#i finished only 8 out of the 22 due but!!!

[americankimchi]

dragon age veilguard review: spoilers for the entire game ahead

alright now that it's been a few days and i've had time to 1) get over the honeymoon phase and 2) really think on the game beyond the emotional high of the endgame mission/endgame choice, i can finally type this up

my final score for this game is 8/10, if you just care about that part and wanna skip the rest.

preface, i've only finished one playthrough as an elf mage grey warden, and played every companion/region quest*/side objective to completion**.

i played it on the underdog difficulty and it took me ~74 hours (i left the game open and went to do something else a few times, so it should probably read closer to ~70). this is a screenshot of the final auto-save after i beat the game

veeery long review under the cut ✌️

*exception being minrathous since i picked treviso instead, so the region quests got shafted

**didn't find all the chests or all the collectables, but i got close. also, i missed neve's first companion outing because i forgot to do it prior to the minrathous/treviso choice and didn't realize recruiting davrin was a cut-off point. aside from that i finished every quest i could grab my hands on.

OKAY SO i want to start this off by saying that i thoroughly enjoyed this game, enough to want to replay it again (i currently have two concurrent playthroughs as a dwarf shadow dragon and a human antivan crow going) and will probably be modding it to high heavens once that boat gets sailing, and that i believe it deserves that 8/10 score with all my heart. it was a great time.

that being said.

DIALOGUE REACTIVITY BASED OFF CHARACTER CREATION:

anyone who plays dragon age veilguard and only veilguard is getting a very surface level experience of what thedas is/has to offer culturally. i'm saying this because the excuse being "this is tevinter, why would it be the same as the southern half of thedas" isn't enough to explain a lot of gaping holes in the game's setting.

for instance, i played as an ELF MAGE GREY WARDEN in the middle of TEVINTER during a massive catastrophe brought about by the returned "ELVEN GODS"

having played all the games prior to dav, i did so because i knew that there would be

high tension with my PC being an elf in the notoriously cruel-to-elves country of tevinter, the old empire of which caused the fall of arlathan, and who enslaves elves to the point of it being a huge story beat for a previous companion (fenris)

a mage in a magocracy, where the script is flipped between mages and templars as compared to the south which recently went through years of a mage-templar war

a grey warden - their relevancy in thedas ended around 10 years ago due to corypheus basically tricking them all into hearing their calling, and 22 years prior veilguard during the fifth blight. at the beginning of the game, being a grey warden is more of a coincidental occupation than a narrative beat like it is in origins, but there's always something going on with the wardens so i picked it as a 'i'll pick this to experience the game first and then go for what i suspect is the best narratively relevant origin for my second playthrough' option

of the three descriptors, ELF/MAGE/GREY WARDEN, which do you think had the most story-relevant screen time?

that's right.

the grey warden one.

i won't say that there was nothing about being a mage, but i can remember probably on one hand where the option to chime in as a mage was relevant to what was being spoken about. (a conversation about spite, a conversation about scout harding's new abilities, and if there were more they weren't memorable enough for me to recall off the top of my head) which was fine on paper if you don't know anything about dragon age's entire deal wrt mages. i believe the only real mention about tensions between mages and templars happened in minrathous when we met up with neve's templar friend rana. i think the line reads something like "oh templars are just here to make sure the magic doesn't go out of hand. we don't even take lyrium like our southern counterparts" and then the game moves on to other things

which is crazy considering just how seriously the mage vs templar conflict was being leaned into for the previous three games, enough to the point where i was getting absolutely sick and tired of hearing about it. well the monkey's paw curls a finger because not only did i not hear about it, it felt like it never even happened.

TO BE FAIR: we're playing in tevinter (and antiva. and rivain. and the hossberg wetlands. and—well, you get the idea) and there's a general air of tevinter snooty superiority when they consider the 'south', so perhaps it wasn't fair for me to think "oh, they'd talk about it right? they'd bring it up more than once", but my being a mage seemed to just not even register for any characters in tevinter. not that i wanted them to roll out the red carpet or anything, but i can't remember a single moment where an NPC was like "oh right, you're a mage too". maybe they did, and i just don't remember it. but it didn't seem to matter at all.

but alright whatever, if we want to write that off as being "we're in tevinter. that has no bearing on circumstances here because it's a MAGOCRACY" fine i'll let it slide.

but the fact that my being an ELF didn't seem to be a Huge Deal when in tevinter threw me for a fucking loop. was there some sort of massive societal upheaval in the ten years between dragon age inquisition (dorian: i thought keeping slaves was fine as long as you treat them well) to veilguard (i found a single codex entry of a letter where dorian says "hey guys. we should stop keeping slaves. like genuinely what the fuck is wrong with us for even doing that in the first place") but the fact that NOBODY SEEMS TO BLINK AN EYE at my rook's elven heritage. ESPECIALLY since the main antagonists of this game are ALL ELVEN GODS seems like a wildly missed opportunity to introduce some tension. UNJUSTIFIED TENSION, but tension nonetheless.

the wardens had a lot of content, which both surprised and delighted me thoroughly. i'll never speak a word against them of course, and i did love how it showed that the wardens were here to do a job, and not play nice about it. the first warden was, in my humble opinion, one of the best characters in the entire game. annoying, gruff, called my rook warden basically the equivalent of a stupid rhino in a china shop not knowing what's best for the wardens/their oaths and impulsive in a way detrimental to everyone in his surroundings. literally one of my favorite lines happens when he and rook are beefing in the middle of the cobbled swan:

like. that was so satisfying.

the fact that the first warden isn't a villain, he's actually a fantastic grey warden. he'd sacrifice himself to kill an archdemon, and in fact "steals the glory" for himself. like was he an asshole during that exchange? yes, but it's undeniable that he was going to his death voluntarily and with a grim fervor. that's peak grey warden. nobody can say he'd ever shirk his duty. his character flaw was that he's a terrible leader, has the military tactics of a damp slice of toast, and generally doesn't inspire his subordinates to feel any sort of true loyalty to him. see here where my rook aggressively relieves him of duty and after a tense exchange where it seems like combat is about to start, evka saves the day by taking charge. and she does take charge pretty quick. nobody seems to really oppose the real quick promotion.

and then it's back to business as usual. archdemon trapping, anyone?

which was a problem i had with other factions in the game, namely the antivan crows. like yes, not every group is a monolith sharing the same ideals/morals/etc. but having played dragon age origins close to two decades prior where a massive point of contention was between zevran and the crows and the trauma that came from his upbringing as a crow... to then get thrown into treviso to see that the house we're dealing with is a bunch of leathery robin hoods was an unexpected turn. like. guys? weren't they villains? why are we all relatively good people (barring illario) here??? if anything, i thought that there'd be more politicking and backstabbing (literally and figuratively) but everything here seems kinda...... harmonious in comparison to whatever the fuck house arainai was doing. i might have missed a codex entry (i didn't read them all) explaining why the tonal shift happened, like maybe someone somewhere wrote about how house arainai imploded post-fifth blight when a crow went, well, rogue, and exposed the crows for the literal torture they put CHILDREN through, but nothing. like the game straight up lets an NPC whose name escapes me form a new house composed OF children at the end. like. what........ this isn't neverland, why are we forming the lost boys with knives here. hello??

on the other hand, i feel like the wardens had more options to expand on the fact that uh. yeah. grey wardens don't come from great backgrounds. like when you could conscript the mayor of d'meta's crossing much to everyone's displeasure, or the first warden actively being an obstacle to real progress (but not a villain! just extremely blind to the real dangers!), etc. etc. still not great in terms of "we employ literal murderers and criminals of every kind so we can toss them in the direction of darkspawn as a literal meat shield for thedas" but at least it's something.

but i digress. back to the point:

felt like the amount of dialogue options i had where i could bring up my warden expertise not only outstripped the mage/elf tags, but was so prevalent that sometimes it felt like the game was specifically catered to me being a grey warden. this is obviously just because i haven't played enough of the other origins to really feel out how much content they have in comparison, and it's partially just because of how obviously biased i am towards them as a group, but the FLAVOR of being a grey warden was present wherever i went. we'll see how well this opinion holds up after i finish my other two playthroughs.

THE COMBAT:

genuinely the best combat in the series. the fact that you can dodge-roll and more importantly PARRY in this game is an unexpected boon that i can't praise bioware enough for. the abilities themselves are smooth, the detonations provide a nice chunk of damage AND crowd control where you can just unload, and the damage types/weaknesses being a genuinely relevant part of the game to the point where if you have a lightning abilities/weapons equipped and you're facing down a hoard of antaam, you're going to have an extremely bad time*.

* on higher difficulties. i've heard on lower ones that it doesn't matter and you can just brute force your way through the game

i will say the "quick recovery" doesn't feel quick at all, even if i'm hitting the button for it frame-perfect, i can still get knocked down as the animation for quick recovery is going off, which was annoying. would've liked the i-frames to have saved me from getting turned into paste by the three ogres punching me down at the same time but alas.

also, they tend to target you even if you have a warrior (davrin/taash) on the team. unless you're actively casting taunt, they will run past your party members to hammer down on you. which was. annoying.

STILL I LOVED THE COMBAT, i went spellblade as a mage and my build was absolutely disgusting at the end. with a combination of fully stacked out duration+strike abilities, arcane bomb stacking abilities/weapons, and not even glancing at the other two trees for the majority of the game, i felt like i was a rogue that could conveniently cast chain lightning. it was crazy fun.

but also a steep learning curve. mythal took me 17 entire real life minutes to beat. LMAO.

i love that you don't need to restart the game if you want to play a different subclass, you can just refund your skill points and explore the game to your heart's content that way. not that i did, i picked one tree and stuck to it the entire game come hell or high water (or a lightning resistant high dragon 10 levels above me) and i had a blast with it.

THE STORY (THE EVANURIS, ROOK, & VARRIC):

hooooo boy. okay. this is going to be about the MAIN STORY ONLY, companion and region specific stuff will be in its own section later.

the writing for the main story was actually pretty enjoyable the further along in the game i got. every single main story mission was an incredibly cinematic experience; my favorite being the siege at weisshaupt mission—but only because it's kind of hard to quantify the endgame section as a 'mission' when it felt like an entire act on its own.

the amount of personality rook has was a breath of fresh air, and the voice acting for male british rook (alex jordan, who also coincidentally voices my favorite character in wuthering waves: jiyan♥) was SOOOO good. every line delivered felt like it matched the scene's energy/the personality i picked, so the flow of dialogue felt natural enough to be part of a tv show or movie.

although i do wish there was more option to be a little bit more of a bitch. a little rat bastard. not evil because i don't think dragon age would ever let you be evil in the way owlcat games lets you turn into a literal swarm of bugs consuming all (including companions) in its path, i thought there'd be a chance to be like. well. a little mean to people. i can be rude, but not mean. if that makes sense.

i do feel that rook was done a disservice by not having a hawke-like session 0 where we can see, precisely, why they're already so attached to varric and scout harding, but maybe that was left on the cutting room floor. i'm not a fan of tell don't show, so the game telling me "hey remember when you and varric did this thing that we're not going to actually show you" was pretty annoying. i wasn't expecting a dragon age origins-type prologue segment where i move through the world as a warden pre-veilguard, but i do wish we had like. a short cutscene flashback sequence or something to really immerse myself into the character. like let me put my shoes on before i start running the race!

still though rook felt really present in the story. like they slotted really nicely and smoothly into the leadership position which. i mean yeah who else, right? even though they did have plot armor in the sense that i didn't really understand (in-universe) why ghilan'nain and elgar'nan didn't just squish my rook into a pulp and scrape the dagger off the smear he became every time they came face to face... i suppose we wouldn't have a game, otherwise lolol

moving swiftly on, the boss fights felt appropriately built up to, and never did i feel like i was woefully unprepared for the task set up before me (although i must admit i was slightly taken aback by the three-headed hydra at weisshaupt. delightfully so, but it did stunlock me for a few seconds sjkhfj)

from the prologue -> endgame, i suspected something was off about varric once i realized "hey, how come nobody's talking to him anymore?" while the answer of "varric is actually a manifestation in rook's mind caused by solas trying to mold him into someone who could replace solas in the fade prison he crafted" was admittedly beyond the scope of what i came up with:

1. everyone in this game is a monumental asshole (funny, but disappointing narratively)

or

2. he died but bc he died next to the fade magic + we live in the fade now he's just a ghost only rook can see?? (true, but to the left)

i didn't really consider solas had a hand in it which is funny as hell considering. well. blood magic was mentioned at the very start of the game by solas himself

the reveal was very satisfying, and on my current playthroughs it's very entertaining to see everyone (especially solas, but my companions too) very carefully skirt the subject of varric's death by speaking about it in terms oblique enough that everyone in the know understands it as 'varric is fucking dead' vs. rook's manipulated memories understands it as 'varric is laid up in the infirmary'

the evanuris were very well designed, ghilan'nain being a creepy flesh centipede woman with tentacles and blight covering her head to toe was genuinely one of the most refreshing villain designs i've ever seen. elgar'nan was comparatively boring, but considering his whole deal is to be the elven god of tyranny having him just be a conventionally attractive man was a statement in and of itself.

their boss fights were standard, elgar'nan's being the easier of the two specifically because i wasn't trying to haul my ass through waves of darkspawn, but even ghilan'nain's wasn't that hard either considering all i really needed to to was burst some blight growths and could fully ignore the darkspawn if i wanted to. i had more trouble fighting the demon of desperation in minrathous than i did the story boss fights, but that was a trend for most games i feel. the side objectives containing the optional, harder fights and the mandatory quests softening the blow from the main story bosses so the player can get through them at a steady pace.

i do feel like the majority of the story was well written, but suffered greatly from pacing issues brought about by the format of the game itself. while there was a steady pressure brought about by the urgency needed to stop them from crafting the red lyrium dagger, the fact that i could just wander about the world picking up and completing side quests at my leisure before tackling the broader problem at hand did have me slightly confused about how long the game's time frame really was. i think it takes place over the course of a few months, or maybe a year total? if it was mentioned, it went straight over my head.

though i suppose that's a problem most RPGs have—the risk of allowing the player to have agency in picking what to do next means that. well sometimes they can spend hours trying to pick up every collectible while minrathous burns in the background.

though i did wish there was more dalish presence in a game focusing around the elven gods. like i know the veil jumpers are in the game as a faction but. they don't really feel dalish. they just feel like a bunch of archeologists who happen to be elves. a bit of a disappointment, there. also, they were constantly imperiled by something which really put a damper on the "we are also a competent group of people" vibe that i got from pretty much everyone else. the dalish aesthetic was just that, aesthetic. the veil jumpers being posted up in arlathan forest just seemed like they were there due to their occupation and not their heritage. bellara goes into it a little bit through her quest line, but i don't know. there wasn't that sense of unity and closed ranks the way it felt in da:o and da2. the less we speak of the dalish in da:i the better.

as for solas himself, i'm positive that the way you speak to him reflects his demeanor to you over the course of the game (i picked every aggressive/stoic option i possibly could, and the results i got were extremely entertaining; i have so many recorded videos of rook and solas duking it out but due to size constraints i haven't uploaded them anywhere ajkjdj) but at one point they went from "actively antagonistic" to "actively antagonistic but with begrudging respect"... on the side of solas. my rook was extremely honest about hating him every step of the way. extremely honest.

still, i loved how the game kept track of the progression of their relationship. the way every time a new talk with solas started i'd see a little "yeah last time you kept yelling at each other so we're keeping that energy" popup on the side of my screen. the way rook and solas could constantly. well i don't want to call it 'banter' because at every given point my rook would call him out on his bullshit and solas would strike back with a precise cut deep enough to bleed, watching them snipe at each other so aggressively vs. what i suspect is a much softer and more amicable conversation if you go the more diplomatic route was nice to see.

during endgame, since i completed every side objective (the solas's regrets chain of quests + the mythal encounter/fight) i had the option to:

deceive him by giving him a fake prop of his dagger

convince him to stop (unlockable by doing the aforementioned quest chain)

fuck it we ball; 1v1 me right now you bald bitch

obviously, i threw aside all other options and went for the 1v1. when i say i was HOWLING WITH LAUGHTER watching my rook go "I BEEN WAITING FOR THIS" and throw a haymaker to the face........... /wipes tear. it was beautiful. and then my rook STABBED HIM IN THE GUT, SEALING HIM INTO THE FADE FOREVER??? ten years i waited for this. ten YEARS. HALLELUJAH.

though it is very funny after all those years of seeing posts like "UMMM ACTUALLY THE VEIL SHOULD COME DOWN" and then the game is like "nah. that shit stayin up for a while" like kjHDJKLSHGFJK

anyways. i enjoyed stabbing him and watching him get yoinked into the fade. i'll do the merciful ending eventually but i had to do it to him at least once.👍

THE COMPANIONS:

though obviously i have a few characters who i enjoyed more than the others, i did like all of them!!

taash's questline was very good in terms of the cultural aspect (i can relate to feeling torn between two worlds) but the gender identity was somehow both heartwarming and. extremely awkward. it felt a little bit like watching an intro to gender studies 101 powerpoint presentation. like i suppose it was to explain the concept of being nonbinary to people who've never considered gender beyond what color cake to buy for a baby shower, but it did have me raising an eyebrow a few times. not in a bad way but in a very "this is obviously catered to people who don't know a thing about it, and i appreciate that bc it serves as a nice jumping off point for people to really get to know more, but it is a little clumsy in execution". i think my favorite scene for taash is when they're with neve in the dining room talking about how "nobody REALLY likes being a woman" and neve's just there like. oh. you sweet summer child. JKHDSKLAGHFGJ THAT WAS SO GOOD!! but i think the strongest part of their character arc was them trying to figure out who they are in relation to their cultural identity. especially the bit where they fought with their mom about it alllll the time. like where my second generation kids who don't really relate to their ethnic background at!!!!! RISE UP!!!!!!!!!!!!

the way i had to google if i was first or second gen. apparently it's "first to be natively born in a country = second gen" so i'm going with that

and the scene where they're screaming "TAMAAA" when shathann dies...... bro i teared up. i ain't ashamed about it. that was heartbreaking af.

still uh. it was kinda funny (read: eyebrow raising) that a character whose entire arc is coming to grips with multiculturalism and a break from the gender binary..... ends up being presented with a binary choice on whether or not to pursue their connections to their qunari heritage or their rivaini roots. like uh. guys. guys??? why do we have to pick??? aint the whole point of multiculturalism is that it's. uh. multicultural??? i suppose you could argue that it's the "oh you're just supporting taash into embracing a specific part of their culture, you're not really telling them to abandon the other!" but like. eh. EHHHHHHH. it didn't FEEL like that. esp. when it's presented as an either-or scenario.

THEIR PARTY BANTER WITH LUCANIS WAS THEEEE FUNNIEST SERIES OF LINES. i love those two together omg. and taash + scout harding!!! wagh!!!!

EDIT: i was gonna add a section abt the lords of fortune for taash's segment but forgot. which is very on brand bc they were forgettable at best and invisible at worst throughout the entire game. i don't want to say that they were irrelevant but like. uh. yeah. 💀💀

neve. neve neve neve. has hands down the absolute worst voice acting in the entire game. like i'm sorry to say that every single line was monotonous and genuinely lacking in any real connection to the words being said. i have to wonder if the voice actor for neve isn't used to working in a booth and more on camera, because truly with every line she spoke i became more and more disinterested with the conversation. the concept of a mage detective in the depths of minrathous rooting out corruption sounds so compelling, and it was, but unfortunately any deeper connection i could've forged with neve was hamstrung by the fact that i was bored to tears by the voice acting. even the conflict generated between my rook and neve due to him picking treviso (an obvious choice for a warden. they were going to blight the waterways) fell flat. because the lines were delivered flat. disappointing, considering how interesting the content of the game she features in is. like the sequence where i'm running through run-down ruins with NPCs tethered by their own blood jetting out of their bodies as they function as living speakerphones for a blood mage hell bent on revitalizing minrathous in her own twisted way. that's sick as hell. it WAS sick as hell. i loved every second of that. i just didn't love neve's voice acting. a shame, bc i was really excited about her pre-release. :(

scout harding's questline confused me not because of the content, but because it felt like this should've been a separate game entirely?? like why are we discussing the tranquilized titans and their horrific half-dead, half-dreaming state solely through the lens of a companion quest? why aren't we visiting orzammar or kal-sharok for more than 2 minutes and talking about the fact that the lyrium they've been mining for centuries is the blood of their ancestors?? like it's mentioned once or twice, but only during side-quests. like the solas's regrets quest chain or scout harding's companion quests. like isn't this a huge deal? why are we slotting this into a game about the elven gods?? the reveal that the evanuris essentially genocided the titans in order to craft their own bodies is a tale of horrific violence and violation and we........ just kinda. don't talk about it? after scout harding's quest is over? and the fugliest armor set known to man is unlocked? (toes. why does her armor have TOES.)

i did appreciate the fact that the game let us tell her that her anger was justified bc like. ngl if i learned all that and then the only option presented to me was to forgive the fuckers that did it i think i'd go crazy.

aside from that weirdness, scout harding is bestie. i love her. sorry that i KILLED HER OFF THOUGH!!! WHAT!!! okay unironically though i love that. i love that you can PERMANENTLY kill someone off. it adds depth. it adds STAKES. i wish more people would've died at the end. like bellara just being. fine? after being trapped in blight for who knows how long was baffling as hell. like she's not FINE but she's not dead. crazy stuff. how does being a warden sound bellara. u got a swift career change ahead of u. my rook's a warden tho he'll put in a good word for u dw

SPEAKING OF BELLARA. her questline was sad as hell but also like. how many times am i going to deal with cyrian bro like why couldn't we just knock his ass out. i know for the plot he has to keep going back to his evil masked ghost overlord anaris but like. eh.

his death scene was very sad though. bellara :((

CYRIAN UNMASKED LOWKEY....... KINDA FINE THO..... 👀

same as scout harding's i wish bellara's whole thing had more to do with the dalish. NOT THAT IT WASN'T I MEAN IT WAS ALL ABOUT BEING DALISH but it was more veil jumper than anything. man the veil jumpers were disappointing. just a faction built to fumble at any given chance. the only competent person is bellara and she's on the squad........... whole faction just fell apart without her 💀💀

bellara is my cutie pie bestie babygirl though <33 im so excited to romance her WAUGHHH even if i hate her hairstyle like girl what the hell is that on the back of your head!!!! they had to nerf her otherwise she'd be the Perfect Companion 😔💞

emmrich was sooo sweet. literally just an amiable old man on a journey to help his friends and students and his BONE SON!!!! SKELETON CHILD....... manfred my love......... unfortunately i did honor manfred's noble sacrifice and help emmrich into becoming a lich but like. that shit. feels like it should've been saved for post-game, somehow?? like in the veilguard equivalent of a trespasser or whatever. like what do you mean we just have an immortal lich companion just chillin. just vibin outta the necropolis. is that allowed?? are there other liches outside the necropolis???

???

the drip is immaculate though ngl. he easily clears everyone else's veilguard outfits <-she has only seen half of them due to only having the one finished playthrough

i didn't really use him much outside of his companion quests + fighting undead, so i don't know much about him with regards to party banter. sorry emmrich ;-;

davrin was. oh my goodness. have you ever seen a man so beautiful. the soulful brown eyes. the jawline strong enough to cut diamond. the EXPOSED CHEST. GOOD HEAVENS..... /SWOONS

literally the dreamiest dragon age companion ever like im sorry he clears literally everyone else ever made. and i say that even with zevran existing in the universe. (if silver fox zevran had at any point showed up in this game this opinion would swiftly change.)

i didn't romance him and i regret it bc i feel like there would've been something to the whole brothers in arms -> you and i are the only two people on this team who perfectly understand each other; you and i are dead men walking but we go to our blighted graves with grim smiles and clear eyes; should the calling come for one of us, it will end up claiming two, etc etc—unfortunately you recruit lucanis first and i didn't pivot 🫡

THE ONLY COMPLAINT I HAVE FOR DAVRIN: his entire arc focuses around assan. not JUST assan, like assan is the conduit through which davrin works through a lot of stuff, but it feels like. well i don't think there was a single scene where assan wasn't there. which makes sense because GRIFFONS. MY GOD. THEY'RE BACK. but also. i feel like if davrin had some space from assan in like a single mission/quest/etc. it would've been good. absence making the heart grow fonder and all. like i'd kill and die for assan but like 60% of the way through davrin's arc i was lowkey getting tired of it all being about our favorite bird son.

lucanis.... lucanis lucanis lucanis. he's the one my rook romanced and uh....... i'm gonna be honest. i wasn't really feeling like i was in a romance at all until the very end of the game. there's a line where lucanis was like "that's what i love about you" or whatever and i was like. huh? what? when was this established? i don't think we ever had a conversation or an event that would lead to this conclusion??? did i skip it? did i forget??? taps game is this thing on???

like i'm not saying the romance was BAD. (aside from some questionable animation choices. like why was lucanis standing so close to my rook like BACK UPPPPPP 😭😭)

all of the romance scenes were sweet and enjoyable and full of typical Bioware Cringe Romance Lines™ (affectionate) (honorary) but it did feel a little like. 80% of the game we had tepid to mildly reciprocal reactions to any of rook's flirtatious dialogue choices, and then when i got the choice to lock in the romance for lucanis it's like. OKAY HIT THE GAS, BUDDY! IT'S TIME TO FLOOR IT. 0->100 in an instant. i love a slowburn, but this was less of a slowburn and more me silently watching a mile long fuse burn up for like 60 hours until it thunderously explodes all at once.

unrelated but why does rook not have a bed in his room. why is it just a couch. they were suckin' n' fuckin' on an ancient elven la-z-boy in the fade. amazing stuff.

ASIDE FROM THE WEIRD PACING ISSUES I EXPERIENCED (hopefully it wasn't universal) THE ROMANCE WAS SWEET. 10/10 WOULD RECOMMEND

as for his personal character arc. why the hell did lucanis become first talon??? like speaking as someone who found out post-game that he straight up SAYS in his tevinter nights short story that he doesn't want to be first talon. at no point in the game did i think "yeah this guy is fit for and desires a position of authority" like um. viago is right there. i could see the argument if treviso was blighted (don't know if teia and viago survive that; i saved treviso in my playthrough) but like. VIAGO (AND TEIA!) ARE RIGHT THERE BRO...............

him not killing illario is whatever i can understand not wanting to have the blood of family on your hands. it's the becoming first talon that's crazy. although i suppose the whole filial duty to caterina angle........ but since when was the antivan crow org following the right of primogeniture??? WHATEVERRR

also. antivan crows?? are not a moral organization??? what happened between da:o --> veilguard. why are they all robin hoods. weren't they child slavers who mercilessly tortured them into becoming assassins. there's an argument for "oh that was just house arainai" but i was expecting more morally gray/amoral assassins for hire and less "TREVISO WILL BE FREE. DOWN WITH TYRANNY" like huh???? are we red jennies all of a sudden. are we shadow dragons. whats goin on here.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

wow that's a lot. girl has a phd in yaponomics fr. at the end of the day, veilguard is a good game. i mean, i'm playing again it right now on nightmare mode this time. (CALIVAN'S FIGHT.......... WHAT THE FUCK................ i didn't die to his little minions OR to his pride demon summon i kept dying to his fuckass sextuple cast magic missiles that get spammed constantly like BRO CAN YOU RELAX. CHILL BRO CHIIIIIILLLLLLLLLL IT'S NOT THAT SERIOUS!!!!!!!)

i think this game could easily make space for a few more DLC, something like trespasser or mass effect's citadel DLC. hopefully they do because the epilogue slides were PITIFUL. PALTRY. and dare i say? PATHETIC. the romance slide for lucanis and rook being a single line of dialogue that they split between them. i was gobsmacked.

dragon age i say this because i love you and i have loved you for so long and will love you forever: BRING BACK WORLDSTATES. PLEASE. I DON'T NEED A MASSIVE CALLBACK. I DON'T NEED CUTSCENES. I WOULD BE CONTENT WITH THROWAWAY DIALOGUE. WITH A CODEX ENTRY. A LETTER SENT IN-GAME. PLEASE. BRING BACK WORLDSTATES AUGHHHH

although i don't think it'll matter bc if i'm reading those hints right we're going across the sea in the next game to deal with the uh. what was it called? something storm?? that the qunari were running from or whatever???? so i dont think anything we did here in thedas matters. it'll be like me:a except. you know. dragon age.

WAIT. PAUSE. THIS GAME HAS A SECRET ENDING??? <-SHE JUST GOOGLED "DRAGON AGE STORM"

FOR FUCK'S SAKE. WELL THAT'S ON THE TO-DO LIST NEXT THEN.

anyways i love this game. 8/10 would get my ass beat by the demon of desperation and its 5 billion summoned minions again 👍

[caramelmochacrow]

i did a few of my assignments..... yay!!!!

[astroismypassion]

Astrology observations 🫖 ☕️ 🫖

Credit: @astroismypassion

🫖 Capricorn Moon native, I noticed, go not literally after older people, but those that are more ADVANCED in life than them. They go for someone who has is almost finishing high school, when they just started out. Or for someone who is already in college or going for masters, when they have started college. Later, in adulthood, these native hang with people or go for a partner that has higher salary than them, has a better positioned or better paying job.

🫖 Yes, I would agree with astrology community about Cancer Sun men being prone to go for younger women than them. But I beg to differ, this is only, if they don't have Aquarius/Capricorn influence in their Natal chart. Such as if they have Sun Uranus aspect, Capricorn IC, Capricorn/Aquarius Moon, Venus at an Aquarius/Capricorn degree or in the 10th or 11th house.

🫖 Planet Neptune in astrology in general indicates where you are likely to experience confusion, the things you are unclear about or area about which you have misconceptions. But in more simplistic astrology, to me this planet literally explains »things you don't know about«. Neptune in the 2nd house: you don't know how high of a salary you want or you don't know your values, because you haven't consciously thought about that before. Neptune in the 5th house: you don't know how your ideal date would look like. Neptune in the 7th house: you don't know which kind of committed partner you desire. Neptune in the 12th house: you don't know what to do with yourself in your alone time/when you are just by yourself. Neptune in the 1st house: you don’t know your full, real identity, personality.

🫖 Capricorn Moon/Saturn in the 4th house/Moon Saturn aspect native, I would argue even some with Aquarius Moon, Moon Uranus aspect, have really minimalistic room, with little décor, not much colour, because at home their personality was restricted or wasn’t fully allowed to be express due to parental figures often overpowering them. So as a result, their own room lacks character, personality, it can look dull or lifeless.

🫖 I noticed in real life, there is always Scorpionic influence over the Moon, in people who form and join a friend squad or form a close-knit group of friends. But then I found a famous celebrity example. In friend circle of Taylor Swift (so called Taylor’s Squad in mid-2010) all had Scorpionic Moons. Actress Hailee Steinfeld, who was part of Taylor’s Squad has Moon at 8 (Scorpio) degree, model Gigi Hadid has Moon at 20 (Scorpio) degree, model Ruby Rose has Moon trine Pluto, actress Sarah Hyland has Moon square Pluto, singer Lorde has Moon quintile Pluto.

🫖 If you have both Pisces and Aries over a relationship house, such as over the 7th house, even dating house the 5th house, but also over more emotional houses such as 4th, 8th house, but also 2nd house, you might say or think about yourself that you are a self-proclaimed hopeless romantic, when in fact I noticed these natives desire a partner who will go along with whatever they suggest. So someone flexible and compromising. These people take it personally, if you don’t accept or like their suggestion, like they start questioning, if you are even “their person”, their soulmate.

🫖 No one talks about how Venus Saturn aspect/Capricorn Venus/Venus in the 10th house/Venus at a Capricorn degree (10, 22) people are really tough on themselves and daily put a lot of pressure on themselves in all areas of their life. They rarely enjoy life and just let loose before the first Saturn Return (so before the age of 30). These people don’t play about their ambition. They put in as much work as possible before the age of 30. One celebrity example singer Selena Gomez (Venus at 10 (Capricorn) degree) talked about how she took everything so seriously in her life, career and rarely took time off just for herself.

🫖 Pisces Moon/Moon Neptune aspect/Moon at a Pisces degree (12, 24), even Pisces Venus, natives actually desire a “low maintenance” partner, someone that actually doesn’t need them that much in their life. So someone who will give them a lot of space, will be independent in their own life, not needing always being together, will be okay with not answering messages right away and with occasional ghosting. But they are most often masking that wish with having high standards or being non-committal.

🫖 Libra Venus natives are overlooked for how progressive they actually are! These people truly desire an EQUAL partner on all levels (financial, physical, career, family). For example, men with this placement, might not feel treated with their partner earns more than them. They pick up household chores, cooking, cleaning at home and don’t mind it.

🫖 I always recommend people when they feel challenged by a sign, to look at the opposite sign of that particular sign for guidance, help or what to do to better themselves. For example, you feel challenged by your Aries Moon that you have in your Natal chart. Look at Libra, what you need to work on the most in order to have better quality connections with family, close friends and lovers is to become more flexible, create balance within, become more compromising, diplomatic, cooperative and a better listener. And you can do that with every personal planet position in your Natal chart.

🫖 Forget Leo Venus, they are not compliment-starved, but have you seen Pisces Moon/Pisces Venus? It’s under-rated how much these people want to be complimented, acknowledged and appreciated, their whole vibes changes, if you compliment them.

🫖 The more I look into astrology with the time that goes by, the more I realize what we already are, what we are used to is represented by our Moon sign. We grow into traits of our Sun sign in adulthood and grow more comfortable with the traits of our Rising sign after the age of 30. For example, you have Aries Moon, you already know you struggle with motivation, you might be used to not finishing projects, you are used to conflict, tension and irritation in your environment. If you have Cancer Sun, you are only now learning how to healthy express and show emotions. If you have Sagittarius Rising, you will be more open, spontaneous, travel more, educate yourself more after the age of 30.

🫖 If you struggle with purpose, meaning in your life or with making major life decisions, always work with your North Node. Look at North Node like direction or guidance. For example: you want to return to college, higher education at an older age, but you’re scared if you want to do it or not. Then you see you have Virgo/Gemini/Sagittarius North node or North Node in the 3rd/6th/9th house, Jupiter North Node aspect or North Node at Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius degree (3, 6, 9, 15, 18, 21, 27) in your Natal chart. You totally should do it, because it’s part of your life purpose shown by your North Node, NN shows what you feel your purpose in this lifetime is deep in your soul.

Credit: @astroismypassion

[deepcreekvulture]

Spencer Reid's College Timeline

So, I was chilling at my local Library and decided to use my very extensive free time to write out Spencer Reid’s College timeline (or at least how it makes the most sense to me).

There’s probably going to be a lot of inconsistencies and possible contradictions in this, but please give me a little grace. I don’t go to college, and I'm just silly. 

I did try to be as accurate as I could, but there’s only so much I can do with my little brain and 10 mgs of Adderall. 

I also tried to be as realistic as I could, especially with considering how Diana’s condition would affect his education. But, again, it's not going to be perfect. Feel free to share your thoughts.

What we know:

-Spencer Reid graduated from a Las Vegas public high school at the age of 12 (01.18 “Somebody’s Watching”)

-He went to Caltech. I personally like to think that he also went to MIT (Breen Frazier has admitted that Spencer saying he want to MIT in 07.04 “Painless” was a continuity error, but I think it is possible that he went to both, just not at the same time.)

-He has 3 PhDs in Mathematics, Chemistry, and Engineering (04.08 “Masterpiece”)

-He had 3 Bachelors degrees in Psychology, Sociology, and Philosophy  (04.08 “Masterpiece”)

-Joined the BAU around July of 2004 at the age of 22 (05.16 “Mosley Lane”)

Spencer is talking to Sarah Hillridge and mentions that he’s been with the BAU for “5 years, 7 months, and 19 days...” doing the math puts it around July of 2004.

-Spencer was born in October of 1981

There is some confusion about whether his birthday is October 12th or October 28th. I believe that his birthday is October 28th 1981, Emily Prentiss’s birthday is October 12th 1970 (04.14 “Cold Comfort” & her headstone)- and it is very unlikely that the two of them would share a birthday and it not be mentioned. (It also gives some more insight to why Spencer loves Halloween so much- it’s right after his birthday!)

So, assuming he started kindergarten at 5 years old, Spencer was in grade school from around 1986-1994. It is likely that he could have finished grade school faster, but a lot of the time public school systems want to keep students from jumping too many grades in order to not stunt their social development. 

I am taking the liberty of assuming that Spencer received all 3 PhDs before joining the FBI- so from age 12-22 (Over 30 years of schooling for three PhDs in the span of around 10 years, wowza).

Someone as smart as Spencer would’ve definitely gotten a 36 on the ACTs, so prestigious universities would be banging down his door to get their hands on his geniusness. BUT, Spencer loves his mom, and he wouldn’t want to stray too far from her. He also says he was drawn to Caltech because of certain professors in an article written about him.

We know that Spencer went to Caltech and would bike to classes and such. He was most likely able to stay at the dorms for free and given financial support from his scholarships. It is unclear how Spencer could’ve balanced having his mom in Nevada while he was in California, but there are buses and public transit to and from Las Vegas to Pasadena (ranging from 4-7 hours for a one way ride, so 8-14 hours round trip). William Reid, despite leaving Spencer and Diana, most likely maintained providing money to them due to paternal obligation and guilt.

There are, of course, ways for Spencer to care for his mom even all the way in Pasadena: Neighbors could’ve checked on Diana regularly/daily, Spencer could’ve called daily to remind her to take her medicine, etc.

To make Spencer going to both Caltech and MIT make sense, I figure Spencer would get his PhDs in Mathematics and Chemistry from Caltech then after Diana is institutionalized Spencer enrolls in MIT for engineering. 

The University term dates are loosely based on the academic calendar they provide on their websites.

(Rough) Caltech term dates:

Spring term: April to June

Summer term: June to August

Fall term: September to December

Winter term: January to March

(Rough) MIT term dates:

Spring term: February to May

Summer term:June to August

Fall term: September to December

I know that in the U.S. you don’t have to have a Masters degree to get into the PhD program, but Spencer likes to learn and I figured he might want to get the most out of his time in college- or it might be a little contingency from the University so he’s still pacing himself and they can still see his growth and all that good stuff.

NOW ONTO THE TIMELINE.

At Caltech, Spencer would most likely have more freedom to complete his schooling faster and they would’ve worked with him to create a good plan for him to complete things at his own pace while also following whatever school protocols they have. 

Spencer stays in Pasadena from the Fall term (Begins around mid September), through the winter term, and until the end of the Spring term (Ends around end of June), he goes home to Las Vegas during the summer term and winter/spring breaks.

Beginning of Fall 1994- Starts college @ Caltech studying Mathematics– Age: 12 turning 13

End of Spring 1995- Finishes his Bachelors in Mathematics– Age: 13

Summer 1995- Home

Beginning of Fall 1995- Starts Masters in Mathematics– Age: 13 turning 14

End of Spring 1996- Finishes Masters in Mathematics– Age: 14

Summer 1996- Home

Beginning of Fall 1996- Starts PhD in Mathematics & starts Bachelors in Chemistry– Age:14 turning 15

End of Spring 1997- Finishes Bachelors in Chemistry– Age: 15

Summer 1997- Home

Beginning of Fall 1997- Starts Masters in Chemistry– Age: 15 turning 16

End of Spring 1998- Finishes PhD in Mathematics & finishes Masters in Chemistry– Age: 16

Summer 1998- Home, Diana suffers a bout of bad psychosis and Spencer cannot return full time at Caltech during the Fall term. Due to his mother’s condition, Spencer contacts the school board and they work out a plan where Spencer can work on his Chemistry PhD in Las Vegas with the use of public Library computers and occasional trips to the campus for exams if possible. 

Beginning of Fall 1998- Works on his PhD in Chemistry, living in Las Vegas– Age: 16 turning 17

Spring 1999- Works on his PhD in Chemistry, living in Las Vegas– Age: 17

End of Summer 1999- Finishes PhD in Chemistry, living in Las Vegas– Age: 17

Spencer starts making arrangements to move Diana into a facility when he turns 18. He also applies to MIT to start their engineering program, manages to work out a plan to enroll in their Fall term but only move to a dorm at MIT after he gets his mom institutionalized (around October/November 1999)

Beginning of Fall 1999- Enrolls in MIT’s fall term on scholarship, starts Bachelors in Engineering– Age: 18

End of Spring 2000- Finishes Bachelors in Engineering– Age: 18

Beginning of Summer 2000- Starts Masters in Engineering– Age: 18

End of Fall 2000- Finishes Masters in Engineering– Age: 18 turning 19

Beginning of Spring 2001- Starts PhD in Engineering– Age: 19

Summer 2001- Works on PhD in Engineering– Age: 19

Fall 2001- Works on PhD in Engineering– Age: 19 turning 20

Feeling immense guilt for having his mother institutionalized, Spencer splits his attention between his Engineering studies and studying Schizophrenia independently. At the end of the Fall term at MIT, Spencer starts corresponding with a professor at Harvard University and is invited to help with a study on understanding Schizophrenia and the effects of different medications. He takes off both the Spring and Summer terms of 2002 in order to do said study.

Beginning of Spring 2002- Independent study– Age: 20

End of Summer 2002- Independent study– Age: 20

Beginning of Fall 2002- Resumes working on PhD in Engineering– Age: 20 turning 21

End of Spring 2003- Finishes PhD in Engineering– Age: 21

Beginning of Fall 2003- Starts Bachelors in Psychology at MIT– Age: 21 turning 22

Spencer goes to a seminar hosted by the BAU (Most likely with Gideon and Hotch), he’s very engaged and vocal during the seminar and catches Gideon’s attention.

Spring 2004- Spencer starts at the FBI academy– Age: 22

FBI academy is 4 months.

Summer 2004- Spencer joins the BAU after graduating from the academy– Age: 22

After joining the BAU, Spencer transfers his credit hours from MIT to a University in Washington D.C. to continue going to school part time.

End of Fall 2004- Finishes Bachelors in Psychology– Age: 22 turning 23

Most of Spencer’s attention is on his work in the BAU, so he slows way down on getting his degrees, and gets a degree in sociology both because it interests him and also because it’ll help with work.

Beginning of Spring 2005- Starts Bachelors in Sociology– Age: 23

End of Fall 2005- Finishes Bachelors in Sociology– Age: 23 turning 24

Beginning of Spring 2008- Starts Bachelors in Philosophy– Age: 26

End of Fall 2008- FInishes Bachelors in Philosophy– Age: 26 turning 27

Again: Breen Frazier has said that the line in 07.04 “Painless” about Spencer going to MIT was an error. I actually think it might be another way to show Spencer’s guilt over putting his mom in the psychiatric hospital- being so close without visiting might’ve made him feel even worse so he wanted to run away to a school across the country. 

Also I feel like Spencer having all these degrees shows that he didn’t really know what he was supposed to do with his intellect so he was just doing whatever interested him at the time until he met Gideon.

We are shown two articles (that I can remember) about Spencer college time frame:

There's one from 1997/1998, we are shown an article written about Spencer getting a Bachelor's degree, this would make him ~16. I’m not sure if it lists that it’s his first Bachelor’s degree- but I’m going to say that it’s just about the one he got for Chemistry which was his second Bachelors based on my timeline.

I don’t think it makes sense for Spencer to have done ~3/4 years of college before getting his first bachelors and then the other 6 or so years cramming the rest of his schooling? Eh, I don’t like it.

And there’s one in 04.08 “Memoriam” we are shown an article about Spencer receiving his first PhD at the age of 17. In my timeline he finishes his first PhD at the age of 16- which isn’t too far off so I’m choosing to believe that it’s a typo in the article (I know it’s kinda cheating but whatever).  

I had his PhD programs take around 2 years to complete because research and dissertations take time, no matter how speedy Spencer is.

If Spencer wanted to make any extra cash on the side, he could help with tutoring, work at the campus library, help coach any collegiate sports teams at the college, etc.

A lot of the things I added in this are just things that I thought of and don’t have any sources from the show (ex: Spencer doing school from home to help his mom, and the independent study thing from Spring 2002 to Summer 2002).

Again: a lot of this may be inaccurate, if there is anything you want to add or correct, feel free to do so. I spent only around 5 or so hours on this, it’s not perfect.

I love Spencer Reid. Thank you for coming to my TED talk. 

(if anyone is curious about how I write Spencer, my writing blog is @deepcreekvultures-writing )

[badbatchsprincess]

Heated ~ pt.21

Pt.1 ~ Pt.2 ~ Pt.3 ~ Pt.4 ~ Pt.5 ~ Pt.6 ~ Pt.7 ~ Pt.8 ~ Pt.9 ~ Pt.10 ~Pt.11 ~ Pt.12 ~ Pt.13 ~ Pt.14 ~ Pt.15 ~ Pt.16 ~ Pt.17 ~ Pt.18 ~ Pt.19 ~ Pt.20 ~ Pt.21 ~ Pt.22 ~ Pt.23 ~ Pt.24 ~ Pt.25

Masterlist

Summary: This is an ABO Bad batch!Poly x Omega Reader smut with a plot. This takes place as an AU before order 66. Y/N previously served under the 501st before being transferred to Special Forces 99. This is her adventure with these rowdy Alphas in a quickly changing universe.

THIS IS AN ABO AU ABOUT THE BAD BATCH (NO CANON OMEGA!) Due to the unfortunate situation of her name being Omega… Omega the child from the canon series is not going to be apart of this fanfic/porn with a plot. I feel obligated to put this warning in because it makes my skin crawl thinking anyone could make that mistake. 

Warnings: Smut! Short chapter my b.

IM NOT DEAD!!! woooo! Sorry there's been such a big break from my posting but I'm going to get back into finishing up this story and getting our precious pip back to her pack. Don't worry! And thanks to everyone sending messages and commenting you make my day and really help me stay encouraged to write. So thank you!

─ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ──── ♡ ─── ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ──

You stared at your reflection in the mirror, gazing at the somewhat hollow figure of yourself. 

The monstrous silver collar weighed heavily on your spirit and collarbones. 

You traced your fingers over the indents where you had used a butter knife in a futile attempt to pry it off. Stolen from the mess, of course—it had been confiscated immediately. (Imperials are no fun.)

This followed the explosive outburst after that dreadful meeting in Tarkin’s office. 

The fight you put up required multiple troopers to pin you down, with the help of Crosshair to calm you as they forced this constricting collar onto you. Your screams had echoed throughout the entire base like the roar of a Zillo beast.

That was two days ago.

You didn’t even have the strength to get out of bed. It was so dehumanizing to be reduced to this… breeding stock? 

You didn’t know. 

You couldn’t think about it without feeling sick to your stomach. It made you itch with rage. The fantasies of murdering Tarkin were becoming more gruesome by the hour.

The 104th tried to visit, but you just curled up in bed, trying not to cry. Their voices and concern only reminded you of the 501st. You did your best to stifle your grief. They left with forlorn expressions and a curt shrug from Crosshair when they asked when you’d come out again.

Crosshair tried to nudge you out of bed, but you just burrowed deeper into the blankets, determined to remain in solitude. He sighed and left you be, feeling your despair through the bond.

Now, here you stood in your apartment bathroom, wearing Crosshair’s clothing, poking at the reminder of your purpose here. 

Your neck was raw from tugging at the collar; Crosshair had smeared bacta on the open sores that morning, and you looked at the red healing lines. 

You were suddenly overcome with the need for your other alphas. You craved the security they provided. Even when you were on the run, doing strange jobs for Cid, you felt secure with them. 

You missed their warmth, their hands, their pleasure… your home. You just wanted to scent them again, curl up in your nest, and never leave.

You looked back in the mirror and ran your fingers over the Aurebesh engraved in the metal:

“Property of CT-9904.”

You stared into your own empty eyes and decided enough was enough. The Imperials were winning if they could break you.

Fascist fucks. 

You took a deep breath and steadied yourself, willing your spirit to lift. 

Enough moping. 

It’s time to fight.

Grabbing the leather tie belt from the counter, you wrapped it around the large shirt, tying it at the waist to resemble Jedi robes. Then you pushed yourself away from the sink and turned toward the main living space. You grabbed a pair of slippers, hit the door lock, and stepped out into the hallway, making your way to the training center.

Crosshair had been ordered to track down your pack and had to pretend nothing was different. His new team of stormtroopers were inexperienced and desperately needed Crosshair’s knowledge if they were going after the Bad Batch. He had been working with them for the past few days, preparing them for this high-risk mission.

It wasn’t long before the security detail filed in behind you, following Tarkin’s orders. Two 104th infantry men flanked both sides, keeping a respectful distance but serving as a reminder that you couldn’t run far without being caught. You chose to ignore that last detail, but whatever.

Omegas and Alphas pressed themselves against the walls to let you pass. This was the one change you noticed drastically since your little show in the cafeteria and your grand escape from the facility. You were not an omega to be trifled with. You noticed the other omegas didn’t dare meet your gaze. Good. Stay away.

You had a reputation to uphold.

Descending the metal stairs, you floated down the corridor to the training rooms. Inside were endless rows of workout equipment for the regs, but more importantly, the open training mat where Crosshair was running drills with his new squadron. He sensed you immediately and gave you a discerning glance before turning his attention back to his men. However, you scented the alpha you were looking for. On the viewing platform, Wolffe sat watching Crosshair in silence. You filed in next to him, sitting down in acknowledgment.

“It’s good you’re up,” he said, keeping his gaze fixed ahead.

You sighed. “Can’t let them win. Not even the small things.”

He nodded. “You’re right.”

You nodded in return. “Did it work?” he asked.

You nodded again. “Light turned green. It’s just a matter of time.”

“Good.” He smirked. “I heard all about it from my men.”

You stifled a laugh.

“You would have made a remarkable Republic spy,” Wolffe joked. “Missed opportunity.”

You hummed.

“So, you really had a thing with a reg?” Wolffe asked, turning to face you and leaning back on the bench.

“It was a long time ago,” you said, giving him a sidelong glance.

“Didn’t think regs were your type,” he gestured toward Crosshair with his chin.

“It wasn’t a relationship. Just an… understanding,” you explained.

“I get it.” Wolffe smirked, clearly remembering something fondly. “We may be clones, but we’re still men. Alphas at that… The Republic had a pretty big budget for bunker bunnies.”

You whipped your head around, wide-eyed.

“What?” he laughed. “Your boys didn’t tell you?”

You gawked. “No!”

He snorted. “Yeah, every permanent base, and sometimes they’d bring in a ship for extended encampments.”

You were floored. You had no idea. Then you looked at Crosshair, trying to picture shiny Cross, Hunter, Wrek, Tech, and Echo experiencing that for the first time. You giggled, knowing there was probably some trauma related to that topic.

“What?” Wolffe was amused with your musing. 

“I’m just thinking about my pack. Oh god. I can’t believe all of the 501st was getting down like that and I had no idea.” You buried your face in your hands and laughed. 

Wolffe laughed too, “You really didn’t know?” 

“No!” You shook your head, “I thought quarterlies was like random people!” 

Wolffe snorted, “No darling, there was a special sector just for the girls back in Coruscant. They had the whole floor to themselves. Hundreds of omegas.” 

You squealed, “Oh my god.” 

“Ya know, I recall seeing Echo and Crosshair there a lot now that I think about it. Even your Sergeant a few times I think.” 

If your jaw could hit the floor it would. 

“Yeah. They liked to pop the shinys early. Get them accustomed to being around omegas at an early stage. Nothing worse than the first rut ya know?” 

“And Kamino?” You scrunched your brows. 

“Yeah thats where the first ruts happen.” Wolffe said like it was obvious. 

“Maker.” You shook your head. Images of your pack loosing their virginity flooded your mind. You felt Crosshair’s curiosity spike the bond. He was probably wondering what had you feeling like that. You could feel his eyes on you from across the room.

“Is that not common for nat borns?” He asked curiously. 

“No Commander, it’s not.” You shook your head, “You usually just have it happen naturally, most go through the first heat alone. Then when you’re an adult you might find a partner.” 

“Hmm.” He pondered. 

You were overcome with images of a young Tech trying to understand his alpha instincts. Probably fumbling around confused… poor baby. You shook your head. 

Oh god… Hunter… poor thing with his hyperdrive senses. That must have been so overwhelming the first few times. 

Then you thought of Crosshair. There was no way young Crosshair was ever awkward. He probably knew exactly what to do from the start… that man was too cocky to be anything else. 

You knew he was a whore from the get go… you giggled to yourself.

You’ll never forget that time on one of your first missions with the batch, you saw the way he finessed an omega into banging in a bar bathroom with such ease. It had your mind reeling for days after that. 

You remembered having to rub one out in the marauder fresher to take the edge off after imagining him with that omega for hours. He had come back looking throughly fucked. His hair was mused, his skin glowing from sweat, and the strong alpha scent radiating off of him made the whole ship reek of Crosshair. The others carried on with dinner as usual but you couldn’t help but let your mind wander. That’s when your thoughts about your squad had started, actually. 

The thought made your body suddenly warm. 

Wolffe must have sensed your smell change as he peered at you softly. 

“Excuse me.” You said standing and walking towards the mat directly at your mate. Your guards stayed behind with their Commander while Crosshair ordered his squad to keep practicing their drills while he tailed after you. 

“What’s wrong?” He asked as you lead him over between a row of punching bags. 

You just grabbed this hand and slapped the door panel dragging him into the nearest supply closet and shutting the door behind you. 

The lights fluttered on as he peered down at you, confused by your sudden behavior. 

You felt your heart quicken seeing him in his all matte black imperial amor. It felt so wrong to be turned on by it but, damn did he look good. So tall, so masculine. So… Alpha. 

“What, omega?” His voice dropped an octave sensing your becoming flustered through the bond.

You looked up at him meeting his steely gaze. You felt your core pulse, “Echo said you all had developed feelings for me when I first transferred, but I never told you when it happened for me.” You felt your chest starting to heave trying to keep up with your sudden rush of arousal. 

His smell was crowding you in a delicious way, like a warm embrace. 

He narrowed his eyes at you and backed you slowly into the near by shelves feeling your pulsing through the bond. He could feel your desperation to cum. He could almost smell it. 

He raised a brow playfully. 

“Remember when we were on Nal Hutta picking up that weapons supply from that shady dealer?” You recounted feeling the steel shelving pressing up against your spine. 

“And you had tripped and fell into the baby sarlac hole?” His memory clearly differs from yours. 

You nodded, “My shoe had been chewed up and the others left you and me in that bar while they hunted down a pair of new boots for me?” 

“Always loosing your shoes huh ad’ika?” He smirked and joked.

“You picked up that omega at the bar.” 

He narrowed his eyes not sure where this was going but listened regardless. 

You panted feeling the heat radiating through the bond and the wetness growing in your panties, “When you finally found your way back to the marauder, I had finished up dinner with the others… You smelled so good and you looked so different. And after knowing what you were doing…”  You remembered the rush of heat that had flooded your cheeks that night. 

Crosshair ran a finger lightly along your jaw making you shudder against the shelves. 

“What about it, omega?” He trailed his fingers to your cheek where he rubbed your skin softly. He could feel the heat in your cheeks now. It made his trousers tighten. 

“Something had changed. I couldn’t get your scent out of my mind. I had to finger myself in the fresher just to get to sleep.” You admitted with a whisper. 

He flashed you his teeth in a wicked smile, “That wasn’t even two weeks after you transferred.” 

“I know.” You sighed as his hands ran down your sides spreading their strong warmth making you purr and flex into his touch. 

“You’ve been imagining me fucking you for all that time?” He asked reaching around to squeeze your bum. You mewled and reached for his breast plate. He slotted his leg between yours pinning your hips to the shelf. 

You nodded. 

“Poor thing.” He whispered. 

“I didn’t ever take advantage of quarterlies because I didn’t want anyone else.” You sighed into his lips. 

“You already knew you belonged to us ad’ika.” He claimed. 

You nodded pathetically. 

“Every mission. Every time you’d come back covered in mud or blaster residue.” You whimpered grinding yourself down onto his leg, “I felt bad hoping you’d need me to patch you up. I just liked being able to scent you.” 

He guided your hips up and down his thigh. You bit your bottom lip holding back your moans. 

“Why did you tell me this now?” He asked adding more pressure to your core watching your face scrunch up as the pleasure was bleeding into your system. 

“I just remembered.” You whimpered, “Then it made me horny again.” 

He chuckled, “It’s your heat coming love.” 

You groaned as a particularly nice ridge rubbed up against you, “Fuck.” Your head slumped against his shoulder. He used a hand to grab your hip helping to guide you along his thigh. 

“Why do you have to look so good in that?” You mumbled. 

“In what, love?” 

“The armor.” You whimpered leaning up to look at him with bleary eyes. 

He smiled and leaned down to kiss you. You moaned deepening the kiss desperately feeling your orgasm starting to approach. 

“You like it, huh?” He smirked pressing kisses to your forehead while he pushed your hips down harder against him. He loved the way you twitched and squirmed under his hands.

You nodded suddenly feel the crest of your orgasm. 

Then it all stopped. You whined as Crosshair pulled away only for a moment before flipping you around harshly and bending you over a stack of near by shipping crates. You gripped onto the cool steel as he flipped up the bottom of his shirt you were wearing and yanked your panties to the side before shoving his joggers down and pulling out his leaking cock. 

You bucked up against him feeling his tip rub through your folds. You let out a pathetic whimper as he continued to gather your slick… too slow for your liking. 

“Alp-“ you were cut off as he surged forwards filling you to the absolute brim. 

You both sighed feeling each other so closely and you tried your best to grind back against him but he continued on pinning you to the crates to create a steady rhythm with his hips. 

“You were always such a good little medic, cyar’ika.” He praised, “I also would be a little reckless sometimes just so I could feel your hands on me.” He ran his hand up your spine to your neck where he fisted the hair at your nape, “We all did.” 

He chuckled thrusting a little harder making you yelp, “Our little omega.” 

“Cross.” You whined pushing back against him. The need to come was all consuming and he, like the good alpha he is, could seem to feel it through the bond. He reached down between your legs and starting making circles against your clit making you jump from the pleasure. 

“Fuck.” You moaned barking down feeling the crest approaching. You also felt Crosshair start to tense up letting you know he was close. His energy was thrumming through the bond intensifying your own sensations making it nearly unbearable. 

Then finally, with a pinched yelp, you bit your lip harshly as you came. 

“Good girl.” He praised into your ear. 

You slumped against the shelves, letting him hold you up as you regained your footing. With the urge to mate now abated, you began to return to normal.

“It’s coming soon,” you said, looking up at Crosshair with worried eyes.

“I’d be lying if I said I wished we had more time,” he sighed, nuzzling your head. “My brothers will need enough time to make a plan.”

“They can do it, though, right?” You wondered, suddenly feeling skeptical.

“They can do it,” he said confidently. “I just don’t know how we can be ready.”

You nodded, understanding his concern. It was frustrating being on the inside and having no idea what was going on.

A ping broke the silence, making both you and Crosshair look down at his com.

“Nala Se wants you in her lab,” Crosshair said, sounding resigned.

You took a deep breath. This couldn’t be good.

“Try not to fight her,” Crosshair sighed, petting your hair and tucking it behind your ear.

“You’re not coming?” you asked, suddenly filled with anxiety.

“Only if you want me to.”

“I do.”

He nodded and then tilted his head toward the door.

You exited first, grabbing onto Crosshair’s arm as he walked the two of you to the lab. Fortunately, the walk was quick and short. Nala Se’s office was just inside the infirmary, where a few regs were getting their check-ups. A couple of mating bites were being cleaned and treated, while others had come in for deep scratches down their backs. Clearly, the regs had been busy.

It didn’t escape your notice that every single one of them turned to look as you passed by. Crosshair’s presence was intimidating enough, but they couldn’t help but be curious about his mate. You could smell their scents spike as you walked past, clearly intrigued by your unique smell. Some even tipped their noses up to get a better whiff.

Crosshair approached the private lab and opened the door, allowing you to step inside and leave the room of wandering eyes behind you.

“Y/N,” Nala Se’s floating voice made you tense.

You stared at her, keeping your grip on Crosshair.

Crosshair looked down at you before addressing Nala Se. “What did you need my mate for?”

“She’s been ordered to have her remaining birth control dissolved in anticipation of her upcoming heat.”

You couldn’t help but lean a little closer to your mate, feeling your anxiety increase.

“Shouldn’t it just dissolve on its own?” Crosshair questioned. “I’d like to avoid putting her through more stress than she’s already had.”

“While I would normally agree, these orders have come from the Admiral,” Nala Se explained. “He wants to be certain she’s fertile.”

Crosshair looked down at you again. Knowing you both had to go through with this, he gently nudged you forward, and you climbed up onto the exam table. Crosshair stayed close, while Nala Se prepared the injector.

You nuzzled into Crosshair’s chest, and he soothed you with gentle back rubs. You felt Nala Se approach and press the injector to the implant site. With a quick jab, the dissolver was administered, and you felt the cooling medication spread under your skin. You flinched slightly when she pulled away, and Crosshair quickly nuzzled your cheek to keep you still. A small badge was applied, and then you were effectively dismissed.

“Once her heat begins, we will need to be informed,” Nala Se reminded you as you practically yanked Crosshair out of the lab.

In mere seconds, your scenting abilities came to life. Everything around you seemed to brighten. Crosshair’s heady scent enveloped you, followed by the unmistakable smell of regs. It was overstimulating.

You winced as you entered the infirmary. Crosshair noticed and knelt down to get a good look at your wild eyes, sensing your panic through the bond.

“Is it happening?” he asked, looking worried.

You shook your head. “No, no. I just… I can smell everything.”

“Let’s get you back,” Crosshair said, standing.

“Actually, I require your mate for one other test,” Nala Se said, appearing with her holo pad.

“It can’t wait?” Crosshair snarled.

You patted him gently on the shoulder, reminding him to stay calm and that you were okay.

You followed the long-necked alien back into her office, letting Crosshair remain at the door like a glorified bodyguard.

“I require a sample of your DNA,” Nala Se explained, leaving you to stand in the middle of the sterile white office.

“Blood?” you asked.

“Yes,” she blinked before grabbing her tool.

You held out your hand, letting her draw blood from your palm.

“Why are you doing this, Nala Se?” you questioned, watching her take your sample and not the sequencer. “Why would you help these people?”

“The Empire destroyed my home, and they’re threatening my loved ones,” she deadpanned. “I’m not here of my own volition.”

You were shocked she answered at all. You had always thought she agreed to help because of the money promised to the Kaminoans by the Republic. You had no idea they had destroyed everything. You didn’t know she was a prisoner herself.

You nodded. “Then that makes two of us.”

─ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ──── ♡ ─── ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ──

Sorry this chapter is so short. I'm getting back into the swing of writing with my schedule, and according to my outline this was going to be a short/filler chapter anyways. Buttttt don't worry I'll be posting more regularly again.

Taglist: @substantial-exposure

@rains-on-kamino

@minimissmoo

@z-and-the-batboys

@aynavaano

@9902sgirl

@sideofhorny

@sxftiebee

@booksandtitts-blog

@subbing-for-clones

[bucksdaffy]

Oliver Stark's Social Media Activity

I’m not sure why I’m writing this. I’m not even certain if I’m supposed to think about it in such detail. My goal is not to psychoanalyze Oliver (though I’m aware that this is what I am going to be doing in some way). I don’t know him personally, and I don’t know his thoughts. I’m missing a lot of crucial information that is necessary to explain the way things are, so ultimately, I’m going to make many assumptions.

That being said, I’m not here to excuse or condemn Oliver’s behavior. I’m not here to tell you how you’re supposed to feel regarding his social media activity. I’m here to offer a perspective—a perspective that is ultimately my personal view and makes sense to me, but can have no bearing on Oliver’s reality.

This is going to be a long post. I wanted to gather my thoughts before the premiere because I feel that quite a few of my assumptions will be proven either right or wrong as season 8 progresses. I want to return to this post and see how accurate I was about certain things, so this post is mostly for my future self. You don’t have to read it!

Preliminary context

Oliver Stark is an actor portraying a character named Evan “Buck” Buckley on the TV series 9-1-1. As of Season 7, Buck was confirmed to be bisexual after experiencing his first same-sex kiss with Tommy Kinard (played by Lou Ferrigno Jr.). After the episode aired, Oliver expressed excitement and pride in portraying a bisexual character on several occasions, both in interviews and on his official Instagram account.

(x. x. x. x.)

Oliver has also spoken positively about (Buck)Tommy and Lou in his interviews.

(x. x.)

Oliver also recently uploaded a video to his Instagram story, reiterating how proud he is to be part of bisexual representation on TV. (x.)

So, what's the problem?

Many supporters of Buck’s current storyline with Tommy feel that Oliver is not as enthusiastic about it as he previously claimed, due to his silence on the matter on his official Instagram account.

After episode 7x04 aired, Oliver made an effort to like a couple of BuckTommy fan arts on Instagram. He also vaguely mentioned in a comment section that his favorite scene with Bobby in Season 7 was the one where Bobby, among other things, approved of Tommy as Buck’s partner, and he only interacted once with official BuckTommy content. Beyond that, there hasn’t been much else. At the same time, he seemed more engaged in sharing stills of Buddie (the fan-favorite pairing of Buck and his heterosexual friend Eddie) and liking some Buddie-related posts. I want to stress, though, that this, too, wasn’t a frequent occurrence.

As filming for Season 8 continues, Oliver hasn’t posted, shared, or liked anything related to (Buck)Tommy or Lou, even though it is known that Buck and Tommy will continue their relationship into Season 8. Fans have found this especially upsetting, as Buddie shippers use it as ammunition to suggest that Oliver doesn’t enjoy this storyline and would rather it finish quickly, projecting their personal feelings onto an actor because it’s easier that way. After months of constant harassment from Buddie shippers towards anyone showing support for Buck and Tommy’s relationship, it is quite disheartening for fans to realize they are on their own and that the actor involved doesn’t care to call out the problematic behavior of such a vocal portion of the fandom.

Oliver's history with the fandom

In the past, Oliver was active on Twitter, interacting with fans, reading their theories, and replying to their tweets. However, that is no longer the case. Oliver deactivated his Twitter account on May 22, 2021, following this series of tweets:

Here is some further explanation for why that happened.

Okay, what are you getting at?

Well, I guess here’s my perspective on this.

I think Oliver has spoken beautifully about Buck’s storyline, which began in Season 7. Although he has primarily emphasized Buck’s bisexuality (which is great—Buck’s sexuality isn’t tied to one person), he has also spoken positively about (Buck)Tommy and Lou, as mentioned earlier. He has never spoken ill of them, either officially or casually. We can also see how smiley and comfortable he appears around Lou in the Access Hollywood interview they did together. Overall, there’s no indication that Oliver harbors any negative feelings toward Buck’s current love interest or the actor portraying him.

I do, however, share the fans’ frustrations regarding his silence on Instagram. It is certainly disheartening to see Buddie shippers “rewarded” for their absolutely vile behavior toward anyone enjoying Buck and Tommy’s relationship. It’s especially frustrating that their behavior is not being actively called out; they continue to be unabashedly cruel because, aside from fellow fans, no one is there to criticize them. No message is a message, and Buddie shippers interpret this as an endorsement of their behavior, allowing them to feel comfortable spreading homophobic rhetoric.

This was particularly evident when, just last night, Oliver spoke out against people shipping him with Ryan. It reinforces the notion that he is aware of the comments being made on his Instagram and that of the show, yet he chooses not to comment on certain topics. I believe fans of Buck and Tommy's relationship have every right to be upset about this. Being selective about what you choose to call out sends a message, whether intended or not.

That being said, I personally think it’s still too early to jump to conclusions. I believe there are several factors at play regarding why Oliver doesn’t speak up about Buck and Tommy on his Instagram. During Season 7, he wasn’t even sure if Lou would extend his contract for the next season. It’s possible he didn’t want to make any kind of statement on something he wasn’t sure would last—which, in my mind, is completely fair. Given his concern about being accused of leading fans on, I’m not surprised he would choose to remain silent.

Additionally, as 7x06 ended with Buck and Tommy still together, and 7x09 opened with them still in a relationship—much to the disappointment of Buddie shippers—Lou began receiving a significant amount of hate online. Not only was he threatened, but his family was targeted as well. Following the end of Season 7, he withdrew from social media, and as of the premiere date, he still hasn’t returned. The filming of Season 8, particularly the big opener disaster that is about to unfold, has also been kept very hush-hush, along with the main characters’ personal storylines. Only recently did we receive official confirmation that Tommy would be back.

To me, it’s a no-brainer why he didn’t address Buck and Tommy’s relationship until the new Season 8 interviews. Furthermore, I believe he’s being respectful of Lou’s decision to stay away from social media (at least during this hiatus), just as everyone else working on the show has respected it. We’ll see if anything changes as Season 8 continues to air.

I also wouldn’t disregard the possibility that he might be protective of Lou, especially given the hate that all of Buck’s past love interests’ actresses have received. He may want to avoid exposing Lou to that kind of negativity—at least on their official Instagrams—keeping things relatively hate-free (though I won’t comment on whether I think that’s effective, but you can probably guess my stance). I believe this is also a valid reason for not promoting Buck and Tommy’s relationship much on his social media.

There’s also the point that Oliver is not responsible for the fandom’s behavior. Yes, his silence on the matter may encourage cruelty from the Buddie side, but Oliver has repeatedly tried to talk sense into them during interviews and while he was still active on Twitter. Unfortunately, those efforts didn’t help. Just like Tim Minear calling them out for sending him death threats didn’t yield any results. Sometimes, speaking up isn’t enough.

But hey! What better way to convey his perspective than through how the storyline of Season 8 unfolds? The fact that Oliver does not object to acting alongside Lou and that Buck and Tommy’s relationship continues into Season 8 should serve as sufficient proof that he’s fine with it. Yes, actors don’t decide on storylines, but they do have a say in them, and we know that Tim Minear doesn’t force anyone to do something they don’t want to do. I’m also confident that Oliver will continue to positively discuss Buck and Tommy’s relationship in his interviews. What he does on his Instagram account doesn’t and shouldn’t matter; it has no bearing on the show.

If my assumptions are correct, I believe that as Season 8 progresses, we will see Oliver becoming a bit more open to interacting with Buck and Tommy content on Instagram. To be honest, I don’t see any reason not to, unless things eventually go sideways or he truly doesn’t care about the Buddies’ hate (in which case, yikes). However, if he cares but still doesn’t speak up in one way or another, I can’t lie—personally, I would feel a little disappointed. I value authenticity and the importance of speaking your mind while not allowing others to trample on your boundaries, and, it's probably my fault, but I currently hold Oliver to a high standard. It would be disappointing to me, to say the least, if someone didn’t adhere to these values. I do acknowledge that this is just my perspective, though; I don’t speak for the entirety of the fandom—I speak for myself.

That said, I wouldn’t blame him if he decided to turn off or limit the comments or even got a social media manager and stopped engaging with any content, whether it be Buddie or BuckTommy. Honestly, for his peace of mind, I actually wish he would. I’d prefer any approach over being selective in favor of a loud portion of the fandom that engages in harmful behaviors.

All in all, the prospect of Season 8 makes me hopeful that we will see a change. However, if we don’t, let’s remember what matters most: the show itself. Ultimately, that’s how we, BuckTommy fans, are being rewarded—by having canon. That's what truly counts.

[halfusek]

Something inky this way comes! The Ink Demonth emerges once again!

The Ink Demonth is a 31-day event dedicated to the game Bendy and the Ink Machine (and other games associated with the Bendy universe). It’s based on daily themes. As long as your creation involves elements from the game along with any interpretation of the respective day’s theme – it counts!

You don’t have to create something for each day, make as many creations as you’d like. However, if you manage to do all 31 of them, you can submit a form to receive a little gift (drawing request)! In the form, you will have to provide a link to each of your posted event submissions (it doesn’t have to be Tumblr, just a site that’s publically accessible!).

Here is the link to the form (it will be opened from September 1st to September 30th):

Tag your creations with #The Ink Demonth and #Bendy and the Ink Machine. It’s important if you want to have your entry reblogged by me, which I’m going to do to everything I’ll see in this tag. (So don’t @ me, just tag it with the event’s tag and the game’s name. It’s possible that your post may not show up in the tags, if you notice that I’m not reblogging your entries for a longer while, feel free to DM them directly to me on Tumblr. My focus will be mainly on Tumblr, I may interact with posts on other sites but it is going to be with whatever I run into, as this event is Tumblr-focused. Feel free to post on other sites too, though!)

(Due to special circumstances in my life I might be especially slow this August with reblogging stuff, so if you notice that I'm not reblogging anything at all, I might just be having a busy day and will get on it when I'm free! <3)

(And, though I think it goes without saying, if I notice a post containing something I consider harmful content, I will not reblog it and will warn the creator of such content that, depending on the case, they cannot continue to take part in the event with content like this or perhaps even not at all.)

Remember to tag only the finished entries, so the tag isn’t clogged with WIPs!

You can create whatever you’d like! Draw a picture! Write a fic! Do a video edit! Take a cosplay photo! Anything you can come up with that is a creative interpretation of that day’s theme!

(Don’t try to „cheat the system”, though – don’t submit a, let’s say, straight line for each day, I will notice this kind of spam and remember: spamming is a terrible sin. You can make an entry that covers a few themes but as long as you don’t create 31 things, the gift will not be granted to you.)

The event starts on the 1st of August and ends on the 31st. Although, don’t worry if you’re too busy in August, late entries are always welcome! (…for reblogging, as for drawing gifts I’m going to give all of you an extra month, so if you’re aiming for that, the end of September is your deadline.) (I usually also give an extra month before for preparing during July but this year I’ve been too busy to make it for July so apologies!)

Why in August? I figured that since August is the month on Joey’s calendar in his apartment and August is the month during which BatIM takes place, it should be the one! 

Please, make sure to tag appropriate trigger/content warnings!

Thank you for taking your time to read this. Reblogs are appreciated in order to get the word out.

Have fun everyone! 💛🖤

You can view the text version of the full month under the cut~

1. Pencil

2. Friendship

3. Creator

4. Choice

5. Benevolent

6. Machine

7. Flow

8. Pen

9. Failure

10. Creation

11. Reason

12. Angel

13. Children

14. Puddles

15. Color

16. Legacy

17. Eye

18. Purpose

19. Ghost

20. Factory

21. City

22. Radio

23. Contraband

24. Keep

25. Cycle

26. Demon

27. Pit

28. Devour

29. Meat

30. Duck

31. Revival

[w1ldthoughts]

AJ’s Analysis- Week Three Preview⚡️: Chargers (2-0) at Steelers (2-0)

Disclaimer: I am a Chargers fan so this will obviously be biased BUT I have been a football fan for the last 12 years and absolutely love dissecting the game and making comments so I figured I would give this a try! Please feel free to make comments and let me know your thoughts in my inbox!

Players to watch

Los Angeles

#10 Justin Herbert QB- Oregon- Year 5🩵

14/20 and threw for 130 yards, 2 touchdowns and an interception last week. Suffered a high ankle sprain but did finish out the game and has played through more pain so I would be surprised if he didn’t gut it out and play tomorrow.

#27 JK Dobbins RB- Ohio State- Year 5

Leading the NFL in rushing yards. Looking to add to his recent dominance this week.

#26 Asante Samuel Jr. CB- Year 4

Haven’t heard his name much yet this season (7 total tackles, one assisted) so I’m sure he’s due for a breakout game. Played in all 17 games last year with 63 total tackles and 2 picks.

Entire Offensive Line

My brothers might be in for a long-ish afternoon and with a quarterback who’s mobility is sure to be limited if he plays so keep an eye on them and what the pressure looks like. Good luck to them.

#70 Rashawn Slater LT

#75 Bradley Bozeman C

#76 Joe Alt RT

#77 Zion Johnson LG

#79 Trey Pipkins III RG

Will Brenden Rice make his debut this week and how will the WR room do?

Steelers

#2 Justin Fields QB- Ohio State- Year 4

First year as a steeler after being kicked to the curb by the Chicago bears this past offseason to draft Caleb Williams and take away most of our offensive weapons like Keenan Allen and Gerald Everett. But moving on, he deserved better and I hope Pittsburgh is a wonderful fresh start for him.

Went 13/20 last week throwing for 117 yards and one touchdown. Dual threat QB who rushed for 1,143 yards in 2022 so we need to watch out for that too.

#22 Najee Harris RB- Alabama- Year 4

Has yet to score a touchdown this season so we should keep it that way. 17 carries for 69 yards last week but did have a 1000 yard rushing season last year with 255 carries, 1,035 yards and 8 touchdowns.

#14 George Pickens WR

Also has yet to score a TD this season. Two catches for 29 yards last week but had 63 catches for 1,140 yards and 5 touchdowns last year so I would keep an eye on his production tomorrow as they continue to open up their offense.

#97 Cameron Heyward DT- Ohio State- Year 14

He is only on here because I am messy. Last time these teams played Cam basically used Justin’s body to stand up and it looked like he punched him in the stomach. Seven tackles so far this season, 33 tackles and 2 sacks last season in 11 games played.

*Here is the 2021 play for reference*

#90 TJ Watt LB- Wisconsin- Year 8

Six Pro Bowls. Four time DPOY finalist, one win. Four time First team all-pro. 3 seasons leading the league in sacks and tied for most sacks in one season with 22.5. 7 tackles and 2 sacks on the season so far. Will be an issue and make his presence known.

#39 Minkah Fitzpatrick S- Alabama- Year 8

Four Pro Bowls. Three time first team all-pro. NFL interceptions co-leader in 2022. 14 total tackles, no picks so far on the year.

[tch-tchtchkaa]

Farming Guide for SoS:AWL

Decided to make another save file for testing purposes. Mostly focusing on 1st year crops and fields and trying to see exactly how long certain crops needed to grow. I found out some nifty stuff! Please note that I might end up editing some things if I find better data.

The different soil qualities have NO EFFECT on crop quality/speed

I believe it's something that only determines which crops can go in whichever field (all 1st year crops can grow in any soil quality, I think hybrids need good quality and up)

Fertilizer lasts for 10 hours

I believe the countdown starts once the animation is finished

4 bags of Fertilizer for A rank 8 bags of fertilizer for S rank (crops only)

This is at least consistent with tomatoes and watermelons. I tried logging how many bags of fertilizer for tree crops but I got through about 40 on the free apple tree and didn't get A rank by Fall Yr1 so I'm a liiiitle intimidated.

Crops only advance to different stages at 12:00pm and 12:00am

From what I can tell the game checks at 12pm and 12am if the crop has been in the ground/watered for enough time to grow to the next stage. I'm going to refer to these 12 hour chunks as "cycles." Due to this particular system, even if you plant crops a few hours apart, they will naturally sync up to the closest cycle. For example:

It's Spring 1 6:00am. You plant a Tomato seed. The game checks at Spring 1 12:00pm if the seed has been planted/ watered for long enough. 6 hours is not enough for the Tomato seed to progress to the next stage so it stays in the "planted" growth stage. The next time the game checks is Spring 2 12:00am. The Tomato seed has been planted/ watered for 18 hours, which is enough for it to progress to the next growth stage

Water lasts ~ 21 and 1/2 hours (from "just watered" to "bone dry" )

Haven't fully tested if the different water amounts impact growing time. If they are kept bone dry they won't progress to the next stage even if the plant goes through multiple 12 hour cycles. There's four levels of watered:

Dark Brown -> Brown (Takes around 6 hours and 45 minutes) -> Light brown (Takes around 5 hours and 30 minutes) -> Tan (Takes around 8 hours and 15 minutes)

Crop growth (Spring)

Tomato

Seed: 10 hours (1.75 hours water) (1 cycle)

Sprout: 24 (9.5~10 hours watered) (2 cycle)

Small trellis: 24 hours (2 cycles)

Big trellis: 24 hours (2 cycles)

Flower: 24 hours (2 cycles)

Green Tomatoes: 24 hours (2 cycles)

Harvestable

Total Time: 5.5 days (11 cycles)

((Plant on Spring 1st before 2:00PM and your first Tomatoes will be available to harvest Spring 7 12:00am))

Watermelon

Seed: 22 hours (2 cycles)

Sprout 36 hours (3 cycles)

Tiny vine: 36 hours (3 cycles)

Big vine: 24 hours (2 cycles)

Yellow Flowers: 24 hours (2 cycles)

Watermelons of Deception: 24 hours(2 cycles)

Harvestable

Total Time: 7 days (14 cycles)

((Plant on Spring 1st before 2:00PM and your first Watermelons will be available to harvest Spring 8 12:00pm))

Strawberries

Seed: 10 hrs (1 cycle)

Sprout: 24 hours (2 cycle)

Three Leaf Sprout: 36 hours (3 cycles)

Six Leaf Sprout: 36 hours (3 cycles)

Flowers: 24 Hours (2 cycles)

Budding Fruits: 24 hours (2 cycles)

Harvestable

Total time: 6.5 days (13 cycles)

((Plant on Spring 1st before 2:00PM and your first Strawberries will be available to harvest Spring 8 12:00am))

Potato

Seed: 22 hours (2 cycles)

Sprout: 36 hours (3 cycles)

Many Leaves: 36 hours (3 cycles)

Bigger Many Leaves: 48 hours (4 cycles)

Flowers: 24 hours (2 cycles)

Harvestable

Total time 7 days (14 cycles)

((Plant on Spring 1st before 2:00PM and your first Potatoes will be available to harvest Spring 8 12:00pm))

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Let me know if this is helpful to anyone else. I'll update this post if need be and probably make this into a little series :3

((Also apologies if there's formatting issues, made this post on Mobile cause I'm on vacation))

[lavastories]

UPDATE!!!Everything I’m Currently Reading to Completed to Everything on my Interactive TBR!

LOL, brace yourself guys this is gonna be a pretty long list from all of my interactive platforms across the grid. This will be going by apps with list of stories.

What I completed reading will be in red crossed out. What I’m currently reading will be in green. What’s on my TBR will be in pink. And what I’m considering to read will be in orange. And what I’m unsure about will be in purple. And what I’ll drop reading will be in blue. And undecided will be in black.

Romance Club

1. And The Haze Will Take Us

2. 7 Brothers

3. Astrea’s Broken Heart

4. The One: Vol 2

5. Garden of Eden

6. Soulless

7. W: Time Catcher

8. Song of the Crimson Nile

9. Elite Tag

10. The Desert Rose

11. Vying for Versailles

12. Psi

13. The One: Vol 1

14. Hell and High Water

15. Theodora

16. The Flower from Tiamat’s Fire

17. Heart of Trespia

18. Gladiator Chrronicles

19. Seduced by the Rythum

20. Arcanum

21. Shadows of Sanitfour

22. Sophie’s Ten Wishes

23. Path of the Valkyrie

24. Love from Outer Space

25. Dracula. A Love Story

26. Legend of the Willow

27. Wave Patrol

28. Queen in 30 Days

29. Sails in the Fog

30. Heaven’s Secret- Requiem

31. Kali: Flame of Samsara

32. Love, Sin, & Evil: Vol 1

33. Chasing You 2

34. Heaven’s Secret 2 (Currently rereading for LI)

35. Kali: Call of Darkness

36. On Thin Ice

37. Sins of London

38. Rage of the Titans

39. Heaven’s Secret

40. Chasing You

41. My Hollywood Story

42. Moonborn

43. The Thunderstorms Saga

CHAPTERS (Keep in mind this app has SOOOO many books, so I’ll be putting the one’s I’ve started, all 27 books. I see to which ones I’ll be continuing, finished read, on my TBR, or not going to continue.)

1. Paying My Dues - Story by ME

2. Knocked Up By the Hockey Team

3. Bride of Anubis

4. Bad Boy Blues

5. Dangerous Guilty Pleasure - User Story

6. My Best Friend’s Baby

7. Having the Convict’s Baby

8. I Lost My Innocence to the Mafia Boss

9. Slashes In The Snow

10. Hot Hot Hate

11. Ruined

12. Pregnant by my Ex’s Dad

13. Addicted

14. My First Time - User Story

15. Our Story - User Story

16. The Darkest Kiss

17. Emergency Engagement

18. Night Prince 3: Bound by Flames

19. Love In the Deep End

20. COLE

21. Seven Day Fiancé

22. Burn for Me

23. The Dark Ones

24. Promise Me - User Story

25. Nico: A Mafia Romance

26. HALO

27. Waking up Pregnant

Choices (For the sake of the post, I’ll keep the books for this general and away from the VIP books. However, only will have the books of the VIP books that became wide release)

1. The Ghost of Us

2. BloodBound Series

3. The Royal Romance Series

4. The Nanny Affair Series

5. Rules of Engagement Series

6. Open Heart Series

7. Laws of Attraction Series

8. Roommates With Benefits

9. The Royal Masquerade

10. With Every Heartbeat

11. Rising Tides

12. Hot Shot

13. Alpha

14. Dirty Little Secrets

15. The Billionaire’s Baby

16. Surrender

17. Untameable

18. Shipwrecked

19. Kiss of Death

20. Wolf Bride

21. Witness: A Bodyguard Romance

22. Endless Summer Series

23. Hero

24. The Heist: Monaco

25. The Phantom Agent

26. Most Wanted

27. Across the Void

28. Ship of Dreams

29. Desire and Decorum Series

30. A Courtesan of Rome

31. Distant Shores

32. The Duchess Affair

33. Murder at Homecoming

34. High School Series

35. My Two First Loves

36. Ride-or-die: A Bad Boy Romance

37. The Elementalists Series

38. HSS: Class Act Series

39. Immortal Desires Series

40. Wake the Dead

41. It Lives Series

42. Nightbound

44. Haunting of Braidwood Manor

45. Perfect Match Series

46. Foreign Affairs

47. Mother of the Year

48. Bachelorette Party

49. Kindred

50. Blades of Light and Shadow Series

51. The Cursed Heart Series

52. The Crown & Flame Series

53. Guinevere

54. Baby Bump Series

55. First Comes Love

56. A Very Scandalous Proposal

57. LoveHacks Series

58. Passport to Romance

59. Along Came Treble

60. Red Carpet Diaries Series

61. America’s Most Eligible Series

62. Hot Couture

63. Platinum

64. Slow Burn

65. Queen B Series

66. The Freshman Series

67. Wishful Thinking

68. Getaway Girls

69. The Deadliest Series

70. Crimes of Passion Series

71. Veil of Secrets

72. The Unexpected Heriess

73. Big Sky Country Series

74. Ms. Match

75. Save the Date

76. The Princess Swap

77. Home for the Holidays

78. Guarded

79. Hearts on Fire Series

80: Open Heart Series

Episode (So just like Chapters, keeping it close to my history. Because there is so many books)

1. The Mafia Bride

2. Eat Me Up

3. Flirting with the Villian

4. Barely Mine

5. Rule Breaker

6. Tempting Devil

7. Playing Princess

8. Blood Lust

9. Pregnant by a Vampire: The Curse

10. The Gamer Girl

11. Love Life

12. It’ll Be Our Secret

13. Feel Me

14. VAMPS & HUMANS

15. Behind His Mask

16. Unexpectedly Expecting

17. Kidnapped by a Prince

Journeys (This app specifically is more like the more stories you read the more books you’ll have access to. So, I’ll list the ones I have so far.)

1. Linda Brown Series

2. Recipe of Love

3. Don’t Forget Me

4. Love Lessons

5. Vampyra

6. #3SUM

My Candy Love (This app is pretty much one story but progressing with the MC life, which I love!)

1. My Candy Love: High School

2. My Candy Love: College Life

3. My Candy Love: Adulting

5. My Candy Love: Alternate Life

6. My Candy Love: Next Gen

Another World’s History (Wasn’t long since I discovered this app. Fairly new to me like some others that will be in this post but it’s great.)

1. My Name Is Hope

2. Neoxites: Child of Light

3. Codex of Consistency

4. Speculum

5. Parallels

6. Chimera

Forbidden Fruit (This app is very new. They only have 4 books so far. And I haven’t gotten around to reading any of them. So they are all on my TBR)

1. The Legacy of Rosefield

2. Undermind

3. Ghostpice

4. Daughter of the North Wind

League of Dreamers (Discovered this app not too long ago.)

1. Laws of the Beast

2. Wondering Spirit

3. Lullaby of Witches

4. Tablet of Isis

5. The Seal of Nostradammus

6. Silence of the Sea

7. Blooming Garden

8. Chronicles of Ark Dryden

9. Gates of Samhain

YourStoryLand (Discovered this app just recently, and it’s also fairly new as well. Most of the books are on my TBR and my not sure list)

1. Rock Wave

2. Audrey’s Dairy

3. Blue Abuss

4. Behind The Wall

5. The Lily of the Sands

6. City of Nightmares

Real Love (This app freshly discovered with 4 books. Haven’t started any of the books yet. Most are on the TBR.)

1. Look Around

2. Lame

3. The Codex of a Chess Player

4. Empire of Shadows

Seven Hearts Stories (This app recently made 2 years with 8 books. I honestly do like this app and have started reading one book from this app.)

1. The Deadly Biome

2. Illusion of Fame

3. Legend of the Celestials

4. The Era of Fatum

5. The Villain’s Last Wish

6. Mission Fortune

7. The Heart of Atlantean

8. Bride for a Vampire

TWISTMAX! (This app I freashly discovered just last week. Already started one book from there. And I got most on my TBR.)

1. Billionaire’s Revenge

2. Happily Ever After

3. The Boy Next Desk

4. Love & Scandal

5. Ace!

6. My Prince

7. Princess Escape

8. Touched by Love

9. The Prince’s Consultant

10. Threads of Desire

11. Love to Hate

12. All His Secrets

13. About Last Night

14. The Price of Polanco

15. Surprise Husband

16. Tutoring the Football Star

17. Freshman Flirt

18. Living With Guys

19. Undercover Lover

20. Broadway Baby

21. Forbidden Island

22. His Melody

23. Hometown Hookup

24. Lone Star Lovers

25. Go Fur Gold

26. Blood Red Moon

27. Stuck in the Past

28. A Powerful Choice

29. Handcuff Him!

30. Sultry on Set

31. Seduce Me, Senator

32. Chef’s Kiss

33. Dirty Work

34. Cold Case Chemistry

Dream Zone (Also discovered this last week. Haven’t started a story from here yet. So wee will leave all of the stories undecided.)

1. Hostel Story Series

2. Singles in Your Area

3. Half Human Series

4. Wildest Dreams Series

5. Behind the Counter Series

6. Teaching Undercover Series

7. Going Places Series

8. Incognito Mode Series

9. The Impossible Game Series

10. Devil’s Deal Series

11. Project Prometheus Series

12. Rogue Gang Series

13. Man for Hirer Series

14. Ubers Series

15. Time and Time Again Series

16. Colorblind Series

17. My Bloody Classmates Series

18. The Lookalikes Series

19. Honeywood Series

20. Family Business Series

21. Therapy Sessions Series

And the rest of the stories I read are single story apps which are…

1. Havenless

2. Dangerous Fellows

3. Killing Kiss

4. Henri’s Secret

5. Uncoven

I do plan to keep this list and update it with time. But I am happy I have this list so I can update as I go and keep ya’ll up to date. But this is going to be hella fun. Feel free to have this list if you are also using the same app as myself.

[pinbones]

Free Grump crochet pattern!

Ravelry link

Pattern is also under the cut, but there are fewer photos due to Tumblr limits.

My grumpus base pattern is finally done! It's up on Ravelry as a free download in the link above. This pattern was actually fun to create, so I might make more in future.

Included:

- the base Grump (unchanged, it will create the basic Filbo Fiddlepie body type)

- a few different tooth patterns and advice for your own dental config

- extra details: 2 sizes of horns and a fluffy tail

- lil strabby (can change colour for white strabby, razzby, or black razzby)

With a few edits (such as torso and limb length), this pattern can create many different sizes and shapes of Grumpus.

If anyone makes one using this pattern, I'd love to see it!

PATTERN BELOW:

Note: Your DK yarn can be switched out for larger or smaller yarn, and this will change the size of the resulting Grumpus. Make sure to use a slightly smaller hook than the yarn label recommends for the best amigurumi gauge. I used DK and a 3.5mm hook.

Note: This contains instructions of how to make level-jawed Grumpuses, suitable for level or underbite Grumps. A little tucking can make a small overbite possible, but if your Grumpus has a significant overbite, their face would require a different shape.

Note: This pattern will create a Grump with a basic Filbo Fiddlepie body type. See the 'optional' section at the bottom for edits. If you want a drastically altered Grump, this is possible to make with a few edits, but I recommend practicing by making a basic one first following the instructions before you consider large changes in order to reduce errors.

You will need to know:

- how to make single crochets and slip stitches in the round

- how to increase and decrease

- how to attach parts

- how to add simple embroidery (optional)

Some parts are fiddly. This is not a pattern for absolute beginners, but should be possible for most crocheters.

You will need DK yarn in the following:

- in your chosen fur colour (less than one ball)

- in dark grey or another inner mouth colour (way less than one ball)

- in white (way less than one ball)

- in black (small amount)

- in your chosen nose colour (small amount)

Optional yarn:

- chosen claw colour, probably same as nose (small amount)

- chosen horn colour, probably same as nose (way less than one ball)

- red for the Strabby (small amount)

- green for the Strabby (small amount)

You will also need:

A 3.5mm hook

Stuffing/polyfill (I draw from a pillow that ripped)

Scissors

A darning needle

If you have them, pins help a lot

MOUTH DISC (dark grey, black, or another inner mouth colour)

1. Put 8sc into a magic ring (or chain 2 and put 8sc into the second chain from the hook) [8 stitches]

2. 1inc x8 [16]

3. (1sc, 1inc) x8 [24]

4. (2sc, 1inc) x8 [32]

5. (3sc, 1inc) x8 [40]. Finish off, you don't need a long tail because it will be tucked inside. Fold in half with the last stitch at one edge and put aside for later.

(Note: The wrong side of the piece should face inside the Grump, so it should be the outside of the angle, but it doesn't really matter.)

BODY (your chosen fur colour)

1. Put 6sc into a magic ring (or chain 2 and put 6sc into the second chain from the hook) [6 stitches]

2. 1inc x6 [12]

3. (1sc, 1inc) x6 [18]

4. (2sc, 1inc) x6 [24]

5. (3sc, 1inc) x6 [30]

6. (4sc, 1inc) x6 [36]

7. (5sc, 1inc) x6 [42]

8-14. Sc around (7 rounds) [42]

15. Put your hook through the next stitch of the body and up into the final stitch of the mouth piece. Slip stitch (not too tightly) across for a total of 20 stitches. Now half of the mouth disc should be attached to the body. Leaving half of the mouth disc unworked, sc around the remaining 22 body stitches. [42]

16. Sc across only the remaining 20 mouth stitches. Rejoin on the body and sc across the remaining 22 body stitches. The whole mouth should now be inside the Grumpus, though it will look odd at this point. [42]

17. In the back loop only, sc across the next 20 stitches (across the lip). In both loops, sc across the remaining 22 stitches. [42]

18-32. Sc around (15 rounds). [42]

Stuff as you go. Ensure there is stuffing in the head.

33. (5sc, 1dec) x6 [36]

34. (4sc, 1dec) x6 [30]

35. (3sc, 1dec) x6 [24]

36. (2sc, 1dec) x6 [18]

37. (1sc, 1dec) x6 [12]

38. When stuffed, 6dec to finish.

Cut yarn, sew through the 6 outer loops and cinch the hole shut, and hide the yarn end.

ARMS (make 2 in your chosen fur colour)

1. Put 6sc into a magic ring (or chain 2 and put 6sc into the second chain from the hook) [6 stitches]

2. 1inc x6 [12]

3-4. Sc around (2 rounds) [12]

5. (1sc, 1dec) x4 [8]

6-18. Sc around (13 rounds) [8]

Stuff, then flatten the end and sc across both sides of it. Finish off and leave a tail for sewing. Attach the arms flat at the sides, 2 rounds below the mouth level.

LEGS (make 2 in your chosen fur colour)

1. Put 6sc into a magic ring (or chain 2 and put 6sc into the second chain from the hook) [6 stitches]

2. 1inc x6 [12]

3. Sc around [12]

4. 4dec, 4sc [8]

5-18. Sc around (14 rounds) [8]

Slip stitch into the next stitch and finish off. Stuff, then attach just below the hips.

EYES (make 2 in white)

1. 7sc into a magic ring [7]

2. 7inc [14]

Slip stitch and finish off. Attach to the face high and wide, about 4-5 stitches between them. See images.

PUPILS (make 2 in black OR embroider on pupils)

1. 3sc into a magic ring [3]

Slip stitch into the first sc and finish off. Attach to the eyes so that the Grump is looking slightly inwards.

(Optional: You can make eyelids by adding embroidered lines in fur colour over the very top of the eyes.)

ROUNDED NOSE (your chosen nose colour)

(Alternatively, there is an oval nose pattern below.)

1. 6sc into a magic ring [6]

Slip stitch into the first stitch and finish off. Attach.

OVAL NOSE (your chosen nose colour)

Chain 4.

(2sc, 3sc in the end chain), repeat along the other edge of the chain. [8]

Slip stitch and finish off. Attach between and below the eyes.

TEETH (white)

Ok, here's where things really get personalised. Pretty much every Grumpus has their own unique tooth size configuration, and you likely an idea in mind or a reference to work from. Therefore, I'm going to give you several tooth patterns and you can make your own dental configuration.

Canon Grumpuses have 4 teeth on top and 3 below, unless they have missing teeth like Shelda. The outer pairs of teeth often show the greatest size differences but not always.

For my Grump, I've chosen to leave out the outer top teeth for a cleaner look. However many teeth your Grump has is up to you.

TIP: pin your teeth in place and move them around to find the best spacing and configurations before sewing them on.

SMALL TEETH

These will make good tiny teeth. These are typical top middle teeth and the typical bottom middle tooth.

1. 3sc into a magic ring [3]

2. 2sc, leave the last stitch unworked. [3 total]

Finish off. Use the end of the crochet hook to push the centre outwards into a triangle shape.

PLAIN TEETH

These are for those medium-sized unremarkable teeth. (See Filbo's bottom teeth or Wiggle's top middle teeth.)

1. 5sc into a magic ring [5]

2. 5sc [5]

3. (Optional to make them bigger -- 5sc [5])

Finish off.

LARGE WIDE TEETH

These are Fizzlebean style outer bottom teeth.

1. 8sc into a magic ring [8]

2. sc, 1dec, 2sc, 1dec, sc [6]

3. 6sc [6]

Finish off and squeeze to flatten a little.

FANGS/TUSKS

These are Wambus/Chandlo style sharper chompers. Top or bottom outer teeth.

1. 3sc into a magic ring [3]

2. 3sc [3]

3. 1inc, 2sc [4]

4. (Optional to make them bigger -- 1inc, 3sc [5])

Finish off.

Create as many of whatever kind you please and get creative. After the teeth are sewn into their desired places, you've completed the base Grumpus!

Thank Grump!

FURTHER PERSONALISATION

- Look below for extra piece patterns.

- You can add/remove rounds of the body to give your plush a longer or shorter body.

- You can alter the body to flare out at different points by adding increase or decrease rows at the shoulders, hips, belly, wherever.

- The arms typically reach to just below the hips and the legs are typically a similar length, this can be altered by adding/removing sc rounds.

- Using colour changes, try adding splotches or stripes. Or, try variegated yarn.

- If you use acrylic yarn, you can use a wire brush or a stiff plastic hairbrush to brush the fur of the Grump until fluffy. This takes a bit of elbow grease and can cause yarn breakages, so do with caution, and do this to seperate pieces before any sewing or detail work.

- You can use another colour to embroider evenly spaced claws onto the limbs of your Grump. Small lines will do, but 3-wrap French knots can produce good 3D claws.

SIMPLE TAIL (your chosen fur colour)

You don't need to stuff this. Add the tufts to the end before stuffing if you want to stuff it anyways.

1. 6sc into a magic ring [6]

2. (1sc, 1inc) x3 [9]

3. 9sc [9]

4. (1sc, 1dec) x3 [6]

5-17. Sc around (13 rounds) [6]

Finish off with a tail for sewing on. Attach on the lower back/the butt in the desired spot.

Note: add or remove sc rounds to make a longer/shorter tail.

(Optional) To add tufts of fluff to the end, cut a few small bits of yarn (fur colour or another colour) and use your hook to pull it under and out. Pull the ends through the loop and pull tight. You only need a dozen or fewer scraps to do this. Then trim the fluff until it looks as desired.

SHORT HORNS (make 2 in any colour)

1. 3sc into a magic ring [3]

2. 2sc, 1inc [4]

3. 3sc, 1inc [5]

4. 4sc, 1inc [6]

5. 5sc, 1inc [7]

6. 6sc, 1inc [8]

7. 7sc, 1inc [9]

8. 9sc [9]

Slip stitch and finish off. Stuff a little. Position as desired on head.

LONG HORNS (make 2 in any colour)

1. 3sc into a magic ring [3]

2. 2sc, 1inc [4]

3. 3sc, 1inc [5]

4. 4sc, 1inc [6]

5. 5sc, 1inc [7]

6. 7sc [7]

7. 6sc, 1inc [8]

8. 8sc [8]

9. 8sc [8]

10. 7sc, 1inc [9]

11. 9sc [9]

12. 9sc [9]

Slip stitch and finish off. Stuff and position as desired on head.

LIL STRABBY (begin in red, or pink for a Razzby)

1. 4sc into a magic ring [4]

2. (1sc, 1inc) x2 [6]

3. (2sc, 1inc) x2 [8]

4. 8sc [8]

Change colour to green

5. (1dec, picot) x4

Slip stitch and cut the yarn. Embroider two tiny eyes with black and white yarn. Tuck all ends inside.

This can be sewn to the Grump's paws, in its mouth, kept loose, or whatever you please.

Woohoo! Grump done!

[pulim-v]

3, 8, 10, 22, 45, 57 for whichever pairing you feel like talking about!

Going to mainly talk about Argentunimbus (Mist x Spark) and Dewtavia (Dew x Octavia) here since those are the only ones I've shown lol

3. Do they wear each other's clothes? (Sweatshirt, bandana, necklace, etc.)

Argentunimbus: initially I was going to write it off as impossible due to the size difference, but now I'm thinking of Mist lending Spark his scarf so they'd be able to cover up their neck after he got. Carried away. During a date. (<- holy shit first question and I'm already saying suggestive stuff lmaoo I'm so sorry)

Dewtavia: honestly yeah I can see it, the main case that I can see happening is Via's clothes' heating enchantments malfunctioning, making her feel *really cold* and prompting Dew to lend her their vest. She's also the type to borrow a sweatshirt or hoodie in general lol

8. What happens if one of them gets sick?

Mist is a workaholic dumbass who gets very close to burnout so he'd ignore it and Spark would have to drag him off of work for him to rest

Spark would recognize that they need a break and actually take it but beat themself up over not being able to work normally. Mist would take care of them ofc but also make sure to organize their workload so they have an easier time going back to working after recovery

Dew would probably not realize that they're sick at first so Via would have to tell him to rest. She usually carries some medicine with her so if the two are at the KIT she'd make sure he's well enough to finish his classes, and otherwise she'd just take care of him

Octavia has a few health issues (mainly chronic back pains due to her scoliosis) so she gets sick quite often, and every time she does Dew drops by her house (together with her friends from the Sound Tech course) to help her with cleaning, making food, and generally taking care of her. Dew specifically is tasked with both getting meds for her (since they have a car) and cooking, since while he isn't the best at it he's still better than Via's friends

10. Describe their first date

Argentunimbus: movie date! Spark would ask Mist out so they'd go to the movies (specifically a cheesy sci-fi movie since that's Mist's favorite genre), they'd greet him with a bouquet of blue lillies (Mist's favorite flower) and buy him coffee soda (Mist's favorite flavor), while Mist would make sure to get a nice haircut a couple days before the date, would get the best button up shirt he could find and would give Spark a box of sour candies (since they really like them). Spark would be kinda overdoing it since Mist is the first person they date, but Mist wouldn't mind it, he'd just find it cute lol

Dewtavia: I THINK Via would ask Dew out, and the two would just have a nice lunch in a place they really like, and afterwards they'd go to Via's house and hang out for the rest of the day. Would probably be really similar to how they hung out before they became a couple, just with more kissing lol

22. What reminds each of their partner

Whenever Mist thinks of pushing himself too far, he just. Hears Spark yelling at him in his head.

Spark is reminded of Mist every time they look at the sky and see clear distinct clouds (which is kinda rare on Mount Kimoru)

Dew is reminded of Octavia every time they listen to music (mainly due to his playlists mostly being made by her lol)

Octavia thinks about Dew whenever she has to do any work for her Calculus classes (since they helped her out a lot with them)

45. Can they fall asleep without the other

Yeah for all of them, but there's some interesting stuff here nonetheless, namely that:

Mist feels more comfortable resting in general whenever Spark is with him

Dew usually sleeps listening to one of Via's playlists, since they really help him relax lol

57. Who's the more serious one when grocery shopping and who likes to toss random things into the cart?

Argentunimbus: I think they both sorta follow a rigid list of things they need to buy, but given that Spark knows they're impulsive I think they hold back on going outside their list more than Mist does, so he ends up being the one to make more impulsive purchases

Dewtavia: meanwhile Octavia is incredibly specific on what needs to be bought and Dew just adds a ton of little treats both for themself and for Via whenever she isn't looking

Thanks for the ask! This was really fun to talk about lol

[scribeforchrist-blog]

Holding on To Half 

MEMORY VERSE OF THE WEEK

=========================

+ Psalm 46:5 God is within her; she will not fall; God will help her at break of day.”

=========================

VERSE OF THE DAY 

========================

+ Proverbs 15:22 Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.

=========================

** SAY THIS BEFORE YOU READ; HERE’S SOME CHRISTIAN TRUTHS **

I AM COMPLETE

I AM FINISHING THE TASK 

I AM FOCUSED ON GOD 

I AM FILLED WITH JOY 

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

THOUGHTS:

=======================

   Sometimes, when we have a chorus to do, we get halfway into it, we don’t want to finish it or get a prescription for medication, and once we feel better, we stop taking it or when we are about to clean up the living room, we only vacuum and don’t dust; we don’t do anything else because we don’t feel like going the extra mile to complete what we must do. We all have done half of something and called it a day, and sometimes, that disrupts our plans for another day because we must pick up where we left off, and we get so aggravated that we won't even try anymore to complete the task at hand.

   We often see what Jesus is doing, and we think this isn’t enough, so we doubt that he can handle the things we want , but whatever Jesus is doing in our life, he is doing it for a reason. Whatever he does, he isn’t going halfway; Jesus never does anything halfway; maybe we only get half because that's all he wants us to have,; a lot of us don’t stop and look at what we are doing because we are too busy pointing the finger at Him then to point the finger at ourselves.

  God wants us to know that everything he did, he did everything to help us, sustain us, and push us through. I can remember I felt so tired for several days, and I asked the Holy Spirit . I said Holy Spirit ; I feel so tired. I said this must be a spiritual attack , and he told me no, Lui, this isn't spiritual; you're not sleeping the way you should. I was ready to point the finger and not look at myself, and I immediately realized that sometimes we all do this. We are ready to blame others for something we are doing. This has happened so many times in the bible, and many of us are doing this now; we won't ask God to help us where we are because we don’t want to blame ourselves for what we are doing; look at Cain.

  Genesis 4:10 The Lord said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. 11 Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 

   He didn’t look at his mistake in this; he looked at Able and immediately became angry because he felt that Abel was favored, and he wasn’t. Abel's sacrifice was accepted because he did what was right; he didn’t make his sacrifice halfway; maybe Cain did it out of laziness, maybe he thought what he gave would slide , maybe because he thought God would accept this, but just like God doesn’t do anything halfway in our life, we shouldn’t do anything in our life or for him halfway this is also a good example of only giving God half of what he is due, some of us only give him half of our selves, some of us give half of our lives as a sacrifice when we should give it all to him.

     When will we ever stop looking at others and their circumstances and look at what we can do for our lives? Many of us have this bad; we are so ready to point to the sky and fuss with God, but have we prayed, worshiped, or praised God? A lot of us won't do any of this and then we ask God why does this person have, but we aren’t looking at the small praise or the half praise we give; we got to start giving more of ourselves to him; we got to start taking accountability and stop using God or anything as a scapegoat to our failure to be dedicated to what is right.

    Mark 8:23-24 He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he spit on the man’s eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, “Do you see anything?”24 He looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.”

    One day, Jesus went to heal a man, and when he did, Jesus made mud over the guy's eyes. He said what do you see the man said everyone looks like trees walking around, Jesus could’ve left him seeing everyone like this; he could’ve said Well, this is what you have. I'm done for today, or he could’ve even said Well, at least you can see something; he could’ve done this halfway. Still, Jesus doesn’t do anything halfway; he doesn’t bless us or free us halfway; the reason why some of us don’t have everything we won't because maybe it isn’t our season, maybe it isn’t what God wants us to have right now but maybe later he will give us what we want but Jesus doesn’t do anything halfway and neither should we but look at what Jesus does after this.

 Verse 25-26 Once more, Jesus touched the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything. 26 Jesus sent him home, saying, “Don’t even go into the village.”

   He goes back, and he stores the man's sight; he saw everything; this is what Jesus wants to do in some of our lives right now; he wants us to see the sin in our lives; he wants us to see him clearly, and he wants us to walk in it but what happens is we don’t want the full touch of Jesus because we know once we have it we will see what we are doing and how we handling things aren’t the way Jesus wants us to handle it.

    This week, we talked about being on fire for God having a big blaze; we can't have a big blaze if we are halfway doing anything or won't take accountability for our actions, and once we have this big blaze, the desire for God will grow ,the desire to dwell where he is will grow ,because we are finally allowing God to be enough and letting go of the things of this world, what are we doing to capture our blaze are we dwelling in his presence ,are we allowing him to feed us spiritually with his word ,or do we doubt his ability to be enough where ever you are in life every day ask God what is it that you can work on to change what you're doing and he will help you.

     *** Today, we talked about taking accountability and finishing what we have started; a lot of us have gifts and talents that God has given us, and we won't use them; we only use them when we feel like it; some of us have blessings that we feel are incomplete, but they're not, God is going to give us what he feels we can handle and give us what we need, sometimes we have to stop looking at maybe it’s this or that and say no maybe its me , I cannot commit to something real and true, sometimes committing scares some of us even in the smallest way we get so scared because we don’t want to break it or we don’t want to mess up.

    We all will stumble and have problems, and that’s why God is there to show us the way. A lot of times, we don’t want him to because we don’t think he’ll understand or that he’ll do it right. Still, whatever God does in our life, we must understand he's doing it for us, not to hurt us but to help us along the way; this week's lessons have taught us so much, and the one thing we can take away from theses devotionals is that we need to dwell. We need to be satisfied only by Jesus, not in other things but in him. ©Seer~ Prophetess Lee

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PRAYER

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Heavenly Father, help us hear you when you speak and help us take accountability for our actions, not doing anything halfway but doing it with all our hearts. God, we give you everything, and we ask you to show us our errors; lord, we thank you for allowing us to understand your word this week; we ask you to show us the way into your presence; lord, we praise you for the good and the bad. God, thank you for always showing us the way and helping us. In Jesus' Name Amen 

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REFERENCES 

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+ Proverbs 27:17 As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.

 

+ Romans 14:12 So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.

 

+ Proverbs 15:22 Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.

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FURTHER READINGS 

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Proverbs 29

Job 22

Isaiah 29

2 Thessalonians 1

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[svcredveins]

That’s a wrap with the 12 hours of Nordschleife! It was so adrenaline rushed! 🫀

First endurance race on the Nordschleife has been a blast! Honestly, I am really hoping to do another endurance race here because of how amazing and unique this track truly is. An 8+ minute long track with never ending winding turns? Yes please! But honestly, I love this track and hopefully one day would be able to drive it actually in real life in a Porsche. My goal is to constantly run this track every weekend (if I live in Germany hopefully) to get to know this track better for the day I’d be in the 24 hours as a Porsche factory driver. That’s my dream!

I just love this track so much; it’s so addicting. Like honestly, I crave another endurance here and hopefully for it to be a 24 hours because it was disappointing that it got cut down to 12; would’ve been my first 24 hour race! But unfortunately it didn’t end that way due to low participation. Hopefully one day I can ring up a team and just do it because I crave it!

The opening laps were magical trying to fight for positions. A couple of laps later trying to overtake a BMW, I managed to make a clean pass at Kallenhard as there was enough gap between the BMW and the inner curb, I made it stick! Too bad though the broadcasters didn’t catch it in time. It was such a solid overtake!

I did a total of three and not even a quarter of a stint. My first two stints were flawless; no contacts, no crashes, just pure confidence on the track. I’m just so glad I’ve done this track a lot in Gran Turismo 7 and Forza Motorsport and because of that, I at least knew what to expect out of the track, but I improved even more just by doing a lot more laps on Assetto Corsa Comeptizione. It was a blast and my little lady was just pounding every time I did my stints! It was an amazing feel.

My third stint, however, was tragic. I was so hyped up to do a night stint and do quicker laps (because the colder the track, the better tire grip there is), but unfortunately though, that didn’t happen due to a car stopped in the middle of the track on the apex, held the brakes, but still rolled a little bit forward which still made it hard to judge where he was gonna go. I debated to veer to the right, but he was too slow to even do that, so I was just praying he wasn’t gonna move any further forward but it was too late. I couldn’t pull out of the inevitable. Heartbreaking that I had 15 seconds worth of damage but it wasn’t doable because the aero was just gone on the front of the car from a smack to the front. Turning was more resistant and I was several seconds down from my best. Several! It was insane on how much damage from the front just obliterated my lap times. I was making very good lap times actually. 8:22s but sadly got crossed to an 8:31. Yeah…it was that bad of damage, so I was certainly gutted that was it for my night stint since the rest of the team had a strategy in mind to pull me out of the car and have our other teammate finish off the race. Which to be honest, I was definitely good to do a double stint. I was too deep in my stints that I was always fresh to do another one haha, but I didn’t want to be greedy so I didn’t ask to stay out since I know my teammate wanted to finish it off. Ideally though, the quickest driver does double stints in that scenario, but that’s all good.

Overall though the race was amazing despite the team having self induced incidents. My teammates did a fantastic job! A solid P7 out of 35 drivers is quite the feat!

Anyway, again, I’m just really hoping to find another Nordschleife endurance race because it’s just so addicting doing very long laps with corners that have very little room for error. I love it. I love racing, I love the feel I get out of it, I love Porsche, and I just love it.

My apologies for not recording my little lady though through it all. Adrenaline just took over the whole race and I had to just be focused the whole time. My brain can only do so much as we were all chatting constantly haha. It would’ve been a huge toll on my phone anyway and it would’ve been a bit hazardous to start recording and stop recording on my phone, let alone my phone storage would be screaming at me haha

[beeeinyourbonnet]

Covetous | Epilogue

Pairing: Nostelle 

Rating: E

Summary: Father Joseph MacAvoy wakes up in a library across town with no idea of how he got there. When the kind librarian doesn’t kick him out immediately, he considers that maybe there’s more to life than alcohol.

[chapter 1] [chapter 2] [chapter 3] [chapter 4] [chapter 5] [chapter 6] [chapter 7] [chapter 8] [chapter 9] [chapter 10] [chapter 11] [chapter 12] [chapter 13] [chapter 14] [chapter 15] [chapter 16] [chapter 17] [chapter 18] [chapter 19] [chapter 20] [chapter 21] [chapter 22] [chapter 23] [chapter 24]

[read on ao3]

-----------------------------------

Seven years later.

It was Father MacAvoy’s last sermon at St. Joseph’s. As of tomorrow, his flock was at St. Rita’s, a much larger church further inside London, where he’d been transferred due to the success of his congregation’s bi-weekly soup kitchens.

It was also near Belle’s library, which is why MacAvoy was only a little upset when he hadn’t seen them in the pews. He’d see her tomorrow once the movers finished taking his boxes. 

“Thank you all for seven wonderful years,” he said. “And I hope we all meet again someday.” He set down his last page and smiled out at the room. “Anyone who’d like to take communion, please join me now.”

As he handed out wafers and thimblefuls of juice, everyone congratulated him on his bigger congregation, on the success of his social programs. He couldn’t help but tear up as people told him they’d miss him, that they’d loved hearing him for these last seven years, that he’d meant something to them.

He couldn’t believe Belle wasn’t here. This, the culmination of all he’d worked toward, and she couldn’t find the time?

But no, that wasn’t fair. Things came up. She’d probably left him a message that he’d see after services, and she’d definitely welcome him to St. Rita’s tomorrow.

He finished shaking hands, hugging his flock, apologizing that he’d heard his last confession yesterday and had too much packing to do today. This wasn’t strictly true—most everything he owned had taken about half a day to pack—but he just couldn’t draw out this goodbye any further. Enough was enough. This was where he’d built a home. This was the church that had cradled him through his darkest days. 

And where was the woman who’d pulled him out of those dark days? 

He swallowed down those thoughts, and then, when he looked up, there she was, hurrying toward him with a young boy in tow as the rest of the congregants trickled out.

“Sorry,” she said with a tight smile. “We had to stay in the back and be very quiet.”

“I’m just glad you’re here,” he said, heart lightening as she gave him a quick hug. He looked down at the boy, whose seventh birthday they had all celebrated just a few weeks ago. “Why’d you have to be so quiet?”

“We’re on our best behavior for the social worker,” he said, London accent thick.

“Aiden!” Belle blushed. “No, it’s just that—”

The last congregant left and before the door could close, it hit an obstacle, and then Nosty was shouldering his way in carrying a sleeping toddler.

“Sorry, sorry,” Nosty whispered. “She only just fell asleep.”

“Why don’t we go upstairs?” MacAvoy asked. “I think I’ve got at least two tins of biscuits.” Many congregants had baked him gifts, especially the ones who had maintained, over the years, that he was unhealthily skinny.

“What kind of biscuits?” Aiden asked.

“You’ll have to find out, won’t you?” Nosty said. 

They all followed him up, Aiden right behind while Belle stayed back to take the diaper bag from Nosty’s shoulder so he could more easily climb the stairs with Molly, their second foster child. 

Without having to ask, the two of them headed for MacAvoy’s own room to settle Molly and her monitor in for a quieter nap, while MacAvoy took Aiden to his pile of food gifts. 

This was truly the best life he could ask for. He had best friends who knew his home was their home, he had two kids who might someday call him Uncle Joseph, and more than being no longer considered a disgrace by the archdiocese, he was actively lauded for the good he brought to his community.

“May I have some chocolate ones?” Aiden asked.

“Whichever you like,” he said. “And there’s a box of Legos out for you as soon as you finish.”

Aiden, with a thank you that was too serious for a seven-year-old boy, selected two chocolate biscuits, then sat by himself on the couch and ate them carefully over a napkin. He only looked up when Belle and Nosty tiptoed out of the room and shut the door behind them. 

“Chocolate, eh?” Nosty asked. “Your favorite.”

“I thanked Father Joseph for them,” Aiden said defensively. 

Belle ruffled his hair. “That was very thoughtful of you,” she said. Aiden calmed, and Nosty dragged the box of Legos out for him, and then he and Belle collapsed into their chairs at the kitchen table, door open so they could keep an eye on the living room.

“Long morning?” MacAvoy asked, setting out cups of coffee and one of the biscuit tins. Belle reached for one immediately while Nosty dumped sugar into his mug.

“Oh, it was fine,” Nosty said. “First, we started screaming as soon as we got out the car, then as soon as Mum took Aiden inside, we screamed some more, then we looked at mushrooms and tried to poison ourselves, and then we finally fell asleep.” A tiny fistful of curly hair looked to have been yanked from Nosty’s ponytail. 

“I’m sorry you had to miss his last sermon,” Belle said, rubbing his shoulders. “Aiden enjoyed it, though. He said you sounded very sad, and he thought everyone would like that.”

“Did I?” MacAvoy asked. “I was trying to be uplifting.”

“I found it very uplifting,” Belle assured him. She took a gulp of coffee. “And sorry we couldn’t sit closer, I could see you looking for us, but there was a man who glared at Nosty before we even got inside because Molly was screaming, and—” She lowered her voice. “It made Aiden nervous.”

They all glanced into the living room where Aiden was now meticulously stacking green legos into a tower.

“What was with the social worker thing?” MacAvoy asked.

Nosty’s jaw clenched, but Belle just took another gulp of coffee. 

“I don’t know, he’s been very nervous about the social worker recently, and it makes me nervous that someone’s going to report us just because he’s anxious.”

Nosty clenched his fist this time, knuckles white above the table, wedding ring digging in to his finger. MacAvoy figured he’d best change the subject so that Nosty didn’t explode where Aiden could hear him. 

“So, you said you had news?”

“Lots of news,” Belle said. “We’ve been saving it all up because we knew we’d be seeing you.”

Now that they had two children in the same small, two-bedroom flat, they almost never came to the church, but Belle called him at least once a week on her lunch break. For the past week, all she’d said over and over was that they had “so much” to tell him.

“Is it good? Bad? Should I be worried?”

“A little worried,” Nosty said, and Belle swatted him on the shoulder.

“Not worried at all. It’s mostly good. Great, actually. Nosty?”

Nosty fiddled with the handle of his mug again, and MacAvoy tried not to be nervous. Belle had said the news was good. 

“I sold a book,” he said. 

“Well, that’s fantastic!” MacAvoy said, and both of them must have realized it was a little too bright, a little too disingenuous, because they narrowed their eyes at him.

“What?” Nosty asked.

MacAvoy swallowed. “Sorry, I just—don’t you sell a lot of books?” As soon as Nosty’s two-year probation for assaulting an officer ended, he’d gotten a part-time job at the bookstore a few streets over from Belle’s library, and had worked there ever since. 

“Oi, not at the shop.” Nosty snorted. “I mean, my agent sold me manuscript to a publisher.”

“Oh, fuck,” MacAvoy said, cheeks reddening at his misunderstanding. “That’s fantastic! When’s it coming out?”

“It’ll probably be at least two years,” Belle said. “Publishing is quite slow.”

“Two years?” MacAvoy whistled. “Hasn’t it been with the agent for a year at least?”

“He’s only been shopping it for four months or so, the rest was me editing.” He shuddered. “Not my strong suit. Belle did most of it. She’s getting a whole chapter of acknowledgments.”

Belle kissed him on the cheek. “So, Nosty sold a book, and we finalized Molly’s adoption.”

MacAvoy pressed a hand to his heart. They’d taken Molly in a rush placement about six months ago when her mother had passed away while social services searched for next of kin. The grandparents were still alive, but they had health problems. It had been a long six months of mediation, evaluations, and heartache.

“That’s wonderful. And the grandparents?”

“I think they’re adopting us as well,” Belle said. “They’ll still be her grandparents, and we’ve got an invite to Christmas dinner. Actually, they’re taking her tomorrow, because news number three is that the movers rescheduled, and we’re moving tomorrow instead of Friday now.”

“Tomorrow?” MacAvoy’s eyebrows flew up. Tomorrow was supposed to be his moving day. Belle was going to come over on her lunch break and get a tour. 

“I know, I’m sorry, and Aiden’s got a supervised visit with his mother after school too, so it’s going to be a mess.” 

Nosty’s fist clenched again. Belle laid a hand over it.

“That’s certainly a lot,” MacAvoy said. “Would it help if I brought pizza over?”

“Why don’t we bring pizza to you so that we don’t have to worry about unpacking dishes?” Belle asked.

“Deal.”

Nosty still had the far-off look in his eyes and his fist clenched when Aiden burst into the kitchen carrying a small framed photo. MacAvoy knew it had been resting on top of a box to remind him to wrap it before the movers came tomorrow.

“What’ve you got there?” Belle asked, holding an arm out. He tucked himself up against her side and laid the frame on the table.

“I’m sorry,” Aiden said. “I just wanted to look at it.”

“That’s all right,” MacAvoy said. “You’re welcome to look at it.”

“Is this Father Joseph?” He pushed the frame toward Belle who peered at it, even though she had to already know what the photo was.

“Aye, that’s me,” MacAvoy said. “Sometimes, I dress like a civilian.” 

It was a photo from their wedding day at the courthouse. Belle wore a strapless wedding dress with floral lace and a full skirt, and Nosty wore a kilt suit. Kaz—who had mostly fallen out of touch since getting her nursing degree—served as best man while Kathryn, no longer Nosty’s solicitor, was maid of honor. MacAvoy officiated as he’d always wanted to, though it was as a friend and not a priest, hence the suit and tie instead of shirt and collarino. This photo was the five of them, Belle and Nosty holding each other and beaming at the camera with wet eyes while Kathryn wept openly, Kaz held the bouquet and grinned, and MacAvoy stoically tried to hide his tears. 

“How come everyone’s crying?” Aiden asked.

“We were happy,” Belle said. 

“Ecstatic,” Nosty agreed.

“I wasn’t crying,” MacAvoy said, and the two of them snorted. 

“I’ve never cried because I was happy,” Aiden said.

“Well, maybe someday you will.” Belle hugged him closer, and he fiddled with the frame stand, flipping it in and out. 

“You haven’t been alive long enough,” Nosty said. “You’ll get there.”

“You looked pretty.” 

Belle squeezed him again. “Thank you.”

Once Aiden had taken another biscuit and napkin into the other room, Belle picked up the photo, eyes misting over. 

“Look at how nice we all looked,” she said. Nosty rested a hand over hers. “We had to wait to get married so both of you could grow your hair out.”

“Well, I didn’t want the skinhead look in me own wedding photos,” Nosty said. 

“I’m still rejecting vanity,” MacAvoy said. “But I was grateful to look like myself.”

They were all still studying the photo when a wail sounded on the baby monitor. Nosty pushed himself up with a groan, but Belle laid a hand on his arm.

“You stay, I’ll get her.”

Nosty slumped back in his chair while Belle wandered off, Aiden abandoning his Lego structure to follow her into the bedroom. 

“So,” MacAvoy said. He lifted his mug to take a sip, but it was empty. “How are you doing?”

Nosty shook his head. Over the years, they hadn’t opened up to one another the way either of them could open up to Belle, but Nosty was family to him now. They had gone through fire together. Nosty had even once drunkenly confessed that he’d have asked MacAvoy to be his best man if he hadn’t been the officiant. 

“What is it?” he asked.

“Can’t you just—write another letter?” Nosty asked. “So we can adopt Aiden?”

MacAvoy’s eyebrows flew up. “I’m sure I can, but I don’t think it would help.” His word as a priest had gone far in both Nosty’s criminal trial and their adoption of Molly, but Aiden still had parents.

“I know.” He rubbed the bridge of his nose. “I know.”

Belle came back a few minutes later carrying a groggy Molly, Aiden at their heels. “I think it’s time for us to go. We’ll see you tomorrow?” 

“See you tomorrow,” he said. “And call me if you need anything.”

Belle kissed him quickly on the cheek, as did Molly—much to his delight—and then Aiden shook his hand, still so serious, holding the diaper bag over his little shoulder. 

Nosty hung back while the three of them headed for the stairs.

“You’ll be all right tomorrow?” he asked.

“I’ll be fine,” he said. “And congratulations. I’m so happy for you.”

Up close, he could see the purple bags under Nosty’s eyes, the new crow’s feet, but that was all these days. The rage, the fury that always boiled just under the surface was gone. Once, he’d even seen someone startle Nosty. Of course, he still clenched his fists, still spiraled behind a tight jaw, but who didn’t? 

“Thanks.” Nosty clapped him on the back. “We’ll let you know how the visit goes.”

“I look forward to it.” 

Nosty took a step toward the stairs, then paused. “You know, we’re really glad you’ll finally be closer.” 

MacAvoy smiled. “I’ll miss this church, but me too. I can’t wait to be in babysitting range.”

Nosty grinned. “Me neither, mate. Me neither.”

****

Belle and Nosty barely managed to turn the covers down before collapsing into bed. They’d packed all afternoon, then Molly had refused to fall asleep, so Belle and Nosty took turns rocking her and reading to Aiden. Luckily, he dropped off around nine, and eventually Belle got Molly to sleep with a lullaby her father used to sing to her.

So she was in her crib in the bare living room, Aiden was in his bedroom, and Belle wasn’t sure she could summon the energy to read even a chapter before sleeping. 

She could, however, snuggle up against her husband’s chest, his arms around her, the safest place in the world. 

“You ready for tomorrow?” Nosty asked.

Belle smiled into the dark. He knew her well. “We’re all packed.”

“I know, I was there.” He kissed her hair. “But—this is the flat you grew up in.”

It was. This had been her bedroom since they’d moved to London when her mother died. She’d paid off the mortgage she inherited about three years back, and once the social worker floated the possibility of Molly, Belle knew it was time to sell it. She and her dad could fit just fine in this flat, but even if Molly was the only kid they ever adopted, three was a lot of people to share one bathroom and a tiny kitchen.

“I’ll miss it,” she said. “But I love our new house.” 

Nosty pulled her closer somehow, tucking her hair under his chin. His grip was too tight around her waist to be casual.

“How are you feeling about it?”

He kissed her head, then rested his lips there. “I don’t want Aiden to have the visit tomorrow.”

Belle closed her eyes. If she could have, she’d have wrapped her arms around him, but he had her in a vice grip, so she settled for holding his hands where they clasped around her. 

“I know,” Belle said. “But it’s his mother. He deserves to see her.”

“You’re his mother,” Nosty said. “He’s my son.” 

When they’d talked about fostering, Nosty had been so happy to give someone the home he’d never had growing up, but she had seen this coming the second they met Aiden eight months ago. His mother was in court-ordered rehab. His dad, like Nosty’s, had been in and out of his life since he was born.

“Nosty, we have to do what’s best for Aiden,” she said softly.

“What’s she want with him now?” he asked. “He hasn’t seen her in months.” 

But Aiden missed her—of course he did. He was seven. Sometimes, when he slept, he cried out for his mother, and Belle knew he didn’t mean her. He had called them Belle and Nosty for a little bit when he was first placed, but he’d since lapsed into calling them nothing at all. 

“Nosty, what did you want when you were in the system?” she asked.

He groaned into her hair. “I just wanted someone to love me. But I love him. We love him.”

“I know,” Belle said. “I know we do. But didn’t you want that person to be your parents? Deep down?”

Nosty loosened his grip on her and pressed his eyes into the back of her head. After another minute, he groaned again.

“You’re right. I know. We always said we hoped his mum would get it together.”

Privately, in her deepest, darkest thoughts, Belle didn’t want his mum to get it together either. She did think of Aiden as her son. She wanted to keep him. But he was a person, and he had a family, and he deserved to be with them if he could.

A creak sounded down the hall, and then Aiden’s door was opening. Nosty pulled his arms off of Belle and by the time Aiden stumbled sleepily to their bed, they were a chaste distance apart. 

“What’s wrong, Aid?” Nosty asked.

“I had a bad dream,” Aiden said. “Is Molly okay?”

“Molly’s fine.” Belle pulled the monitor off the nightstand to show him Molly sleeping peacefully in her crib. “Why don’t you come tell us about your bad dream?”

Aiden climbed in between them, and once he was settled, Belle and Nosty exchanged misty looks above his head. He’d never done this before.

“Will I have my own room in the new house?” Aiden asked.

Belle’s eyes flew up. “Of course. And Molly will too. It’s got three bedrooms.”

“What does it look like?”

This was out of Belle’s element. Having lived in the same flat for most of her life, she could only guess at the anxieties that he might be trying to express and how to assuage them.

“Pretty much like your room now,” Nosty said. “It’s got four walls, a closet, and it’ll have the same bed.”

Aiden considered this. He was such a serious little boy, always terrified of disorder. Belle worried that his mother was the reason he agonized over touching things, over getting crumbs on the floor, but the social worker would be there tomorrow. She wouldn’t let him be yelled at.

“What color is it?”

“It’s white right now,” Belle said. “But we can paint it before we move all the boxes in. Whatever color you want.”

“Green,” Aiden said quickly, then cast them both a wide-eyed look. “Please.”

Belle and Nosty both squeezed him. Above his head, Nosty gripped her hand. 

“We’ll go look at paint colors on Tuesday after school, okay?” Belle said. “You can pick out whichever green you like. You can even pick out two greens.”

Aiden’s eyes widened again, but this time it made him look young instead of like he’d already lived too many lives. “For the same room?”

“Aye, we’ll have an accent wall.” Nosty waved his hand toward the lighter wall in their room. “Very posh.”

“Are we posh?” Aiden asked.

“Your mum’s very posh,” Nosty said, then he clamped his mouth shut. They tried to be careful about calling each other his parents. 

“I don’t know,” Belle said. “I don’t think I am.”

“Oi, you’ve got a different pair of shoes for every day of the month,” Nosty said, and Aiden giggled.

“What if I only like one green?” he asked.

“Then we’ll only paint it one green,” Belle said. “You can even change your mind about green if you find a color you like better.”

Aiden’s face scrunched again, and Nosty cast her a panicked look, but then he relaxed.

“Can I have a bookshelf?”

“Och,” Nosty said. “You can have a hundred bookshelves.”

“I don’t even have a hundred books,” Aiden said. 

“You know what?” Belle brushed his hair back from his forehead, and his eyes drooped. “I think we’re all very tired. Why don’t we go to sleep, and once you see your room tomorrow, you can figure out how many bookshelves you think will fit?”

“Okay.” Aiden’s eyes drifted shut, and Nosty squeezed Belle’s hand. “Goodnight, Mum,” he mumbled. “Night, Dad.”

Belle allowed herself one second of meeting Nosty’s eyes in disbelief before she leaned down to kiss Aiden on the forehead.

“Goodnight,” she said. “I love you.”

“And I love you.” Nosty kissed him as well.

Aiden’s breathing evened out in less than a minute, and Belle shifted just enough to lace her fingers with Nosty’s as her eyes filled with more silent tears.

“See, I told you,” Nosty whispered so low, if Belle had been an inch further, she wouldn’t have heard. “He is our son.”

“I know,” Belle said. “I know.” 

Nosty stretched to wipe her tears away with his thumb. Between them, Aiden snored louder than someone with such a small nose ought to have been able to. 

“Get some sleep,” Nosty said. “Long day tomorrow.”

“What about you?”

He shrugged, glancing down at Aiden. She understood. Nosty had worked hard on his hypervigilance, but his therapist had yet to convince him that it was all right to let down his guard sometimes now that there were kids involved.

“I love you,” Belle said. 

“I love you,” he said. 

She had the love of her life’s hand in hers. Between them was a boy who might one day really be their son, and their daughter slumbered on just a room away. Tomorrow, they’d be moving into a house they’d chosen together, the house where they’d raise their little family. Joseph was moving a full twenty minutes closer, Nosty had a book deal, and Aiden had called Belle Mum. 

“If you don’t close your eyes, I’ll close ‘em for you,” Nosty said. Belle grinned, but obeyed.

“Okay, okay. Goodnight, Nosty.”

“Goodnight, sweetheart.”

With so much going on, so much to think about, she thought she’d be awake for at least a few minutes, but Nosty’s presence had the same effect it always had, and soon, she couldn’t have opened her eyes if she’d wanted to. Without another thought, she drifted off to sleep, Aiden’s feet digging into her thighs and Nosty’s hand around hers.

[mamamittens]

Where I'm At

This is sort of a brain dump as well as a check in with where I'm at for these various stories. If I forget one, well, that's a statement in itself but I'll add it if it's brought up.

Oh Sweet Child of Mine: One Piece: I still have the platonic Ace, platonic whitebeard, and NSFW Ace ending to do but not going to lie, my motivation for it is quite dead. I'm definitely not adding anymore alt ending besides these though, so consider the story finished as it is. Last Updated: 1/21/24

How our Seeds Grow: One Piece: I'm currently still working on the next chapter, about 3~ pages into what I'm hoping to be at least 10? Unsure. But I'm definitely not doing alt endings for this one. Once the main plot is done, it's done. Last Updated: 9/10/23

A Lone Melody: One Piece: I still have some fondness for this story, I won't lie. But my motivation to write it really isn't there. Was barely there to start with. Honestly, I only really started writing it because it seemed like there was a lot of interest but perhaps it should have just stayed an ask-box fic? Certainly got more fun interaction that way. And it was pretty clear that the reasons I was interested in the story was not the same as why others were interested. Last Updated: 8/13/23

Worst Isekai: One Piece: Due to the general state of my TBD list, this isn't even really started. I have no idea what kind of plot I'll do other than vague vibes but I really do need to put more down to actually write the story. I do like the general idea and would like to make a bullet list for plot but until I have any idea what I'm doing, this can be considered a proto-story. Still workshopped and all that. No chapters currently exist in any format.

(No working title): One Piece: currently just a self indulgent fic I've been tooling for myself shipping Nikia (OC/SI) with Thatch and now perhaps Izou. No current chapters exist online, though I've written some for it. Including smut.

Let's Get Crackin': Pokemon: A fun new idea born of my revitalized interest in the franchise. Still tooling things and have a handy document with vague plot details. I likely won't start writing anything until I at least have a set beginning/middle/end. A sort of trial run to see if this helps me actually complete a work since my fics usually die if I falter in the middle and lose interest due to frustration. No current chapters exist.

We're leaving the Tumblr fics at this point so if one slipped my mind, well... yeah.

A Friend of Charlotte: FNAF: Security Breach: I really like the general story and vibe I've made for Blaire and would like to write more, but my motivation currently just isn't there. I'd be really depressed if I finally gave up and dropped it though, as there's a lot more for her that's been left unwritten at this point. Last updated: 8/27/23

Python Scramble: FNAF: Security Breach: Also a considerable fondness, I've just once again run into the issue of bridging the start to the finish. It's where I usually tend to stall--hopefully with more careful plotting this won't keep happening but I guess we'll see. Last updated: 2/7/22

Dreamcatcher: Hollowknight: Ah, the baby of my very intense Hollowknight fixation. It's been far too long and I just... stopped writing it at some point. I still really want to finish Olivia's story though. Last Updated: 12/6/19

Seeing Fire and Lionhearts in the Night: Undertale/Underfell AU: Basically dead at this point. Really didn't plot this one out to start with, just had a brief, engaging idea. I don't like looking at it cause I just... don't know what to do with it at this point. Last Updated: 7/14/18

Monster I have Become: Undertale/Underswap AU: I could finish this in one chapter (likely a tad long) and be really sad about it because I really could have done better. It would be rushed and not very good, but it'd be done at least. And I don't know which is worse. I don't know. I just... I hate starting a fic and not even ending it. But ending it poorly feels even worse. Last Updated: 6/1/18

I'm not going to lie, this list is rather depressing for many reasons. I don't like having written this list, nor that I have fics unfinished after years despite starting them really strong with a lot of passion. I don't know what happened. For most of them my motivation just sort of... died.

And for the most part, I seemed to be the only one interested so once I lost interest what was the point? It didn't make me happy anymore to use my sparse free time indulging in my hobby like this. So why bother?

but I remember brainstorming these for hours. days. Week. Some even months or years in some form or another. And now I can't even look at them I feel so ashamed. Either it's been so long the quality of my work feels so stark--why bother now?--or I just... don't know how to continue. If it's even worth it to try.

I know there are people who may be genuinely excited to see these update. Happy to reread the story to have all the context again like it was just yesterday that it last posted. And I am so sorry if you're one of them. Because I am too.

It's just been hard lately... no. It's been hard for a really long time. And it hasn't really gotten better. So once the high of a new story wore off... I just ended up leaving. And the cycle begins anew.

I hope this list brings some closure to some of you.

Maybe it's not that serious.

Maybe no one cares. Not really.

But this is for those that still do.

Those that flooded my inbox with hyper, energetic, silly asks. Wrote long, trailing comments and disjointed tags. Got swept up in the moment and took me with you.

And the 'me' that couldn't imagine that a day would come when it's been months or years since I last touched a story I'd spend all day fawning over.

Thanks, I suppose.

And I am so very sorry it's been so long.

And that it may very well be longer still before you see more of these stories or any others from me.