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itpemod · 2 months ago

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It's late September and that means #ITPE sign-ups are OPEN 🎉🎉🎉 Links will be at the end, so please read through the post as we have a lot of new information/procedures this year!

This is the FOURTEENTH year of the exchange, but the FIRST year we will be hosting it on Tumblr, which was far and away the winner in our platform move survey. Happily, this means we get to keep our acronym and branding!

What is #ITPE?

#ITPE is a low-pressure, no-minimums podfic exchange that originated on Twitter. We are now on Tumblr because of Twitter’s…everything, since it was bought by the Muskrat. Everything–sign-ups, communication, assignment/gift distribution–used to be run entirely on Twitter, but as the exchange has grown, we’ve incorporated other platforms to help make our lives as mods easier. Consequently, sign-ups will be on AO3 and submissions of your finished gifts (when it comes time for them) will be via Google form. Otherwise all communication, including announcements, questions, assignment and gift delivery, will be conducted over Tumblr and instant messaging.

Who are the mods?

Our mod line-up is @blackestglass (blackglass) & @knight-tracer, with flowersforgraves assisting on the backend with data management.

What is the schedule?

The dates for #ITPE 2024 are:

Sign-ups: SEPTEMBER 21 - SEPTEMBER 29

Assignments go out: No later than OCTOBER 8

Projects due: DECEMBER 17

Distribution: DECEMBER 24

So long as it's still September 29 somewhere in the world, you can still sign-up.

How do I sign up?

We are continuing to run sign-ups through AO3 (without a nominations process, so just write in your fandoms). We are asking for a minimum of 3 unique fandoms and if you want to sign-up to give or receive more than 20 fandoms, pick your TOP 20 for the AO3 and put the rest in your Dear Podficcer Letter. If you have less than 20 fandoms, we encourage you to list all of your primary and secondary fandoms in the sign up form so we have options for matching!

Note: We consider certain RPF fandoms as “umbrella” fandoms. We know we have K-Pop podficcers and sports RPF podficcers who often sign up for our exchange. Individual K-Pop bands and individual sports/sports teams do not count as “unique” fandoms (so for instance, only listing SHINee, BTS, and A-Teez would not count as having 3 unique fandoms for sign-up purposes; for our purposes, they would all fall under the K-Pop umbrella). In addition to listing your favorite bands/sports/teams in the fandom field, we do ask you to help us out for matching by thinking of at least 2 other fandoms which you might be happy to give and receive in. The RPF podficcing pool is small and we try not to repeat matches within a 5-year period, so giving us more fandom options will help us find you a match.

What is a Dear Podficcer letter?

Your Dear Podficcer letter should include stuff like squicks, triggers, ship and trope preferences, and anything else you think we & your gift giver should know regarding your fandom tastes. Letters are mandatory. They don't have to be long! But if you have extremely specific tastes, it’s better that you let us know upfront in your letter so that we can ensure that you receive a gift you’re happy with. Please don’t worry about seeming “difficult”! We want you to love the gift you receive! Also, do feel free to request your small, obscure fandoms! Just help us out by also including some more popular or “mainstream” fandoms among your options.

If you’re still uncertain what a letter should look like, here are some examples from 2020: blackglass’s 2020 letter & knight_tracer’s 2020 letter. You can also check out linked letters in the “Requests Summary” on AO3 to see what other people’s letters look like!

Letters should be hosted on a publicly viewable platform, such as on Dreamwidth, tumblr, carrd, GDrive, Dropbox, etc.

Please put your Tumblr and AO3 handles (if they don’t already match) in your Dear Podficcer letter. For our sake, ideally somewhere in the title field. Toss a coin to your mod team.

Also please be kind to your mods & avoid using smushnames or cute fandom ship names in your letter. We're not always in your fandom & sometimes people will use different names to refer to the same pairing & we mistakenly believe you're requesting different pairings (see: the Zimbits/JackBitty/etc. debacle of 2020). Using Char A/Char B(/Char C) would help us out a lot! You don't have to use AO3 levels of disambiguation – just provide us with enough information to figure out who the characters involved in the ship are.

If you have specific tastes in what you want to RECEIVE in a fandom, but you’re willing to CREATE outside of those preferences (for instance, wanting to receive podfic about a specific pairing, but willing to podfic for other pairings in a fandom), please indicate that in your letter! If you want to offer or receive fandoms that aren’t currently on the AO3, or you’re one of those gutsy people that is willing to offer and create in “any fandom”, message this account and we’ll make sure it’s all recorded.

In addition, if you’re an adventurous listener who is open to RECEIVING podfic for “any fandom” please ALSO message us so that we’re aware! We still need a minimum of 3 fandoms for your sign up so that it can go through.

If you have any DNWs (“do not wants”) that you don’t want to post publicly in a letter, concerns about matching, or anything else you’d like to privately let the mods know, there’s a section in the sign up this year that you can fill out. Or you can send us a message!

How should we be communicating with you over Tumblr? We will primarily be using the instant messaging function. Therefore you will need a Tumblr account to sign up, because that’s where all communication and assignment/gift delivery will take place. It’s totally fine to use a placeholder account you only use for this exchange. (We do recommend adding a userpic, filling out your bio, and maybe reblogging a few posts so that you don’t seem like a bot.) All participants should be following the mod account, especially if you have restricted settings so that only people you follow can message you. The instant messaging system, unlike the ask system, allows us to maintain a record of our communications, and is the best way to share information you want to keep private between us or have extended conversations. You may use asks if you have a one-off question or questions you don’t mind getting public answers to.

(Notifications for new Tumblr messages can be finicky so try to check out the messaging tab semi-regularly throughout the duration of the exchange instead of relying on the blue dot to let you know there’s a new message.)

In an attempt to avoid tripping spam filters and hitting the Tumblr limit on sending messages to new people, we are asking you to help us out by sending us an instant message to let us know you’ve signed up, rather than us trying to reach out to dozens upon dozens of people (prime spambot behavior)!

What happens if you get marked as spam?

If we get shadowbanned/tossed in potential spambot purgatory, the mods will reach out to you from our personal accounts/mod sideblogs or via email. During the sign up period, we will reach out to you via messaging to ask you for a reliable email address to reach you at in case all of our attempts to not get flagged as spam fail.

If we are marked as spam, we’ll still be able to post on our own blog and we should still appear on your dash, but we won’t be appearing in the tags most likely, which is another reason why it’s important for you to be following us!

How does matching work? How will I get my assignment?

The mods do hand-matching, meaning rather than just letting the AO3 algorithm run and make arbitrary matches based on fandom, we read all your letters and try to match you with someone with similar tastes and interests. We’ll only be relying on the AO3 algorithm to help us spot tricky matches.

Another of the ways Tumblr combats spam is to shadowban anyone sending multiple similarly worded messages. We’re going to make an attempt to deliver extremely pared down assignment messages so that we’re mostly sending unique information. If we do get marked as spam, as mentioned earlier, we may reach out to you on sideblogs or via email.

What kind and how many gifts should I make? Do you really mean “no minimums”?

Yes, ITPE gifts have NO LENGTH MINIMUMS. Make something as big or as small as you want to commit to! We truly do mean it. This is meant to be a low pressure exchange! Accordingly, please set your expectations that you may receive a short gift. In the past, we have had participants who’ve been extremely generous and made a prolific amount of gifts for their giftee, but they are outliers and there is certainly no expectation that anyone else should strive to those heights.

I have more questions about making gifts!

We’re sure you do, but we’re not there yet! We will update this FAQ with more information about submitting gifts and treats once assignments go out, so check back!

I’m ready to sign up! What are the next steps? 1. Fill out the sign up form on AO3 here.

2. Follow us @itpemod if you haven’t yet!

3. Send us a message over the chat letting us know you’ve signed up!

4. Optional (but encouraged if you want to talk to people!): join the Tumblr Podfic Community to participate in the friending/following meme!

5. Optional: Track/follow the #itpe or #informal tumblr podfic exchange tags!

#itpe #informal tumblr podfic exchange #faq

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andhumanslovedstories · 2 months ago

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Hi Sarah (or Sara? I remember you discussing the h but don't remember which way it's spelled). I hope you're doing well on your break and enjoying September. I have a question - how much schooling did you have to do to become a nurse? I'm considering becoming an elementary school teacher in Norway, which would require me to go back to school for 5 (additional) years. Seems like a long fucking time and i didnt do great the first run tbh. It would be free though. Investment in the future seems like it could pay off, so i guess im looking for inspiration from other ppl who have perhaps made a similar plunge

Hi, anon! I wish I could give you some straight up inspo. Instead, I navel-gazed for a while. Schooling-wise, I already had a (completely unrelated) bachelor's degree so I was able to do an accelerated nursing program after two semesters of community college doing the prereqs. I did struggle in nursing school. College has always been brutal on my mental health and nursing is a hard pivot from my original degree (double major history and english w a concentration in creative writing) (you cannot imagine how many books I read and essays I wrote). It took a little over two years in total.

You don't have to don't have to worry about student debt which is so so wonderful. I didn't have to either, and that's let me be way more adventurous with my life choices. The cost of your education would just ("just") be your time, energy, and the potential money that you could earn by focusing on work instead. I had to stick around in my hometown instead of going traveling with Cyrus. I worked a lot fewer hours than I would if I'd not been in school. I had to miss the live airing of the Jesus Christ Superstar on NBC in order to study for an anatomy test which was genuinely so distressing to me. 2018 was a hell of a year for me. (I aced that test btw. It was such an improvement over my previous test my teacher emailed me a congratulations note with twelve exclamation points.)

All of this while people were constantly talking about how shitty it is to be a nurse and how so many of them leave the field within six months. (Similar to teaching in that way, at least in America.) I was doing work I didn't enjoy for a job I might not stick with. There were a lot of times I resented nursing school for interfering with my life.

I'm still very glad I did it. My degree gave me a lot. On the very practical side, my degree has given me more financial freedom and a much higher earning potential. On the idealistic level, my degree has enabled me to do work that I find meaningful. The work touches a lot of things that I find interesting. My nursing degree has benefited my life, regardless of if I stay in nursing for the rest of my career or move on to something new. I didn't like getting my degree, but I don't regret that I got it.

Maybe it'll go way easier for you, maybe it won't be worth it. When I thought about becoming a nurse, it felt like my life plan clicked into place because it ticked every single need I had for a job. I didn't know if it would work out, but the rewards outweighed the risks. More than that, it was the first plan I had for my future that made me excited. I liked the life I pictured if I was a nurse. I've found that excitement to be rare and precious. If teaching gives you that, I'd strongly consider pursuing it.

Besides, you can always use my last-line defense against school despair: being like "fuck it I'm gonna drop out after this semester" and then keep not doing that. You can bail on stuff! It's rad.

#nursing tag #b.

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cerastes · 1 year ago

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Hey. It's been a while. I think it's right to update you on stuff so tl;dr I'm probably not going to be around for some time, and if I am, it'll be in a diminished capacity, but if you're interested, do check under the cut. I'll also immediately state that I am not in any dangerous situation, it's other stuff, but I'll immediately dispel that before the cut just in case you just wanted to know that in particular.

Let's talk for a bit.

Long story short, the economy here is in shambles. The idea was for me to already have a new job, but that's not gone according to plan. I've been eating into my savings for a while now, and the people that told me that I had a job lined up for me September or at the latest October, meaning, this month, have been ghosting me. It seems to not be an option anymore, and no explanation was ever given to me. A shame, because it came from a place of relative trust.

This has eaten away at my nerves somewhat, and though it is the month of my birthday, I can't help but notice that, between the economy being this bad here, how hard it's been to land another job, and the fact that I'm eating into my savings, well, it's got me more than a bit worried. I'm not in any immediate danger of losing the roof over my head, or starving, or anything like that, but after a few months of "well, my savings take yet another hit this month with no end in sight", it's been rather rough, you'll understand, and it's compounded a bit. For just a second, and not as a primary, secondary, or even tertiary plan, more like a twenty-eighth measure if anything, I did entertain the dark idea of maybe asking for a bit of help here, and the moment that thought came up, I realized, "Ok, this is truly and well affecting me, I never want to do that", because, again, it's not like I'm in any immediate danger of homelessness or anything that grave, but it's been weighting on me enough that, even as a distant glint in the horizon of an idea, I did consider it. I don't want to sound like I'm blowing my own horn here, but for over a decade that I've had this blog, and the community/following/whatever you want to call it that has grown around it, I've never once asked for something like monetary help, because I think that can be a slippery slope. I've seen people far bigger than me, and some smaller, too, get addicted to asking for donations or help, or simply start taking it for granted when they ask for such a thing. My friends will tell you I writhe in agony when I receive a gift such as a game or something over the mail. My logic is that I don't need it, not in a proud way, but rather, in a "I wish you would spend this money on yourself instead, or on someone that truly needed it". With this in mind, I realized that, for me to even slightly consider that as an option, for the first time in my life, it meant that it was biting away at me far, far more severely than I thought. It's translated to other parts of my life as of late; I've not been depressed or anything, but I've felt this itch, this remarkably implacable feeling of "my man, you don't deserve to be taking it easy right now, something has to change, progress needs to be made".

I went out to wander for a few days, then arrived at my cousin's farm. He and his wife live a humble, hard working life, he invited me to stay for a while, I accepted, it was real nice, we hanged out, went exploring creeks and mountainsides while knocking back a few beers, the whole shebang for two guys that grew up in the middle of nowhere. Anyhow, it's true that the whole exposition that was the previous paragraph is something at play, but I also just... Haven't really wanted to be online at all. I don't want to check anything, read anything, and I feel a deep sense of alienation that I've not really felt in a long time. I suppose this is one of those good ol' Bro Is Going Through It, if we're to summarize it in a few words. It's easy for me to dispel negative thoughts and bounce back normally, because I've done a great deal of personal building and homework on knowing myself inside out, but not even this black belt in Drimobrain has helped this time around, and well, it bothers me, obviously, bwahaha. It's the first time in a few years that I really sincerely do not understand what's up with me, and while it's not really something I would consider me being rock bottom or anywhere near those depths, I do think I'm still below surface level, which is something I don't admit to easily, but have no choice to. I would love to be able to give this malaise shape and firmness through written or spoken word, but right now, it's a work in progress.

What bothers me the most is the sense of alienation I spoke of before: It makes no sense for me to feel this way, I'm treated with love and kindness every day, no one's silencing me in any way, I don't deal with barbs or hostility. So why is it that that's how I feel? Or perhaps it's something that feels similar, but I've no clue what it is, so I'm compounding it with alienation?

Regardless, it's all compounded into me just... Not wanting to be online. In the words of a friend of mine, "Dreamer has a fetish for self-development and growth", and, well, yeah, she's got that right despite the wording, I like to feel as if I'm improving every day and becoming better every day, even if slightly, and right now I feel like I'm just degenerating. Is it because my mood has been sour overall? Maybe. It might as well just be the fact that I Just Don't Want To Be Online For A While, and capricious clown that I am, if I want to do something, I do it, and if I don't want to do something, I don't do it. I'm tied to nothing and no one except my desire and drive to do or not do things. I can't change that, nor do I want to change that. And in this case, my heart's said to me, "fuck going online, go out, do things, try to get a job".

I also almost got recruited into something fucking vile that I thankfully noticed in time to avoid, but that's a story for another time.

There you have it. Am I leaving the internet/blue website forever? No, of course not, I like it here. Are things hard right now? They are, to be honest. Are they the worst it could be? Not at all. Do I have complete clarity of what's up with this fog inside of my head? No, and that bother me quite a bit. Are things going to be alright? Yeah, I think they will be.

I do regret it's in October of all months that this is going on, because it's where my shitposting power is at its apex due to my birthday, but hey, things happen, not necessarily for a reason, but they can be handled in such a way that it gives them meaning. I'm a fervent believer in that. I'm sorry this isn't the update you may have been hoping for, full of Lucina cosplayer blowjobs and other such hijinks, but hey, they can't all be Rainbow Road, haha.

So in case we don't see each other for a while, I hope you're all doing fine and dandy. I'm alive, I'm trying to be well, and most importantly, most fundamentally, most quintessentially,

I stay silly.

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swearyshera · 1 year ago

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Thank you!

This may end up being a long, rambly post because I'm a little emotional. But bear with me.

I am so incredibly thankful for all the love you've sent this week, and it humbles me to realise how much this silly little parody blog meant to people. Thank you for reading, liking, reblogging, commenting, asking, going absolutely unhinged in the tags... I read them all, and they've spurred me to keep going through 32 months, over 5000 posts, 40GB of screenshots and the wildest, most brilliant time of my life.

I'd love to thank people individually, but there's so many of you that I would inevitably miss someone out and that seems unfair! But I will say a special thank you to the She-Ra Uncut team, who I'm proud to consider some of the greatest friends I've made through this fandom, and whether we make many wonderful things, or never make anything again, I hope we can consider each other friends for life.

(Sob story time, feel free to skip!) In 2015, I had a huge breakdown. I was off work for 8 months, in hospital for a week, had therapy twice a week for a year... It was fucking awful. And though I got better, I never really felt like I had a reason to, and that I was just treading water until the darkness came back with vengeance. Then, as She-Ra ended, I made some silly posts that ended up as Etheria Nine-Nine, which led me onto what would become Sweary She-Ra. I had no idea how much this would change my life.

The response to this blog led me to write a script for a She-Ra Uncut trailer, and I loved it. I wrote more and developed a love for the craft, that I wanted to continue. It became a joy, and gave me a dream for the first time I could remember. So I kept writing, I kept learning and improving. In September 2022, I was sat in the Lowry theatre in Salford surrounded by the laughter of an audience watching a play that I wrote. That was the most incredible feeling of my life.

And I wouldn't have had that without thinking "Catra should be allowed to say fuck".

So while, it may be over (and it was pointed out to me that Sweary She-Ra ran for longer than the actual show did!), it's hopefully not the end. I'm very keen to make an audio sequel if I can, maybe several, and I'm not going to disappear into the ether. And hey, I don't know what the future will bring.

But there is a future.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you, everyone.

Alice.

(PS - Hi Crew-Ra, if you're reading this as I maybe suspect one or two of you may be. I am sorry but also not sorry, but also hire me when the strikes are over 😁. Thank you for making She-Ra, I love you!)

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dyaz-stories · 2 months ago

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Hey there! Just wanna know, what the heck happened in the JJK manga? Is it already over? Did the characters FINALLY mourn Gojo?! I gave up trying to read the manga after 236, so I just decided to randomly hear from others. But anyways, what happened??

Hey there! BOY AM I HAPPY TO DISCUSS THAT.

(I'm sorry I have so many thoughts and you've given me an excuse to ramble so this is going to be long)

There are two chapters left in the manga, it will end on September 30th. The chapter that just came out, chapter 269, was, however, really bad imo and a terrible use of time considering how little time Gege has left. I get that he had to wrap up quick, but in my personal opinion, it's inexplicable that he'd dedicate a whole chapter to what we just saw.

(More under the cut with spoilers for chapter 269)

Okay, so, the characters spend half the chapter arguing about how they could have done a better job fighting Sukuna, even though at this point, the losses are minimal. Most of the characters who were possibly dead are fine and dandy actually (Yuta, Higuruma, Todo, Kusakabe). Choso is still dead, but he gets a little line about how that's sad (and his death scene was really good and effective, so I'm not that mad about it, even if he's a character I really loved).

It kinda feels like Gege is justifying the way the fight went, which is a bit weird. In story, I think this could make sense if it was fueled by grief and loss and more of a "this person could have been saved! and this person didn't have to die!", but it feels kind of matter of fact tbh, with Maki being pretty much the only one displaying emotions. Even she seems to be arguing about efficiency, not really about saving human lives? Other characters' responses aren't much better. Yuuji in particular looks like he's super numb to everything, which again, yes, that's a trauma response, but it doesn't make for interesting storytelling and it's not going to be explored further, so... what's the point.

Also think that Yuta desecrating Gojo's corpse isn't explored enough. He did something horrifying that turned to not be that useful — going with the manga's message that the end doesn't justify the means — and he seems fine. I guess Maki yelling at him could be explained by the fact that she was strongly against this action, but it's never made explicit, which is a shame. (think it's more implied it's because he endangered himself and she has feelings for him)

The other half of the chapter is spent on a plot point that I don't think had been developed before that, about the new shadow style. This feels like the last arc Gege wanted to have and Sukuna's fight went on for too long so he had to scrap it. The point is essentially that the head of the new shadow style school is trying to become the head of Jujutsu Society as a whole now that the clans have collapsed. There was a binding vow that made it so the head of the school could steal years from people who had learned the style and add it to their lifespan. Anyway, Mei Mei steps in and makes it so the style can become more widely used.

(If you're bored reading that, yeah, so was I)

It's not useless exactly — it definitely goes towards the manga's message of ending the cycle and starting off with a clean slate, so that's a win — but it feels super rushed. It didn't have to be rushed, could have been a decent arc, it just isn't, and again, I don't think that's a great use of pages this late in the story.

Last but not least, Gojo. Gojo gets two mentions in this chapter.

The second one is in passing, when Hakari defends Yuta's usefulness.

And the first one, oooh boy the first one,

is about how this was all Gojo's fault from the get-go anyway 😃

And again, some nuance here. Kusakabe specifically says that the kids have nothing to apologize for — which I agree with. His point is that it was Gojo's responsibility to kill Yuuji. Essentially, the idea is that he was the adult, and in not doing that, he's responsible for the kids having to live with all the consequences of his actions.

Which aaaaah I'm losing it here! Yuuji was a victim of Kenjaku's machinations from the get-go, so would it have been right to kill him? Isn't this just a trolley problem — kill Yuuji and save innocent people's lives? But then, Yuuji, Sukuna and Kenjaku's actions led to the end of jujutsu society as we know it, more or less directly, which could lead to a better future, so was he actually right, in a purely consequentialist approach?

I don't think any of that is particularly interesting to discuss at this point tbh. I feel like that had already been dealt with. I'm just deeply confused as to why we're dealing with this when there were three chapters left before this one instead of focusing on closing the curtain on beloved characters, Gojo in particular.

Anyway! Bad chapter imo. Boring. Bad use of the characters and their relationships with one another. Really questionable use of time. Gojo was not mourned and in fact it's almost like he's never existed or never mattered to anyone. No Shoko here, not a hint of sadness from Yuta either, which I had hoped for.

I'm still looking forward to the last two chapters, and I hope they'll leave more room for the characters to, you know, have feelings.

#jujutsu kaisen #jjk #long post #jujutsu kaisen spoilers #jjk spoilers #jjk manga spoilers #jjk leaks #jjk critical #actually let me know if this is too critical to be in the main tag #not sure #gojo satoru

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brf-rumortrackinganon · 1 month ago

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What were the highlights of the Royal tour to Australia and Samoa so far for you?

I know Charles is a trooper, but he was looking a little faded by Samoa. I know it's to be expected considering his age and medical condition. I do admire his stamina though and he seems buoyed by the general reception! Have you noticed a changing PR line addressing this? What are some of the considerations in PR now for Charles' team?

So first, remember, I'm not a typical royal watcher in that I don't do the day to day. And second, I've been pretty offline these days (it's the politics and the politicking for the election...I'm so over it and I"m not even in a swing state!) so there's a lot I've missed.

Anyway, getting to the questions...as best as I can...my awareness of Charles's trip was just what I saw in Chris Jackson's and the BRF's Instagram...which is that there were some big rainstorms, everyone was happy to see Charles and Camilla, and they were happy to be there as well.

From the photos I did see, I got the sense that Charles missed (misses?) engaging with the public and being with them. But I'm not sure if that "he misses people" is due to his role as The King where he has more head of state/'room where it happens' duties than the charity work and community outreach he spent most of his life doing or if it's due to the changes he/his team had to put in place for his treatment. From a couple of the Samoa photos, I also got a feeling like maybe Charles was missing his mother, like maybe her legacy in the Commonwealth and at CHOGM was something he was thinking about or reflecting on - it's possible we could even be talking about the same photos! Where you thought he looked faded (which is absolutely 100% possible because those very long flights + the most "on" he's been since his diagnosis and treatment beginning in January), perhaps that's when I thought he seemed to be...longing, I guess? Wistful?

I'm not sure about the PR, because of how offline I've been (I'll definitely circle back to this in a couple weeks once the election is over - feel free to send me reminders if I don't pick this up again mid-November). But something I feel quite certain of is that we're probably going to see BP change their travel plans, like no more long journeys and more rest days. For instance - thinking specifically to this trip, a do-over plan might see Charles having a rest weekend in Singapore instead of a "pick up Camilla and change planes" layover, then flying onwards to Australia, having the scheduled rest day there to acclimate, then doing his Aussie itinerary, and a partial rest day before flying on to Samoa.

(I don't think there's anything BP can do about protestors, like the one Senator. Perhaps they can be more inclusive in any prepared remarks to address something like that in the future but then if you plan for protest and it doesn't happen, do you still say that in your speech? I don't know. I think that in part, the BRF just needs to accept that people are going to be more outspoken and direct about their feelings about the monarchy and they need to have...not a script but some kind of talking point to be able to address or respond to it.)

I also think the walkabouts and the public engagements did remind Charles and the BP team that there's a kind of magic that happens when the public interacts with the BRF. It feels very much like there was some trepidation or nerves about how Charles would do with the Aussie public, the same way there were nerves about how the British public would receive King Charles on September 9, 2022 (which reminded me quite a bit of the nerves about how the public would receive Queen Elizabeth in September 1997 on her return to BP). So I think there's a good chance we might see those kinds of community interaction put back into Charles's schedule once he's properly recovered and has the OK from his medical team.

PR-wise, I think the immediate focus for Charles and his team will be a need to address the limitations on travel. There's no way Charles can match The Queen's pace when she was 75, or even 85, so I feel like he's going to rely more on the Edinburghs and the Waleses to do the long-distance traveling (the latter obviously when Kate is back to full strength and performance). It needs a spin, but how do they spin that? Will it be barbs towards William a la "The Prince of Wales needs to become a better statesman"? Will it be a promotion for the Edinburghs a la "trusted confidants and ambassadors"? (I don't include Anne here because all signs point to her slowing down, whether that's by choice or by medical directive following her concussion and hospitalization, I don't know.)

Speaking only for myself, I think if Charles and his team went back to doing virtual events - for example, a diary that's 1/4 virtual engagements, 1/4 in-person engagements, 1/4 head-of-state work, 1/4 rest - they'll be able to strike a nice balance that gives Charles the ability to interact more with the public, which really does seem to energize and invigorate him. And I think picking up a virtual program again will also help with the outreach to the Commonwealth and the realms, integrating those charities and those peoples into more of the daily royal agenda will strengthen those bonds, vs interacting with them only for CHOGM or foreign tours.

(I would also love to see Charles and Camilla do train tours, like William and Kate did in December 2020. I think that would be a fantastic way for them to get out and see people/have those community interactions and being able to relax and rest on the royal train between stops and overnight.)

I think I've lost the plot here. I'll end with this: no matter how you consider the tour/visits went, no matter what your perspective was, probably the one thing that's very clear is that Charles and BP will be reevaluating how they plan his work. They did the best they could with the information they had and what they knew about Charles's condition, and it probably ended up being a little too ambitious.

#brf #australia #chogm

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steppingonyourshadow · 3 months ago

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Complete Q&A from Elle September 2024

Elle: When you're on a break do you think about things that happened on set?

XZ: Of course. I remember dreaming about it a few days after we had wrapped, that we were still shooting and I was there talking to the director about how we'd say those words, how we were going to deal with that scene.

Elle: Do you miss the atmosphere on set?

XZ: I really like it, I like the feeling of everyone creating something together, all pulling together to do the same thing really well.

Elle: When you first became an actor and during the time when your popularity grew really fast, you said it felt a bit unreal, magical. But now you seem pretty relaxed. How did this change come about?

XZ: Rather than it being unreal, magical, after all these years I think back then I hadn't gotten used to such a fast pace, and when I woke up each day, I'd barely know where I was and what I was doing. I think it's a process, like how everyone's so excited when they first enter employment, "I'm here, please take good care of me", "this young master is coming through, out of my way", "I can do it, I am good". [laughs] But after you've experienced a lot, you'll realise that everything needs long-term planning.

Elle: In several interviews you mentioned that you like to play characters that "can transmit energy". Why is that?

XZ: Because I think that's the life of a character. When I say "transmit energy", I don't mean just the usual, basic sense of positive energy. What I mean is being able to provide nourishment in a subtle way - like spring rains sinking silently into the dirt. I believe that every character has at heart a complete storyline, this is something I really like. If you dig deep, they can all move people. I don't like to label antagonists as "bad guys", as if you've already decided from the start that they're not good. But that's not right - he might have his own difficulties.

Elle: It sounds like "transmitting energy" is only an umbrella term, actually it's understanding different types of people through performance.

Xiao Zhan: That's right. If we break it down to each character, they all transmit different things. But if we make them into "good guys", "bad guys", I think that makes it less interesting.

Elle: So do you consider performance a method of communication?

Xiao Zhan: Yes, you could say that, I like that. Performance is a bridge connecting the actor and the audience. Like how when my shows are on, I'll read a bit of audience commentary and analysis and feel that their reactions to the work are really complex. When I see comments that coincide exactly with my thoughts when we shot it, I find that really magical, like we really connected along this bridge. In life we might not know each other, we've never spoken, but all of a sudden because they got what I was thinking at the time, it makes me feel that performance is a really wonderful, magical thing.

Elle: Do you watch or read science fiction?

XZ: I do, I liked Three Body. Recently I've actually been watching some sci-fi, like the American drama Constellation, and also Dark Matter, they're both multiverse, alternative universe shows. Because I think maybe there really are parallel universes. Each of your choices creates a new splinter alternative universe.

Elle: Do you think about the Xiao Zhan of those alternative universes?

XZ: I really do. For example, is he still an actor? Maybe he is, then is he shooting right now? Is he still singing? Or is he still a designer? Is he still an employee or has he become the boss? [laughs] Really, I do think about it.

Elle: What about the future, what do you think it'll be like?

XZ: Woah, I actually think at that point the world might revert to its origins, maybe it will be more wonderful, with interpersonal communication returning to a more natural form.

Elle: That's really interesting. Why do you think that?

XZ: Actually, at least at the moment I'm a bit sick of the internet being ever-present. When we were kids and we didn't have cellphones, we'd chat during meals, all the kids would be called downstairs from their apartment blocks to play together, doing hide and seek and other games. Those times were really precious.

Elle: Will actors still exist in that future?

XZ: I think so. I believe that so long as life continues, theater will exist. Because we need a form of expression, to experience empathy, and to have emotional sustenance, whether it's in images or sounds. So I think even if the world was destroyed, so long as people still exist, theater will surely still exist.

#xiao zhan #text translations

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tagthescullion · 22 days ago

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I always thought that Nico has been treated unfairly, both in canon (although considering those chapters are from Percy's perspective it's quite understandable) and in the fandom, for not telling Percy who he was when Percy came to Camp Jupiter.

The thing is, when was Nico supposed to tell him?

Here's the timeline. Hazel came to CJ in September, so Nico's known about the Romans at least since then. He drops by both camps every so often, telling neither one of the other.

Percy disappears in December. Jason also disappears three days later. (Although considering at least six months passed between Percy's disappearance and SON, for all we know Jason actually vanished from Camp Jupiter weeks or months before TLH.) Jason shows up at camp, he and Leo and Piper have their quest, everyone figures out the swap.

So the next time Nico visits CJ, probably hoping nobody will ask him if he has any idea where Jason is, he's expecting that Percy will be there, just like Jason is at CHB now.

Except that Percy isn't there. Percy doesn't show up at CJ until six to eight months later. At that time, Nico has long stopped expecting Percy to be there every time he visits.

Until suddenly, Percy is there. Walking in right next to Hazel, no less. Anything Nico might've been thinking to say to Percy he's either long forgotten about or flies right out of his head in disconcertion.

It's entirely possible that if Nico and Percy had been in Camp Jupiter for any longer than they were, even just a couple more days, Nico would have taken Percy aside and told him "You're right, I do know you, you know me, I don't know how much I can tell you because the gods are at work but you're going to get your memories back and see Annabeth soon" or something like that.

But both Nico and Percy left Camp Jupiter the very next day. There wasn't time for Nico to tell Percy - when should he have taken him aside so no one could overhear somewhere he'd have some minutes to think for himself, at the dinner they were eating with three or four other people? during the war games? the senate meeting the next day? - or even for him to figure out what to tell him in the first place.

Nico also presumably knew that CHB was almost finished building the Argo II and would be making contact in just a few days, and he wouldn't have wanted to interfere in case he might put that in jeopardy.

idk how popular my take on this is but, if you ask me, nico didn't tell percy on purpose. he did have time, it was simply a "hey, percy, I have to tell you the truth, I do know you", but nico had promised to shut up, idk if it ever says in canon but it's implied he was supposed to not tell each group of demigods about the existence of the other (to keep the balance in the force, or whatever reason it was), and he's got a surprisingly strong sense of duty

I assume percy and jason were taken at the same time, and in that case, whichever camp nico was in at the moment, I bet he went to the other, saw the leader was also gone and went to the obvious conclusion that "shit's about to hit the fan", not to mention he already knew thanatos was taken --which is why hazel was back in the land of the living--, so he was aware the situation was not ideal

afterwards, the second jason popped up in CHB, you bet nico went running to CJ to see if percy was there (obviously keeping it to himself that jason was alive and where), but was probably disappointed that he wasn't

months later percy turns up and by then nico's a pro at keeping info to himself, I mean, he's known for a long while where jason is, has said nothing, was most likely told hera had "switched leaders" too, and so he's waiting to see how things work out

I imagine, if nico hadn't gone to find the doors too close to tartarus, that he'd have been supervising the situation in his own way until the argo ii got there, that is to say, he would've been watching percy and at the first sign of trouble, he would've got percy out of CJ

#nico di angelo #jason grace #percy jackson #camp halfblood #camp jupiter #pjo #hoo #pjo hoo toa #riordanverse #cevenini responde #tagthescullion #long post

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lalalian · 2 months ago

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lifespans and age of riders vs dragons

date: september 22, 2024

A fundamental aspect of riders is their is link to dragons, yes, we know that, but what if one part of the link disappears?

The life of a human is a mere speck compared to that of a dragon-- do riders, a species similar to humans, age similarly to their human counterparts?

Today, I'll be tackling these questions!

dragon age

This has been bothering me for awhile-- if a dragon has a human form (cough cough, your dragon), they will appear to be the same age as you. Dragons are considered mature enough (mentally and physically) in the beginning of your second year to fly with a rider, so about maybe a 1 yr - 1.5 yrs give or take. Imagine teaching a one and a half yr old how to operate a plane or drive... riders and humans do not develop as quickly brain wise as dragons.

Dragons also don't take long to mature to adulthood. They're essentially a young adult by the time you have to graduate. Likewise, they learn fast, and many would be wise enough to support you academically (mostly with magic).

So... now that's out the way, let's get to the more interesting bits.

riders aging

The more you’re in tune with your magic, the more you’re intertwined with your dragon’s soul. After Aethergarde Academy, your lifespan will slow down drastically. Here's a short summary of the stages of life for a rider.

0-20: Pre-Rider Stage - You’re body is still getting used to its qualities in this stage. At 20, your body is about used to your heightened senses and niche (depending on when you go through an awakening).

21-100: Young adult

101-300: Adult

301-400: Older Adult - Some signs of aging may start to appear. Equivalent to your 40s (like this stage of life is considered similar to a human's 40s, but not appearance wise).

401-500: Mid-life - Equivalent to your 50-60s. You stop physically aging around here, most riders maintain an appearance of a 40 yr old because of the many sun protectant trinkets and creams.

501+: Elder - From 600 and above, if your dragon dies, you die! Keeping up sun protecting procedures will maintain your 40s appearance.

Because your lifespan's been lengthened to such an extent, I advise you to form closer bonds with riders rather than humans.

Do all riders, regardless of rank, age like this? No, only riders C and above age this way, though, the lower the rank, the more quickly your body ages. E and D ranked riders do age a little slower appearance wise, and are far more likely to live to 100. They typically don't live past 115~.

Higher ranked riders who retire tend to live for around 600 yrs. Riders who dedicate their lives to battle often die anywhere between 100-200 yrs old, though, more skilled riders tend to live well past this age.

do dragons live longer?

Dragons can be thousands upon thousands of years old. The oldest dragon that is currently alive (when you first shift there, I mean) is around 63,000 yrs old. His name is Siege, and he currently resides in the most opulent care facility in The Rookery. He has visited Aethergarde Academy a few times... he is always accompanied by at least 4 other dragons to help him throughout his trip. Siege is the only dragon who does not need explicit permission to enter Aethergarde and the other four schools outlined in the script, so he literally can just fly onto campus without reporting to Harklorn.

It is not uncommon for dragons to outlive their riders. Many may either die in battle or even be poisoned, but I'm sure you can imagine the amount of grief a dragon feels when their rider passes. Dragons often hide in their nests, or stay near their nests, for 100s of years. Dragons who have developed an extremely close bond to their riders will undergo a very deep depression, causing them to hibernate anywhere from 100 yrs to 300 yrs-- upon waking up, their body's are quite weak. Luckily, The Rookery has many many facilities for these dragons. Either workers will find these dragons and report them to The Rookery, or these dragons will simply fly to The Rookery themselves.

what if your dragon dies?

It really depends on when your dragon dies.

If your dragon dies within the first or second year you bond with them, assuming you're actively attending your magic classes, it's really hard to build yourself up magically. If your dragon dies before you undergo an awakening, you will go through an awakening soon after your dragon dies. This is due to the sudden change/disruption within your aura. Your awakened state will not be as powerful as it would be if your dragon didn't die. It's also not uncommon to get pretty ill, like I mean bedridden ill, soon after their death.

Despite your grief, it's recommended to continue focusing on controlling your mana and practicing magic to ensure that you won't lose the ability to do all forms of magic.

If your dragon dies after 4 yrs, also assuming you're attending your classes, you will not lose your ability to do magic completely, though, it's still recommended to practice casting spells or even just doing some simple mana meditation exercises to retain your skill. Not doing this can easily take you down a rank in terms of magic.

Why does this happen?

For most people, their dragon's aura makes up at least 3/4s of their supply of mana (for higher ranked riders, it's more around 50%). In terms of mana, you and your dragon essentially have a give and take kind of relationship. When one vessel dies, that mana can easily just be absorbed by the environment (some people actually don't try to maintain their skills, usually for religious or sentimental reasons).

Guiding that mana back to you will expand your mana capacity. Because those particles of mana are drawn to you due to your bond with your dragon, you can reabsorb them. This is the only way to expand your mana capacity after 20 yrs of age, though, it's not like you'll be stronger, you're just making up for the space you lost.

There is a way that you can absorb the mana of another dragon that isn't bonded to you-- even another rider-- but that is quite illegal.

dragon aging

Dragons can live for a lonnggg time if they get through the grieving process. Dragons usually die when their riders die, the mourning practices they go through is usually too tough for their bodies to handle even if they're taken care of.

This whole post is making me so sad... Honestly it's hard to continue 😭😭 Let's end this post on a less sad note with... Humans!

how do humans feel about riders' lengthened lifespan?

There is a bit of a divide on this topic-- some humans want their life to be lengthened, while others prefer to live short lives. Rider blood used to be used as an 'antidote to aging' but of course, drinking rider blood will not lengthen your lifespan or stop the aging process. It's the bond between the rider and their dragon that's keeping riders' alive for so long.

The government is always cracking down on 'youth potions' and 'death antidotes', there's always something related to dragons or riders involved in them. It wouldn't surprise me if there was like a 'youth fountain' filled with... rider piss and nail clippings.

Humans cannot drink dragon blood! Even a vial sized portion of dragon blood can cause many health issues, especially related to things like stomach acid regulation or stomach lining thinning. Oh, but some people still try this shit.

Riders actually can drink dragon blood, in fact, there are some potion recipes that do have some blood in them; however, it does have to be from your dragon. Drinking blood from another dragon typically just doesn't digest well, but it's not like it causes serious health issues (unless you drink a ton of it). Instead, riders simply get diarrhea.

If you do need a potion that contains dragon's blood, contact a potionmaker to custom make a potion. Usually, the potionmaker will tell you that a certain potion needs dragon blood. They'll hand you a vial; fill that vial completely and hand it to the potionmaker.

wanna know more about my aethergarde academy dr? here's a masterlist with everything I've posted about it!

after reading into inzoi's generative ai controversy more, I just wanted to say that I don't use AI to write the storyline, worldbuilding, or plot of my scripts.

I do and think of everything myself, this is why everything takes so long.

The few things I have used AI for is to get ideas for names (I got Straus' last name from chatgpt) and I used chatgpt to write a summary of the scholarship Laurier offers (I didn't feel like writing that shit).

I would also like to note that it isn't a bad idea to use AI to write your scripts! It's hard to get ideas yall, I don't blame anyone that uses AI to write their scripts!!!

I do use AI to generate images for my scripts and of my DRself, so I'm not completely safe lmao😭😭

#shiftblr #reality shifting #shifting community #shifting blog #lalalian #desired reality #shifters #shifting diary #shifttok #scripting

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umlewis · 2 months ago

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lewis hamilton, p3, is interviewed during the post-qualifying press conference, singapore - september 21, 2024 (transcript under the cut)

Interviewer: "Lewis, let's come to you. You weren't that positive about your car yesterday after practice. Is P3 a bit of a surprise in qualifying?" Lewis: "I'm not saying it's a surprise, but through the weekend so far we were looking… I was looking particularly very poor. I mean, this morning and all of yesterday we were 1.2 seconds off these guys, so… We arrived with a car that was massively understeer-y and we just couldn't dial any in, no matter what we did just nothing changed. And made changes overnight, came here today, pretty much the same thing, and I was really, definitely shocked to see that we were still 1.2 seconds behind [laughs] Lando again. And then we just kept our heads down, kept not giving up, and we made some more changes, and got into this session and it was like night and day. Such a big difference. Car was all of a sudden alive and I was able to go where I wanted to go. So it was looking really strong throughout qualifying. And I think obviously with the crash in Q3 it made it difficult for all of us to put that final lap together. I think my lap was also nothing special. Very difficult to get the tires perfect and not overslide them; I had a lot of snaps. So I think with a better job maybe we could have been front row with this guy, but I don't know whether or not we could have beaten him today. But still really, really happy." Interviewer: "How rewarding is it? Because you've had some struggles with qualifying. You've been very open about that this year. So does that make this that much more satisfying?" Lewis: "Oh yeah. I mean, just to be up here with these guys, great drivers. I've not been up here for a while. And yeah, qualifying has been a nightmare for quite a long time, so it feels great to be up here. I feel very, very grateful and very, very happy. George and I are on the second row, so hopefully from here we can apply pressure to these two. And to even to be ahead of another McLaren and another Red Bull and also the Ferraris is mega, considering how fast the Ferraris, particularly, are here. So yeah, I hope that we can hold on to these guys tomorrow."

[time jump] NOT SHOWN: Journalist: "Andrew Benson, BBC Sport. One for Max and then one for Lando and Lewis. Max, will you talk to us outside the room? Because technically there's not... Yeah, okay. And then Lando and Lewis, what do you think about Max being given community service, effectively, for what he said on Thursday?" Lewis: "Yeah, I think it's a bit of a joke, to be honest. This is the pinnacle of the sport. Mistakes are made. I certainly wouldn't be doing it, and I hope Max doesn't do it." [time jump] Journalist: "Zuhrah Beevi, Vavel.com. Lewis, your car looked much stronger today than it did on Friday. How confident are you that you can get a podium like last year for tomorrow's race?" Lewis: "It's very hard to say, 'cause it was such a nightmare the past day-and-a-half. I think our long run pace was so-so. Nowhere near these guys, or at least the McLarens. But we have now put the car in a much different window, so we have to also anticipate a different balance tomorrow, compared to the past every other session. And yeah, I think here is really about managing tire temps, so that's gonna have to be key tomorrow. So doing absolutely everything we can to keep the temperatures out of the rears, basically. I hope, in our attempt to do that, we're somehow able to hold on to at least one of these guys. But yeah, we'll find out tomorrow. I feel confident, though, that we might be able to do that." [laughs]

#lewis hamilton #f1 #formula 1 #singapore gp 2024 #fic ref #fic ref 2024 #singapore #singapore 2024 #singapore 2024 saturday #lando norris #tw max #with george

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frogsmulder · 11 months ago

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would you do number 11 in joy for the the kiss asks and msr?

Hi anon! I was in a broody mood apparently because when I thought of joy I could only think of an ending where mulder and Scully got to have their family together sans conspiracy and abductions.

Miracle in Georgetown

Mulder has a very important conversation with Scully's baby bump; about 900 words; rated t; tagging @today-in-fic

Sunday 24th September, 11:04 am

Georgetown.

Scully is sitting comfortably amongst a throne of cushions on her coach. With her feet in fluffy slippers propped up on the coffee table, she casually flicks through a magazine her mother urged her to take a look at. A mug of ginger tea rests on her swollen belly that she takes sips from every few minutes while contemplating with a red pen all the cots, changing tables and mobiles they should have in the baby's room. She is still in her pyjamas and waffle weave dressing gown when the front door opens and Mulder announces he is back from his morning run and going for a shower. The smile on her face broadens bright and warm like the early autumn sun as she calls after him to not be too long.

What she doesn't expect is for him to learn over the back of the coach to kiss her forehead, mumbling “I wouldn't dream of it,” against her skin.

“Mulder,” she chuckles, reaching a hand up to play through his hair.

“Ew, Scully, no.” He playfully bats her hand away and straightens up. “I'm all sweaty.”

She hums, turning to face him, drinking in the sight of his shirt clinging to muscles. Morning-run-Mulder was one of her favourite Mulders, especially since she entered the second trimester. “Just the way I like you.”

“Uh huh? Maybe later.” Looking over her shoulder he points down at one mobile with giraffes on it. “This one–” he punctuates his choice with two taps to the glossy paper– “he'll love this one.”

She looks back at him with a raised eyebrow. “He, Mulder?”

“Yeah, didn't I tell you?” he smirks as he walks away. “I have a feeling.”

“Based on what?”

He bobs his head, considering. “Call it instinct–intuition.”

“And I'm supposed to believe you based on what– a hunch?” she teases.

“Come on, Scully! When have I ever been wrong?”

She scoffs and turns back to the magazine, circling the giraffes.

The pads of Mulder's footsteps soften as he walks away from her to their bedroom. She tracks his whereabouts mentally as he moves from the dresser to their bed to their ensuite, imagining him gradually becoming less clothed with each step. Wondering how she ever came to need him so desperately, she blushes into the tea and cradles her bump. It wasn't her fault that the Little One’s dad was so handsome and charming. Perhaps they wouldn't be in this situation if he wasn't.

She lays her head back against the coach and sighs. Listening to the sound of the water, she lets her eyes close and her mind drift.

When Scully hears the water turn off, she smiles, anticipating the return of his soft footsteps. She isn't disappointed when a few minutes later he appears in fresh sweatpants, no shirt, and towelling his hair. She has to bite the inside of her cheek at the sight of his hedgehog spikes. She pats the spot next to her on the coach.

“Good run?”

He hums and lays down, resting his head next to her hip and curling up to fit his legs on at the other end.

“I missed you.”

“I was barely gone an hour,” he half mumbles into the cushions.

“Still…” Her fingers find their way to weave into his damp hair.

He slides a hand up under her top and around her belly, thumb stroking softly back and forth against her skin. She can feel him grin and the air become charged as he lets his excitement grow.

“I still can't believe it. He's really in there.”

“And don't I know about it,” she chuffs.

“Hey little guy! What's it like in there?” He presses his ear to her belly as if they both had cups on a string to communicate. “Uh huh, uh huh. And you want more sausage and egg for breakfast. I'll pass that on.”

Mulder presses his lips to the swell of her stomach and holds them there, imparting his affection to them both.

“Now, bud,” The words tickle against her skin, the low hum of his voice both soothing and arousing. “There's a few things you need to know–man to man–that will save you in the big scary outside world. The first is that your mummy and daddy love you very much and we will always be here for you.” His voice breaks to a whisper and his eyes screw shut as he continues to rub her bump. It isn't long though before a grin erupts all the way from his lips to his eyes. “The second,” he continues with the same air of seriousness, “and this is the most important–there is only one basketball team and it's The Knicks.”

Scully rolls her eyes in good humour, but when she looks back down at him, she sees him staring up, eyes spilling over with adoration.

“You know I don't think I tell you this enough: just how amazing you are Scully.”

Her stomach drops to her feet at his utter honesty leaving her for once speechless. He props himself up on one arm, slowly crawling to an upright position. Taking her face in both his hands he kisses her languidly full of warmth and love. Pleasantly surprised, Scully swipes her tongue across his lower lip, inviting him to deepen their kiss. Yet he doesn't reciprocate, unable to when his smile clashes against her teeth.

“He's really in there,” he laughs incredulously.

She pulls away, seeing the sheer joy on his face. It warms her heart to know she's been able to give him the family he's always dreamed of. “He really is.”

#msr #dana scully #the x files #fox mulder #xf fanfic #my writing #fluff #teeth rotting fluff

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sissylittlefeather · 1 year ago

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Aaaaaaand....

A Very Quiet Life: Chapter 3

A/N: Part 3 of the AU where Elvis is your next door neighbor in the suburbs in the late '60s. This one is a long chapter, but it HEATS UP, my friends, so stay with me. Parts 4 & 5 are also written, so they'll be posted soon as well!

Warnings: 18+ SMUT, Minors DNI! There's mention of an injury (non-violent), reader is a widow, cussing, then the dirty stuff like oral sex (m & f receiving), fingering, p in v sex, unprotected sex, etc.

Link to Chapter 1

Link to Chapter 2

I hope it is worth the wait! ❤️

Song inspo (in case you forgot)

Gif inspo (because why not?)

You should be careful what you wish for.

******

Two weeks after the popsicle incident, as you've been calling it in your head, you're out front with your kids while they play in the sprinkler. You can't believe how hot it still is in mid-September. You're seriously considering getting in the sprinkler yourself when you see Elvis walk into his yard to water his grass. He's mowed your lawn twice since the incident, but you haven't let him come inside. You don't trust yourself to be alone with him and he always seems to choose a time when you are alone. He waves and smiles and you return the gesture. You wish you didn't notice how good he looks today, but you've got on sunglasses, so you let your eyes wander. He has his short sleeves rolled up and he's wearing blue jeans that fit his ass perfectly. You're no longer sweating because of the heat. The sun is starting to go down, though, so it's a perfect excuse to gather your kids and go inside. As you look back at them, Michael jumps over the sprinkler. His feet hit the wet grass and slide out from under him. He hits the ground hard, landing on his wrist. He lets out a blood-curdling scream and your heart stops. You're out of your chair in seconds, running over to him. Somehow, Elvis beats you to him and scoops him up off the ground.

"Go get your keys! We need to go to the ER!" He calls to you while Michael screams in his arms. His wrist is bent in a way that makes your stomach turn. You sprint back into the house and grab your purse and your shoes. In seconds, you're back out the front door. Elvis is holding Michael close, leaning against the hood of your car, and rocking him gently. He's stopped screaming. Jane is crying quietly next to Elvis, holding onto his shirt. As you get closer to them you hear his voice. He's singing to Michael. If the circumstances were any different, the tender scene would warm your heart. His voice is smooth and silky and it hits you in all your soft places. But you're too worried about Michael to think about anything else. You unlock the car door and Elvis slides into the back seat with both kids. You jump in the driver's seat and try to start the car. Your hands are shaking, though, and you struggle.

"Take a deep breath, honey, we're okay."

His voice is steady and calm. You do as he says, breathe deeply, and start the car.

******

In the emergency room, you hold Michael and Elvis holds Jane while you check out. You've been there for over three hours and both kids are wiped out. Michael has a new blue cast on his wrist that's wrapped loosely around your neck. He's still awake, but just barely. Jane is asleep on Elvis's shoulder, snoring quietly. You finally get back out to your car and softly lay both kids in the backseat.

"I can drive." You nod at Elvis and toss him your keys. You're exhausted too. You slide into the passenger seat and start the drive home. It takes you a good five minutes to realize you're holding his hand. Or maybe he's holding your hand. Either way, your fingers are interwoven on the seat between you. It's comfortable and intimate in a way you haven't experienced since your husband died. You know you shouldn't be doing it, but you're too tired to care. He's been so kind and helpful today. It was nice to not be alone through this. You look up at him. His profile is beautiful with the streetlights shining in the windows.

"Thank you. You didn't have to do all this today." He looks at you and smiles.

"I really don't mind. I'm just glad he's okay."

"How are you so good with children?" He shrugs.

"I don't know. I've always been like this. I teach piano and guitar lessons and most of my clients are kids. I just think they have the best view of the world." That's why he's always home during the day. He works there.

"You didn't want kids of your own?" That question probably crosses a line, but with his hand in yours it feels like you can ask anything. Still, his face darkens and he looks out the window.

"I did. My wife did not."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked. It's none of my business." You start to pull your hand away, but he tightens his grip on your fingers.

"No, it's okay. I don't mind." He looks at you again with a sad smile. "She works a lot. She's one of the only women in her office, so she didn't want to be held back by having kids." It's weird to talk about her while you're holding her husband's hand. "I just wish she'd told me before we got married." There's a hint of bitterness in his voice when he says the last part.

You ride quietly for the last bit of the drive. He pulls the car up to the front curb and gets out to help you carry the kids inside. Once they're both safely settled in bed, you drop onto your couch and burst into tears. Now that the adrenaline has worn off, the fear and pain and tiredness of the day win out and you fall apart. Elvis sits next to you and puts his arm around you, letting you cry on his shoulder.

"There ya go, honey, let it out. I know today was a lot." He kisses the top of your head and strokes your hair. After a few more minutes of crying you're able to pull yourself together a bit and you look at the clock on the mantle. You sit up straight.

"It's almost midnight! Isn't your wife going to wonder where you are?!" He looks at his shoes for a moment, like he's trying to decide whether he should be honest, and then looks back at you.

"She's on a business trip. I can stay as long as you need me." Your stomach does a flip flop. As long as you need him.

His eyes are so blue as they flick down to your mouth and back up to your eyes. He puts his hand on the side of your face and caresses your cheek with his thumb, wiping away any remnants of tears. Your heart beats so hard and fast that you're pretty sure he can hear it.

Slowly, carefully, he leans in and touches his lips to yours. Lightening shoots through you straight out to your fingertips and he kisses you softly again. The third time he kisses you, his mouth is open and he parts your lips too. You let his tongue slide into your mouth and send yours to match his movements. His hand moves back to your hair and he holds you closer for a more passionate kiss. After a few minutes, he pulls you onto his lap, straddling him, with his hands on your hips. You press your body against his and kiss him so intensely that you start to get lost in him. He loses control too and slides both hands up under your shirt and bra, cupping your breasts and squeezing them gently. You pull your shirt off over your head and he reaches behind your back to undo your bra. He kisses your shoulder and then moves back to the center kissing you along your collarbone. You throw your head back as he grazes his lips down to your nipple. His two hands cover almost all of your back as he sucks and nibbles your chest. You feel his erection between your legs, pushing into you where you want him the most. You lift his shirt and pull it over his head, exposing the soft patch of hair on his chest. He wraps his arms around you and pulls you into a deep kiss, your naked skin pressed up against his.

You back away from him and slink down to the floor between his knees. You reach up to unbutton his pants and free his erection from his jeans. His dick is perfect. You slide his foreskin down, exposing the tip, and run your tongue around it softly. He groans and leans his head back on the couch. Then he looks back at you, watching while you work your mouth on him, taking him in as much as you can until he hits the back of your throat.

"Fuckkk, y/n..." he moans as you continue to lick and suck him. Hearing him say your name like that makes you even wetter than you already are. You pull him fully into your mouth again and then slide your tongue in a small circle around the head. You lick slowly up and down him a couple of times and then back off of him. He opens his eyes when you stop and watches you stand up and slide your pants down. You hope he won't notice how wet your panties are, but he immediately does.

"This all for me, baby?" He asks as he reaches his hand out and touches your panties. You nod as he begins to rub circles on you. Then, he slides your panties to the side and pushes his finger into you. He pulls your hips closer to him and switches from one finger to two, moving them in and out and tickling inside you. You groan and shudder around his hand. Just when you can't stand it anymore, he pulls his fingers out.

"Lay down, honey." He guides your hips down to the couch and lays you back, slipping your panties off and positioning himself between your legs. He lowers his head down and pushes his tongue into your slit. You gasp and arch your back as he continues to lick your sensitive bud around in circles, then left and right over the top, stopping periodically to push his tongue back into you. Your orgasm is building inside you as electricity gathers in your center. He continues to lick and tongue-fuck you until you feel like you might explode.

"Come for me, baby." He whispers it into you and the vibration of his voice throws you over the edge as he flattens his tongue against you one more time. You do exactly as he tells you to and shiver and pulse as the waves of pleasure crash into you over and over again until he finally stops licking you.

He climbs back up your body and kisses your neck while you lay under him breathing heavily. You haven't been able to say much this whole time, but now you find your voice and speak softly into his ear.

"Fuck me, Mr. Presley." He groans and stands up to remove his pants completely. For a moment, he stops, and just looks at you laying there naked. You worry that he's having second thoughts or thinking about his wife. Before you can say anything, though, he smiles.

"You're fucking beautiful." You sit up and pull him down on top of you.

"I noticed it the first time I saw you through that window." So he did see you. He lines himself up with your entrance and teases you a bit with his tip.

"I've been dreaming of this ever since." He thrusts deeply and plunges his dick into you as far as it'll go, filling you entirely.

"Oh my godddddd" you moan as he pumps in and out of you.

"You feel so good, baby. So tight and wet for me. I fucking love it." He kisses your neck and shoulder. You continue to fuck in this position for a good while, both of you reveling in the satisfaction of finally getting what you want.

Eventually, you push him backwards off of you into a siting position. You straddle him again and lower yourself onto him until he fills you up. You whimper and moan again at the feeling of his length hitting the sensitive spot inside of you. As you slide up and down on him, you feel another climax building. You bounce wildly with his hands on your back guiding your movements. You stop and roll your hips, pushing him as deep as he can go. You want to feel every inch of him. He holds you still for a second and looks into your eyes.

"Can I...? Should I pull out?" He asks tentatively.

"No." Fuck it. "Come inside me. I need to feel you." He groans again as you continue to fuck him with everything you've got. Your own orgasm is so close; you don't want to stop. Every pump brings you to the edge until he lifts his hips under you and you slam down onto him one last time.

"Oh fuck yes y/n!" He yells as you tumble into oblivion with him, the unimaginable pleasure filling every part of you. Your legs begin to shake as you lay your forehead on his shoulder. You sit there for a bit, trying to catch your breath. He wraps his arms around you and kisses you playfully.

"Can I stay?"

"The kids wake up really early..."

"I promise I'll be gone before they even think about it." You secretly wish he could be there when they wake up, like a normal family. But he's not their father. He has a wife. You climb off of him and try to walk to the bathroom. He grabs your hand and pulls you back to his lap, wrapping himself around you again.

"I just want to be close to you as long as possible." He kisses your shoulder and any resolve you had about sending him home melts.

"Come get in the bed." He smiles a wide and relaxed smile and puts his boxers back on. He picks up his T-shirt and pulls it down over your head, so that you're wearing it. Then, he follows you into the bedroom and crawls into your bed. You go to the bathroom and get some new panties to sleep in. You leave his shirt on, though, because you love that it smells like him. When you get in the bed, he pulls you close to him and wraps his arms around you. You haven't slept with a man in your bed in a long time. It feels nice. He feels nice.

How are you going to keep yourself from getting used to this?

******

Chapter 4 coming soon!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Taglist:

@itlover8000 @deniseinmn @elvisalltheway101 @ccab @suxny @hernameisnoellex3 @ashtag6887 @arabellapresley @littlehoneyposts @dkayfixates

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katarh-mest · 6 months ago

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7th time loop vol 5 thoughts

Just finished volume 5 of 7th Time Loop. I don't want to wait until September for the next book! Can't believe I inhaled them all already....

Anyway, stuck some heavy spoilerific thoughts below a line here.

The reveal that the current Emperor has a massive bloodlust presence and he doesn't even try to hide it... He really is being built up to be a monster, no?

What I suspect is that in every timeline, he's been the instigator of the war, and even Arnold killing him has never been enough to stop it once the gears are in motion.

He's priming the rest of the world for a takeover - doing stuff like pouring poison into Dietrich's ears to create a failed coup attempt in that kingdom as a way to knock them out of the picture, weakening Domana by killing off their last remaining priestess (not caring that she's the cousin of his oldest son, since he views his own children as political tools.) The whole counterfeit coin business too.

Every plot has been a long con designed to provoke all the other nations into either being weakened, or into holding a massive grudge against Galkhein, all for the sake of creating a world war that can't he stopped, not even by his death, and leaving the mess for his son Arnold to clean up.

Canon vs Fanon stuff

There's a bunch of things floating around in fanfics that seemed plausible considering the series has supernatural elements, but I was slightly disappointed to find weren't in Vol 5. Maybe they'll be in volume 6????? (Spoil me in comments, go ahead.)

Arnold can take off Riche's clothes with his mind (now wouldn't that be amusing!)

Arnold has super healing powers inherited from his mom (TOTALLY believable) - this one pops up and seems to definitely be in volume 6th so I'm saying this one is probably canon, but I don't know 100% for sure

Arnold is stuck in his own time loop (I'm seriously leaning toward this, it's just his loops have been stuck as a personal hell where he can't stop his dad no matter what he does.)

Wacky things that absolutely are canon:

Arnold's eyes glow sometimes

Rishe and Arnold both have super senses. Love the way the anime depicted her picking out Count Lavinne in the crowd. They're practically Force sensitive.

Rishe is a quick study and has an eidetic memory. In modern day terms, we'd call her gifted. She doesn't forget names or faces that easily. That's it's own super power.

Rishe did study a lot of her interests as a kid, so if Arnold sent Oliver to do homework on her asking "wtf how is my future wife so amazing" the mundane answer was "she actually did do stuff like archery, horseback riding, sword training, etc., but the prince of Hermity told her to stop every one of those activities because she was better than he was."

Fan Theories I've seen

Arnold in a Loop: The reason I tend to agree with the fan hypothesis that Arnold is in his own time loop is because 1. He seemed to be under the impression that she was slightly afraid of him up until the last chapter of volume 5 (I mean, he did stab her in the chest last go round) and 2. He's way too brilliant for even a determined, workaholic 19 year old. Like Rishe, he acts like got an extra few lifetimes of learning under his belt.

He's also several steps ahead of Rishe at every turn. He already knows what's happening, and he seems genuinely delighted at how fast she catches on. And he grabs her suggestions with two hands and runs with them because they're good and valid and often present the solution to the problems he himself wasn't able to find, like a way to make Coyelles an equal partner instead of his first target for invasion.

Was her 5th loop really the first time that he encountered her? He made the gesture toward his heart that she interpreted as "Shoot me if you can" but what if in a prior loop, say the 2nd or 3rd, he saw a cute scholar in Coyelles and wanted to try to encounter her again in later loops but didn't again until the 5th? What he he's bumped into her in every life before, but she only developed her own hunter's sense in the 5th life so never realized it? What it he's been crushing on a girl for 30 years and only by chance in the 7th loop did she choose a different escape route and bump into him?

Dream Vision Arnold: Another fan theory I've seen is Arnold having dream visions of all the wars started in all of Rishe's lives in the future. And that, too, would jive with him having inherited the blood of the goddess and having majority and some notion of events that haven't come to pass yet. (And also why he insists on calling Rishe his wife even though they aren't married yet. Probably saw enough visions of her that the moment he saw her jump off the balcony, he went "oh. That's the girl from my dreams I'm gonna marry. okay. get her. GET HER NOW.")

My own pet theories:

Arnold's mother and the Crusade Church - Fan theories center around the idea of Arnold getting his super powers from his mother's side. (Although his dad is a monster too.) What if the Goddess picked Arnold as her champion of revenge against his dad and that's why he's stuck in a loop (and Rishe is the one getting dragged along with him cuz she's a soulmate?)

Opposing forces: Arnold's father works for another god/goddess (maybe a war god or something) and believes it is his mission in life to bring the world war about, and that's why Arnold feels like he has to stop him

Possible prophesies: The fact that Arnold's father committed straight up infanticide and eventually killed or had all his concubines killed makes me wonder if there was some sort of oracle that told him that his death would come at the hands of his own child with hair of a different color. (Arnold kills him anyway in the six loops so far.) This opens the door for RISHE (daughter in law) being the one to get to murder him in loop 7, which frees Arnold of the sin of patricide but has her committing regicide instead.... Not that she'd care, she's already killed plenty in all of her loops, especially the last two. But since Arnold seems to be getting ideas of involving the Crusade Church, maybe having her take on the role of the champion of the goddess might absolve her of that crime. Especially if the new Emperor Arnold Hein forgives her.

Rishe actually is one of the chosen of the goddess, and Arnold is the only one that knows.

Final Thoughts

Rishe so worried about the public kiss during the wedding ceremony that she hasn't stopped to think about what comes after is kind of amusing. Granted, she trusts Arnold not to hurt her and that he won't do anything she doesn't want him to. But still.

(Also, getting kissed senseless is a pretty nice birthday present.)

Even if it's his first loop or his seventh too, Arnold is absolutely besotted with her. He's a lovesick fool and he's trying so hard to keep it together in public.

SEPTEMBER CAN'T COME FAST ENOUGH!

#7th time loop #7th time loop novels #rishe x arnold #rishe irmgard weitzner #arnold hein

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foundtherightwords · 2 months ago

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As the Sun Will Rise - Chapter 9

Pairing: Grunauer (Overlord) x OFC, Beauty & the Beast retelling

Summary: After losing most of his unit in a disastrous D-Day mission, Derwin Grunauer returns to his hometown near Miami, body riddled with scars and heart heavy with guilt, only to find his neighbors shunning him due to his German name. He retreats into his family mansion and remains there, unwilling to rejoin the living, until the day Alba Reyes turns up at his door with a basket full of warm bread. As the daughter of a Cuban immigrant, Alba knows something of being an outsider, and when she offers to work for Derwin as his housekeeper, it is not only to pay off her father's debt to the Grunauers, but also because she feels some connection to the reclusive young man. When that connection develops into something more, they must overcome both the town's prejudice and their own doubts to find happiness.

Chapter warnings: none

Chapter word count: 3.3k

Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4 - Chapter 5 - Chapter 6 - Chapter 7 - Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Derwin walked along the winding lane that snaked through the swamp, still muddy from the flood but passable. As he walked slowly, letting his leg rest when it needed, he tried to think of what he was going to say to Alba. I'm sorry for shouting at you. I was wrong. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me. I miss you. Otto misses you. Please come back. Too sappy? I'm sorry for losing my temper. I don't dislike your presence. Would you consider coming back? Too formal? I'm sorry. Would you please come back? Too short? I'm sorry for—I'm sorry—sorry—

The September sun was beating down relentlessly, making it impossible for him to think, and his leg, unaccustomed to the long walk, started to feel like it was coming apart at the joints. Sweat poured down his face; he wiped it off with a sleeve and continued. Soon, he had to direct all his energy into simply putting one foot in front of the other. More than once he thought about turning back and just calling the bakery, but then he put his hand into his pocket and touched the note there, and the thought of it—the thought of her—pushed him on. Though the walk was only three mile, it must have taken him at least two hours because he had to stop so often. By the time he stumbled into La Perla del Sur Bakery, he still hadn't come up with anything other than I'm sorry, but he no longer cared. He was only glad to have reached his destination.

It was almost lunchtime, and the bakery was filled with the delicious smells of hot sandwiches coming off the griddle. There was a line of people at the counter, shouting about wanting extra pickles, no salami, or more olive salad with their sandwiches. The little bell above the door chimed as he walked in. A few heads turned toward him. Derwin stood awkwardly at the door, aware of his muddy shoes and sweaty face and general unkemptness. He couldn't see Alba anywhere and wasn't sure if he should just walk up to the counter or wait in line for his turn. This was a scenario he hadn't prepared for. He decided to wait.

A shorter version of Alba—this must be her sister, Beatriz—was taking orders. He could see why most people would think Beatriz was the prettier one. However, there was something in the way she moved and talked and smiled that was a little too self-conscious, almost stilted, like she knew exactly how pretty she was and what effect she had on others. For his part, Derwin preferred Alba's effortless way.

"Hola, welcome to La Perla del Sur," Beatriz said brightly when he came up to the counter. "What can I get you today?"

"Um," said Derwin. "I'm here to—I want to—may I—can I speak to your sister?" he mumbled.

Beatriz frowned and leaned closer. "I'm sorry, I didn't catch that. What do you need?"

Derwin cleared his throat. "I'd like to speak to your sister, please," he said.

The frown deepened, and Beatriz tipped her head to one side in the exact same way as Alba. "And you are—?"

"Derwin Grunauer," he whispered. Beatriz's eyes, of a paler green than Alba's, widened. A hush fell over the bakery. He could hear people murmuring behind him. His heart started hammering in his chest. What were they going to do to him? Would they kick him out? Would they continue to stare at him in silent suspicion like his fellow soldiers, or would they shout at him and push him like those schoolyard bullies? And would Alba come to his rescue this time?

She did. Beatriz turned toward the door behind the counter, but before she could call out, Alba emerged, carrying a tray of freshly baked bread on her hip with one hand and pushing her hair under her headscarf in that familiar gesture with the other. The sight of her almost made Derwin sag with relief.

Alba paused upon seeing him. He thought he could see a flash of something in her eyes—surprise, or perhaps even joy—but it was gone in an instant, replaced by a blank look.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, setting the tray of bread down.

Derwin took a breath, but it wasn't as deep as he would've liked. "I want to talk to you. I'm sorry about—about—I'm sorry—" His throat felt stuck. He swallowed, trying to moisten it, but to no avail. The sweat now pouring down his back had less to do with the three-mile walk he'd just made and more with the crowd surrounding him, their eyes boring into him, full of curiosity and distrust.

At that moment, a stocky man with gray hair and a gray mustache—Mr. Reyes, no doubt—shouldered his way out of the same room Alba had just come from. He barked something in Spanish at his daughters, and then he saw Derwin and stopped. "Can I help you, young man?" he said, in accented English.

Derwin opened his mouth, but no words came out. His hand started to shake. Alba saw and took pity on him.

"Papi, this is Mr. Grunauer," she said.

Mr. Reyes's eyebrows went up. He went around the counter and grabbed Derwin's hand in his calloused palm. "Forgive me, I didn't recognize you," he said. "I haven't seen you since you were little." This was news to Derwin. He didn't realize he'd met Mr. Reyes before. It must have been at the house. If he had been to the bakery, he would've remembered it, surely—with its colorful posters of Cuba scenes and statues of Cuban saints on the walls and the display case of birthday cakes, all looking like elaborate pastel-colored castles, the bakery was difficult to forget. Mr. Reyes was pumping Derwin's hand, not noticing the deer-in-the-headlight expression on his face. "What can we do for you?" Mr. Reyes asked.

"He's here to talk to me, Papi," Alba said through gritted teeth. Then to Derwin, "Do you want to go around the back?"

"Alba!" bellowed Mr. Reyes. "Where are your manners? Invite him to the living room upstairs!"

Rolling her eyes, Alba said, "Si, Papi," and beckoned Derwin to a side door. He followed her, painfully aware that Mr. Reyes, Beatriz, and all the customers were watching them like some sort of live theater performance. The door opened into a cramped hallway with an iron staircase leading to the second floor. "Are you OK climbing the stairs?" Alba asked. He could only nod.

Alba brought him into an apartment on top of the bakery, small but light and airy. Derwin self-consciously wiped his muddy shoes on the doormat before entering a living room furnished with simple cane chairs, darkened with age, a coffee table adorned with fresh flowers, and family photos on the walls.

"Please sit down," Alba said. Derwin sank into one of the chairs with a groan.

Alba stood watching him. "You OK?" she asked stiffly.

"Yes, thank you. Just not used to... getting out, that's all."

"Did you walk all the way here?" He nodded. She looked appalled. "You left Otto home alone?!" she asked.

He was annoyed that she cared more about Otto's well-being than his own, but he answered anyway. "Well, I thought about bringing him along, but I was afraid people would be even less amiable if they saw me with him," he said honestly. "He's fine. He was snoring in the sunroom when I left."

His breath and his heartbeats were slowly returning to normal, but the languorous fan on the ceiling did little to dry his sweat. He dabbed a sleeve on his forehead, hoping that the circles of sweat under his arms weren't too noticeable. Alba went into the small kitchen next to the living room and came out with a pot of coffee, some cookies, and a clean washcloth that had just been run under a tap. Without a word, she handed him the washcloth and put the coffee and cookies in front of him. Derwin took the washcloth gratefully and wiped the sweat off his face, relishing its coolness on his skin. "Ojos de angel?" he asked, pointing at the cookies.

She smiled at him, a genuine smile. "You remember?"

"Of course. It's not every day that you get to name a cookie, is it?"

"They've been flying off the shelf, thanks to you." She sat down across from him, her smile turning wry as she watched him stuff his mouth. "I hope you weren't starved to death while I was gone," she said.

Derwin blushed and forced himself to slow down. "Give me a little credit, please," he said. "My sandwiches are just as good as yours." Not really.

Her smile widened a little. "I'm glad to hear that."

Silence stretched between them. Derwin cleared his throat, turning his head to avoid Alba's expectant gaze. His eyes fell on two photos set on a side table, one of a woman with Alba's eyes and Alba's smile, and the other of a young man in an AAF uniform in front of a P-40 Warhawk. There was also a little vase of flowers in front of the photos, which gave the whole setup the look of a shrine. The sight of the fighter plane sent a shudder through Derwin, and he turned back to Alba.

"Who are they?" he asked, indicating the photos.

"My mother, and my brother Rafael."

"He's a pilot?"

"Was." Alba's voice was muted. "He was killed in the Pacific."

"I'm so sorry," said Derwin.

Alba shrugged, as if to say that it no longer mattered. "The money my father borrowed from yours was supposed to be for Raf, you know," she said. "Papi wanted to open a new bakery on South Beach and let Raf run it. But then Raf died."

A needle pricked at Derwin's conscience. Yes, a debt was a debt, and he wasn't even charging them any interest, but he couldn't help feeling like he was making a profit off someone's grief somehow. "My mom was going to open a bookshop here," he said, indicating the building. "But with her health, she never got around to it." He sighed. "I guess we're all living someone else's lost dream."

"That's a rather bleak way of looking at things," said Alba. "I prefer to think they've laid the foundation for us to build our own dreams."

Silence fell again as Derwin contemplated her words. And he realized he hadn't made the trek into town just because he missed her cooking or her cleaning or even her smile. It was also because she always tried to see the brighter side of things, and he needed that in his life. He still hadn't come up with anything other than I'm sorry, and he'd never been good at the improvisation writing exercise in college, but he knew he could delay this no longer.

"Listen, Alba," he began. "I'm sorry—I'm really sorry for snapping at you the other day." As far as beginnings go, it was rather prosaic, but it managed to soften Alba's hard stare. Encouraged, he continued, "I was trying to prove that I could do things myself, but it's clear that I can't. I didn't mean to offend you. It's just that... I've been on my own for so long that I've forgotten how to live with another person." It was the truth, he knew that now. "But I'm grateful to you for everything you've done for me." He took a deep breath. "So would you please come back? And not just until the debt is paid off. I mean... come back to stay."

Alba looked at him more closely. "You mean to work as your housekeeper permanently?"

He hadn't planned to make such an offer, but now that he'd said it, Derwin realized this was exactly what he wanted. To have her around, not just for another year or two, but for as long as he could. "Yes," he said. "I'll pay you properly too. Fifty dollars a week. What do you say?"

She was quiet for a long time, chewing on her bottom lip with an unreadable expression. Finally, she lifted her eyes to his face again. "That's very generous," she said. "But I have to refuse."

Derwin's heart plummeted. "Why?!"

"I'm not planning to be a housekeeper forever," she said slowly.

Of course. How selfish and thoughtless he'd been. Who would want to slave away cooking for him and cleaning after him for the rest of her life? She had a future ahead of her; she would want other things, perhaps to run the bakery, or to keep her own house. There was no place for him in that future.

Derwin slumped in his seat, dejected. Alba studied him for a moment or two before sitting up, apparently having made up her mind.

"Tell you what," she said. "I will come back to finish my contract." A spark of hope bloomed in Derwin's heart. "You don't have to pay me more, but I have some conditions."

"Which are...?" he asked, wary.

"One, you agree to let me bring in someone to fix the roof."

"OK."

"And two, when I go into town, you go with me."

"What? Why?"

"What are you going to do once the debt is paid off?" she asked. "Hire someone else?"

Already the thought of having someone else here, in her place, was unbearable. He shook his head. "No, I don't think so."

"See, this way, you can live on your own after I leave. You'll still have to get someone to come in to help out, maybe once a week or so, but you can do everything else."

After I leave. She said it so matter-of-factly, yet those words stung. Though he'd always known it, it still hurt to realize she'd never planned to stay. After all, this was just a job for her, a transaction. He was quiet, torn between wanting to spend as much time with her as possible and wanting to ask her to leave here and now, to avoid the pain of separation, which he knew would only be worse the longer she stayed.

"And what are we going to do when we're in town?" he asked.

"Oh, the usual. Running errands, going shopping, things like that. So you'll see it's not that scary out there. You said it yourself, you've been alone for too long. Here's your chance to be around more people. Yes, they can be mean, but for the most part, they're just minding their business. You don't have to be afraid of them. "

It was on the tip of his tongue to protest, I'm not afraid of them! But it wouldn't be true. And if he agreed to this, she would come back... for now at least.

"We'll go slow first, I promise," she said, mistaking his silence for trepidation.

He nodded. "I guess I can do that."

She extended a hand toward him. "You've got a deal, Grunauer," she said. Derwin took her hand in his own and squeezed it gently. At the touch of her hand and the sight of her bright smile, the spark of hope inside him, despite his desperate attempt to quench it, flared to life again.

***

Alba kept glancing at Derwin as she drove him home in the bakery's old truck. The coffee and cookies seemed to have revived him, and he was no longer deathly pale like when he'd arrived. Silly, silly boy. An apology from him and she would've come back in a heartbeat; there was no need for him to walk all the way into town and nearly kill himself in the process. She had almost yelled at him for that. In the confusion of feelings—surprise, alarm, pity, and fierce, absurd joy—that rushed through her when she'd first seen him standing in the bakery, swaying like he were about to collapse, she'd latched on to anger, because it was the safest, the most familiar. But it was hard to stay angry when he was looking at her with those puppy dog eyes and begging her to come back. It was true that she had been a little annoyed when he offered to take her on permanently—as if she was good for nothing else but housekeeping!—but she'd reminded herself that his intentions were pure, and held her tongue.

She didn't know why she'd made him promise to accompany her into town. She'd only said it to make it seem like she hadn't given in too easily, to prove to him that her coming back had nothing to do with his offer of more money. And it was true that she didn't want him to look like he was facing a firing squad every time he had to be out in public. Why did she care, though? If he wanted to shut himself away in his crumbling house, it was no skin off her back. She told herself that she didn't want another incident where he exploded at her at the smallest provocation and sometimes no provocation at all, and the way to ensure it didn't happen again was to make him interact with more people. But she couldn't deny that a not-so-small part of her took certain relish at the thought of spending more time with him, looking forward to it even...

She glanced at Derwin again. He caught her eyes and smiled, showing the dimples on his cheeks despite the scar. At the sight of those dimples, her heart fluttered, and Alba gave it a swift kick. Go back to beating normally, you ridiculous thing!

"I think the first order of business is for you to learn how to drive," she said, turning her attention back to the road. "You think you can manage it with your leg?"

"I'm sure it won't be a problem."

"Good. These old cars are so reliable anyway, a baby can drive them. You'll learn in no time."

Derwin hesitated. "Would you teach me how to cook as well?" he asked.

Alba thought she'd heard him wrong. "You want to learn how to cook?" Other than her father and Frank, she didn't know any man who would willingly set foot in a kitchen. Marty, Claudia's husband, could barely boil an egg. And even Papi was in the kitchen to bake, to make a living, not to cook. Cooking was women's business.

He shrugged. "It's a useful skill."

"But I don't know how to make American food."

Another shrug. "I don't mind. American food is boring anyway. I much prefer Cuban food."

How could she say no to that? "All right," she said. "So driving lessons and cooking lessons. We're going to stay busy."

They shared a smile, and this time, when her heart fluttered at his dimples again, Alba let it be.

As she pulled up to the front porch, Derwin turned to her. "Would you like to come in?" he said. "Otto would love to see you."

"No, he'll just be confused when I have to leave again. I'll see him tomorrow."

Derwin nodded and started getting out of the truck.

"Derwin?" she called after him.

He turned back. "Yes?"

"Why did you have to walk all the way into town to talk to me? You could've called."

"I know." He paused, as if weighing his words. "But I wanted to see you," he said simply, giving her another one of his little smiles before limping into the house.

Alba sat back in the driver's seat, turning over those words in her mind. He wanted to see her. He wanted to see her. He wanted to see her. She wondered how such a simple phrase could hold so much meaning. Then, with a grin, she turned the truck around and drove home, already counting the hours until she could return to the house, to the garden, and to him.

Chapter 10

Taglist: @kitkat80

#joseph quinn #joseph quinn fic #grunauer #grunauer overlord #overlord 2018 #grunauer x ofc

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hadesisqueer · 2 years ago

Text

Okay, doing a RWBY timeline for ages for some characters FOR MYSELF (take this like a grain of salt).

First, let's get the characters that have birthdays (some of them are not really confirmed or are just estimated or just headcanons by EC Myers, but I need something c'mon.)

Ruby Rose: October 31.

Weiss Schnee: May 15.

Blake Belladonna: January 19.

Yang Xiao Long: July 28.

Jaune Arc: February 29.

Neptune Vasilias: May 1.

Velvet Scarlatina: February 14.

Coco Adel: June 11.

Fox Alistair: November 22.

Yatsuhashi Daichi: January 6.

So, we don't exactly have a confirmation of how the school year works in Remnant, but volume 1 starts with them starting Beacon in the Spring semester, so we can assume that their school year works kind of like in Japan in real life. In that case, we can also assume that in a school year, students go from kids being born already during pring to people being born in winter next year, maybe until early March. So, if we're going with that, Weiss is the oldest member of team RWBY, then Yang, and then Blake is the second youngest, since she was born in January (this would change if the school year was confirmed to work from September to June, though, because then she'd probably be the oldest and Yang the second youngest).

Jaune would also probably be the youngest of his team if we took that birthday seriously (I don't really, but idk). Neptune would be one of, if not the oldest of team SSSNN. As to team CFVY, Coco would be the oldest, then Fox, then Yatsu and then Velvet would be the youngest.

Now, like I said, if the school year works like in Japan, then they'd start in spring, then they would have a long summer break, then the Fall semester would start, then they'd have a shorter winter break and then the school year would end and they would also have a short spring break before the next year starts. That somewhat fits RWBY's narrative, considering we know the Vytal Festival and the Fall of Beacon took place during the Fall Semester, which would mean the Fall of Beacon took place about six-seven months after the start of the show if they started in Spring, which if we're considering that team RWBY and JNPR were still First Years, seems the most likely.

So, volume 1 covers all of the Spring semester, and then volume 2 and 3 take place after the summer break and cover the Fall semester until the Fall of Beacon. If Weiss' birthday takes place in Spring, that means that she turned 18 at some point in volume 1, and Yang probably turned 18 between volume 1 and 2, which means that by volume 2 both Weiss and Yang would be already 18, Blake would still be 17 and Ruby would be 15 going on 16 already. By the time we fully see team CFVY, Coco would be 19 and Fox, Velvet and Yatsu would still be 18. Jaune (again, if we take that birthday seriously) would be 17 during the entire Beacon Arc, and I would say Neptune was 18 by the time we met him if it weren't because we actually don't even know if team SSSN were actually First Years or not: as far as we know, they could be CFVY's age.

In any case, we know Ruby turns 16 somewhere in that timeskip at the end of volume 3. And by volume 4, we know it's been several months since the Fall of Beacon, and it's already spring; therefore, Blake has already turned 18 during that timeskip between volume 3 and 4, and so has Jaune. We don't know Ren and Nora's birthdays, but we know they were about 18 too already. Weiss, on the other hand, probably turned 19 sometime during volume 4, if she hadn't turned it already when we saw her.

In volume 5, it's already summer, and the volume covers several weeks, which means that Yang turned 19 around that time as well.

Volume 6 takes place a couple of weeks after the end of volume 5, so it's already Fall (about a year after the Fall of Beacon), so Ruby is 16 going on 17 by that time. The Atlas Arc takes place over the course of several weeks as well; probably like a month and a half or maybe more; to them it's probably November now. So it's safe to assume that Ruby turned 17 by that time. Oscar is also estimated to be about 15 already by now, so he probably was born during the Fall season. Therefore, right now, Weiss is 19, Yang is 19, Ren and Nora are 18-19, Blake and Jaune are 18 going on 19 (well, Jaune's not anymore), Ruby is 17, and Oscar is about 15. Neptune is either 19 or 20 depending on what year team SSSN actually are in, and Coco is already 20, Fox is about to turn 20 as well and Yatsu and Velvet are still 19.

I would talk about Emerald and Mercury's age, but I also actually have no idea what year they were in when they were pretending to be students at Beacon; I know Cinder was passing as an upperclassmen, so it's likely that they were pretending to be upperclassmen as well, but they could have lied about their age just like Cinder did. But since Raven considered them kids, it's probably safe to assume that they're on RWBY's and CFVY's age range, 18-20.

Don't really take this seriously, though, this is just me interpreting their ages and the timeline right now. None of this is confirmed so, again, take this like a grain of salt.

#rwby #yang xiao long #blake belladonna #weiss schnee #ruby rose #lie ren #nora valkyrie #jaune arc #neptune vasilias #oscar pine #coco adel #fox alistair #velvet scarlatina #yatsuhashi daichi #team cfvy #emerald sustrai #mercury black #rwby timeline

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