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thekatebridgerton · 3 years

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omg, Bridgerton Encanto AU tho🥺 do the bridgerton sibling each get a power and is one of them the black sheep of the family with no gift? Daphne is definitely the golden child, Anthony singing Surface Pressure.

So I actually went ahead and wrote down the whole "The family Bridgerton Song" so here you go:

Gregory:

Dresses

Balls

Doors

Let's go

This is our home

We've got every generation

So full of romance

A rhythm of its own design

This is my family

A perfect inspiration

So many diamonds and everybody gets to shine

Whoa

But let's be clear, Anthony runs this show, whoa

Became Viscount so many years ago, whoa

And every year our family members grow

There's just a lot you've simply got to know, so

Welcome to the Family Bridgerton

The home of the Family Bridgerton (we're on our way)

Where all the people are incredible and scandalous

I'm part of the Family Bridgerton

The ton:

Oh my gosh, it's them

What are the names? (I can't remember all the names!)

But I don't know who is who

Gregory:

Alright, alright, relax

The ton:

It is physically impossible to relax

Tell us everything, what are your scandals?

Just tell us what everyone can do

Gregory: And that's why gin is for grown-ups

My sister Eloise

Swore that she would stay single

Then ran away to Phillip

because she wrote her letters weird

Then there's Francesca

(We don't talk about Frannie)

Married and moved to Scotland, tries not to dissapear

Oh! And that's our Mother Violet, here's her deal, whoa

The truth is, she matchmakes in every meal, whoa

She wants us all out of the house for real

If you're distressed, imagine how I feel, Mom!

Welcome to the Family Bridgerton

The home of the Family Bridgerton.

(Hey, coming through)

I know it sounds a bit scandalous to handle us

But I'm part of the Family Bridgerton

The eldest kids fell in love in the Family Bridgerton

And now in-laws are part of the Family Bridgerton

So yeah, Simon married Daphne

And Anthony married Katherine

That's how our mom became an Grandmama Bridgerton

(let's go, let's go!)

Violet:

We swear to always

love those around us

covering the scandals

That somehow find us

The ton keeps growing

Gossip keeps turning

But love and dedication will keep the family growing

And each new generation must keep all the romance flowing

The ton:

Wait, who's a sister and who's the brother?

There's so many people

How do you keep them all straight?

Gregory:

Okay, okay, okay, okay

So many kids in our house

So, let's turn the sound up, you know why?

I think it's time for a sibling round up

(sibling round up)

My lil sis Hyacinth, can hear a pin drop

I may supports her

Colin helps with matchmaking

My nicest siblings

Benedict and Daphne

One fun, one graceful

Perfect in every way

(Daphne)

Throws a ball and the town goes wild

(Daphne)

She's a perfect golden child

(Ben! Ben! Ben! Ben)

And Benedict's super chill

the most relaxed and skilled Benedict

That's life in the Family Bridgerton (whoa)

Now you know the Family Bridgerton (whoa)

Where all the people are incredible and scandalous (whoa)

That's who we are in the Family Bridgerton, bye bye!

The ton: Ooh (but what's your scandal?)

Well, I gotta go, the life of a Bridgerton (whoa)

But now you all know the Family Bridgerton (whoa)

I never meant this to get autobiographical (whoa)

So just to review the Family Bridgerton

Let's go

It starts with our Mother

And then there Anthony, he handles the estate (but what about Gregory?)

Benedict can make you feel better with just one of his sketches (but what about Gregory?)

My bro Colin, the traveler

messed up with Peneolpe but he means well (but what about Gregory?)

Hey, you said you wanna know what everyone does

I got brothers and sisters and (Gregory)

My sister Daphne is the perfect duchess you'll see today (Gregory)

Then there's Eloise was writing to Phillip and ran away (Gregory)

Look, it's Mister Gareth, hey

You can marry my sister if you wanna but (Gregory)

Between you and me, she's kind of a prima donna

Yo, I've said too much and thank you but I really gotta go (Gregory)

my family's amazing (Gregory)

And I'm in my family, so (Gregory)

Well

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

Anthony: GREGORY

the ton: what did Gregory do?

Hyacinth: Oh, he crashed the wedding of the woman he loved twice, and kidnapped her in the same day

Hyacinth: ooops, maybe I shouldn't have said that

#gregory bridgerton #encanto au #anthony bridgerton #colin bridgerton #eloise bridgerton #benedict bridgerton

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lunartearrose · 2 years

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I made a Vanny redesign for fun 😳 I'll add some more ideas that came with this under the cut along with an ID for once

Ideas section:

Ideas behind this design:

-materials collected more descreetly, from junkyards and collectors - even stolen bits of afton's "personal collection

-no more icky murderious split personality trope! Vanny here does have a case of psychologically disconnecting her true self from the murderer in costume, but she's still very much being forced - there's an entity behind the screens that can trigger the springlocks and either injure her to keep her in line or even crunch her head in if she betrays the mastermind!

Oh, and in my mind's eye, Vanessa would actually fall into the "unlucky security guard" troupe to cover things up more - she would be trapped with gregory instead of working against him, and all animatronics would attack indiscriminately. Each animatronic is slowly corrupted overtime instead, too - save for freddy himself.

A turning point to the story would be her mentioning her mother's sun hat that she cherishes, that always calms her down - gregory may even be tasked with retrieving it at some point, to get her to collect herself enough to act responsibly. Big plot twist instead of the stupid vanny room would be finding a picture of Vanessa in the sunhat in full, perhaps posing with her coding friend luis - and the sunhat has Vanny's blue ribbon wrapped around it. So uh. Yeah!

ID:

[An image of a Redesign Of Vanny from fnaf: security breach. Her head is a rusted springlock toy bonnie head with painted red eyes and rusted damage, combined with one ear of the purple bonnie and the other golden ear of spring bonnie, which is both rusted, tarnished, and covered with dust and possibly old blood. The body is now mostly a bloody freddy fazbear's pizzeria staff uniform, covered with old blood and dirt and a ripped patch, and fused with patchwork rabbit arms and legs that lead to the separate hands and feet. If there is more springlock under this uniform, it isn't visible by any means. The hands and feet are mismatched, Vanny's left hand and right foot being more tarnished and rusted springlock parts, while the right hand is a purple bonnie glove and the left foot is an old freddy fazbear foot with the claws ripped out and sewn over. Other pieces of the arms and legs that are patched together are black and dark grey striped, off white with light red flowers, and dark blue with tealish-blue ripples. Around Vanny's neck, there is a surprisingly spotless silk ribbon, large and dark blue. The words, "Vanny Redesign" are to the left of her head. There are several annotations with arrows pointed to their respective details.

Annotation 1: "Refurbished" Toy Bonnie springlock head - there had to be plenty springlocks before they were Decomissioned!

Annotation 2: Vanny's Beloved Ribbon! Don't dirty it.

Annotation 3: An old Fazbear's Pizza uniform! It still has bits of bloody phone wires in the fibers...

Annotation 4: The springlocks are dangerous, but this time they'll snap back remotely... or if you panic enough and really mess up. No machine is *fully* immune to water, after all.

Annotation 5: A mix of furs and fazbear merch - both fan-made and official!

End ID]

#fnaf #fnaf 8 #fnaf security breach #fnaf sb #Vanny #Vanessa #Redesign #toy bonnie #spring bonnie #bonnie #artists on tumblr

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grechsblog · 3 years

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What would be the acts and weapons that Gregory and Tommy can do in battle at dark world?

Well, if we already touched the gang in the dark world, despite it not really being "canon" per se, let's talk about it a bit

So you see, my formula for the dw design is a mix between deepest desire and life experience. By that logic, Gregory got cool glamrock-style costume with a bit of alterations for human use (que not being just one piece of clothing or a stuffy mess), and Tommy got, uh. Not really war-themed suit, definitely not l'manberg uniform (god knows there are too many), but rather something a bit more... casual? It's still has this "I'm from the army's front" vibe, mind you, but instead of coat being on him, it's tied around his waist; white shirt doesn't sit on him perfectly, — it's long sleeves rolled up to elbows and collar being open ajar, — and remember that flower crown I mentioned long time ago? Yeah, but it's a single flower now, behind his ear, a yellow rose to be exact-

And I rambled about his design, huh. Well then, back to topic

Their weapons and their armour!

They both prefer not use any, and I mean any weapons unless necessary. Tommy just doesn't like the familiar weight in his hands, that being a battle axe, and Gregory thinks that the less people know of your weapon the better it is. (Actually he just didn't decide what weapon to use. He might like Ralsei's scarf technique tho...)

Toms also can use both swords and axes, he has fought with and against them both after all

Armour, on the other hand, is just a little funny. Y'know how it really just represented by some important item on them, yeah?

So, one time at Parts and Services Gregory stole borrowed one of spare Freddy's hats, and yes, in became his armour in the dark world. It's a little on the side of his head and no one really knows why it doesn't fall off

Can be changed with variations of "fancy hat" and "glamorous hat"

For Tommy, I can't decide between disc earings or a compass, or something else entirely. It's just so many choices....

.... Anyway-

— For humans can't use magic, no magical shenanigans can be made! The max'll be Tommy, giving or throwing a potion or two, which is doable through inventory and unrecoverable after use. It's an item, not an ability

Other than that, the ACT button stays the same as Kris'... With a bit of strange bonuses

Tommy

Tommy has a a passive which I'd love to call "pet all the mobs", and basically it gives him a boost to the pet act, if he has one in the fight. It doubles gived % off of it, and if Kris while petting gets, say, 15%? Tommy gets all 30%, and if petting doesn't earn any recruit points normally, he will make from 1% to 3% despite that

His second passive is extended inventory. As the name suggests, it gives him +16 slots for stuff not including trinkets and weapons/armour, rounding it up to normal Minecraft 36 inventory slots (I think originally it's about 20?? Right???)

Semi-active Tommy's ability "rage for the fallen" (can be found in the party menu), and what it does is, if any other party member had been hurt enough to fall, it makes Tommy attack the enemy on the same move as it happens. No matter what. If he's fallen himself, the next time he gets up he attacks. (It's a one time thing through the battle, so if it happened once it will not happen twice. He just- kinda needs a reminder that no one really dies here, for all his ptsd)

Gregory

Gregory gets an acting ability to threaten people to comly willingly (which is labelled "threaten") and he's a little too proud of the fact; but that will not recruit the darkner he threatens. In fact, it will be almost like scaring off them by fighting, but without the actual violence (not physical at least) with about 50% of success, and it will lower the more the ability is used

Gregory's semi-active is interesting though — it lets him dodge enemy's attack even if the attack itself hits the Player, once per round. Called "lucky superstar", and also can be found in the party menu. It's a 100% chance with full hp, 50% chance on 80% of hp and higher, and around 15%-20% chance on any other hp. So unless Player's really straight up swimming in bullets, Gregory will not get hurt at all

Despite the kid not having a second passive ability like his Big Bro Tom, he has a full-time active! And it's a switch between the yellow and red Soul, which IS powerful, even if for a short time (5 shots to be exact, can be used once per two moves). Player as a little heart is unstoppable now

Kris might be a little jealous, because hey! They didn't get the cool stuff man! Then Player reminds them that they are literally the only existing key to this world and they're like Oh Right

Aaand that's about it. Man do I love talking about mechanics, eh?

#blender au #man i hope you love this bits and pieces because no way in hell would i write the whole thing

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wulfums · 2 years

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Does Wulfe get along with the other residents of the hotel? Who do him and Gregory hang out with the most?

I'll just go ahead and write down Wulfe's interactions and relationships with the other residents of Gregory House because I have them thought out teehee.

Angel/Devil Dog - You would think two dogs would get along...but they don't. Wulfe sees her as two-faced and Angel/Devil Dog sees him as pretentious, so they tend to avoid each other. What caused this? Well. You see. One time they were playing Mario Kart and Wulfe was winning so Angel Dog became Devil Dog and turned off the console so he couldn't win. And they've been enemys since.

Bonsai Kabuki - I’ll just say this- after Wulfe and Gregory got together, he looked into Wulfe’s fantasies exactly once. He never did it again. Probably a wise choice.

Cactus Girl - Wulfe hangs out with Catherine a lot, so by proxy, he hangs out around Cactus Girl a lot, since she became Catherine's apprentice. I think Cactus Girl is just grateful Wulfe is chill and probably one of the less shitty men in the hotel. Though from time to time she does suggest Wulfe deserves better than Gregory...Perhaps her brother? And Wulfe is like "haha I appreciate it but uh...I'm happy with my nasty rat boyfriend. Someone's got to keep him under control." and then they both laugh. I'll talk more about the group dynamic when I talk about Catherine!

Cactus Gunman - Wulfe and Cactus Gunman have been known to be drinking buddies now and again. They do get along pretty well! Wulfe appreciates getting to feel like one of the guys and Cactus Gunman is just hype someone wants to hang out with him and hear about his tales of Cactusland which may or may not be true.

Catherine - So! Catherine was Wulfe's first friend in the hotel. She went for the default 'medical examination' but upon going into his room, her gaydar IMMEDIATELY went off (She's WLW so she has one) and she was like "Hmm...I think he can keep his blood." so they ended up becoming friends instead. Catherine, I think, jumps at the chance to have someone decent to talk to. So her and Wulfe talk a lot, with Cactus Girl often there too. Catherine also insists Wulfe can do better and he's like "I PROMMY I'm happy with him." And its a common inside joke between the three! Wulfe also gets sick a lot + has an ostomy so he needs medical care a lot as well.

Clock Master - Another one of Wulfe's 'Guy Night' drinking buddies! Him and Gregory hang out with the other guys (it makes Wulfe very happy to be considered one of the guys, he's trans!) and they all know Clock Master can overdo it at the bar, so he's usually the first one who has to leave. He's talked about his time as Lord Of Time but sometimes if he's a bit too blasted he will mix up actual events from his life with episodes of Dr Who he saw once. Though his real stories are pretty interesting- he tends to not bring up his wife a lot because he WILL start crying because he misses her.

Death - So Death is actually Wulfe’s bestie in law! Meaning: His bestie, Whirlpool (Owned by Bestie Fio) is With Death! I think that the concept of Soulmates in this universe IS real, considering souls themselves exist- so Death was not surprised in the slightest that Wulfe and Gregory got together. Death has actually been running bets with a few of his friends over different things relating to souls- including soulmate matches. So he won that bet and is VERY happy about it. Oh yeah, I guess he’s happy for Wulfe and Gregory too. I think Death sometimes comes to Gregory in dreams to mess with him a bit about the relationship as well, for funsies.

Frog Fortune Teller - Everytime she looks into the crystal ball all she sees is…rainbow. She looks at him and goes “You have a future…of being VERY gay.” and Wulfe goes “Oh cool!” and that’s about the extent of their interactions. Though sometimes she will go to him to complain about her husband(Wulfe is kind of the designated person for that in the hotel, whether he likes it or not…Which he does because he loves to be nosy.)

Dr Fritz - Wulfe does encounter him a lot, due to having medical issues. I think the main thing Dr Fritz dislikes about Wulfe is that if Wulfe is there, Gregory is probably there too and he can’t help but cause issues and problems for everyone.

Gregory - Wulfe’s beloved crusty rat <3 They are literal soulmates, what more is there to say.

Gregory’s Mama - I feel like the first time Gregory introduced Wulfe to his Mama as his boyfriend it didn’t go particularly well. It was also the first and only time Gregory ever stood up to his Mama after she started saying some very mean things about Wulfe. I think eventually she does begrudgingly accept Wulfe as her son-in-law. Wulfe is terrified of her, as he should be, but knows how to talk his way out of situations with her.

The Second Guest - Gregory’s ex, he doesn’t talk about her like…ever. Wulfe just assumes it didn’t go too well, but doesn’t ask.

Haniwa Office Worked - They truly do not interact that much, considering the Office Worker is *always* in a rush.

Hell’s Chef - Surprisingly, Hell’s Chef actually likes Wulfe a LOT. Wulfe is a lover of all things meat and is very easy to please in that regard! Hell’s Chef knows he can always trust Wulfe to rave about any dishes he makes, even if Hell’s Chef DOES wish Wulfe would use utensils and not just…eat with his hands. He loves the fact that Wulfe is down with things like bone marrow that can be made with leftover stock ingredients…So they just get along well.

Hell’s Taxi - Sometimes Wulfe likes to go for a car ride…he can’t stick his head out the window anymore though. Don’t worry about why.

James - Wulfe’s grandson-in-law who causes issues and problems on purpose. James constantly begs Wulfe for vbux to play Fortnite because he knows his grandpa doesn’t know what a Fortnite is. James thinks of Wulfe as the Cool Grandpa and makes that known, often. He also likes that Wulfe isn’t strict and sometimes will straight up encourage James’ behavior because it is, indeed, funny. I think he’s happy to have someone that is boring as hell in the family that will also play Among Us with him.

Judgement Boy/Gold - This just kind of applies to both of them. In regards to Wulfe and Gregory’s relationship, they’ve been known more to appear to Gregory to ask him questions, though they have towards Wulfe a bit. Otherwise, they don’t really encounter each other a lot.

Lost Doll - One of the kids Wulfe does art groups for! The fact that he doesn’t react when the doll comes out helps a lot.

Mono Eye Wizard - Wulfe doesn’t really know him besides when Frog Fortune Teller complains about him.

Mummy Dog - Another one of the kids he takes care of! He loves how sweet Mummy Dog is and he thinks its VERY cute how much he talks about his daddy.

Mummy Papa - Part of the Boys Night Group! Also the one to give Gregory the most relationship advice in many areas. He’s also always willing to help, and appreciates how much his son likes Wulfe!

Mummy Mama - Wulfe knows her decently well! She will sometimes hang out with him and Catherine! She knows a lot about horticulture and loves to talk about that.

MySon - Wulfe had to ban MySon from playing Fortnite with James because when MySon loses, he just says his dad will turn back time to let him win.. Even though James has never one more than once. He’s not good at Fortnite.

Neko Zombie - At first Wulfe was kind of sympathetic towards Neko Zombie…but then the cat ate his sandwich one time and now they are mortal enemies and Wulfe thinks he deserves every bad thing thats ever happened to him.

Poor Conductor - Lovingly dubbed Glup Shitto based on the fact that absolutely no one likes him. Wulfe is very very mean to him, probably too mean. So they tend to not be around each other.

Public Phone - Sadly, Wulfe is commonly tricked by this phone, until smart phones come out…making Public Phone just another guest and mostly obsolete. Sometimes he’ll join guys night.

Roulette Boy - Wulfe and Gregory sometimes get put in his Saw Trap Board Game(He saw Saw once and made it his WHOLE personality.) because he thinks it’s fun. Wulfe says they should just humor him to make him feel good about it but Gregory, usually the one to land on the worst spaces possible, disagrees. Yeah, I think the spinner might be a bit rigged…

Mirror Man - You know that scene in Family Guy where Brian sees his reflection in the mirror and runs at it really hard and knocks himself out after hitting the mirror? That’s Wulfe.

Sleepy Sheep - Wulfe’s adopted son! Sleepy Sheep will sometimes ask Wulfe to come sit with him until he falls asleep. They have the shared trait of nightmares, and because of that, Sleepy Sheep feels comfortable talking to Wulfe because he just understands it.

Toilet Baby - No

TV Fish - Wulfe is fascinated by TV fish and will sometimes just follow him around. He sometimes buys fish pellets to feed to TV Fish. That is his pet now.

#this took a long time but was VERY fun #grulfe #gregory horror show #self ship

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gregorygerwitz · 3 years

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Four headcanons for the Sheffield siblings?

my kids??? look, I already don’t know a canon, especially when it comes to IBYTAM because the timeline is a whole mess, but I will do my best to fill the criteria for these

Amelia

A - realistic

she absolutely got accepted to some really good universities, but she didn’t attend them because of her brother. he was starting to do more of his crazy stuff - changing his major, coming out, completely derailing the plans their parents had for them - so she stayed in Chicago to pursue the business degree he abandoned instead of going to away to somewhere like Harvard to study the same thing.

B - while it may not be realistic, it is hilarious

for the most part, she leaves the chaotic life choices to Phillip, but Amelia has dyed her hair. she considered going pink over her whole head, but in the end only did like the bottom three inches, stayed holed up in her apartment for a few days so no one saw, and then trimmed it off before she had to go back to class and be in public.

C - heart-crushing and awful, but fun to inflict on friends

she isn’t ready to come out. their parents are really supportive of her brother, and they really don’t care that he’s following his dreams because he’s happy, but Amelia feels a bit of the pressure from that. she’s in this place where her mother insists she has an “escort” to every event, asks about boys whenever they get together for dinner. with all of that talk and the fact that she barely has time for her relationship outside of work in the first place, she doesn’t know if she can handle being a disappointment like that. too much of the family legacy is on her shoulders and she doesn’t want to screw it up.

D - unrealistic, but I will disregard canon about it because I reject canon reality and substitute my own

if anything comes up where she absolutely needs a date, she’ll use Gregory as a cover. she’ll tell people he’s her date and then that he had to cancel at the last minute for work or something so no one questions why she’s alone everywhere and just stands to the side and talks to Claire.

“Yeah, I’m bringing Gregory.” “Isn’t he deployed?” “...darn, I guess I’m coming alone then.”

she does not tell Gregory she does this

Phillip

A - realistic

he actually spends more time at the stables than his father asked him to when they made the deal about changing his major. Phil loves the stables and he loves the horses. the deal was something like 20 hours a month, but he’s there at least twice that because he took the idea and ran with it. he doesn’t have a designated horse of his own, but that doesn’t really matter because he loves them all equally and they all love him (except for Mouse, who does love him but is very obviously Gregory’s Girl™ if he’s around)

B - while it may not be realistic, it is hilarious

he has named most of the horses at the stables himself. he named Mouse, actually, but refuses to tell anyone the inspiration behind it (he was in her mother’s stall the day before she was born and saw a mouse on the ground just minding their own business, it was gone an hour later and he just didn’t question it. the moment stuck with him the next day when he came back and helped with the birth)

C - heart-crushing and awful, but fun to inflict on friends

every single one of his crazy life choices times up with something Gregory or Amelia does, specifically so that the press and their families pay more attention to him. because the press is more likely to talk about his dark hair suddenly being blonde than a dress his sister bought when she was supposed to be in class. and Thelma Gerwitz is more likely to whisper about how the Sheffield boy is queer than feed the rumors about her son getting caught with pills. Phillip is fully aware that he is the disappointment in the public eye, and he feeds into that to save the people he considers family from ever having to feel that way.

D - unrealistic, but I will disregard canon about it because I reject canon reality and substitute my own

this is IBYTAM canon but Phillip and Gregory hooked up in college. it meant absolutely nothing and they’re as close as brothers, now, but there were nights with cheap beer and finals stress and they needed a way to release that. so. each other.

[ send me a character for four headcanons ]

#answered #anon #alex says things #amelia sheffield #phillip sheffield #i love my kids so much okay #i would lay down my life for them

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bluejayblueskies · 4 years

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philia

n. a love between friends; based on mutual respect, common values, shared desires, and unwavering trust

Words: 2.5k Relationship: Sasha James & Tim Stoker, past Sasha James/Tim Stoker Tags: Light Angst, Canon Compliant, Aromantic Sasha James, Lovers to Friends, Awkward Conversations Warnings: internalized arophobia (throughout), fear of arophobia from another character (doesn’t actually occur)

|| Ao3 ||

If one thing could be said about Sasha James, it’s this: she doesn’t scare easy. All the traditional spooks—spiders and the dark and heights and everything in between—don’t send her heart racing like they did some of her childhood friends, and when she was old enough to go to the library by herself, she slowly and methodically worked her way through the meager horror section at her disposal. She liked the way that the fear tasted, metallic in her mouth and sending gooseflesh tingling across her arms and lips, and even when she landed on a book or a movie that pushed her beyond her limits for terror, she found that she couldn’t look away, too immersed in the way that her hands shook as she turned the page.

Maybe that’s why she ended up at the Magnus Institute. When the horror began to feel stale, each story contrived beyond the point of enjoyment, where better to turn to than somewhere that collected horrors that were real?

Sasha lasted three months in Artifact Storage before she decided that she’d finally found her limit, and it was gold monocles that turned your sight inward and stainless steel knives that leaked briny blood and a chalkboard eraser that could peel the skin clean off your face with a single stroke. Her brand of horror lay in stories, not in things, she decided then. In stories, at least, the fear was contained.

The problem, though, is that it’s easy to not be afraid of stories. Even if they’re real ones, told by real people, they’re still just stories, and so Sasha can separate herself from them, lock them away in the Institute at night and return to the more mundane horrors of her television screen or her bookshelf. It’s much, much harder to not be afraid of the things she can’t escape.

Sasha James doesn’t scare easy. But when she walks into the Institute on Monday morning and sees Timothy Stoker sitting at his desk, positioned opposite to hers and in the perfect location for mid-day glances and snippets of conversation, her heart jumps into her throat so fast she thinks she might choke on it.

Sasha puts on her headphones, sits down at her desk, and doesn’t let her eyes stray from her computer screen for the rest of the day.

And the next.

Fear is a funny thing, she thinks as she stands in the shower that Friday night, letting the water drum against the back of her skull and trying to figure out why even after fifteen minutes of standing in the scalding spray, her skin still itches with unseen dirt that she can’t quite rid herself of. It can spur people to go to lengths they never thought imaginable. Like Gregory Chavez, who found he could run nearly two miles at a dead sprint when chased by a thing that had once been his son but that now craved nothing but blood and terror. Or Biah Wynn, who found it within herself to burn her family home to the ground with her brother still inside when a sharp-tongued thing from her dreams told her to.

Or Sasha James, who’s been avoiding her best friend for a week because she had sex with him and now can’t bring herself to admit that it was a mistake. Or, more accurately, to admit why it was a mistake.

Tim probably hates me now, she thinks as she tips her head back and lets the water run over her eyelids, holding her breath as it trickles over her closed lips and hits her arms where they’re crossed over her chest in a protective gesture. And he’d be right to. I kind of hate me now.

Sasha turns the shower off, laments for a moment the state of her water bill for that month, and readies herself for bed.

She allows herself to continue this way for two more days before the voice in her head manages to convince her that don’t ruin a good thing is becoming more and more of an impossibility the longer she ignores the inevitably awkward conversation that they need to have. Her resolve finally breaks through the sharp static of fear Monday evening, when Tim pushes back from his desk and Sasha says, breaking the silence with all the grace of a battering ram, “Fancy a cuppa?”

Timothy Stoker doesn’t startle easy. At the sound of Sasha’s voice, however, he jumps so badly that the file folder he’d been preparing to stow away slips from his hands, spilling loose pages on the ivory tile floor in a mess of white paper and black ink.

“Jesus,” Tim says, bending down to collect the papers. His eyes are cast firmly on the ground when he says, voice tight, “A little warning next time before you decide to break a week-long vow of silence?”

Sasha’s wince is full-body. “Sorry,” she says, trying and failing to impart a week’s worth of apologies into a single word. Then, with forced levity: “Permission to speak again?”

Tim’s quiet for a little too long. He’s collected all the papers and they sit limply in his hands as his eyes trace the lines between the tiles, lips curled down into a pained expression that Sasha hates, though she knows it’s nobody’s fault but her own. Then, quietly, he says, “I don’t know, Sasha. Maybe a week ago, the answer would have been yes? But I… I don’t know if I feel like talking now.”

Thorns of Sasha’s own design dig into her heart and claw up her throat, and she fixes her eyes on the surface of her desk. It’s full of yellow post-it notes she doesn’t remember writing and approximately twenty stray pens and pencils and a million other things that are far, far less important than the man still squatting on the floor next to her, pretending to organize the papers in his hand.

“Okay,” she says, and the word bites into her tongue with razor-sharp teeth. Then, even though she said she wouldn’t, she says, “I’m sorry, Tim. And I want to explain, if you’d let me.”

Please let me.

Tim looks at her, just once, and the hurt in his eyes cuts into Sasha like broken glass. “I… I just need some time,” he says, like Sasha hasn’t given him too much of that already, like she hasn’t already had the thought of I just need more time, more time to figure this out running through her head for days.

“Okay,” she repeats. The smile she musters up feels hollow, too full of hope to hold up to scrutiny.

“Okay,” Tim says.

Tim leaves. And Sasha works late, if only to give her mind something to do that isn’t wallowing in guilt and self-pity.

She works late Tuesday, too. And Wednesday and Thursday. Then, as her computer blinks 17:00 on Friday and she flips open another file, she hears from behind her a quietly amused, “You’re turning into Jon, you know.”

If asked later, Sasha will maintain that she didn’t startle at the sound of Tim’s voice. The file, at least, stays firmly clasped in her hand, though she sets it down before turning in her chair to see Tim standing a few feet away, jacket slung over one arm and hesitance written all over his face even as his mouth forms a teasing smile.

“Oh, I don’t know about that,” Sasha says, aiming for levity and coming close enough for it to count. “I don’t have nearly enough grey in my hair for that yet. Besides, you know I can’t pull off a sweater vest.”

“Not with that attitude, you can’t.”

Sasha smiles fully, letting tendrils of humor pull the corners of her mouth up toward her eyes, and the lines of tension in Tim’s face begin to smooth. The hesitance is still there, the hurt lying just beneath, but it feels a lot less like a wall and a lot more like a locked door. She just hopes that Tim still trusts her enough to give her the key.

“Fancy a cuppa?” he says.

They pick a little tea shop a few blocks away from the Institute, open later than the rest and with prices that only make Sasha wince a little bit as she orders a cup of jasmine green tea and then sits at a little corner table across from Tim, away from the hum of the rest of the café. He wraps his hands around his mug of Darjeeling, looks at Sasha, and says, “Is this the part where you say, ‘It’s not you, it’s me’?”

Sasha winces and takes a long sip of her too-hot tea to cover it up. When she pulls back, the roof of her mouth thoroughly scalded, she says, “In… a manner of speaking.”

It’s Tim’s turn to wince, though he doesn’t bury it in his tea, instead painting over it quickly with a mask that’s not so thick that Sasha can’t still see the hurt that lies beneath. “Right,” he says, and the little laugh that escapes him is entirely devoid of humor. “Guess that’s it, then. Nice and succinct—don’t know why it gets such a bad rap in rom-coms, to be honest.”

The guilt is burning its way up Sasha’s throat, hot and sticky. It’s a struggle to force herself to speak around it, but she does, because it’s important. Because it matters. Because she’s not going to lose her best friend just because she’s afraid. So, she swallows the lump in her throat just enough to say, “It’s not because I don’t want to be in a relationship with you, Tim; it’s because I don’t want to be in a relationship at all. A… a romantic one, at least.”

Tim doesn’t say anything at first, and though Sasha knows he’s just taking the time to parse her words, to understand what she’s trying to tell him—he’s ace, he told her before they… before, so he’ll know what she means—she can’t keep the anxiety from clawing up the back of her throat with acid-dipped nails. She takes a drink of her tea, and then another, until she’s staring at the bottom of her mug with her heart thrumming in the back of her throat. The sound of her own pulse in her ears is so loud that she almost doesn’t hear Tim when he says, quietly, “I’m sorry, Sasha.”

Sasha sets her mug down hard enough to chip, surprise and guilt turning her blood to liquid nitrogen and her muscles to ice. “No, please- please don’t apologize, Tim, I should be the one who- I should have told you sooner instead of- of leading you on when I was never going to reciprocate. And then you told me you were ace and I- I still didn’t say anything because- because—”

Sasha waves her now-free hand in the air wildly, grasping for a reason that just won’t come. Finally, for want of anything better, she lands on, “Because I somehow thought that was going to be the thing that you’d hate me for instead of for how I’ve been acting all week.” She deflates, ever so slightly, and says, “I am so, so sorry, Tim.”

She affixes her eyes to the table, to the spiraling wood grains that trace lines across its surface, and doesn’t let go. She can think of a million expressions Tim might be wearing right now, ranging from guilt to sympathy to frustration to hurt, and she doesn’t want to see any of them.

A hand, warm and terra-cotta brown, settles on top of hers, and Tim says, “I meant that I’m sorry for assuming that the reason you were avoiding me was about me. I should have asked sooner, but I…” He lets out a small laugh. “I suppose I thought you hated me. That I’d done something—though I couldn’t figure out what—and now you never wanted to see me again. And then I- I made it about me. Got frustrated when you wanted to talk. Didn’t even consider that there might have been something else going on.”

“Why would you have?” Sasha says quietly, eyes still glued to the table. “I didn’t give you any indication that there was. I didn’t say anything.”

Tim hums, a sad sound, and says, “I suppose neither of us did.”

It’s quiet between them for a moment. In the interim, the sounds of the café filter in: the clank of cups against countertops, the hiss of steam as it spills free from stainless steel water heaters, the chatter of those around them who are lost in their own worlds of words and wants and wishes. Then, Tim’s hand tightens around Sasha’s, almost imperceptibly, and he says, “I’ll love you any way you want me to.”

Sasha finally looks up from the table. Tim’s watching her, his eyes full of an affection so sweet it tastes of melted caramels on Sasha’s tongue. “I’ve loved you in so many ways, Sasha James, in so many times and places and moments. And I’m not going to give them all up if one of those ways isn’t something that you want from me. I’ll just put that one aside and replace it with new ones.” Tim shrugs and smiles, and it’s so casual, so easy, that Sasha thinks she must be dreaming it. “If you don’t want to date, then we won’t. And that’s not going to make me love you any less.”

Sasha looks at Tim, trying to wrangle the tendrils of emotions within her into something beyond the electrifying, giddy happiness that she feels bubbling up in her chest. What comes out, in the end, is a small laugh and a quiet, “It’s that easy?”

Tim holds up a hand. “Scout’s honor.”

“Huh.” Sasha taps a finger against the edge of her mug, feeling the press of now-cool ceramic on her skin. The smile tugging at her lips is insistent enough that she finally just lets it slip free, uninhibited by shaking hands or acid claws or rapid-fire heartbeats. It’s still a nervous thing—a fawn just learning to walk, a baby bird pushed from its nest and struggling to unfurl its wings mid-freefall, a butterfly emerging from its cocoon with stained-glass wings and a life turned upon its head. It remains so for several weeks, through the still-awkward coffee runs and the times Sasha spends curled up on Tim’s couch with the space between them burning red-hot and icy-cold in equal measure and the staggering guilt that still returns as Sasha stands in the shower or lies in bed or walks through the doors to the Institute to see Tim sat at his desk, his smile growing wider each day.

Then one day Sasha reaches for it, almost absently—that nervous feeling, the almost-falling swoop of her stomach—and finds it gone. She reaches and instead finds Tim, standing in the kitchen of her flat with flour dusted on his nose and kneading a ball of bread dough as he regales her with a story of his first tried-and-failed attempt at making bread that involved not one, but two separate fire-alarm incidents. And when she smiles at him, it feels so light and freeing that a laugh comes with it, bubbly with surprise and affection.

She spreads stained-glass wings, strong enough now to carry her weight and beautiful in their own right, and lets the wind carry her home.

#tma #the magnus archives #tma fic #aspecarchives #the magnus archives fic #tim stoker #sasha james #asexual tim stoker #aromantic sasha james #internalized arophobia //#my fic #my writing #looks like we're keeping this posting style! i think i like it a lot better.. more readable

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xfirepilot · 4 years

Text

title: pumpkin spice and everything nice (ao3)

summary: when kyle suggests pumpkin picking and couple pumpkin carving contests, things get competitive

author’s note: thanks to @haloud for the fic title :)

“Do you think this one is okay?” Isobel asked Gregory, picking up a pumpkin from the ground. Gregory raised an eyebrow at the question, looking at the seemingly normal looking pumpkin, before looking beyond Isobel to see his younger brother and Michael in their own little world.

Michael had his arm around Alex, while using his other arm to try and get the beanie to stay atop his own head. Greg could hear Alex’s laughter as the curls made it impossible before Michael instead placed the beanie on Alex’s head.

Watching as Alex turned to look at Michael with a grin, he was interrupted by someone clearing their throat.

Isobel.

“They’re sickenly cute aren’t they?” She asked, before she pushed the pumpkin she chose into Gregory’s arms and he took it without complaint.

He could only shake his head softly before looking at his girlfriend.

“Just haven’t seen my brother this happy in a long time.” The statement was relatively true. Alex had been happy with Forrest Long a few months ago, but they broke up amicably when Forrest realized his time in Roswell writing his book was up and he left the town looking for a new muse.

Now though, Alex was so happy that his older brother didn’t know what to make of it.

“Well let’s go get the lovebirds. My feet are killing me.” The expensive boots she was wearing were not ones you’d wear to a pumpkin patch, but the glare Isobel gave him when he suggested different attire made that attempt pointless.

“Where are the rest of the gang anyway?” He asked, noting that Max, Isobel, Rosa, Maria and Kyle were nowhere to be seen in the huge field of pumpkins they were currently in.

“Gift shop,” she stated, before pulling Gregory along to where the two men were.

“Michael, I’m not that cold,” They could hear Alex say as they watched Michael zip up Alex’s hoodie. It was only 50 degrees out, but there was a strong wind coming in that day and Alex kept getting the chills as they walked through the pumpkin patch.

“You keep telling yourself that, because I can feel you shivering.” He pulled Alex into his arms and kissed him on the forehead, before making his way down his face, kissing his nose and each cheek before finally getting to his lips.

“Okay, break it up.” Isobel said, a smirk appearing on her face as they broke apart. Michael looked affronted, while Alex just shook his head.

“Did you two choose your pumpkin?” She asked, before taking notice of the huge pumpkin on the ground beside them.

Michael picked it up, “Yep. We are going to kick everyone’s ass at this couple’s pumpkin carving contest.”

“Yeah, yeah sure. You haven’t seen what Rosa can do when she gets creative with her art. We’re definitely going to lose to her and Maria.” She saw what Rosa could do the few times she visited her in rehab and she was impressed.

Also incredibly disappointed that she was also going to lose this contest.

“We’ll see about that,” Michael muttered, grabbing Alex by the hand and walking towards the gift shop and cafe that the farm had. They could faintly hear Alex ask if they had hot chocolate and Michael hurriedly agreed to buying him one.

“We’re really going to lose aren’t we?” Greg asked, turning towards Isobel.

“Afraid so sweetie,” and gave him a peck on the lips.

------

“Kyle, she’s cheating!” Michael exclaimed a few hours later at Alex’s house. His entire living room had the furniture and his guitar case moved to one side so they could put newspapers down on the floor as they carved their pumpkins. Kyle came up with the idea about a month prior, after everything with Mr. Jones ended, the alien no longer in the picture. Alex suggested his house as it wasn’t as far out of the middle of town as Max’s or as clean and pristine as Isobel’s. The idea of having pumpkin all over Isobel’s floors or table nearly gave her a heart attack. She readily agreed to Alex’s house and the date was set.

Kyle was the only one standing as he walked around to see how everyone was doing. Isobel and Gregory were doing terribly, as their design they were carving came out more deformed than they expected. Kyle could barely contain the grin that appeared on his face while Isobel gave a long sigh as she sat next to Gregory as he tried and failed to make it look presentable.

Max and Liz were doing a bit better, but Michael’s note about Liz cheating did hold true as she tried to ask Max to use his powers to mess up everyone else’s pumpkins.

No matter how much he wanted to win this contest with their giant pumpkin literally referred to as the “Big Max,” by the people at the farm, Max himself declined that suggestion, not ready for Michael to yell at him. Their relationship was getting better and not even a pumpkin carving contest was going to ruin it, no matter how childish the fight would be.

“Michael, calm down,” Alex suggested calmly, grasping Michael’s hand gently and Michael’s grip on his knife loosened as he finished carving. He looked proudly at his work before Alex gave him a kiss on the cheek.

“You did great babe.”

“Not as great as us though!” Rosa exclaimed, turning her pumpkin around to show everyone.

Their mouths dropped open as they examined her carving and Kyle let out a laugh.

“Michael, we totally lost.” Alex stated, looking down at their own pumpkin.

Rosa’s E.T. carved masterpiece was on another level and Maria smirked beside her, proud of how talented her girlfriend was.

“That’s my girl,” she stated, giving Rosa a quick kiss before looking up with a raised eyebrow at Kyle for the results.

“Well, let’s start with last place. In last place, we have...Isobel and Gregory,” Isobel pouted, before noting that Gregory was still trying to fix the carving, “We lost sweetie.” The older man grumbled, dropping the knife. Isobel could hear Rosa laugh in the background as she looked at their pumpkin.

Kyle took a step towards Liz and Max next, “In third place, we have Max and Liz. Not bad, but not great.” Max and Liz both sighed, and Kyle noted that Liz turned to glare at her boyfriend. Kyle could see that Liz would never grow out of her competitive nature. Michael snorted, “Guess Big Max was no match for Little Max’s carving skills.”

Taking a step towards Alex and Michael, Kyle spoke, “In second place, we have Michael and Alex. Great job gentlemen, but well...you know.” He could only gesture towards Rosa’s alien inspired carving to show them why they didn’t win.

“In first place and receiving a $50 gift card to the new incredibly expensive Italian restaurant in town...Rosa and Maria,” He handed them the gift card and Rosa held it proudly while Maria laughed at the sad reactions from everyone.

“Come on guys,” she got up and grabbed Rosa’s hand and waited for her girlfriend to pick up the pumpkin. “Let’s put the lights inside them and put them on display outside.”

As everyone got up and did just that, Kyle was left alone to start cleaning up everything. After watching him nearly slipping on the newspapers, Michael let out a laugh, “Think fast Valenti,” the words came out of his mouth as a beer came floating towards the doctor.

As he got stable standing on his own two feet and grabbed the beer, he looked at the curly haired alien who was dating his best friend.

“Thanks,” he opened the bottle and took a swig.

“Thanks for this idea man,” Michael looked from Kyle to the front door where Alex was coming in with Maria and Rosa, laughing along to something they were saying. “We all really needed this, but especially Alex. This level of normalcy, we never had it before.” He played with the beer bottle in his own hand before he continued, “Now that we’re officially dating, just hanging out with friends is nice. Before it was always a secret and no one really knew and we never had a real definition to what we were.”

Kyle looked at Michael, seeing a whole new side to the mechanic he never saw before and never expected to, before shrugging. “Not a problem Guerin.”

“Hey, what’s up with you two?” A new voice joined the conversation, and both turned to see Alex standing next to Michael.

Michael shook his head, before grabbing Alex’s hand. “Nothing to worry about. Just thanking the good doctor over here.”

Alex looked between the two of them, before shrugging. Kissing Michael on the cheek, Alex let go of Michael’s hand and set off towards the rest of the mess that was being cleaned up in the living room.

“So….we’re watching E.T. right?” Rosa asked 10 minutes later, as she planted herself on the couch that has now moved back to its original spot.

“I think I have the DVD,” Alex muttered, going through his extensive movie collection. Michael could only laugh as his nerdy boyfriend started pulling out his DVDs.

“Ah ha!” Alex exclaimed, pulling the movie out and Michael used his telekinesis to open the DVD player for Alex to put the movie in.

Each couple took a spot in the living room and as Alex got up to sit next to Michael on the couch, he turned to look at his boyfriend. The alien turned his head to look back at Alex and smiled softly at him.

“Happy fall,” he whispered, as the movie started playing in the background.

Alex kissed him on the lips before he spoke, “Happy fall.”

“Some people want to watch a movie, boys,” Rosa stated, glaring at them as she threw popcorn at their heads.

One piece of popcorn got stuck in Michael’s hair and Michael grabbed it before throwing it in his mouth.

“Delicious,” he stated before turning to capture Alex’s lips on his own.

#malex #with side pairings of belmanes echo & marosa #michael guerin #alex manes #malex fic #roswell new mexico #my fic

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tinkerd · 3 years

Text

Interview with www.achuka.co.uk

See Original post here: https://www.achuka.co.uk/blog/meet-an-illustrator-14-david-litchfield/

Meet An Illustrator 14 – David Litchfield APRIL 17, 2021 BY ACHUKA self-portrait © David Litchfield

ACHUKA is thrilled to have David Litchfield as the 14th guest on Meet An Illustrator, an informal weekend feature introduced this year.. Do visit the backpages to read the responses from previous guests.

The Bear And The Piano, David’s debut picture book, was published just 5 years ago, but he is already established as one of the UK’s leading illustrators and picture book creators. That debut title won Waterstones Illustrated Book Prize in 2016. Much more recently he has come to attention as the cover illustrator for David Almond’s Bone Music:

The Bear And The Piano became a trilogy with publication in 2019 of The Bear, The Piano, The Dog And The Fiddle and, this year, with the third title The Bear, The Piano And The Little Bear’s Concert.

A particular favourite of ACHUKA’s is Lights On Cotton Rock:

His 2021 publishing year kicked off with illustrations for A Shelter for Sadness by Anne Booth

and the paperback edition of Rainbow Before Rainbows by Smriti Halls is published this coming week:

Next month (May 2021) we can look forward to Pip And Egg written by Alex Latimer:

and, as we hear below, there is lot lots more to come.

As a child, what were the first illustrations you remember being pleased with?

I think that it was a drawing of a panda. It was in primary school and we all had to draw one. We then put them all on the wall and I remember feeling a bit arrogant and quietly smug that my panda was definitely one of the best ones on that wall.

Who/what inspired you when you were young?

Again at primary school our teacher sat us all down and read us Where The Wild Things Are. I remember being absolutely blown away by Maurice Sendak‘s drawings and characters and totally felt transported away from the reading mat in that classroom to that dreamy monster island. Mr Sendak and Albert Uderzo were absolutely the two biggest influences on making me want to draw every day.

Who inspires you today?

Still mainly Sendak and Uderzo. But I love finding out about new illustrators. There are an infinite amount of styles and techniques and approaches to drawing and I love being surprised by how different people create a spread or tell their stories. My current 2 favourites are Sydney Smith and Frances Ives. They both have such a free and natural style. They are amazing.

Did you study art/illustration?

I actually studied Graphic Design at Camberwell College of Art. Graphic Design felt like the most sensible career choice in the art world. I loved the course and I met some great people there. But I was really shocked at how little drawing was involved. I think more than anything that course showed me how much I really loved to draw and that I just wasn’t a Graphic Designer.

What is your favourite artist tool/product?

It sounds obvious but a pencil and a sketchbook. My absolute favourite part of a project is when it’s just me, a pencil and a sketchbook and I am just letting the idea develop by scribbling and experimenting and making a mess.

Where do you buy your art supplies?

I have two favourite shops here in Bedford. One is called the Arc which sells all kinds of incredible arts supplies and exotic paints and brushes etc. I also like Coleman’s which is obviously more of a standard stationary shop. But I don’t know, I like their pens. I spend far too much money on pens.

What software/apps do you use?

I only really use Photoshop. I tried to get my head around Illustrator but I’m just not that technically minded to be honest. I have had a play with Pro Create but my kids keep stealing my iPad so I have not had enough time to learn it yet.

What was your first commission?

My first commission happened when I was 13 years old and I drew a poster for a local comic shop. They paid me in comics. My first proper paid commission was with The Beano comic. I think that it was in 2013 or so when the editor Michael Stirling found my drawings online. For a few weeks I drew the illustrations that accompanied a poetry section in the comic. It was amazing to be drawing for a comic I had been in love with for most of my life. I will forever be grateful to that team for giving me that opportunity.

What are you working on at the moment?

I am just finishing drawing a pretty epic book written by Gregory Maguire. After that I’m so happy to be working on another ‘Earth’ book with Stacy McAnulty. I love drawing these books, and I learn so much about our planet too. After that I’m starting a beautiful book with the writer Nell Cross Beckerman which is going to be a total stunner. Towards the end of the year I’m creating artwork for my next author/illustrator book too.

Which is all very exciting. I always feel like I’m being very vague when I don’t give too much info but I’m never sure how much I’m actually allowed to say. What I can tell you is that my author/illustrator book is going to be a Christmas story set in Victorian times.

Twitter or Instagram? Instagram I think. I love Twitter but Instagram just feels a lot friendlier. Also as an illustrator it is a great, visual medium to share work on. I have also found so many new great artists from this site.

Coffee or tea?

I love coffee. But I have had to cut back a lot. I was getting the jitters because I drank it so much. Now I just have two cups a day. And only in the mornings.

Cat or dog?

Oh my goodness Dog. Dog every time. I always had dogs growing up. They were my best friends. We got a dog last summer. I was adamant that my two boys should have a dog growing up. My wife wasn’t that convinced I don’t think but now that we have one she loves her as much as we do.

Grape or grain?

Hmmm, both good, but I would have to say grape.

Sunrise or sunset?

Sunset. I don’t know if it’s a getting older thing but I love sitting in my garden as the sun starts to go down. It’s like a magic time of the day where everything is winding down and becoming peaceful.

What do you listen to when you are working?

Mainly loud rock music. But I’ve also started to listen to a fair few podcasts. My favourite ones at the moment are ‘Pod Save America‘- helps me get my head around American politics, which I can sometimes find quite baffling from time to time- and The Force Center – which is a massively geeky Star Wars podcast which has none of the snark and negativity of other fandom type discussions. I recommend it if you are a Star Wars nerd like me.

Where can we follow you on social media? I’m on twitter: @dc_litchfield Instagram: @david_c_litchfield

I also have a blog at:

tinkerd.tumblr.com

and a Facebook page at

facebook.com/davidlitchfieldillustration

-but to be honest I do keep forgetting to update that one.

#illustrator #illustrator interview #illustration

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copperbadge · 2 years

Note

Hello! I finished reading Fete about 12 hours ago and I wanted to ask if there is any chance you would consider at some point writing genuine fanfic for the Shivadhverse, once you finish the stories you have planned? By which I mean things that don't belong in the actual novel because they don't necessarily serve the plot, and aren't long enough to be their own thing within your planned series of books, but that we fannish types would enjoy because they're sweet or funny (or steamy, if you'd consider higher rated stuff). I did read the first short story in the original AO3 post and the Duke of the Orange bit, and that's essentially what I mean -- just wondering if there is any more of that to come. I think the book as you wrote it told the story exactly as "completely" as a piece of fiction should, but in true fandom style I'm also not quite ready to be done with Eddie and Gregory's romance (I'm sure I will feel the same about Jes and Michaelis but I'm not that far yet). I just desperately want more fluff and shenanigans about those two being in love 💕

I'm so glad you enjoyed Fete! I hope you have fun with Infinite Jes and LATT, too :)

It's an interesting question to answer because there's two aspects to consider. The first is simply "Are there going to be more short stories" -- things that fit into the universe but aren't either supporting the storyline of a novel directly or novels in themselves. There are a handful more of those that you'll reach as you keep reading, and I do plan to put out a book of short stories when I have enough. Beyond the idea of more short stories, if you just want News Of Gregory And Eddie, that does definitely exist in the second and third books -- we see them developing their relationship and figuring out their life together. While I'm conceptually designing the second set of three books around non-royals (Caleb the musician, Georgie the bodyguard, Simon the chef) they're all royal-adjacent, so we'll still be following along with the lives of the royals.

But there is a second aspect, which is the idea of writing a story that not only doesn't fit into the canon neatly but might be divergent from it, like an AU or something that would mess up later canon if inserted. I'm less likely to do that simply because I enjoy expanding on what I've already done, and if I want something to exist within the narrative I simply make it canon. I think of Neil Gaiman being asked if he writes fanfic of his work, and him replying "Well, if I write it, I can just publish it." So I'm more likely to write something that could be considered fanfic but which ends up being labeled and printed as a short story, because it's my world and I can say what does and doesn't get published as canon.

Even if I were to write something on the porny side, it's not like erotica never gets published. Initially I had considered adding in some porn to Fete and publishing two versions, one with and one without, but I find writing sex scenes kind of exhausting these days, so I decided as long as I was doing this mainly to entertain myself, I wouldn't do anything that felt like work. :D I definitely do think about the kinds of sex the various people in the universe have, like for example I know that Gregory enjoys the fact that Eddie can significantly manhandle him. But the actual written prose version of those ideas is less likely to ever exist than simply stories about their lives.

But yeah -- I'm definitely not abandoning the storylines of the initial characters just because I'm writing other stories. There is a certain level of mirroring; the Eurovision story is also about Michaelis and Jes's developing relationship, the California story is also about Gregory and Eddie becoming dads, and Simon's story will have a strong underplot about Jerry and Alanna's marital misadventures. (This is all predicated on them getting written but between my love of this universe and my new medication it's looking pretty likely!)

#shivadhverse

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recommendedlisten · 4 years

Text

At the ends of summer, we find ourselves in that place we usually do every year in moving on from music that soaked in the sunlight and sizzled alongside the heat toward sounds to layer ourselves under as autumn decays the world around us. This latest volume of Listen to These. features overlooked and underrated listens from these pages since the last check-in arches the two: equally filled with bright pop work and understated indie textures. As always, stay current with the latest full album reviews, and head over here if you missed any previous volumes of Listen to These.

Angel Olsen - Whole New Mess [Jagjaguwar]

In contrast to last year’s dazzling reflector All Mirrors, Angel Olsen’s companion album to that effort in Whole New Mess is as every bit a stunning image even in its understated appearance. Though most of the music found on this album captures All Mirrors through a different angle in hollowed out body, Olsen’s twilight timbre is its magical instrument that sets each of those listens in a distinct new light. Dusky lullabies and midnight waltzes alone carry Olsen through new moons of loss and finding one’s self again on the other end. The outlines may be hidden in the dark, though her presence alone makes them clearly visible to see.

Whole New Mess by Angel Olsen

ENTRY - Detriment [Southern Lord]

How long does it take to turn your nervous system inside-out? 15-minutes of ENTRY’s Detriment just might do the trick. Formed in Los Angeles between PA punk scene veteran Sara Gregory, Touché Amoré guitarist Clayton Stevens, Sean Sakamoto of the indie-pop band Sheer on bass, and drummer Chris Dwyer, the band’s arrival spills all of those very heavy-hitting emotions being burdened within our bodies this year into an onslaught of scathing screams and brutalist hardcore. Their exorcism might wreck everything, including you. Burn it down. Start over. ENTRY’s means justify the ends.

Detriment by Entry

The Killers - Imploding the Mirage [Island Records]

The Killers are a very big band who have achieved immense success by refining very reliable alternative influences in their mass anthems. Though the road leading up to Imploding the Mirage has arguably been inconsistently paved, their seventh studio effort not only features some of the hottest neon in some time from the Vegas band, now in trio form, but one that chooses the directions that best befit their veteran status as widescreen visionaries of a new wave Americana. Adam Granduciel of the War on Drugs, former Fleetwood Mac guitarist Lyndsey Buckingham, and Weyes Blood’s Natalie Laura Mering co-sign Brandon Flowers’ appropriation-with-gusto of their style guides. Flowers also finally finds the right balance between Springsteen heartland tales and the Killers’ own Vegas strip electricity here. It’s no mirage: The Killers are at the top of the alternative marquee again.

Narrow Head - 12th House Rock [Run for Cover Records]

The moment 12th House Rock lifts off with “Yer’ Song”, Narrow Head have left the atmosphere. With the Houston rockers’ sophomore effort and first for Run for Cover Records, the five-piece take homage with the best of the ‘90s alternative’s big riffed work heard in the currents of everything from Hum, the Deftones, My Bloody Valentine, and Brit pop fully amped, and with a little rewiring of their electric diagrams, rip through mighty hooks and dizzying spins of their own gravity. In these times, 12th House Rock’s energy is the kind of escapist album direly needed in 2020 when you need to put something on loud to drown out the rest of the world.

12th House Rock by Narrow Head

Popcaan - FIXTAPE [OVO Sound / Warner Bros.]

It’s been a long ass ride from yesterday to today with Popcaan, but a blessing to hear Andrae Hugh Sutherland influential vision for dancehall fully realize itself on Fixtape, his second mixtape and latest offering as part of longtime collaborator Drake’s OVO Sound imprint. Don’t let Drizzy’s coupling of highlight appearances where his patois’d flow reaps the rewards of Popcaan’s perpetually sunny worldbeat outshine the Jamaican superstar deejay’s finest moment since his 2014 listmaking breakout Where We Come From, though an assist from the labels production constants Boi-1da, Nineteen85, and Noel Cadastre apply precision across the 19-song collection of club bangers and Caribbean kisses. Timeless and ultra modern are two words that normally coexist, but in this case FIXTAPE is Popcaan operating on both levels.

Young Jesus - Welcome to Conceptual Beach [Saddle Creek]

Prepare to be transformed by the end of Welcome to Conceptual Beach. On the sophomore effort from Young Jesus, the Los Angeles-based indie rock reinventionists are on a meditative mission to peer into every crevice of the inner self, and if they’re successful, shed light on spaces where darkness once was. John Rossiter captains the transcendental journey, with moments floating between the tendril to intelligently designed in the heavens as his monologues invite both the quiet and loudly rapturous to turn over a new skin. Even in moments of “(un)knowing” where the enormity of it all can feel terrifying, he and Young Jesus confront it all with a fearless imagination in their sound where the real wonder is in how they’re able to tame this wild universe while instilling peace in heart.

Welcome to Conceptual Beach by Young Jesus

#angel olsen #my entry #the killers #narrow head #popcaan #young jesus #features #listen to these

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lovemesomesurveys · 4 years

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Why did you last feel like crying? This past weekend I was just extra moody and on the verge of tears.

How long ago and why did you last feel infuriated? I get easily irritated and frustrated, but it’s been awhile since I’ve felt infuriated.

Do emotions control you or do you control your emotions? My emotions got control over me a few years ago and I haven’t been able to gain it back. :/

Do you keep your friends secrets/private information to yourself? Yes.

What negative quality do your friends bring up the most? I wouldn’t want friends who did that. I do that enough myself as it is, I don’t need anyone else pointing out all my negative qualities all the time.

What quality do you think you have that others don’t think you do? I don’t know. I feel like people in my life overestimate my abilities rather than the other way around. I feel a lot of pressure to maintain that illusion. <<< Same in regards to feeling like people overestimate my abilities. Although, in terms of the long list of negative qualities I believe I have, my loved ones would disagree on a lot of them.

Do you often “jump” to conclusions? Yeppp. Always the worst ones, too.

Do you find being alone with strangers scary, interesting or indifferent? It could be scary depending on the situation, but I’d definitely feel anxious and uncomfortable.

Do you think you know a lot about the world? There’s a lot more I don’t know.

Do you know first aid? No.

Does the sight of blood make you feel sick? Y Yes. It makes me feel weak. I can’t even look when having blood drawn and getting it done makes me sweaty and weak.

Does your first name have an L in it? Nope.

Middle name have a C in it? Nope.

Last name have a R in it? Yes.

Do your initials spell a legitimate word? If so, what? Nope. The word above, does it have any connection to you at all?

Do you prefer classic rock or nope alternative? Nope alternative?

Do you like Kings of Leon? Yeah. I loved when Sex on Fire first came out.

How about The Script? Yes.

Does crying make you feel better? Sometimes.

Do you know a girl called Becca? Nope.

How about a guy called Gregory? No.

Does someones background effect whether you’ll be friends with them or not Uh, well yeah. Like if they have a sketchy background or have done things I’m not comfortable with.

How about their religious background? I’d have a problem with a satanist or if they were involved in a cult.

If someone admitted cheating in a past relationship of theirs, would you trust them? That would likely make things complicated, but I guess it would depend on the situation. Although, you’re likely just getting their side of it and it may not be accurate or they’re leaving things out that paint them in a better light than their ex. It would just really, really depend on the situation and it’d take a lot of communication.

Do you drink tea and/or coffee every day? Coffee, yes.

Did you ever want to be a cook as a kid? No.

How about a fashion designer? No.

Do you wish that magic was real? I mean sure it’d be dope to make something you want appear or happen whenever you want. It could also be tricky, though, and used for the wrong reasons.

What food would you love to wipe off the face of the earth? I’m picky, so there’s a lot of foods I don’t like, but plenty of other people enjoy them so I’m not going to wipe it off the earth just cause I don’t like it.

Can you use a bottle opener? Yeah...

Do you own a cheese grater? Nope.

What time will it be in 38 minutes time? 4:26AM.

What day/date will it be in 11 days time? May 25th. Damn.

Have you ever owned a pet fish? Y Yep. I had a fish tank full of fish as a kid.

Do you prefer fire or ice? Fire in terms of bonfires and in a fireplace for the comfy, coziness of it and I love the smell of it during the fall. I don’t use ice in my drinks, so, not a big fan.

Do you rap along with rap songs? Ha, well my attempt to rap along.

When happy, do you become more talkative? Yeah.

Bowling or sailing? Why? Bowling I guess if I had to pick out of the two. Have no interest in either one, though.

What colour is your kettle? I don’t have one.

How about your microwave? Black.

Do you prefer sitting in the front or back of a car? Front.

How about in a train? On the bus? I’ve always had to sit in the middle on buses cause that’s where the wheelchair spots are.

Do you care about politics? I admit that I really haven’t been following closely these past few years. I used to pay more attention, but I just... can’t. It’s too much.

Obama or Bush?

Blair or Brown?

When did you last cook something from scratch? I don’t cook from scratch. The only cooking I do is packaged ramen.

What things make you jealous? Im rarely jealous. <<< Same. I feel envy more than jealousy.

Do you think the censors/fcc go a bit too far or are just right? I am confused as to why it’s okay certain curse words but not others. And I really don’t get why in “asshole” just the “hole” part is bleeped out lol. Do you feel hungry, thirsty, sleepy or none of the above? Right now I’m just sleepy.

What’s your Mum’s Mum called? How about your Dad’s Dad? Lupe/Charles.

Do you prefer crepes, pancakes or waffles? Waffles and crepes.

Do you have ice-cream in your fridge right now? I think we have some.

How about chicken nuggets? Not chicken nuggets, but my brother has a bag of chicken wings.

Do you eat fish often? Never. I hate seafood. <<<< Saaaame.

Have you ever taken a martial art? Which one{s}? Nope.

Do you know anyone who is scared of you? I can’t imagine anyone being afraid of me, a stick thin, super shy, and awkward af girl. haha.

What person who has died would you bring back and why? I wouldn’t mess around with bring people back from the dead. I believe I’ll see them again one day.

Do you like watermelon? Yeah. I couldn’t tell you the last time I had any, though.

Can you remember the month of your first kiss? October. I remember that because it happened at my high school drama department’s haunted house.

Do you make friends easily? No. I also don’t try to to be honest.

What makes you different from everyone else? DNA <<< Hahaha welp that most certainly does.

I give you a piece of paper. What do you draw/write on it? I’d do random doodles and write random words in cursive cause that’s what I do when I doodle.

What pictures or photos are up in your lounge? Is that like the living room? If so, we have a few framed photos on the shelves we have.

Do you like purple and white patterned things? Sure.

Do you know anyone called Pipa? No.

I say purple, you think… It’s my mom’s favorite color.

What do you think is the most interesting thing about you? Nothing.

Do you like being complimented or does it make you uncomfortable? They’re nice, I’m just super awkward.

Does the description of your starsign correspond with your personality? Nope. I’m so opposite of how a Leo is described.

Do you have a photo album? Yeah, several old photo albums (physical ones) and several on Facebook and my phone.

What artists paintings do you find the most beautiful? I don’t necessarily go for beauty in art. My favourite painters are Dali, Kandinsky, and Klimt. Weird over beauty for me. <<< That’s how I am. One of my favorites is The Scream by Edvard Munch. I like the melting clocks one by Dali, too.

What about the most disturbing? Hmm. There’s definitely paintings I’ve seen that I thought were disturbing, but of course I can’t think of a specific one at the moment.

Have you ever gone to a camp or summer school? I’ve been to two camps: science camp and Girl Scout camp. I also had to do summer school once in the 6th grade cause I missed a lot of school due to spending months in the hospital and at home after having surgery. I voluntarily took a few summer classes in college.

What was your favourite cartoon as a child? A lot of the stuff that was on Nickelodeon, Disney Channel, PBS, WB Kids, and Saturday morning cartoons on ABC.

What was your biggest fear as a child? Bugs.

Would you rather be able to fly or breathe underwater? Fly.

What about invisibility or mindreading? Invisibility.

Do you like what you see in the mirror? Nopeee.

Can you remember all your past teachers names? Not all of them, but a lot of them.

Do you like talent shows? Which ones? I enjoyed when we had talent show assemblies in elementary school. Those were fun.

Have you ever failed an important exam? In what? Yes, in math.

Do you find people taller than you intimidating? Just about everyone is taller than me.

Do you think you are better than people of a different country/background? Wow, absolutely not. I don’t think I’m better than anyone.

What’s your favourite thing about your country? We have our issues and I know other countries make fun of us, but we have a lot of good qualities and I like where I’m from.

Who is your favourite bzoinker? I don’t go on there.

What websites do you have bookmarked? The ones on the toolbar are Google, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, YouTube, Pinterest, and a couple PDFs from Bible studies.

Do you use bows and ribbons to decorate your gifts? Yeah. I love wrapping presents and making them look all nice and pretty.

Do you listen to the same type of music as your parents? What type is that? We like a lot of the same, yeah. Especially my mom and I.

What TV show scared you as a kid? Are You Afraid of the Dark haha but I also loved to watch it. That intro is what really got me. Oh, and Unsolved Mysteries. That was a show about real life mysteries and murders and such.

Family Guy, The Simpsons or South Park? Why? Out of the three I’d pick Family Guy, but I’m not into any of them. My family loves Family Guy so I see parts of episodes here and there all the time and I’m familiar with it. Sometimes it’ll give me a little chuckle.

#personal #text #survey #surveys

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rosalind-of-arden · 5 years

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Sword and Pen Reread, chapter 5

Time to cry over Morgan.

Here’s our first hint that Morgan isn’t going to survive. The journal entry is “Archived to the Codex under interdict until her death.” I don’t think we’ve had ephemera from any of the main characters labeled that way before.

So Morgan’s journal was published after her death. She gets that form of immortality along with the ring. But, of course, this is a lot of very personal, emotional stuff to make public while she still exists in a way that allows her to be aware of it. Also, if Jess reads it, so many feels for him.

Morgan’s emotions in this journal are just so real for someone her age. She’s 18, she’s been through hell, and she doesn’t even know what to make of it all. It’s heartbreaking that she wants comfort so badly and questions herself for wanting it.

“What happened in the Colosseum feels like an ending.” This line felt jarring the first time I read it, since in her last POV chapter in Smoke and Iron, Morgan seemed to decide that she definitely loved Jess. But she felt that when she thought they were about to die, and that was before Brendan’s death. Morgan, extremely vulnerable after just escaping the Iron Tower and only just reunited with Jess, just saw Jess fall apart over his brother, too consumed by grief to think about her. She just saw that as intense as their feelings for each other have been, Jess has other relationships that are more established that have a huge impact on his life. That’s not either of their fault, but it’s got to hurt.

Also, consider the difference in Jess’s response to Brendan’s death and Morgan’s response to her father’s death. Not exactly the same situation, but still, close if complicated family relationship. Jess withdraws and can’t even take care of himself right after Brendan dies. Morgan keeps going after her father dies: trying to escape, checking on her friends... if she had any period of shock or withdrawal, it’s off page where we don’t see it. She may be hurt by Jess’s grief because it’s so different from her own that she can’t understand it.

Morgan recognizes that the things that have happened have changed her and Jess both. They really haven’t had the time to establish a relationship strong enough to last through those changes. Wolfe and Santi obviously have. Khalila and Dario had six months of peace together. Jess and Morgan had a lot of mutual pining and very little actual time. No wonder Morgan’s questioning things.

Morgan is a tea person. She drinks it unsweetened, apparently, since it’s bitter. Cooling, too. Morgan is the type to leave the tea in the cup and forget about it.

Morgan and Thomas both know ancient Greek.

In some ways, putting Morgan and Thomas on the same project is as bad as having Jess and Wolfe work together. Neither of them believes in getting adequate sleep when there’s work to do.

Ancient harbor defense mechanism was an Artifex-Obscurist collaboration designed by Heron.

Obscurists can bond people to automata. This seems like the sort of thing that has a lot of potential both for interesting problem solving and for absolute horror.

Medica-brewed energy potions are a thing. And Morgan’s preferred caffeine source might be tea, but she’ll grab an energy drink before she’ll consider sleeping.

Morgan and Thomas, taking a break from work to debate whether and how people can change.

“This is why I prefer my machines. Far easier to fix a broken automaton than a broken person.” My fucking heart, Thomas.

“His smile felt as warm as summer sun, and for a moment she forgot they weren’t just two students, debating.” My fucking heart, Morgan.

Seriously. Thomas: “I’m broken and can’t fix myself” *smiles* Morgan: “omg is this what it’s like to be normal students?” Children, neither of you is ok.

What does it take to make Morgan sleep? Knowing she’ll have to use lots of Obscurist power for a job.

Thomas has been assigned an office but no sleeping quarters. Odds that without outside intervention, he just ends up sleeping in his office?

Changes in Morgan’s power: what she grew up with was “a steady, slow trickle from the world around her” enough for elemental manipulation and rewriting scripts. Now it’s sizzling, “dark and glorious,” and even after using a lot at the Colosseum, she still feels like she’s “bursting with it.”

More hints at hidden Obscurist communities, maybe in/around Oxford? “She’d spent most of her life in hiding.” Assuming her father was in on it - an Obscurist himself (weak power, probably?), or a parent who would rather live in hiding than give his child up? And there’s how he was recruited to the Burners. A community of hidden Obscurists is going to be both an appealing and an easy target for them, and a siege could be the thing that pushes them into joining the Burners instead of hiding. Scholar Tyler could have been part of it too, a Scholar who sympathized with the hidden Obscurists enough to risk trying to help them.

Eskander, hiding magic rings is not an appropriate way to give them to people. Are you trying to be fucking Gandalf or something?

There is nothing ominous at all about an ancient ring stamped with the seal of the Great Library that radiates power.

Morgan has so completely adopted Wolfe as her father that she doesn’t hesitate to think of Eskander as a grandfather.

Eskander has spent the past 40 years locked in his room. Eskander is wearing “boots that had seen years of use.” Old pre-Iron Tower boots of his? Or has Eskander spent the past 40 years pacing around his room with boots on? Raided the Iron Tower’s clothing storage and grabbed himself a pair of old boots instead of new ones?

“A lean, strong elder with long, curling gray hair.” Caine throws a bone to Eskander smut writers with this bit of description, I think. Morgan: sees Eskander, notices how good he looks, immediately thinks of adopted family relationships.

So quintessence is the power that’s in everything in this world. Apeiron encompasses other realities as well.

“This particular ring was created by the Obscurist Magnus Gargi Vachaknavi over five thousand years ago.” As Maz has so brilliantly pointed out, there is no fucking way that this entire statement is true. Ephemera later in the book says Gargi was Archivist. So... could be Gargi was Obscurist Magnus and/or Archivist, but not actually 5,000 years ago. Great Library seal on the ring points toward this interpretation: that suggests it was made after the Library was founded. Or we go with the theory we’ve discussed on Discord. The Library claims to date back 5,000 years, treating ancient institutions in Egypt, Greece, etc as part of itself, retroactively applying titles like Archivist or Obscurist to people who wouldn’t have called himself that. Gargi was neither an Obscurist Magnus nor an Archivist, but those titles were retroactively assigned to her. The symbol was added to the ring later.

Or, for something a little more horrifying. Gargi made the ring 5,000 years ago. She has been using it to either share or steal bodies, and has thus been able to be an Obscurist Magnus and an Archivist, just not in her original body. She put the Library symbol on the ring whenever she joined up with the Library.

Eskander: You made me come out of hiding, now I’m training you to replace me. Suck it up, kid, this is nobody’s fault but your own. I mean, it’s a douche move to stick her with the job like that... but I kinda sympathize.

Morgan: My power is corrupted again, so maybe we should think about safety here? Eskander: No safety. Put the ring on. For science!

I think Eskander really is trying to help here. He knows Morgan isn’t using her power safely. He knows he can’t keep fixing her when she corrupts herself. The ring is the only thing that might work. But he is truly atrocious at communicating that, and he doesn’t seem to understand that bullying her into it isn’t right. 40 years of isolation plus most of his life in the Iron Tower - that’s not going to give him a healthy understanding of communication or consent.

Morgan’s power is repaired again when she puts on the ring. And upgraded.

The ring was put away because it disagreed with what the Library was doing. So Eskander finds this ring that’s probably been locked up somewhere, maybe labeled as dangerous... and unless it comes with an instruction manual, presumably, he puts the damn thing on. How else would he learn what it is? And Gargi tells him to fuck off and find someone better to wear her? Or maybe every Obscurist Magnus inherits it, tries it on, gets rejected, stashes it until the next Obscurist Magnus comes along? But maybe Keria slipped it to Eskander instead, keeping Gregory from getting it. Maybe Eskander even wore it a bit, until Gargi got tired of him doing nothing and told him to fuck off. Maybe the ring is how Keria and Eskander even figured out how to un-corrupt power.

Ring stays on the wearer until it decides it’s ready to come off. So, yeah, really not something you should have coerced Morgan into, Eskander.

Ring is messing with Morgan’s head already. Giving her dreams telling her she can stop the Archivist but it would kill her too, planting thoughts in her head, affecting feelings.

“Annis was very fond of Eskander.” For all the Annis/Eskander shippers.

“Scholar Wolfe, looking tired and drawn.” More to add to the Wolfe Is Not Ok pile.

Wolfe has two dying kids and available medical care isn’t helping. Who does he go to? The kid who he watches heal Santi, of course. He knows what Morgan is capable of.

Obscurist vision takes power to use. Morgan sees Glain’s body “mapped in flows of reds, blues, golds... and a steady expanding darkness.” Touching Glain lets Morgan feel what Glain is feeling and see the inside of her body.

The ring helps Morgan drain small amounts of power from everyone around her. It sends increasingly strong warnings as she uses too much power. Progresses to sharp stabs of pain, then catching fire.

Dad Wolfe is there to catch Morgan when she falls. Energy Vampire Morgan finds him tasty. Did this happen in/after Philadelphia too?

Morgan has seen Wolfe freaked out before. So it’s really saying something that here, he’s “terrified in a way she couldn’t remember ever seeing him.” I would really, really like to know how this compares to the Mesmer.

This tense little moment with Wolfe and Morgan before she leaves. She’s so scared of hurting him. He knows he just hurt her by asking her to save Glain. They both know how dangerous her corruption is. From Wolfe’s perspective, this is probably a lot like how he felt after Jess breathed the poison. He’s watching his kids kill themselves to accomplish their goals, and he can’t stop asking them to take the risks because there’s no other way to get things done. It’s Philadelphia all over again.

With her eyes closed, Morgan can perceive the garden, including fish in the pond. She can sense that Jess is dying.

The ring differentiates between consequences of choices and injuries inflicted by others. Choice and consent matter to Gargi, but she doesn’t consider the circumstances in which choices were made. Neither Morgan nor Jess had any good options when they made the choices that are killing them. Gargi doesn’t care about that.

Breakup time. Poor babies, they’re both so badly hurt, they don’t have anything left for each other, and they’re blaming themselves for that.

#the great library #sword and pen reread #long post #very long post

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