are following their passion and vocation and being loyal to their heart has lead them to success and recognition, they are also very optimistic and knows how to see the good side of things at every situation. Your person reminds me of Eli from Boy swallows universe (please watch the show, it's awesome and you'll love Eli), your person is brave, independent and resourceful, even daring sometimes, they are loyal to their truth and their heart, in fact I see they can be a little obsessed with finding out the truth of things so they could even be into conspiracy theories or things that sort. Your person is a wanderer, a curious soul but with a grounded spirit, they can be wild sometimes but they know their own limits and knows when to stop, they are really down to earth and mature on the important matters but very lighthearted and spontaneus when the ocassion requires it. They have been through seriouus things in the past, they may have some unresolved heavy trauma they didn't gave themselves the chance to solve it so they might act reckless sometimes, but the good thing is that they have an strong moral compass and value system they keep loyal at every moment, betray their values would feel like betraying themselves and that's something they don't want to go through. Your person can be an unintentional heartbreaker, they don't want to hurt anybody's feelings but it's easy for people to catch feelings for your person, is something about their aura or their energy, they are so warm and gentle that everybody feels drawn to them and can't help but develop feelings for them, they are easy to be loved. Your person is really smart, they could be air dominant in their chart because they also seem like having a talent with words or being a great communicator, they are also very funny so expect to laugh a lot with them, they might be younger than you or it's simply that they have a youthful energy, whatever it is they have this childlike energy that makes them lovely. Your person has this golden retirever energy that everyone likes, they are also very friendly and seems to have it easy to create friendships with other people, their sense of humor is a plus on this aspect too, they are a sweetheart with a loving heart but they are also very hard working and commited to what they think is right, you'll feel super comfortable by their side, even though they could be younger they will give off very mature and reliable energy.

The connection:

(Cards: Keep an open mind, retreat, flirt, love yourself first, chemistry/ the sword and rose, girl talk, cupid's arrow, sunglasses, engagement ring)

Okay, at first they might not be your usual type or the kind of person you would be interested in, for some, your person could be younger than you and that could be a turn off for you. Your connection will bloom progressively by creating a friendship first, besides the fact that your person will be very into you from the very first moment, they'll prefer to respect your times and show you they are worthy of your love, they will feel like they are out of your league for some reason. You might run from them at a certain moment because you get confused with your emotions, especially for those of you reading this that are a water moon, you'll need some time to reflect on your emotions and realize that there's an inmense chemistry between you two, maybe this distance you take serves you as a reassurance of how drawn you feel to this person, they'll have a bad time with this retreat but for you will be very healing and enlightning. I see that there's a female or dominant femenine energy in your life you trust so much, that person is very reliable and wise, don't doubt to ask them for advice because she will bring you clarity about the situation, I'm glad to say that you have an amazing support system, count on that female friend when you need mental clarity because she will be very honest, for some of you this person could be a sister. During this separation you might think that your person is focused into their bussiness but they'll be into stalker mode (positively, of course), checking up on you, they might even ask someone close to you how you are doing just to know about you, they'll also be checking your social media to know about you, they won't do it in a creepy way, they'll feel the same pull to you but they have a harder time trying to contain their emotions, the good thing is that you seem to be very intuitive so you'll know when their energy is trying to approach you. They'll be so in love with you, it feels like they fell first but you'll fall harder after a while, you both are soulmates so, even though you'll try to fight your feelings, you can't help but fall for this person, and after you see how much they are willing to offer and their true esence you'll fall for them (I'm writting this at 15:15 on my clock in case it's a relevant number for you). They'll wear their heart on their sleeve, they'll be very protective of you and won't allow any disrispect to you, they can be cutthroating if anybody tries to mess with you, tey'll feel so honnoured by you focusing on them that they will try to make you the happiest person ever everyday of your life, they can't believe their luck by finding a person like you and receiving love from you, this connection will be an equal give and take, you both will do everything for the other to make them happy.

Signals:

(Tea leafs: dolphin, windchimes, fox, broken ring, bull, needle and thread, ant, table)

For you, you'll be in a very nice moment of your life when you are about to meet your person, you'll be receiving a big amount of money because of something you did in the past, like a material reward. This material abundance will give you a feeling of peace and relief, you have the chance to have some vacations or free time by yourself, I see you a little secretive about this, like you don't want anybody to ruin this good time, you may also be silent about the amount of money you receive. For your person, they'll be dettaching from someone or something, the broken ring is usually associated with romance but I feel it more related to bussiness so they might be changing their job for a healthiest enviroment (if you felt called to pile 1 I suggest you to check it), it seems like their current work field is forcing your person to sacrifice themselves and keeps them in a defensive position. They'll have to work hard but it will bring them stability and security.

Channeled messages: Acts of service, getting a pet together, a cat person, sleep problems, full moons affect their mood, white horses and moths, vivid dreams, sitcoms, a lot of laugh, mental fog, meditation, 1212, 444, taurus, gemini, aquarius

[coff33andb00ks]

33 with Oscar please? It is August but I am READY for autumn and spooky season already!

"Are you a witch?"

driver + number = drabble <3

ahh autumn and spooky season how I adore thee!! i hope you enjoy ❤️

warnings/themes: not proofread, reader and/or oscar might actually be a witch, hints of dark!oscar, vague historical au of some type idk

suggested listening: Rhiannon by Fleetwood Mac ('97 live)

When you met him, you were intrigued. Most men were intimidated by you, but not him. He was unflappable, his energy stoic, and in a sea of chaotic boys, it was nice to meet a man.

He didn't engage, he observed. Sometimes others would interact with him but his quiet nature tended to put them off, not that he seemed to mind. From what you noticed, he appeared to prefer being left alone.

You became enthralled.

You saw him - Oscar of Australia - everywhere, an ever present shadow in town, lingering like the mist in the mornings then disappearing when you actively looked for him. The season was changing and the mist grew deeper each night, the air crisper each time you took your nightly trek through the forest.

Hunter's moon. Withering plants. Trees shedding their brightly colored leaves.

The woods smelled of dirt and damp and you felt serene there, away from everyone and everything. There was an energy among the trees that you couldn't find anywhere else and so you were drawn to them every night, like all the luckless sailors lured by the siren's calls in the tales told by the fireside.

But unlike the unfortunate sailors, you were aware of the dangers.

Animals. Fearsome beasts that were docile when treated with respect. Unlike the so-called men in town, you much preferred the company of the bears and wolves roaming the forests, for they didn't attack unprovoked.

You were able to be free, untethered by the constraints of expectations while in town, where you were meant to behave as a lady.

The moonlight was dappled on the leaves scattered across the forest floor and you breathed in the mist that swirled around you. Owls in the distance called and the wind whispered through the branches, nature's music adding a bounce to your step. You were almost to the clearing when you heard it.

Snap.

Your heart went still and your steps ceased. Listening closely, you realized it wasn't an animal. At least, not the four legged kind. You strained to listen, and then you heard the whisper of a breath. You spun, searching the shadows, hand reaching for the dagger you kept on you.

Oscar stepped out into the moonlight, one corner of his mouth lifted into a slight smirk.

"Not going to stab me, are you?" he asked softly.

It was the first time he'd ever spoken to you directly. If you hadn't been so wary of his being in the woods - your woods, your safe place - you would have been shocked. Instead you relaxed a little, lowering your hand to your side. "No."

He looked at you, his smirk disappearing as his gaze slid over you, so blatant you could feel the heat of his eyes. "What brings you out at night?" he asked, moving closer, like a cat stalking its prey.

You refused to be scared. He was just a man. "I like the night."

"But you come out every night." He tilted his head, the moonlight glittering in his eyes.

Brown as the pine needles beneath your feet, strains of black like the dirt on your fingers when you gathered mushrooms.

"Are you a witch?" he whispered.

A small ripple of fear ran down your spine. You were well aware of what would happen if you said yes. So you turned the question on him. "Are you?"

Oscar hummed. "I'm many things at many times."

"You didn't answer the question," you whispered.

He leaned close, his cheek brushing yours as he brought his lips to yours. "Neither did you."

[blackbirdi]

One-Sided pt. II

If you haven't read the first part already, the link to part 1 is here

I'm so sorry this took so long, guys, I was struggling with ideas. Anyways, enjoy :)

Brief Description: Sirius begins to notice how suddenly you're around him a lot less than usual. What could he have done to make you want to avoid him at all costs? And why does your avoidance hurt him this much?

Point of View: 3rd Person

Word Count: 2181

Character: Sirius Black x Reader

House: Gryffindor

Year: Sixth Year

Two weeks. It had been two weeks since Sirius has talked to Y/n last, and it's driving him up the wall. The only other time where he doesn't talk to her for that long is during the summer, but at least they owl back and forth non-stop, and now suddenly he hasn't heard her sweet voice in two damn weeks.

And it's not as though he hasn't tried to talk to her. Hell, he's been going out of his way to run into her just to ask what was up with her, but every time she sees him, she runs away. And now she's changed the time of her daily activities (going to the library to read/study, walk in the courtyard, visit Hagrid, etc.) – not that he knew the times she was going by heart before she changed them – so now he can't even run into her then.

Two weeks. Two damn weeks. And he's not going any longer without her.

It was Saturday and the Marauders were all hanging out in their dormitory, and Sirius was itching to find Y/n and beg ask her to forgive him for whatever he must have done to have her ignore him like this.

"Remus," Sirius calls, breaking the silence.

"Hm?" Remus hums, not even bothering to look up from the book he was reading, which only caused Sirius to grow more frustrated.

He closes his eyes before he snaps at Remus, taking a deep breath to calm himself. The only thing that does is cause his eyes to well up with tears. 

Godric, what was up with him? Was Y/n really causing him to get this upset?

When he speaks next, his voice breaks, which causes all the other Marauders to lift their heads and look at Sirius with concern.

"Why won't Y/n talk to me?"

The other three Marauders share a few glances at one another before looking back at Sirius. The pity in their eyes as they look at him causes Sirius to grow frustrated once again.

His eyes, which were previously filled with tears, harden as he wipes them away. His lips pull back into a thin line as he glares down at his own hands.

"She keeps avoiding me! I haven't said anything to her in weeks!" he cries angrily. "And even when I do say something to her, she just ignores me and runs off! Did I do something to make her mad at me?"

"I'm sure you didn't do anything, Padfoot," James tries to comfort him. "Maybe Y/n just needs space for a while."

"Space from what?" Sirius snaps. "What did I do that would've wanted her to space herself from me? And only me! I haven't seen her ignoring you three, or anyone else for that matter! What did I do!?"

“Pads –” Remus starts, but is quickly interrupted.

“Why do you care so much anyway?” James asks. “It’s just Y/n.”

Sirius, Remus, and Peter all shoot James a glare, all three of them knowing that was not the right thing to ask.

“Yeah, Y/n, my friend,” Sirius sneers. “I care because Y/n is one of my closest friends and now suddenly she’s ignoring me! Do you have any idea how much that hurts? Because it does, a lot.”

“We know, Padfoot,” Peter replies, trying to make his voice sound comforting, although to Sirius it sounded more like pity. “I think James was trying to ask why you’re so … no quiet over dramatic about it … but more upset than you normally would be about something like this.”

“Yeah,” James agrees. “That’s exactly what I was trying to ask, thank you, Pete.”

Sirius glares at the both of them, his teeth gritting together as he tries to hold back from snapping at the two of them.

Why was he upset? Really? One of his best friends just straight up ditched him! Of course he was fucking upset!

“How do you twats not understand that I am upset my friend has fucking abandoned me!” Sirius snarls, his voice wavering as he tries to control his anger.

The others share another, worried glance, which drives Sirius even more insane.

Of course, Remus, James, and Peter quickly caught on that Y/n was avoiding Sirius, and were even quicker to catch on why. It wasn’t that hard to see that Y/n had finally had enough of her silly little crush on Sirius and was trying to stomp it out by avoiding him. And of course, Moony, Prongs, and Wormtail knew that avoiding Sirius at all costs wasn’t going to get rid of Y/n’s feelings for Sirius. And of course, Lupin, Potter, and Pettigrew knew that Sirius’s own feelings towards Y/n were developing beyond friendship.

“I can talk to her if you want me to,” Remus offers.

The usual stormy grey of Sirius’s eyes had darkened considerably in anger, his eyes narrowing at Remus in a glare.

“You’ve done quite a lot of talking to her,” he hisses. “A lot more than I have in Merlin knows how long. Do you know how frustrating that is, Remus? To see that Y/n, who suddenly hates me, is still all buddy-buddy with the three of you? Do you know how shitty it makes me feel when I see her talking to you and then she immediately runs away whenever she sees me? Do you?”

“No,” Remus replies, his voice squeaky at the anger in Sirius’s tone.

"That's what I thought," Sirius snarls, standing up from his bed abruptly.

With quick strides Sirius finds himself at the dormitory door, the door opened an inch before Peter asks curiously, "Where are you going?"

"To fucking find her!" Sirius snaps, turning around and facing his friends. "I can't keep going like this, without her. I - I need her, okay? I need her because ... because I love her. I love her. Holy shit, I love Y/n. I'll be back guys, but I need to find Y/n, even if that means searching every nook and cranny of this godforsaken castle."

He's out the door in another split second, the door slamming closed behind him.

Silence settles over the other three as they share glances, confused evident on each of their faces.

"Well," Remus finally mutters, breaking the silence. "He handled that a lot better than Y/n did when she realized she was in love with Sirius."

–––––––––––

To Sirius's surprise it didn't take him that long to find her. She was sitting in the courtyard, leaning against the truck of a tree with a book on her lap.

Sirius was careful to approach her quietly, not wanting her to spot him and jump up and run away (like she had been doing for two weeks straight).

When Y/n finally looked up from her book, the first thing she saw was Sirius looming in front of her. Her eyes widened as they made eye contact, scrambling to pick up her book and getting to her feet.

"Y/n, wait," Sirius snaps, grabbing onto her wrist with a vice-like grip before she could run away. "Please, don't run again, please."

Y/n sighs, trying to tug her wrist out of Sirius’s grip before she turns and faces him for the first time since the Quidditch game. Her struggling ceases as she sees the pain behind Sirius’s eyes, the pain that she would’ve caused every single time she ignored him or ran away.

“Please, Y/n/n,” he begs in a whisper, pulling her closer to him. “Please, don’t leave me again. I miss you so much. And I am so, so sorry if I did something to hurt you, or did something that made you want to avoid me. I never meant to, I don’t think I have done anything, but if I did just say the word and I will hold myself responsible for it and I will do anything I can to get back in your good graces because I miss you. So, so much. I hate that I haven’t seen you in two weeks, I hate that I haven’t talked to you in two weeks, I hate that I haven’t heard your voice in two weeks, and I hate that you’ve been avoiding me. I’m not blaming you because obviously it must have been something I did, but please Y/n, please, please, please stop avoiding me. I miss you.”

A wave of guilt washes over Y/n as she listens to Sirius, watching tears well in his eyes as it gets increasingly harder for him to talk without choking on his words. However, she can't help the little flutter her heart gives at his words.

Sirius takes a breath, trying to collect himself as he finally says everything he was feeling.

"And-and I hate how much it hurts that you've been doing this. I shouldn't care, I really shouldn't, but I do. I care so goddamn much, Y/n. It's been two weeks, two fucking weeks! I shouldn't be this effected, but I am. I've missed you more in two weeks more than I've missed anything else in my life, more than I miss the Marauders during the holidays, more than I miss Hogwarts during the summer, more than I miss the heat of the summer during the winter, more than I miss the sun in a rainstorm. I missed you, Y/n, and it's only been two weeks. So please, please, please, please, tell me what I did wrong so I can right it and we can go back to how we were before whatever I did."

A pause, a heartbeat before Sirius adds in a trembling voice, "Please."

Y/n takes a shaky breath, trying to stop the heat from rising in her cheeks and giving her away.

"Sirius," she says slowly.

"Please," he interrupts her, his voice breaking. "Please, Y/n. I don't know what I did, but whatever it must have been, I am so sorry. Please, please, please forgive me."

"Sirius," Y/n repeats, "you didn't do anything. I just... I realized something and I shut myself away from you. If anything, I should be saying sorry to you. I never meant to hurt you like this."

Sirius stares at her, confusion bubbling up within him as he listens to her explain.

"I-I don't understand," he admits in a quiet voice. Her stares up at her helplessly. "Why would you avoid me like you have if I didn't do anything? You haven't avoided the others, just me."

Y/n sighs, her heart thudding in her chest as she looks away from Sirius and finally admits in a small voice, "I'm in love with you."

The world stops, for the both of them.

Y/n can't breathe, why would she admit that!? Everything, everything, has been ruined. She ruined their friendship! Why would she do that!?

Sirius can't breathe, did she mean it!? Everything, everything, is going to change, for the better. She felt the same! But why did she avoid him if she loved him?

After what felt like hours of silence, Sirius responds, "I love you, too."

Sirius's heart pounds against his ribcage. Even though she said it first, it's still so hard to admit it.

Y/n's heart pounds against her ribcage. There is no way in hell that he actually feels the same.

"I – w-what?” she stutters, mouth dry.

“I love you too,” Sirius repeats, dropping her wrist. His hands come up to cup her jaw, holding her face in his hands as he smiles down at her. “I-I was thinking about how much I missed you, everything about you – not just your presence – and I guess that led me to realize that I would never feel this way about someone I thought of as my friend. Y/n/n, I realized that I’m in love with you.”

Y/n mirrors Sirius’s smile, relief flooding through her body as her cheeks flush with pink.

“I-I’m glad,” she whispers. “I was scared that you didn’t feel the same; that’s why I started avoiding you. I thought that if I was around you less my feelings would go away, which obviously didn’t work. But I was scared to say something in case I made things awkward between us.”

Sirius chuckles, pressing his forehead against hers, asking in a soft voice, “How could I not be in love with you? You, Y/n L/n, are the most kind, thoughtful, caring, smart, funny, beautiful woman in the whole world; I don’t know how I didn’t realize my feelings for you sooner. I love you.”

“I love you too, Sirius,” Y/n murmurs back. She closes her eyes, relishing in the feeling of Sirius being this close to her.

A comfortable silence fell over the two as they soak in each other’s presence, two hearts beating as one.

Two minutes. It has been two minutes since Sirius has admitted his feelings for Y/n, and it’s making him feel like he’s on top of the world.

Taglist: @littleshadow17 (who asked for a part 2 a month ago. I hope it was up to your standards lol). And @rosieandthethorns (who didn't asked to be tagged but I figured I should let you know so you can stop foaming at the mouth and writhing on the floor lmao)

[theamberfist]

Sink or Swim Part 2 | Stolas x Reader

Romantic! Stolas x Swim Instructor! Reader

Description: When Stolas is busy, Stella must take Octavia to her swim lessons instead; which no one is very happy about.

(Notes:) (gender neutral reader) (reader is a sinner) (reader is young Octavia's swim teacher) (Part 2 of Sink or Swim)

Words: 2,488

Read part 1 here

"We're going to be late!" Octavia called as she tugged on the taller owl's hand. "Mommy, come on!" 

Stella rolled eyes but followed after her daughter, who was practically dragging her to the pool. For the owlet's sake, she kept her frustration about the situation inside for now. After all, swim lessons had never been her idea, so it peeved her that she was now the one having to deal with them because of Stolas.

The prince would have attended in her place like usual if not for some work-related obligation that had come up. And, since the pool had a rule that required a parent to be present for all lessons, Stella had been forced to perform the responsibility in his absence until he got back. He'd promised to be as quick as possible, hoping to show up before the lesson ended, but she highly doubted that would happen. 

Finally, they reached the building and headed inside, where the imp at the front desk immediately recognized Octavia and checked them in. Stella helped her into her swim suit, thankful that the little girl was at least old enough now that she wouldn't have to get in the water with her.

Stella couldn't understand the point anyway. It wasn't as if any of them used the pool they had at the house, and she would hardly have been caught dead getting her feathers wet, anyway. She didn't know why Stolas insisted on keeping Via enrolled in her lessons these last couple years, but it seemed it was just another reason for her to hate him. 

Finally, she and Octavia made their way onto the pool deck, where the little owlet instantly recognized her swim teacher and grinned from ear to ear. She called your name and then let go of her mother's hand; taking off running for the water. 

"By all means, run." Stella mumbled sarcastically. You turned around, smiling but reminding the girl not to run. She slowed her pace but continued going over to you. 

"Good to see you again, Octavia." You smiled before pulling yourself out of the water you'd been waiting in. When you noticed Stella, rather than Stolas following behind her, a look of slight surprise appeared on your face. There was a flash of disappointment in your eyes, too, before you quickly put on a smile and took a step forward, extending your hand to her.

"Hi, I'm-" She cut you off.

"I do not care," she informed you with a wave of her hand, "Just get on with it. You're lucky we didn't skip this lesson entirely." You retracted your hand at that; smile faltering.

"Alright..." You could only assume that this must have been Stolas' wife from the way he'd described her to you before. She was even worse than you expected, but you had little time to dwell on it as Octavia gently tapped your leg. 

"Can we get in the water?" She asked excitedly, "I wanna show Mama what I can do!" Your smile returned at that and you nodded, leading her back to the side of the pool as her mother collapsed on a nearby pool chair.

Sighing, you hopped in the pool and then turned to help the little owl after you. She was even more eager than usual to be in the water, and you assumed it had to do with the excitement of a different parent having accompanied her; though you could hardly share her sentiment. 

Once she was in the pool and holding onto the side, you started her on her usual drills. Since you'd been working with Octavia since she was an infant, you were well aware of her strengths and weaknesses, as well as her favorite activities when it came to your lessons. She chatted on as you two worked, telling you about whatever came to her mind, and you felt glad she'd gotten so comfortable with you over time. 

"Daddy's working today so Mommy brought me instead," she went on to explain as you two sat on the wall doing more kick drills now. 

"I saw." You smiled down at her, trying to keep the positive energy you knew was so necessary for teaching kids. 

"But he said maybe he'll be able to come to the end of the lesson," Octavia explained, "So maybe they can both watch me then!" You grinned and then pushed yourself into the water before turning to her.

"I'm sure he'll try his best to make it." And, if you were being honest, you hoped you were right. Stolas' company at these lessons was something you thoroughly enjoyed. He would always chat with you before and afterwards, and had such insightful thoughts that you constantly looked forward to his and his daughter's weekly classes. 

Stella, on the other hand, was thoroughly uninterested in what her daughter was up to; her eyes trained on her phone as she lounged on the pool chair. Considering she'd shown up in a full gown, you assumed she didn't find herself in places like this often, and therefore, did not care what you taught Octavia so long as you left her alone.

The owlet seemed to notice this because a frown appeared on her face. When you took her in your arms and began helping her with her front glides, she called out to her mother on the deck.

"Mommy, look at me!"

Stella's eyes never left her phone. "That's nice, Via." She replied. Unfortunately for her, though, her child was smarter than she seemed to give her credit for and her frown deepened. 

"You aren't looking!" She exclaimed sadly as you reminded her to kick her legs. Stella rolled her eyes before glancing up for a second and then returning to her phone. 

"You're doing great." She said dismissively. Octavia looked a little sad so you quickly stepped in to cover.

"She's right; you're doing great," you told the girl with a reassuring smile, "Can you look down at the bottom of the pool? See if there are any runaway fish down there I need to catch." Octavia giggled at that but obliged anyway and put her face down in the water to check for said fish. 

After a moment, she looked back up with a bright smile. "No fish!" She exclaimed happily and you smiled back at her.

"None? Are you sure?" You asked cheerfully and she looked down again for good measure. Finally, she raised her head again. 

"No fish!" You giggled and she did the same as you finally brought her into the wall. 

"Well, thank you for checking!" You told her, "I'm glad we don't have any loose fish today." You placed her on the wall again where she checked to see if Stella had bene watching.

As expected, she hadn't. Octavia's smile immediately dropped and she turned back to you with a sad expression. Feeling pressure to keep her happy, you quickly spoke up. "How about we work on your back float again, hmm?" You suggested. She nodded slowly before letting you support her back and leaning into your hold. 

"Lay back like you're sleeping in bed," you reminded her, "and look to see if any fish are in the sky!"

"The sky?" She asked through giggles and you nodded.

"Yep! Sometimes they like to swim around up there. Watch out for Craig specifically; he'll try to splash you." Octavia laughed before bringing her head up to look at Stella again. You couldn't help but feel bad for the girl's neglect by her mother; wishing Stolas would come back to encourage her like he always did. It was so important that kids be told how proud their parents were of them; you knew that. 

"Mommy, look at me!" She called again and your heart squeezed. Stella glanced up again.

"Great, sweetie." She replied nonchalantly. This seemed to finally be enough to upset the owlet, though, because she didn't take it for an answer. 

"You aren't looking!"

"Yes I am!" Stella shouted back, angry herself now. 

"No you aren't!" Octavia replied, crossing her arms as she continued to float on her back with your support. "You're not close enough to see!" Stella rolled her eyes again but stood from her pool chair now and put her arms out as if to say 'see?' 

"Better?" She asked in a frustrated tone.

"No!" Octavia called back, "You aren't close enough!" Grumbling, Stella took a few steps closer to the pool. Before she could even ask, though, Octavia was already calling to her. "You're not close enough, Mama!" She exclaimed through slightly teary eyes that made your heart clench, "I want you to see!"

Nearly fuming now, Stella came even closer to the pool so that her feet were right by the edge now. "There, am I close enough for you n-" She couldn't even finish her sentence, though, because as she was walking towards the edge, she slipped on some water and fell back. Her back smacked into the concrete of the pool deck and then the rest of her body slid into the water. 

It was at this moment when you realized Octavia's mother likely did not know how to swim. She flailed about in the water, which was a little deeper than where you currently stood holding the owlet, and seemed to panic as the weight of her huge dress pulled her down. 

To make matters worse, the lifeguard that was currently supposed to be watching the pool while you taught your lesson was hardly paying attention. Even when you called his name, he hardly batted an eye. Sighing, you replaced Octavia so that she comfortably rested in your left arm now; the way a parent might carry their toddler around.

There was no time to put her safely on the deck if you wanted to save her mother, and it wasn't as if you could leave the girl in the water by herself yet when she had only ever ran assisted drills up to this point. So, you were left with no choice by to swim through the water and towards Stella with the little girl in your arm. 

"Mommy!" The owlet called in fear as you finally made your way over to her mother. Stella was still flailing about in the water, which was a good thing at least, since it meant she hadn't yet lost consciousness. 

Amidst all the commotion, you didn't even notice that another owl now entered the scene, coming onto the pool deck with a bright smile that immediately disappeared when he saw what was going on. Unsure what to do, he rushed over to the deck near where you and his family were, but he worried he might not reach your group in time to help. 

Finally, you reached Stella and grabbed her by the waist with your free arm, dragging her up to the surface as she continued to flail. She smacked you in the face multiple times but you didn't waver; keeping Octavia away from the path of her arms and making sure both their heads stayed above the water. 

The lifeguard finally seemed to have noticed what was going on now, because he stood from his chair as if to help, but you just glared at him; having already done most of his job in this situation. 

You reached the pool deck now, where you let go of Octavia as soon as she was holding onto the wall. Stolas reached you too, immediately taking her into his arms and out of the water as he asked if she was alright. 

You turned your attention to the still-panicking Stella now; making sure she was still breathing as you helped her to sit on the poolside. The lifeguard had grabbed a first aid kit and was coming over to you four now as you looked her over. Luckily, she seemed relatively unharmed, aside from the scare. 

"Are you alright?" You asked, "You didn't hit your head when you fell, did you?" Now that she was on dry land, the owl's glare returned as she stared you down.

"No," she replied, crossing her arms, "But my dress is completely ruined! This is all your fault; you filthy sinner!" With that, she stood up from the side of the pool and stomped away, ignoring the lifeguard that tried to offer her medical attention as she passed. 

"Mama, where are you going?" Octavia called from her father's arms. Stella didn't pause.

"To get a new dress tailored!" Stella called back, glancing at you again, "And I'll be billing you for it!" Finally, she stormed through the locker rooms and out of the building as you shuddered. The lifeguard gave you a look that asked if you were okay but you just nodded and waved him off; pulling yourself out of the water. 

"I think that'll be it for our lesson today," you sighed, turning to Stolas, "I'm so sorry about that." Before he could reply, the owlet in his arms shook her head.

"It wasn't your fault; Mama fell!" She exclaimed as your expression softened. She turned back to her father now. "She needs swim lessons too." He smiled.

"I don't think your mother will be going anywhere near the water after that." He admitted and then looked to you. "But I am sure you had nothing to do with it. Stella can be quite...Easily angered." If he were being completely honest, he couldn't help but wish she hadn't been saved, but he knew you would never let that happen. "And, of course, I will not allow her to take any legal action against you; that includes her clothing expenses." You grinned.

"Thank you, Stolas." You said softly, grabbing your towel from one of the nearby pool chairs and wrapping it around yourself. "If you want to reschedule your next lessons with someone else, I understand." You would have expected him to do so, actually, but he quickly shook his head.

"No need!" He exclaimed a little too hurriedly, "Via enjoys working with you so much and I wouldn't want to uproot her over something like this!" Luckily, the little girl in his arms nodded in agreement, effectively covering for him. You smiled back.

"If that's what you want."

"It is." Stolas assured you with a grin, "It really is." There was a brief moment of silence between you both as you gazed into one another's eyes, and then the prince finally remembered where he was and what was going on as he composed himself by clearing his throat. 

"A-anyway," he spoke, "Thank you for saving my...wife." Your heart clenched at the word but you nodded.

"Of course." Then, you turned to Octavia, who was still in her father's arms. "I'll see you next week!" You told her, "Then you can show your dad how much progress we made today." She grinned and nodded excitedly.

"Yeah!"

With that, you bid them both farewell and watched as Stolas carried his daughter out of the pool building. Somehow, as he left, it felt as if a part of your heart went with him. 

[felassan]

Thoughts on the IGN DA:TV 22 min gameplay - Crossroads portion

this post is under a cut due to what some peeps may consider spoilers, and length.

[Lighthouse portion link]

I began writing this post today before the progression video released, I wanna clear out the draft. don't look at me HH.

Coming into the Crossroads, again I'm curious to know if elf lineage Rooks will perceive it differently than the other Rooks, as in DA:I.

Left: The Lighthouse eluvian leads out to Solas' pocket area of the Crossroads. The area around the eluvian is called Beacon Island. It makes sense; lighthouses in the mundane world are often on islands, and they are beacons. in the Fade, the island floats in the 'air', and the Fade is often referred to with watery language & symbolism. Center: I've decided that I think these golden posts are the 'change party' points. You see them at multiple points throughout the video. The icon has three helmets (and parties are Rook+2). I feel like if we click on this it will take you to the party selection screen. Also, the gold-and-cyan coloring of the post reminds me of the color scheme of the lyrium dagger. We know that Rook can use the dagger to channel companions' special abilities in their absence. it makes sense that the [essentially] 'summon party member themselves button' is themed in the same way. Right x2: These blue lamps are all over Beacon Island. I wondered if they were also part of what gave Beacon Island its name (lamp - light - beacon), but then I remembered that we have also seen these elsewhere, like in this screenshot. what if that scene and the final battle (or whenever this key event takes place) isn't actually set in the Black City like we thought? what if that's the ruins of Beacon Island and the Lighthouse, under attack from the gods and their darkspawn army? if they can assault the Crossroads, why not the Lighthouse? Corypheus attacks your base at two key points in DA:I. what trips me up a bit is in the background of the dragon shot are the Evanuris head-shape statues like a Fade reflection of the Arlathan Forest ritual site, not this island. but the Fade is a changeable realm and the 'landscape' of Skyhold also changes when Corypheus attacks due to his influence. they could just like, appear.

The ancient elven tree asset from DA:I. It has an icon on the mini-map, so it's either a landmark or has some sort of interactable function. Among the branches it glows with magical energy, as a device it's active. What's it for? A power source? A defense thing? I could see an argument for it basically being a magical defense turret. At the base are two frozen figures, reminding of Solas' Trespasser power to petrify people. I feel like on one of them at least I can see a pointed elven ear. Were these people attacking the base (and are left there as a warning), or were they fleeing? Did the device freeze them? Or a person?

Left: big dog 👍 Center top: DA:I Falon'Din owl statue asset on Beacon Island, to the right as you exit the Lighthouse eluvian. There are at least two of these. Owls are also associated with Andruil. Center bottom: This is a tile thing on the ground that Rook walks over on Beacon Island. I turned it upside down here because I think if you flip it and squint it kind of looks like the shape of a wolf's head. Right: There are multiple points from which to take the Caretaker's transport boat. I'm so curious about how big and extensive the Crossroads are.

At this point Rook has some very interesting dialogue concerning the lyrium dagger.

Rook: "Wait. The lyrium dagger's... vibrating. Like a song in a wine glass. Are those voices?"

Why is it vibrating, what does it sense? this trope (not using the term in a negative way) is usually like 'it senses something bad coming' or 'it's near something that calls to it'. The song part reminded me of the red lyrium idol, as described in Tevinter Nights. some people who go near it in one of the short stories hear music in the wind, like a old song they used to know as kids. the song later stops when they stash the idol in a special chest. blue lyrium itself is said to sing, or be described in that kind of imagery. for example, dwarven miners who find it in rock by ear claim they can hear the Stone singing, and Justice says that lyrium doesn't sing in the Fade. In Asunder Rhys hears a song when someone gets a lyrium potion. etc

"Wine glass" also interested me :) Wine is a liquid and the Fade is frequently described in watery imagery. and back to the red lyrium idol for a second, the narrator in TN tells us "When I hefted it in my hand, it was like it wanted to keep moving, like it was liquid inside." Same with the voices. When Bartrand had possession of the idol, he began hearing voices. when the camera pans over the idol in the 2018 DA4 teaser trailer, there is audio that arguably sounds like ominous whispering. I'm not sure if I think the blue lyrium knife has anything to do with the red lyrium idol or if it's simply a case of lyrium things in general have singing, voices etc, but it's what came to mind. If there are two daggers, one red and one blue, like we saw in the DA:TV bonus card pack.. well, a ritual-blade sprang from the base of the red lyrium idol in TN. what if the blue lyrium dagger is from the base of a blue lyrium idol, or if it's the one from the red lyrium idol only Solas was somehow able to cleanse it?

There are some familiar assets and repeating assets in this area, some of differing sizes, like griffon statues, Warden statues etc. this makes sense as the Crossroads reflects the waking world. :)

The Caretaker from the side with their glowing blue oar. their 'body' is like the redesigned spirits/demons as being of emotion, with veins like this giving the impression of a nervous system.

Our hero is confronted by a Pride demon, imposing and armored as in previous games, yet accented by exposed, bright lines that seem to burst from its ribcage. “They are a creature of raw negative emotion,” Busche says. “So we wanted to actually incorporate that into their visual design with this glowing nervous system.” -- Edge magazine article on DA:TV -- “demons in general got a bit of a revamp to more closely align their look you. see it with shades and the pride demon as well. they’re creatures of emotion so they have a spectral nervous system look” [source].

The Caretaker piloting the boat like this is giving Charon the ferryman from Greek mythology.

In the post on the Lighthouse area, I wrote about the top center image here,

this symbol was on the minimap, in front of the Fen'Harel statue. I think it’s this one (left), which we saw in the high-level warrior combat gameplay video. it’s some sort of collectable in the sort of way that gold/coin is. I guess this is where we go to use or spend this thing perhaps, whatever they are? maybe it’s for Lighthouse upgrades? maybe it’s what we spend at or trade to the mysterious “enchanter” who helps us with crafting at the Lighthouse?

When I saw the Caretaker's helmet-shape from the front when Rook took ship, I realized that it reminded me of the symbol on the minimap in the Courtyard and the symbol for that collectable/resource.

When the dev commentary then called the Caretaker a "mysterious spirit" I thought this might be the mysterious "enchanter who helps us with crafting at the Lighthouse", and wondered if the Courtyard helmet symbol on the map near the blue fire in front of the Fen'Harel statue would be where we could summon 'shop version' of them to do that. (remember this post was in the middle of being written out today when a new video dropped hh). we learned today that they have their Workshop there and you spend Mementos (represented by the helmet shape near gold coins) at it. :)

The prow of the ship looks like a carved mabari head and the ship reminds me of a DA:I asset.

When the boat 'lands', this new area of the Crossroads is called the Heights of Athim. This caught my eye because isn't there a mysterious elf introduced in The Wigmaker Job called Athima? Lucanis takes Illario on a shortcut on their way to work. They go through an archway to a courtyard where a statue of a vhenadahl stands. Lucanis touches a groove that opens a secret passage in the statue. They go in and down a winding set of stairs. Torches of green Veilfire are nailed to the walls. At the bottom an elf in a scarlet coat called Athima guards a big door. They tell her they want to go up, she claps her hands together, the Veilfire goes out, the room spins. The Veilfire comes back on and when she opens the door it takes them to a different spiral staircase. Illario asks Lucanis wtf that was and he tells him it was a perk given by their mysterious benefactor. What was this? :D idk, doesn't it sound a bit pocket dimension, Crossroady? Veilfire? And here are "Heights of Athim".

When Harding says "Neve! She always gets the job done", it reminded me of the previous info that Harding and Neve have wholesome interactions, and the descriptors of Neve as capable, competent etc. it's nice to see them supporting one another :)

In this video we have our first proper look at mage gameplay. :D

This moment was so randomly cute because it looks like Rook has protectively put their arm around Harding's shoulders while telling off the darkspawn like DON'T TALK TO ME OR MY SON EVER AGAIN hhh.

At this point there's a gold chest off to one side. I liked hearing examples of combat barks, comments and banter. Neve explains a bit about how templars work in Tevinter to southern Harding. Their banter here is as follows:

Harding: Do templars really not have authority over mages in Tevinter? What happens if there’s blood magic? What do they do? Neve: Depends on the templar. Depends on who’s bought their loyalty Harding: What do you do when the authorities can’t be trusted to do the right thing? Neve: That’s how I keep busy.

This reminded me soo much of a promotional video for DA4 once upon a time where the devs said that "We want to tell a story of what happens when you don't have power; when the people in charge aren't willing to address the issues" ! Here Neve is saying, when that happens, that's where people like us can and should step in. :)

Rook then goes to a new area called "Mountainside Eluvians". the name of the area implies to me that there are other batches of eluvians grouped together in different locations elsewhere in the Crossroads which would have different names, not simply these 4.

The map here tells us that in the Mountainside alone, there are four different eluvians. The one lit up with the blue quest marker goes to Hossberg Wetlands. Dev commentary here says,

“You’ll see as we move towards these eluvians the architecture very clearly reflects what’s on the other side.”

The one on the right is flanked by griffon statues. The eluvian is shattered! This video was set after the storybeat of the siege of Weisshaupt. Maybe this was the eluvian that went to Weisshaupt fortress? now that Weisshaupt has fallen, we cannot go back there, and the fate of the place is reflected in the broken mirror. :( in fact, this eluvian no longer even has a quest marker for it. it's unusable. (see yellow dot annotated on minimap where I think its marker used to be).

This one next to it is also flanked with griffons and has these giant rings on sticks. maybe this one leads to this location from the release date reveal trailer (which seems Anderfelsy to me)?

For the eluvian to the left of the Hossberg Wetlands one, like I said here, based on the dwarf statue and the way Kal-Sharok was highlighted on that new map, I wonder if that one goes to Kal-Sharok. (pls pls :D) Lastly, for the one to the left of that, it's hard to tell as the camera doesn't really pan round to it.

General thoughts/speculation on commentary & such:

The Crossroads is such a fun method of 'explaining' fast-traveling.

To think that we would get to explore Solas’ former base of operations and training grounds during the ancient days of the rebellion, view fragments of the past to get insight into his character, ancient Elvhenan and the gods and their motivations.. to actually get to re-live his memories, to take part in the ancient rebellion.. [Flemeth voice] and she came to me. A wisp of an ancient being. And she granted all I ever wanted and more.

It's like a dream come true!! It's peoples' decade-old headcanons, it's our fanfic dreams. I can't wait to see Elvhenan as it was. I hope we get insight into and see Elgar and Ghil before they became Blighted. I hope we get to see some of the other Evanuris too, and Mythal in her fullness before she was murdered. Mythal and Solas interacting. Young Solas, when he was prideful, hot-headed and foolish. his friend Felassan, who is also an ancient elf (it's the perfect opportunity, it makes so much sense). the moment when Solas created the Veil. the betrayal he suffered that he alludes to. Solas removing vallaslin of people who came to his side to join him. Solas with hair, like Matt Rhodes implied during the first dev Q&A? Solas creating a safe haven for freed elves and spirits. maybe even the Forgotten Ones?? and find out how they fit into it all? maybe they were Solas' "party members" in the time of his rebellion? things that we have only seen in mosaics and murals or read about in notes or heard about indirectly in oblique dialogue lines.. ON OUR SCREENS IN A GAME, TO PLAY. OUUGUGHHH. thank you devs

I'm also really curious about the Caretaker. "mysterious" implies that we can learn more about what/who they are. them being there before Solas was tells you how extremely ancient they are. rebuilding the area into a safe haven for spirits sounds so cool too. :)

The Risen Gods having an army of augmented darkspawn.. we in danger. :)

I wanna find every single deep Crossroads secret. :D

On Ghilan'nain's experiments, use of the Blight, etc: some old posts. it's so metal to see Horror of Hormak paying off ingame. :D

[Lighthouse portion link]

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for wanting to spend a night out with a guy?

I'm twenty, study in university and still live with my parents. I've been planning to move out since I was eighteen, but they told me to keep living at home and not get a job so I could focus on studying while they take care of me financially. This arrangement has worked mostly well in the past years save for a few small conflicts, but it's escalated in the past 3-4 months.

The issue is my time schedule. I have a very active social life, am active in the local art scene, do political work and a lot of extracurricular stuff for university (I'm a straight A student, I might add!). Because of this, and because I'm a natural night owl, I usually come home late several days a week (between 10pm and 2am) and stay out all day for most of the week. This means I can't do a lot of chores, and usually there's a lot of housework because my mum has a bit of a cleaning anxiety and wants to make sure everything is spotless 24/7.

Enter this guy, I'll call him Tim. I met him at a festival last summer and we became long distance friends. Tim has visited me for a day several times before, but this weekend he offered to come over for two days and we agreed to spend the night stargazing together without sleeping. I loved the idea and immediately said yes. It was gonna be just us, a couple energy drinks, and some bench in the city center, and I was really looking forward to it.

The thing is, my mum does not like Tim. Like, at all. She thinks he seems very sleazy and generally distrusts him because he feels "too nice" for her. Mind you, he's just a somewhat shady looking guy who is generally pretty anxious he might make a bad impression, so he overperforms the whole "respectable member of society" act a bit around new people. I've introduced him to my friend group and even the more sceptical people absolutely love him and think he's a very sweet, helpful person. In basically every stressful situation I've ever seen him in he's been deescalating, protective and helpful, and he has on several occasions been my first source of comfort when things went to hell.

Today I told my mum in an offhanded comment that I won't come home between Sunday and Monday and the situation escalated completely. She was crying, accusing me of ruining her month, saying I didn't care about this family, it got ugly. The main point she had was that I was staying out all night with someone who's a total stranger to her and she doesn't trust him at all. In the end we compromised that Tim and I would spend the night awake, but not in the city, at home.

I feel really humiliated by this whole situation and honestly, kind of betrayed, because I was promised stuff like this wouldn't happen, and it just hits in a much safer situation than ones I've been in before (I used to get blackout drunk and sleep at parties a lot.). I'm a legal adult, have been for years now and it's so disappointing that my parents still treat me like a child sometimes and are so judgy towards my friends too. At the same time, I'm wondering whether I've acted wrong too by not telling her about this earlier and not taking her concerns that seriously. I forget sometimes that I talk to Tim every day for hours, but my parents only briefly ran into him once, so of course their view of him is skewed.

PS: I should add that when I told him about this, he immediately apologized, asked if I needed anything or wanted to change the plan and decided to dig out the least offensive outfit he could find so he'd make a good impression on my parents. So he's definitely trying his best.

[charmixpower]

what are your hc's when it comes to the specialists hobbies? (+Nabu)

i'm kinda sad we don't really know a lot about them.

YEAH!!! Or if we know their hobbies, WE NEVER GET TO SEE THEM ENJOY THEM??? Unless ur Helia. Pretty people privilege

Sky

Listen, I need you to look at Erendor and Samara and tell me if Sky has a life or any real time for hobbies. The answer is no he does not

Listen dragon equestrian is a thing that exists in the magic dimension and he loves it do not argue with me this man loves it. Riding a dragon and doing tricks, what more could you want out of a sport???

He also spends so much time teaching Lady tricks you'd think he was entering her into a competition. He's not, he is simply having fun

Sky really likes running, and walking. With or without Lady, he is content to run around with this thoughts. It's his favorite form of exercise

I think Sky would enjoy at least some of the royalty approved activities pushed on him, like riding horses and dragons obviously, but also dancing. (Though he would hate learning how to play an instrument or something that required sitting without movement)

I think he'd like the fake duel's and mock battles like fencing over real combat but that's just my version of Sky that lives in my head talking

I don't think Sky is really snobby about anything that isn't tea. Does he argue with other people about which tea tastes the best? Maybe. It's like part because he and Diaspro have opposite tastes in tea and they will argue about anything, part because tea was the only meal he wasn't being hovered over because it's supposed to be a bit more informal than a real meal, half because magix doesn't have all that good tea options

Brandon

He suffers from has no life syndrome too but worse actually bc he's had a government job at 17!!!

Does crafting and maintaining an Instagram presence count as a hobby? I mean I do this as a hobby so I'm gonna say it counts. Making thinking your hot into a hobby, I wish I were him

I have no clue if Brandon genuinely enjoys weightlifting or gymnastics or if he does it because it's literally required of him but I DO think he'd enjoy exercise in general. Like?? He's getting hotter, better able to handle situations, AND it makes him feel great. 10/10 he loves it

I think Brandon would enjoy calligraphy. I have like multiple friends who are on their handwriting bullshit and Brandon would absolutely be one of these people. He'd write exclusively in fancy capital letters while pretending to be Sky, but he also like genuinely knows calligraphy and enjoys it. No one knows cept Sky until Stella wants to write something formally and he writes it for her

Brandon is way too chill of a person, and while I think he's like naturally good at controlling his emotions I also think he does SOMETHING for mindfulness. Reads self help books, does meditation, something that helps him stay so fucking chill all the time

On that topic I also think Brandon likes psychology, like the "why do people act the way they do?" side. Just a little bit, he gets along with way too many insane people to not have at least a little idea

Timmy

He's the least interesting specialist to me in canon so he's where I'm on my bullshit. Listen man we don't need TWO computer wizs, we can have one computer genius and an engineering nerd. For the sake of everyone around Tecna not being the exact same as her AND for my enrichment

Timmy is obsessed with their air crafts. He can talk for HOURS about types of planes, the Owl assigned to their squad is literally his fucking baby and Riven is NOT allowed to pilot it EVER. He lost his mind just a little bit when he's got to pilot a Hawk with Helia, he was so excited. This is definitely his main hobby and why he's in the RF air force track instead of the engineering track, he WILL fly and nothing will stop him

If Legos exist in the magical dimension he's obsessed with them and makes the most insane builds and you know I'm right

Riven absolutely gets Timmy into lock picking. Lock picking is just a logic puzzle that also has a real life application and they spend so much time trying to pick difficult locks when they need a no think thing to do

And speed running, all the specialists have a tendency to just watch him play a video game stupid fast and it's group bonding

Shooting is a sport and one that Timmy enjoys immensely

Riven

Reading. No I'm so serious he's the character shown holding a book the most often. This man reads. Tbh he's probably reading about types of magical animals that specialists are called in to deal with, and their behaviors. That and like lists of forgeable plants

Riven also sews and makes his own clothes! Like it's a restoration thing but also Riven just likes fashion and has very specific ideas for clothes so he just makes them himself.

Riven is the most passionate about sword play and combat. Like it's genuinely fun for him, I think if everyone was set loose they'd drift away from being in the military except Riven. This is his passion. Survivalist stuff is also a huge passion of his. It's his concentration at RF I will never shut up about that hc. His dream job is dealing with magical animal threats in the wilderness, everyone thinks he's just a little insane

That and podcasts. Oh my god the podcasts Riven would have listened to in middle school, cringe worthy, they're EXACTLY what your thinking and it's terrible. Thankfully he listens to calming podcasts and like educational podcasts now, and the occasional true crime one

I'm not sure if lock picking is a hobby for him or if it's just something he HAD to learn, but he takes a lot of pride in it so I'm assuming it's a hobby. Riven likes logic puzzles and that's what lock picking is

Does Riven have an interest in photography or did he print off pictures from Musa's Instagram, the world may never know

Helia

We know the most about his hobbies. Painting, origami, and poetry. Helia is well and truly vibing, and by that I mean I bet you he spends hours agonizing about every detail <3

He probably also has a bullet journal, it's the vibes, do you understand where I'm coming from?

I think Helia would be super into general DIY in every area and at one point he gets Timmy into helping refurbish a chair he found, sometimes he just wants to work on something and that something is a chair he picked up off the curb

Helia definitely picked up how to use his string gloves for fun and to have a body active hobby and he loves it? I think Helia would really enjoy doing things that challenge him and he has the most esoteric weapon so it fits

I also think Helia's glove string weapon is as much of a weapon as it can be used for string art? I think he'd like string art

Helia can parkour and that's on wanting to get the PERFECT angle for his reference piece and know he's 40 ft in the air, Saladin slowly lost his mind when he adopted Helia after his parents died because the kid would not stop climbing on RF

Helia is also a chronic people watcher. At least 70% time when he's people watching he's also drawing them but sometimes he's too tired for that XD

Nabu

Learning about his hyper fixation magic. Listen this man will DEMOLISH a library in a week to learn about the intricacies of runic magic, he is vibrating in his shoes

Okay I know Timmy is the one who you'd assume would like this the most, but I think if you put a ttrpg in front of Nabu he'd fucking love it??? He would either spend 2 million hours world building as the DM or get way into role playing

I think Nabu spends a lot more time fucking around and having fun with his magic than most magic users. Like learning how to make small intricate beautiful things with his magic. I definitely think there would be an art form based around magic that Nabu would be super into that

Nabu absolutely is a history buff too. Like knows about ancient techniques for making things off the top of his head can list most major developments in each century when prompted history buff and I love him

He probably also has a rock collection, this man is autistic and we have rock collections. Sometimes the rocks are magically and that's always exciting

Nabu and Flora spending hours researching a random ass specific phenomenon and having the time of their lives

[nadianova]

Do you come up with character names randomly or do you actively pull inspiration from somewhere, because it feels like they all fit the characters so well and some of them feel pretty unique (like the lead girlies in Hopeless Junction)

i think names gain meaning through connection to the character. even if its something like millarca that is direct reference to gay vampire novel carmilla once i name my character millarca it gains new meaning for her. francesca malcatras comes from My Lady (Malady)+Alcatraz so i do get funny with them sometimes. but these are the exception i normally don't try to do anything with them. i don't seek out symbolism or name meanings when looking to name characters. honestly you can name your characters whatever and the names will grow on them. that's my mentality at least

but as for ME i have such a strong preference for letters that i really really like to use (N A D I L etc.) it just makes me feel good these are the OPTIMAL LETTERS TO USE FOR STRONGEST AURA. name yourself diana and nobody can stop you. um anyway like i especially i like names ending with "A" like kalinda, chandra, zarina, francesca and liliana, shana, millarca, remilia, arisa.... i usually just pull shit out of thin air like naming my next games sister pairs with matching names lana&lina(just nice letters) and ilo&hali (ilo=happyiness/happy hali=hug) naomida will also have someone named pöllö (literally, owl) because when i drew her her hair kinda reminded me of an owl

anyway my preferences for these patterns is so strong i end up into a situation where i wanted to name my 10th character in the game "paloma" and my gf was like no you cant do that you already have too many characters with these letters its going to get confusing so I'm left spamming name generators and going down baby name lists to find something that is not something that is directly my gut instinct otherwise every single character would be called nadiana.

[greeeengoblin]

Looking for a friend <3!!

DC, Young Justice, Titans, Teen Titans (2003), Harley Quinn, Bat Family, Batman, Red Hood and The Outlaws, The Wayne Family Adventures, etc. Marvel, MCU. Supernatural, Sherlock Holmes, Miraculous, My Little Pony, Equestria Girls, Ever After High, Monster High, The Owl House, Amphibia, Steven Universe, Inside Job, Adventure Time, The Amazing World of Gumball, BoJack Horseman, Demon Slayer, Total Drama, Winx, Barbie…

OR someone who is in at least one of these fandoms, who uses/reads AO3 (with a healthy mindset), could be a beta reader, is Turkish or English, has favorite characters like Jason Todd, Dick Grayson, Stephanie Brown, Cassandra Cain, Selina Kyle, Talia Al-Ghul, or Bruce Wayne (but honestly it doesn’t matter that much). Someone who loves to talk, listen, edit, watch edits, draw, is under 30 years old (I don't trust AO3 users over 25-30, nothing personal), loves literature and Pride and Prejudice, and can be active regularly. I'm looking for a friend like that <33

If you like me, let's be friends!<3 (Im 19 years old btw)

[wuxianxkexing]

Mu Qing x Goddess Reader: Stop Fucking With My Cat Part 5

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What do you mean I have to actually write this story and it won't just magically appear? Yeah, I didn't forget, I've just been too busy for the past like 5 months? Or however long it's been since the last update. Lol

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Ghosts of all types were most active at night. It was a fact of life and it seemed like humans were born with that innate knowledge, the innate fear of the dark. Y/N didn't really mind the dark too much usually. However she really wasn't prepared for how all consuming the darkness of the swamp really was. It was her first time ever being in one. The torch she carried was practically useless. Between the darkness and thick of the swamp the eye could only see maybe a foot or two in front of it even with the help of the torch. Still it was better than nothing. With it's help Y/N was able to traverse the swamp with all of the delicatecy and grace of a couple hours old fawn, instead of one just born mere minutes ago. It was more difficult than walking on just solid ice! Y/N thought as she gave a dismayed look to Mu Qing who was impatiently stopping every few feet or so to wait for Y/N to catch up again. At least solid ice usually doesn't have so many damned obstacles! Y/N had long ago lost count of how many twigs, mossy rocks, fallen trees, roots and just plain mud she had fallen over during their trek deeper into the murky swamp. It didn't help that despite being so dark it was also super loud. Bugs, owls, frogs, everything seemed to be screaming, or rather singing, it's lungs out. Though Y/N supposed that was a good thing. A silent forest is a bad forest.

"At this rate I might as well carry you." Y/N froze over the large tree root she was making her way over. Mu Qing rolled his eyes so hard she wasn't sure if they'd ever return back to normal. Unlike Y/N Mu Qing was making his way through the swamps like an elf. Never a foot misplaced, barely making any noise. He had the footwork that one would expect of a martial God. It kind of annoyed Y/N, nevermind the insult he had just given her. Why was she the only one suffering in this stupid swamp? "Feng Xin could move through this faster and quieter than you. I'm surprised you haven't scared off everything in the area. The frogs must know that you are too clumsy to be a threat." He smirked.

"Well if you hadn't interrupted my hunting lesson with Echo I could've learned cat like footwork from him!"

"Pfft, so you'd make your master my cat? Well I suppose no one else /would/ take you under their wing." Y/N puffed her cheeks in mocking fake anger. She was a martial Goddess. If anything people would fight each other to be able to claim her as their student. They both surely knew that to be true.

"I think your cat would be a good master. The worst he'd do to me is maybe scratch or bite me, but at least he wouldn't have me run laps until my legs fall off." Y/N smiled back.

Mu Qing huffed and rolled his eyes. "Actually the worst he might do to you is try to suffocate you in your sleep by laying directly on your face like he does to me every night. He's not as innocent as he looks."

"Maybe I shouldn't have given him that demon collar after all. Sounds like he is already halfway there." Y/N laughed at her joke but Mu Qing just stared at her, clearly unamused. Y/N mentally hit herself. Right, he still didn't find the whole thing funny. Y/N liked to fancy herself as a comedian but undeniably most people didn't think she was very funny. She made the rest of her way over the large tree root and went to stand next to Mu Qing, who quickly turned on his heel and continued deeper into the swamp. 'Psh, maybe I should just have him carry me.' Y/N thought grumpily to herself. But she knew it was just a thought. No way would she ever ask to be carried by anyone, let alone Mu Qing. He obviously already thought that she was useless, she didn't need to make it worse. And really it was rather pathetic that a martial Goddess was having such a hard time just walking around. Y/N decided to focus harder on making her way through the swamp with some element of grace, and whether through actual focus or just more experience on where to step the duo actually started making decent time on their descent into the swamp. However their slow going in the beginning finally caught up to them as their last torch finally died.

"Nice going Y/N, now we have to walk around in the dark." Y/N felt her eye twitch in the pitch darkness. It wasn't her fault! She was pretty sure that they needed to bring twice as many torches than they did but Mu Qing was the one who didn't want to carry them around!

"General Xuan Zhen, why don't you just light a palm torch? I was pretty sure that we didn't bring enough torches along but you were the one who said that we'd be fine. Don't blame me for your lapse in judgment." Y/N let out through a very forced smile. She wasn't sure why she even bothered since neither of them could see anything at the moment but that's just a part of playing nice she supposed.

"Tch, why don't you light a palm torch. I need to conserve my spiritual energy." Y/N didn't need to see to know that he just rolled his eyes at her though. She thought about telling him to go fuck himself, she needed to conserve her spiritual power as well and being the very popular God that he was he surely had a lot more of it to spare than she did. Y/N waited a few seconds, listening to the sounds of frogs croaking in the night, considering whether or not she would use her spiritual power. To be honest she didn't really need her spiritual powers, her martial abilities were exceptional even without them, so she ultimately decided to cooperate and lit a palm torch for them.

Unexpectedly Mu Qing was standing a whole lot closer to her than she remembered and she almost caught his robe sleeve on fire. "Watch it!" He screamed out as he pulled himself out of the line of fire. Y/N almost laughed. What was he even doing standing so close to her in the first place after he had just told her to light a palm torch?

"Sorry General Xuan Zhen. My bad." Y/N weakly apologized with a small smile on her face. Mu Qing fixed her with a scrutinizing gaze.

"You did that on purpose."

"No I didn't. I thought you were standing over there." Y/N pointed to where Mu Qing was definitely standing when the last torch went out. His eyes followed the line of Y/N's finger and he pressed his lips together firmly. Maybe it was just the lighting from her palm torch but Y/N was pretty sure that Mu Qing was blushing.

"Whatever, let's get going." Mu Qing turned and started to walk off into the darkness, leaving Y/N to chase after him so he didn't get lost or hurt without light.

[wikiangela]

fuck it friday

tagged by @jamespearce9-1-1 @daffi-990 @disasterbuckdiaz 💖

haven't written much lately bc I got too into oth and it's day 4 of watching and i'm like halfway through s2 lmao so I don't have much more of the married buddie fic (which is currently my priority) I can share without sharing everything haha - so, fuck it, here's a non-buddie snippet 🙈 i'm writing this just for me so like, who cares but also figured i'd share bc fuck it haha it's a ryan/taylor fic from the oc - they had an open ending where they weren't explicitly together, so in this fic they both go to college and keep in touch but aren't officially dating until she visits for christmukkah and they talk 🤣 it's very slowly coming together bc I deleted what I had and started from scratch lol

___

It’s hard to coordinate phone calls with a nine hour time difference, especially since Taylor is… well, Taylor is Taylor. She takes up any extracurricular activity she can, gets involved in the social life of her university, and always has her schedule fully packed up. Sometimes when she tells Ryan about her day, he needs to ask if she's taking breaks and has time to breathe. But that’s Taylor. He can’t help but smile as he thinks about her restless need to do it all. He wishes he could be there to make sure she rests, too. 

He wishes he knew where they stand, as well. They’re kinda in this weird limbo right now. They talk at least a few times a week, they spent the last hour before she left making out on the train, but he’s still not sure if they’re dating, if they’re exclusive… He doesn’t think so, and it’s annoying to have to wonder. Taylor is usually so blunt and honest, and she’s always been the one needing reassurances on where they stand. But she’s not saying anything, and it’s slowly driving Ryan crazy.

He picks up the phone and throws his book to the side.

“Hey.” he whispers, falling back against his pillow.

“Hi, Ryan!” he hears her bubbly voice that instantly makes him feel all warm inside. When he closes his eyes, he can see her adorable smile and those piercing hazel eyes that always seem to look straight into his soul. 

“Hey.” he repeats, a smile forcing itself onto his face.

___

no pressure tags: @elvensorceress @gaydiaz @diazass @thebravebitch @silentxxsoul @shortsighted-owl @eddiebabygirldiaz @arthursdent @911onabc @housewifebuck @rogerzsteven @watchyourbuck @underwater-ninja-13 @eowon @loserdiaz @evanbegins @ladydorian05 @pirrusstuff @theotherbuckley @wildlife4life @fortheloveofbuddie @nmcggg @diazpatcher @lover-of-mine @exhuastedpigeon @king-buckley @monsterrae1 @thewolvesof1998 @hoodie-buck @spotsandsocks @jeeyuns @callmenewbie @alliaskisthepossibilityoflove @weewootruck @hippolotamus @steadfastsaturnsrings @malewifediaz @honestlydarkprincess @buckaroosheart @spagheddiediaz @rainbow-nerdss @giddyupbuck @jesuisici33

[wordsbyrian]

The Owl and The Lioness - Alessia Russo x Reader

Summary: Rugby player!R meets Alessia Russo and things go from there.

A/N: This is the fic I made you guys vote on me writing like a week ago. Also does anyone else feel like I'm writing these pretty fast because I have 3 other fics just waiting to be posted and a 4th in progress.

As a rugby player, you can honestly say that you do not spend much time thinking about football.

In all honesty, you can’t say that you’ve spent more than ten minutes thinking about it in the last 10 years, but that’s all about to change today.

Today, you along with the rest of England’s women's national rugby team are at St. George’s Park because apparently, it would look good if the Red Roses were seen supporting the Lionesses and vice versa before your major tournaments.

You’ve never been more uncomfortable than you are right now standing in front of these footballers in your training kit.

The two sets of captains and coaches are currently trying to figure out the best way to go about this faux joint training. They don’t take very long and before you know it, you and your fellow wings Jess, Ellie, and Lydia are standing with their strikers.

“I’m Beth. That’s Bethany, Nikita, and Alessia,” the newly identified Beth says.

“I’m Lydia and that’s Jess, Ellie, and Owl,” Lydia says, smirking as she purposely tries to wind you up by using your nickname.

“It’s Y/N,” you say, barely loud enough to be heard.

“Speak up Owl,” your teammates say at nearly the same time with identical eye rolls.

Taking a deep breath you try again, voice coming out at a normal volume, “My name is Y/N.”

Out of the corner of your eye, you can see Alessia give you a small grin, which you return despite the sound of blood rushing in your ears.

It’s then that the drills start and you find yourself silently showing her the correct way to pass a rugby ball and the correct way to tackle, chuckling softly as she and her three teammates struggle to bring you down.

In turn, she shows you how to do keepy-ups and how to use your laces to add some power to your shots.

The very last activity of the day is a foot race and it involves most of their team taking on the backs from yours.

“You’re all about to learn why we call her the Owl,” you hear Jess shout from somewhere down the line.

There’s a bit of laughter from your team and even a couple of ‘yeah rights’ from the footballers, but you’re not paying attention to any of that. Your eyes are locked onto the pole at the opposite end of the field, your finish for the race.

All you need is for their coach to blow the whistle and the second she does you’re gone.

Out of the corner of your eye, you can see that at least two of the footballers are slightly ahead of you but you’re not worried about that. 

Your only concern is beating your teammates, which you do by a lot. 

Upon turning around you see that most of the runners are still a good 15 meters back.

It doesn’t take very long before your teammates are circling you and ruffling your hair though.

“Way to fly Owl,” your captain shouts, hooking her arm around your shoulders, “Really did us proud little rose.”

“Thought I should show that we’re not all big brutes like you, boss,” you respond quietly, a small grin on your face.

She doesn’t find it as funny as you do though taking the opportunity to put you in a headlock.

You struggle against her for a while, not making any progress towards escaping until the coaches call the two teams back in front of them.

Neither of the coaches says anything important, not in your opinion anyway, and they release the two sides to mingle and get ready to go.

Not one for talking with people, you go to gather your stuff and are slightly surprised when a shadow appears above you.

Looking up, you're surprised to see one of the football players standing above you. You recognize her having seen her talking to Alessia earlier.

“Hey Owl, I’m Ella,” she says, “My idiot friend Alessia over there thinks that you’re cute but is too nervous to ask you for your number, so I’m doing it for her.”

“What,” you say confused, “You’re asking me for my number for your friend?”

“Yup.”

Shaking your head, you pull a piece of paper and a pen out of your bag before writing down your number, accompanied by both your name and nickname.

Handing it over, you ask Ella to deliver a message for you, cheeks flush with embarrassment.

“Tell her that I think she’s cute too.”

Over the next few months, you and Alessia spend a considerable amount of time texting and getting to know each other.

When United make their way down to London for games, you take her on dates and show her all of your favorite spots, and the few times your team makes their way to the Manchester area, she does the same.

This of course garners some teasing from your teammates, who have taken to reminding you that most owl species mate for life every time they see you leaving a room to talk to her on the phone.

It’s during one of these phone calls, a facetime to be specific, that her phone gets hijacked by Ella and Mary.

“‘Lo there Owl,” Ella says, accent strong as ever, “I was wondering if you could solve an argument for me.”

“I mean, maybe?”

“Do they call you Owl because you’re fast like a bird or,” Ella’s cut off by Mary snatching the phone away.

“Or because you’re really quiet,” the keeper finishes.

“It’s both,” you answer, “Most owl species can average speeds of 20 mph but they can fly faster in certain situations. The crazy thing is that despite going so fast they make very little noise, virtually silent in fact.

The look on the two players' faces causes you to grin a little because you know exactly why they’re those faces: they’ve never heard you say so many words at once before.

They manage to say as much before Less takes her phone back telling them to  “say bye to Owl.”

You smile a little more as the two others rush off, already arguing about something else.

“What are you doing next month,” she asks when they finally leave the room.

After thinking about it for a moment you answer her, “Season ends this week so probably some recovery work and injury prevention to prepare for the world cup and next season.”

“Do you want to come to some of our matches during the Euros?”

“Do you want me to come to your matches at the Euros,” you ask back, watching as her cheeks flush before she nods, “Well if you want me there, I’ll come.”

A smile breaks out on her face and the two of you continue your conversation. 

Although you can’t seem to get a clear answer from her about what she’ll be doing for the rest of the week, which is weird.

You do your best to not focus on it and by the time your championship game comes around you’ve forgotten all about her squirrelly behavior.

Then when the final whistle blows, you’re too caught up in your exhaustion and excitement to even remember anything that happened before the game started.

When the whistle blows, you drop to the ground not having the energy to celebrate winning the game and becoming a champion.

You aren’t sure how long you lay there before your teammates come and dogpile on top of you screaming about your performance.

You then find yourself being hauled to your feet by your scrumhalf, Jane, who immediately pulls you into a hug that takes you off your feet.

The smiles don’t leave any of your faces as you shake your opponents' hands. They don't leave when you get the medals put around your necks or when you raise the trophy or when you approach the crowd that hasn’t stopped screaming since the first whistle.

It’s then that you notice a head of blonde hair and bright blue eyes that you would recognize anywhere.

Rushing to the crowd, you climb the barrier meant to keep fans off the pitch, ignoring the shouts of security, and sprint to the person you’ve been looking forward to seeing for weeks.

Pulling her into a hug, you speak directly into her ear, “You said that you wouldn’t be able to make it.”

“I lied, you played great today, baby. Three tries, congrats champ.”

Your cheeks heat slightly at her praise, so instead of responding, you press a kiss to the top of her head, content to just stand there holding her.

Eventually, she pushes you away, sending you back to celebrate with your team.

“We’ll be switching places at the end of next month,” you tell her before walking away.

And you’re right because, on the last day of July, you’re standing in a sold-out Wembley watching as your girlfriend (recent development) and her idiot friends jump around singing Sweet Caroline.

She eventually makes her way over to where you're sitting with her family in the crowd, climbing to the barrier to get a hug.

“I’m proud of you,” you say directly in her ear, not caring about the number of cameras on you. In your mind, if she cared she wouldn’t have leapt into your arms the way she did, so you continue with your praise of her performance, “You played amazing all tournament, Less.”

“Thank you.”

She pulls away and you can see the cogs turning in her mind, her eyes repeatedly flickering to your lips before she surges forward to kiss you.

You both end up smiling into it as the cheers of the crowd around you get louder at the sight.

Pulling back, you smile at her some more before sending her back to the field to continue celebrating with her team.

Pulling your phone out you send her a text that you know she won’t see until much later tonight.

It reads: I can see the headlines now, England’s Superb Lioness and Their Speedy Owl, An Unexpected Power Couple?

[ghelgheli]

17! but also using the opportunity of the ask game to get to know more about the effortless worldbuilding in sff :)

from the end-of-year book ask

17: Did any books surprise you with how good they were?

I think Three Body Problem is the only one meeting this condition this year so I'll have no trouble staying on topic :> but I'm gonna specifically talk about "hard" SF as I conceive of it—I haven't read any analysis so this may just be a jumble of improvised thoughts.

SF, being "speculative" fiction, of course has to take on the problem of speculating and of presenting things that don't (and perhaps cannot) happen. On average this is accomplished thru a healthy combination of scientific grounding and good-natured handwaving: I drop a few sentences about "quantum entanglement" and you go along with my ansible, or you tell me about "positronic circuits" and I agree that you can make a brain with them. This is the compact that makes SF work because you fundamentally cannot expect speculation without, well, ceding ground on reality.

But at least a subset of SF readers are of the kind to really want to grok how it is that this or that scientific feature of the world works or may come about. Every contraption and novel technology is like a puzzle to be riddled out. This is the place where speculation becomes sincere mechanical prediction, and it's why I love hard SF.

This subset of readers can be matched to a subgenre of writers who commit fully to filling in as many blanks in their technological, biological, etc. speculation as possible. The rows of astronomical data can't be left vague—tell me what frequency of light we're dealing with here—xenobiology isn't taken for granted—what is the neurology of your aliens??—and so on. The dots are connected, the rest of the owl is drawn for real, the image is made crisp. Like fireworks for the reader's brain.

When this kind of worldbuilding is executed well imo it looks effortless. Looks, not is, because behind every explanation of near-c travel is hours of research into at least special relativity and time dilation, along with calculations by-hand. Behind every account of an exoplanet's atmosphere is probably a few papers perused on the subject and several articles on scientific american. Peter Watts, in the note at the end of Blindsight, includes a fucking bibliography of a hundred or so references as well as thank-yous to many an academic he split handles of liquor with. And this is only the visible fragment of what has to be a library of knowledge accumulated both passively and actively to make a speculated world feel as concretely plausible as possible.

None of this is necessary for good SF. The aforementioned compact means any author can opt out of this commitment at any time. But it's what it takes to make tightly-written hard SF, where your conceptual hands are kept diligently at your side, waving an idea through maybe once every five chapters when you have no other choice.

So anyway, Three Body Problem is a tour de force in doing this and doing it cleanly. It uses a storytelling device a lot of hard SF employs to make it work: rather than stuffing dense exposition into narration (at which point, just read the source papers) it deploys a cast of characters who more than anything else, really know their shit. We get exposition trickle-fed through experts who are trying, along with us, to make sense of their novel environments and unfamiliar technologies using their knowledge of the present limits of human understanding. This is what Watts does in Blindsight too, by the way: a claustrophobic ship crewed by technical specialists makes first contact, so everyone has something encyclopedic to say about everything and it's only natural.

What astounded me about Cixin Liu's writing is that he made it work just when I least thought he would be able to. I was sure I was being shown things completely inexplicable and necessarily supernatural until he went and explained them in plain terms; better yet, he explained them in ways that made so much sense in retrospect that I was kicking myself for not seeing the answer. This has exactly the flavour of a good puzzle.

The trade-off hard SF makes is that you are often limited in the metaphorical/thematic work you can do through your speculation. I think the contrast between "calendrical science" in Yoon Ha Lee's Machineries of Empire series and Asimov's "psychohistory" illustrates this well.

Yoon Ha Lee has mathematical training, and calendrical science is a speculative field consisting of theorems, conjectures, proofs, etc. in the language of mathematics that stand in for cultural hegemony and power projection. This makes for a great operationalization of soft power: space is filled and distorted by the quantifiable effects of whatever regime is dominant there (the "calendar" here being synecdoche for culture writ large). But obviously he can't fill in the blanks of how a calendar causes spacetime distortions that specifically make one side's weapons more effective, or provide certain formations with shielding effects. This is, I guess, semi-hard (lol) SF—you can see how it's supposed to work, but it's clear that it just won't. What you get in return is pretty politically interesting storytelling.

Psychohistory is the converse: a deterministic-enough lovechild of economics and sociology explained in the Foundation series as using all the familiar methods of linear algebra and differential equations together with unfamiliar innovations of just how to quantify human behaviour in order to make reliable predictions. There are entire chapters dedicated to explaining the conceptual nuance that went into developing psychohistory ("the hand on thigh principle" from prelude to foundation is just about how the theory resolves divergence by reducing insignificant terms to zero) and an entire book to exploring one of its limitations. It's fascinating to read. But you also get little narrative depth out of it, because hard SF, even when done well, is not guaranteed to make a story thematically interesting or politically compelling. This is the Three Body Problem problem too: its political commitments are threadbare and unserious because that's just not what it's about. I couldn't recommend it on those terms, but that's not what I like so much about it. I will say the conceptualization goes a little off the rails in the final chapters, but I think most SF authors were in some kind of string theory inspired fugue state at the time.

What I would love to see (and I'm sure exists) is hard SF that also has interesting politics. Unfortunately that's an intersection of two already-narrow intersections.

ty for ask✨🐐

[reissuedmommyissues]

Band Practice

Melissa Schemmenti/f!reader

Warnings: alcohol ig

Words:1900ish

A/N: Listen yall English is my second language and I have not written anything since fanfiction.net was popular. It's also not proofread because I got too shy to show it to my partner/proofreader. Sooooo yeah have fun with that.

Melissa while not keen on newer staff surprisingly didn't hate the recent hire for Abbott. Primarily hired on as the new librarian you had started to double as IT after fixing a couple of computers in the library. Melissa admired that you were willing to do two jobs for the price of one, or at least that's what she told herself she hadn't been actively seeking you out for any other reason than to fix technology and library-related things.

Melissa walked into the breakroom and took her usual seat by Barbara "Hey Barb have you seen our tech guru, I need her to take a look at my projector, blew a fuse or somethin'" Barbara just raises her eyebrows and gives Melissa a knowing look, "Seems like you've been looking for Ms.L/N more and more often as of late" she has no time to respond before you walk in and head straight for the coffee, grumbling about a lack of sleep.

"Woah there hon get into a fight this morning, ya look a bit crazy" Melissa jokes. You turn to look at her in your half-asleep state, gaze lingering for longer than usual, not something that slips past Melissa "Not quite I stayed up later than I usually do, you know night owl and all that" Melissa narrowed her eyes, you hoped she wouldn't push further, the last thing you want is for her to figure out you've been preparing for a gig with your new band. Not that it was bad but you just felt it was dorky and you would rather not have your crush or coworkers comment on it.

"Well some of us were gonna go out for drinks today I was hoping you'd come with" Melissa could feel a blush creeping up her neck, she'd tried inviting you out very casually a couple of times but besides the occasional lunch, you seemed to always be busy. You bit your lip flattered that the redheaded beauty was inviting you herself. But with a gig today you definitely couldn't cancel, you attempt to come up with a decent excuse but in between a lack of sleep and brain cells in the morning you don't come up with much "I'd love to Melissa really but I.... uhh have a thing, after school rain check?" You flash an apologetic smile and are out before she can say anything else.

This put Melissa in a sour mood for the rest of the day, it didn't help that when lunch came around you were nowhere to be found. Melissa frowned maybe you didn't actually like her, she felt like a fool. Maybe she was too old for you and she read too far into your exchanges taking them as flirty, all of a sudden all she could feel were her insecurities swallowing her up.

Barbara ever in tune with her work wife set her book down and cleared her throat. "Girl, what in the Lord's name has got you in such a foul mood?" Melissa huffs and shifts in her chair, "Nothing, absolutely nothing is wrong why would anything be wrong I am living the dream Barb" She knew better than to lie to her closest friend but she hated being this vulnerable. Barb wasn't blind she had been watching both of you closely noticing how you started to buy Melissa pastries from her favorite shop and how she in turn began to bring you some of her famous baked ziti. "Maybe you should ask her when she's free, it seems she's nearly always busy on weekends perhaps she's free other days?"

"I don't know what you're talking about"

Barbara shakes her head, "Look I'm just saying that maybe you should look into it, rather than assuming Y/N doesn't like you" Melissa's eyes go wide "Keep your voice down" She didn't want to embarrass herself over some crush or cause Y/N any issues. "Whatever the deal is doesn't matter I do not want to think about it, I just wanna make it through the rest of the day and get to that happy hour"

************

As if things couldn't get worse, Jacob picked the happy hour joint and it was not their usual spot. Something about broadening horizons and how live music would really benefit them. Melissa didn't like it nothing was wrong with their usual bar and she highly doubted whatever Jacob had dragged them into would be worth it but he offered to pay for drinks and that was good enough for her. Jacob skipped over to their table nearly missing the chair "Wow look at us I love it when the whole Abbott family goes out for drinks, I wish Y/N was here though she's been with us for a while and hasn't gone to any of the happy hours" at the mention of your name Melissa perked up and curiosity got the better of her. "What do you guys think she does, seems like she always leaves right as school ends on the weekends"

"My vote is on stripper" everyone turns to Ava, "what have you seen what she wears it's all baggy clothing we don't know what she has under that"

"I'm not super sure about that, what about a part-time emt that could be it, maybe she's got some scars she's covering up from saving lives" Janine ever the optimist would assume this with little to no context.

Ava pretty convinced she was right follows up "Or she could be one of those strippers that go to your house dressed as an EMT for a lil surprise"

The conversation goes back and forth for a while, meanwhile, Melissa nurses a beer still miffed over your rejection. Barbara notices her friend's discomfort and looks around the bar to see if there is a pool table to distract Melissa. Instead, her eyes land on the stage right as the band starts playing.

"Good god, what is she wearing?" Barbara's shock has everyone at the table looking in the same direction even Melissa looked over confused by the outburst. Come to find you're on the stage concentrated on your instrument, ready for your queue to begin. Gone was the usual oversized sweater and baggy pants instead u wore a long-sleeved crop top and the tightest jeans Melissa had ever seen. She felt silly but she couldn't stop staring at your hands. Your sleeves were rolled up to the elbow revealing defined forearms and deft fingers running across a bass. Even from a distance, she could see you were very good at what you were doing resulting in not-so-tame mental images of your hands undressing her, holding her down, wrapped around her thighs - Jesus she was like a teenager again getting hot and bothered by just the thought of you. Ava must have caught her gawking and leaned over "If you don't get a move on and take her out, I will cuz damn who knew our librarian was this hot"

Melissa glares at Ava has everyone figured her out, she turns back to see your performance not wanting to miss any more of it. She'd never seen you like this so casual, relaxed, and all-around sexy. She wonders if this is why you always left so soon being part of a band would make sense but why wouldn't you say anything, she hopes this is the case failing to push her former insecurities back down. Your band wasn't a fancy ordeal you went up on stage and played some of your songs but mostly did covers. Still, Melissa couldn't take her eyes off you and it only got worse when you started to sing yourself, she was pretty sure you couldn't see her or any of the Abbott staff but the way you were facing and the suggestive lyrics had her feeling like maybe just maybe you could be directing them at her.

As soon as the performance came to a close Janine and Jacob cheered and drew the attention of everyone in the bar including Y/N and the band.

*********

Welp so much for not getting found out. Jay leans over and taps you with a drumstick "Yo Y/N do they know you?" You look back over at your coworkers hoping not to see your favorite redhead, indeed luck was not on your side as you caught her eye. "Uhh yeah those are my coworkers, I'll catch up with yall later"

Melissa looked mad, not sure what else to do, and feeling like you may as well accompany the embarrassment with a drink you headed to the bar and waved her over. "Double shot of tequila and a Corona please" The bartender nods and pours the shot following it up with a swift opening of your beer.

"Suprised you drink considering you've always said no to it" You look over at Mel, she's extremely close due to the crowded bar top and you can feel her press up against you causing your head to spin. You pick up your shot and down it finding comfort in the heat you feel in your chest.

"Yeah I haven't had the time to go out since I've been filling in for the band, I'm sorry" At the mention of that Melissa visibly relaxes, gone was the anger from before, maybe there was still a chance this could go well? "You know you could've just said you had to go practice for your band" she almost sounded shy, "I would've understood if you were busy" You look over at the redhead suprised to see her so vulnerable.

Reaching over you tuck a stray hair behind her ear, "It's silly didn't want you to know because it made me feel like a dork, I've been trying so hard to impress you it felt like a step backward to tell you I have band practice" Melissa feels a blush creep up and sneaks a glance at you. At that almost confession, the proximity between you two, and the sexiest outfit she's ever seen she once again felt like some goddam horny teenager. Capitalizing on the brief liquid courage of the shot you figured why the hell not make a move. In a burst of confidence, you lean into Melissa and pull her by the collar of her leather jacket, still distracted by the tight jeans she barely realizes what you're attempting to do. The kiss is tame, impossibly soft, gentle, and over way too soon for Melissa's liking.

"I.....oh my god I'm so sorry I should have asked" Melissa was stunned and taking her silence as a negative you start to freak out "I've just been wanting to do that for a while and I've wanted to ask you out but you make me so goddam nervous an-" it's then Melissa who can't help herself she pulls you back in by the waist for another kiss, this one was rougher, hungrier she felt a roller coaster of emotions today and this felt like the only outlet. She pulls back to look at you with that trademark Schemmenti smirk "Feelings mutual hon"

You feel your heart swell at her confession,

"Well to make up for all the missed outings how do you feel about going out for dinner tomorrow?"

Melissa leans in very close for her answer "Hon with those pants I'll follow you anywhere"

[sonkitty]

The Sideburns Scheme Post #42

(For reference: The Sideburns Scheme)

Crowley, Good Omens 2, Episode 3, I Know Where I'm Going, not a foot

...

Sideburns Check

The above image is brightened a little.

The sideburns are still pointing to Crowley's mouth. That's what they tend to do when Crowley is not in the mausoleum during this minisode.

The space itself is within a human space with many lit candles at night. Crowley both sits and stands during the scene. All three characters do not wear hats during the entire scene. Both Crowley and Aziraphale are no longer wearing gloves.

...

Comparison

Here is a comparison picture between the last scene and this one, also brightened a little.

The curls on Crowley's right side of his head are more defined in this space than the last.

...

Earthly Objects

(For reference: Earthly Objects)

Aziraphale's vendetta against the backs of chairs has activated, so there's some extra thing in his chair that he has his back to, that's not in the other chairs.

Both Aziraphale and Mr. Dalrymple sit the entire time.

Crowley stands to pick up the container Mr. Dalrymple indicates with a tumor inside.

Each character touches a glass of whiskey during the scene.

Aziraphale touches the container with the tumor after Crowley passes it to him.

Mr. Dalrymple says the name, "Dr. McFell."

Aziraphale has questions with, "I'm sorry?" and, "But if you're in such dire need of bodies, why not dig them up yourself instead of making the poor and the desperate do it?"

Mr. Dalrymple has a question with, "Seriously, though?"

Mr. Dalrymple addresses Crowley as, "Doctor," which might qualify well enough for a name substitute as a title.

Crowley has a question with, "Well, in my professional opinion, that seems to be... I say that seems to me a... um... well, what do you think?"

Mr. Dalrymple has a number and a question with, "If you two smart gentlemen can't identify it, then what are my students to make of it?" Then he has another number with, "I removed this tumor from a seven-year-old boy. "

Aziraphale has a question with, "And...is he...?"

...

For pockets, I won't log it all here, but I'll share at least the following:

Aziraphale is visually pocketed between chairs when it's shown that the back to his particular chair is different.

Crowley is briefly visually pocketed between candles when he stands.

...

Story Commentary

(For reference Post #26 (my side)) The scene starts with Aziraphale looking at the drink in hesitance.

Much like in the A Companion to Owls minisode, the camera itself is making specific choices about what it shows when it comes to drinking alcohol. Mr. Dalrymple is shown finishing taking a drink when Aziraphale is asking him about digging up the bodies himself. When the scene finishes, as Mr. Dalrymple is about take a drink, the camera cuts away before the drink actually enters his mouth.

Crowley is heavily implied to be drinking. He raises his glass when saying, "More murders! I'll drink to that!" He raises it again in agreement with Aziraphale about the item in the jar not being a foot. He reaches for a bottle filled with more. However, the camera never, ever shows him in the actual act of drinking.

...

I think this minisode is supposed to match Pestilence of the four Horseman of the Apocalypse, given the context of Mr. Dalrymple talking about the tumor.

...

Present Day Aziraphale

Let's check in on Aziraphale's side of things with the forming connection.

I'm not going over the entire scene, just a few parts.

As Aziraphale parks, or more likely the car is parking itself, the car is shown to have acquired its new extra doors in its transformation.

Aziraphale also shows the interior of the driver's door has changed.

He wears a hat with a "66" on it. Is he trying to be a demon beacon?

He uses a pocket for his notepad and pen.

The road looks different from when he walks across the street to the road shown as he arrives closer to the pub.

When he arrives at the pub, he finally sees the barrel next to the jukebox. The drawing of Gabriel he shows is different than the one the story has shown him working on. This drawing shows a turtleneck and looks more like Gabriel did when Aziraphale last saw Gabriel in season 1 at the air base.

With a look to the pub sign after exit, we are taken back into the minisode.

...

That's it for this post. Sometimes I edit my posts, FYI.

...

Main post:

The Sideburns Scheme