#can we get some variety? can we get some platonic relationships that function differently?

[crabbunch]

wait. sorry. drags out my little wooden pedestal and stands on it again. could we get a little weirder about platonic relationships too ok thanks.

[theguildawards]

sorry if you've answered this before or in a faq, but do you think you'll ever allow self nominations? i can see only allowing 1-3 per person and of course no self-voting. i think you'd get more nominations and a bigger variety of creators that way.

Hello, anon!

That's a great question! However as stated in our FAQ, we will not be allowing self-nominations. The Guild Awards was created to show appreciation to others works. We love seeing people toot their own horns, whether on media platforms or within our Discord server, but we want to spread that appreciation as well.

There are so many incredible creators within the Fairy Tail fandom and while we understand the want to show off your creations yourself this isn't such an event.

The Guild Awards is first and foremost an event to show off others and as such, its hard to imagine people being unable to find a work they want to nominate, among such a wide range of diversity, and share with a broader audience of the fandom.

If you need help finding works to nominate, here are some suggestions:

AO3 has an incredible search function - it allows you to narrow down results to completed works, genres, relationships (platonic & romantic), & date updated.

@fairytail-redraw has great works from artists who participate in redraws. Feel free to browse their tumblrs as well to see what else they may have created.

@ft-reboost is filled with all kinds of creations to give a little bump to creators all over tumblr. Reboost also allows for self-boosting to bring more attention to works you have created that you feel need a bit more eyes on them.

@ftguildevents has a large range of different events that have taken place within the fandom. Majority of those events reblog the works to their pages, so peruse some of those to see if there are any works that catch your eye.

This fandom has so many fantastic people who create content for us, for free, and we want to make sure that they know we appreciate them. Without our artists, writers, and content creators, we wouldn't have much of a fandom. So let's show them how much their works mean to us, and help keep the fandom alive, one that we hold dear.

Hope this helps, and happy nominating!

-The Guild Awards

[yuriswitch]

Thoughts on the intersection of sexuality and romance?

This topic is honestly far too big for a single post, but I'll try to come up with something good anyway. In terms of feelings there's a lot of overlap, but also variety in how people conceive of or differentiate between platonic, romantic and sexual attraction that often spills over into fiction in a bit odd way. One way of thinking is simply in terms of intensity, where romance is what happens when friendship crosses certain threshold of intensity, which is honestly quite often a huge part of it for us too. It's also just as commonly distinguished by intimacy/sexual attraction too, with which for a lot of people romance is deeply intertwined.

This is where some people on tumblr will go like "no, thing must be always and only one thing" and insist that the existence of purely sexual desires and multiple different interpretations of what makes something romance, all of which rely on signs that don't always indicate romance, means that it actually doesn't exist and all romantic feelings are just made up lies by the amatonormative cabal or something. I get why the multitude of ways of differentiating would make some aros go "see everything is made up out of nowhere your feelings are fake, but I'm saying it's fine so I feel good about what I just said and now you can't discourse me about it haha I defeated you" but I personally think that romance and sexuality are one of those things that highlight the lack of this, awareness of what context is and why it's always present and a necessary precondition for all existence.

Basically, sexuality and romance can't be considered outside of specific people in specific situations, and as such can be a whole lot of different things to a lot of different people. The first major reason why is that it's one of the many ways in which people relate to one another, like gender and nationality/ethnicity and the social control imposed by the dominant justifying ideology of capitalism (and earlier slavery and feudalism too) often ends up biting people in a way that makes them want to erase the concept thinking that that will make the painful thing go extinct and everything will be good. But gender expectations and roles formed under the specific context of Things That The Machine Called Economy Needs To Function, and thus are only what one group needed it to be in order to benefit from whatever status quo they were in.

That doesn't, however, mean that erasing the concept of gender and gendered spaces and relations altogether is the solution, or even possible considering that "structure-less" feminist formations in the past tended to have unofficial structure that couldn't be challenged due to a lack of recognition of that structure and formal challenge of power. So to close off the tangent, I think it'd just conceal gender in the sense of leaving people without a way to determine how they relate to each other, but still not being able to prevent them from relating to each other (is the person a fellow or a someone different kind of deal, people would still have feelings like that).

Going back to romance and sexuality, this means that it's tied up in a whole bunch of things, all of which will exist in some form as experiences, feelings of being the same or the other, feelings of wanting to be involved with someone in a way that never happens with friends and so on. It's one of those things that exist in between people much more than purely inside of them, because it's yet another type of relation determined/influenced by a whole lot of other relations and factors. This could be explored in detail in fiction, but I feel like most of the time all we get is the normal's assumptions and then the story ends the second the relationship is established. It's a complex topic, one that is much more enforced from above rather than discovered or decided, which is why abolitionist approach irks me a lot, because taking the tool away won't make everyone non-distinct gender soup, it will just take their words away and spare them some idiotic expectations at most.

I think it'd be for the best if we just tried to keep in mind the way concepts allow us to understand and act upon things that we'd otherwise only feel. Romance and sexuality can be the means of forcing the new generation into the mold, but it can also be liberatory too, it just means that we have to figure out how to get rid of the coercion without taking away the reference models that we need to figure out how to construct ourselves as people and understand what we want and how we feel about and relate to people. It's as crucial as bodily autonomy, obviously since it usually involves some amount of physicality, but also because it's one of those things that have to be responded to and as such need a certain environment in order for that response to be genuine and not forced.

The world we live in was shaped in a multitude of harmful ways, a lot of which involve socially demanded forms of romance and sexuality, but the thing to remember here is that nothing can just pop into existence out of nowhere, it always utilizes something there and reproduces with a fictional story attached about how no power was exercised at all and it just spontaneously happened this way. For romance and sexuality there's a lot to unpack and do, but at the same time I honestly think the sheer amount of different thoughts and feelings and understandings is a good thing that should be celebrated, because it proves there's a whole lot more to life than the narrow line we were all told to walk in our respective childhoods. And that's honestly great, it makes me wish making art was easier, because it's a great vessel for exploring these kinds of topics and shouldn't be strangled by the capitalist economy requiring an end product to get exchanged for money. I could probably keep going on, brain neurodivergent in many ways and so on, but this is getting really long

/Kafuka

[beforus-for-real-justice]

part 3 This sort of relationship volatility is why conciliatory relationships are an important part of troll romance. An auspistice can stabilize particularly turbulent relationships. If the auspistice fails to mediate properly, or has no interest in the role, or perhaps has different romantic intentions him/herself altogether, then the relationship often quickly deteriorates into one of an especially hostile and torrid nature.There are many outside factors and influences tugging and pulling these relationships in different directions, and unlike humans who have very orderly, simple, straightforward romantic relationships without exception, trolls exist in a state of almost perpetual confusion and generally have no idea what the hell is going on. Being confused by troll relationships is one thing we do have in common though. This quadrant presides over MOIRALLEGIENCE, the other conciliatory relationship. A reasonable human translation would be the concept of a soul mate, but in a more platonic sense, and with a more specific social purpose. Trolls are a very angry and violent race. Some are more hot-tempered and dangerous than others, to the extent that if left to their own devices, they would present a serious threat to society, or even to themselves. Such trolls will have an instinctive pale attraction to a more even-tempered troll, who may become their MOIRAIL. The moirail is obliged to pacify the other, to function as the better half. The two partners in a strong pale relationship will serve to balance and complement each other's emotional profiles, and thus allow their other relationships to be more successful. It's often ambiguous especially among young trolls whether a bond formed between an acquaintance is true moirallegence, or the usual variety of platonic involvement. Furthermore, the romantic intentions of a more flushed nature can often be mistaken for paler leanings, much to the frustration of the suitor. But some pale pairings, as the one above, will be strikingly obvious to all who know them. God you just can't get enough of this can you! That would have been a great point for a transition out of this illustrated sociological study, but ok, if you insist. Now see, what's going on here is... It's perfectly simple. When the full matrix of troll romance is in action, we have... uh... Hey, why don't you figure it out! You should be an expert on all this by now anyway. Later our troll hero would try to explain this to our human hero, attempting to convey all the nuance of troll romance through a nearly verbatim recitation of the preceding excerpts. He would try to describe how rich and textured the troll romantic comedies were compared to the one dimensional schlock of our human cinematic counterparts. He would barely scratch the surface of Troll Will Smith's virtuosity with the delicate lattice of troll romance, as he would assist the bumbling fudgeblooded Troll Kevin James through the interwoven minefield-briarpatch of redrom and blackrom entanglements, all the while sifting through his own prickly romantic situation and ultimately learning the true meaning of hate and pity.But would they succeed before the imperial drone came knocking with his thirsty pails at the ready??? Yes, they would. But John didn't understand any of this because he's a moron, and he wouldn't shut up about his awful bullshit Earth movies. He would just go on and on and on about that garbage. But if there was one theme to be hammered through his thick skull, it would be the trolls' cultural preoccupation with romantic destiny. Yes, the romantic landscape is rife with false starts and miscues and infidelities that, red and black. But every troll believes strongly that each quadrant holds one and only one true pairing for them, and it is just a matter of time before the grid is filled with auspicious matchups through the mysterious channels of TROLL SERENDIPITY. In short, their belief is that for each quadrant there exists a pair or triad of trolls somewhere in the cosmos that were... MADE FOR EACH OTHER.

[shayberri789]

Also a lot of his interactions during the books to me read as.... forced allonormativity?

Like with Laral - he has always been good friends with her, and she was his ONLY friend. Sure he could acknowledge she was pretty (aesthetic attraction is confusing when you don't know it can be separate to sexual/romantic attraction) but none of his internal dialogue about her reminded me of how romantic/sexual attraction is depicted in other books - cosmere included.

He generally seems utterly baffled by romance and sexual inpulses. Sure he'd prudish, and knows socially somethings are sexual, but he's never really been all that interested in romance OR sex.

With Tara - we have ABSOLUTELY no idea what their relationship was like except it was the only one of its kind he's had, that they kissed sometimes and he loved her. How this fits into my aroace kal hc is that either he was hit with a random bout of attraction (which happens) or it was platonic/queerplatonic attraction and they formed a qqp with some kissing involved bc that's what Tara wanted.

I was never convinced about his relationship with Lin either. They weren't compatible, and she always seemed more interested in him than he her. In all honesty, I thought he looked at the absolute happiness of shadolin, looked at his depression, looked again at how everyone always says romantic relationships make you better/happier, saw Lin was interested in him, and decided to give it ago to chase that happiness. Didn't work out bc he wasn't actually interested in her and she could tell.

As for company; he's always been just fine with bridge 4 and his friends. A lot of the 'attraction' he's felt for me reminded me way more of emotional 'crushes' or squishes (platonic crushes) based on my own experiences. Plus, many comments he makes strike me as aroace because I have deadass said or thought them myself, or my other aspec buddies have.

And as said above: I am so desperate for rep (the list of aro characters Wikipedia page is depressing) that I will take this character who even hints at my experiences and I will fucking die on the aroace!kal hill

Many a fandom person have made fanon of characters being gay (not even bi - fully gay, but that's a different can of worms) when they're shown as being straight or non interested in romance on screen with far less evidence than we have. If they can do it, why can't we have an aroace character without getting shit for it? (Not you OP - it's other people I've had to argue with and gotten shit from, I can tell you're genuinely curious).

Anyway I'm home for the break and my cosmere books are back in my flat so I can't go searching for quotes, and I haven't read the books in a few years (no time) so I can't list my points off the top of my head, but I vividly remember annotating aroace kal lines. There's also a meta analysis floating around (that I would find if the tumblr search function wasn't an oxymoron) about aroace kal and also aro adolin thats very compelling

In conclusion: aroace people still date for a variety of reasons, from compulsive allonormativity/amatonormativity/heteronormativity (they often go hand in hand), to confusion, to just making people happy, and it doesn't detract from their aroaceness. Additionally, I'm unconvinced hebwas ever actually rom/sexually attracted to the women he was 'interested' in, and he shares a lot of aspec experiences and thoughts, and I will die on my aroace kal hill and we deserve to get no more shit for it than people who hc other characters as gay or bi. Have a good evening

Ngl I don’t really get why people are so set on Kaladin being aro/ace when he has dated several people throughout the books. We don’t see a great deal of the relationships but he actively sought them out. Genuinely confused by this particular headcanon if anyone wants to explain it to me…

[springsaladgaming]

Progress Update 7/16/21

Happy weekend, everyone! I hope everyone is doing well.

Here’s the weekly progress update, below the cut!

Ninelives

Let’s start out with Ninelives progress.

I am about 12k words into Chapter 6 currently. As I’ve mentioned many times before now, Chapter 6 contains more variety than any of the chapters up until this point. I’ve also mentioned there are approximately 21 total scenes that account for major story variation. This number is likely to be higher than I thought. Here’s the breakdown of how it will look, keeping things as spoiler-free as possible.

Intro

The intro has two versions based on a decision made at the end of Chapter 5. Within each of those two versions, there are three choices that affect certain character skills and add variety on how things unfold.

Follow-up Transitional Scene

This scene will happen for everyone. It will contain minor variations based on character personality, previous character discussions, and which intro version you experienced.

Important Group Conversation

This scene will happen for everyone. It too will contain minor variations based on character personality, character relationships, and decisions made earlier in the story.

A Conversation with Alex

This scene will happen for everyone. There are two major variations based on decisions made in Chapter 5. Within those two variations, there are four smaller but still pretty important variations based on decisions made earlier in this chapter.

Time With a Character

You’ll have the option to spend time with a character of your choice. During these scenes, you can choose to proceed with platonic conversation or romantic conversation. In theory, this scene is entirely optional. I may have an additional option to spend time alone.

Closing Event

The end of the chapter will involve a revelation that can unfold one of three ways depending on choices made in Chapter 5.

All of this being said, there is one major scene in Chapter 5 that hasn’t been written yet and one decision branch in Chapter 5 that is still labeled a WIP. Before the update with the end of Chapter 6 hits at some point in the next few months, I will be writing those additional things into Chapter 5. One of those things will bring the total number of possible scenes up to roughly 28.

So, that gives you an idea of the total progress on this chapter. Things are moving along, albeit slowly, and I’ll do my best to hit about 50% by the end of this month. Whether or not I do, expect an update to the ChoiceScript version of the game at the end of July. I will provide whatever is done.

As for the Twine version, I’ve started in on Chapter 2. A lot of what I have done so far is just planning, accounting for the new variables and plotting out the new scenes that I would like to add. Among those will be the option to decide how you became friends with Alex, giving you a bit more history with them than I have provided previously. In general, it’s my plan for all of the first meetings in Chapter 2 to have more opportunities for choices in order to provide more personality customization and more depth to meeting the new characters.

I have been playing around with the stylesheet a little bit, specifically regarding the look of the settings menu and the journal to give those a look that meshes with the whole style. I enabled the autosave feature so that the game will save at the beginning of every chapter.

Everlight

I still have just about 10k total words written for Chapter 1 of Everlight. (This includes the Prologue.) What’s written so far sets the tone of the story, allows you to customize your character, and introduces you right off the bat to one of the major characters.

Being a different story and genre with different thematic focuses, the stats are quite different from that of Ninelives. Personality stats are still important, but they take a more general approach, having four major variations (aloof, friendly, witty, genuine). There will still be a lot of opportunity for personalized responses and reactions, but it will be kept track of in a different way. There are also other minor personal stats, such as favorite drink type or your character’s stress response, and there will likely be more of these in the future.

There are other major story element stats (addiction, corruption, merciful, ruthless).

And then there are skill stats (smarts, charm, fortitude, strength, agility, intuition). These stats are heavily based off of D&D stats and will function in much of the same way by providing baseline stats for which to perform pass/fail checks to certain events. Currently, I’m tracking and changing these stats similar to how I track all the others stats, but I’m considering changing this in the future to institute a roll mechanic instead. Like Ninelives, Everlight will not have a “game over” mechanic. Success or failure just alters the story.

The closer we get to the end of the month, the less likely it seems that I will have Chapter 1 ready for demo. Everlight has different pacing from Ninelives. The first chapter is likely to be quite large, at least from a coding and writing perspective. But I’m still holding out hope that I can get that much work done.

I hope everyone has a happy and healthy weekend!

[magicofthepen]

Tell us about Making Out Is Not a Healthy Coping Mechanism and Aro Solidarity: That Platonic Fake Married Fic, please?

Send me a WIP doc title (list here) and I’ll talk about it!

I love that you asked about these two because they’re both Romana and Narvin fics, but quite different takes on their relationship!

The quick explanations (I’m gonna put the long ramble-y ones under a cut):

Making Out Is Not a Healthy Coping Mechanism: Narvin/Romana, post-Devil You Know. Stressed, grieving Time Lords are trying to run the CIA in the middle of a war, there are the added factors of Narvin’s exhausted anger and Romana’s exhausted guilt around Leela’s mission, everyone is very bad at talking about anything. They end up kissing rather by accident, and it’s very emotionally fraught and no one wants to think about or discuss the implications. 

Aro Solidarity: That Platonic Fake Married Fic: Narvin & Romana, set shortly after Enemy Lines, a combo of "accidentally getting stuck in a fake married situation apparently counts as workplace bonding?” “I don’t typically headcanon Romana as aro but I could totally see it and I really want to write about it!” and “I don’t typically headcanon Narvin as aro but I could totally see it and I really want to write about it!”

The (very) long ramble-y versions: 

Making Out Is Not a Healthy Coping Mechanism

I love exploring time gaps in Romana and Narvin’s relationship (that nine month gap between Forever and Emancipation where they’re on their own as President and Chancellor! that Enemy Lines to Time War gap where they clearly build a really great partnership in the CIA together!), but one of the gaps I haven’t written a fic about yet is the time between The Devil You Know and Desperate Measures (I’ve referenced that time frame in my Time War 3 fic, but I haven’t actually Gotten Into It).

Because the ending of The Devil You Know is extremely tense, and we never really see that immediate interpersonal fallout? So I want to write something set in this time frame, when they’re both stressed and terrified for Leela, but they can’t really lean on each other because Narvin’s angry at Romana for pushing for the mission and Romana’s blaming herself for pushing for the mission (“What have I done?”), but they’re both putting up a We Have a Job To Do front and pretending they’re okay at work and.....yeah.

There’s also been a certain degree of unspoken romantic attraction between them for a while (perhaps they haven’t even admitted it to themselves) because navigating their professional and personal relationship is complicated enough as it is without introducing another element. Also they’re both very good at “let’s shove feelings down and not talk about them.” (I have so many takes on Romana and Narvin’s relationship, but during Time War I get such simultaneous “old married couple” and “haven’t actually admitted to feelings” vibes from them, and I want to write about that.) 

So they’re both very isolated and hurting in their own ways and there’s this background unaddressed Thing between them, and eventually everything just comes to a head. And I haven’t actually written this fic yet, I just have notes and keep playing through this scene in my head in different ways, so I don’t know the details about what will happen? Not sure if there’s going to be a proper fight, if they’re actually going to get into the blame question around Leela’s disappearance, not sure how much of that grief they’re actually going to show? 

The bottom line is: they end up crossing paths in Leela’s rooms (where they both occasionally go to have an emotional breakdown), they’re exhausted and every emotional boundary they need to keep up because they work together is crumbling away, and they end up kissing. But it’s not exactly a positive development, more of a “this is easier than talking” sort of thing. Also I haven’t decided what their exact relationships with Leela were (in the context of this fic), but either they were each in a relationship with Leela or they each have feelings for Leela but never admitted it? But regardless, they both Know that the other has feelings for Leela, and so there’s an added dynamic of them both thinking “obviously this means nothing to you because it’s not me you’re interested in, and you’re only doing this because you’re missing her, and so obviously I’m going to pretend it means nothing to me, too.” So it’s just poor communication bad times all around!

I don’t actually know how/if this resolves? I don’t think they’d have a proper conversation at this point in the audios, but I’m not sure if I’m just going to end this fic on “welp that happened” or if there’s going to be some kind of emotional shift/release of tension somehow? (There will probably need to be because their relationship in Desperate Measures and TW2 is quite good overall, so I probably won’t leave things in this tense place?) But again, this fic isn’t written yet, so everything is pretty up in the air. 

Aro Solidarity: That Platonic Fake Married Fic

Arguably, this is more of a concept than an actual wip, but even though I may never actually write it, I do love it dearly? 

I’ve been wanting to write something with aromantic Romana for a while - and this might sound strange coming from me, aka someone who’s written a variety of shippy Romana fic and can very easily interpret her feelings and relationships with other characters as romantic, but I so often have multiple contradictory headcanons for characters that live in different pockets of my brainspace. 

My aro Romana thoughts are mainly fueled by series 4, because whenever marriage/romance comes up around alternate versions of herself, she’s always fairly surprised and baffled and gives the impression that it’s not something she’s ever considered? And in general, she’s kinda awkward and uncomfortable whenever there’s flirting happening (which could just be the circumstances or her personality, but could also be interpreted as her not clicking with romantic gestures). And of course while fandom ships her with many characters in the dw universe, she’s never stated to be romantically interested in anyone (well. I suppose that depends on your thoughts about how canon the Prime computer ads are, but putting that aside.......). Not that there has to be overt evidence for headcanons, but I do think there’s a solid canon-based argument for aro Romana, you know? 

And part of me really likes the interpreting Romana’s friendships as totally platonic because the intense Friendship-as-Love-Story journey is there already, that’s what the audios are giving us! And I don’t really see that kind of centering of deep, spend-the-rest-of-my-life-with-you friendship in media and it’s so good! (Related point (I know I say this a lot, but it bears repeating): I do very much ship the ot3, but am also very much into reading all of the main trio’s relationships as totally platonic – and I never actually want those relationships to be romantic in the audios themselves.) And I’ve had Thoughts for a while about how for Romana the big important line is between professional and personal relationships, and whether the personal relationship is romantic or platonic is probably less significant. So I could see her as someone who either doesn’t experience romantic attraction at all or just doesn’t distinguish between romantic and platonic attraction. What’s important is the distinction between professional relationships and intimate personal relationships – separating out the nature of that personal intimacy isn’t really something she does?

So anyways, I’ve been wanting to write something that explores Romana being aromantic, but for a while, I didn’t really have a vision for what kind of fic I wanted to write? 

Separately, I’ve had the “platonic fake married” idea kicking around in my head for a while. The “post-Enemy Lines” time period is so fascinating to me when it comes to Romana and Narvin’s relationship because somehow they go from “Romana’s just swooped in and taken Narvin’s job that he’s worked hard for his entire life” to the genuinely solid friendship and team dynamic we see in the Time War audios? So I’m fascinated by that journey from things probably being very emotionally fraught and a lot of tension and stepping on each others’ toes to working really well together. And somehow, at some point, my brain went: what if new CIA Coordinator Romana and Deputy Coordinator Narvin who aren’t getting along very well accidentally end up in an off-world situation where they have to pretend to be married? (My brain also went: I’m not sure I could handle writing the secondhand embarrassment of this situation, but also I’m very into the idea of a Narvin & Romana platonic fake married fic that ends up functioning as a “how do we save our friendship?” story.)

And then more recently, I realized I also really wanted to write something with aromantic Narvin. There aren’t necessarily specific moments fueling this headcanon (as much as with Romana), but it definitely comes from a similar “I really like interpreting Narvin’s friendships as totally platonic because the intense Friendship-as-Love-Story journey is there already!” place. 

You know that “I have feelings for you” / “The feeling was “friendship” but neither had ever experienced it” quote? Yeah, that pretty accurately captures my thought process when it comes to aro Narvin. He genuinely doesn’t seem to have experienced friendship before Romana and Leela, so it’s very plausible to me that he assumed he was experiencing romantic attraction at some point but nope, he just really loves his friends and is experiencing really intense platonic affection for the first time. (This is also me going ‘I know this is a wildly unpopular opinion, but I’m totally down to interpret Erasure as platonic.’)

Anyways, at some point recently all three things fused together in my brain, and I went: what if new CIA Coordinator Romana and Deputy Coordinator Narvin who aren’t getting along very well end up in a situation where they have to pretend to be married.....and also they’re both aromantic? Writing a fic like this feels like an excellent opportunity to actually sit down and have a think about ‘what are the cultural associations and expectations around romance on Gallifrey?’ (‘what does being aromantic mean by Gallifreyan standards?’) And ‘what are romantic associations and expectations on whatever planet they’re on?’ And the potential bonding experience of two aromantic people trying to navigate those layers of expectation, while also grappling with the interpersonal tension in their friendship and slowly learning to communicate better in the process....this is a very interesting story to me!

No, I have not actually figured out the details of the off-world diplomatic situation/mission they would accidentally end up in that would require this, and thus I probably won’t get around to it for a while. Also this would probably be a longfic and I’m trying to stick to a ‘one big project at a time!’ rule, and my current big project is the post-Time War fic, and then fantasy au has been waiting its turn for so long (and actually has, y’know, plot points). But I simply love this concept, and so I’m keeping the doc in case I maybe figure out a way to keep the fic short, or get a particularly good idea and decide that I really want to write it? (But also – if someone else wants to run with this concept, please do!)

This has been such a long answer to your ask, whoops, but thank you so much for giving me the excuse to ramble on about all of these things!!

[aion-rsa]

Best Romantic Movies on Netflix

https://ift.tt/3a6cb9I

Romance movies are not that different from horror movies. Both are incredibly hard to pull off, are heavily watched during a cold time of year, and hopefully end with every character covered in blood.

With that in mind we present to you a list of the best romantic movies on Netflix. Because romance deserves it, damn it. Virtually every song ever written is a love song but poor romance can’t get a fair shake at the movies. Whether it be a rom-com or just a straight-up soul-enlightening/crushing romance, our list of the best romantic movies on Netflix will get you back in touch with your cold, dead heart.

Set It Up

Set It Up is Netflix’s most accomplished original romantic comedy yet.

Zoey Deutch and Glen Powell star as overworked assistants Harper and Charlie. Harper is an assistant to Kirsten (Lucy Liu) the woman behind a sports media empire. Charlie works for finance maven Rick (Taye Diggs). Harper and Charlie realize that their respective workloads might lesson if their bosses were more focused on their love life and less focused on work. So they…set them up.

Set It Up is a fun, novel high-concept romance movie positively filled with chemistry on all sides.

Outside In

We embrace every kind of love on our list of the best romance movies. Sometimes that includes some questionable, and some would say “icky” kind of love. So…Outside In is a teacher-student romance. But don’t panic! It’s ok.

Jay Duplas stars as Chris, a man who was wrongly imprisoned at age 18 and who is relased at age 38. When Chris is released, he immediately meets up with his old high school teacher, Carol (Edie Falco), who was his penpal when he was in prison. He wastes little time before he declares his love for her.

Despite its subject matter, Outside In is a mature, well-handled exploration of love and what it means to love someone for themselves as opposed to what they do for us.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

With a name as long as The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, the movie better be good to justify how many times we poor cultural commenters must type it out. Thankfully Guernsey is quite good!

Based on a book by the same name, Guernsey is a historical love story set in 1946. Lily James stars as British writer Juliet Ashton. Juliet begins exchanging letters with residents of the islands of Guernsey, which was under German occupation in WWII (so like two years before the movie starts). While there she meets the dashing Dawsey Adams (Michael Huisman) and romance begins to blossom.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is an excellent, watchable classical romance

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before

Oh hey! Another Netflix original with a long title based on a book. Like the Potato Peel Pie Society, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is another effortlessly enjoyable romantic romp – this time of the teen variety.

Lara Jean Song Covey (Laura Condor) experiences every young person’s nightmare when private love letters to five boys she has or has had crushes on suddenly and mysteriously become public. But fear not. This is a romance movie, not a horror movie. So this sudden reveal has to go well for Lara Jean, right? RIGHT?!?

To All the Boys P.S. I Still Love You

The To All the Boys team returns for a sequel that teaches kids the harsh lesson that there’s no such thing as happily ever after! OK, so that’s a bit harsh, but To All the Boys P.S. I Still Love You does bring back its characters for another round of romantic angst.

Read more

Movies

To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You Review

By Delia Harrington

Movies

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before Review: A Pleasurable Netflix Rom-Com

By Delia Harrington

Lara Jean (Lana Condor) is now officially Peter’s (Noah Centineo) girlfriend. But before they can relax and enjoy their lives together, an old flame of Lara Jean enters the frame. That’s right, John Ambrose (Jordan Fisher) is here and he wants to steal your girl, Noah Centineo.

The Danish Girl

2015’s The Danish Girl tells the story of a kind of love nearly unprecedented for its early 20th century time. Eddie Redmayne stars as artist Lili Elbe, who was born Einar Wegener and is believed to be one of the first individuals to receive sexual reassignment surgery. The film follows Lili’s journey and her love with wife Gerda Wegener (Alicia Vikander).

When Gerda asks her husband to stand in for a female subject in her painting, Einar does so and quickly comes to terms with the gender identity he’s been suppressing. The newly confirmed Lili and Gerda navigate this new dimension of their relationship and Lili continues her work as a subject for Gerda’s now very much in demand paintings. 

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

Beauty and the Beast

2017’s live-action version of Beauty and the Beast isn’t the best depiction of the classic fairy tale ever but that’s ok. It doesn’t have to be. All Bill Condon’s Beauty and the Beast really needed to be was a fun little dip into nostalgia with sumptuous visuals and a believable romance. On that front, everything goes according to plan.

Read more

Movies

Emma Watson on Beauty and the Beast: ‘I’m Very Grateful That This Character Exists’

By Don Kaye

TV

Beauty and the Beast Disney+ Prequel Series Set with Luke Evans and Josh Gad

By Joseph Baxter

Emma Watson stars as Belle and Dan Stevens is her beast. Belle heads off from her small French town to the Beast’s castle to rescue her father. What follows is Stockholm Syndrome: The Movie. But sexier. Beauty and the Beast really does look good and Watson and Stevens have just enough chemistry to make this a worthwhile romantic experience.

50 First Dates

50 First Dates has a somewhat disappointing Rotten Tomatoes score. Ignore that. It’s probably partially due to many critics’ distaste for at least one of the actors in the above screengrab. Not that they can be blamed. The presence of Adam Sandler or Rob Schneider in any comedy is rarely a good sign. In 50 First Dates‘, however, it’s not an issue at all. 

50 First Dates is a legitimately funny and romantic romantic comedy. Drew Barrymore stars as Lucy Whitmore, a woman with short-term memory loss. Due to a car accident, every day she wakes up believing it is October 13, 2002. Sandler’s character Henry Roth meets her in Hawaii and the two must overcome this bizarre condition to establish a lasting relationship.

Carol

Todd Haynes, director of Carol and Far From Heaven knows longing. And if there’s an element that makes for an excellent romantic movie experience its longing. That desperate sense is baked into nearly every frame of Carol. Based on a 1950s romance novel, Carol is the story of a young photographer (Rooney Mara) and an older woman going through a divorce (Cate Blanchette) undertaking a forbidden affair.

Forbidden because, you know, ’50s. And that’s where the longing comes in. Nothing is more romantic or sexier than a forbidden romance. Carol channels that romantic energy into something mature, fascinating and heartbreaking.

Silver Linings Playbook

Silver Linings Playbook is all about how generally terrible it is to be a Philadelphia Eagles fan. OK, fine – it’s only a little bit about that. This star-studded 2012 film from David O. Russell is more about the challenges in finding love when one isn’t sure they even love themselves.

Bradley Cooper stars as Pat Solitano Jr., a young man with bipolar disorder living with his parents after being released from a psychiatric hospital. Pat is determined to win back his ex-wife and to that end enlists the help of young widower Tiffany Maxwell (Jennifer Lawrence). The two become closer as they train for an upcoming dance competition and share their respective damages with one another.

Silver Linings Playbook works because Lawrence and Cooper have a real crackling chemistry. And they both just happen to be devastatingly, almost supernaturally attractive.

Runaway Bride

From stars Richard Gere and Julia Roberts to director Garry Marshall to conspicuous usage of enormous cell phones – Runaway Bride is an intensely ’90s film. And to the rightly organized mind, that just makes it the platonic ideal of a low-stress romantic comedy.

Roberts stars as Maggie Carpenter, an alluring young woman who has made a habit of leaving multiple fiancé’s at the altar. Gere is Ike Graham, a New York columnist seeking to tell the definitive story of this “runaway bride.” Runaway Bride is a charming experience that will make you think long and hard about how you really like your eggs prepared.

Loving

It feels reductive to call Loving a “romance” movie, as its more of a historical exploration of the very real, very tragic legacy of American racism. At its center, however, the film is about love.

Loving tells the story of Richard (Joel Edgerton) and Mildred Loving (Ruth Negga), a mixed-race Virginia couple challenging their state’s law against interracial marriage in the Supreme Court. The details of the Lovings struggle for basic human rights are astonishing. Edgerton and Negga’s empathetic performances make sure the film never loses sight of the humanity at play amid all the legal drama.

Always Be My Maybe

Everyone always talks about “the one who got away”, but what about “the one who was always kind of around”? 2019’s Always Be My Maybe tells of one such story.

Ali Wong (who wrote the film) stars as Sasha Tran and Randall Park stars as Marcus Kim. Marcus and Sasha grew up next door to each other and also embarked on a brief, ill-fated relationship in their teenage years. When Sasha returns to San Francisco to open a restaurant, she discovers that romantic energy remains between her and Marcus. But is that enough to spark love in the busy, chaotic adult world?

Always Be My Maybe has a lot to say about family and growth. It also features a truly winning performance from Keanu Reeves playing…Keanu Reeves.

The Kissing Booth

There’s an interesting dynamic at play in teenage romantic comedies. Oftentimes, the worse they are, the more watchable (and rewatchable) they become. The Kissing Booth is a prime example. Based on a book by the same name from Beth Reekles, The Kissing Booth isn’t exactly celebrated for its realistic portrayal of American teenagers.

Thanks to charming lead performances from Joey King, Jacob Elordi, and Joel Courtney, however, that doesn’t really matter. The Kissing Booth is all about how one girl’s first kiss turns into an emotional minefield of teen angst. That alone is enough to support 105 minutes of pure high school drama…and two sequels!

The post Best Romantic Movies on Netflix appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/38Fd7ho

[kanene-yaaay-o-retorno]

Cats, coffee, an old apartment and... oh, yeah, the apocalypse

Kanene’s note:

Gooooood day, my lollipops! It's been a while!

Oh my gosh. It's colddd. I wanna sleep and write. How, my dears? H o w

Weeeeell, anyway! This chapter is a little crazier. Can you blame him, tho? Remy is pretty sleepy here. xDD

Poor, poor writing desk. :''3

Coffee is, like... 90% of Remy's self control xDDD

At least he is absolutely, completely alone and there was no one for him bother, right?!

Or any monster/alien/enemy to be afraid of!

...

...Right?

Warnings, fun facts, random things and stuff:

* That is just a Crack Fanfic with Remy and the Sides. There will be angst and action, but it will be more centered in Crack, fluff and being a big, crazy family.

* This characters do not belongs to me. They all belongs to the amazing Thomas Sanders in his series of Sanders Sides.

* This is the chapter after that one!  The next chapter will be posted soon!

* Something around 1500 words. -w-)b.

* Sorry for any spelling, pontuation and grammar mistakes! Any advice is very very welcome!

* There aren’t any ship, but feel free to see them in a Romantic or Platonic Relationship!!  ^w^)/

* Remy is pretty sleep here, so this chapter can be a little crazy.

* Tô com preguiça de postar a versão em português brasileiro aaaa! Thankys for reading, my lollipops! Try and have fun with new hobbies, talk with the one that you love, drink water and sleep well! Byeioo!~

                              [~*~]

Chapter 02 - Your time has arrived

Remy stared at the furniture in the middle of his living room with narrowed, uncovered eyes, since it was night and the Sun wasn’t capable to hurt his chocolate, brown pupil irradiating an almost palpable disapproval as he realized the contrast that such object had in his, now completely clean and reorganized, living room. Not that was its fault, sure, he observed while his upper lip twisted into a thoughtful, unpleased feature; the writing desk clearly had already seen better days. Days when its drawers were complete with all its handles, and scratches didn’t adorned the entirety of its length after surviving several moving. Or even a glorious past where its paint was impeccable and free of flaws, as a sneak that can’t decide with color better matches with their scales, therefore they just throw a variety of paint cans on the floor and slide into it in somersaults and the futile hope that it will work out, but then all the paints just get mixed in an old, strange color and then, I don’t know, the paint cans…

 … They fall

 And the snake... become a writing desk and…

 Falls.

 Or something like this.

Look, it’s 4 AM, just because Remy is awake into another insomnia episode, it doesn’t mean he is functional. You don’t expect a metaphor wonderfully meaningful, Shakespeare.

 His eyes wandered through the desk’s extension once again. He has found a Furniture Store halfway to his apartment and now the picture of the said insistently shined in his mind, as if his brain wanted to tell him something but it was too much tired to formulate the message into words and for that reason it just threw random images in his synapses and hoped that would be enough. A handful flashes of memories gleamed in front of his eyes: The lustrous furniture, the small statues, pleasantly useless which everyone knows that will regret of buying in the exact second they step out of the store, the extremely difficult to clean, but also so comfortable and soft and big and soft carpets, beautiful writing desks…

 Yes, yes, yes.

 Beautiful writing desks, unlike that one, they had handles. 

 Handles, writing desk, store, soft… Wait, his living room was also different. It was… changed, organized, new...

 New as a writing desk he saw in a store.

 Oh, yeah.

 He had been wanting to redecorate his apartment for a long, long time, albeit he never found enough… time to do such a thing. However, which time is better than the present? When an apocalypse broke all the notions of economy formerly intrinsic in the society and the money lost all its value since there were no one in the city to valorize it, anymore.

 Or in the whole world.

 He wonder if there is still people in the world. Some part of Remy, that part usually pushed to the dark corners of his mind which currently was too much sleepy to attempt to hide it, hoped so.

 What was he thinking before??

 …

 Oh, yeah. Store, soft (the apartment’s owner let go an annoyed scoff while glanced to his floor and noticed it didn’t looked comfortable in any way, as a child who didn’t gained his favorite toy. Yet, an unsupervised and with a total of zero self-control left in a store without any camera nor people and with enough strength to run away with his toy, child.) and redecorate his living room.

 The coffee lover wasn’t going to overdo it, of course. He already had moved the couch to the other side of the room seeking to modify his television’s position and open free space to the future his gigantic carpet, which he definitely was intending to get. Comfy enough to sleep in case he falls of his couch (something that occurred with a, at least, irritating frequency) and became without reasons or will to get up, so he could just turn and go back to sleep. He also had already cleaned all the room, floor and furniture with a sweet lavender scent which maybe he had exaggerated a bit, no that he would admit that out loud, not even if someone threatened his coffee (Ha! Remy would like to see some bitch try). The only thing that was missing was the desk.

 He clicked his tongue. Yup. His decision has been made.

 “Sorrey, gurl, but I did everything I could. Your time has arrived.” and, with that emotional speech, he started to push it towards his door. Even empty, the furniture was a lot heavier than it seemed.

 His arm muscles ached and his panting breathe was almost as fast as the sweat droplets sliding down his face, certainly only a consequence about how much heavy and almost impossible to move the writing desk was and absolutely not from the thousands of years spent bathed in sedentary lifestyle without doing a single one physical exercise. Pfff. Of course not.

 His brain sent him an accusing memory of a lost battle against a pickle can tightly closed. Remy told his brain to fuck off.

 The adult fixed his glare at the stairs leading to the ground floor and he could have sworn he heard each one of the steps mockingly crackling at his astonished expression, almost as if they knew that no matter how much Remy stared at them with hate, they wouldn’t disappear nor make the travel easier.

 The only soul woke at 5 AM reorganizing his apartment in the middle of a Post Apocalypse tried anyway.

 …

 Shit.

 He turned, seeking to change the angle and thus push the odious piece of furniture better, his gaze then finally fell on the window which had originally been completed and was now just a hollow shadow of his past.

 (Remy was so good at poetry, seriously. He should write a book. He would get rich easily. He would make so much money until the point when he would be able to buy all the Coffee Shops in the world, then he will order someone to build the biggest caffeine shop of the entire world so he could spent the rest of his life there drinking coffee and watching generic Coffee Shops AU’s being canon. Yeah. It sounds like a great plan. Holy shit, he was so fucking smart. How didn’t he have an Oscar, yet?)

 An epiphany struck his mind.

 He looked at the furniture, the stairs and, in the end, his window.

 …

 Perfect.

 A cat warily wandered down the street, his fur bristling towards the sky in an attempt to make them look bigger and riskier that they usually was, something which, honestly, just their two colored eyes shining mid the cold air of night as two danger signs was enough. The same eyes that now fixated themselves on the messy, shattered pile of pieces of wood in their most diverse sizes and shapes that definitely did not belong in that landscape. The feline hissed to the said before hissing towards of the steps which began to echo in the place, clearly showing their dominance before any and every living being that dared to dwell the same planet as them. However, in an act of mercy, the animal got a notepad from the wreckage and elegantly ran out, researching to their next victim. 

 Remy threw some flowers that he found in a forgotten vase on one of his shelves on the remains of what had once been his desk. His ear still buzzing from the previous crash.

 “We spent great memories together. You did your best and now it's time for you to rest in peace.” - Gave some reassuring pats on the wood and jumped back when a splinter got in his finger, probably karma. The coffee lover wished he had his sunglasses on so his clearly superior human gaze would obtain more effect (effect that didn’t had much help with how much he was shaking his injured hand from side to side, a few begin of tears taking over his eyes’ corners. THAT THING HURTS, OKAY???) - “Bitch.”

 And turned away, hair fabulously dancing in the cold, stuffy nighty wind as he departed towards a Pharmacy nearby, which probably should have some tweeze. His steps sounding and being wobbly by the tiredness due all the exercises executed that night and the sleep, his rebel son, who had finally arrived from its walk. Remy asked to himself if the Pharmacy also possess some chair or couch for him lay down, since there was exactly zero percent of chances for him to use the stairs again in such a short period of time.

 His thoughts were interrupted by a voice, calm and low, albeit of tune and words extremely clear, which had cut through the silent street. The sound was already so weird, new and incredibly nostalgic that, for a heartbeat, he was immediately paralyzed. Wide eyes trying to concentrate themselves enough in the form focusing midst the darkness.

[wujichilioil-blog]

8 MOST COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS TO PEOPLE THAT ARE IN AN OPEN RELATIONSHIP.

"We've been sleeping with people." Before we ever get to those 8 questions, let us know first what are the different types of romantic relationships. "Love isn't one size fits all." What could be your ideal kind of relationship? Types of Romantic Relationships: 1. Monogamous Relationship - traditional - the easiest to learn or understand by children (But they say, those people who choose monogamy are usually the one's who don't stay loyal. Lol) 2. Poly-amorous Relationship - more than one romantic relationship at a time - have rankings in partners (primary, secondary...) (The key to any successful relationship, but most especially to poly-amorous relationship, is honest and effective communication between all parties involved.) 3. Open Relationships - hybrid of monogamous and poly-amorous relationship - allows both partners to have physical intimacy with anyone they want - keeps the emotional intimacy with their partners - can have as much as sexual partners but only one romantic partner 4. Long Distance Relationship - long amount of distance separating partners - LDR is usually mixed up with open relationship since their romantic partners are not around. - often temporary 5. Casual Sex Relationship - agrees to have sex with their partners on a regular basis - partners can be physically and emotionally intimate with each other as long as they are OK with it. - mostly exclusive 6. Friends with Benefits Relationship - almost similar to casual sex relationship, with one important difference, platonic friendship. - starts when friends agreed to have mutual sexual attraction - usually ends when one or both partners start to date someone else. 7. Asexual Relationships - for people who doesn't experience sexual attraction to others but still want to participate in romantic relationships. Now that we learn all the Types of Romantic Relationships, let me ask you again, what is your ideal kind of relationship? Today, we will purely focus on open relationships. Question 1: What does it purely means to be in an open relationship? This is non-negative kind of relationship. Both partners are open-minded and mature enough to agree in this kind of set up. They both admit that each other has sexual desires whether with their romantic partner or with somebody else. The great thing is, once you've decided you include other lovers or people into your relationship, you can make it whatever you want. It's up to the couple what level of involvement with secondary partners feel comfortable. Generally, one rule in open relationship is all sluttery will be done ethically, safely and with consent of all parties involved. A lot of couples that are in an open relationship are healthy, happy and successful. Research over the last several years estimates that 4-5 percent of relationships in the U.S are non-monogamous. Even more are interested in the concept Question 2: Sounds fun. But why do people would still want it even though they have a good romantic relationship? Most of the couples who have had monogamous relationship have had partners cheating on them. In an open relationship, cheating is never in their vocabularies, plus they have all the freedom, commitment and adventures. Question 3: Are couples in open relationship "Anti-monogamy"? No. They respect and still believe that monogamy is possible since it's been testified with almost all people around them that are traditional. They just have their rules. Their life, their rules. Question 4: Uhh.. What are the rules? Rules are created by the romantic partners. Rules that won't compromise or hurt them emotionally. Rule 1: They are the primary relationship. Make a point that they won't spend too much time with their secondary partners. They can and sometimes be friends with them, but they have to cut it off if it becomes more than that. Rule 2: Honesty. Always. Rule 3: Always get consent from the person who's getting involved. And let each other know when will they be seeing someone else. Rule 4: Don't date friends or anyone that they know. They avoid comparison and cause of insecurity. Usually ends up not wanting to be friends with their secondary partners. Rule 5: Two different lovers in one week is a little too much. Rules 6: Always use protection. Question 5: Do you they get jealous? Yes of course! At first, they get jealous all the time. They get paranoid. But they both admit that they sleep with someone they are attracted of course. Partners enjoy variety but they know that their feeling for each other cannot be easily diminished because of a short time enjoyment. So fair enough. Move on. Openness is everything. Besides, a little jealousy can be healthy. Questions 6: What does one partner do when the other is out with another woman/man? Simply he/she enjoys his/her alone time. Usually they will have dates on same days/nights. Question 7: What if they fall in love with their other woman/man? Couples in an open relationship have had their relationship built super strong. They already have set rules, expectation and especially the trust. They have known each other so well that it is easy for them to notice if one is being called or falling out of love. Again, they key is honesty and openness. The very reason why they agreed to this kind of set up is because they know that temptations are everywhere. So instead of identifying cheating as a sin, seeing a hot office mate as a sin, or making out with a cute guy in the pub as a sin, they embrace it. So it is almost impossible that they fall out of love with their romantic partner. It's so hard to find a partner who is willing or okay to this kind of set up so why lose one? Question 8: How do people start an open relationship or what to tell or ask people to be in an open relationship with them? First is that you have to accept the whole reality about an open relationship. You have to be brave enough to see your partner sleeping with someone if that is what you want as well. If you want to offer this kind of relationship to someone, you got to make them realize that the traditional or conventional relationship we all know is not always available to all, especially to you. You need to educate yourself as well on how to work through the feeling of jealousy, how to feel supported by your lover and friends, and above all, the importance of love and honesty. KEY TO SUCCESS: 1. Communication 2, Honesty 3. Openness 4. Collaboration 5. Respect When those elements are practiced in the daily and long-term functioning of a relationship, the outcome is extraordinarily empowering. Feelings of apprehension, jealousy, and even sometimes anger, are all normal emotions that everyone experiences at some point in open relationships. It's healthy when you can identify them and recognize that they're not roadblocks; even seemingly negative emotions are useful because you can work through and overcome them with reason and logic, both individually and as a couple. It gives your mind incredible power, and your relationship incredible validity. If you’re feeling insecure, just ask your partner how much they love you and how perfect you are for them. They will let you know.

[zero-winters]

The problem is that when the subject of troll romance is broached, our sparing human intellects instantly assume the most ingratiating posture of surrender imaginable. 

But we will do our best to understand regardless. 

Humans have only one form of romance. And though we consider it a complicated subject, spanning a wide range of emotions, social conventions, and implications for reproduction, it is ultimately a superficial slice of what trolls consider the full body of romantic experience. Our concept of romance, in spite of its capacity to fill our art and literature and to rule our individual destinies like little else, is still just that. A single, linear concept. A concept usually denoted by a single symbol. 

<3 

Troll romance is more complicated than that. Troll romance needs four symbols. 

Their understanding of romance is divided into halves, and halved again, producing four quadrants: the FLUSHED QUADRANT, the CALIGINOUS QUADRANT, the PALE QUADRANT, and the ASHEN QUADRANT. 

Each quadrant is grouped by the half they share, whether horizontally or vertically, depending on the overlapping properties one examines. The sharpest dichotomy, from an emotional perspective, is drawn between RED ROMANCE and BLACK ROMANCE. 

RED ROMANCE, comprised of the flushed and pale quadrants, is a form of romance rooted in strongly positive emotions. BLACK ROMANCE, with its caliginous and ashen quadrants, is rooted in the strongly negative. 

On the other hand, the vertical bifurcation has to do with the purpose of the relationship, regardless of the emotions behind it. Those quadrants which are CONCUPISCENT, the flushed and caliginous, have to do with facilitating the elaborate reproductive cycle of trolls. Those which are CONCILIATORY, the pale and ashen, would be more closely likened to platonic relationships by human standards. 

There are many parallels between human relationships and the various facets of troll romance. Humans have words to describe relationships of a negative nature, or of a platonic nature. The difference is, for humans, those relationships would never be conceptually grouped with romance. Establishing those sort of relationships for humans is not driven by the same primal forces that drive our tendency to couple romantically. But for trolls, those primal forces involve themselves in the full palette of these relationships, red or black, torrid or friendly. Trolls typically feel strongly compelled to find balance in each quadrant, and seek gratifying relationships that each describes. 

The challenge is particularly tortuous for young trolls, who must reconcile the wide range of contradictory emotions associated with this matrix, while understanding the nature of their various romantic urges for the first time. 

Of course, young humans have this challenge too. But for trolls, the challenge is fourfold. 

When two individuals find themselves in the flushed quadrant together, they are said to be MATESPRITS. Matespritship is the closest parallel to the human concept of romance trolls have. It plays a role in the trolls' reproductive cycle, just as it does for humans. 

This is pretty obvious! Not much more needs to be said about this. Moving right along. 

When a pair of adversaries delve into this quadrant, they become each other's KISMESIS. As one of the concupiscent quadrants, it plays a role in procreation as well. There is no particularly good human translation for this concept. The closest would be an especially potent arch-rivalry. 

For instance, human players would never be able to adequately diagnose the relationship between the queen and her archagent. But troll players could immediately place it as a dead ringer for kismesissitude. They would think we were all pretty stupid for not getting it. And they would be right. 

Trolls have a complicated reproductive cycle. It's probably best not to examine it in much detail. 

The need to seek out concupiscent partners comes with more urgency than typical reproductive instincts. When the IMPERIAL DRONE comes knocking, you had better be able to supply genetic material to each of his FILIAL PAILS. If you have nothing to offer, he will kill you without hesitation. 

The genetic material - WITHOUT GOING INTO MUCH DETAIL - is a combinative genetic mix from the matesprit and kismesis pairs, respectively. The pails are all offered to the mother grub, who can only receive such precombined material. She then combines all of it into one incestuous slurry, and begins her brooding. 

This doesn't mean the initial combination was for naught, however. In the slurry, more dominant genes rise to the fore, while the more recessive find less representation in the brood. Especially strong matesprit and kismesis pairings yield more dominant genetic material. The more powerful the complement or potent the rivalry, the more dominant the genes. 

TROLL REPRODUCTION SURE IS WEIRD. We all take a moment to lament how pedestrian the human reproductive system is, and further lament that the phrase "incestuous slurry" is not a feature of common parlance in human civilization. 

This quadrant involves a particular type of three-way relationship of a black romantic nature. Falling on the conciliatory side, it has no bearing on the reproductive cycle, except for indirect ramifications.

When two trolls are locked in a feud or some otherwise contentious relationship, one can intervene and become their AUSPISTICE. The auspistice mediates between the two, playing the role of a peace keeper, preventing the feud from boiling over into a fully caliginous rivalry. 

Since such lesser feuds are quite common among trolls, there is a significant need for auspisticing parties. Without them, too many ashen feuds would become caliginous, and begin to conflict with other exclusive kismesis relationships, leading to a great deal of social complexity and sore feelings (even more so than black romance usually involves). Without auspisticism, the result would be widespread black infidelity. 

The relationships each quadrant describes tend to be malleable, if not volatile, especially on the concupiscent half where more torrid emotions reside. It doesn't take much to flip a switch and transmute blackrom feelings to redrom, and vice versa. 

In many cases, one party will have red feelings while the other has black. But it will often be the case that one party's feelings will swap to match the other's, since there is no quadrant which naturally accommodates such a disparity. But thereafter, it's not uncommon for the two to toggle between red and black in unison now and then. These scenarios naturally result in both red and black infidelities.

This sort of relationship volatility is why conciliatory relationships are an important part of troll romance. 

An auspistice can stabilize particularly turbulent relationships. If the auspistice fails to mediate properly, or has no interest in the role, or perhaps has different romantic intentions him/herself altogether, then the relationship often quickly deteriorates into one of an especially hostile and torrid nature. There are many outside factors and influences tugging and pulling these relationships in different directions, and unlike humans who have very orderly, simple, straightforward romantic relationships without exception, trolls exist in a state of almost perpetual confusion and generally have no idea what the hell is going on. 

Being confused by troll relationships is one thing we do have in common though. 

This quadrant presides over MOIRALLEGIENCE, the other conciliatory relationship. A reasonable human translation would be the concept of a soul mate, but in a more platonic sense, and with a more specific social purpose. 

Trolls are a very angry and violent race. Some are more hot-tempered and dangerous than others, to the extent that if left to their own devices, they would present a serious threat to society, or even to themselves. Such trolls will have an instinctive pale attraction to a more even-tempered troll, who may become their MOIRAIL. The moirail is obliged to pacify the other, to function as the better half. The two partners in a strong pale relationship will serve to balance and complement each other's emotional profiles, and thus allow their other relationships to be more successful. 

It's often ambiguous especially among young trolls whether a bond formed between an acquaintance is true moirallegence, or the usual variety of platonic involvement. Furthermore, romantic intentions of a more flushed nature can often be mistaken for paler leanings, much to the frustration of the suitor. 

But some pale pairings, as the one above, will be strikingly obvious to all who know them. 

God you just can't get enough of this can you! That would have been a great point for a transition out of this illustrated sociological study, but ok, if you insist. 

Now see, what's going on here is... 

It's perfectly simple. When the full matrix of troll romance is in action, we have... uh... 

Hey, why don't you figure it out! You should be an expert on all this by now anyway. 

Later our troll hero would try to explain this to our human hero, attempting to convey all the nuance of troll romance through a nearly verbatim recitation of the preceding excerpts. 

He would try to describe how rich and textured the troll romantic comedies were compared to the one dimensional schlock of our human cinematic counterparts. He would barely scratch the surface of Troll Will Smith's virtuosity with the delicate lattice of troll romance, as he would assist the bumbling fudgeblooded Troll Kevin James through the interwoven minefield-briarpatch of redrom and blackrom entanglements, all the while sifting through his own prickly romantic situation and ultimately learning the true meaning of hate and pity. But would they succeed before the imperial drone came knocking with his thirsty pails at the ready??? Yes, they would. 

But John didn't understand any of this because he's a moron, and he wouldn't shut up about his awful bullshit Earth movies. He would just go on and on and on about that garbage. 

But if there was one theme to be hammered through his thick skull, it would be the trolls' cultural preoccupation with romantic destiny. Yes, the romantic landscape is rife with false starts and miscues and infidelities, red and black. But every troll believes strongly that each quadrant holds one and only one true pairing for them, and it is just a matter of time before the grid is filled with auspicious matchups through the mysterious channels of TROLL SERENDIPITY. 

In short, their belief is that for each quadrant there exists a pair or triad of trolls somewhere in the cosmos that were... 

MADE FOR EACH OTHER.

[rosesisupposes]

Destined, part 11

aka Help This Nerd

Character Tags: Virgil/Anixety ; Patton/Creativity ; Patton/Morality ; Logan/Logic ; Remy/Sleep ; Dante/Deceit

Chapter Pairings: Platonic Deceit with OC

Chapter Warnings: Sympathetic Deceit; mild swearing; threats/mentions of violence; allusion to character deaths

Reader Tags: @residentanchor @royally-anxious @sanderssidesfanblog @bewarethegrammarpolice

Summary: After centuries of acting as an oracle to heroes, quest-seekers, and villains alike, Virgil just wants to live as a normal, modern human. For someone who can see infinite probabilities, you’d think he’d know better.

<<Chapter 10 | Masterlist | Chapter 12>>

Read on Ao3

Flashback: late 1490s into early 1500s CE, near the Ural mountains

The seventh child of a seventh child. From the moment of his birth, Septimus had been guaranteed to be powerful in the ways of magic. But neither his parents nor his siblings had expected him to be a sorcerer.

After all his years in the continents’ best university, with all the acclaim he’d acquired, he still wished he had been born just a plain wizard, like all his colleagues and classmates. But when he had heard of a young sorcerer, newly arrived and seeking an apprenticeship, one who’d been turned down with the same wariness that Septimus himself had faced, he had known he had to do something.

Not for the first time did he wish the stigma wasn’t so strong. Sorcereri weren’t even a separate race from wizards. The only outwardly-discernible difference was golden or partially golden eyes. Septimus knew this particular trait stood out more in him than others - bright golden streaks through royal blue eyes were rather noticeable. He hadn’t actually needed the horn-rimmed glasses he wore until his third year of study, when staring at scrolls for hours on end had finally degraded his sight. The flash of the golden rims were a suitable distraction for many, especially if they hadn’t already heard of him.

By the current point in his career, luckily, people knew him for his deeds and accolades, not a quirk of birth.

Ever since he was a child, Septimus had been imbued with a healthy respect and fear for his own magical power. Unlike wizards, his ability hadn’t needed intense study and training to be vast and powerful. As a sorcerer, he had been born a natural conduit, able to channel ambient magic from his surroundings without needing to summon it from within himself. But study helped him modulate how carefully he conducted magic, and how effectively and efficiently he was able to use it. Plus, through study and knowledge he was able to control it.

He would never forget the fear in his mother’s eyes when he’d had a temper tantrum at five years old. He forgot why he’d been so upset, but just as he began to wail, a lightning bolt flashed from a cloudless sky to strike a sapling in their front yard. The poor plant had been split in two as it burst into flames. His mother had stepped back carefully, both hands out, eyes wide, speaking quietly like he was a bear or a monster about to attack. He’d overheard his brothers and siblings muttering about moving away, or sending him away to a secure location. That was the day he resolved to never again let his emotions get the best of him. He would be master of himself and his magic.

And he’d been successful. He’d learned meditation, calming techniques, anything that worked to keep himself stable and unemotional. Through studying these techniques, he’d learned how much a magical education might help him. At eleven, he’d convinced his father to send him to university. The wariness in the headmaster’s eyes had been apparent even then, but he did not allow himself to become self-conscious or self-doubting. He was there to learn.

Now, in his mid-twenties, Septimus the Azure was a prodigy, a proud graduate of the university and star in the field of magical research. His treatise on uses of dragon’s blood in potion-making, written while he was still a student, had become world-famous in magical circles. He was the youngest professor the university had ever had, and by far the youngest to be allowed his own laboratory and study in the university’s Tower. He had earned every bit of it, fighting every inch to be taken seriously for his demonstrated academic prowess and regimented use of magic, not his vast natural ability.

He’d thought maybe he’d need to contend with jealousy, but at least within the university, his potential power was seen as a literal threat to the lives of those around him, not as an ability to be desired or sought. Magical power, the thinking went, ought be earned through rigorous study and practice alone. And so that was what Septimus had done.

He sat up from his desk, where he’d been using an enormous magnifying glass to read records from ancient fairy colonies. The minuscule size of the tomes had deterred generations of wizards from learning about the tiny creatures, but Septimus was determined to change that.

Ah, that reminded him. He needed a scroll for reference. He stood, looking for his newly-chosen apprentice. The younger sorcerer had appeared starstruck when Septimus had introduced himself and asked him to come work with him. And he was a very hard worker, which Septimus appreciated. He just couldn’t remember his name. Guido? Petrarch? Something from the south of the continent. It would come to him, if he really needed it.

“Apprentice?”

“Yes, sir?”

“Can you find me the second volume of the Anthology of Fae Colonies and Lineages? It should be in the third case, fourth or fifth shelf. Near the Codex of Fairy Circles.”

“Of course, Master Septimus.”

Moments later, the apprentice had lugged over the several-pound tome to Septimus’ reading desk. It was his favorite invention, despite its simple nature, and it was entirely in tune with his particular frequency of magic. A large wooden wheel spun gently, each of its flat paddles holding a scroll or book open, each able to be pulled down onto his writing desk for better examination, or use with the fold-out magnifying glass. At any moment, he could call out a key phrase or word and the wheel would glow, moving the reference book most relevant to his request to be more easily viewed. He placed the fairy tome onto a paddle and secured it with the magical prongs that both held it in place as well as scanned its text to function with the spell. He prepared to delve back into his studies, but his apprentice was still looking at him.

He supposed the correct thing to do would be engage. The slightly-younger man had been working for him for a week now.

“Did you need something?”

“I was just wondering - could you tell me what your current project is?” the younger man asked, gold-and-brown eyes hopeful.

Septimus would normally have resented any interruption, but that flame in his eye was too familiar - the burning desire to learn.

“Of course. Have a seat, Apprentice,” he offered, before realizing every chair was covered in scrolls or books. Hiding a blush, he gestured crisply, and a royal blue light lifted them back into orderly stacks on the small shelves by his desks.

“Now. What have you learned in lectures about the lives of the fae folk, known colloquially as fairies?”

His apprentice sat and straightened to attention, the same movement required by most of Septimus’ colleagues and former teachers.

“They live in colonies of approximately fifty to two hundred, usually separated by large physical distances from one another, but are all considered family or kin. There do not appear to be any actual nuclear families, at least in part due to lack of sex or gender. Their society is highly hierarchical, with councils of Elders making decisions for each colony, including magical assignments,” the student said, speaking with his eyes partially closed as he recited. “In the past, fae folk had strong ties with humanity through the Godparent relationship, with a single fairy being assigned to a single human who usually has some fate or grand potential, or a particularly tragic existence. However, new reports of Godparent relationships in the last two centuries have been few and far between.”

Septimus nodded. “You’re clearly a dedicated student. Well done. Have your professors offered any reasons for the declining reports?”

His apprentice went to scratch his head, then caught himself and held his hands in his lap. “Only speculations. Professor Umber suggested there may have been an incident between humans and fairies that have made them less inclined to help. Professor Junipera believes that the fae colonies have simply been more subdued, finding less prominent humans to aid. But they don’t know for sure, that much is clear, no matter how confident they sound in their assertions.”

“Ah, you’ve learned the most important lessons of university,” Septimus said with a wry grin. “that is, how to see and hear through the academic babble. But it’s true - we are not sure why the number of Godparent reports have appeared to decrease. However, I believe our framing is the issue. It may be that the number of Godparents has decreased because the number of fairies has decreased. They live for many centuries, possibly as long as a millennium. But they do age, and die of age. It is very possible that the fae folk are aging out, without enough young fairies being born to take their place.”

His apprentice was shocked. “I… that’s possible? For magical beings to… die out?”

Septimus was somber yet measured in his response. “I do not know for sure. We have no recorded instances of such a thing. But I believe it may be occurring before our very eyes. As other populations grow, magical folk and creatures may be just as at risk of extinction as are non-magical animals. I myself found that, at least due to crowding of their natural habitats, dragons are becoming harder to find. Getting enough variety of dragons’ blood for my research to be able to generalize my findings to the genus as a whole… well. The particular pitfalls of my methodology are not relevant. The point is, I do think there is a not-infinitesimal chance that the fae folk are disappearing. If any knowledge of their history and culture is to be preserved, it must be done now, while the primary source still exists. That is what my current research focuses on - compiling what records we already have and seeking answers to those gaps in our existing knowledge.”

“Master Septimus, if you think such a thing is possible and happening now, why not do something to stop it? Don’t we have an obligation to our fellow magical beings to preserve their species?” the young sorcerer asked curiously, with a slight hint of indignation.

The sorcerer leaned back, fingertips touching in a tent as he considered the question. “I… don’t know that it would even be possible to reverse the trend, if such a trend exists. Nor do I know that it would be our place to interfere. To meddle in the process of reproduction, for another species no less! Not only do I worry about the ethical implications, but fairies are intensely private when it comes to the exact locations of their colonies and their inner workings. What documents we have here are mostly due to particularly studious Godchildren who convinced their Godparents to document their experiences and history. I would not presume to approach a fairy colony and insert myself into their population issues. No, my role is that of a historian. I will do what I can to preserve their story and culture for posterity, so that future generations may be educated if the fae should ever truly disappear.”

The young man looked down, clearly upset. “Master… could such a thing happen to us? To… sorcerers?”

“I… am unsure. So little is known about us, and how exactly we come to be. We are not a separate species from wizards, and the offspring of two sorcerers are not always sorcerers in turn. We are… anomalies. But regularly-recurring ones. And you and I both know that we are much more than merely flukes.”

Two pairs of gold-marked eyes met, one kind, the other determined.

“Thank you, Master Septimus. For explaining, but also for taking me on, and not treating me like a… liability.”

“Of course. I’ve been in your shoes, or pairs that looked a lot like them. And you can call me just Septimus if you wish.”

“Thank you, Mas- Septimus. And if you want, you can just call me Dante,” he replied with an impish grin.

“I will do so, Dante. Do let me know if there are any other burning questions I can answer for you. Even if you just need someone to vent to.”

Five years passed. Dante continued his studies at the university, taking after his mentor in his ability to push past the professors’ and fellow students’ assumptions about sorcery. Unlike his mentor, he found that his personality could be an equal asset to his academic achievement, charming his way through the stone towers and sneaking his way to just the right spots for opportunities and recognition.

He burst into Septimus’ tower laboratory one day, black hair flopping excitedly as he raced to greet his mentor and friend.

“TIMUS! Is it true? I go south for two months for fieldwork and you’ve suddenly acquired a new magical artifact?”

Septimus rose from his desk to embrace the younger man, ruffling his dark curls. His young friend was very particular about his appearance these days, but his mentor was the one person allowed to see him at anything less than perfectly coiffed. “Apologies, Dante, I should have known better to save all my arcane acquisitions for your return. How was the Harz?”

“Oh it was excellent, the sprites there were the friendliest I’ve met so far. I got the impression that they’ve a history of more cooperation with other magic folk, but you know sprites - keeping track of history isn’t exactly their strong suit. Why did you let me get myself into such a difficult dissertation topic?”

“Because you were determined to prove me wrong, and you are too good at talking your way out of conversations. Or into them,” Septimus grinned, one arm still around his younger friend. “I’m glad you’re back though - this place always gets a little too sane and complacent without you.”

Dante squeezed him with one arm, a genuine smile on his face. “Missed you too, Timus. But hey,” he interjected suddenly, “you distracted me! I came here to hear about the artifact!”

“Ah yes, of course. The staff. Come here.”

Septimus led his former apprentice and current mentee to his back room, where a table had been dedicated to a long and gnarled piece of wood. It would have looked like any tree branch twisted by an invasive vine if it hadn’t been for the dome of blue fire that surrounded it. Septimus lifted his hands as they began to glow with the same fire. A complex pass of his hands expanded the shield spell to include himself and Dante, who gasped audibly.

“That… aura! What is this thing?” he breathed.

“That’s just it. We’re not sure. The heir from one kingdom over killed Vignar the dragon. This was in his hoard. The victorious prince was bedridden for a month after touching it with his bare hands, thus, I would highly advise you don’t try, not unless you want me to have another nice chat with the headmaster about how I’m sure you’re not going to bring down the Tower on our heads.”

“Point taken,” Dante shuddered. “My stars, the emanations it gives off without contact - the whole school must feel it when it’s outside of this shield.”

“Not quite the whole school. Only those who have a high sensitivity to magic. You know,” he elbowed the younger man, who quirked a smile back. “The absolute oldest faculty, and us. Thus, it lives here, where I’ll sense any disturbance more quickly. Plus, I have the magical reserves to spend on keeping the spell up.”

Dante shivered. “You know I trust you far more than any of these graybeards anyway. Ugh, it’s going to give me a headache, can you close down the shield?”

Septimus nodded and reversed his gesture, re-linking thumbs and forefingers into his chest, passing palm over palm, and sending the fire back to a dense bubble once more.

“So. Theories of origin? You have at least one, I know you do,” Dante said with a grin.

Septimus cleared his throat. “Well, yes, actually. Based on what we know of Vignar’s life and raids, it appears that any sort of magical artifact of this caliber would be from one of the universities on the other side of the world, or from the sprites. And since we have communicated with our sibling institutions and they have only guesses at best, the sprites do seem to somehow have been the origin of this artifact. And yes,” he said, putting up a hand to stop Dante’s squawk of indignation, “before you ask, I was always going to show you the staff and share this exact theory. I would never willfully interfere in your dissertation, you know this. Which brings me to the disconcerting element.”

The two sorcerers settled back into Septimus’ study, a floating teapot zooming over from the hearth to fill their favorite mugs as the elder sorcerer continued.

“From my experimentation and that of the senior wizards here, we can find no purpose for this staff. There’s no affiliation with an element, or a certain frequency of spell. It doesn’t even appear to need a magically-abled being to wield it - the human prince was able to somehow fire an inadvertent blast of power before the magical aura knocked him out. An object with such raw, unfocused power being created intentionally seems unlikely. My hypothesis is that the staff, as we see it now, is not finished. This was not the intended final form. There was a final step or ritual not performed that would stabilize its magic in one direction or with one intention. And that means that its current level of power would be multiplied many time over in its final state.”

Dante gave a long, low whistle. “Can you imagine? That kind of power - that’s the kind of thing Mordred would have had wet dreams over.”

Septimus shuddered. “Yes, I know. Thank the stars he never knew of it. He could have ended the world or ruled it with just a gesture. Which is why I keep the staff safe.”

“Have you been researching what the intended purpose could be?”

“I would be content with definitively knowing its origins. If I knew more about its creation, I’d be able to deconstruct it, or at least stabilize the power to safer levels.”

“Really, Timus, you are no fun at all,” Dante drawled. “You see the sharpest sword in the world and think immediately ‘oh, gotta blunt that.’ Not even an itty bitty daydream of world domination?”

Septimus chuckled, rolling his eyes. “Oh, I’d never do such a thing. I’d hate to deprive you.”

“Say, Septimus - could I research it as part of my dissertation? Its origins, I mean. I’ve been struggling with a real focus to my research - it’s hard to know what questions to ask when the sprites are all so scattered.”

“You know what? That would be brilliant. This is why you make me so proud to be your advisor,” Septimus said. “But more importantly, I’m proud to call you my friend.” Dante ducked his head and flushed lightly. Timus had long ago stopped feeling like just a mentor. He was his most trusted friend at this university certainly, not to mention in the world.

“If I’m a great scholar, I owe it to my fine instruction, and the support of the best friend a sorcerer could ask for,” Dante returned warmly.

They toasted each other with their mugs of tea and settled in for the afternoon’s studies.

Septimus was worried. About several things, but mostly Dante.

He should have been pleased - after ten long years, the man’s dissertation was complete, and he’d single-handedly provided the strongest evidence so far that the staff was indeed of sprite origin. He’d cracked the question of “which kind of sprite” by showing that all four tribes - fire, tree, water, and ground - had convened once in their history, and that this was likely the moment of the staff’s creation.

Septimus was incredibly proud of his friend. But… every time the young man walked into Septimus’ tower study of late, there was shadow that flitted over his face. Only ever briefly - but it was like a mask was being taken off, if only for the space of a breath. And there were lines of tension in his shoulders that one would never notice unless they were lucky enough to ever see him fully relax. The charm offenses had become louder and more aggressive as Dante prepared to defend his dissertation and earn his title from the university. So, too, had the convenient conversations and ‘casual’ drop-bys to the highest-ranked members of the faculty. Only those close to him - so, only Septimus - could hear the rough edge in his voice as he spoke to those who would decide whether over ten years of study, from green newcomer to full apprentice to practically a full-time researcher, would yield any concrete title or achievements.

Septimus had even heard the edge when Dante spoke to him. Mentioning other magical races seemed to snap the taut rope that was the young man’s composure. Like the previous afternoon. Septimus had merely mentioned a successful interview with a fae Elder, an elderly but delightful creature who he’d found in a human bakery, to which they had apparently been devoted for generations.

“Glad you were able to write down their name before they collapse into pixie dust,” Dante had muttered.

“Dante, you know I’m just trying to do my best. And Baxter shared some fascinating information - the fae lifespans themselves are shrinking. They themself are only eight hundred years old but already starting to wither, when in generations past they would have expected to live one or two hundred years more. They aren’t sure why but they are spreading the word of my research so that the fae will never be entirely forgotten.”

“Septimus, how are you able to do this? To see them literally withering before your eyes and to do nothing?”

“Dant, there is nothing for me to do. These are forces beyond my control, beyond anyone’s control. Maybe this is just natural selection.”

“Yeah and maybe we’ll be next to be naturally selected out. And you know what?” The man’s golden-streaked eyes flashed in anger, the gold burning brighter in his fury as he gestured to the Tower around them. “This whole pile of stones, all these empty hats, they would let sorcerers die out tomorrow and breath a sigh of relief when we did, if they hadn’t been the reason in the first place.”

“Dante, we’ve been over this: sorcerers appear so randomly that there would be nothing any of our colleagues could do to help or hinder such an occurrence.”

“Your colleagues. They haven’t accepted me yet. And if they do, it will be because you, their great prodigy Septimus the Azure, convinced them that sorcerers can be worth the risk, not because they’ve accepted we’re no more or less dangerous than wizards.”

“I… yes. I know that. But won’t it be worth it, to have two sorcerers accepted? This is how we continue to pave the way for those after us. We’ll slowly bend their minds towards reason.”

Dante growled. “Unless the magical world dies off as we wait for them to accept us. And don’t pretend we don’t both know the cause.”

“We know nothing for sure. We can only hypothe-”

“It’s those thrice-damned humans and you know it,” Dante interrupted angrily. “They have not an ounce of magic in their blood, and they are spreading across the world like a disease. They cut down enchanted forests, kill dragons, crush fairy colonies… They are what is causing our world to shrink.”

Septimus stayed silent. There was no proof that humans actions were directly causing this, true, but the correlation was disturbingly high.

“I don’t care if it’s unpleasant to admit, but will we all just wait until they’ve arrived on our doorstep?” Dante continued. “Until they come pouring in to smash our astrolabes and burn our spellbooks? Do we even have a plan besides ‘wait?’”

“I’ve… floated the idea of cooperation. There could be a collaboration of sorts reached - let them know of the existence of magic and invite them to study it with us,” Septimus said quietly, fiddling with his glasses, golden rims glinting in the light of the hearth fire.

“And you’ve been turned down without a second thought, because the headmaster and his cronies hate the idea of sharing,” Dante sneered. “Their reasoning is dragonshit, as always, but their conclusion is right. Timus - if we go public with humans, you know it won’t be magic they’ll study. It will be us. They’ll be leeching us and cutting us up before we can say ‘I mean no harm.’ They fear what they don’t understand, and the more magic creatures disappear, the less they understand any of us.”

Septimus made eye contact, trying, willing Dante to understand. “Them fearing what they don’t understand is exactly why I want to reach out. If we plan it carefully, we won’t be a threat to them. I really believe there’s hope for peaceful coexistence, if we approach them with caution.”

Dante looked away, a vein shifting in the hard lines of his clenched jaw. At length, he replied “I hope you’re right, Septimus. I really do. But I strongly suspect you’re wrong.”

Septimus felt like he’d been waiting for just this moment for years.

The jolt of alarm, bringing him entirely out of a sound sleep. Running from his bedroom to his laboratory. Hearing the faint sounds of the senior professors stirring. Arriving at his study and backroom to see the aftermath.

The staff was gone. The magic aura was somewhere close. But it radiated so much power it was impossible to pinpoint where it was, particularly if it was indeed, as he feared, in the hands of a sorcerer.

Had he known that this would happen? Should he have taken more care to disguise the unlocking spell?

Perhaps.

But his hope had gotten the best of him.

Dante had disappeared for several months, almost a year. Research, he’d said. Only he’d finally finished his defense, and been officially named a graduate of the university and given his new title: Dante the Golden. What research would he need to be doing? And why wouldn’t he tell his oldest friend and mentor when he’d be back?

Because he didn’t want me to know, Septimus thought sadly. He knows that, whatever he plans now, I would not approve, nor would I let him go forward unimpeded. At least, I hope I wouldn’t.

He closed his eyes, trying to sense the epicenter of the staff’s emanations. Just as he started to feel the tug of a direction, the feeling vanished. The staff had been magically shielded once more, by another’s magic.

Septimus sat down hard in his study chair, head in hands. He massaged his own temples, and hoped against hope that his former student and dearest friend hadn’t made a horrible mistake, the likes from which he might never recover.

Chapter Notes

Septimus: Latin origin, means “born seventh/seventh son or child”

There were a lot of world-building details and magical mechanics, particularly about the staff, that I couldn’t find a way to fit in here or anywhere else, and the chapter is already over twice as long as I originally planned (whoops)

But if you’re the kind of person who is into that, send me and ask or message and I will happily spill.

[thesecondsealwrites]

Tarot Reading: What Are Tarot Cards? (+ Get A FREE Tarot Reading)

Almost everyone has heard of tarot cards! But if you've never had a reading then you might know very little about how tarot really works. Perhaps you are even a little nervous about tarot cards because they're an unknown. Similarly, you might be wary about the possibility the reading could tell you something significant about your future. As it turns out, many people gain huge benefits from a tarot reading. In this way, it's well worth developing a deeper understanding of how this ancient, mystic practice can help you improve your life.

This guide will explain the nature and details of tarot readings. For example, we'll explore why (and when) you might want a reading. Plus, discover what you can expect to learn from tarot. In addition, we'll look at how the process works, and consider some of the meanings of relevant cards and spreads. Throughout, we'll also consider how online tarot readings work, and why they might be right for you.

What Are Tarot Cards?

Tarot cards come in decks of 75. Every card carries not only a different image but also a range of different symbolic meanings.

In the simplest terms, there are 22 Major Arcana cards. These indicate information about our overall journey and purpose.

Comparatively, there are 56 Minor Arcana cards that symbolize the smaller, more transient parts of our lives. You can then break the 56 Minor Arcana cards into a group of 16. These show 16 psychological traits that we might embody during any period of our lives.

People use tarot cards for an incredibly wide variety of purposes. For example, you might ask for a reading that helps you make a decision, form a plan, learn about your deeper feelings, or figure out how to move past a place in which you currently feel stuck. A reading invariably prompts self-reflection and growth, facilitating new, more creative thinking about existing problems.

The History Of Tarot Cards

Tarot cards first emerged sometime around 1440, largely in Northern Italy. Although tarot card decks can look markedly different from one another, all of the imagery derives from common sources. The very first tarot cards were based on symbols derived from a wide range of myths, writings, and plays in the medieval period. At this time, tarot cards were also used for games such as trinofi and tarock.

Decks that were created in the 19th century onwards also include imagery from astrology and Kabbalah. In contemporary tarot practice, it can be hard to connect some of the card images with these original decks. However, there is always some symbolic link. Expert tarot card readers experiment with a range of decks. Eventually, they typically find one that best connects with their interpretive inclinations. Then, at the point of doing a reading, the tarot card reader is better able to use their intuitive understanding to make contextual sense of the deck.

How Do Tarot Cards Work?

If you're new to tarot, you're likely very curious about how these cards are supposed to work.

For example, if you book a free reading, are you going to get free tarot predictions?

Will you find out something frightening, like information about the end of your life or an indication of impending doom of some sort?

Unfortunately, these types of questions reflect a widespread, mistaken assumption that the cards are imbued with a kind of psychic power. Others may believe that tarot will offer concrete facts about the future. This is one of the reasons why the cards often intimidate many people. We may be scared to engage with what these cards could reveal. Consequently, this means that we miss out on a potent source of insight and inspiration.

In truth, while there is an undeniably mystic element to the tarot process, it isn't really designed to predict the future. Rather, a tarot reading helps you to tap into your deepest intuitions, changing your perspective and generating valuable knowledge about how you can approach manifesting your dream life.

Each tarot card carries sophisticated, nuanced imagery that makes a direct link to your subconscious. This taps into your most profound desires and bypasses the restrictive, more logical part of your brain.

In doing so, the cards can help you understand yourself and your life in entirely new ways. This process can often kickstart a positive process of transformation. If you're using the Law of Attraction to manifest goals, the very act of having a tarot card reading can create a clearer, more vivid visualization of what you want to achieve.

What Can You Learn From Tarot Readings?

In principle, you can use the tarot cards to learn about absolutely anything in your life, whether it concerns your history, your present, or your future. However, if you're thinking about having your first reading, you might feel like you'd benefit from some inspiration on the types of issues that are commonly brought to a tarot card expert.

Common examples include the following:

Romantic relationships: You might want help figuring out the type of partner that would suit you, wonder about how to move on from a difficult breakup, or ask for assistance in choosing between two potential partners.

Careers: You might be asking yourself if you should leave your job and pursue a new career. Or, perhaps, you're curious about the prospects for starting your own business in the near future.

Family dynamics: You might be debating whether to have children (or have additional children). Or you might be trying to navigate through a tricky family dispute, or just want to get a clearer perspective on the complex relationships in your family tree.

Personal development: You might want to cultivate a particular trait, such as self-confidence. Similarly, perhaps you wish to figure out your core values. Or, you want to explore the ways in which an issue from your past might be holding you back in the present.

Abundance: You might be weighing a wide range of factors in order to figure out how to best attract more wealth into your life. Alternatively, you may be trying to understand why this has typically been difficult for you in the past.

Tarot Card Meanings

Each aspect of the tarot card deck is linked to different elements, symbols, aspects of life and negative possibilities. However, Tarot card meaning can vary enormously between readings, given the position of the cards, the other cards that are placed nearby, and the intentions of the person asking for a reading (as well as the interpretative leanings of the reader).

Sometimes, they function as a kind of “yes or no oracle”, giving you the answer to simple questions. For example, they may answer a tricky decision you have to make. At other times, the cards may tell you a complex story that provides an overview of your past, present, and future, thereby facilitating self-knowledge. This is one of the reasons why people often develop a habit of having regular readings, even when they have no massive issues in their life.

So, while a tarot card meanings list can certainly provide you with a general sense of the role each card may play, it can't realistically account for the many different ways in which context will subtly impact on meaning. Let’s take a closer look at each category of cards. There are unifying features that connect each distinct aspect of the deck. You should also be encouraged to familiarize yourself with the general meanings. Consequently, this can help you get more out of your tarot card readings.

The Major Arcana

Also known as the trump cards, the major arcana cards all depict clearly defined archetypes. They work through a linear narrative from The Fool (at number 0) to The World (at number 22).

These cards are core to tarot readings. They track the typical spiritual journey that humans take from the point of ignorance to eventual enlightenment. Each major arcana card carries an important lesson and connects the reader with a particular stage of a person’s self-development.

Interestingly, some tarot card experts will occasionally conduct readings exclusively using cards from the major arcana; this should give you an indication of their richness and power.

Major Arcana Cards

The Fool

The Magician

The High Priestess

The Empress

The Emperor

The Hierophant

The Lovers

The Chariot

Strength

The Hermit

Wheel of Fortune

Justice

The Hanged Man

Death

Temperance

The Devil

The Tower

The Star

The Moon

The Sun

Judgment

The World

    Suit Of Wands

The 14 cards in the suit of wands are traditionally linked to the element of fire. As such, all of these cards have some connection to your passions, your potential, your strength and the things that inspire you in life.

In some readings, these cards also relate to your fundamental, primal energy. A suit of wands card can suggest a creation of any kind.

You may also often see the suit of wands cards in readings that relate to making concrete plans or taking action after a period of reflection. Where they play a more negative role, they can be read as suggesting impetuousness or directionless.

Suit Of Wands Cards

Ace Of Wands

Two Of Wands

Three Of Wands

Four Of Wands

Five Of Wands

Six Of Wands

Seven Of Wands

Eight Of Wands

Nine Of Wands

Ten Of Wands

Page Of Wands

Knight Of Wands

Queen Of Wands

King Of Wands

    Suit Of Cups

The 14 cards in the suit of cups are all related to the sphere of emotions, as well as to the unconscious mind and gut feeling. As such, they often appear in useful positions when a relationship issue (either platonic or romantic) is the focus.

They can also tell you a lot about your inner life and the role it is playing in restricting or facilitating the development. The suit of cups cards has a connection to the element of water. They can sometimes indicate something important about a problematic disconnect between the person’s inner life and their outer actions.

Suit Of Cups Cards

Ace Of Cups

Two Of Cups

Three Of Cups

Four Of Cups

Five Of Cups

Six Of Cups

Seven Of Cups

Eight Of Cups

Nine Of Cups

Ten Of Cups

Page Of Cups

Knight Of Cups

Queen Of Cups

King Of Cups

    Suit Of Swords

Also containing 14 cards, the suit of swords is linked to the element of air.

While all of the cards carry a distinct meaning, they tend to relate to themes around truth, goals, communication, reason, and intelligence. Consequently, it’s unsurprising to see sword cards appear in spreads that relate to a question on how to make tricky decisions, how to balance different competing interests or whether to go with your heart or head.

When they appear to indicate something negative, cards from the suit of swords often tell you that you need to exercise more empathy and understanding in your treatment of others.

Suit Of Swords Cards

Ace Of Swords

Two Of Swords

Three Of Swords

Four Of Swords

Five Of Swords

Six Of Swords

Seven Of Swords

Eight Of Swords

Nine Of Swords

Ten Of Swords

Page Of Swords

Knight Of Swords

Queen Of Swords

King Of Swords

    Suit Of Pentacles

Finally, the suit of Pentacles (or coins) includes 14 cards that bear a connection to the earth element. They relate to material pursuits in our lives, and to our worldly concerns in general.

Understandably, they often link to matters about financial abundance (or the lack thereof), but their symbolism can also be much broader, including themes around stability, health, and personal security.

When they appear in a reading, they typically tell you something about your long-term goals or investments, either at work or at home. In the negative, they can relate to jealousy or to an uncontrolled ambition that is leading you to live an unbalanced life.

Suit Of Coins/Pentacles Cards

Ace Of Pentacles

Two Of Pentacles

Three Of Pentacles

Four Of Pentacles

Five Of Pentacles

Six Of Pentacles

Seven Of Pentacles

Eight Of Pentacles

Nine Of Pentacles

Ten Of Pentacles

Page Of Pentacles

Knight Of Pentacles

Queen Of Pentacles

King Of Pentacles

Getting A Free Tarot Reading At Trusted Tarot

While you might not previously have considered the possibility of having your tarot reading done online, this can be just as useful as having a reading in person (as well as more convenient). And, as a bonus, it's possible to get an online reading for free. While you might initially worry that a free tarot reading could be less informative or in-depth than a paid reading, rest assured that this is not the case.

Trusted Tarot has received more than 50,000 five star reviews for their free tarot card reading service, and have deservedly become one of the world's leading Tarot resources. If you're looking for a reading you can trust, you can feel secure in the idea that Trusted Tarot will deliver results. For example, say you want a free love tarot reading that helps you find your way towards the right partner. Free love tarot reading spreads can be given with a minimal amount of information from you and will be speedily delivered. With an intuitive, easily navigable website and no assumptions of prior knowledge about tarot spreads, Trusted Tarot is as useful to the beginner as it is to an experienced tarot customer.

Learn More About Trusted Tarot

Tarot cards reading is an art. It's natural that you want to ensure that you’re working with an expert who sees you as a real person and not merely a faceless entity on the internet. All of the Trusted Tarot tarot card readers are experienced, thoughtful practitioners who want to help you get the most out of their service. I've found they can be relied on to fully concentrate on the target question when they provide a reading. In addition, if you're curious about other processes that can help you make decisions and manifest your dreams, Trusted Tarot also provide information on horoscopes, biorhythms, and runes.

How The Online Tarot Card Reading Works

In many ways, an online tarot reading works in the same way as the one you would receive in person. You need to provide vital information about yourself so that the reading will be accurate.

On Trusted Tarot, you'll be asked to share your name, your date of birth and your star sign. This all allows the reader to see your astrological chart. In turn, they should get a sense of the kind of basic traits you might have, as well as the types of challenges you might meet.

Next, you get to choose ten cards (just as you would if the deck was in front of you). Then you provide your email address so that you can receive the report on your free tarot reading. These reports are highly detailed, helping you get the most out of the reading.

The reading is not randomly generated, as it might be on other sites. Rather, your assigned reader shuffles a deck of tarot cards each day. They then upload the information about their order to the site. This process ensures that your reading actually reflects the order of a real, physical deck of cards. The deck is derived from an original deck of Tarot cards from the early 1900s.

Choosing a Good Question

In order to get the most out of your tarot reading, it's vital that you spend some time clarifying the question you want to ask or the issue you want to explore. While the above gave you an indication of the types of topics that most people focus on when they ask for a tarot reading, it's well worth learning how to distill those topics down to something that works well with a tarot spread.

Here are some of the best tips for tarot readings:

Choose something about which you don't already have the answer. You won't be guided by the reading if you come into it with a prior decision in mind. For example, if you're wondering about family relationships, ask “How can I improve my relationship with my brother?” rather than “How can I get out of having to have dinner with my brother?”

Add detail, but not to an excessive amount. Try to find a broad way to look at a specific problem, in other words. To use another example, choose the question “How can I find a career that balances all my values?” rather than listing all of those values and interests, as that's too much detail.

Try to focus on yourself, not on someone else… even if you think that this other person might be primarily responsible for the challenges you're currently facing. So, if there's a conflict with your spouse, for example, ask what role you play in the conflict rather than asking why your partner doesn't listen.

Adopt an attitude of neutrality and openness to the outcome of the reading. This is an extension of the above advice to choose an issue about which you don't have a pre-conceived notion. It's simply not useful to ask for a reading only to confirm your preexisting beliefs or desires.

Your Tarot Reading Explained

So, how does your reading work, and how can you best interpret the information? As you choose cards, the image associated with each one will be revealed, and in the reading report, they will appear in the appropriate position to help you understand how they relate to your current issues and goals in life. The meaning of every card will be explained, along with an indication of how it may connect to your past, present and future.

Every reading is distinct, tailored to the individual, and there are so many factors in play that it would be almost impossible to receive the same reading as anyone else.

If you feel ready for your own, personal tarot reading, click here now.

One of the reasons why these tarot card reports are so insightful is that each report lists a range of key interpretations associated with each card. Plus, that meaning is uniquely influenced by where the card sits in the order of cards you chose.

You can also see a close-up image of the card, allowing you to tap into your own interpretations of its meaning. Often, people find that the pictures evoke unexpected feelings and thoughts. This subconscious response adds an extra layer of significance and usefulness to the reading.

Tarot Summary

In sum, tarot cards are often viewed as mysterious or foreboding in nature. However, the reality is that they are a powerful, useful tool that just about anyone can benefit from using. Rather than predicting the future, they help you use your gut instincts, intuitions, and innate creativity. In turn, this helps you to learn more about your current situation. This can be especially helpful when you need to make a hard choice about the direction you need to choose.

Whether you're worried about your career, trying to choose the right partner, starting a new business or coping with a loss, the cards can offer the clarity you need.

While you may not have considered getting an online tarot reading in the past, you'll now have a better understanding of why this is a fantastic, straightforward option that provides the same accuracy that you can expect from a face-to-face reading.

At Trusted Tarot, you can get a comprehensive, free online tarot reading from a highly trusted and world-renowned source that is conveniently available whenever you need it. Many people find themselves coming back for regular readings as their life circumstances and desires change; each reading can offer fresh guidance about new events and challenges you might face.

Start Your Free Tarot Reading! Click Here Now…

The post Tarot Reading: What Are Tarot Cards? (+ Get A FREE Tarot Reading) appeared first on The Law Of Attraction.

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[gabevic]

HEY HIVESWAPS READ THIS YOU FUCKS ITS AB TROLL SHIT

The problem is that when the subject of troll romance is broached, our sparing human intellects instantly assume the most ingratiating posture of surrender imaginable. But we will do our best to understand regardless. Humans have only one form of romance. And though we consider it a complicated subject, spanning a wide range of emotions, social conventions, and implications for reproduction, it is ultimately a superficial slice of what trolls consider the full body of romantic experience. Our concept of romance, in spite of its capacity to fill our art and literature and to rule our individual destinies like little else, is still just that. A single, linear concept. A concept usually denoted by a single symbol. <3 Troll romance is more complicated than that. Troll romance needs four symbols. Their understanding of romance is divided into halves, and halved again, producing four quadrants: the FLUSHED QUADRANT, the CALIGINOUS QUADRANT, the PALE QUADRANT, and the ASHEN QUADRANT. Each quadrant is grouped by the half they share, whether horizontally or vertically, depending on the overlapping properties one examines. The sharpest dichotomy, from an emotional perspective, is drawn between RED ROMANCE and BLACK ROMANCE. RED ROMANCE, comprised of the flushed and pale quadrants, is a form of romance rooted in strongly positive emotions. BLACK ROMANCE, with its caliginous and ashen quadrants, is rooted in the strongly negative. On the other hand, the vertical bifurcation has to do with the purpose of the relationship, regardless of the emotions behind it. Those quadrants which are CONCUPISCENT, the flushed and caliginous, have to do with facilitating the elaborate reproductive cycle of trolls. Those which are CONCILIATORY, the pale and ashen, would be more closely likened to platonic relationships by human standards. There are many parallels between human relationships and the various facets of troll romance. Humans have words to describe relationships of a negative nature, or of a platonic nature. The difference is, for humans, those relationships would never be conceptually grouped with romance. Establishing those sort of relationships for humans is not driven by the same primal forces that drive our tendency to couple romantically. But for trolls, those primal forces involve themselves in the full palette of these relationships, red or black, torrid or friendly. Trolls typically feel strongly compelled to find balance in each quadrant, and seek gratifying relationships that each describes. The challenge is particularly tortuous for young trolls, who must reconcile the wide range of contradictory emotions associated with this matrix, while understanding the nature of their various romantic urges for the first time. Of course, young humans have this challenge too. But for trolls, the challenge is fourfold. When two individuals find themselves in the flushed quadrant together, they are said to be MATESPRITS. Matespritship is the closest parallel to the human concept of romance trolls have. It plays a role in the trolls' reproductive cycle, just as it does for humans. This is pretty obvious! Not much more needs to be said about this. Moving right along. When a pair of adversaries delve into this quadrant, they become each other's KISMESIS. As one of the concupiscent quadrants, it plays a role in procreation as well. There is no particularly good human translation for this concept. The closest would be an especially potent arch-rivalry. For instance, human players would never be able to adequately diagnose the relationship between the queen and her archagent. But troll players could immediately place it as a dead ringer for kismesissitude. They would think we were all pretty stupid for not getting it. And they would be right. Trolls have a complicated reproductive cycle. It's probably best not to examine it in much detail. The need to seek out concupiscent partners comes with more urgency than typical reproductive instincts. When the IMPERIAL DRONE comes knocking, you had better be able to supply genetic material to each of his FILIAL PAILS. If you have nothing to offer, he will kill you without hesitation. The genetic material - WITHOUT GOING INTO MUCH DETAIL - is a combinative genetic mix from the matesprit and kismesis pairs, respectively. The pails are all offered to the mother grub, who can only receive such precombined material. She then combines all of it into one incestuous slurry, and begins her brooding. This doesn't mean the initial combination was for naught, however. In the slurry, more dominant genes rise to the fore, while the more recessive find less representation in the brood. Especially strong matesprit and kismesis pairings yield more dominant genetic material. The more powerful the complement or potent the rivalry, the more dominant the genes. TROLL REPRODUCTION SURE IS WEIRD. We all take a moment to lament how pedestrian the human reproductive system is, and further lament that the phrase "incestuous slurry" is not a feature of common parlance in human civilization. This quadrant involves a particular type of three-way relationship of a black romantic nature. Falling on the conciliatory side, it has no bearing on the reproductive cycle, except for indirect ramifications. When two trolls are locked in a feud or some otherwise contentious relationship, one can intervene and become their AUSPISTICE. The auspistice mediates between the two, playing the role of a peace keeper, preventing the feud from boiling over into a fully caliginous rivalry. Since such lesser feuds are quite common among trolls, there is a significant need for auspisticing parties. Without them, too many ashen feuds would become caliginous, and begin to conflict with other exclusive kismesis relationships, leading to a great deal of social complexity and sore feelings (even more so than black romance usually involves). Without auspisticism, the result would be widespread black infidelity. The relationships each quadrant describes tend to be malleable, if not volatile, especially on the concupiscent half where more torrid emotions reside. It doesn't take much to flip a switch and transmute blackrom feelings to redrom, and vice versa. In many cases, one party will have red feelings while the other has black. But it will often be the case that one party's feelings will swap to match the other's, since there is no quadrant which naturally accommodates such a disparity. But thereafter, it's not uncommon for the two to toggle between red and black in unison now and then. These scenarios naturally result in both red and black infidelities. This sort of relationship volatility is why conciliatory relationships are an important part of troll romance. An auspistice can stabilize particularly turbulent relationships. If the auspistice fails to mediate properly, or has no interest in the role, or perhaps has different romantic intentions him/herself altogether, then the relationship often quickly deteriorates into one of an especially hostile and torrid nature. There are many outside factors and influences tugging and pulling these relationships in different directions, and unlike humans who have very orderly, simple, straightforward romantic relationships without exception, trolls exist in a state of almost perpetual confusion and generally have no idea what the hell is going on. Being confused by troll relationships is one thing we do have in common though. This quadrant presides over MOIRALLEGIENCE, the other conciliatory relationship. A reasonable human translation would be the concept of a soul mate, but in a more platonic sense, and with a more specific social purpose. Trolls are a very angry and violent race. Some are more hot-tempered and dangerous than others, to the extent that if left to their own devices, they would present a serious threat to society, or even to themselves. Such trolls will have an instinctive pale attraction to a more even-tempered troll, who may become their MOIRAIL. The moirail is obliged to pacify the other, to function as the better half. The two partners in a strong pale relationship will serve to balance and complement each other's emotional profiles, and thus allow their other relationships to be more successful. It's often ambiguous especially among young trolls whether a bond formed between an acquaintance is true moirallegence, or the usual variety of platonic involvement. Furthermore, romantic intentions of a more flushed nature can often be mistaken for paler leanings, much to the frustration of the suitor. But some pale pairings, as the one above, will be strikingly obvious to all who know them. God you just can't get enough of this can you! That would have been a great point for a transition out of this illustrated sociological study, but ok, if you insist. Now see, what's going on here is... It's perfectly simple. When the full matrix of troll romance is in action, we have... uh... Hey, why don't you figure it out! You should be an expert on all this by now anyway. Later our troll hero would try to explain this to our human hero, attempting to convey all the nuance of troll romance through a nearly verbatim recitation of the preceding excerpts. He would try to describe how rich and textured the troll romantic comedies were compared to the one dimensional schlock of our human cinematic counterparts. He would barely scratch the surface of Troll Will Smith's virtuosity with the delicate lattice of troll romance, as he would assist the bumbling fudgeblooded Troll Kevin James through the interwoven minefield-briarpatch of redrom and blackrom entanglements, all the while sifting through his own prickly romantic situation and ultimately learning the true meaning of hate and pity. But would they succeed before the imperial drone came knocking with his thirsty pails at the ready??? Yes, they would. But John didn't understand any of this because he's a moron, and he wouldn't shut up about his awful bullshit Earth movies. He would just go on and on and on about that garbage. But if there was one theme to be hammered through his thick skull, it would be the trolls' cultural preoccupation with romantic destiny. Yes, the romantic landscape is rife with false starts and miscues and infidelities, red and black. But every troll believes strongly that each quadrant holds one and only one true pairing for them, and it is just a matter of time before the grid is filled with auspicious matchups through the mysterious channels of TROLL SERENDIPITY. In short, their belief is that for each quadrant there exists a pair or triad of trolls somewhere in the cosmos that were... MADE FOR EACH OTHER.

[yeehawbisexualold]

Old habits die hard, ok?

Requested by an anon: “i kissed you goodbye by accident - old habits die hard okay?!?!” for the prompt thing :)) 

Rated T. 1.5k words         

They’re watching a movie together. In a very platonic, strictly friends way. Because that’s the way they do things now—platonic and friendly, absolutely no intimacy besides the kind that comes with being close, comfortable friends with a person. Hugs and heads leaned on shoulders? Great. The occasional hand holding or cheek kissing? Fine.

A couple weeks before, things would have been different. They wouldn’t have made it twenty minutes into the film with out Emma’s tongue down Killian’s throat or his hand down the front of her leggings. And then after a round or three of some decidedly un-platonic actions, they would lay on the couch, sated, long enough to rewind to a point they both remembered and finish watching.

She had been the one to initiate the turn their friendship took—simply telling him they should have sex after a few too many drinks on a particularly bad date. He’d been hesitant at first. Wanting to wait until she was of sounder mind before taking that step, he put her to bed and told her they could discuss it another time. But all of his reservations flew out the window when she’d shown up at his apartment the next night with a bottle of wine and some lube (which he took out of her hand with a cocky grin and an “I don’t think you’ll be needing this.”)

She started it so it was fitting that she’d end it.

Emma felt that things were progressing into something distressing, a territory moving beyond the friends with benefits boundaries they had set for themselves. Killian’s gazes grew a little too long, a little too longing. And the summersaults being preformed in her stomach were in a league she was unfamiliar with. That, coupled with a few, too close for comfort close calls with David arriving at… unfavorable times, brought her to the conclusion that their relationship should go back to that of the simply friends variety.

Killian had taken it in stride. He’d sat silently through her jumbled rhetoric, observed her nervous expression when she finished, and said “No sweat off my back, Swan. Actually, there will be a lot less sweat on my back now that—” She cut him off with a hand over his mouth and a stern look. And in a brief bought of seriousness, he told her that he was fine with whatever she decided and only wanted her to be happy and comfortable.

She didn’t ignore him, per se, for the two weeks following that conversation but she also didn’t make it a point to reach out to him or really even return any of his calls or texts. But she was a big girl and while things may be awkward, she wasn’t willing to add further strain to their friendship. So after a “Don’t do this, Swan” text and a pep talk she gave herself, she texted him, asking if he wanted to have a movie night.

He kindly accepted, choosing not to question her as to why she’d been ignoring him. Which leads to where they are now, watching Remember the Titans on the couch in his living room, while Emma lies with her feet resting in a seated Killian’s lap, his hand resting on her ankle.

It’s good, comfortable even. The movie is one she’s seen enough times to where she figured it would be a safe choice in case she was too unbalanced to focus but, thankfully, she’s able to focus fine. There is popcorn and candy and they’re both relatively good at remaining quiet during movies, so there’s no awkward conversation.

It feels like what they did before sex got involved. She should have known it would be like this, shouldn’t have spent so much time aggressively ignoring him. Because Killian would never make her feel uneasy and the connection they’ve always had was solid and special.

It’s natural. Too natural.

After the movie ends, Killian shifts, grabbing her feet and standing up from under her before placing them back on the couch. He grabs the empty beer bottles and popcorn bowl, placing them in the sink.

“Alright, princess,” he sighs when he’s once again standing next to her. He takes her hands in his own and pulls her up. “I cherish your company but I also know you have to be up early for a meeting and I don’t dare to come between you and a full nights rest.”

“It’s not that serious,” she argues weakly, already walking to his front door with his hand at her back.

“Right. You’re perfectly good at functioning on little rest,” he says solemnly, opening the door for her. “I must have been thinking of the other Emma. She’s a right terror in the mornings, even with a long amount of sleep.”

He’s obnoxious and obnoxiously adorable so she does what she’s been doing for the past few months and leans forward to kiss him—as a goodbye and a way to shut him up. It’s a nice kiss for all but a matter of seconds before she realizes what she’s doing and that she's not supposed to be doing it.

She pulls back expecting… Well, she doesn’t know. Indignation? Anger? But all she sees is an open mouthed, dazed expression.

“Old habits die hard, ok?” she explains, trying not to appear flustered but she can feel the heat in her cheeks. “I—” She doesn’t have any more words though because she doesn’t entirely have thoughts right now besides what the hell did I just do? So she spins on her heels and walks away, leaving him standing, slightly shell shocked, in the doorway.

He texts her the next morning and tells her that he understands perfectly if she needs space but not to take it on his account, that he realizes that it was just a slip, falling back into a familiar pattern, and he’s not upset. And she just… adores him, with all of his kindness and acceptance and understanding. She wonders if she possibly made the wrong decision in ending their friends with benefits situation. Maybe, instead, she should have done the opposite and progressed it.

Once that thought is in her head, she can’t get it out.

If it were anyone else, she’d be driving herself into a tree rather than entertaining these thoughts. But it’s Killian. So instead of contemplating suicide, she decides she needs to talk to him.

When she shows up at his apartment, unannounced, he appears mildly surprised but opens the door widely and extends his arm in a gesture for her to come in.

“Swan, to what do I owe this surprise?” he asks, the corner of his mouth turned up.

Actions speak louder than words and at this time, she not entirely sure she has the courage to form them. So she does something sure to surprise him even more and kisses him.

It feels right—his lips pressed against hers, his body pressed against hers. She thinks she made the best decision until he puts his hands on her shoulders and gently pushes her away. Leaving her standing frozen, a little bit hurt and a little bit confused.

She thought he wanted this. He was into it before, certainly seemed to be having enough fun. Maybe his feelings have changed. Maybe he’s decided they’re better off friends and nothing more.

She’s two seconds from fleeing when he scratches the back of his neck and grimaces slightly. He opens his mouth, closed it, then opens it again.

“I know it’s habit but I… I really can’t stand for you to keep doing… that,” he fumbles his words, hardly making eye contact and she’s ready to snap at him. Tell him she’s sorry her kisses disgust him. But he continues “I need these lines to stay clear. It was hard enough for me when you put and end to this before. I don’t… I can’t handle that again.”

“Oh,” she says softly.

“I’m sorry, love. I don’t mean to put you on the spot like that.” He smiles weakly.

“I took some time thinking things over after you texted me and I’ve come to a conclusion. I’m going to make these lines as clear as I possibly can. I want to continue kissing you. I want to continue having sex too. I also want to start going out on dates. Well, maybe just one date, enough to make things clear. And I want to start sleeping here more often and leaving shampoo and underwear here. And we can tell David and whomever you want to tell.”

By the time she finishes, his weak smile has turned into a damn near blinding grin. 

“Is that clear enough for you, Killian?”

This time he’s the one attacking her with a surprise kiss. Or surprise kisses, littering her face from the hairline of her forehead to the dimple of her chin, the apple of one cheek to the other, peppering them along her jaw and down the bridge of her nose. “Crystal,” he murmurs before finally settling his lips against hers in a long, hard kiss, backing her up against the open door and shutting it with the force of their bodies. He pats her hips and then moves his hand down, hooking it above the back of her knee to lift her against him.

“Can we start on the continuing to have sex part now?” he asks, breathing hotly against her neck. She can’t see his wicked grin but she can feel it. “To keep things clear of course.”

“Yes but only for the sake of clarity,” she responds rolling her hips against his.

“For clarity.”

[lebibish]

Dear Yuletide Author 2019,

Happy fall! (Or winter, which it feels like here!) The Yuletide fic exchange is one of my favorite times of year and I am always amazed with the wonderful and lovely stories that come out of it. I absolutely promise—I will love whatever you write because you have put time and effort into one of these fandoms which I adore and which deserve so much more love. So thank you!

(This...got rather long...)

Things I am generally interested in:

-          World building – both cultural shenanigans and language and how does this actually work and let’s dig into the stuff that was handwaved—did I say both? I obviously meant everything)

-          Family feels – found family, kidfic, good sibling relationships, comfort, people you would fight to live for, snarky banter, deep understanding of someone else. Also, I love kidfic. Also, good parenting.

-          Competence – I really, really enjoy watching/reading about/listening to people being really, really good at something.

-          Magic – fairy tale magic, magical realism, that whole social media thread about people having small everyday magics, hidden magical realm, magic school, I love it all.

Squicks, or things I am not interested in: For Yuletide, I prefer not to have unhappy endings. Bittersweet I can handle. Not a fan of cheating in relationships (consensual polyamory, on the other hand, is VERY GOOD.), grim!dark cynicism, unlikable heroes, angry-teenage-boy angst (this does not just apply to teenage boy characters btw, just saying I lost a lot of interest in Harry Potter after book 5. It was good characterization, he had all the reasons to feel that way! I’m just not that interested in reading from his point of view at that point).

That got long, sorry!

Specifics:

Fandom: Horror Movie Daycare (CollegeHumor)

What I like about this fandom: I love kidfic. I love people taking care of kids, being good with kids (even if they’re nervous and unsure of what they’re doing—genuine interest and care goes a long way), and the subversion of expectations in this.

What I would love to see (optional details are optional! Tell me a story you’re interested in and I’ll love it!): I am torn between wanting to know Ms. Katherine Daisy’s background (where did she come from? Why is she like this? How does she keep getting these creepy jobs? IS SHE FROM NIGHTVALE?) and wanting her to remain a mystery (particularly, seeing her from an outsider’s perspective—what do the families of her kids think of her? How did they find this daycare? Does she have any coworkers? Neighbors? Family? What do think of her and her job? Do any of the kids she takes care of grow up and come back to visit her?)

 Fandom: Assassin’s Creed Odyssey (game)

What I like about this fandom: What do I not like about this fandom? I play as Kassandra—she is pansexual, always down for sex, not great at emotions, totally motivated by family, kind of protective, kind of an asshole, and I head-canon her main relationship being Roxana BECAUSE THAT RELATIONSHIP IS ADORABLE. But I’m more than happy to read other people’s versions of Kassandra too! I love the attention to detail in the culture, I love the connections to Greek mythology, I love Kassandra’s relationships throughout the game (families, friends, lovers…)

What I would love to see (optional details are optional! Tell me a story you’re interested in and I’ll love it!): Kassandra in different time periods—they opened up so much room for amazing stories in that plot. Kassandra in the middle ages, messing with the patriarchy. Kassandra hanging out with the all the queer Classics majors at Oxford, (OMFG I just pictured Kassandra meeting Miss Fisher and having sexy, sexy adventures solving murders together), Kassandra in YOUR favorite historical period being her awkwardly kind, aggressively violent self. But also, that opens up so much angst? Because this woman has spent so much time separated from her family and has fought so hard to find them and now she is going to outlive literally everyone? (sort of spoiler warning: Phoebe in the DLC makes me cry so hard and if you want to make that a real thing and bring other people too I WOULD BE SO HAPPY). How does Kassandra cope? I kind of imagine she basically just keeps building families around her over and over again, but I could also see her retreating from getting close to people. ALTERNATIVELY. Kassandra growing up—why does she stay on Kephallonia so long? What is she like as an awkward teen? Kassandra being a big sister to Phoibe. Or. After the main story, I made Alexios one of the crew members on the boat and that was consistently hilarious. I also got the entire family together for that dinner scene—including awkward, angry step-brother together and the family shenanigans of two awkward, angry brothers and AWKWARD AGGRESSIVE Kassandra somehow being the reasonable human sibling is AMAZING.

 Fandom: Sinbad (TV)

What I like about this fandom: I ask for this fandom every year because: people with different cultures and languages coming together and forming a functional group/found family/deep friendships, real mythology being played with, magic hiding in the world as science becomes more prevalent…it’s all amazing.

What I would love to see (optional details are optional! Tell me a story you’re interested in and I’ll love it!): Sinbad’s original curse—not being able to stay on land for more than a day and what that would mean if they had succeeded in being traders; the possibility that Cook has something strange going on with his own refusal to leave the ship; and post-series what these people end up doing and how they interact. Any and all back-stories are love, any and all myths, legends or monsters entering the story are brilliant.

 Fandom: Much Ado About Nothing (Shakespeare)

What I like about this fandom: Beatrice/Benedict – snark. So much snark. Smart, competent people who are confident, but also insecure in some really specific ways. NOT a fan of Claudio.

What I would love to see (optional details are optional! Tell me a story you’re interested in and I’ll love it!): Ok, so, I love the original play and I love it’s various incarnations (the David Tennant and Catherine Tate one is amaaazing) but my first introduction and the one I always imagine is the Kenneth Branaugh version. Beatrice/Benedict is my OTP…except. Except. The speech where Beatrice and Don Pedro are talking and he asks if she’d have him and she says no unless she could have another for working days…I want that story. Beatrice/Benedict and their home together becoming a place where Don Pedro goes to rest and hide from the demands of the world (romantic polyamory OT3, platonic friendship, it could play out in so many ways). Or, Beatrice/Benedict going with the Prince. Beatrice having adventures and charming and outraging people everywhere and Benedict and Don Pedro amused and indulgent and jumping in to troll people left and right.

 Fandom: The Pirates of Darkwater

What I like about this fandom: SO MUCH WORLD-BUILDING. All the islands and the magic and the ship (see also, any of the details for Sinbad…). Grumpy thieves and mercenaries who are secretly good people but have bad impulses/habits.

What I would love to see (optional details are optional! Tell me a story you’re interested in and I’ll love it!): Since the series was never finished—HOW DOES IT END? Does Ren become a King? Do the islands come together in a diplomatic alliance? Do they save the day and sail off into the sunset? OR Ren growing up. Living with his old guardian in an ancient lighthouse and entertaining himself by being a gymnast—but also, how do you raise a secret heir to a kingdom without letting him know he’s a secret heir to a kingdom? Shove a lot of books at him and cross your fingers? Teach good governance through a series of ridiculous hypotheticals and then hem and haw whenever he says “When will I ever need to know this?”. OR pick an island and explore it . Look, magic, pirates, adventure, mysterious islands with a variety of civilizations...you can't really go wrong here.

 Fandom: 镇魂 | Guardian (TV)  

What I like about this fandom: Aha. Ha ha. Ok, seriously—time travel, magic, SO GAY, teams, SO COMPETANT, the constant jostling for who gets to sacrifice themselves for someone else this time, other worlds, WEIRD AF worldbuilding (magic? Aliens? Energy beings that are totally not ghosts because the censors don’t like superstition?), TIME TRAVEL, cats, shape-shifters, I will Wait for you, two cultures colliding, hurt/comfort everywhere

What I would love to see (optional details are optional! Tell me a story you’re interested in and I’ll love it!): Fix it fic. FIX IT FIC. Reincarnation? Not actually dead? Someone, something rational and reasonable steps in before tragedy becomes inevitable? PEOPLE GET THERAPY? I don’t care. Fiiiiix iiiiit. AND/OR Shen Wei waking up and negotiating a brand new world—new Dixing and new Haixing. I…kind of prefer that happening much longer than the show makes it seem in the end? Like, I have unreasonable feelings about him waiting 10,000 years to see the love of his life—but I also kind of like the idea of him waking up and being incredibly confused by the culture that has built up in Dixing. Also—more of the actual culture that has built up in Dixing so that it’s not just the desperate poor neighbor but a functional, interesting society that has it’s own traditions and families and no sense of seasons or time but what they designate for themselves (does the lantern change that?) AND/OR I’ve been haunted lately by the idea of the original Kun Lan who we never meet…actually being reincarnated as Zhao Yun Lan?

ALL MY LOVE AND GRATITUDE! YOU ARE AWESOME! I really hope you enjoy this Yuletide!