#i understand that they want to do things as a group

[dukeofankh]

If your vision for the deradicalization of right-wing men begins and ends with "other men telling them that that's gross and to stop it" then I'm sorry, you do not understand how masculinity works.

"Men who hold patriarchal status" and "men who are feminists" are two groups who overlap less than you want them to. I'm sorry. That's not solely because men are so happy with patriarchal status that they don't want to risk it by policing misogyny/queerphobia/racism, It's because being misogynistic, queerphobic, and racist, end expressing other forms of toxic masculinity(and often abusively so) are part of how people establish and maintain patriarchal status. The men who have the ability to stop this via nothing but peer pressure are the very people who are doing it. That's by design. And engaging in feminist intervention is, in and of itself, usually the abrupt end of that status and its associated power to persuade misogynistic men.

Like, I have worked in blue collar jobs as a notably queer person. It was pretty much a constant deluge of verbal abuse. In my experience, most blue collar work environments are exploitative, abusive, and bigoted, and very gleefully so. On the occasions I have spoken up about someone saying something that was super fucking out of line (asking me which of the girls walking by was hottest. We were installing a portable classroom at a middle school), believe it or not, they completely failed to be shamed! Because nobody else on the crew gave a fuck. *I* was the weird one. They ghosted me. A full blown company ghosted me. I suddenly didn't have a job anymore because they just straightforwardly stopped telling me where the next job site was.

Like, this doesn't mean that it's your job to do it, but this vision you have of these big groups of men where everyone is on the fence and there is precisely one shit stirrer who can be shut down by a brave feminist man who can single handedly set the example for all these other guys...you are high. You are describing an "everybody clapped" level absurd scenario. Most of these truly virulent misogynistic guys either have zero friends, because, you know, our society is atomized to fuck, or they are in a group where the feminist guy is actually the weirdo who can be shut down and ostracized much, much easier than the misogynists, because there is no such thing as a man misogynists respect who stands up for women.

You might be saying "well, we're talking about longstanding personal relationships, actually. Like, they need to have to want to spend time with you and then, as a side effect, you can mind control them out of being a threat to us."

Problem with that being:

1: Many feminist men also have no friends, see the atomized society above.

2: Feminist men already stopped hanging out with men who make rape jokes because why the fuck would we want to spend time with them.

3: That isn't just because we respect women so hard. We are in many cases talking about men who are also deeply queerphobic, heirarchical, violent and abusive to other men. What initially drew me to feminism and women was a lack of heirarchical squabbling and constant bullying, and the ability to be openly queer. A lot of men who came to feminism did so because they knew that the patriarchy was not a place they would find success or acceptance. These are not the men who are gonna be able to change right wing minds.

4. Men do not view themselves as a monolith. There is no universal brotherhood of men. The actual meaning of the term "Fragile masculinity" is that men are constantly expected to prove that they are deserving of the status of being a member of their own gender. There are large swathes of men--including most of the men who you'd look to as examples of good, feminist men who you want to undertake this project--who are considered failed men, sissies, f****ts, soyboys, ect. They are. Not. Going. To. Convince. These. Men. Of. Jack. Shit. Much less successfully *shame* them. Jesus.

I know all of this sucks. I know it would be cool to be able to just point at a group and have them be responsible for the work. But nah. It's gonna have to be a societal project, one that will probably outlast all of us. Sorry. The thing you want these men to do is, absolutely, the morally correct thing to do. But presuming that it would be effective is, and once again I am so sorry about this, just ignorance of how these social groups function.

[heroesneedalancer]

Post by u/DJConvex to r/AskReddit on Nov 6, 2024:

People who work in DC for the government, what is the vibe?

Comment by u/Meduselde:

Resigned. We are generally very good about not discussing politics in the workplace but the vibe was obviously off. My more conservative colleagues who were happy Trump won were extremely respectful. There wasn't smug gloating and they were very obviously being cognizant of others' feelings even more than normal. It was extremely appreciated. Ultimately, we survived the first administration and will survive again. It's not necessarily Trump who was the problem last time, but his inexperienced senior appointees. The world isn't going to end nor do I feel democracy will crumble at his feet. It's just gonna be chaotic, and that's the worst part as a worker bee. At least with Biden we had consistent leadership and clear guidance, even if you didn't agree with it. Under Trump, your "yes man" says "no" and that's how you rotate through four SECDEFs. But as a sign of hope, it also means that even the most loyal DO say "no" sometimes, especially when businessmen are finally confronted with the realities of governance.

They chill out REAL quick on their dismantlement plans when they see the work these agencies do and what's at stake if they don't stand up for their people. It's easy to say you will dissolve or cut funding for something when you do not truly understand it. And as much as people say we can ALL be magically replaced with "yes men," even the most stone-hearted appointees recognize that the last thing you ever want is to lose the entirety of your skilled workforce. They learn it's best to get the skilled people to work towards their vision and not hire enthusiastic but stupid people to attempt the same. If they do, they risk looking inept themselves. You don't get skilled federal workers in a blue portion of the country to work for you by being a fucking Nazi. We're cranky and will make your life hell if you behave like that. I'm not talking about some sort of organized resistance movement because we feel like it. That's wrong. But just imagine hundreds of thousands pissed off at you. If that's the Deep State at work, then we aspire to be the quality of swampy Deep State your racist uncle thinks we are. If implementing dictatorship was that easy, Trump would have taken out every agency his last term and fired us all. I am actually extremely proud of the resiliency and checks and balances that the American federal government has in place to prevent most of the shit he says he can achieve by waving a magic executive wand. (He's done this once. He knows he can't. He just lets the majority of the population believe he can.) Us feds will make it, as we always have.

And we will live up to our oath to serve the Constitution, not a president. We serve every official of every party faithfully within the bounds of legalities and our oath. Working for administrations you may not like it's just a part of the job that we all recognize. Public servants at the federal level generally hold that extremely close to their heart. The ones that don't (I'm talking to YOU, WaPo "informants!") put us to shame. We're just tired, man. I can't believe it has already been four years since the last round. There's going to be some waves, no doubt, and some people definitely are going to be hurt at upper levels. But grab a Twisted Tea and buckle up. We'll at least pretend it's meant to be a roller coaster and ride it. TL;Dr Democracy is not going to die. But a drink and "thanks" would go a long way.

EDIT: Woah! I woke up this morning and am surprised by how much traction this got. I'm sad that this was the most positive thing some people had read. I'm sorry it's been that bad. I am not predicting outcomes. I have no idea how it's going to go. It's going to be bloody. But the hope I am trying to get across is that we are a resilient people and a group of (generally) good people. It will be okay, okay? The people that really make or break your daily life are those around you and your local government. Hold those around you close to your heart and always be kind. Everybody go outside, take a deep breath, eat something you love, and hug your grandma (even if she voted differently). The world is still turning and the sky is still blue. Being surrounded by spiraling anger on the internet only makes us the losers, not those we disagree with. The only thing we can do right now is wait. We have a few months to cool off! Enjoy your holidays!

EDIT 2: I think everybody has forgotten about this, but go check out the memorandum signed by the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the end of Trump's first term after January 6. The feds basically said "fuck that" when people were scared that the government was going to turn the military on them to help Trump in some way. While it was specifically addressed to our armed forces members, it was spread throughout the DOD and beyond. Partially as a result of federal workers' fear (not actually ordered, to be crystal clear) that they would be asked to turn on citizens. This sentiment was echoed across the entire government via internal emails (from Trump appointees!) as well to the civilian workforce. That's one of my proudest moments as an American and why I know we will get through it.

Emphasis mine. Link to original Reddit Post. Link to an article about the aforementioned memorandum signed by the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Don't give up. We will get through this.

[elumish]

Part 1/? of How to Deal With the Next Four(ish) Years

Learn how to tell the difference between "their policies/rhetoric actively target me/a marginalized group" and "they have not been as successful as I hoped in protecting me/a marginalized group." I saw the rhetoric a fair amount pre-election that the Democratic Party and its policies were transphobic, that Biden failed queer people, etc. as a reason not to vote for Harris or for Democrats, and the reality is that the Democratic Party and Joe Biden have actually been pretty steadily implementing laws and policies to support and protect queer (including trans) people, and Republicans want queer/trans people to die.

If you want to protect marginalized groups, whether they're ones you're part of or not, you really need to start actively working on distinguishing between the two. And if you keep hearing that the Democrats are just as bad about a marginalized group in the US as the Republicans, actually look into that. What is the evidence? What laws have been introduced or passed by one party versus the other? What rhetoric do they use? What policies and regulations are being put in place?

And is the problem that the Democratic Party is "just as bad" or that they have not managed to stop Republican laws in red states?

None of this is to say that the Democratic Party is perfect, but in most cases only one party is actively working to harm or kill marginalized people, and it's not the Dems.

Understand the government structure that directly impacts you. Not every state or locality operates the same way, and you may have more or fewer layers of government over you with different levels of power. Do you have a town/city government and a county government, or just one or the other? How many officials are elected in your state versus appointed?

Part of that is also understanding what is controlled at the local, state, and federal level. If you're mad about a law or policy and want it to change, whose law or policy is it? Chances are, if it's about how things work for you, it's a state or local law rather than a federal one. Once you understand that, you can target any organizing efforts in the right direction.

Pick your battles. This is not to say that you shouldn't care about a lot of things, but trying to personally organize around everything will probably just make you ineffective and burn you out. Is it Palestine? Ukraine? Sudan? Environmental justice? Climate change? Immigration? Abortion? Queer rights and protections? Education? Native American rights? Criminal justice reform?

Understanding your own priorities can also help you determine what candidates you support and where you draw your red lines. I care a lot about public schools, but support for charter schools is not a red line for me in a politician. Being pro-life is.

But I'm also pragmatic--if my choice is a pro-life person who also wants all queer people to die and a pro-life person who wants to protect queer people, I will hold my nose vote for the latter rather than risk the former winning.

Start identifying what protections you and your loved ones might need that you can access now. Is it an IUD, a tubal ligation, or a vasectomy? Is it getting your legal name changed now? Is it establishing other legal protections such as power of attorney even if you're married?

Vote in every election. If you are an eligible voter, you should be a registered voter, and you should vote every single time. I think the only election I've missed in the last 5 years is the 2024 Democratic primary, and that's 50% because it was basically an uncontested race and 50% because I forgot when it was.

Primaries are where you get to have a say in who your candidate is--at all levels. Look at the policies of who is running and vote for who you want to win--whether because of policy, temperment, or any other reason.

But state and local elections are incredibly important, because they have a huge impact on your actual quality of life. Show up and vote. Vote on off years. Vote when it's just local. Vote for Board of Education, for water commissioner, for sheriff, for judges.

Voting is cheap, it's easy, and it does make a difference.

[tbiscool35]

Legit it's like finding out that a man cannot see himself being friends with a woman unless he's trying to date her. Like that's just sexism my dude, touch some grass.

I have multiple male friends, some who have gfs, some who don't, none of which want to get in my pants. They're all decent human beings who are comfortable enough in their masculinity to hang around women and not feel emasculated if they're not the centre of attention.

One of my male best friends had literally never had a supportive friend group before us and had such an insane change in personality from the time I first met him to now, almost 2 years later. Dude has stopped putting himself down all the time and has even gone through a whole sexuality crisis (he's a bisexual king with a hot bisexual queen and they both admire the hot people together).

He is one of my best friends and I love him like an annoying little brother. I wouldn't trade him for the world.

Some men do suck, but treating all men the same as ones who do actually do despicable things just increases the seperation between the genders. It takes away the ability for mixed friendships and the ability for men to understand things from a women's perspective. And if you can't understand the perspective of a population, well that's how discrimination and dehumanisation happens.

Sexism works both ways. People are human, treat them as such regardless of race, gender, religion, or any other seggregating factor. Never dehumanise a section of humanity. No matter how justified you think it is. Because that is how the most heinous crimes of humanity were allowed to occur.

Some of y'all genuinely hate dudes and honestly, that's super cringe

[theweewooshow]

I really want a fic where Buck decides he's going to romcom Tommy into wanting to fight for them by showing up literally everywhere Tommy is so he can't forget about him or get over him

like karaoke trivia? Buck's already at the table next to the table Tommy's group normally sits with a sheepish looking Eddie sitting next to him

BBPU games? he's there cheering everyone on from the sidelines (no ankles will be hurt this time!)

Muay Thai? he makes Eddie bring him to the studio where Tommy practices and spends half the night ogling him and half the night dodging fists (he really doesn't know the first thing about Muay Thai)

the Lakers game Tommy got him tickets for? he shows up at Tommy's door two hours before the game because he thinks he's going to have to convince him, but Tommy opens the door already dressed, with a fondly exasperated expression on his face

the plant exchange/repotting workshop Tommy mentioned once in passing while they were still together? Buck is there even though he's not sure Tommy will be. (he does show up and he sits next to him and calls him Evan as he helps him with the plant he brought along to repot and Buck is trying so, so hard not to get his hopes up, but Tommy's hand brushed his and he looked happy to see him and and and)

they keep this up for a while and it's good having him in his life still, but Buck obviously wants more and he thinks Tommy does too so maybe one night, months later, after karaoke trivia when they're waiting for their Ubers, a little buzzed and laughing at some joke one of Tommy's friends made earlier, buck's heart feeling too big in his chest seeing Tommy look happy, he kisses him. it's misaligned and sloppy because they're both smiling, but Tommy kisses him back after a moment. the smiles melt from their faces and the kiss deepens and suddenly there are tears in Buck's eyes

they cancel their Ubers and sit on the curb and they talk, finally, months too late, but maybe it's actually the right time after all because Tommy comes into it understanding that Buck is willing to fight for him, for them.

and Buck says Tommy deserves to be happy, that they both do, that they could find happiness together if they let themselves. and Tommy's been running his whole life, but maybe he doesn't want to run from this anymore, maybe he wants to try staying for once

[tlbodine]

So, Things Are Terrible and You Want to DO SOMETHING

The election is over and, ah...did not go well. While a lot of folks are doing a post mortem of the campaigns and trying to understand what happened with the vote and fighting over who shoulders the blame, we've gotta turn an eye toward the future and figure out, okay fam, where the fuck do we go from here.

I don't have all the answers on this, and I'm not an authority by any means, I'm just a horror author with a blog. But I've been thinking a lot about it and I wanted to share my thought process with others who might want to DO SOMETHING but feel they're spinning their wheels.

Buckle in. This will be a long one.

Step One: Understand the actual risks and stakes.

I think it is very easy to start panicking now about the worst possible case scenario -- jackbooted military busting into the door to disappear everyone who ever said something mean about Trump or bought a banned book or something -- and let fear turn into inaction.

I'm not saying things can't get that bad, and I'm not saying that it won't be absolutely terrifying right out the gate for some particularly at-risk groups -- but the distance between "now" and "V for Vendetta" is long and filled with a lot of intermediary steps. There will be so many opportunities to prevent the worst case scenario.

I say this because, if your mental image of "Bad Things Happening" is The Purge, it will be easy to wake up on inauguration day, look outside to see that the world is not on fire, think, hey, maybe things will be okay after all, and then completely disengage. Alternatively, you might feel so frozen with terror at the possibility of persecution that you do nothing. This is why people are saying: don't obey in advance.

It is essential for those of us with more privilege to use it to take care of those who are more vulnerable.

So. Who is most vulnerable? What does that vulnerability actually mean? What are the most likely risks of Trump's presidency? Here's a Guardian article that I think does a good job of summarizing some of the main issues. Go read that, then come back here.

Step Two: Take steps to protect yourself

You've gotta put your oxygen mask on first, right? So before you start getting involved in other causes, figure out what risks YOU are at, immediately, and do as much as you can to secure yourself. Some potential action steps depending on your circumstance may include:

Renewing your passport (helpful for leaving the country, but also for gender/name change purposes)

Getting vaccines / boosters

Securing birth control

Ensuring your necessary papers (birth certificates etc.) are where you have access to them.

Drawing up legal paperwork for spouses/partners (always a good idea, a helpful safety measure in case you lose marriage rights)

Bolstering your data privacy and online security. Here's a step-by-step guide I found that could help with that.

The specific steps you need to take here depend on what risks you, personally, face. You'll want to do some more research into this for your particular scenario.

No matter who you are, though, it's probably a good idea to start saving money and being a little more conservative with your spending and/or pay down debts to free up some cash. You don't know what kind of emergency may befall you, and having spare money for an emergency is never a bad idea.

There is a possibility that the cost of many things you rely on might go up, if Trump goes through with his tariffs plan. You will want to plan for that.

Food costs may also rise due to tariffs (we import a lot of food from Mexico and Latin America for example) as well as a loss of immigrant labor. There is also a possibility that food safety standards could fall due to overturning regulations. Now would be a good time to look into local food resources like farm share/CSA, community farms, etc., and to stock up on a few key staples like rice and beans.

Okay. Now that YOU are reasonably safe...what can you do to protect your community?

Step Three: Get Involved

Here is your mission: You need to stay engaged enough to know what's going on, without burning yourself out or exhausting yourself, and to take actual decisive actions instead of wasting your energy arguing on the internet.

Got that? Okay. Good. Here are some action steps:

Support independent journalism. Subscribe to local papers, donate to and watch public broadcast programming. I signed up for news from ProPublica, for example, as well as the news-roundup service What The Fuck Just Happened Today. The goal is to stay informed without falling down an endless rabbit hole of upsetting information.

Share news and resources with others in your circle. This can be a good use of social media. It's what I am doing right now!

If it is safe for you to do so, challenge and educate your friends/family members/neighbors/coworkers. Only if it is safe for you to do so. Do not put yourself at risk doing this. And do not waste your time arguing with people who are unlikely to change. But if you have well-meaning people in your life who you think could be won over, look for opportunities to do this - the right way. I've had some success with this, I will probably write a guide about it in the future. In the meantime, here's a good article that can help.

Join local grassroots activism groups. You'll have to do some work to decide what groups to join and which causes you want to support, because you cannot do everything. But there are tons of organizations taking direct action in all kinds of causes. Search "grassroots [cause] activists in [where you live]" to start finding things. Once you get involved in one group, you might meet people who can introduce you to other groups and causes. Yes, this means you will have to go outside and meet people. I'm sorry.

Join direct action groups. Same concept as above. You'll have to search in your area but once you know people it'll be easier to find more opportunities. Some of these groups may overlap. You might find direct action opportunities by engaging politically and vice versa. GO OUTSIDE AND TALK TO PEOPLE WHO ARE DOING THINGS TO HELP.

Get involved in local politics. Here are some quick tips. A lot of things are affected at the city level - stuff like book bans and bathroom bills are often battled first at local libraries and schools, and you can be part of those conversations! Sheriffs are elected and can have a big influence on local policing. Local elections affect how tax dollars are spent, how homeless populations are treated, and lots more. Don't snooze on local elections. Get involved and stay involved.

Look up your representatives. Get in the habit of calling, emailing, and writing letters. Figure out what legislature is being passed and then call your reps and harangue them about it - both to support bills you approve of and shoot down ones you don't. Sign petitions. Join email campaigns. Here's one you can go sign right now from the ACLU. See? Not that scary.

I think a lot of people figure that getting involved in politics doesn't matter or that it's all small potatoes but...man. The president is not god, no matter what he thinks. The sitting administration is not the sole power in the universe. There is an entire machine of government we can lean upon and act upon.

Finally, some general safety notes:

Some forms of direct action are not legal. Take steps to be safe if you choose to partake. Follow the lead of more seasoned activists for what forms of communication to use and so forth.

If you're not willing or able to put yourself at legal risk to act, you can help others by donating to bail funds and legal defense funds.

We've already seen this in some areas, and it will only get uglier - some bad actors are feeling emboldened by the change in regime and will misbehave. It's a good idea to learn some self-defense skills, in whatever way is comfortable to you, and brush up on some tenets of victimology that can help you stay safe. I'll write more about that in the future.

All right. That's all for now. It's by no means comprehensive...but should hopefully help you get started taking the next step. Stay safe out there.

[demonic0angel]

DC x DP: An Atlantean death cult summons Danny to usher in the end of the world. The biggest obstacle to this is that Danny doesn't speak Atlantean and as such has no idea what these weird fish people want.

(Unfortunately, I missed MerMay this year, or y'all would've been gotten soooo much mermaid!Phantom Family stuff istg)

Danny tried not to groan as he stared at the other cultists who wanted him to... do something. Probably evil, but how would he know?

He couldn't understand Atlantean, after all.

But it definitely looked evil, with the wounded dolphin in the middle of the circle with its blood dispersing into the water.

Danny gave a silent prayer, hoping that Cujo could perhaps guide it towards a better afterlife.

Danny sighed, rocking from side to side as he looked down at himself, where his legs had merged together into an orca tail.

At least he was badass as hell while he was summoned as a merman.

He watched blandly as the cultists continued to dance and chant, trying to do something with their ritual that he couldn't understand. He didn't want to rain on their parade, but while he couldn't understand them, it just looked several times more ridiculous.

One of them swam forward to present to him a closed cup full of an unknown thing and Danny just stared at it before turning away.

There were some cries of shock and despair.

Danny looked around for a way to escape, but he would feel bad if he left and these cultists wrecked havoc within the ocean, so he stayed there, watching the reeds move in the water.

Out of the blue, the underwater temple that Danny was in suddenly rocked. A whale crashed into the side of the place and shook the entire ground, causing screams to erupt from the cultists. Danny gave a sigh of relief as he saw a crowd of people swim inside and attack the cultists.

It was finished up rather quickly, as Danny bent down to smudge the rune markings keeping him in the circle.

He looked at the various crowd of people, some of whom he recognized were part of a hero group called the Justice League in this world. In front of them was a blonde man in orange and green, who was staring at him in horror and shock.

Danny gave a reassuring smile and waved goodbye.

"Thanks for taking care of them! See you never! Bye!"

And then he was gone.

[romanticfatale]

Love this. I love fashion and as trans man I have a particular interest in menswear both formal and alternative.

Understandably not an exhaustive from either myself nor OP by any means, but I wanted to suggest additional nuances:

(Made some edits)

Take your own measurements if you can. If you don't have measuring tape, you can use a ruler and a thread/rope, paper (standard US printer paper being 11 x 8.5 inches) and a bit of math, or other lengths of measure convenient to you.

Important ones are:

Bust: Across the chest and around your back centered to your nipples. If you wear a bra, take this measurement with a bra. To get your bra size, bend over if you can and measure across your nipples with how far they hang down.

Underbust: For bra-wearers, important to take for determining bra size. Equals band number. Subtract from the bra-less bust to equal cup size. Every inch of difference is a letter. Can be important to take if you wear an underbust corset, bra or not.

Waist size (where you prefer to have your pants hang) and natural waist size (typically across your belly slightly above your naval)

Hips, especially if you have wide hips.

Shoulder size mostly matters if you want tailored items or have broad shoulders. I have broad shoulders, and certain places/brands make for narrower shoulders. I still enjoy some womenswear blouses so shoulders have always been tricky for me.

Menswear is often determined by sleeve length, neck girth, waist size, and inseam (from the crotch to the ankle). I am very short so I have to tailor everything myself anyway, so it might not matter unless you're tailoring but most menswear minimum is about 30" inseam, 30" sleeve, and 14" neck. Waist I've seen as small as 24"

Get to know your shoe sizes in various measures. US men is typically 2 numbers smaller than US women's (US 8 women = US 6 men). As a USAmerican who also buys internationally, I like to know my Europoean size as well. Mens shoes in the US are difficult to find below US size 8, but not impossible.

Mens trousers are usually either pleated or flat front, meaning there are or aren't pleats in the waist. Sometimes there are multiple pleats. Pleated looks a little dressier.

"Slacks" and dress pants are the same. "Khaki" is a tannish or light brown color but "khakis" is often slang for tan colored Chinos, which are usually made of cotton. Dress pants are "dressy" as they are more formal in cut/pattern, color, and style.

Dress pants usually have buttons the same color as the fabric, and do not have rivets. Rivets on trousers, iirc, were originally a working class thing as it reinforces the pocket strength. Jeans have rivets and metal buttons. Sometimes Chinos have rivets and often metal button. Think of Chinos as "between" Jeans and Dress pants in both material and dressiness.

Remember to check your pockets in dress pants if they are sewn shut. This is typically intended to prevent dust, lint, and other things before purchase, and indicates they have not been worn.

"Trouser" and "Pants" are mostly the same thing depending on where you are. Some places in the US say trousers are dress pants whereas pants refer to any two-legged waist garment, but pants in the UK iirc are undergarments and trousers are all two-legged waist garments.

Gurkha Trousers are usually slightly higher waisted with a wider waistband and have a buckle instead of a button. They lean more formal, around the same area as Chinosbut can be as dressy as dress pants given material.

There is a difference between a Blazer, a Sports Coat, and a Suit coat, among many other kinds of coats.

A Blazer is usually intended to be emblematic of some sort of group, such as a school or a club. The buttons have said emblems on them, there may be an embroidered patch around the breast, and they are often the color of said group, sometimes a bright or noticeable color or vivid prints, hence "blazer"

A sports coat is a suit-like cut of coat but intended to be worn with any combination of colors. A suit coat is cut from the same cloth as the rest of the suit and is intended to be worn with the full piece, and typically has buttons the same color as the fabric like dress pants. Separating a suit coat from the suit is possible, but if you don't do it well you look very silly. Mix and matching pieces like this is called Spezzato, meaning "mixed" in Italian.

A suit is typically made as a two or three piece, meaning either a coat and trousers or a coat, waistcoat, and trouser.

A peacoat is a similar cut but thicker, warmer, and usually around hip or mid thigh. They are intended to be worn on top of a suit. An overcoat is similar but longer, typically knee length or longer.

Formal coats can be single or double breasted. Usually, you are not intended to button the bottom button of a formal menswear coat. Peacoats are always double breasted.

Double breasted sports coat can have various button configurations depending on how many buttons, where they're placed, and how much room you have in the waistline to move.

The lapels (the flaps around the collar) can also be stylized.

You may have noticed some lapels have a little hole in them, the lapel buttonhole. This is for a lapel pin or boutonniere. They are usually intended to showcase an emblem, such as for employees, officials, or other identification means and events (prom, religious orders, etc).

Some coat have "vents" which are the little slits in the back.

There are multiple types of waistcoats/vests as well. They can also be single or double breasted, they can have lapels, have v necks or "horse shoe" scoop-like necks. Similar to the sports coat, the bottom button should be left undone if it is single breasted. Double breasted waistcoats are usually fully buttoned, but the bottom can be left for slight more casual wear.

Wearing a waistcoat without a coat is totally acceptable and one of my favorite fashions. It also works well to hide binder seams.

I’m partial to tapestry coats and waistcoasts, meaning they are made of “tapestry” fabric, which is thick and usually wool with beautiful prints or embroidery.

In the US (at least where I am) we also call south asian vests Nehru vests (and also Nehru jackets which are the same but long-sleeve). They are waistcoats with band collars (aka mandarin collars).

Waistcoats usually have the back made of a different fabric, usually viscose or silk or similar. I never liked these personally since I don’t wear sports costs to hide them. Waistcoats that are the same fabric front and back are usually called cloth-backed.

Shoes: Oxford, Derby, Brogues: Oxford and Derby refers to the lace style.

Brogue refers to the cut of the shoe:

Different kinds of heels (and other shoes), as well:

Menswear is often harped on for being "boring" and there's two things I have to say about that: a) a lot of anglospheric "western" menswear is very very specific. Wearing pink will get some guys slurred at. However, you are allowed to have fun with it. You can wear a deep-v brightly colored sports coat without a shirt and have a huge chunky pearl necklaces with some bell bottoms and bright colred sunglasses. You can wear a "womens" coat and "womens" shoes with a suit.

It IS frustrating that so much of what is considered menswear in really specific western anglosphere IS boring because of extreme concepts of masculinity, but if you can sew you can also alter clothes however you like. Cut off the sleeves of a sport coat and reattatched them with ribbons, cut out lace or another color of fabric in long triangles and turn dress pants into two-toned bell bottoms.

Look at haute couture menswear to get some ideas, look at favorite celebrities and bands and films (prince, motley crue, malice mizer, billy porter, david bowie, legend, romeo and juliet, the color of pomegranates, the fall, etc etc) on how to bend masculinity and have fun with fashion.

As a queer and fashion-loving trans man, it's very important to me to put on the image of masculinity while also bending it. The "feminine in a masculine way" thing where if I'm going to be called an evil satanic freak for wearing earrings and black, I'd prefer to at least be gendered correctly.

Men and women’s wear differ often in the way they are cut, usually menswear being squared off where womenswear has hourglass figures. Menswear is also more often sturdier and thicker compared to more delicate womenswear fabric. Keep that in mind when mix and matching typically gendered clothes. A women’s blouse can look more squared off with a men’s vest, or a women’s vest can look nice with men’s trousers.

Seconding OP's comment about searching trend vs type, there Can be some good stores that are trying to advertise via style or trend but it's much better to curate your wardrobe more individually. I've had a similar discussion Here but essentially, even "normie" brands can be made alternative or more lively if you learn how to style properly.

Things like color, cut, and shape will affect how clothing looks on you.

I've always hated the idea that certain shapes, hairstyles, glasses, etc are "best" on someone. Round faces can wear round or square glasses or blunt bang bob haircuts or mullets all they want. They will each look different, yes, but it depends on what you want to look like and how to achieve that look.

For example, every now and then Macy's will have an out of season sale. 200$ clothing for 20$. It sucks that's how you have to shop for save money, but they're often well tailored and long-lasting across the brands they sell. I've beautiful dress shirts and trousers that work excellently for gothic-adjacent fashion.

Last but not least, times I think brand can matter:

Certain brands, not necessarily "big/expensive/luxury" brands but brands in general tend to have gimmicks, styles, materials, and other things they use often. If you like the way a particular set of trousers or a jacket you found either online or at the thrift store or any store feels and looks on you, look up the brand and see if they have similar items (and hope they still exist). I especially recommend this if you're a very tactile or sensory person, as finding a brand that consistently makes clothes that feel good on your body can be SO important.

Plus, more well known (but not necessarily luxury) brands and thrift will more often have better clothes than fast fashion anyway. Thrift because they're usually older clothes anyway and thus made in a time where they were already quality compared to now, and certain brands because they have an image and standard to keep.

There's quite a bit more across the entire fashion industry and it'snot something I'm much more well versed in than what I already posted or said, but this is what I have the energy to mention atm.

i dont consider myself a 'fashion guru' by any means but one thing i will say is guys you dont need to know the specific brand an item you like is - you need to know what the item is called. very rarely does a brand matter, but knowing that pair of pants is called 'cargo' vs 'boot cut' or the names of dress styles is going to help you find clothes you like WAAAYYYY faster than brand shopping

[teeskzagain]

» warnings: dom!felix, rough sex, dirty talk, hickey (f. receiving), reader referred to as ‘fuck toy”

₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . continuation of prompt: just the tip? jeongin ver. ₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ .

jeongin ver. ~ part 1

seungmin ver.

but if only you had simply glanced down just a smidge. then, you would've seen a pair of peeping eyes staring deeply at you, hiding on the stairs, watching the lewd scene unfold.

there stood lee yongbok, mouth agape and shocked face at what was before his eyes. because if he had known any better, he had you in quite a similar position....

just...hours...before...this.

⊹ . ⋆

⋆ . ݁

. ݁ ⋆

⊹ . ⋆

⋆ ⊹ . ݁

a few hours earlier….

felix loves many things about you.

you’re quirky sense of humor.

the awkward smile you do when someone compliments you.

how could he not adore you? you’re just too cute.

but. if he had to chose his most favored version of you…

it’d be the one where you always did exactly as he said.

“aww, why the frowny face, y/n?” felix tilts his head slightly, regarding your uneasy expression with large eyes, “something the matter?”

with a bare back resting against his headboard, felix watches as you essentially hump yourself dry on top of him. desperation claws at your veins, and grunts showcasing struggle begin to slip out more frequently from your pouty little mouth.

you continue working your hips into his, face scrunched inwards on itself. you hadn’t registered his previous questions, your head too clouded with the immense pleasure pulsing through you.

his fingertips curl deep into your waist as he continues guiding your movements above him, “y/n….” his resonant voice fills your head deliciously, “i need you to open your eyes, and look at me. look at me while i fuck your pretty pussy, understand?”

a particularly hard thrust from felix causes your eyes to shoot wide open, a hearty groan bellowing out of your throat in the midst, “oh– fuck!”

now that makes his lips tug into a smile. this is what he loves about you. he loves how somehow, someway, he always gets you to do exactly as he says. always so good for him, treats him so well, takes him so well.

his favorite fucking pussy.

“you’re twitching so hard on me. are you close? gonna soak yourself all over my cock?” he mutters those questions as he lowers his head down towards your neck.

you could only mewl out a, ‘yes’ in that high-pitched, whiny tone he’s obsessed with, and felix sighs contently onto your skin, his cock bouncing harshly into your sweet, sweet, cunt.

he hovers his mouth over your neck. lips fluttering open and shut, he edges you with anticipation until eventually they latch onto your skin. his mouth starts to suck rapidly against the area, and nearly cums on the spot when he hears how responsive you become at the action.

he feels you start to quiver on top of him, body shaking from each pleasure point. your eyes are vibrating as you huff and huff and huff, “mmm-! mmm-! i’m gonna cum. god, you’re gonna make me cum.”

felix pops off of your neck with a guttural groan, “that’s fucking right, baby. you’re so close i can feel it. can feel you gripping my cock so hard.” he buzzes out a mew, “finish for me, y/n.”

his tip works deeply into your core, hitting the succulent spot that soon has you spilling over the edge. walls tensing, legs clasping, your orgasm hits you dead center, and quickly your body is stuttering from it.

a long moan bubbles out of you for the duration of it, and at every inflection of your tone, wetness would spew out of your hole which only drowned felix’s cock even further with liquids. it was heaven.

though. as you neared the end of your climax, a part of you knew this wasn’t the true end.

no.

felix hadn’t came yet.

and with a little over an hour left until he needed to leave for study group, he knew he wanted to spend the passing time well.

and what better way to do so, than by painting your insides white because you’re such a damn good fuck toy for him.

you always are.

[allaboutnayeli]

BREAK DOWN YOUR WALLS, OPEN UP YOUR HEART / lia wälti x reader

ah, ah, oh let my love adorn you, baby don't you ever don't you let nobody tell you different, baby i'll always adore you you gotta know now you got to know, know, know

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀━ adorn, miguel

summary: you never felt like you belonged until lia came along.

contains: shy!reader, mentions of loneliness, low self-esteem, and isolation, oblivious lesbians, katie being a menace, time-line is slightly messy

author notes: wrote this for my girls who have felt like they are in the background their entire life and wish someone would notice them 🩷 it's okay, i see you because i am you.

you know those people that can light up a room just by walking into it? the ones who command attention just from their presence alone?

well, you aren't one of those people.

instead, you're the type that walks in and slowly blends into the wall. the one who awkwardly looks around, listening in on everyone's vibe. trying to see where you can squeeze in (it always ends up being nowhere, by the way).

that's just how you been since nearly forever. you remember family members and teachers commenting on how you were so quiet, they would forget you were in the room with them sometimes. was it a compliment or a foreshadowing of a trait that would turn into a flaw? who knows, you were six.

it's not that you don't want to put yourself out there. you do, but it's just so hard. it seems like everyone else has it figured out, and you're the only odd one out. everything about you has always been standoffish and anxious. a mind that's desperately trying to disguise itself as normal.

you just didn't fit in. that was obviously your place in life whether you liked it or not.

the only place you ever fitted in at was football. not amongst the likes of the locker room but out on the pitch. you knew exactly what to do with a ball between your feet like there was language between just you and the ball. that's why you made the sport your everything, putting your all into it even when others would question why you were so passionate. they wouldn't understand; they fit alongside the other puzzle pieces of society while you were an outside piece that was meant for a different puzzle. one that involves a ball, a net, and a pitch.

still the moment you stepped a foot off that pitch, your puzzle would fall apart.

that's just how it is.

that's why your expectations when you transferred to arsenal were pretty low. coming from tottenham, where all the other women were lovely but you weren't ever really apart of the circle outside of football, you expected things to go the same way at the red and white club.

and at first, it did. your first week went pretty well. got introduced to everyone, made small steps towards being apart of the team chemistry on the field, and even talked a bit in the locker room. however, overall, you stayed to yourself. the first to arrive at the locker room and the first to leave. keeping your cubby spot pretty much spotless because you didn't want to take up much space.

it's not the rest of the arsenal girls didn't try to include you, but everytime you saw a text in the groupchat about making plans or heard everyone talking about doing something outside of the practice grounds, you shyed away from it. feeling too out of place to join in. why even go if you were just going to sit there and be silent watching everyone else like some creep? more like some loser. you didn't think anyone noticed your absentness from every outing that wasn't mandated as a team bonding activity. nobody has that much interest in me anyways, so there is no point of going you thought to yourself when the loneliness really got to you.

expect someone did take interest. it just seems like you were so into your own head about your awkwardness and being outside of the group that you didn't notice the looks from one of your teammates.

"feels like i rarely see you even though we play on the same team," the sweet voice of lia rings in your ears as you sit out near the bonfire. this is your first time hanging out with the team outside of practice and matches, a mandated team bonding hangout at leah's. while everyone else was in the house enjoying the warmth of the heating, you were outside in your coat. sipping on your coffee with tons of sugar and cream in the england fall weather. why? you just needed some air was your excuse, and no, you didn't need anyone to come sit out there with you is what you said when kim asked. in reality, your mind couldn't take sitting on the couch beside everyone while they talk like they have known eachother since forever even though they basically have, and you're the only one out of the loop. your own fault for not coming out with everyone else more, you guess.

you shrug with a shy smile, "yeah.. i don't talk much, so that's probably why." it feels self insulting to say that, but it's true.

lia smiles before taking a seat next to you. she scoots over until your thighs touch. her eyes glance at you with a questioning look, is this okay? they say.

you respond with a smile back, not moving away from the contact. how could you feel uncomfortable when lia is looking at you with those eyes that feel carved out of a renaissance era painting and that smile that would even blind angels.

were you attracted to lia? maybe a little. she's pretty and from a far you have seen her personality shine so well when she's joking with everyone else in the locker room. you couldn't help yourself.

"nope, that's not it," lia takes a sip of her own coffee, "viv didn't talk a crazy amount, but she still was apart of us. you act like you don't want to be around us."

oh, okay. her words surprise you. it wasn't like you were ever rude or actually turned down an invitation to hang, you just didn't go. acting like you barely read the groupchat and didn't hear the girls talking about plans. you never thought anyone noticed you not being there anyways.

caught in your own thoughts, you stay silent for longer than you meant to. lia takes your silence for offense and immediately starts to apologize, "not that you aren't a great teammate or anything. you're amazing! just wish we could see you out of those kits more."

oh.

oh, shit. she wants to see you more outside of football. not just lia, but the whole team.. maybe? that's what implied, right?

"i want to see you guys outside of football, too. it's just.." you struggle to find the words to say. not that you didn't know why things were this way, you did, it's just.. you don't want to sound like a loser.

lia licks her lips, probably due to the cold, before saying, "i get it. i know how hard it is to fit into a new team. took me a while to get comfortable here, too, especially with all the big personalities." the brunette gives you a warm smile, one that you return. the two of you sip at your coffees at the same time. somehow, you're already synced. foreshadowing? perhaps.

she knows. lia knows how you feel in a way. these feelings you hold aren't just your own, and that's comforting.

"...yeah. i'm just a little scared, you know? it just feels weird to try to talk with everyone else. i never know what to say," you explain softly. it feels like a weight is lifted off your shoulders as you speak the words into the cool air.

lia makes this cute frown expression that makes you flush slightly; maybe it's the cold. she's really cute. why haven't you been paying more attention before?

"i was excited when i heard you were signing with us. you know, i been a fan of your play for a while now. we even played against eachother once at the international level.. i don't know if you remember that, though," lia looks slightly bashful. that makes your heart flutter because you have never seen lia shy before. just her comfortable presence amongst the others. she looks at you, fluttering her eyelashes all pretty when she notices that you're looking intently at her. she continues on, "and everyone else were excited too! still are. basically, what i'm saying is we want to get to know you. don't shy away from us. i swear we don't bite."

lia winks at you before standing up, giving you a nice pat on the shoulder.

"my coffee is nearly empty and it is way too cold to be out here. come inside when you're ready? no rush, of course. it's just i know beth probably pulled everyone into doing some games and i wouldn't want you to miss you. we all wouldn't want you to miss out" and with that she leaves, going back into leah's flat.

your heart is pounding as you take in everything that just happened. everyone on the team wants you around, lia wants you around. you didn't realize how badly you needed to hear that until now. your soul use to be fine with going throughout the world without a solid place to call home, but now maybe arsenal might be that spot to anchor down to.

lia left you feeling warmer than the bonfire a few meters away from you.

i might as well you think to yourself before getting up and going inside of the flat. your coffee is nearly gone anyways.

slowly, but surely you are pulled into the arsenal circle. it started out with lia inviting you out for brunch with leah, beth, and vic who brought along laura. arriving at the cute little shop, your heart was pounding in your chest. the sound blocking out everything else going on. why did your walk feel so awkward as you approached the table? god, you're so weird. why did you even come?

that's how you felt at first until lia smiles at you. she gestures for you to come sit next to her, and you happily do. everyone greets you as well. it feels so nice to be included.

"hey guys," you say softly. of course, you overthink those words. wondering if you should have said something more interesting. seems like no one else thinks the same as they immediately pull you into the conversation.

the rest of brunch goes really well. you don't talk a crazy amount, but you are definitely apart of the conversation. the best part was when during the middle of brunch when lia patted your thigh, making sure you were doing alright. for just a moment, you two just looked at eachother, exchanging words with just eyes alone.

is this okay?

better than okay.

apparently, time flies when you're having fun because brunch is over before you know it. saying goodbye to everyone doesn't feel like you're exiting a room that never wanted you there. you don't leave feeling empty and embarrassed. instead, you leave feeling fulfilled from a good time had.

you even get a few hugs before everyone drives away. everyone expect lia. she stays near your car, leaning against the metal. the brunette smiles at you warmly when you come closer, having just said goodbye to vic who's gone now.

"i carpooled with leah here and told her i would carpool with you on the way back. i wanted to check up on you without everyone else around. is that okay?" the care and slight nervousness in her voice makes you want to hug her. would that be weird?

you don't dwell on the thought. replying to her with, "more than okay. i'm so.. happy right now. that went better than i thought it would."

"told you. we want you around," lia chuckles, playfully giving your hand a soft pinch when you come close enough. the contact has your cheeks flushing, but you ignore that. grabbing her hand fully.

"yeah, yeah.. i know now. thanks for showing me." you pull her over to the passenger side of the car, opening the door for her. unfortunately, you have to let her hand go to allow her to get in the car, but it's all good when you see the smile lia flashes you. of course you flash her a smile back before shutting the door and going around the car.

as you reach the drivers seat, you think over what just happened. when did you get so comfortable with lia to just grab her hand? when did you two get so close she could pinch yours? and who are you to open the door for her? when did you get so bold?

lia is definitely bringing a different side out of you.

you reach lia's flat in twenty minutes that feel even shorter than that because you and lia were singing along to beyonce the entire way.

she unbuckles her seat belt but doesn't get out of the car. licking her lip before looking at you with a soft look.

"this was nice. i hope we can do this more often," lia's hands go to play with one of the pockets on her cargo pants.

thinking she's referring to the brunch, you nod with a smile, "totally. i didn't realize going out with others could feel so.. good."

lia's own smile widens. feeling happy and pretty satisfied with herself that she helped you reach this point even though it's just a small step.

one small step for you is the key to a great future where you're apart of something. a future that you deserve.

"yeah, that's great and i'm so glad you came out with us but that's not what i meant."

oh. you give her a look of confusion, your heart pounding slightly at her tone.

lia gives your a look of confusion a giggle in return. "what i meant was.. it was nice getting some alone time with you. screaming beyonce at the top of our lungs was fun! and i hope we can hang out more. just the two of us."

before you can respond, she gets out of the car. giving you a soft smile after she shuts the door.

"see you tomorrow," lia says.

still processing what she said two seconds ago, you spit out a simple, "see you!"

your mind is still hazy as you watch her walk up to her flat and enter it. only then, at the sound of her screen door shutting, do you snap out of your mind and drive off.

that day was the start of something special.

lia and you started getting closer. you started getting closer to everyone on the team, something you never thought would happen.

coffee with leah, dinner with caitlin, shopping trip with lotte. you were slipping into the puzzle that was arsenal instead of slipping through the cracks like you always do. having close friends was a change, but a nice one. when something exciting happened to you, there were actually people to tell. when you were bored out of your mind, there were people to ask to come over. when you had gotten sick with a cold, you could ask someone to come over, and there were people beside your parents, who actually cared to know if you were feeling any better. all this was attention was so new, but very much welcome.

especially attention from lia who hasn't stopped keeping you close since that bonfire hangout at leah's. after the brunch, you two have just gotten closer. way closer than you are to the others. tons of hangouts, getting eachother coffee before practice, carpooling to team hangouts, calling, and texting all the time. you even noticed her giving you some looks in the locker room sometimes. that never bothered you since.. you were taking a few looks at her, too.

lia was really becoming your person, and everyone else could see it from a mile away. the rest of the arsenal girls never said anything about it, not wanting to push you back into the shell you had just come out of.

everyone but katie mccabe.

the irish woman has been making subtle jokes about lia and you since she noticed the obvious tension between you two. you mostly ignored them, not even believing lia looked at you in that way. you may have gained alot of confidence by putting yourself out there more with lia's help, but some insecurity still hangs around for old times sakes.

you never saw any truth in those jokes until a match made all the pieces fall together in your mind.

the moment happens during a london derby. the score is currently a draw of 0 to 0. both teams are equally frustrated. the adrenaline in your system is on a high as the minutes pass by. the match is nearly over, and you refuse to allow arsenal to leave this pitch without at least one goal. you see your chance when frida passes you the ball, and you're off. sliding your way through chelsea's defense until there is just one obstacle left, zećira. there's a split second where her eyes move from the ball to you and that second is your chance to aim straight for the right side of the net.

more than half of the crowd erupts into cheers as the ball goes flying past zećira, hitting the back of the net. you can't even think about the cheers as someone jumps onto you with full force. immediately you know it is lia just from scent alone. her flowery perfume is a staple in your mind alongside a list of lil trinkets about the swiss woman. lia's face finds it's home right in your neck, her arms around your shoulders and legs around your waist. you would have a bigger reaction to the feeling of lia clinging to you like a koala, but there's no time as everyone else joins on the hug. shouting at the top of their lungs about the

the moment is soon over as you all have to get back to the game, but you carry that happiness from the goal with you even after the match ends. the minutes run out and the match ends in favor of arsenal; all thanks to you, by the way. that's what everyone keeps reminding you of as you change in the locker room. playfully you joke back (something you never thought you would do with your teammates) that it was just a lucky shot, nothing crazy. everyone pushes back against of course with lia being the loudest about her disagreement.

then of course, katie has to come in with a joke about how lia was a little too happy.

"is lia going to reap the benefits of this win when you two get to your place or what?" she says with a teasing smile on her lips.

the implication makes you turn away from everyone else and hide at your cubby, acting like your shirt was the most interesting piece of clothing you ever seen.

lia, fed up and slightly afraid katie's jokes are going too far, hits back with, "and if i was? what do you have to say about it?"

of course, her tone is light. it's a joke you want to remind yourself, but your mind and godforsaken feelings run with that sentence. it feels like there is something more underneath the playfulness. you should know, lia has pressed her way into every aspect of your life for three months now.

ever stubborn katie doesn't back down as she says, "i would say i'm not surprised. everyone knows you like each other."

lia and the rest of the locker room goes silent at that. it feels like all the blood in your body just rushed to your head as you take in what katie just said, no joking, all seriousness.

there is slightly awkward tension left in the room as everyone goes back to changing and joking around about other things not lia and you related. usually awkwardness would make you slightly anxious and overthink, but you can't overthink about the tension when you're already overthinking your relationship with lia right now.

have your feelings been that obvious? and how could you be so oblivious to lia's? in your mind there has always been this small hope that lia would return your feelings, but your insecurity pushed that hope away. lia was one of the first people to push you out of your comfort zone. one of the first to show that they care to have you around and don't care about any of your awkward tendencies. you refuse to lose that connection because of your dumb feelings. that's what you always told you to stop yourself from making any kind of move, but maybe those thoughts were incorrect.

maybe, just maybe, katie was just saying shit to push people's buttons and lia really liked you.

best time to find out is the present.

everyone soon clears out of the locker room, heading off to their ways home. of course, on this day of all days, lia and you carpooled. this night with either end great or horrible, depending on how this all goes.

leaving out of the building, you're holding both lia's and your bags. it's a habit you have fallen into ever since you two started carpooling so much. it's nice.

reaching lia's car, she unlocks the doors. opening one of the backseat doors to let you put the bags in the car before walking around to the passenger side and opening the door. that darling smile on her lips as she uses her hand to gesture you to come on.

"you act like i never done this for you before," she giggles when you make your way around the car. giving her a look before getting in the car. buckling your seatbelt while she shuts the door and goes around the car to get in on the driver's side.

"still surprises me when you do," you say when she gets in the car. she doesn't say anything back right away, but you can see the smile on her lips as she buckles her seatbelt and makes sure everything is set before pulling out of the parking spot.

"i don't know why. i like doing things for you.. i like being with you," lia says so calmly like those words don't send your heart rate through the roof. with the way your heart is now pounding, lia probably hears it from across the console.

you don't hesitate to say, "i like being with you too."

lia doesn't expect that from you, obviously as you notice her eyes slightly widen. she steals a quick glance at you before her eyes go back to looking at the road.

the brunette is slightly panicking in her head. she has had a crush on you since you started getting close and may have been attracted to you even before that. you returning her feelings wasn't the first thought in her mind when yall became basically besties. so yeah, she didn't really expect you to return her feelings or be bold like that.

when the car stops at a red light, lia looks at you.

"you know.." her eyes move from your eyes to your lips, then back to your eyes, "katie wasn't wrong. i like you."

she turns back to the road, continuing to drive. how can she just casually drive after throwing those words at you?

you don't stay silent like past you would. lia just confirmed she likes you. why would you miss that opportunity?

"i like you too and honestly i have for a while-" you don't get too far with your confession as lia cuts you off with a laugh.

"wait a minute, please. i might crash the car if you continue," she looks at you then back at the road. trying to focus on the fact you are confessing to her and the shitty drivers of london was a hard task, so yeah, unfortunately, she has to cut you off. for now.

you let out of a laugh of your own. nodding in understanding, your hands going to connect your phone to the car bluetooth.

beyonce blasts through the speakers seconds later.

lia parks in front of your apartment building. she turns off the car before turning to look at you. her hands reach across the console to grab yours, her thumbs rubbing soft circles on the skin there.

um, has it always been hot in here?

"so..." she maintains eye contact as she smiles at you, "what were you saying again?"

how does she expect you to confess when she's looking at you all pretty like that? the words feel like they are caught in your throat. you break eye contact to look around the car nervously, your tongue peeking out of the side of your mouth to lick at your lips.

lia can't stand for that, so she lets go one of your hands so she can use that free hand to cup your cheek. gently, but firmly, she guides your face to look at her.

"don't go shy on me now. what were you saying earlier? you like me and have for a while..?"

"i think i have liked you since the day at leah's. i was feeling so down, and you just came.. lighting up everything. after that day, i thought you would leave me alone. that it was a one-time thing, but no, you kept inviting me places and talking to me. it was all so new, but felt so right. i really like you, lia," you blurt out, blinking at lia, trying to see her reaction.

lia doesn't even give you a response. words wouldn't express how happy she is about this, so she doesn't use words. she comes close and kisses you. she catches you off guard, so your eyes are open, and you don't kiss back right away, but you eventually you do. your free hand going to grip on her wrist.

out of everything that has ever happened in your life, this feels the most right. just like how football was your savior in life, and there was a language between the ball and you. it's now a language between lia's lips and yours. she's been your savior for the past few months.

unfortunately, humans need air to breathe, so lia is the first to pull away. she doesn't go too far, one of her hands still holding onto yours and the other still cupping the side of your face. you don't let go of her wrist either. you shift your face slightly so you can kiss the palm of her hand before smiling at her.

a small silence falls between you two as you guys look at eachother.

lia speaks first, "can i take you tomorrow?"

there's only one answer to her question, "of course."

author notes: not grammar checked or anything but i wanted to post smt after disappearing for a while 😚❤️ this is lowkey bad quality.. i'll come out with better soon!

© ALLABOUTNAYELI

[helslastangel]

RANDOM ASTRO OBSERVATIONS #10

Nobody's safe. That's it. That's the disclaimer.

Libra Jupiter in 11th house can indicate having many opportunities in life that come through friendships and connections with others. People with this placement can often get very far in life simply because they talked to the right people at the right times. This is especially true if they also have Libra in their big 3 or Libra mercury.

Capricorn suns with Sagittarius mercury are surprisingly chill compared to the usual stoic reputation of Capricorn and energetic rep that Sagittarius has. My favorite friends and colleagues have this combination of placements and they are quite easy to get along with and fun to be around.

Very much like Virgo suns with Libra mercury, they can appear quiet and reserved at first, but become lively and chatty once they know you and have decided they like you. However unlike Virgo sun/Libra mercury people (who usually censor their words/tone and think out loud or form their opinions by talking through them first), not only are they a lot blunter (or straightforward, when older), they are more sure about where they stand, or certain of what they want to say on a topic before they say it.

Libra Mercury in the 11th house can have a lot of friends or just make and keep acquaintances very easily. These are the people who always "know a guy" or can say "my homegirl does that!" almost no matter what problem or need you have. They just know someone who can fix it. They are popular people, or at least seem that way to others.

They can sometimes appear to have a much larger network of friends and connections than they do, which is why many of them tend to either keep their friend/friend groups separate or may prefer to maintain superficial/lightweight connections with others over deeper and more intimate connections that would reveal more.

Capricorn Venus in 8th house people can go through a lot of one-sided relationships before landing the right person. They are probably the most caring and attentive of all the Venus sigs, but from my observations they are taken advantage of a lot and often treated very poorly by the majority of their partners.

My childhood friend has this placement (as well as a few of my relatives) and for over a decade I watched her pour so much love and care into men who ended up treating her like an afterthought. I never understood why, as she was very much what you'd think most males would consider wifey material.

She cooked, baked, was organized, and very clean. Motherly instincts intact, had a good job in healthcare and her own place. Knew how to kick back and have fun but could also be appropriately authoritative in the sense of managing a household. Like you could just tell she would be a firm yet loving mother, or even if she did not have kids, you could tell she would be the kind of wife where the husband could hand her his entire paycheck if he wanted and not have to worry for a second that she would blow it on anything foolish. Very capable and responsible woman. I used to get so angry at the way men would come into her life and enjoy all the things she would do for them, including having her manage their money. It was a bit surprising for me how quickly and easily men would put their finances in her hands, only for them to abruptly leave - usually for a woman who was chaotic and stressful too. I did not understand it then, and despite hearing all the talk about how men go for who they are passionate about even if they are the least productive, responsible, or capable person ever, I still don't get it now.

Capricorn in the 8th house can lead to a lot of situations where the native ends up handling other people's money because people can sense their stable energy and innate responsibility. But it can lead to the person feeling like they are nothing but a personal assistant or sentient savings account to others, and over time they can become (100% understandably) bitter if they do not meet someone genuine and kind in time to avoid this.

Aquarius in 6th house can have unusual or eccentric daily routines, or little quirks in the way they go about day to day tasks and responsibilities. I knew someone with this placement who could only brush his teeth in the morning and shower at night. He couldn't really bring himself to do it the other way around and would simply not do the thing at all that day if something disrupted that routine. He also had a job where his # of hours was consistent but his actual shift times weren't and he liked it that way "for the variety." He hated the thought of a schedule where he would have to arrive and leave at the same time every day.

Cancer Lilith in 1st house women can often run into situations where men string them along for a very, very long time. These men sense the stereotypical "nurturing/motherly" essence of Cancer but Cancer Lilith women display a unique twist on this essence where it is very clear to onlookers that her individuality and sense of self cannot be watered down or blended out into others.

Cancer Lilith 1H (and to a lesser extent Taurus Lilith 1H) women are the type who can have a husband, kids, work and manage the home without losing a single ounce of who they always were.

From my observations, they usually don't experience the fate many women meet, where they wake up one day and realize that they haven't even heard their first name in weeks because they're only remembered and referred to in terms of who they are to someone else ("Mom," "John's girlfriend," "Mr. Jones' wife").

Unfortunately, this rubs some men the wrong way, who will then subconsciously try to hang on to the parts of the Cancer Lilith women they like, while searching for other women who don't trigger their fear of women who retain their personality after marriage/children.

Gemini Sun Virgo Rising people can appear put-together and organized in public but could have very messy rooms or just have trouble keeping things in order at home.

People with Pisces in their 7th house might feel torn between going after people they are genuinely attracted to and people they perceive to be a better match, for whatever reason. They could also end up confusing the sense of security they feel with someone for love, or feeling more secure with someone than they should because of love.

Gemini Mars in 10th house does not mind going out of their comfort zone to further their career. They may even set aside their own values and morals if they believe that doing something will produce a good return on their investment (of time, effort, money, etc.).

Taurus Mercury in 9th house enjoys talking to people from other cultures about the foods they eat and what their daily routines and special/holiday ritual are like. They enjoy learning about other cultures on a more down-to-earth level, so they might be less interested in other philosophies and more into sensory differences.

Cancer Moon in 11th house identifies VERY strongly with their friend group and can become depressed or ill if there is too much discord between themselves and their friends, or between their friends with each other. They do not take kindly to any kind of abandonment from friends, real or imagined. If they decide you have left them or betrayed them one too many times, they will simply never speak to you again.

Virgo Mars people can be extremely picky when it comes to partners. One of my childhood friends has this placement and despite being a Sagittarius Sun & Mercury (along with having Venus in 9H), she barely has a romantic interest in anyone. She's not aromantic or asexual; she just gets the ick so easily that it is difficult for her to like anyone enough to date them for long. She didn't go into detail most of the time. She was the furthest from the kiss-and-tell kind of person, she would barely tell anyone even the name or age of anyone she was interested in, much less give details about her specific icks.

I tend to attract Virgo Mars people platonically and romantically quite often though, so I have other examples of the same trait.

My ex-husband is a Virgo sun with Virgo Mars and Leo Venus and the smallest things would throw him off. Like if I made scrambled eggs and all the pieces weren't perfectly yellow (if any got slightly browned, he would consider the entire pot as "burnt" and would ruin his day). If I did laundry and did not strictly separate the colors (I will wash black, dark grey, and bold colors clothes together. He will separate them all. I will wash off-white and very light grey or beige with white clothes. He would look at me crazy and ask me to just do a different household chore and leave the laundry to him. Hea

He also apparently got the ick from my frugality? Lol. I had cheap sneakers and dollar-store headphones when we first got together. A few weeks later he asked where I was and I told him I was at the mall with a friend. He showed up and wordlessly gave me brand-new Samsung Galaxy earbuds before driving home lmao. Then a couple weeks after that he bought me new AirMaxes and made it a point to tell me that my existing sneakers were so cheap. And that he got good ones for me in a style that "makes your feet look smaller." I guess my foot size was not to his liking. Lol. I'm almost 6 feet tall and wear size 9.5/10 women's shoes (for males reading this, that is around 8/8.5 in your sizes, so don't start, pls

A previous ex of mine (Cancer Sun) also had Virgo Mars (and Venus) but he had the opposite ick - he didn't like that I always wore nice jeans and blouses even if we were only going to Walmart or his friends' houses. Apparently, it was "off-putting" for him that I was "too fancy, never just dress down and look comfortable, even in the house." I was like... but I am comfortable? And he would be like, "Nah you're so fancy all the time, it's kinda weird, like do you even own any sweatpants? Your hair is never messy? It's like you're never just relaxed."

Um, as a Scorpio Venus/Jupiter, Libra Mercury person, messy hair will never be in the same room as comfortable for me but we are broken up for a reason, LOL.

Yeah Virgo Mars are just really, really picky. Idk how else to put it. They might be bothered by very different things, but they're all bothered in general! Love 'em regardless, they're also attentive and will know what you like and also what you need.

Leo Mars in 2nd house can have a hard time feeling satisfied with what they own or with their level of skill in certain areas. They don't usually express envy outwardly though. They will happily gas up their friends and colleagues, but implode on themselves in private.

They can have frequent pity parties or episodes of extreme self-loathing that only their closest friends or partners ever witness. It can be difficult to pull them out of these moods as they tend to feel like they either don't have enough or are not enough in some way.

Aquarius Eros men and masculine people are often attracted to women and feminine people with strong or eccentric personalities. They lust after the kinds of people who didn't even bother rocking the boat and jumped out to swim upstream and chill somewhere else.

However, unless they have Juno in Aquarius, Aquarius 7H or some other placements that support long-term relationships/marriages/longevity with unusual people or non-traditional elements, they eventually abandon such love interests for someone who fits better into societal expectations. Ask me how I know. :(

[just-a-ghost00]

Love ladder spread - Your path to union

In this reading, we will look at your connection with the person on your mind and try to identify the energies you are in as well as the steps that could help you in manifesting union with this person. Keep in mind that, as this is a collective reading, not all messages may resonate with you. The theme for this reading is Disney's Sleeping Beauty characters.

Group 1 - Princess Aurora

Overall energy is the Tower. There may have been a major shift in the dynamic of this connection. Either you and this person suddenly stopped communicating because of a fall out or for some of you, you just recently met this person and this completely came out of the blue. Either way, both of you were deeply impacted by this event. A lot of things may also be happening around you at the same time in each of your respective lives. Sudden changes in all areas of your life may be happening. You both may be feeling a bit overwhelmed, like things are coming at you from all sides and you don't know which way to go first, what to deal with or how to deal with it. There may be a lot of confusion surrounding you because of those chaotic, all over the place energies. You don't really have the time to sit down and fully grasp what the heck is going on. You're caught up in the storm and it feels like there's nothing much you can do about it.

Your energy | White Numen

Despite the overall energy of your connection, you come off as quite confident and grounded. This may be because of your experience as a person and your maturity. It could be that this isn't the first time such a hectic phase is happening in your life. As you've gathered knowledge and tools, you are fully equiped to face the storm and survive it. Your energy towards this connection and this person feels pretty optimistic and proactive. You seem determined to make it work, no matter the obstacles set on your way. You have a lot of faith in yourself, in the Universe and in this person. You are looking at the future with hope and trust, choosing to keep moving on and go with the creative flow surrounding you. You understand that rather than fighting the storm, you should move along with it and see where it leads you. You may also be redirecting your energy towards previous goals you had left on pause, catching up with work and family. You don't seem as affected by the energies of the Tower as you could have been, or at least you do your best not to let that set you off.

Their energy | Ace of wands clarified by the 7 of cups

When it comes to your person, this Tower energy seems to have a rather positive effect on them. They feel quite agitated and impatient, not because they are frustrated or scared, but rather because their curiosity and new found knowledge is opening doors for them. It feels like what the Tower has brought in your person's life is a new perspective and a surge of creative energy. They feel inspired and new projects, new goals are emerging to the surface. When it comes to you and the connection, this person seems to be going through an awakening. They have a new found sense of interest for you. If they may have been resistant and hesitant in the past, their desire for you is being reinforced and their attraction is leading them to gain clarity on what they envision for the future. I get the feeling of someone starting to grasp the extent of their feelings and understanding the opportunities that could arise because of those. The possibility of it being reciprocated gives this person courage, determination and hope. This person is slowly but surely coming to terms with the fact that the possibilities when it comes to the both of you are endless and rather than being scared about it, this person is starting to understand that this is actually working in their favor. They have chosen to rejoice because their horizons are broadening. They are filled with ideas of what they want to do with you, what the future holds for you and they can't wait to find out.

The connecting energy of your union | The Star

This is a very beautiful energy as it shows that both your spirits are turned toward the other. You are intuitively very connected and both of you have this deeper inner knowing that this just doesn't stop here. That there is more in store for this connection. The Star being associated with Aquarius, I wouldn't be surprised if both of you were connected through dreams as well as the internet. Even though you are apart and not in direct contact, you are still being updated about this person's whereabouts and vice versa. You are united in the sense that you both dream of being reunited and wish for the connection to succeed. You are hoping for a better future and your thoughts are filled with love and acceptance for one another. I get an energy of unconditional love and support, which I think is absolutely amazing. Both of you are getting signs about the other. I'm specifically picking up on stargazing, seeing shapes in clouds or receiving messages through nature. Both of you could be fondly stalking each other a little. Though you deeply wish to be in contact with the other, I pick up on a mutual understanding that both should respect each other's private space and need for a break. It's like you have silently agreed on keeping your distances to focus on your own selves so that you could deal with whatever other priorities you had before coming back to where you left at. You and this person could get into contact again during Aquarius season (mid January to mid February). You could exchange through social media before being united in the 3D.

The steps you should take | Hermit

You are advised to keep your distances with this person for a period of time so that you can focus on your own self and reevaluate your life. Introspection is encouraged as this will help you figure out where you're at on your journey, what you hope for and want from this connection as well as what you are willing to do in order to manifest it, nurture it. If you still have some healing to do, this will be the perfect occasion to do so. But I feel like you already knew that and had already started to do such work. If that is your case, know that you are on the right track. Keep up with the good work.

The steps they should take | King of cups

Similarily to you, this person has to nurture themselves and focus their energy back on them. A lot of emotional healing needs to be dealt with. They have to find back a form of balance and security in their emotional sphere before they can let you in and share that love with you. This person could have neglected themselves over the years or their vision of love is outdated and in order to reach union with you, they have to go through a reset. To charge their batteries and be reminded of the fact that they matter too, that they deserve love and should be their first supporter. Once this person has found themselves again, they can be emotionally available for this connection to progress further.

Group 2 - Prince Philip

Overall energy is 7 of cups. It seems that both parties are busy with a lot of different projects and people. An energy of confusion may be surrounding the connection as you may not be sure of where you want things to go and what you want to do of this connection. The affection between the two cannot be denied. "But is that affection enough?" may be a question that goes through your mind a lot lately. You may feel overwhelmed by the countless possibilities and outcomes that this connection could have. Being confronted with so many choices may intimidate both of you. It feels like you are at a status quo. You may be in contact with them but the conversation isn't going anywhere is what I feel.

Your energy | Page of cups rx

You definitely feel attracted to this person emotionally and wish for progress but you may be wary around them. Your fears and doubts concerning this person put you in a guarded state. Your heart isn't completely open to the idea of being united with this person. You may have lost hope overtime, seeing that your attempts of getting closer to this person were unsuccessful. The affection is still there, the desire to care for this person is still there but you are feeling stuck and like there's nothing you can do to make a change. You may be feeling discouraged and considering moving on from the connection alltogether.

Their energy | Magician clarified by the Chariot

You may not be aware of this, but your person's position regarding this connection is completely open. Your person is gathering strength and tools to be able to manifest this connection. This is something that is going on behind the scenes. They wish to be in contact with you and are determined to catch up with you. Your person only has one wish, one goal in mind : to come back to you. They are getting impatient and will do anything in there power to come closer. For some of you, I get the message that you may be in a long distance relationship. If your person is overseas, they are planning to travel at some point in time to see you. As Magician is associated with Gemini and Chariot with Cancer, this could represent a time frame from mid may to mid August. Your person wishes to convey to you their desire to make the connection progress and find a common ground with you.

The connecting energy of your union | King of wands

The energy surrounding your connection and your union is one of passion and determination. No matter the obstacles and issues you may be facing, you are both adamant on making it work one way or another. You may not be aware of each other's intentions and actions to reach such goal, as there may be communication issues, but both of you are really in a similar dynamic of trying to meet the other in the middle. Both of you are aware of the attraction going on. Both of you are fantasizing about one another and imagining a future together. Both of you wish to conquer the other and come out of this situation victorious. You may be united with this person through a common passion or project. Again, Summer seems to be significant here. You could be travelling when you meet each other again.

The steps you should take | King of pentacles

To increase your chances of manifesting union, you are advised to work on your stability and grounding. Focus on your career, your home, your personal goals. Become a version of yourself that you can be proud of. Increase your level of independance and work on your foundations so that this person's absence does not set you off balance. Cultivate your sense of self, your self confidence, your self love. If you were dealing with health issues, work on those as well. It is important that your energy is as stable as possible for you to lead a fruitful and abundant life in general, and for you to create a healthy dynamic with this person within the connection you share.

The steps they should take | High Priestess

This person has to work in the shadows and on their shadows. They are not meant to be in contact with you as they do so. They are pushed to meet the unknown, the parts of them that may scare them. They are encouraged by spirit to hone their intuition and actually listen to it instead of running away from it. Out of sight but never out of mind, for both of your highest good, this person is forced by spirit to remain undercover and in silence. Within the silence, great knowledge will come to them. This person needs to gain clarity on their own limits and desires to be able to come back to this connection as a more mature and enlightened being. They have to defeat the inner saboteur, the little voice that urges them to push people away or to control everything. Once they overcome their fears and become a better version of themselves, they can come back to where you left off as a renewed person and contribute to a healthier dynamic as well.

Group 3 - Maleficient

Overall energy is the High Priestess. Before I dive into the meaning of this card, I want to mention that I barely had to shuffle your cards in order to get the answers to your reading. Which means that the energy is very swift, potent between you and this person. That could also tell us that the manifestation of a union with them may be closer than you think. Now I also had to say that I ended up doing your reading first because of this swift energy going on. So that may be further confirmation that this is happening soon. The High Priestess is an energy of secrecy and introspection. This tells us that you may not be in contact with this person as of now, at least in the 3D. But on a spiritual level, in the 5D, you may be picking up on this person's energy and receiving a lot of signs from them. This may also be a sign that you and your person are very spiritual and connected. Both of you could have psychic abilities and use forms of divination as a mean to understand the dynamic of your connection. This could also be a sign that your connection with this person is something that both of you keep hidden. You and/or this person may have significant Scorpio placements in your chart as well as Taurus placements.

Your energy | 9 of cups

When it comes to this person and your connection with them, you are very dreamy and optimistic. You spend a lot of time daydreaming, wishfully thinking about this connection and doing your best to manifest it into your reality. You may be praying for this person to contact you again and be close to you. You may be practicing meditation, listening to subliminals, trying to contact them through their dreams. For some of you, maybe you subconsciously tug on this person's energy and vice versa. You could be lucid dreaming about this person. You are deeply emotionally invested and a lot of your energy is spent on nurturing this connection, thinking about this person and wishing for them. Your energy is rather passive and feminine. Though you long for this person, you may not be actively/directly trying to contact them as you may be afraid of rejection.

Their energy | 3 of cups

This person seems to be in some kind of an avoidant energy. Now, it is important to point out that they do not feel disinterested when it comes to you. They feel a certain amount of tenderness and affection for you, friendliness and joy. They could be feeling giddy and excited whenever your name is mentioned and thoughts of you ellicit a sense of peace and exhilaration, especially if you used to share a lot of time with them. They may be reminiscing on the times they spent with you and the memories you shared. If this person is interested, they approach this connection from a rather laid back angle. In other terms, they may be more casual and less emotionally invested as you are. They may not be expecting the same things as you when it comes to this connection, or at least not now. They may be partying a lot and interacting with many other people, whether platonically or romantically, in an attempt to distract themselves from the connection. This could be a person that was already involved in another connection prior to your meeting.

The connecting energy | 3 of wands clarified by the Star

If both of you have a very different approach in this situation and maybe hope for different outcomes, both of you unite in the feeling of being excited about one another and very attracted to each other. Both of you look at this connection with a positive mindset, one of wanting to explore the connection further and anticipate the future when it comes to it. Both of you could be wanting to reconnect and close the distance, maybe to travel together as a way of deepening your bond and getting to know each other. The connecting energy is one of pleasure, playfulness, chemistry, optimism, curiosity and expectancy. This energy of union could start online before it is taken on a physical level. You could thus be flirting with this person through social media for a while. You will know union is happening when you or this person decides to come towards you in the 3D. So after a period of exchange online, which may last for a short period of time, they could ask you out on a physical date. If we look for time frames, wands can symbolize weeks. So a time frame of 3 weeks could be significant. With the Star card, Aquarius season may also be relevant (mid December to mid January).

Steps you should take | knight of wands

To enhance your chances of manifesting union, you are encouraged to cultivate a light hearted atmosphere within the connection. Being optimistic is more than welcome but you are advised to keep some distance as to not become too dependant on the outcome. Spirit encourages you to be playful, sensual, communicative. Don't take this too seriously and let yourself be surprised. Approach this connection with spontaneity, curiosity, fun. Play with the dynamic, engage in banter, tease them, make fun of them. Use humor as a way to deepen the intimacy. Share with them things that you are passionate about. Bond over similar passions. Use games as a way to losen up tensions. You can offer to meet them in a familiar, playful, friendly environment. Show your sociability. Enhance your attraction by emphasizing your appearance or skills that you are confident about. You get it, your seduction tactics must be on point. They gotta see you shining and feeling yourself.

Steps they should take | Ace of swords clarified by the 9 of pentacles

This person has to be more direct and communicative. They have to make a clear statement about how they feel towards you, where they're at in their life and what they expect of this connection. Their intentions have to be clear. So they need to do introspective work and improve their communication skills. They should clearly tell you that they are single and available if and when that is their case. They should gather information about you and get to know you on a personal level in order to evaluate what you mean to them and where they want to take this connection. This person needs to be more proactive and also show their trustworthiness. They have to step up to the plate and also put forward their best qualities. Namely the fact that they are mature enough to invest in this connection and support it, that they are well off financially and independant, that they are very generous and caring, as well as their hardworking personality. Among other things. This person needs to be clear on what they are willing to bring to the table and provide in order for this connection to work out.

[bookwormjust]

A Quiet afternoon with the IC ? (established relationship with Cassian, caring for Nyx, child always listening to the little voice in their head)

The late afternoon sun filtered through the large windows of the House of Wind, casting a soft, golden glow across the room. The Inner Circle had gathered for a casual afternoon together, the room filled with laughter and conversation as everyone enjoyed the rare peace. Feyre was perched on the couch beside Rhys, her eyes soft as she watched their son, Nyx, toddling around with you.

You were seated on the floor, your long, curly hair tumbling down your back as you helped Nyx with a little craft project. He was fascinated by the small pieces of paper you had folded for him, making them ready for him to use like a pretend chisel. Cassian, who sat nearby with a fond smile on his face, was watching the scene unfold, his love for you evident in the soft glow of his hazel eyes.

Nyx was a bundle of energy, his tiny hands grabbing at the paper with excitement. You laughed softly, explaining how to use the paper pieces while his bright, wide eyes stayed locked on your long hair as it cascaded down your back. He was a curious child, always reaching for things and exploring the world around him.

For just a second, your attention slipped away as Mor leaned in to speak with you, something about the latest gossip in Velaris catching your ear. You turned to her, your focus on her story, and in that brief moment, Nyx, with his little hands and even smaller scissors, snipped a strand of your long hair before anyone could stop him.

A collective gasp echoed through the room as a few loose curls tumbled down onto the floor. Nyx’s eyes went wide as he realized what he’d done, and you could feel the weight of the silence that fell over the group. Everyone froze, Feyre’s eyes widening in shock as she prepared to scold her son, but before she could say anything, you glanced down at the strand of hair, then at Nyx’s face—his expression a mix of confusion and guilt.

Cassian, sitting nearby, stiffened, his jaw dropping slightly in disbelief. He loved your long hair—he always said it was one of his favorite things about you. But before anyone could react further, you did something unexpected.

You smiled.

“It’s okay,” you said gently, picking up the scissors from Nyx’s tiny hands, your tone light and calm. “Nyx, do you want to keep cutting?”

Everyone stared at you, wide-eyed, as you handed the scissors back to the little boy with a warm smile. Cassian’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head as you leaned forward, offering your hair to Nyx again. "Go ahead," you encouraged softly. “Just like before.”

Nyx hesitated for a moment, unsure, but at your gentle nod, he snipped again, and then again. Slowly, more curls fell to the floor, and soon, your once long, luscious hair was now uneven and much shorter.

The tension in the room was thick, but you remained calm, determined to turn this into a learning moment. As Nyx’s small hands dropped the scissors, he looked up at you with wide, apologetic eyes. "I'm sorry," he whispered, clearly realizing what he had done.

You smiled warmly at him, picking him up and pulling him into your arms. "Thank you, Nyx," you said softly, ruffling his dark hair as you spoke. "You did a great job! You’d make an amazing hairdresser one day. But," you continued, your tone shifting to a more serious but still gentle one, "it’s really important to ask first before you cut someone’s hair, okay? You have to make sure they’re okay with it. It’s not kind to do it without asking, even if you're trying to help or have fun."

Nyx’s little face scrunched up in thought, his lips pouting as he processed what you were saying. “I understand,” he said, his voice small and sincere. “I won’t do it again. I’m sorry.”

You hugged him tightly, pressing a kiss to his head. "It’s okay, little one. We all make mistakes. And look," you said, pulling back and giving him a playful grin, "I look pretty cool now, right? Do you think I’m still beautiful?”

Nyx’s face lit up, and he nodded enthusiastically. "You’re always beautiful!" he said with the earnestness only a child could have.

Your heart warmed, and you pressed another kiss to his head before setting him down. He toddled back over to Feyre, who gave you a grateful, relieved smile.

Cassian, however, looked utterly devastated. His mouth was still slightly open, his eyes flicking between you and the pile of your hair on the floor. "Your hair," he mumbled, almost whining. "Your long, beautiful hair... it's gone."

You chuckled softly and walked over to him, your uneven haircut bouncing with each step. Cassian reached out to pull you into his lap, his large hands immediately threading through the shortened strands. "I can’t believe you let him cut it," he muttered, his brows furrowed. "Now my hair is longer than yours."

You laughed, running your hand through his longer locks playfully. "I’ll grow it back," you reassured him, leaning into his chest. "But Nyx learned something today. And besides," you teased, looking up at him with a mischievous glint in your eye, "I think I still look good, right?"

Cassian’s eyes softened as he gazed down at you, a smile slowly spreading across his face. "You always look good," he murmured, brushing a thumb along your jawline. “Even with this short hair. But... I might miss the old length.”

You grinned, leaning up to press a kiss to his lips. "I’ll grow it back," you promised again, your voice full of warmth.

Rhysand, who had been watching the entire situation unfold with a smirk, shook his head. "You handled that beautifully," he said, his voice filled with admiration. "Much better than I would have."

Feyre laughed softly, relieved that the tension had broken, and Nyx, now back in her lap, looked at you with nothing but adoration. "Thank you for being so patient with him," she added, her eyes sparkling with gratitude. "I think we’ll stick to paper crafts from now on."

As the conversation resumed, the weight of the moment lifted, and the warmth and laughter returned to the room. Cassian’s arms remained securely around you, his chin resting on top of your head as he mumbled something about how he would never let you near scissors again.

But even with your new, uneven haircut, you felt nothing but love and contentment. You had turned a chaotic moment into something positive, and more importantly, Nyx had learned a valuable lesson—and Cassian would just have to live with your short hair for a while.

And judging by the way he kept kissing your temple, it wasn’t so bad after all.

[the-rebel-archivist]

Finally finished Veilguard a few days ago and took some time to process and put my thoughts in order. In brief: 8/10 game as a whole, a really fantastic gaming experience, but 5 or even 4/10 as a dragon age game since it does no meaningful exploration of any nuance or moral complexity and seems to have forgotten what made Thedas distinct. My thoughts, critical and positive, coming from a place of love for the series with little to no spoilers:

Thedas has always been special to me because it was a nuanced world. Different groups had different opinions based on their pasts. City elves and the dalish had divergent histories. Injustice against magic was common, but you could understand the justification for it even when you didn’t agree. Now, the worldbuilding is flattened. A mageocracy is fine, it’s only bad apples. Slavery is never addressed. City and dalish elves are basically the same but one lives in the forest. There’s no conflict about what’s best from each individuals’ perception, all groups are monoliths.

“Elves won’t follow the gods just because they’re elves,” yes they would, in past lore. Perhaps not all but some would - these are their Creators. The game refuses to deal with religious belief in any meaningful way, to the point that I don't know if its impact is fully understood. Dalish religion is as much about cultural preservation as religion and it would be CRUSHING to lose that connection to the past when it had been all you could cling to for thousands of years.

And no, seeking out relics of Arlathan would not make up for the foundation of your society shattering and what that would mean to the dalish. Bellara being guilty that her gods are evil is not the takeaway I expected when I thought the dalish would explore that everything they believed was a lie. I'd also like to briefly comment on how an elf can comment that they weren’t raised dalish but adopted their tattoos. Their closed practice tattoos. Closed even to city elves unless they fully joined a clan. Removing cultural boundaries didn’t make the material less 'problematic', it just created a new blind spot.

“They’d never sanitize the Crows” I said before release. Assassins who walked the line between murderer and hero depending on perspective. But in this game they give you absolute truth: they’re freedom fighters. Responsible government who, the mob is benevolent and that is never subverted. They see themselves as the 'good guys' and so they are.

“They wouldn’t put powerful mages in charge of the shadow dragons” I said. “Surely they will explore the nuance of Neve having the privilege of magic in a mageocracy even when she comes from a lower class beyond ‘everyone is welcome in the shadow dragons’.” “Surely if Maevaris is connected her intersectionality as a magister and altus and trans woman will come up - not what Tevinter expects, helping with change, but still privileged and upper class. Surely low class non mages and slaves would be leading the Shadow Dragons, not the powerful being benevolent.”

But no. All factions in the game are black and white, good and evil, no moral complexity. The bad people want power and collect bad people who want power and only bad people do bad things. The antagonists I liked most were the ones with a motivation beyond simply power and they were few.

And that’s setting aside the fact that all of the mystery and fantasy was removed from the setting by the end. The things that mattered before, the religious conflicts, the approaches to history? All false or meaningless now that we know absolute truth. Everything that set Dragon Age apart from generic fantasy was flattened. All of the lore for the world that I had spent hours, days, years in and creating fanfic for became simple groups of good and bad, subjectivity replaced by objective truth. It’s not a world I want to unravel and explore anymore.

That hurts more than the slap in the face that was every cameo and past reference. If they wanted a soft reboot, why include them at all? Every time I saw or heard about a past character or event I felt hurt and angry and it actively harmed my experience of the game. When the choices are pared down to only do something "meaningful" with them and then that meaningful thing is a codex that had been so disdained in dev comments? I do feel pretty let down. Especially when that codex isn’t even personalized.

They never use Rook or the inquisitor’s first name in text once. Vocal I get, but no codex? The Inquisitor, a person depersonalized into a symbol, signing off “Yrs. The Inquisitor” when we input their name in CC was a twist of the knife I didn’t expect. It’s like every time I lower my expectations to grant grace they need to be lowered yet again.

Similarly, the romances in the “most romantic game yet” are paper thin throughout the game depending on your choice, with few chances to truly connect on an emotional level and have deep conversations in some routes. It’s not all about kissing but having the chance to say how you feel, or try to.

But that’s part of a larger problem, that this is a “found family” but Rook is the outsider in it. Rook isn’t asked how they’re handling things or about who they are or what they want except by Solas. The team needs them to fix problems but has little interest in giving back. The companions are lovely, but I can’t help wishing they were friends with me and not just each other. Or wanted to romance me and not just each other, as they begin to flirt before I can and have more banter comments than the player romance. At least if no one got me I know Davrin got me.

These last comments are the reason it’s 8/10 as a game rather than 10/10 for me - the lore I care about but others won’t. The lack of connection is a genuine issue, along with how unbalanced it is depending on romance. I just feel sad at the lost potential to reflect and gain support from companions.

On a positive note, this is the most fun Dragon Age game I’ve ever played. The gameplay is top notch and combat is so fluid and fun. I felt excited to fight rather than dreading the next battle. Really getting into the roleplay of a slippery rogue

The environments are so gorgeous. Lighting, animation, level design, sound design, all spectacular. I’m bad with maps and yet I never got lost and always managed to find my way around. Secret passages to treasure were just the right length to be satisfying. The puzzles were exactly the right amount of investment for the reward. I never felt frustrated by them but also not disappointed by the simple ones, there was a good balance. I had a lot of fun uncovering them. So many areas looked like a perfect representation of thedosian places I had never been to and wanted to visit.

Every time I was in the necropolis it felt like coming home. Maybe it’s because the lore was the most similar to past lore, maybe it’s just because it was cool, but I loved being there. I loved the wisps most of all. And I loved Emmrich’s journey and sympathetic exploration of death. The Hossberg Wetlands were also a standout area. Absolutely horrible (complimentary). Evka and Antoine my beloveds and the environment storytelling was fantastic. Like a hideous combination of the Fallow Mire and Chateau d’Onterre and I was so there for it. Davrin’s story broke my last flight loving heart.

The set pieces and narrative flow in the major battles and main story missions is really wonderful. I also did enjoy the faction reactivity, even if there were few chances to explore the intersectionality of being a particular lineage with a particular faction. I’ll make our House proud Viago!

It’s such a fun game that when I play I can almost forget all of the things that I dislike until a codex or cameo punches me in the face. It has such great gameplay that I can finally discuss DA with my partner who refused to play the other games in the series. But what a monkey’s paw. I know from their previous work that they can foster nuance. From the art book that their instincts were there from the beginning. But somewhere after multiple reboots they made a world with contradiction and complexity removed, more reactive to fan discourse than to telling a complex narrative.

It kills me because if the nuance and subjectivity and moral complexity had been there, I would have considered this the best Dragon Age game ever made. It will always be the most fun. But it is legitimately more fun for people who don’t know lore than people who do, and that is soul-crushing. It's the most beautiful Thedas has ever been, and the least like Thedas it has ever felt.

I’ve played it once. I already started a replay. I enjoy the game a lot when I am playing it, overall. But I miss Thedas, and I miss that the “world worth saving” that I cared for is a slate wiped clean and this new world is a more simplistic place.

[raindropren]

I do wonder if Scott knows that by trying to "not enable" pearl's "bad behavior" he is enabling actual bad behavior.

Saying that Pearl(and Impulse i think when he joins up with the group) should go try to make amends with Gem and Joel is like saying to the victim of a bully that they should just talk it out. A bully doesn't need a reason to hate a person, they just do it.

Gem doesn't have a reason to hate Pearl(and Impulse, but scott wasn't talking to him at the time). There might be some disagreement or misunderstanding, but it's not like Gem's just going "I don't like them" she's going "I want everyone to hate them, I want them dead, I want you! to be against them, Kill them, Hurt them" and I very much think Scott is doing the thing where you have Zero information but you like one of them more then the other so that one must be right!

Misinformation and not talking to eachother about important matters, whether relationship with other teams or murder related, will be the downfall of this team imo.

Pearl and Impulse haven't down "Nothing" but they sure haven't down "Something" and It seems like Cleo,,, understands that(from what I know,,, i am still only 4 minutes into the video....)

Gem and Joel want Scott's teammates dead, or more so, Gem, who seems to be the one doing most of the talking bad about the two. Instead of asking Pearl and Impulse What they did, He assumed that they had done something to warrant Gem's dislike already(,,,in,,, episode 2 at the earliest,,,) However, even with this assumption, Gem and Joel still hate His Teammates, and thus, should probably not be on Scott's nice list. The fact that they aren't, kinda says alot about his actual faith in the teammates he chose...

Also Gem is manipulating others to be against Pearl and Impulse at this point, right? I don't think it's entirely Scott's fault that he views the relationship between the three this way, Gem is making it that way. But at the same time, is it? He's not like Bdubs or Etho, who she just lied to and they believed without much word on their part. He's talking about Pearl and Impulses "Bad behavior" with her. He's contributing to Gem's hate.

[loulovingho]

What made me furious and decide not to watch the rest of S8 (at least live, until and unless they fix bucks storyline) is the goddamn fact that Tim literally did this to fuck with the general audience who were finally getting back on track and getting interested in Bucks storyline like goddamn.

If you shot 8x06, BEFORE 8x05, why make 8x05 the way you made it???????? Just make Tommy a bit more of an asshole??? ((I'm not even kidding!!!)) Like you COULD have made him be dismissive of Bucks obsession with the 'curse', you could have made him feel bitter and slightly projecting on Buck's found family ((a throw away line like how 'oh didn't know you had a group text, frown)) something, ANYTHING that would have made us feel a bit more prepared for 8x06 and Buck's 1.0 era??! ((And btw YES it is biphobic to suggest that bi people need to sleep around to figure out what they want, for god's sake Oliver, just don't do episodic interviews anymore I BEG)).

But instead, we get sweet, understanding Tommy, we get fluffs pillow softly and talks as a non believer to a ghost Tommy, we get excited for love again Buck, and THEN you do this?????!!!

Unforgivable. Fuck you Tim. You've just told millions of people in a shitty af political climate that older gay men who struggle with their need for survival and loneliness that they're gonna end up alone if they date a bi man. Sorry that's AN interpretation. It is LOUSY representation. It is LOUSY and cruel writing. You messed with in a too big way on this one. So. Yes. Lost this viewer. Peace.

Yes to all!! They could have made Tommy more standoffish, could have had Eddie at the funeral instead. Or, if they had to do a breakup, have it be from Buck’s side. Because, out of the two (in 805) the love and adoration came mostly from Tommy. They did the whole thing just to be shitty.