#they may come later (no pun intended) but i'll have to get through the first game before that

[tench]

Me, my horse and my absolutely normal dog against the horrors of being a teen in medieval Czechia

[prudentseer]

not the original anon but it's been weeks since i stumbled upon it, and i can't get your pride-and-prejudice bit out of my head??? the way you write angst is scratching my brain real very nicely, i hope i can read more joel in the "they ask you how you are doing and you have to say you are fine but you're not really fine--" mood in the future....

Thank you so much for the sweet words anon, even if you're not the original anon/requestor I'm obviously still very glad you liked the little snippet I wrote!

I will say though, if you want more...all you gotta do is ask (no pun intended)! I do enjoy doing these writing blurbs for people and while they're far from perfect, if 1.5k words (I need to calm down for these asks, they just keep getting longer) from me makes someone happy then that's all I can ask for. I tried to stick to your prompt but it may not be exactly what you're asking for. Regardless I gave it by best go.

This one's for you. Happy holidays.

Dearest Sausage

I would like to personally thank you for the lumber shipment, it will be incredibly helpful for our estate and I have no doubt it will be even more appreciated these coming winter months.

"Obviously each tenant on the property will be given a share of lumber, at least a third of a cord a month." Joel states, jotting down notes in the margins of the shipment details. "If my calculations from last winter are correct that is.

His most trusted servant–and first real friend in this place–Jeremy stands to the side with his own quill and notes in hand.

"Yes sir, that sounds reasonable."

"Larger homes or tenants with farms will be afforded more, obviously."

"Of course sir."

"That should leave us with enough lumber for the main estate, correct?"

Jeremy pauses for a moment, chewing the inside of his cheek and fiddling with the ends of his mustache. "Depends on how harsh winter is this year."

"I have no doubt that the Eth–Lord Slab will have a problem making the difference himself." Joel replies, biting back a smile at the thought of his partner. "Feels right at home in the wilderness that one."

However I do not appreciate the way the shipment was only sent as a bribe to get "as detailed as possible" information about mine and Lord Slabs…intimate relationship; to put it in a modest way.

"Now that's done...that means there are no other immediate issues I need to look at, right?" Joel asks, looking up at Jeremy from his chair. Trying his hardest to hold in a smile.

Jeremy flips through his pages. "No sir."

Joel claps his hands together, jumping up from his seat so fast it startles the older man.

"Finally, I'm free!" He whoops, almost running to the coat rack. "I'm going out, one more minute stuck in here and I'll go mad!"

"But sir, it's twenty below freezing! You'll catch a cold."

Joel rolls his eyes. "That's what coats are for silly."

"A-and Lord Slab is set to arrive home later today."

"He won't care." Joel replies, surprisingly neutral as he shrugs on the woolly coat. "I just have to be home by dinner, which I will be."

"Sir–"

"Make sure no one dies while I'm gone!"

But since you went through the trouble I will tell you this in confidence and as a long term friend; Lord Slab and I are in a mutually beneficial relationship. A marriage of convenience, not love.

Someone was following him.

Eyes on him were usual when he was wandering through the main portion of the estate, it came with being head of the estate while Etho was gone. Feeling eyes on him when he was alone walking the edge of the forest was a different thing.

Someone was dying today, and it wasn't going to be him.

The sound of horse hooves getting closer prompts him to duck behind a tree, heart pounding in his chest. The hooded figure stopping where his footsteps tapered off into the woods made him rotate around, pulling his knife out of its holster. The figure slowly dropping off their horse before approaching the treeline made him jump them; slamming into them with his full body weight and pinning them to the snow with the blade pressing down on their throat and–

"Missed me that much?"

Joel yanks off their hood to see a set of familiar eyes and a (he won't say loving, it's not) knowing smile. "Etho?!"

"Hi, Joel."

And as much as I hate to be boring, I can't lie and say there is anything interesting to report between the two of us. Absolutely nothing has changed.

All the fight practically melts out of him. Tossing his knife aside, Joel wraps his arms around his stupid husband; burying his head into his chest

Etho sits them both up, a gloved hand coming up into his hair. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." He chuckles warmly, the sound almost soothing.

"How did you find me?"

"I was on the path home when the farmer with the twin boys mentioned she saw you walk into the woods. So I decided to come and find you."

"You should've went home and rested you idiot!" He scolded, swatting Etho in the chest. "I can handle myself and I would've been back by dinner, you didn't have to–"

"But I wanted to." He interrupts, squeezing Joel just a bit tighter.

Joel frowns. When Etho wanted to see him immediately it meant something was wrong. He presses a hand to Etho's forehead almost instinctually. "Everything okay? Feeling alright?"

Etho only laughs. "Yes Joel, I promise. I just wanted to see you."

And maybe Joel's traitorous heart skips a beat.

I admit, once I thought it could be a relationship of love as well. As great and mighty as you know I am, I thought that he would agree to at least try but Lord Slab made it clear that he wasn't interested in that in the slightest.

Joel just manages to dust the snow off his pants when Etho grabs his hands suddenly, making him jump.

"Don't tell me that's what you came out in."

Joel gasps. "I'll have you know that I think I look dashing in this coat which is all that matters–"

"Yes Joel, you're very handsome." And he says it jokingly but something delusional inside of him feels like there's some truth behind it. "What I mean is...your hands are freezing, are you not cold?"

Now that he thought about it, out of the comfort–warmth of Etho's arms, it was quite chilly. Reading his mind almost, Etho's cloak is off in a instant and coming around Joel's shoulders.

"Etho, you'll be cold now."

"It doesn't matter."

"What? Of course it matters!" He tries to remove the cloak, all he gets his Etho swiping his hands away. "You're not trying to get sick for me so I feel bad and do more work, are you?"

"What I mean is that I'm used to it, and you're not." Etho chuckles as he secures the cloak with a strong knot. "Let's go home."

Don't bother feeling bad for me and don't write an angry letter to Lord Slab demanding answers, you'll only be wasting your time. Sometimes people don't work out romantically, I'm sure you know this from our short romance years ago.

It feels oddly domestic, the way Etho has one hand holding the reigns of his horse while the other one is out so Joel can grab onto it. Walking with their hips almost touching. And he plays into it by leaning into Etho's arm when they spot another tenant on the path.

"Lord Etho! You're home early."

He nods, laughing awkwardly. "Finished up early so I could come home early."

"Excited to reunite with your husband too I see." They smirk, something knowing in it. Joel opens his mouth but it's quickly shut when Etho pulls him in closer, head bumping the top of Joel's for a second.

"Of course."

And the look in his eyes is so heartbreakingly fond that Joel snaps away almost instantly.

That doesn't mean I'm unhappy, because I am happy. We may not love each other but we have love for one another and at the end of the day that fondness and respect is enough.

"We should get you a thicker coat." Etho hums, like it's more of a thought to himself than anything.

"My Christmas present?"

"No, just a present." He says, kicking a bit of snow up at his feet. "I'll get you something better for Christmas, what do you want?"

"Well for our wedding anniversary you–"

"No, not that." The words falling out more than spoken. Joel's eyebrows furrow.

"What's wrong with the bracelet? It was pretty."

"It was thoughtless." Etho scoffs like he's angry at himself. "Good for an acquaintance, not my husband. Tell me something you actually want, anything Joel, money's not an issue."

I will not make the same mistake

"Make me something." He concedes, Etho brightening at the words. "That's what I'm doing for you."

"What are you making? So I get an idea for mine."

"Trying to get information for your gift now, huh?" Joel rolls his eyes. "Nice try."

It surprises him slightly when Etho stops in his tracks. It surprises him even more when a hand comes to his face, gently turning Joel's face to give him a quick and gentle kiss on the cheek. What doesn't surprise Joel is that there are people nearby who see it.

I am perfectly content with what we are. I don't need more, nor do I want more.

Not that it matters. Not that he cares. Not that he hopes that one day he'll be kissed out of affection rather than a ploy.

"Tell me now?" He pleads quietly with deceivingly sweet eyes.

"Not that easily." He breathes, hoping the hood hides his flush.

Etho pouts. "At least what you want?"

"Not a chance."

Against all common sense, I look forward to your next letter and to seeing you soon. As always, give Hermes a treat and a belly rub for me.

Being his. What a pathetic Christmas wish.

Yours truly, Joel

[everything-disneyland-related]

Want to have the most successful day at the Disneyland Resort? Follow these tips and tricks from a seasoned park-goer!

Ever visited the Disneyland Resort and just felt overwhelmed by all the aspects that go into making the most of your day: rides, food, shows, restroom breaks, constant walking, and more. Well, you've come to the right blog then! I've been visiting the Disneyland Resort for years now, and I've developed several tips and tricks for getting the most out of your day at the Disneyland Resort. In this post, I'll help guide you along all the helpful insights that can make sure you get the most out of your day at the Resort. I'll cover my top 10 tips and tricks, and am open to discussion on what other tips and tricks will help as well. With all that being said, let's jump right in!

1-Schedule you park reservations and/or tickets well in advance!

Ever since they reopened in April of 2021, the Disneyland Resort has utilized a park reservation system that allows guests to book their day(s) of visit well in advance. Doing this will guarantee your spot in the parks for the day. This is especially helpful when visiting during busier times of year (holiday weekends, spring break, summertime, thanksgiving, Christmas/new years to name a few). Waiting too long will cause you to possibly have to reserve the park you didn't want or miss out on the day entirely if they are sold out of spots. Doing this creates an early sense of relief that you have your day(s) reserved and now you can start planning around it. Pasted below is the link to the official Disneyland Resort website page that details everything about the Reservation System.

2-Get to the Resort as early as possible!

Out of all the tips and tricks that I have, this I believe is the most important one of all. Arriving to the park as early as possible will mean less people and shorter wait times for most major rides. You can easily go around and ride 3-4 major rides within the first hour the parks are open. To do this, try to arrive to official Disneyland parking at least an hour BEFORE the theme parks even open. They will let you into either theme park and wait at the designated roped off areas until they officially open. This process is referred to by Disney fans as "rope drop." While many people sleep in and arrive later on in the day, you can easily go about your morning riding several of your must-do rides with much lower wait times. Pasted below is a 23 minute video on how to get the most out of your morning.

3-Mobile Order your food through the Disneyland App!

This one is quite baffling to me. Many infrequent park-goers simply wait in long lines just to order their food. This can eat (no pun intended) into precious time at the theme parks you could be doing other, more fun activities. By simply having a Disney account and credit card linked on the Disneyland App, you can mobile order your food from many locations in both theme parks. Doing this allows you to pick a 30-minute return window to pick-up your prepared food, then immediately go find a seat and enjoy it. Not to mention, this function on the App is free! Anyone can use it!

4-Utilize Genie+ for shorter wait times!

This one may be a bit controversial, but I stand by my viewpoint. This paid skip-the-line service available only on the Disneyland App will save you a lot of time waiting in lines for some of the most popular rides. To use this service, add it to every ticket or magic key pass on the App once you've scanned in at either park, then it is yours to use for the entire day. The service will cost you $25-$30 per person per day, but the rewards well outdo the price. Being able to use it on up to 20 rides between both Disneyland and California Adventure means you have plenty of rides to use it on. Pasted below is a video that explains just about everything you need to know about this service.

5-Take advantage of Single Rider Lines at select rides!

There are select rides in both theme parks that offer what are called Single Rider lines. Anyone who enters these designated queue lines will fill in any empty seats on that specific ride. This can greatly reduce the wait time for the ride of choice with the only downside being that if you're in a group, you will be separated. Using these designated queue lines will usually greatly reduce the wait time of the designated ride. These are the rides in both parks that offer Single Rider lines:

Disneyland - Space Mountain, Matterhorn Bobsleds, Millennium Falcon Smugglers Run, Splash Mountain

Disney California Adventure - Grizzly River Run, Incredicoaster, Radiator Springs Racers, Webslingers: A Spider-Man Adventure

In my opinion, the top 3 best ones to use are Splash Mountain, Millennium Falcon Smugglers Run and Radiator Springs Racers.

6-Enjoy more relaxing experiences during the middle of the day!

The middle period of the day is typically the most busy time at the parks. Wait Times reach their peaks and the walkways are more crowded than earlier in the day. Use this middle period of the day to enjoy the more relaxing experiences at both parks. Doing this will help save on your feet as well as how quickly you tire out as the day goes on. These are some of my favorites:

Disneyland - Disneyland Railroad, Mark Twain Riverboat, Enchanted Tiki Room, Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, Pirates of the Caribbean

Disney California Adventure - Animation Academy, Turtle Talk with Crush, Redwood Creek Challenge Trail

7-If you're NOT going to watch any nighttime spectaculars, use that time to ride more rides!

As night falls at the theme parks, many of the guests descend upon Main Street, the Rivers of America and Paradise Lagoon to watch the nighttime spectaculars (Main Street = Fireworks, ROA = Fantasmic, PL = World of Color). If you have no interest in watching these shows, take advantage of that time to ride more rides. The wait times of many rides dip down before and during these nighttime spectaculars, allowing you to get shorter wait times for many rides. Be advised though, certain rides close down early to accommodate these nighttime spectaculars! Refer to the Disneyland App or ask a Cast Member for specific operating times.

8-DO NOT leave right after the nighttime spectaculars!

Unless you want to be stuck in an enormous sea of people all trying to exit the theme parks at once, stick around after the shows have concluded, whether or not you actually watched them. Quite a number of the visitors leave directly after the conclusion of these shows, leading to total gridlock at the park exit and parking transportation hubs. If you don't want to stay until park closing, ride at least 1 or 2 more rides before considering exiting the park for the day.

9-Use the late night hours at your leisure!

Aside from the first 2-3 hours that parks are open, the last 1-2 hours they are open are often the least busy as many guests have already left the parks for the day. Use this time at your leisure to do whatever it is you want to. Ride more rides, enjoy some food or shopping, take pictures around the parks, watch the 2nd showings of Fantasmic or World of Color, it is totally up to you.

10-Jump in line for a ride before closing time!

This tip is really only for those guests crazy enough to stay all the way until park closing time. Many guests don't realize that as long as you are in line for a ride before closing time, they will still let you wait in line and ride. Often during the last hour the parks are open, they inflate the posted stand-by wait times to encourage people to avoid certain, very popular attractions. Jumping in line just before closing allows you to not only ride one last ride, but also gives time for the park to empty out of people so that you can enjoy a very leisurely stroll to the park exit. The only possible downside to this tip is that if your selected attraction breaks down past closing time, they will immediately ask you to exit the line and leave the park so keep that in mind when picking your very last ride for the day.

There you have it, all my tips and tricks for getting the most out of your day(s) at the Disneyland Resort. With a bit of planning, knowledge and strategy, you can have a fantastic time at the Happiest Place on Earth!

[jerzwriter]

I'm answering so I don't forget! lol Especially since I'm jumping in to join @choicesbookclub's reading of Veil of Secrets with starts today. I hope some of you will join along!

1... What were your overall feelings about chapters 19 & 20? Were they what you expected? Did you enjoy them? If this was a repeat playthrough for you, did you feel differently about them this time around?

I have played through several times already, and there really was nothing like the first time—when you just don't know what will happen. Subsequent playthroughs (including this one) were not as exciting for me as I knew what would happen. I found myself just "clicking through," but that shouldn't take away from how exciting it was the first time I played. I tried to really take it in this time around, and it was more enjoyable than other playthroughs.

2... In Chapter 19, MC comes face to face with their sister and is forced to relieve one of the worst days of their life. How did your MC cope - what choices did they make (screenshots will be posted later if you need to refresh your memory), and how do you think they will go forward in the aftermath of the solstice and losing their sister again?

I remember the first time I played, I just thought MC had the most incredible fortitude, and I thought back to the conversation that Ana (her sister) had with Dirk (diamond scene) earlier in the book. Zoe (MC) was born to lead. Ana knew it, even if others didn't, and while she may not have given herself credit for it, Ana helped instill that in her. In this chapter, that really shone through. Not only did they have to lead the colony against the zombie surge and face imminent death, but they were forced to endure emotional torture by seeing their sister as a zombie queen, watching her kill Dirk, fearing they could kill her (I don't care how cool they played it, they knew that was a possibility), getting that precious time with them again - only to have to watch her die once more. I mean, that's just lay in the fetal position and give up on life stuff right there; but MC just keeps going.

I can say that it profoundly impacted my MC, and it's a trauma that she will carry with her until her dying day. She will bury it, for the most part. Precious few will know how deeply this impacted her, but it will always be there. Like everyone in this work, she does not get time to heal - especially as Olympus's leader - she will be forced to push this aside and carry on, but the damage is done and it will come out in various ways in the future (maybe I'll even write about it eventually lol).

3... If you did not kill Dirk after the coup attempt, he died saving MC here. What symbolism (if any) do you see in how he met his death, and why do you think he chose to save MC?

I never killed Dirk, so in every playthrough, I had this scene. I'm curious to see what it would be like if he had already been murdered (any screenshots?). This was very poignant and it always made me glad I made the choice to spare him. His shock at seeing Ana alone was worth it - someday, I would really like to explore how he coped with that (as brief as it was) through writing.

I think seeing Ana again reminded him of who he was; it brought back his humanity, and it was probably the most guilty he had felt about betraying Zoe. I don't think he wanted to die, but I think he was willing to die for Zoe at this point because he knew how wrong he was - and if Ana came to and knew what he had done - she may have still ended him the way she did in zombie state. lol

4... Did you select the final scenes with each of the 5 LIs? If so, which were platonic and which were not? How did you feel about each scene? Were you satisfied with the ending with your LI and/ or friends? In your mind, what does the future look like for them?

I loved these scenes. Like most things Choices, they were a little superficial, short, and rushed - but that's what allows creators to sink their teeth into them (pun intended!) I did all the scenes, in general, only Eli's is romantic, the rest platonic, but I did the romantic scene for both Eli and Troy in this one. I'll share screenshots with feelings on this tomorrow, but I will say, as with most things in the book, I found the scenes with Eli "deepest."

5... Did you get the bonus scene? If so, share your thoughts.

I did. While it wasn't bad, and I appreciated the tiny bit of insight it gave us into MC & their sister's past experiences, it didn't rock my world. It's clear to see where the "Zombie Queen" came from now, though it doesn't really make sense as to why. It wasn't bad, but it could have been better.

Overall, I loved WTD, and I'm grateful to it because after I realized how much I liked this, I watched The Last of Us, and dear God, that was a masterpiece. (Sadly, I won't watch the latter again for personal reasons, but I'm still glad I did.)

I do wish the choices we made would have had more consequences, especially in a story like this. I honestly think this is one book where the survival of each and every LI (or even the MC) should not necessarily by a given. Of course, the Choices community probably couldn't handle that. I'm sure they would have whined, petitioned and thrown fits if that had occurred. I think other actions like that in the past have helped foster some of the milquetoast storytelling we get in contemporary Choices books - though - there are a lot of other reasons for that as well.

Still, I loved WTD, and if not for Pixelberry's penchant for really fucking up sequels, I would have loved to have had one for this.

It was great reading with y'all!

OK, it may be late, it may have been messy, and it certainly didn't all go as planned, BUT we are finishing this - no matter what! :)

Feel free to discuss whatever you want, not limited to these questions... but keep in mind that some people have not read the whole book yet, so put any future spoilers below a read more/page break.

Be respectful of all! Different opinions aren't only allowed, they're encouraged! But be polite to others.

Remember, if you post any screenshots, etc., be sure to tag @wakethedead-group-re-read so I can reblog here.

You can discuss all week - it's not limited to just today! Any questions, just shoot me an ask!

If you want to be removed from the tag list, or tagged in future posts, please let me know!

You can find all chapter discussion posts here.

Discussion questions:

What were your overall feelings about chapters 19 & 20? Were they what you expected? Did you enjoy them? If this was a repeat playthrough for you, did you feel differently about them this time around?

In Chapter 19, MC comes face to face with their sister and is forced to relieve one of the worst days of their life. How did your MC cope - what choices did they make (screenshots will be posted later if you need to refresh your memory), and how do you think they will go forward in the aftermath of the solstice and losing their sister again?

If you did not kill Dirk after the coup attempt, he died saving MC here. What symbolism (if any) do you see in how he met his death, and why do you think he chose to save MC?

Did you select the final scenes with each of the 5 LIs? If so, which were platonic and which were not? How did you feel about each scene? Were you satisfied with the ending with your LI and/ or friends? In your mind, what does the future look like for them.

Did you get the bonus scene? If so, share your thoughts.

Again, I know this didn't quite go as smoothly as I had hoped, and we were a thinly little group, but it was still a pleasure to read with each of you.

I hope you will all do some creating for WTD, and if you do, please be sure to tag me! Thanks for reading along!

@annoyingmillenialnewbie @dutifullynuttywitch @tessa-liam

[blackgirl-galactica]

"LET'S SEE WITH THE ASCENDANT" PART 1!

NOTE: WHILE I AM NOT A PROFESSIONAL ASTROLOGER, I LOVE ASTROLOGY AND ITS ASPECTS AND I LOVE TO LEARN THEM! PLEASE DO NOT STEAL OR REWORD MY WORK WITHOUT CREDIT! THANK YOU :)

Hey y'all!

- I am finally settled and I am ready to give you some more astro knowledge to keep in the books!! Today we will be talking about the Ascendant (ASC for short) through the first 6 signs!! Part 2 will come out tomorrow!

- But first, what is an ASC sign?

-I'm glad you asked honey! First things first, your Ascendant is an angular house! Angular houses are the Ascendant, Descendant, IC (Imum Coeli), and MC (Medium Coeli). I'll do a post on what angular houses mean later on! Or do feel free to research on your own time :)

-Your ASC sign is what's popularly known as the sign (or sign traits) you may give off as a first impression to the outside world. According to the book, The Only Astrology Book You'll Ever Need by Joanna Woolfolk, she asserts that our personality is a blend of our Sun Sign in combination with our ASC sign. This has some truth in it as our ASC can also represent our self-interests, how we process self-awareness, our goals, our objectives, & how we assert our self-sufficiency! Think of your ASC sign as the sign when you walk in a room full of people.

- You can find your ASC here! Below is my chart( credit from Astro.com) for my visual learners! The ASC will be on the left side of your chart (marked AC); usually your angular houses are marked! In this example, my ASC is in the sign of Sagittarius!

-Have you ever had someone guess your sun sign but they were wrong? Chances are, they probably are guessing your ASC sign!

-With that being said, let's get into it!!!!

ARIES ASC:

Adventurous and pioneering!

Typically the ones to be "the first" at something.

Likes to get shit done! Act first ask questions later kind of energy.

Leader of the pack vibes.

Possibly have a very muscular, strong body.

When they walk in the room, they give such a strong sense of power, strength, and exuberance!

Possibly can be red-headed. Aries rules the color red and also rules the head. Doesn't mean every red-head is an Aries ASC though. Or they may like to wear alot of red.

They can give a direct, kinda bossy attitude but also a very free-child-like attitude I love it!!

Be careful with sharp objects. Sharp objects like knives are ruled by Mars (Mars rules Aries) and you may be a bit more accident prone so be careful, according to Woolfolk.

TAURUS ASC:

Very stable and calm energy when they walk in the room.

Patient & steadfast people.

Love the arts, could be talented at composing music esp!

Love comfort and the comfort their materials bring them.

Can have super beautiful necks. Necks/throats are ruled by Taurus.

Also, they may have larger, rounder eyes ooooo so cute!! Almost like a doe.

Can accumulate wealth over time.

Loves security and things that make them feel safe.

Many people think they are lazy, but that is not the case. A Taurus ASC does not believe in wasting time on things that don't bring them joy or comfort. They are hardworking, if it means they can attain the goals they set out for!! Once again, THEY ARE NOT LAZY!

GEMINI ASC:

Witty & charming.

Extremely smart and sociable.

Also can thrive in the entertainment industry as actors, writers, TV hosts, or comedians. They can really captivate an audience with their social and witty behavior!

Gemini rules the arms & hands, so they can have really nice hands/arms. If Venus is in aspect to their ASC, this can possibly point to someone who is a hand model.

The type to always want to be constantly stimulated and learn something everyday so they don't get bored.

May like to travel alot or move alot.

They also can marry more than once in their lives.

Extremely intellectual communicators. Very good with using their words as their best assets!

Could have big, wide eyes. This is just a personal take as I have seen multiple Gemini risings with big, wide eyes.

CANCER ASC:

Love security & comfort.

May have a oval face or round face. The moon rules Cancer so I won't be surprised if your face is shaped as round as the moon.

Sensitive to other's emotions & intuitive on how people may feel or react.

Amazing creatives. They use their emotions to make the best projects. Some of their projects (story writing for example) can be based on their lives at home or their hometown.

On the outside they may come off reserved and even cold. This is the "hard on the outside soft on the inside" effect. Deep down they are very soft, sweet, giving, & sensitive.

They want public recognition for their efforts, as you should!!!

According to Woolfolk, they are very good with saving money and handling it as well. Being the opposite sign of Capricorn (the sign of conservation), I am not surprised since opposing signs do share qualities of each other in one way or another.

LEO ASC:

Very grand people and luxurious YESSSS BITCH!!!

People may notice their hair first. Know how Leo is the lion? We see the lion's mane (or hair) first. This also applies for Leo ASCs.

A personal take- Leo ASC have this sun-kissed glow about them (lol pun intended). It's like their skin is so bright and glowy and it is so beautiful.

Give off a very happy and exuberant energy.

Extremely likeable people.

Views life as a stage!

Prides themselves on being a leader and delegator.

Can easily find fame or people will scout them out easily.

Also can be surrounded by alot of influential people. This helps their image if they want to be famous one day. Get to networking!!!

Can have a very nice back. Leo also rules the back.

VIRGO ASC:

Another personal take: why do so many Virgo ASC or Virgo placements have to wear glasses? That's interesting.

May have a frail looking body, but that does not mean they are sick yall.

Looks at life through a filter. Meaning, they like to hold on to valuable information that they can actually use and apply in their life.

^Yet, this can also mean that they may become too dependent on details to make decision. Don't forget to look at the bigger picture.

They love order and reason.

Thrive in intellectual pursuits. Especially if they are scientific and not philosophical.

Likes to gain rewards from their own efforts and not due to what others think. They love to listen and be assured in their own reasoning as YOU SHOULD!!!

May forget to take others' opinions into consideration.

Could come off shy and distant.

May own property in their later lives? Idk but Woolfolk mentions this and if anyone can chime in here I would be happy to hear it!

-That's it for PART 1! Part 2 will be out tomorrow!

-Also, to show your appreciation, do feel free to tip me! I have so much more content I want to teach and tell yall and I'm excited! You can tip me at my cashapp: $DellyRelly if you appreciate my content in more ways than just following me! Anywho, see yall tomorrow!

-Claude

[bonktime]

Weather the Storm

Prologue: Lay of the Land

Ezra (Prospect) x f!reader (no y/n) 1861 Lighthouse au 

Masterlist //  Chapter One: Taken Aback

Rated: Explicit (bit of a slow burn but we’ll get there)

Warnings: Language for now (smut will come later)

Summary: Ezra travelled with the tides, let the sea carry him where it willed and never stayed long. The lighthouse keeper was the opposite. Where he moved she stood firm, defying the waves and the tide as if carved from the cliff herself. They’re drawn together, but opposing forces so strong are always destined to cause a storm.

A note: I kinda apologise for historical inaccuracies but 1861 was a proper shite time to be a woman so we’re mostly glossing over that. Also the lighthouses mentioned hadn’t even been built yet. Another thank you to @danniburgh​ who I threw ideas at to see what stuck. As of right now this is shaping up to be 7 chapters and an epilogue of sea puns, yearning, angst and definitely smut. I intend to update weekly but that may vary depending on work! I’ve put glossary at the end so you know what I’m talking about. Written in the third person.

Let me know if you wanna be tagged!

Wordcount: 851

~~~~~~~~~~

Everything Ezra could see was grey. Heavy clouds loomed above, threatening rain but not ready to give it up, their reflections transforming the sea into mercury. Even the huts in the bay appeared drab, colour sucked out by the beating of the weather. He wondered if the people would be the same, colourless and cold like the land that surrounded them. He had often found that humans adapted to their environment so well they almost became a part of it, blending slowly together until inseparable and indistinguishable. In a way he was envious of them, to go where the work was had never allowed him to stay too long and get too comfortable. It made him stand out, always a newcomer, an outsider unable to make real acquaintances. He liked it though, the freedom, the adventure of it. He was certain that he always left an impression when he’d gone: a bruising kiss, a couple missing teeth, a scar. He marked the places he'd been, like carving his name into a tree.

The North Sea was an apt name, he decided. He’d read that it had once borne many others, Morimaru, Oceanum, Mare Germanicum, but only North had stuck. There appeared to be no other words that could correctly depict it. North as in north of everything, north as in cold, north as in nothing else is important except it's northernness. It seemed curious that it had managed to shuck the title the Dead Sea, where floating freshwater stilled the waves and becalmed boats, where hidden reefs wrecked ships making it one of the deadliest coasts in the country. He supposed with the new technology, those aboard had ample warning to avoid getting dashed upon the rocks, only needing to keep a weather eye and ear out.

Finding work had been easy, the fishing season was starting, and with his experience the trawler ‘Mistress’ was all too eager to have an extra set of hands, willing and able to pay the devil. It was dangerous work that paid adequately and offered some compensation, money to a family he didn’t have if he died, a stipend should he be crocked into retirement. Enough that, if he scrimped a bit, he should have no trouble travelling wherever he wanted to go next.

"Four days at sea, three on land. You're lucky, we used to run six and one but tired men make mistakes that cannot be afforded." Ezra nodded in response, dead sea indeed. The man in front of him was writing the ledger and had barely glanced at him the whole time, giving Ezra ample opportunity to stare. He was probably in his sixties and had clearly known the sea well before taking to the books when his bones could no longer bear it. His face showed every year of hard work, of the wind and the salt but as much as he appeared like the jagged cliffs of the bay, his ruddy cheeks surprised Ezra and there was a twinkle of good humour in his eye. Not all cold and salt after all.

"Do you know of any pleasant lodgings in the local area? I'll need somewhere to find respite when on land." At this the old fisherman sat up and for the first time properly looked at Ezra. Sharp eyes scanning his face, focusing on the scar on his cheek and then his eyes, so intensely he could feel the man making his judgement. There was a moment's hesitation.

"3 miles up the coast there's a lighthouse, the keeper rents out a room in the cottage. You'll have to get there quick though, else you won't beat the tides" he stood creakily and stuck his roughened hand out for Ezra to shake "See you Monday, 3 hours before dawn. If you're late, you get left behind." Ezra shook it and, with a nod, left him to begin his walk up the coast.

The wind bit his face as he looked up at the looming tower across the causeway, from here the island seemed lonely, a last stand against the beating of the waves. The lighthouse itself had once been painted white but Ocean spray had dirtied it, turning it the same grey as the sky. The Old Salt had been right about the tide, it had begun its approach. Slowly covering the rough path to the island where the lighthouse and its cottages sat, cutting it off. Crossing it wet his feet and numbed his toes but guaranteed a room for at least the night. He would be stuck there until the water receded. 

As if warding him away the water rose around him, appearing to speed its ascent and forcing him to lift him bag high as he waded, knee deep through the icy water. Reaching the island, a solitary figure appeared out on the rocks, it turned and headed towards him, sure footed despite the terrain. 

Ezra hadn't known what he was expecting from a lighthouse keeper. Probably an old man with a large beard, weather beaten and bad tempered.

Whatever he was expecting, she certainly hadn't been it.

⧫⧫⧫

Morimaru: Celtic for dead sea

Oceanum: latin, literally means ocean ,you probably got this one

Mare Germanicum: latin for germanic ocean

Becalmed: stuck without wind or currant

Trawler: sailing fishing boat invented in Brixham 19th century

Pay the devil: tarring a part of the ship called the devil, known as one of the worst jobs

Crocked: injured, I dunno how rare this one is but I’m never entirely sure if I’m using geordie words or not

Old Salt: means old sailor, endearing

If I missed anything let me know. If you read all this I hope you enjoyed my love of research and homesickness coming together!

[anzcty]

Analysing Episode 6 Sylvie - her actions, her choice and a whole bunch of theories (Spoilers!)

After watching the Loki finale, I have been scrolling through Tumblr for quite a long time. I already knew that people's opinions were gonna be incredibly different but I definitely did not expect this much negative backlash. Especially when it comes to two specific topics - the Sylvie and Loki kiss and Sylvie's betrayal (/choice/actions). I'm gonna be talking about the latter, for it is another time I'll talk a lot about Sylki's relationship. (Beware that this post is also really long though)

First of all, everyone has different opinions and I respect that. I absolutely adore movies, books, TV-shows and videogames because despite what's happening within the story, each viewer has the opportunity to see something else in what they are shown (besides the obvious canon). What I mean is that everyone interprets certain scenes differently and gains the opportunity to make up theories. Therefore I want to clarify that I do, by no means, want to force my views upon others. It's nice to see people talk about the Loki Series (as long as it doesn't get too negative and hateful, iykwim) because every viewer can share their specific experiences with it :)

I'm gonna analyse Sylvie's character a bit ( because, well, I'm bored and I kinda wanna protect my beloved character that I've only had for a few weeks >:^0 AND the only thing I could think about the past day was this episode) and try to explain her actions in the finale (keep in mind: not justifying them, but explaining them).

I'm terribly bad at concentrating on one single topic point so I kinda made a 'list' with questions and whatnot that I wanted to dive deeper into. Your thoughts are also more than welcome!

I already want to apologise for grammatical mistakes, for I am not a native english speaker.

Sylvie's reason for being taken away by the TVA is still kinda unknown

You know, I've heard quite a few theories about Sylvie's nexus event by now. Some people say that she got taken away because she was playing with her toys in a way that indicates her having a good heart (playing as a Valkyrie and wanting to save someone, another hint may also be the reaction she showed towards someone else who got kidnapped by the TVA, yelling at the soldiers to "help them out"). Another theory is that she already knew she was adopted, unlike Loki who found out way later than her. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but we never got to hear the actual reason why Sylvie got kidnapped. Even Renslayer didn't say a word about it.

Now I'm gonna come up with yet another theory. What if Sylvie didn't really have a nexus event in the first place how we know it? In the final episode, Kang has said that he has planned out everything beforehand so both Loki and Sylvie would end up right in front of him. Did Kang's plan also possibly involve him getting killed by Sylvie? Hear me out: We don't actually know if the Kang we saw in episode 6 is the actual 'nice' Kang and not one of his evil variants. He has already talked about 'reincarnation', so who says that after ending the first universial war, Kang didn't reincarnate into someone with an unpure heart (aka, one of his evil variants)? That'd mean that the real Kang would have been killed and the Kang we've seen in the finale is actually an evil version that simply lied to both Loki and Sylvie. Besides that, we also don't know if Kang actually had that 'point' where he didn't know what would happen next. The show revolves a whole lot around trust, not only regarding the characters, but also the viewers. Who's to say that Kang said the truth? Maybe he planned it all out: He created the TVA, let Sylvie get kidnapped and therefore give her a reason to hunt after Kang, who in return could reincarnate if he got killed OR get killed and therefore give his other variants a possibility to conquer the universes yet again. Don't you think that it was kinda suspicious that Sylvie escaped so easily out of Renslayer's hands? The one person who's probably closest to Kang? (Even though, yes, she doesn't know who he is but Renslayer seems to play a very important role in his plan). What if the Kang we saw was the nice Kang though? Would he plan everything up to a point where another universial war would break out because he might know that there is indeed something/someone out there who could end it and therefore, possibly end Kang as a whole or create a new kind of system revolving around the universe? And therefore, get rid of the possibility of another universial war happening? Who knows. I am definitely overthinking and reaching at this point. One more thing that stood out to me while thinking about the episode again today (which kinda weighs more into my theory of Sylvie being a keypoint (or rather a puppet) in this plan): Kang has talked about his Tempad and that he knew that he would need it to have enough energy. But for what? Yes, his initial idea was to give it to Loki and Sylvie to rule over the TVA, but what if it was supposed to be used for another reason? Sylvie used it to transport Loki back to the TVA (though I kinda think he was accidentally transported to another timeline, hence the reactions of both Mobius and Hunter B-15) and therefore get rid of the only thing that could prevent Sylvie from killing Kang. The Tempad was used to secure Sylvie's path and therefore eradicated Kang's only option of safety. You can see the Tempad loosing it's glow after Kang was killed, possibly due to Kang himself being the origin of it's energy. But maybe, it only had enough energy for one specific action: getting rid of Kang's protection. I do think that Sylvie is now stuck at this place and somehow has to find a way back to Loki's reality. The Tempad clearly doesn't work anymore (at least in my opinion) and there was quite a long shot showing the Tempad up close, which is kinda suspicious tbh. Also, something regarding Sylvie's unanswered nexus event feels kinda odd to me, too.

My theory in conclusion: Sylvie (and Loki) are unconciously helping Kang with his plan (a big, big, BIG plan). They're his puppets, especially Sylvie, because she's the one who created the Multiverse to begin with. Think about Loki, who was said to be manipulated by Thanos in Avengers? It's basically the same train of thoughts.

Sylvie does not take Kang's offer into consideration

To be honest, this was something to be absolutely expected of her. Sylvie was kidnapped as a child, taken away from her home and family, and had to grow up in countless apocalypses where she could never form a real bond with anybody because she knew that those people were all going to die anyway. (Please don't judge me if I got that wrong, maybe I understood the next thing wrong? Idk, if so, I'm very sorry) She revealed that she was kidnapped way before Loki was even born (something I have to think about, too, because, if Loki is the actual Loki the other variants are based off, why did he exist after Sylvie? Wouldn't that make him a variant of Sylvie instead? Idk timelines and parallel universes are hard to understand for me :') I'm kinda stoopid ), therefore she must've had spent several decades of her life running away. She had no life at all. Her only goal was to bring down the TVA and whoever is behind it, driven by pure rage, seeking out revenge for stealing her life and basically forbidding her existence. And now that she has found said person, the only thing that'd be right for her character would be to go for the kill. As immoral as it may sound, it is the only thing that makes sense. And I am actually very happy that Sylvie's goals didn't change besides the fact that she did indeed soften up a little and has gotten someone really close to her. In contrary, it makes sense for Loki to do the exact opposite. His goals have changed. He does not act the way he did in Thor or Avengers anymore. He has found another goal for himself: to make Sylvie feel alright. He has had immense character growth and didn't take a chance to change his goals back in the Thor movies or in Avengers, (....maybe later in Thor: Ragnarok, kinda). This is exactly what I think might happen to Sylvie, too. She is at the beginning of her character arc. She doesn't take the chance to change her goal, but goes for her original goal instead. Said goal does not really have positive consequences (though, maybe it might have some? We're about to find out), which results in a so called 'negative character development', which Loki has already gone through. I think that Sylvie is gonna grow as a character in season 2 and get a positive character development in addition, just like Loki did. I highly doubt that she's gonna become the antagonist, it does not make sense at this point.

Why does she not take Kang's offer (besides her very obvious intention ofc)? That leads straight (or not so straight, pun intended) to the next thing I wanna talk about. Sylvie's distrust in everything and everyone. Besides not wanting to let other people go through what she has been gone through and wanting to let people have a free will, she also does not trust Kang with his offer of 'ruling' the timeline. And it might be because she also does not trust the one she'd be ruling with: Loki.

Why does Sylvie not trust Loki?

I don't even have a specific answer to that, except that Sylvie has an incredibly thick wall built up around her. Loki has always been portrayed as the one you should not trust because he's known for backstabbing people. Loki could have thought the same about Sylvie, but he didn't. Due to his character arc, he himself has learned to trust other people and tries to redeem himself with making himself a person others can trust (He may project that onto Sylvie, meaning that he puts his trust into a Loki variant and therefore in himself, too). You can connect that fact with both Sylvie and Mobius. They're both people who are incredibly important to Loki. He wants them to trust him. He openly told Sylvie about his mistakes and tells her that he's not that person anymore. Sylvie on the other hand does not trust that easily and is - in my opinion - a very important key regarding Loki's character development. It is incredibly hard for Sylvie to trust others (probably due to her trauma) and it therefore creates a very difficult situation for Loki, where he has to 'prove' himself as trustworthy. It's basically about 'trusting yourself' if you put it that way. It's something Loki has to learn about himself: not betraying the trust of others. Sylvie might have to learn something like this, too: learning to trust someone else. It's kinda like a two sided coin - one side is about putting trust in others, whereas the other is about gaining trust from others (and what you do with it). (Good) Relationships in general are always based off trust and honesty. So in order for them to be able to have healthy relationships with others and themselves, they have to learn about trust within themselves (I hope you understand my point, I got carried away, sorry). Loki started to trust Sylvie very easily (maybe because of love? Maybe because of something else? There are still a lot of unanswered questions) whereas Sylvie doesn't trust Loki very easily. Sylvie's character arc might (hopefully) carry on with this topic in the next season.

Was that kiss initiated due to emotional or practical reasons?

Kinda both, somehow. I do think that Sylvie used the kiss to her advantage but you can also clearly see how moved she is while hearing Loki's words. Facial expressions are insanely important when it comes to acting and both Tom and Sophia delivered perfectly. You might've already heard of the quote "The eyes tell more than words could ever say". Look at Sylvie's face when Loki tells her that he wants her to be okay. She is teary eyed, sighs even. She is indeed touched by his words and I strongly think that Sylvie also has non-platonic feelings for Loki, despite barely showing anything.

Here's a snippet out of an interview with Sophia:

(Source)

Both Sylvie and Loki are said to be people who can not trust others. They both have a vulnerable side though. Loki clearly showed that several times when with Sylvie (singing to her, the blanket scene, the comfort scene in the room of the timekeepers, the confession of wanting her to be okay) and is also shown incredibly vulnerable at the end of episode 6: there are several shots showing him, crying. Sure, we have already seen Loki cry a few times beforehand but this time, it's different. He cries because the one person he is the most vulnerable with doesn't trust him, and that does hurt like hell. By the way, if you look at the close-up shot of Sylvie after she yeeted Loki back into the TVA, you can see pain in her eyes, too. But that pain quickly shifts into rage and determination. Something that I have to admit was incredibly well executed by Sophia and the people who directed this shot. Sylvie does show her vulnerable side for a brief moment before putting up her walls again and reaching for her goal.

In conclusion: I think Sylvie initiated the kiss as an emotional response to Loki's words but also used it to distract him to be able to kick him back into the TVA at the same time. Keep in mind that it was because he was in her way of fullfilling her goal. She didn't want to kill or hurt him, so she sent him away instead. So, yes, I think the kiss had both emotional and practical intentions.

Did Sylvie betray Loki?

Even though it really felt like she betrayed him, she didn't. Let me tell you why:

Loki knew exactly what Sylvie was gonna do after reaching the person behind the TVA. Loki supported her all the way up until Kang suggested a deal to them, that's where Loki's and Sylvie's paths divided. Loki is a very smart character, he outsmarts a lot of Marvel characters and therefore I think it's very in character for him to consider one part of the deal and outweigh the pros and cons. Not because he wants the throne, no, but because he wants Sylvie to be okay. A universial war could lead to countless casualties - possibly those people close around him, so of course he would want to keep her safe through that decision. Making them both rulers over the TVA and the sacred timeline would probably guarantee a strong protection from several threats. Also, maybe he thought about the possibility of Sylvie regretting her decision (which she clearly did in the end) and wanted to protect her from even more emotional pain. But as we know, Sylvie's intention has always been laid out in front of her and it didn't change. Loki knew what choice she was going to make and merely tried to change her way - without being successfull.

I don't really know what to think about this scene though. To me, it doesn't meet the requirements of a 'betrayal' but at the same time it does feel like one. It's very difficult to explain :'D

Also, I've seen some people asking themselves how or if Loki will ever be able to forgive Sylvie for making her decision. Let me assure you one thing: he will forgive her. He has said it himself: "I know what you're feeling, I know what you're going through". He has been at Sylvie's point, too. Not only once, but several times already. He seems to have learned from his mistakes, Sylvie has yet to do so. ("I betrayed everyone I've ever loved" is a line to keep in mind now, too. Maybe it could even be projected onto Sylvie this time, because Loki is indeed very dear to her) If there's someone out there who can empathise with Sylvie the most, it is Loki.

Why would Sylvie straight up cause another Universial War?

As I already said. Sylvie's arc is a negative character arc. It does not end well and causes a lot of chaos. Think about Peter Quill in Infinity War and his rage moment on Titan. They could have had the infinity gauntlet way before but Peter got emotional (understandable) and therefore destroyed the chance of an early good ending. The same happened with Sylvie. Her decision was mostly emotional, but also practical on the other hand (giving people free will and freedom). She will face the consequences and I'm pretty sure she's gonna redeem herself and tries to help fix the big mess she has caused.

Sylvie's breakdown

Another scene that was absolutely brilliant was the scene after Sylvie has killed Kang. She backs off slowly and then slumps to the ground, breathing heavily (now that I think about it, I think she even started to cry). She has waited for this moment her whole life, but now that it's done, it kinda feels like she didn't exactly get what she needed. Hunter B-15 has already mentioned it before that Sylvie needs to hunt the person behind the TVA down, unlike Renslayer, who only wants to find out who it really is. Although Sylvie might have recognized that this wasn't everything she needed at this point. We already got to know that she didn't have a clue what to do after she's done with the TVA. She didn't have a goal beyond that. And now that she has reached the point where she is clueless, she might have recognized what she really needed beyond finishing her goal: friends, a life, literally anything that doesn't make her feel alone. And she literally just kicked that one thing away from her. Loki, the one person who has been closest to her and gave her the feeling of not being alone anymore, the feeling of having a friend (or someone more than a friend), has been pushed away by herself. I think that in this exact moment where she sinks to the ground she recognizes that not trusting Loki was a mistake this time and that revenge isn't enough to satisfy her forever.

But maybe that one thing that will satisfy her for a long time is something she's returning back to in season 2. I am so excited to see her again and find out more about Sylvie's character!

Thank you so much for reading this! If you want to add something to this list or correct something or anything, feel free to do so. I'd love to hear your thoughts on Sylvie's character in the finale and what you think might happen with her in season 2 :) see y'all, stay safe and have a nice day/night!

[biffhofosho]

Yesss the new chapter dropped and as soon as I read it was Min's turn I almost screamed.

While I was waiting for everyone to go about their day so I could be alone and read, Min's verse in rotate filled my thoughts "oh I feel alive when we feel deep..."

I'm gonna go ahead and leave my thoughts at the same I'm reading, so this can get messy and rambly. I do understand if you wait to a a ser this cause spoilers

Ch 10

She went to see him obviously, yeah find an excuse to go in

(I have the feeling HW will be the last to sleep with Ambrosia)

Oh she interrupted something....

And of course he know what she's doing. I adore how charming he is, but at the same time he can be scary. Yay

"most of us don't have sex with our smoothies" ouch

Now all the brothers know about what happened at crimson cow. I love how Min is not even pretending anymore.

"everyone reaches a breaking point sooner or later when they're hunting for something they want" oooohhhh this line tho

Silver stake, a bit difficult to find....

He is so charming I stg

"she was becoming one with the darkness" gosh

Impish innocence, man that describes him so well

HW and his loneliness really breaks my heart

Min seems to be honest and that's refreshing.

Lol I thought it and then she said it... That's where she falls in the wolf's mouth I'm sure.

Yep, she's so charmed by him she is jealous

"what's it like to be bitten" Don't ask that question!!!! He will show and tell!!!

The blindfold!!! The handcuffs!!! I'm sweating

FoRBidDeN anbdjdksnfjs

She wants to of course she does and I am in shambles

I'm glad I am alone cause I am SCREAMING

The smut was flawless!!!

That dick description tho. He likes it messy. Her overwhelming scent.

"he was a mistake she wanted to keep making"

Not me cackling at the idea of Min rubbing in his brother's faces that he came inside her. That's so him

She belongs to them, with them. Yesssss

Hyunwoo mention!!!

Aaaand I'm done. So good. So freaking good my head's spinning and I need a cold shower!

Stream-of-consciousness ask? Yes please! I had such fun reading along with you reading along. Sometimes smut takes me a very long time to write because it's so hard to capture the characters, especially the boys, and still feel like it's not me, it's them, but honest to god, I feel like this one just kind of happened. It's very Minmin, and who am I to tell the man no? He can just do whatever he wants, idgaf. He's the most charming--I can't even deal! Glad that came through!

We may not even know it all yet, but so much gets teased (not just Amber lol) in these moments, things to come (pun not entirely intended) and things that will change everything. It's such fun to go back to things I wrote months ago knowing where we go from here. It's even more fun to see the way you pick up on so many things, maybe some you don't even realize. :)

I'll be posting the next chapter very shortly, but I didn't want to forget to answer you first! Thank you as always, fair reader. <3

[jos-corner-of-the-world]

City of Angels - 4

{Part Three}{Master List}

As Yuto predicted, Raven wasn't allowed to keep her weapon.  He almost smiled at the petulant look she gave the guard when she was asked to hand it over.

She wanted to yell and complain when she was frisked, but she knew she was too far out of her element to do so.

Once she was past the main entrance, the building completely blew her mind.  

Yuto walked up to a keyless door and did something on the panel next to her.  Raven couldn’t replicate it if she tried.

“Please follow me.” Yuto said.

This time she looked up at him and got her first full look.

He was tall with a nice caramel complexion. His eyes were dark, but still seemed to hold a level of warmth to them.  His hair was slightly curly, thrown into a ponytail on the top of his head, small wisps falling down around his eyes and his neck.

Raven had to hand it to him, he was gorgeous.

“You're awfully polite for a fucking gangster.” Raven said suddenly. 

“Thanks.” Yuto responded dryly, turning towards Raven slightly.

Yuto kept walking into a lobby area and pointed to a set of chairs.

“Take a seat, it'll be a moment.” He said, disappearing behind a set of doors.

Raven wasn’t alone though.  There was a man stationed right outside the doors.

Raven sat there, watchful of the mean looking man in a sharp suit.

Raven didn't scare easily, but this man was clearly ready to throw down, anytime and anywhere. That put her on edge. Especially since she was stripped of her weapon.

“Simon, send her in.” Raven heard Yuto speak faintly a moment later.  She exhaled a breath, silently thanking Yuto for getting her away from the other man.

She watched warily as the man walked over to her.

“Get up.” he said roughly as he yanked her arm, jostling her rib.

“I'm injured you goddamn brute.” Raven spit out, pulling her arm from his grasp.

Simon stopped and turned to her abruptly.

The cold look in his almost black eyes sent fear through Raven.

“Yuto may have played nice, but I don't. Run your mouth to me one more time and I'll cut that pretty little tongue out.”

The sarcastic reply was right at the top of her tongue. Luckily it never left her mouth.

Simon led her to an expansive room, Mr. Big sitting at a desk on the far side from her.

Raven had to stifle her laughter at the image.  Contrary to his name, Mr. Big was a man of small stature and it looked like the room was trying to swallow him whole.  

Simon went to stand next to Mr. Big while Yuto hovered near the middle of the room.  It seemed as though he had put himself between Raven and the others.  Raven wasn’t sure if it was intentional or not, but she tried not to be touched by the gesture.

“Raven, come in.” Mr. Big prompted.

“Um, I'd rather not actually.” Raven said, not moving from her spot.

She watched as Simon took a step towards her, causing her to flinch involuntarily.

“Alright alright, fucking creep.” Raven said lowly.

Simon nearly snarled while Mr. Big laughed at her words

“Don't have self preservation do you?” Mr. Big asked her.

“Also don't have time for bullshit, but here I am.” Raven said, plastering a fake smile on her face.

“Should we just get right to the point then?” The boss asked.

“Preferably.”

“Is this you?” he asked as he turned the TV on, showing cctv footage of her with the guy in a headlock, gun pointed at the other.

“If I deny it, will you believe me?” Raven asked hopefully.

“No.”

“Then why even bother asking?” 

“What did I tell you?!” Simon asked venomously

Raven shrugged, knowing she was probably going to die soon anyway. 

“That I had a pretty little tongue.” she said, tone bored.

She could have sworn she heard Yuto ask her to stop.

“Fine.” She found herself saying.

“Yes it's me.  What about it? Did I embarrass three of your henchmen or something?”

It was quiet for a minute while Mr. Big seemed to think about what to say next.

“Total opposite actually.” he finally said

“You mean to tell me that three grown men getting their ass kicked by a woman barely five foot tall isn’t embarrassing?”

“I couldn't give a shit about those men, Raven.” Mr Big said.

Raven was now thoroughly confused.  If it wasn’t about the men, what was it about?

“So then can someone tell me what the hell I'm doing here?” She asked, raising her voice a little.

“Ari.” Mr. Big said, giving no other details.

“Ari?” Raven asked quickly, panic shooting through her whole body. 

“What about her? You didn't hurt her did you? God damnit! Don't you bastards have any morals? She's a child. A CHILD!” Raven screamed at him.

“And you!” she said, taking four long strides to get to Yuto.

“You should have just killed me in my fucking apartment instead of bringing me here!  You somehow built a false sense of security in me, letting me think I’d live.  I fucking hate you.” Raven said, pushing Yuto roughly.

She felt more embarrassed than anything else.  She’d let her guard down around Yuto and she was paying for it now.  

“Raven, stop.” Yuto said, not actually attempting to stop her movements.  He let her push him and slap him harshly on the chest, but he was not moved from his spot.

“No! Fuck you. I am such an idiot.  I wish I’d have shot you in the throat when I had a chance.  That creepy fuck was right.” Raven said, stopping her assault and pointing to Simon.  “You played nice.  Jokes on me I guess.”

“Are you done now?” Yuto asked, raising his voice.

“No. I’m just getting started actually! Since I’m not leaving this room alive, let’s air everything out!”

She turned her attention to the boss.

“You’re a horrible person. You run this town on fear. What for? Everyone knows you’re the Big man around here. Stupid ass pun intended.  You control the money, the guns, the cops, the drugs. You control everything. No one questions that and no one's tried to stop you. You have people like big mean and scary next to you that overpower people.  You murder people, people who don’t fucking deserve it, and now you’re going after another child? What the fuck could an innocent child have done so wrong deserve a trip to see you. So much for a fucking safe House."

Raven stopped for a second before looking up at Simon.

"And you...you're just a fucking creep.  Tough man that bullies people. Here's your chance." Raven said, beckoning Simon forward.

"Come at me face to face. Don't be a pussy and shoot me in the back. Let me get a few good shots in before I'm dead."

Raven was running on pure adrenaline at this point. Her sense of self-preservation had really left her.

She watched as Simon angrily took off his suit jacket and threw it on the ground.

"You will stop right now." Commanded Mr. Big in a booming voice Raven didn't think possible to come out of such a small man.

"Fuck you." Raven spit out defiantly, staring the man down.

"I wasn't speaking to you. I was speaking to Simon. I'd also prefer if you didn't speak to me that way. But if you must, fine." Mr. Big said.

"What?" Raven asked, standing up straighter.

"Simon you may leave."

Simon nodded his head before picking his suit jacket up and heading towards Raven and the door.  Raven watched him walk confidently towards her.

"I'm not done with you yet." Simon said lowly as he passed by Raven.

"From what I can see, we haven't even started yet." Raven bit back.

Simon stopped his movements and turned back toward Raven.  Raven thought she saw Yuto shift towards her in her peripheral vision, but she couldn’t be sure.

"Simon! Get out now." Mr. Big commanded again.

Raven watched him walk out the door before turning back towards Mr. Big.

"He's your go to guy, right, your assassin? Why'd you send him out?" Raven asked.

"Because his services aren't needed here." 

"Okaaay. So can someone please tell me what the fuck is going on?"

"We could have done that ten minutes ago if you would have just shut your damn mouth and listened." Yuto said, using the same exasperated tone he had been using with her the whole time.

"I'm going to be really honest with you. Keeping my mouth shut, not my strong point." Raven admitted.

"Yeah, no shit." Yuto nearly laughed.

"As I was saying." Mr. Big cut in.

"Ari. The girl you saved today."

And just like that Raven was tense again.

"She's my daughter."

[blackbutler-readerinsertsandjunk]

Oh! I had no idea asks were open. On the header it says closed. I hope you don't mind if I spam you questions and asks lol. I mean, I'll do it in moderation of course! For this one, I'd like to know what your house, patronus and factor like favourite character/s is! And may I also known your hcs for the school aged BB characters' houses? Thank ya! Muah!

I should really fix that; anytime the askbox isn’t closed, asks are open! Gonna see if I can change up my header so it’s less confusing :)

Also, anytime it’s open, you can ALWAYS spam me with asks!!! :D

I hope I’m understanding the question right here! SO, I think my house would definitely be Hufflepuff! The quiz I took says my Patronus would be a swan! And does this mean my favorite Harry Potter character? Because that would absolutely be Snape!

And here’s some headcanons for ya, I can’t believe these got so long!!

I didn’t do all the school age characters because I felt that’d be a LOT for one post, so I ended up doing Cheslock, Ciel, Clayton, Edward, Joanne, Lizzie, and Soma! Feel free to request more if you wanna see others, once the askbox is open again!

This was really fun and thought-provoking, it took me a while to get done but I loved it! I was really into Harry Potter as a kid so revisiting the world in a new perspective was so great!!

Cheslock

Gryffindor for sure! Although he’s undeniably bold, and can certainly be brave, Cheslock tends to be an example of the other side of the Gryffindor coin; he’s reckless and impulsive, and often pulls pranks on other houses. ― And sometimes on the people he doesn’t like in his own house.

He’s a half-blood, with his genes being split, unusually, about 50/50. His father is a high-ranking individual with a perfectly pureblood lineage, and his mother is a muggle with no wizard heritage whatsoever.

While he’s generally good at heart, there are many other Gryffindors who can’t stand him because he’s forever costing the house five points here, ten points there… he’s also brilliant at bending the rules, toeing the line between an upstanding student and a rebellious troublemaker.

He doesn’t really excel in any of his core classes, but he gets good enough grades that he’s never flunked out of any of them. When he gets into second year, he joins the Quidditch team as a beater, and as soon as he’s able to add it in, his extracurricular of choice is, of course, music. He still loves the violin more than anything.

Legend has it he once got transfigured something on a teacher’s desk (it could have been a pen, it could have been an apple, could have been a wand, whatever suits the story better) into a flask of whiskey. Without getting caught!

Ciel

Slytherin, natch, if only because he’s very shrewd and, if necessary, will do anything he needs to. Though his personality isn’t popular with a lot of the other students, even in his own house, everyone acknowledges that he’s actually a very good leader.

He’s definitely a pureblood, or at least he has so little muggle blood in his heritage that most people consider him so. Both of his parents were wizards, but there is some muggle blood a few generations back on his father’s side.

Curiously, he doesn’t care much about social standing or competitions or the like. That said, he still manages to earn Slytherin a lot of house points just by doing the things he’s good at and scoring exceptional marks on tests.

In his first year especially, he struggles with flying quite a bit, and he never really grows to be that skilled on a broom despite doing well enough to pass the class. What he lacks there, he makes up for in charms, and later, the study of ancient runes. He often needs a tutor in his other classes in the first year or two; in his later years, though, he becomes a tutor to younger students, especially for charm spells.

His housemates will vouch for the fact that he seems to get an awful lot of mail from his household back home. Some of it is letters. A lot of it is just candy… which he doesn’t even share!!

Clayton

This boy is a Ravenclaw through and through! He places a high value on intelligence and is here to learn as much as possible. The Sorting Hat seemed to mull over for a while whether he ought to go in Ravenclaw or Slytherin. He’s surprisingly popular with his housemates, probably for his great intellect and his cool, focused demeanor.

He’s a half-blood, though with more wizard heritage than muggle. His mother is a near-pureblood, with most of her ancestors being pureblood wizards, and his father is a half-blood, with most of his parents also being half-bloods.

A good percentage of Ravenclaw’s points come from him. He performs well on exams, is an excellent tutor to the first- and second-years, and, though he can certainly be sadistic, typically doesn’t act on it or do anything that might cost them points.

He starts out being one of the best students in potions ― and in his later years, graduates to being among the top three in alchemy. As he matures in his classes, he also elects to take magical theory, which goes on to eventually be his chosen area of study during his wizarding career.

There was a year wherein he dated every single one of Prefect Lawrence Bluewer’s sisters in succession. Depending on who you hear the story from, Lawrence either is still pissed, or gave Clayton his blessing. Either way, awkward.

Edward

Absolutely Gryffindor, as if there was ever any doubt! He was sorted in record time, and he’s the other side of Cheslock’s coin ― a gentleman who always does the right thing, who aims to serve, a courageous young man with the heart of a lion. (That said, however, he and Cheslock are very much close friends, so he often gets swept up in his housemate’s nonsense.)

He’s very close to being considered a pureblood, if most don’t already think of him that way. His mother is a pureblood, and his father is a half-blood who’s more wizard than muggle.

Is constantly trying to make up points that getting involved in Cheslock’s aforementioned shenanigans has cost Gryffindor. At the very least, Edward usually manages to break even, so it’s as if said tomfoolery never happened. Ah, he gets sick of it, but he keeps letting himself get dragged along!

He’s an absolute wiz at flying, (pun very much intended), and starting in his second year, he eventually becomes Gryffindor’s star chaser in Quidditch. He could well make a living doing that in professional leagues. Instead, he also focuses on academia; excelling in charms and defense against the dark arts. Reportedly he’s one of the very, very few who also enjoys the lectures on the history of magic.

The younger students say they’ve seen it for themselves that his wand is outfitted with a sort of false bottom that hides a plain knife. They all wonder why that kind of wand would have chosen a fellow like Edward, or indeed why it exists in the first place!

Joanne

He’s a Hufflepuff, and proud to be! Similarly to Edward, it didn’t take very long at all for him to be sorted. He’s on the shy side, especially for his first few years, but once he starts coming out of his shell, he makes a lot of friends… even in other houses! He still feels most comfortable around other Hufflepuffs, though. They just get him!

One of the handful of rare students who’s a full pureblood with very little, if any, discernible muggle blood in his heritage. Both of his parents are purebloods, which seems to surprise people, because despite his gentility, Joanne seems to struggle with the more intensive magical concepts.

He’s not all that concerned with points, because he’s pretty much just interested in his coursework. However, like Ciel, he tends to earn house points for Hufflepuff anyway simply due to the fact that he tests well, he’s always there to help someone if they need it, and he follows the rules.

It, er… takes him a while to get the hang of flying during his first year, and even then, he tends to stay off a broom if he can help it. His favorite of his core classes is herbology, and during later years, he absolutely blossoms when he starts studying the care of magical creatures. He’s just got such a soft spot for taking care of things. He’s also fond of arithmancy, which boggles people’s minds ― they think a difficult class like that would stress him out!

Whenever he can’t sleep, he often hangs out with the Friar. The two of them (along with possibly another Hufflepuff ghost or two) will just sit in one of the common rooms while Joanne reads, and sometimes the Friar will stay even after Joanne falls asleep in a chair.

Lizzie

Nobody better have anything bad to say about Hufflepuffs where she can hear it!! Unlike her brother, the Sorting Hat took a little bit with her, waffling between whether she would be a better fit for Hufflepuff or Gryffindor. Her undying loyalty, sweetness, and strength eventually got the choice made. Other houses might think them strange, but Lizzie is a very bubbly young lady and has made wonderful friends with nearly all her housemates!

Her similarities with Edward lie in their heritage. Most people think of her as just one step down from a full pureblood.

Although she doesn’t take competition too terribly seriously, she still wants to earn as many points as she can for her house. She’s very like Joanne in that she earns points by being very kind to everyone and helping where she can, and putting as much effort into her exams as possible.

Don’t let her petite stature and sweetness fool you ― she is a beast of a seeker once she works her way up there! Quidditch is just her hobby, though, as she much prefers charms and is shockingly very adept at potions. She also takes apparition lessons in her sixth year, and dabbles for a short time in divination. She also at least considers joining Joanne in the care of magical creatures, even if she might not end up doing it.

The fact that she’s dating Ciel, a Slytherin who is seemingly her opposite, is just incomprehensible to most people. There are those who say he must have slipped her a love potion or done some other spell on her. These rumors, however, are untrue. She simply adores Ciel, and that is all there is to it.

Soma

Many of his classmates are stumped as to why a prince was sorted into Hufflepuff! Then… they meet him, and it all makes sense. He’s made of sunshine and is astonishingly devoted to anyone he decides is his friend. And, well, he sort of attaches himself like that to everybody. Strange, everybody thinks? Maybe… but these are his people!!

He’s a half-blood, with a bit more wizard blood than muggle. His father is actually not pureblood; instead, his father is a muggle whose parents were both half-bloods, and it’s Soma’s mother who is a near-pureblood, a witch whose parents are a half-blood and a pureblood.

He’s rather unconcerned with the house points, preferring to concentrate on everything he can learn in his classes. There’s so much he doesn’t know! He often costs Hufflepuff points with some oblivious behavior, as well as his exam scores not being the best, but he also often earns just as many points with kind behavior toward other students.

He enjoys his astronomy class in particular, and seems to do very well in herbology even though it’s not his favorite. He joins Edward in being thoroughly fascinated by the history of magic. He also loves transfiguration, consistently getting the highest marks in that class. It might surprise everyone that he takes muggle studies as an elective ― that interests him too, okay! In later years he’ll probably need a lot of counseling to figure out what he wants to focus his attention on.

His friend and protector Agni literally kind of followed him to school because their bond is so strong. Agni’s a half-blood who works in the kitchen at Hogwarts, and lives on the grounds, so whenever Soma needs him, he’s there. Soma loves this! All his friends in one place!

[beardbot]

As pride month comes to an end, I wanted to post a thing. Please forgive the large amount of text in the thing! Also I tried to throw in a picture!!

So, I usually don't talk about sexuality or relationships. This is partially because I'm just reserved (and fine, a bit prudish too), partially because I've only recently figured out myself, and partially because I feel like I don't need these spaces as much as other people, and it's selfish to claim them.

On that last point, my own identities are more quietly invisible, and less under direct attack, than others. Asexuality is dismissed and erased, but people believing it isn't a real thing is not as damaging as actual physical harm or denial of human rights. It's "weird" but it's not seen as violating anyone's religion or "family values" or lifestyle, or whatever else is used to justify violence and bigotry against others. (Unless you count men who are offended you don't want to be Graced with the Royal Penis after getting an unsolicited dick pic.) Bi- and pansexuality are more dramatically erased, and with additional risks, but at least I'm placed under the umbrella of "has a serious boyfriend." Either way, I've either been pushed out of communities or simply felt like I didn't need them. The latter 90% of the time.

Regardless, here I am going on about it anyway! Placing my flag on pride month. My identity, what I joke about being my "alphabet soup version," is panromantic demisexual. If that sounds confusing to you, don't worry, I get it. I grew up in Florida 😂 seriously though, I didn't settle on this until graduate school. Once I even did figure it out, I didn't label it until later. Most of the time, my identity is bisexual when I don't want to argue about asexuality, and asexual when I don't want to argue about bisexuality. But I want to just be more open about it.

Panromantic demisexual. Panromantic meaning romantically attracted to anyone across sex and gender (not just men, or women, or exclusively men and women). Basically "bisexual" but with romantic attraction, and without a strict binary of men and women. Demisexual meaning only sexually attracted after being emotionally involved first, for me usually romantically attracted. Basically "not into one-night stands" you could say. I guess first you need to accept that romantic and sexual attraction are two separate things, which I was not even conscious of for the longest time. Shout out to terrible sex education! 👌

I grew up confused when lumping these two things together - having crushes and wanting to date people, but simultaneously being repulsed by the idea of sexual intimacy with them (or anyone), at least for a long time. Thinking I was broken, or indecisive, or unstable. But alas! Two separate things.

The easiest example is being sexually attracted to someone, but not romantically (you don't want to date them, have emotional intimacy, etc.) "Hit it and quit it" 😂 so then, why is it so difficult the other way around? It sounds so bizarre to other people, the idea that you can be romantically attracted to someone, but not sexually. That you maybe want to hold hands and cuddle and go on cute dates with someone, but that's not a ticket to ride on (no pun intended) the Train to Bang Town. But maybe you can think of examples yourself. Maybe you had a *very* close friend, whom you spent all of your time with, whom you shared all of your secrets with, who was the first person you thought of when anything important happened to you, but NO HOMO I'M NOT GAY LIKE THAT we're just close friends. Maybe you have crushes on men and women but you only want to sleep with women. All normal! TWO SEPARATE THINGS! They can be aligned but still two separate things.

I first identified as asexual. Nope, I'm just not into anyone in that way. Even celebrity crushes, I wanted to do things like walk through parks, hang out and eat ice cream, read them poems (emo kids unite?), a number things, but none of them sexual in nature. Later on, I would date boys, but either dump them or be dumped pretty early on ("prudes" unite). Something was "off," different. I felt different. Different from what I saw in TV and movies, heard in music, in conversations of other people my age. Still, I vividly remember the day I realized what people ACTUALLY mean when they say someone is "hot." (I was too old and too naive to not know, but my brain just didn't think that way.) Not just aesthetically pleasing. The older I got, the more I felt like an alien. Probably sounded like one. "Ah, yes, his face is indeed aesthetically pleasing." ... "Take me to your leader!"

You could call me a "late bloomer," but it's not even just that. Late introspector? Late learner? Yes, I eventually did go "farther" with partners, and have lovely relationships with people who are patient and put up with me. But I still wouldn't call myself "bloomed." I'm still different from most other people. And I'm proud to not be labeling myself with things that don't reflect me.

Going back to my own development. So, I settled on "ace" and anonymously joined forums and such. It felt right... but only for a time. Eventually I felt a little different from that too. I talked with people who were aromantic, and people who were sex-repulsed. Wait a minute, is that me too? No, I dont quite feel that way. Well, what the f-

Flash forward, I finally settled on "demisexual." Okay, I'm kinda asexual, but also kinda in my sexy feelings for someone after bonding and feeling emotionally safe with them. I want to be more than friends. Maybe try out some other things, but only with you. Today I feel like demisexual is the best fit. Maybe "gray" too but I think emotional closeness is the key for me.

But wait, do I like girls too? Or do I even care what sex or gender they are? Yes, I've had intense crushes on many girls. If you want to stick with socialized norms, I liked feminine girls, and masculine girls. Eventually I liked one woman, who later identified as a man, after having his own journey through gender and sexuality (which I think is especially hard in bible-belt Jacksonville). I still thought he was cute and smart and funny.

No, I don't really care about sex or gender - I just care that you like dogs and 90s music and video games like me. Neat!

I dont really know how to end this. I'll just say, I do consider myself a member of the LGBTQIA community, in which my B stands for bisexual (but actually panromantic) and my A stands for asexual (but actually the asexuality spectrum). I'm overjoyed to see more openness and acceptance in my lifetime, and I hope that continues for kids growing up now, who may be "confused" or "indecisive" - and maybe they will not have to wait until after college to figure it out. Nuance is important in something this complex and... well, nuanced.

Thank you to anyone who read this until the bitter end!

[zombiiesque]

Nocturne Alchemy Seth's Dinosaur Collection - PART ONE

Originally published on 6/27/2017

Hello, everyone! I've been wanting to write some reviews for a while now, but we moved, and then I promptly came down with a really bad case of bronchitis, that did not seem to want to go away. I ended up with two different antibiotics and almost went to the hospital at one point, but it's mostly dissipated finally. Well, then I had to put my house together and get everything situated here, and I'm sure anyone that has moved understands how much effort that takes. I haven't moved in over four years, and I felt really bad about not getting my house organized! And here I am, going on and on. Anyway, I had intentions of reviewing Seth's Dinosaur Collection for quite a while, but I think it's particularly relevant now. Nocturne Alchemy is reopening in 4 days, on June 30th! *squeeing and flailing* I'm so excited to see the site redesign. Also, they've been working on new label art, and from what I understand, they'll be adding new scents to the various Permanent Collections. So much fun. I'm sure it's going to be beautiful. If you'd like to keep up with them in the meantime, they have been posting fun things on their Facebook Business page, including a sneak peek video of the new logo, which is absolutely elegant.

Well, I started this last night, and ended up having things to do that needed my immediate intention - so I had to put it down and come back to it in the morning! It seems like that's the way things have been going lately, so now this review is even more timely. Before I delve into it, I want to make mention that I had an email conversation with the NA crew, because I wanted to address some of the rumors I'd seen going around since they'd been closed. I saw that folks were concerned that they wouldn't be reopening, because they've been gone so long, and I also saw that many were worried that the catalogue as it was known might not be returning, so I wrote to see if they'd give me something to share with people - and they did! Such lovely, kindhearted people, and that is the reason I am such a huge "fangirl". I mean, don't get me wrong - they make the most exquisite perfume oils, and of course that drew me in, but once I began to see how much heart they pour into their company, and how much they care about their customers, that really made me fall head over heels. Honestly, in the world of indie perfumes, NA is a pretty good sized company. They've been making perfumes for 10 years now - actually, as it's June, they're into their 11th year, and they have a pretty extensive catalogue! So in their own words, I'll use a direct quote here from Nocturne Alchemy.

NA will return June 30th. We asked our customers last year what they thought of the old NA site. Constructive criticism concluded that it was dated. The truth is, we knew this and had been looking for the right host site for the past two years. We knew it would take time to migrate and create a new site but we'd have to be 100% involved and the focus of a new site would mean we'd have to shut down the old site. In the process, we decided to recreate the art for the labels of the Permanent Collection (we call it the PC because we view perfume as you would at an art gallery, where there is a Permanent Collection and a Limited Collection or the temporary exhibit if you will). In the past six months we've taken some much needed time off after a decade of perfume making, perfume soul-searching, travel for more unique perfume, and also back in the Studio for months now working on new PC, new art for new labels and a new look for NA. It took two years prior to opening NA in 2006 creating a small collection of PC and Limited perfumes, designing labels, the site...the fact that we can do this in six months, means we are at the top of our game. We know what we want to create but you can't rush art. NA will return June 30th. Find us on Facebook to stay up with current information. The PC and Studio Limited will return, as well as the beloved VApothecary line that has been rebranded under Nocturne Alchemy to facilitate cohesiveness at the new site.

So, there you have it! In addition to completely redesigning the site from the ground up, including a different type of "shopping cart", they've been working on all kinds of wonderful things. I am not sure I will even know where to start on Friday! I'm certainly looking forward to digging through the new site - bad pun intended? And now, I have to apologize. As I said, I'd meant to get this posted a few weeks ago, but life sort of threw me under the bus, and I just couldn't give it the proper time it deserved, as the Dinosaur collection, and the eNVie review, both deserve a bit more depth than just reviewing a single perfume. I'll be working on the latter today, to get it posted up hopefully by tomorrow.

So, roughly two summers ago, Nocturne Alchemy released the original Dinosaur collection, which was Seth's baby, as his other passion, from his early childhood, was dinosaurs, and he wanted to do a collection with that theme. I must tell you, it's been one of my very favorite collections, and I'm only missing a few of them. Last summer, they released a Resurgence, and added some new perfumes to the collection. It's alternatively been called the Prehistoric collection, but the name "Seth's Dinosaurs" has kind of become the popular name among the fans, and often gets shortened to "the Dinos". A little note about this collection: "These dinosaur perfumes are created with the beauty of resin in mind for each of them. The concept to this perfume, the label and the respect of the dinosaur is built on imagination. If you look at the label, there is an egg to the left. It is the same color as the Dinosaur. Apply the perfume on wrist and inner elbow and allow the scent to bind with your chemistry. Once this has occurred, inhale. This conceptually, is the egg. To allow the dinosaur to hatch, we wanted you to go to your Studio Limited Library and pull as many as you want, especially your favorites. The magic in layering the dino's with your Studio Limited Library will give your library a new NAVAlchemy aspect of layering and creating your own personal Dino scent. The fun in NAVAlchemy and hatching the dino eggs is all up to you!" - note from Seth. So, I've seen a few comments floating around the internet that say these oils seem to be rather linear, or flat - and I hope that people will read this, because if they don't realize that these were created specifically to be layered, then they'll miss the beauty of these. I do like them on their own, but I find that when they are layered with other perfumes, the beauty and versatility really shines through. I was never adventurous about layering until I was introduced to these beauties, and they really taught me to branch out, because the possibilities are quite endless. What's interesting is that a lot of the SL (Studio Line) is also fantastic for layering, so I'll make some suggestions for these together for you to try. I believe, from the hints that they've been dropping on the Facebook page, that we'll once again be graced with new Dinos this summer. I don't know if it will be happening with the grand reopening, or at some later time in the summer, but it seems that we'll be getting new Dinosaurs to play with! I cannot wait.

So, let's get started! I'll go with the first round of Dinosaurs that I have, and then the second round will be in a separate post. All of the Dinosaurs also make this mention: "*tiny bits of resin may occur in the Dino blends, these will only enrich the blend even more with aging!"

Cryolophosaurus: Resinous Amber Accord, Limestone Amber, Aged Organic Studio created Patchouli, Black Patchouli, SL Crimson and only a drop of fine aged Egyptian White peppercorn eo. So, this was my first love of the Dinosaurs. I was pretty new to NAVA at the time the first collection came out, so I was still trying everything via decants before I sprung for full bottles, because I hadn't learned what worked on me and what didn't yet. I think I ordered decants of everything but Spinosaurus, because I had learned at that point that black honey and I don't get on. Still salty about that! Anyway. The decants arrived, and I tried them all out - and fell madly in love with Cryolophosaurus, and promptly ordered a full bottle. It's....what are words! I feel as though I'm going to be repeating myself here with this collection, but I'll do my best for y'all. The patchoulis in this blend are bright and sort of herbal, almost minty? I don't know if that's a proper patchouli trait, but as a bit of a hippie, I've been a lifelong fan of patchouli (thanks, mom!) and was exposed to the dark and dirty hippie type patchouli early on in life. This was the first time I was exposed to patchouli as a more herbal note, and I was absolutely blown away. I often find NAVA ambers to have a "fresh" sort of quality, and the two ambers used in the Dinosaur collection definitely seem to have that, so it keeps any of these blends from being overly dark. There's definitely a depth and a sort of stoney feel to each one of these, but as I've mentioned, that seems to come out more once you layer them with another perfume, and Cryolophosaurus is no exception. I can wear this happily alone, it's quite different than say Hessonite, which can be a little overwhelming if you're new to patchouli, the ambers lift this up and seem to give the patchoulis a different nuance. You don't get the red musk (Crimson) or pepper aspect very much until you wear this one layered, but those aspects come out and shine once you pair this with another oil. Also, this oil is red! As I've had my bottle for 2 years, there's definitely some resinous bits forming now, but I couldn't seem to capture a picture of it.

I could rave and rave about this one. Goals: If they bring this back as a Resurrection again this year, GET A BACKUP BOTTLE. Hah!

TL;DR A fresh, sort of bright, herbal patchouli. The nuances of the ambers, red musk, and pepper come out to play when you layer this, but you probably won't notice them while wearing it solo.

Layering suggestions: Try this with Kashmir, Crystalline, Amethyst, Santalum, Crystal, White Ambre Ombre. If you have Labyrinth Oudh, this pairs beautifully with that. If you are a patchouli fiend, you might try hatching it with Patchouli Ombre or Hessonite. I like it with Sekhmet Amber and Black Raven, also.

Diplodocus: Resinous Amber Accord, Limestone Amber, a drop of Cacao, Boswellia carterii Frankincense from United Arab Emirates and a drop of steam distilled Oman Frankincense tears we picked from the actual Frankincense tree.

Believe it or not, although I tried all of my decants the summer that the Dinosaur Collection came out, I did not really pursue full bottles of any except Cryolophosaurus. When I heard that the collection was to be resurrected last summer, I decided I needed to try my decants again, and came to the conclusion that I would have to acquire full sizes of all the originals that I had decants of - oh boy! And then there were new ones joining them. I was in trouble. So, I was trying to decide which of these I absolutely had to have, and at first, I had decided since I had Holiday Egyptian Frankincense, I probably didn't need Diplodocus. Well, I fell pretty hard for HEF last summer and found myself layering it with everything, and before I knew it, I had gone through a half a bottle. Panic set in, and I decided I was probably going to need an alternative frankincense, as it was a note I was falling more and more in love with. Diplodocus became a must have, and I am glad I was able to sneak it in my last order before the collection came down. As a stand alone perfume, this is pretty much a linear frankincense - albeit a lovely one. Beautifully woody, you could wear this alone if you were in the mood to wear a sort of single note frankincense, but this lends a wonderful aspect with so many perfumes, I prefer to layer it. Once I layer it with another perfume, the bright, resinous, stony amber comes out to play with the woodiness of the frankincense, and it's heavenly. The cacao is not a starring note, I can find it with my nose only if I keep sniffing, but it plays a lovely supporting role.

TL;DR A perfect frankincense layering note, it does well with adding a sort of grounding to perfumes that might ordinarily be too bright or feminine for my particular tastes, and is lovely paired with the SLs as well to create a duality.

Layering suggestions: Kobalt Dark, Santal Ombre, Egyptian Musk, Crystal, Diamond, or even to add a tad more frankincense to Ember. I've also paired this and love it with Gabriel, Eternal Egypt, and Ozymandias. I love it with several LC perfumes as well; Black Velvet, Black Crystalline Black Fig, Vamp, Anticipation, Blue Lotus, Snow Amber.

Pteranodon: Resinous Amber Accord, Limestone Amber, a drop of Cacao, Pure Sandalwood left to age in the perfume, Santalum Gold, Santalum and a drop of Blue Santalum.

GODS. Gods. This was the one that made me sit up and take notice, why had I missed out on ordering a full bottle, and I need to rectify this immediately! All of the Dinosaurs are fantastic, versatile little workhorses when playing with layering, but Pteranodon became a quick favorite of mine, and dare I say? Yes, I dare, it became my favorite sandalwood thus far. Don't get me wrong, you'll be prying my gloriously aged bottle of SL Santalum out of my cold, dead hands, I absolutely adore Santalum White, especially when spring and summer roll around, but really I can see using it all year...but this, this is special. Samantha tells me that's because it has the most precious of precious, Santalum Gold. Since she sent me a little sample of her precious bottle, I can understand the obsession - there's something pretty amazing about Santalum Gold. It's a little more woody and resinous, more fully sandalwood than the new version Santalum. I love mine, don't get me wrong, but I can see why Santalum Gold is so popular that if one pops up in the secondary market, it is gone within minutes. Ah well, one day I will be quick enough! Until then - Pteranodon. Yes, I can and have worn this alone, and I absolutely adore it. I like it in my hair, it's one of my favorite layering components when I pair it with something and add a few drops of unscented hair oil and run my fingers through my hair. Hnnnnggg. It's hauntingly familiar, it reminds me of when I lived briefly in Minneapolis in the early nineties and I hung out in the head shops and the kitschy little knicknack shops of uptown and the fantastic thrift stores....ahhhh the nineties, it brings me a feeling of nostalgia, for that's when I discovered how glorious sandalwood was. Oddly enough, my mother is a darker creature, and I don't remember her wearing sandalwood during her hippie days, mostly patchouli and musk and especially dragon's blood. She was missing out, I tell you. This. This really evokes some strong emotions in me. So, once layered, again the ambers come out to play, and the cacao is there as a supporting note, but the star is the variety of sandalwoods. You really get a sense of the four once this is layered. I don't know what to say other than IF THIS COMES BACK AND YOU DON'T HAVE IT YOU'D BETTER GET ONE. I'll be picking up a backup. I might not be able to get my hands on Santalum Gold, but this will do.

TL;DR HNNNGGGG GORGEOUS INCREDIBLE SANDALWOOD.

Layering suggestions: Gods, it goes with everything. Seriously. One of my favorite things is to hatch this with a combination of Diamond, Crystalline, and Tibetan Crystalline. Alternately, I'll do Bloodstone, Egyptian Musk, and this (maybe some Amethyst too). It's fantastic with Ember Vanilla or from the LC, Phantasm Kiss. I love it with Egyptian Temple Oudh. Umm, Eternal Egypt, Bastet Amber, Raphael, Black Raven. Ambre Ombre, or even Santal Ombre. I love it with the OPs, Baba, Tawaret, Pakhet, Hathor. I've got a smidgen of my sample of Egyptian Peach Blossom left and it's lovely with that. Polichenelle. Cecilia, Adele, Music, Snow Amber, Patchouli Ombre. There hasn't been a layering combination with this one I haven't loved, so be adventurous. If a perfume seems a bit too sweet or floral, this makes a nice "grounding" effect. Just do yourself a favor and nab this if it comes back!

Tyrannosaurus: Resinous Amber Accord, Limestone Amber, a drop of Cacao, Dracaena Draco of Morocco (Dragon's Blood resin) and Sangre de Grado Dragon's Blood.

One of the things I don't think I've talked about a lot is exactly how much I love NAVA's dragon's blood. I seem to like dark, red, resinous things quite a bit, I mean, Kashmir is practically my signature, followed closely by Bloodstone. So, what is their dragon's blood like? It's that perfect mixture of spicy and fruity. It's so, so well balanced. I don't really like it when a db note veers too much into either territory, leaving the other territory well behind. I want that combination, just a little spicy, just a little fruity, almost delicious. This is another workhorse. Alone, it's a beautifully resinous, juicy dragon's blood with a little kick of spice. It might be too dark alone if you're not into db, but layer this big boy - did Seth name this one well or WHAT? Layer Tyrannosaurus, and it becomes bright and lifted with the amber, and it's possibly even more beautiful than Bloodstone. Wait, what? Blasphemy. Okay, maybe not my bottle of aged, thick, glorious Bloodstone, but it's pretty amazing. Worn alone, T-Rex is a hint of the amber, and the two dragon's bloods. Layered, and he comes into his full glory, the amber comes out to really play, and that lovely supporting cacao becoes just a little bit evident, to give it a little more depth.

TL;DR: T-Rex is a big boy, and this perfume more than lives up to its name. I find it apropos that his scent is dragon's blood. Layered, he is just the right amount of resinous, spicy, juicy dragon's blood and glorious, fresh stony amber. Mmmm. Mm. It makes me hum with happiness.

Layering suggestions: Ember Vanilla, Ambre Ombre, Patchouli Ombre, Santalum, Ember, Black Raven, Mists of Arcacia, OP Anubis, OP Pakhet. From the LC, try it with Phantasm Kiss, Blood Moon, Egyptian Temple Oudh, Copal Oudh, or Pandora.

Utahraptor: Resinous Amber Accord, Limestone Amber, hungry chomps of Kashmir and Black Musk Absolutes, Egyptian Musk and a drop of Crimson and Sri Lankan Black Peppercorn eo.

Oh, Utahraptor. I've listed this last, but not because I love it least. In fact, I adore it, and it's quite versatile - different layering options bring out different facets of this one. I'm sure I've made mention of the fact that I really, really love NAVA musks. Kashmir is probably one of my favorite perfumes. So naturally, I had to have this. Worn alone, this comes across as mostly Kashmir, with a breath of Black Musk underneath, and the amber lifts it up - it might seem like a heavy blend, but it's saved from that by the beautifully clean Egyptian Musk and ambers. Start playing with layering, and while Kashmir, a bold red musk, remains the star, Black Musk and Egyptian Musk come out to play a bit more vocally, and I love that little kick of spiciness in the background of peppercorn. I'm a big fan of pepper in perfumes - Music is a great example of this, I feel, and it's kind of a surprising note, I think that many people would envision it from a cooking spice standpoint, but it's a bit different when added as a component of perfume. It adds a little kick, and it's quite fun. If you've never had the experience, I highly recommend giving it a chance. Anyway, enough about pepper, it's a supporting note here, and gives this "egg" a bit of pizzazz when you hatch it with another perfume.

TL;DR: Kashmir, a bold red musk, is the star here but plays beautifully with the other two musks, Black and Egyptian, when layered. Don't be afraid of the pepper. Despite the musk heavy blend, it's not nearly as heavy as you might think, the ambers lift and brighten this perfectly, and it's quite fun with a variety of different types.

Layering suggestions: Crystalline, Tibetan Crystalline, Santalum White, Egyptian Musk, Ozymandias, Pharaoh Anniversary, OP Baba, OP Set. For LC options, I absolutely am nuts over hatching this with California Redwood Crystal Musk. Also, Underlord Akhenaten, Pyewacket Cat, Pumpkin #2, Copal Oudh, Enigma, and it's amazing with the Byzantium Amber from their 9th Anniversary perfumes.

Okay, whew! That was pretty extensive, I am sorry for the wall of text, but I do hope you'll find my "hatching" suggestions helpful. This really did provide me with the courage to really branch out and become a layering fiend, and now I will layer various perfumes in with my unscented hair oils too, and I get a lot of compliments about how amazing my hair smells. Tomorrow, I'll get the second half of this posted for you, with last year's additions. From the first year, I do not have Spinosaurus, Stegasaurus, or Styracosaurus. Feel free to offer up your own layering combinations with these amazing perfumes! I want to mention one more thing in closing, these are another collection that do even better with age, they become richer and seem to come into their own even more. Have a wonderful evening!

Editing to add a note, and a link to part two! I forgot to mention previously, is that these are lovely when you pair them together! And I've done this several times with different combinations. Pteranodon with Protoceratops or Deinonychus, Velociraptor with Utahraptor, Diplodocus with Giganotosaurus, Protoceratops with almost anything! Hah.

Another thing to mention, if you have eNVie Saphir, many of these are stunning when hatched with Saphir. Definitely worth experimenting with - I have Saphir, Ambre Saphir, and Encens Saphir, and they all do well with the Dinosaurs.

[ssaic-jareau]

I'm later than usual, but also, haven't you heard the saying art must be appreciated? Well, I hope you're ready 🥰

^^ they finally did the thing.

You know Jack’s gone - staying with Jessica until tomorrow afternoon, so this is your only opportunity to lay into him the way you want to. *picks up megaphone:* FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT!

This first bit, I felt the anger and hurt swell inside me, I actually pictured them getting all up in Aaron's grill and just poking his chest out of frustration.

THE HEAT IN THEIR FIRST KISS *chef's kiss* - (I'LL TOUCH ON IT MORE IN THE OTHER VERSION)

Okay, you did something so super brilliant here, I don't think I've mentioned this..

When has anything with him been typical? When has anything ever been the way you wanted? 

^^ this section right here encompasses their whole relationship so perfectly, their relationship has been this crazy ride and it sucks everyone in and it gives me such joy to see them reach this point and I just can't express how much I love their love.

(You don’t mean it.)

(He knows.)

^^ oh yeah, I just love this part.

Damn, I love how hot the make out session is, it's starts out so fast, and then there's the break when Aaron is pushed on the couch, and then the temperature increases 1000% again.

Unexpectedly, the tears start up again, and yourl breath catches in a sob. “I want you. I can barely look at you right now, but I still want you. I always have.” - my heart wasn't ready for this (I was lucky enough to get the sneak peek, but still my heart).

You rest your cheek on his temple as he paints kisses all over your neck and collarbone. You can feel the apology in them. With a little bit of a start, you realize you can feel the love in them, too.

Don't mind me, I'm just sobbing, because god damn, I feel the love in this universe.

----

The conversation after they do the devil's tango™ (iykyk)... Aaron explaining himself, their hands finding each other again, the understanding between them.

Pakistan. That’s how he managed it. 

Right. 

Did I cry at this whole section? Yes.

Will I reread it repeatedly? Yes.

I cannot express how much this section means to me, it shows how sorry Aaron really is, he actually means it (pun intended). I LOVE IT SO MUCH ALMOST AS MUCH AS I LOVE YOU.

----

"This may be a bad time, but do you want to talk about us at all?” The little emphasis on us sends a shot of something warm through you, but panic follows on its heels. I felt both things as I read them, and I kind of love their response and *wipes tear* it's so beautiful.

"I promise, no matter how much I hate you, I love you more.”

Oh look, it's my favourite line Tali has ever written.

----

Okay, you already know how much I love Emily in this story. Oh come on, them using Emily's excuse *chef's kiss* and Hotch casually walking through it suppressing a smile *aimz is doing the goofy smile at her phone*

Emily’s in the kitchen, emptying the coffee pot, and she calls to you without looking. “I’m gonna figure out who’s been getting it in, don’t you worry.” 

Aaron snorts, and she turns on her heel. “Oh my God, Hotch. I didn’t realize -” 

THE CACKLE I LET OUT AT THIS!

You can almost trick yourself into thinking everything is normal. Look who took me on a detour through ouchtown!

----

*cue heart exploding because Jack showed up*

Also, thank you for giving me longhaired Aaron Hotchner in this capacity, I appreciate it from the bottom of my heart.

----

Why are the late night conversations the best thing to ever happen? How'd you get it so right? You captured Aaron apologising so damn well and in so many different words. His promises to do better *chef's kiss* - I may have, sort of, most definitely teared up at that part.

On the flip side, why are the morning after conversations the second best thing to ever happen? And I 1000% agree, it was the Pakistan bullshit that got to me. Oh yeah, my heart broke a little at “Promise me you won’t run from us again?”, because I all I'm hearing in this, is the insecurity and the hurt in the tone of voice --- absolutely brilliant.

----

The shaving scene is in a league of its own. Do I feel the nerves of Aaron? Yes. Do I feel him relax a little bit when asked if he trusts them? Yes. Do I feel the pain of the memories? Yes. Do I laugh at the fact that them shaving Aaron's beard is considered the grieving process? Yes. Do I melt at the care and love they show Aaron? Absolutely. I have way too many favourite parts in this piece.

----

Let's hear it for drunk Emily (I think I may like her a little bit more than sober Emily).

Conceding to five questions in total *chef's kiss* perfection. I let out a laugh at all of the questions, and sobered up when we got to the last one. Can I just say, there's something so brilliant about this scene? (I can't put my finger on it). THE SILENT CONVERSATION - showing how in tune they already are with each other, in their personal relationship, because we ALREADY know they're in tune in their professional relationship.

He sighs, nodding to himself just a little. Gotta play my cards right, then, I guess. 

Guess so.

*1000 chef's kisses*

What a beautiful closer for the berry hill installment of the AJF universe! This might be my favourite one so far (ah, that's a lie, it's a close second to Metanoia). But we know I'll revisit the berry hill installment almost all the time!

Tali, I love you and appreciate you for sharing this universe with us!

mean it. (sfw)

a/n:  welcome to the sfw version! it has been modified to cover all of the character development that happens while these two chatty cathies are gettin down ‘n dirty with it. this has been my favorite ajf fic so far, and will conclude the berry hill section of the story. we’ll have two more fics that take place in 2011 following this one, but they won’t be so explicitly part of this arc - just fun little early-relationship ‘we’re still keeping this from the team’ moments. i am SO excited to share this with you. (here’s the nsfw version, for our friends who are grown ups!)

words: 7k warnings: implied smut, some making out on the couch, language, light drinking/alcohol use summary: the levy breaks. 

masterlist | a joyful future masterlist | requests closed!

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