#written post 5.3

[kannedia]

Relationship Chart - Asel

Chart created by @7thastralera. Found here.

Papalymo: She liked his wit. His knowledge of magic was incredible. She regrets not approaching him outside of work to talk.

Moenbryda: Forced Asel out of her shell. Would have had an interesting and amusing dynamic. Wonders if it's strange to miss someone she barely knew so strongly.

Further data for the other Scions beneath the cut if you're curious.

Specifics:

Tataru: Craft buddies. When Tataru realizes a good way to get Asel to relax is to knit and sew with her.

Y'shtola: It's complicated. Possibly romantic. Asel takes a while to detangle her feelings. Runar complicates matters. Does he see her as a sister or have a crush on her?

Lyse: Possibly romantic. She didn't know her long enough for the reveal to bother her. They tend to balance each other pretty well.

Estinien: Bickering siblings? The hand on Asel's shoulder when she starts overthinking.

Thancred: It's complicated. Entirely platonic. In summation, they slowly become friends until post-Heavensward. At this point Thancred angered Asel during the peace conference by punching Emmanellain. This strained their relationship in Asel's eyes. Though she still sees him as a friend on some level. She frets over him as much as she does the others.

Ryne: Cute niece(?). Wants to help further her training and teach her ninja skills. Wants to help her learn and grow.

Minfilia: A crush? Looking back she's not sure. She was certainly emotionally attached to her but if that was the actual word for it, well she isn't sure.

G'raha: Discomforted by how openly he looks up to her. They get along pretty well otherwise.

Alphinaud: Has been called his guard dog before. Work on their math together sometimes.

Alisaie: Sparring buddy, by Alisaie's choice. Matched in protective instincts.

Urianger: Book club buddies. Slow road to friendship, helped mostly by similar interests in literature.

Krile: Asel thinks she's cool but doesn't spend much time with her due to work. Perhaps Dawntrail will change that.

[bunkahi]

[MAJOR SPOILERS] up to the end of 6.0: Elidibus knew the future, and how translation harmed it's impact.

I posted this on twitter, but almost no one saw. As such I'm uploading it here, not only because I can go into more detail, but because I think this is one of the most important aspects to Elidibus' character that I never see anyone talk about.

Elidibus knew the future. This has been DIRECTLY stated since 2.55... but what you may not know is that this has been indirectly hinted at (more explicitly in Japanese) since Elidibus' first appearance in 2.1. In this sickly written 'essay,' I will be sharing with you all an incoherent babble of Elidibus' story, along with major changes in the English translation that diminish the legitimacy that he knew the future before becoming Zodiark.

Please note: Tl;dr version is at the bottom, for this post IS long. Tl;dr implores you to at least look at the images provided below.

Let us begin not at 2.1, but rather 5.3. The most important translation difference in my personal opinion. It is your climb up the crystal tower, and Elidibus stands before it's throne. As he awaits your arrival, he ponders the crystal in his hand. The crystal of the Exarch's memories... memories of a possible future.

For those who may not be able to see the images above, I will summarize the difference. While most of the translation is the same between Japanese and English, there is one major difference.

In both versions, Elidibus looks at the Crystal and calls it worthless. A possible future is the same as the past. It is fated to fray, fade, and disappear. In English he follows this with "Leaving naught but a gaping void..." Meanwhile, in Japanese he says "Within me as well... could such a thing have once dwelled, I wonder?" (keep in mind I'm trying to keep the translation here as exact as I can, including the awkward structure, as I want it to be easy for people to compare my translation to the original text.)

I think this is very... very interesting. While I, at times, adore Square Enix's liberties in translation (otherwise we would not have the absolute banger “The rains have ceased, and we have been graced with another beautiful day. But you are not here to see it.”), I think this was an interesting moment to take liberties.

What's done is done however, my main focus on this essay is not to criticize the translations though. It is just to inform what I believe is true about Elidibus' character. As such, I will no longer be addressing translation differences beyond providing them for context.

So let us move on to discuss the very interesting implications this has, using the short story "Ere Our Curtain Falls"

English version: "Will you not look at your crystal?" I asked.

When Elidibus was still Elidibus and Lahabrea still Lahabrea, we had collected all of our memories of the Fourteen and committed them to crystal, that those who would take our seats one day might learn. Elidibus would, I was sure, find much within to help him remember─yet he shook his head.

"I am Elidibus. So long as I remember my duty, that is enough. Aught else I would only lose again in the course of this timeless struggle...and if these memories are truly so precious, pray do not ask that I forget them twice."

The last part in Japanese: "I am Elidibus, and I remember what I need to do, and how to accomplish it. That is enough. Even if I remember this or that, I will lose it again in this continuing battle. If it is an important memory, don't make me forget over and over again."

(Link to Japanese story, which you can switch into English, at least on desktop, at the top right of the page)

Elidibus thinks a crystal that holds memories of a possible future is worthless... and he refuses to look at his own memory crystal... how interesting... very very interesting.

As a quick refresher of the important things that occur next: You fight Elidibus and put him in the crystal tower. The final days begins again. Left with no one else to turn to, we go to speak to Elidibus at the crystal tower. He remembers us in the past, and knows where he must send us... which is something that can only be done THANKS to him being sealed in the crystal tower.

And now I feel we can move on to OUR beginning of Elidibus, aka 2.1. Though there is a LOT of text that I feel should not have been altered, I only translated what I feel matters most to me. A specific piece of information that had it's implications completely altered, and the implications that Elidibus goes out of his way to TEACH Minfilia about the ascians.

(I will only transcribe the translation.)

"Was I not passed down in folklore? Well, it has been thousands of years since I last appeared in this world. Can't be helped. You all are the ones who defeated the priest of the abyss. I thought you understood a few things about us but...

We are immortal beings. When we posses a person, even should you destroy the dark crystal, our existence won't be destroyed.

I am the mediator. I have no desire to fight you all. Today, I came only to tell you that. Let us meet again."

Kiiiiind of strange that he would just casually tell us that they can't be defeated like that. What is there to gain in giving away such a secret? Perhaps he's cocky... or perhaps there's more.

to recap what matters in the next patch, 2.2: The sahagins are preparing to summon Leviathan. Y'shtola spies on them, and hears them speak of how they're going to ascend in power (a parallel to things Elidibus said to Minfilia.) We decide to investigate, and witness the Sahagin priest ascend into "immortality," before watching his essence be absorbed within Leviathan, with him questioning why the emissary/white robed one seemed to have tricked him.

Now keep in mind, before this patch, it's already established that Lahabrea is the one to promote primal summonings, AND that Lahabrea is back. What reason would Elidibus have to no only promote the summoning of Leviathan, but to risk teaching immortality to the Sahagin priest, especially when he KNOWS the scions are in direct opposition to not only to the ascians but to primals? And for this to be one of the first things he does, after thousands of years of not appearing in our world, and AFTER he approaches Minfilia to speak of seemingly only non-sense. What, oh what could be the purpose?

"My power... it's being taken... I'm being absorbed by the great water god? Did I... not become... immortal? White robed one... what... is this?!"

It is thanks to this "slip" in Elidibus' decision making that we learn that the ascians are in fact NOT immortal. They are simply beings of aether that have not dispersed. They can be ABSORBED within something, and when that something is destroyed, they don't return. It is directly thanks to Elidibus doing this that we learn not only how to defeat him and his brothers... but also that we can seal him away in the crystal tower.

Surely this is just coincidence, right? There's just no way. Clearly this is all set up to be a piece of sad, tragic irony right?

I take us now to the very final cutscene of 2.55. Though there are differences in translation, I find them mostly negligible. As such I will speak referencing the English translation.

The final cutscene features Lahabrea and Elidibus. Elidibus appears within Lahabrea's shadow to speak of Nabiales' death before the camera changes, placed in a cage and peering into the other side where Lahabrea and Elidibus stand. The bars of the cage separate them, though the darkness makes it hard to see.

Elidibus says that the warrior of light is becoming too strong. That they must make haste to stop them. He suggests Lahabrea head to the northern lands, and Lahabrea agrees and departs.

Urianger appears from the dark behind Elidibus, wishing to know why he has been summoned. To which, Elidibus says the he wishes to speak of fate.

Now why does he do this? As a reminder of what comes next: We defeat Lahabrea, Igeyorhm, and Thordan. This leads to there being no calamity on the source ready to absorb the 1st after it succumbs to light, and the Garleans having access to Azys Lla, meaning they have direct access to the warring triad.

All of this happens at the very end 3.0. However, this conversation between Urianger and Elidibus happens in 2.55. Even should you try to argue that it doesn't take place exactly when it's shown to us, it does HAVE to happen before the mid point of 3.0 at a minimum considering Lahabrea is obviously alive in this cutscene, and more than likely happens before you cross the bridge into Ishgard.

The only thing left to truly note when it comes to this topic is that all of this is reinforced in 3.1 with cutscenes in the Great Gubal Library (2nd to last cutscene of the patch)

"This is thy proof? The Gerun Oracles? Apocrypha."

"Our fates were ordained long ago, Archon. The Garleans are no exception. Nor the Triad. You know what must be done.

In conclusion, Elidibus knew Lahabrea would fail, and that he would need Urianger for not only the warring triad, but to get Minfillia to stop the flood of the first. It was a fate ordained long ago, for we are in a soft timeloop.

Now you may ask, how can you explain him knowing to do this despite his memory loss? If this is all the case, why does he fight us at the crystal tower so genuinely? To be blunt, I cannot give you a direct answer, outside of what is stated above. Elidibus seems to know on SOME level 'some' kind of goal. Specifically saying "I know what I need to do, and how to accomplish it."

Does he directly state what this goal is? No. Ultimately everything above can only be counted as speculation, but personally, I am of the mentality of "why show us this if it's not meant to mean something? Why does Elidibus do something that has already been established as another character's role? Why would THIS be the first thing he does in our world for thousands of years? Why have a character do this if it's not meant to mean something? Especially when THIS something (teaching immortality) leads to the DIRECT consequence of being sealed in the crystal tower, which is our ONLY way to go THAT far into the past to know about Meteion?"

When did he learn the future? That also would be speculation, but as Emet-Selch states, the memory crystals were made before the Zodiark's summoning. If they are truly eluding to his crystal holding memories of a possible future, and the Japanese version of Ere Our Curtain Falls specifically states that he's been losing himself and his memories since the moment he fell from Zodiark to help the convocation, then chances are high it's before the summoning. Who told him would be pure speculation, but the most likely answer is either Venat, Azem, or the Warrior of Light. And before anyone brings this up, no, I do not believe the writers are going to drop every character related to Zodiark and Hydaelyn just because we're moving on to a new chapter. The consequences of the past will continue into the future. While the ancients may no longer be the FOCUS of the story, I doubt we're never going to see them or interact with the past ever again. They will more than likely be explored further in side content ([SPOILERS FROM DAWN TRAIL TRAILER] given Solution 9 has text in Proto-Alphabet, aka the alphabet of the ancients... yeah... um... don't think our explorations related to the ascians and the past are over.) [SPOILERS OVER]

Now, I still haven't worked on translating 4.X, so I will make no comments towards it and any information it might hold in terms of Japanese Elidibus' views on not only the world, but of the future. Perhaps when I have time to translate it I will make a follow up post. I will also be posting some of my smaller translations from twitter to tumblr in time.

Tl;Dr: Elidibus thinks a crystal of a possible future is worthless. He refuses to look at his own crystal. Because his crystal was made before the sundering, he knew the future at least before that point.

Elidibus taught us indirectly how to seal away ascians, and summons Urianger to help him before there is even a CHANCE of knowing he'd need him unless he knew the future.

With this in mind, it's clear to me that Elidibus guided our path into sealing him into the crystal tower so that he could make the time portal and secure the soft timeloop we're in. Though chances are HIGH this is all subconscious the entire time because of memory loss.

Thank you for coming to my Elidibus Talk.

[astrology-bf]

WoLGraha Week 2024 Fic List

Hello hello! The final story that I've written for this year's WoLGraha Week has been posted, so I figured I'd put together a full list for you lovely folks to browse at your leisure. Thanks for a wonderful week, and I hope you enjoy the read!

Under the Lakeland Sun: ~6.3k words | Mature | WoL/Graha. G'raha and Ifan go on a picnic to discuss the Crystal Exarch and the Warrior of Light's first meeting. Set shortly after the end of ShB Patch 5.0. [CW: Implied Substance Abuse, ShB Spoilers]

Kama's Palette: ~4.8k words | Mature | WoL/Graha. G'raha and Ifan celebrate the latter's recovery after the return from Ultima Thule by attending Thavnair's Festival of Colors. Set after the end of EW Patch 6.0. [CW: Implied NSFW, EW Spoilers]

A Dream of Electrope Sheep: ~9.9k words | Mature | WoL/Graha. An AU fic starring G'raha, Ifan, Otis, and Sphene set a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. [CW: Implied/Referenced Abuse, References to DT Spoilers]

The King's Gambit: ~5.4k words | Explicit | WoL/Graha/Esteem. Ifan and G'raha celebrate the latter's first name day after returning to the Source with help from "Fray". Set after the end of ShB Patch 5.3. [CW: NSFW, Light BDSM, ShB Spoilers]

La Vie En Rose: ~6k words | Teen | WoL/Graha | Graha + Azem. While parted from Ifan in Solution 9, G'raha unknowingly discovers Alexandria's Azem shard. Set after the end of DT Patch 7.0. [CW: Implied PTSD, Heavy DT Spoilers]

More Than A Footnote: 5k words | Teen | WoL/Graha. The Warrior of Light and the Crystal Exarch reconcile and rekindle their lost relationship after the events under the Tempest. Set after the end of ShB Patch 5.0. [CW: ShB Spoilers]

Dredging the Lethe: ~3.2k words | Teen | WoL/Graha | WoL/Ardbert. My treatment of the gondola scene in the final zone of Dawntrail, featuring heavy references to Paradise Lost. Set during the final leg of DT Patch 7.0's MSQ. [CW: Grief/Loss, Heavy DT Spoilers]

Tending His Garden: ~5.5k words | General | WoL/Graha. Lyna reads the tale of the Crystal Exarch and his Warrior of Darkness to some youngsters in a possible far future on the First. [CW: ARR Spoilers, ShB Spoilers]

[jessi-skylark]

Elsamaren Love Story & Comic

Frozen Fanfic of how Elsa x Honeymaren fall in love: PG/safe for work

MASTER POST

About: How might Elsa and Honeymaren fall in love after Frozen 2? Elsa finds herself attracted to Honeymaren but —but can she get over her fear and awkwardness to be vulnerable and in touch with her feelings?

Want just the comics in easy reading order ? Check out @elsamaren-love for just the comic

Chapter 1:

How does Elsa and Honeymaren’s friendship get started right after the end of Frozen 2? Chapter 1: n Comic.

Chapter 1: Elsamaren Written, author @fuzziekins

Chapter 2: Admire

Elsa overhears a tender moment between Honeymaren and Ryder, and wonders about their relationship. But Elsa and Honeymaren learn they have more in common then they realize…Elsamaren Comic - Artist: @jessi-skylark

Chapter 2: Elsamaren Story - Author: @fuzziekins

Chapter 3: Just a Crush

Ryder talks to his sis Honeymaren asking Elsa out, but for some reason she’s not so keen on the idea- Elsamaren Comic - Artist: @jessi-skylark

Chapter 3: Elsamaren Written Story - writer @fuzziekins

Rest of chapters are in progress, and drafts will be published below…

Chapter 4, Part 1: Memories

Elsa learns to recreate memories from Ahtahalla in from water in the real world. Deeper connection to the spirits also deepens her connection to Honeymaren, but she’s not quite sure why

Chapter 4, Part 2: Coming soon…

Chapter 5.1: Earth: Coming soon…

Chapter 5.2: Wind: Coming soon…

Chapter 5.3: Fire: see below…Check it out!

Chapter 5.3: Fire

Elsa learns that she can magnify the power of the spirits if she joins them instead of tame them…

_________________________________

What do you think should happen next? Add comments and reblog!

Stay tuned! 6+ more chapters are in development.

[coochiequeens]

Planet Fitness sees $400MILLION wiped off its value in just five days after banning member who exposed 'trans woman' shaving in the female locker rooms

The valuation dropped from $5.3 billion on March 14 to $4.9 billion on March 19

It follows a week of backlash over the gym chain's decision to ban a member who shared a photo of a 'trans woman' using a female changing room  

By ISABELLE STANLEY FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

PUBLISHED: 18:51 EDT, 20 March 2024 | UPDATED: 21:08 EDT, 20 March 2024

Planet Fitness' valuation has plummeted $400 million in five days after they banned a member who shared a photo of a 'trans woman' using a female locker room. 

The company's value dropped from $5.3 billion on March 14 to $4.9 billion on March 19, and its shares are down by 13.59 percent compared to a month ago.

The decline follows Planet Fitness' refusal to walk back its decision to ban a member who exposed a 'trans woman' shaving in a female locker room earlier this month. 

Patricia Silva was barred from the gym in Alaska after she detailed an incident online - where she said she saw a transgender woman in her locker room.

Following backlash against the ban, the company said although some members may feel uncomfortable sharing facilities, 'this discomfort is not a reason to deny access to the transgender member.'

The company's valuation plummeted from $5.3 billion on March 14 to $4.9 billion on Tuesday and only rallied slightly on Wednesday

Patricia Silva was banned from Planet Fitness after she shared a photo of 'a man with a penis' who was using the female locker room to shave

After her encounter, Silva took to Facebook to tell people about her experience and recounted her argument with the transgender individual- Planet Fitness would go on to ban Silva and file a police report against her

Planet Fitness' policy stated that 'discomfort is not a reason to deny access to the transgender member.'

The company's stock fell by 7.8 percent on Tuesday, going from its opening price of $59.44 to a five-month low of $54.80, it then rebounded slightly. 

Silva posted a video describing her experience at the gym on Facebook in early March. 

She said she had just finished working out at Planet Fitness' Fairbanks location, when she saw the person, whom she called 'a man with a penis,' carrying out his routine in front of a 12-year-old girl.

Silva, who has previously run for Fairbanks Borough Assembly, told the 'trans woman' they should really be using the male locker room. The trans woman replied that they were 'LGB.'

Silva then took a picture of the person and shared it online and recounted her experience in a Facebook video: 'I just came out of Planet Fitness. 

'There is a man shaving in the women's bathroom. I love him in Christ. He is a spiritual being having a human experience. 

'He doesn't like his gender so he wants to be a woman, but I'm not comfortable with him shaving in my bathroom. I just thought I'd say it out loud.'

Silva - who has shared QAnon conspiracy theories on social media - also described the encounter in a written post online.

'I went to planet fitness… Walked in the bathroom, and there stands a MAN shaving… I looked at him, said 'hey' … he looked up… and I said, 'You are a man shaving in the women's bathroom, and I am not OK with that.'

'He replied… 'Well, I'm LGB…'

'Whatever that is… nevertheless, I told him 'You're a MAN and you're invading my space!'

'He wanted to argue to justify why he can be there… I walked away…

'I stepped out of the locker room and loudly asked the front desk, 'Are you aware that there is a MAN shaving in the women's bathroom… I'm not OK with that ⁉️' The two men standing at the desk, put their heads down, and their tails between their legs! As I was walking out the door…at my back, a woman shouts 'it's a girl'… I shouted back 'it's a man!''

'PF cancelled my membership and allowed the pedo to stay ‼️,' she stated.

Planet Fitness revoked Silva's membership and filed a police report against her, citing her violation of gym policy by taking photos and/or videos in the locker room.

Woman tells 'trans woman' to get out of the gym bathroom.

Former Planet Fitness gym goer Patricia Silva has defended her reaction in a series of Facebook postings 

Her actions clashed with the gym's commitment to 'creating an inclusive and safe environment.'

Planet Fitness' statement shared by Libs of TikTok followed the same line. They doubled down on their decision.

In their statement, the gym said that the staff should 'work with members and employees to address this discomfort [sharing facilities with transgender members] and to foster a climate of understanding consistent with the Judgment Free character of Planet Fitness.'

The statement continued: 'Planet Fitness staff shall strive to address transgender members with names, titles, pronouns, and other terms consistent with their self-reported gender identity, if reasonably known to the Planet Fitness staff.'

The statement said that 'a transgender woman shall be referred to by her preferred name and female pronouns.'

And a 'transgender man shall be referred to by his preferred name and male pronouns.'

It concluded that the gym 'reserves the right to terminate a person's membership immediately for any violation of this policy.' 

When DailyMail.com contacted Planet Fitness about their policy, they reiterated their statement issued after Silva went viral. 

'As the home of the Judgement Free Zone, Planet Fitness is committed to creating an inclusive environment. Our gender identity non-discrimination policy, states that members and guests may use the gym facilities that best align with their sincere, self-reported gender identity,' it read.  

'The member who posted on social media violated our mobile device policy that prohibits taking photos of individuals in the locker room, which resulted in their membership being terminated.' 

Planet Fitness decision raised eyebrows and drew criticism and comment from Utah Congressman Phil Lyman and Tesla's Elon Musk.

Lyman wrote: 'transgender 'rights' supersede women's rights.'

Musk wryly responded to one of Silva's videos with an exclamation point.

Other users were far more blunt in their assessments of Planet Fitness' actions.

One person wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter: 'Planet fitness is not safe for women. Cancel your membership and get some free weights. Cheaper and less travel time.'

Another user said: 'Give Planet Fitness the Bud Light treatment, cancel your membership, and let them know why.'

Another person echoed this sentiment: 'Well Planet Fitness deserves the bud light treatment.' 

Someone claimed that they had taken action, writing: I've cancelled my membership. #BoycottPlanetFitness.' 

Another user penned: '"A transgender shall be referred to by her preferred name and female pronouns." This is what's known as forced speech and it's unconstitutional. If we had a real DOJ, they'd prosecute this assault on the First Amendment. #BoycottPlanetFitness.'

[rock-and-compass]

Precursor - I wrote about the fifth season of Angel many years ago - probably around the time that the season 8 comics were first being published. I originally published these meta essays over on LiveJournal and I've decided to re-post them (as written), mostly for archival reasons. I love season 5 of Angel. It's such a shame it got axed before it could get the envisioned 6th and 7th series

Episode 5.3 – Unleashed

Unleashed is the third episode of the season but the first to employ the devious tactic of being about something on the surface but really being about something else on a sub-textual level. By watching the façade you get a neat, self-contained story that has a beginning, middle and end, and gets resolved in forty-plus minutes of television production. But pull back the curtains and you’ll begin to see what’s really going on and in essence, that’s what makes season five so brilliant.

Unleashed, at its heart, is all about family. The episode opens with Team Angel having an evening picnic, sharing Chinese food and catching up with each other. Yet things are not all cheery for the group. They are meeting outside because they don’t know if they can trust the people they work with or the organisation they work for. They are suspicious of each other; Wesley’s lateness, Gunn’s brain boost, Fred’s relationship with a dude called Knox. It has been a month since they took over and Angel is still preoccupied with why they were offered the Wolfram and Hart deal in the first place. What do the Senior Partners want with them? Ironically, Fred gives him the answer in the very next sentence:

Fred: Turns out running a company doesn't leave a lot of time for, you know, covert ops

 Angel is too close, looking for a big plan, a scheme aimed at him personally to realise that Wolfram and Hart are controlling him very effectively thank you very much. 

Wesley asks Gunn if he knows anything more about the Senior Partners plans courtesy of the brain upgrade. Gunn gets defensive, why are they singling him out for suspicion?  They all made a deal, and they all got something out of it. Angel more than any of them, but of course, they don’t know that. Angel again expresses his need to discover what the Senior Partners have in store for them and again Fred gives the reason, shows him the exact plan:

Fred: Angel, it's not like we don't want to be ready. We just have, you know, plates...big, heaping, full plates

He can’t see the wood for the trees. He’s too intent on the big picture when it’s the family photograph he should be concentrating on.  Wesley concurs with Fred:

Wesley: Between running our departments, handling clients, dealing with Spike— 

And just the mention of Spike irritates Angel. He dismisses Spike as nothing more than a distraction. Funny, that he can see Spike as a distraction but fails to make the connection that the Senior Partners’ big plan is simply to distract him from the fight against evil and his mission and to nullify his influence. Fred begins to explain that Spike is more than a distraction, that he’s unique but Angel is just not interested. It’s the last thing he wants to hear and in fact, he takes the opportunity to run away, do what he does best, rescue a helpless girl, remind everyone who the hero is here! 

Except, Angel doesn’t rescue the girl, she gets away. But he does kill the werewolf that bit her. So Team Angel put all their considerable energies into finding her. Her case becomes personal, she gets the personal touch. Angel explains his concern:

Angel: Probably tried to control it for a while and just gave up; thought she had to fight it alone, ended up with nothing worth fighting for.

Gee, over identify much?

Helping the helpless, that’s what he does. . . That’s what he did? What is he doing here again?

Spike appears in Fred’s office. He wants someone, well specifically Fred, to help him, but no one is paying attention. His trips into ‘Hell’ are getting longer. He’s getting worried. Fred wants him to go to Wes or Angel for help but Spike’s insistent - nobody else must know. Why the reluctance to share Spike? One word: Fear. Can’t have the old Sire knowing that he’s scared, can he? Worse, what if he told Angel and he still doesn’t care, still couldn’t give a damn about him, and tells him that Hell is all he deserves anyway. And would he be wrong? 

Spike is, let’s be honest here, annoying in this scene, actually, in this entire episode. But that’s because he’s supposed to be. He’s the unwanted child demanding attention.  He feels neglected and wants the world to see it! He’s petulant and obnoxious; he makes up stories to big-note himself (which Fred, in a very sisterly fashion, sees right through). He is exactly like a child. Children can be annoying; they nag, they don’t get that the more they nag the more annoying they get, and the angrier the adults around them become. They persist; they have no understanding of others beyond the self. They kick and yell and scream until they get attention and they don’t care if it is good attention or bad attention as long as they get some attention. Acknowledgement is all that matters. All his bad behaviour, so far removed from the character he was in season 7 of Buffy, highlights Spike’s position as Angels ‘son’ and his symbolic significance to Angel. But nobody, especially not Angel, is paying attention; Team Angel is preoccupied with dog-girl.

The girl in question, Nina, is in fact experiencing a substantial increase in sense perception. She has a sister who is concerned, and a niece, Amanda who loves her. They are a family yet she imagines slashing their throats. They are in danger from her. 

Back at Wolfram and Hart it is all go, go, go. They are pulling out all stops to find this girl. Spike is kind of right when he observes that they are making a big fuss over one girl. But this is what they do (This is what they did? What are they doing here again?) At least they are working together, solving the problem, together, like a family. But they are ignoring the ‘child’ closer to home. ‘Daddy’ just wants him gone.

At Nina’s, the moon is about to rise. She can feel the change coming, she knows it instinctually. She’s about to get dangerous. She tries to lock herself away, keep her niece safe, but the beast is too strong. Luckily Angel turns up to save the day. That’s what he does.  He takes her to a safe place and explains what she is, tells her not to give up hope. It’s all about control. 

Angel and Spike take quite different views of the Nina situation. Angel believes they can help, that she can control the monster and learn to adapt. Spike thinks it’s inevitable that the nature of the monster will win, at least once in a while then have to deal with the consequences when she’s in non-beastly form. They seem to be taking each other's arguments here - Spike is the master adaptor who is in complete control of his inner demon. Angel is the one, who faces the daily challenge of control, whose monstrous nature escapes periodically and who suffers with crippling guilt. It shows us that they have more admiration for each other than they’d care to admit.  Another interesting contrast is their attitudes to humanity as a whole. Spike cares about who he cares about. Those people are few and far between but these few are the recipients of generous love, selfless consideration and undeniable loyalty. His love for humanity is less well-developed; he has only had the soul back for about a year and in actuality, he mirrors the way most people operate. Angel’s love of humanity is more well-practiced. He helps the helpless, that’s what he does. He’s got to do it, to reconnect to humanity. That’s his mission. But is this love genuine or part and parcel of the job? At this point I don’t think even Angel knows. One thing for certain is that Angel loved Connor more than anything and was prepared to tamper with his friend’s minds in order to give him a normal life. Spike’s later day mentor taught him that you can’t beat evil by doing evil. She had the chip removed from his brain to prove it. It's a bit of a shame Angel never had the same instruction. 

Some take the view that Spike has always been motivated purely by selfishness and self-interest and that’s why he acts the way he does in this episode. But this is marginalising all character development that he went through prior to moving to LA, and the fact that in this scenario Spike is scared and worried about what’s going to happen to him. He has a right to be; He’s being sucked into Hell. He sees this girl, this stranger, getting the full force of Angel Investigations, while he, with all his connections to Angel, gets nothing. Of course it doesn’t help his cause that he keeps his problem a secret. A family can’t help if they don’t know there’s a problem in the first place. Fred knows, but she’s too worried about incurring ‘Daddy’s’ wrath if she pays any attention to the black sheep of the family, especially when he needs her working on something else.  

Angel takes the fact that Nina was bitten very personally, despite the fact that the event was out of his control. Lorne likens him to Atlas, carrying the weight of the heavens on his shoulders. Angel and Atlas have a few things in common…both labour under the weight of spiritual burden, both are punished for fighting the ‘gods’. Atlas lost outright; Zeus singled him out for punishment, by making him carry the heavens on his shoulders. And Angel? Well, we’ve already been shown that his ‘reward’ of the Los Angeles Branch of Wolfram and Hart is not all it’s cracked up to be and is in fact a sentence, a burden to be endured. In an interesting side note, another legend tells that the great hero Perseus asked Atlas for a place to stay, but Atlas refused. In response, Perseus showed Atlas the head of Medusa, which turned him to the stone that is now known as Mount Atlas. Angel, it must be noted has been less than hospitable to Spike and, in coming episodes, he does get metaphorically frozen by the possibility that Spike might be the fabled “vampire with a soul”, and not him.  Funnily enough, the story of Perseus was retold under the name ‘The Terrible Head’ in a collection of stories entitled Blue Fairy Book, published in 1898 (coincidentally, the same year Angel was cursed with his soul).  The Blue Fairy has significance in the story of Pinocchio when she turns the marionette into a real boy. To be a ‘real boy’ is the promise of the Shanshu prophecy regarding the vampire with a soul . . . but which vampire with a soul? There are two now. . .  

Anyway, back to the story…Lorne also blames Spike's sudden appearance on their first day at Wolfram and Hart as the reason that Angel’s lost his jolly. But that’s not the real reason, Spike’s just the distraction! Angel’s not a happy rancher, not because Spike is there but because Cordelia and Connor are not. Spike’s presence merely reminds him of that. But he can’t tell that to Lorne, or the others because then they’ll say ‘Connor who?’ and he’ll have to admit that he took away their memories, that he violated their trust and that this is the way he treats his family, who he supposedly loves. It’s easier to blame Spike.

At Nina’s house her sister is furious and worried. She cares. She wants to help. That’s what family does. It gets angry, but it still cares, still loves. But Nina, like Spike, is scared too. Ashamed of what she is, scared she’ll hurt someone, especially her sister or Amanda. She can’t explain it to them, not yet. She won’t tell. She’s too fearful of their reaction. On their way back to Wolfram and Hart, Nina gets abducted. Someone wants Nina and someone in Wolfram and Hart let it happen.  The team works out that Nina is wanted by a group of gastronomists who want to dine on werewolf flesh. Apparently it’ll be exquisite served with a drizzle of white truffle oil. Trouble is, to maintain the delicacy she has to be consumed while still alive. The team activates: the rescue mission is on. Got to save the girl, help the helpless. During the rescue, the Wolfram and Hart mole, Dr. Royce gets bitten by Nina. He's threatened with abandonment to the hungry hoards, but in the last act it's revealed that they have indeed found a measure of mercy. Perhaps there's hope for Spike yet?

Spike is back in Fred’s office. He’s very transparent. He’s quiet and subdued – well, a day of tantrums will tire you out eventually. Fred promises to help him and instantly he becomes less translucent and says like an endearingly cheeky brat, ‘no need to get dramatic’, repeating the words she’d used to him so dismissively earlier in the episode. Is this return to opaqueness subtle manipulation or the result of her belief and attention? Perhaps, it’s a bit of both. He’s happier now, he’s calmer. He’s got some attention and he’s satisfied. 

Angel takes Nina home and Angel gives us a touching indication that he misses being a father, misses Connor when he offers his refrigerator door as space to display Amanda’s artwork. They discuss the importance of her accepting what she is, dealing with it, not letting it rule her life and most importantly, not letting it separate her from her family. Family are the anchor that keeps you attached to humanity:

Angel: Look, if you separate yourself from the ones you love, the monster wins. 

So does that mean his inner monster has won? He’s been separated from Connor and Cordelia. Doesn’t that mean the monster has won? But that was different, that was part of a deal to save them. That’s completely different. . . Isn’t it?

The episode closes with another family dinner with Chinese food. This time it is not outside, but inside, in Angel’s penthouse apartment, his sanctuary, no less. He gathers his ‘demon-hunting, helpless-helping, dysfunctional family’ in close. The monsters are not going to get this one. They look out of the window, trying to see the Hyperion Hotel, their old ‘home’, the place where they knew who they were, trying to find something familiar in this foreign world, looking for reassurance. But they find reassurance looking at each other, trusting in each other. It’s nicely wrapped up. The family is reunited, gone is suspicion and mistrust from earlier. They know that when they work together they’ll win the day. It’s all about family. 

Except…

Spike; his absence is glaringly obvious.  He’s plainly not part of this family. He is absent from all the exclusive ‘family’ scenes, just like Connor. And it's not that Angel is particularly vengeful or malicious. It’s just that the wrong son has moved in and this ‘son’ makes him uncomfortable. This ‘son’ has faced the demon inside and won, he asked for the soul, he’s a unified whole. He’s done everything that Angel has, got the soul, made the comeback from the ‘dead’, loved the girl, saved the world. If he says that Spike’s not special then doesn’t that mean that maybe, Angel’s not so special either? Spike makes him uncomfortable. Spike raises awkward possibilities, just as he’s always done. 

Up next: 5.4 - Hellbound

[myreia]

From @fourteenthz !!

For the fic writer ask game: 1, 18 and 24!! (That last one is for me 👉👈 going through the horrors rn)

Thanks, Kelly! 💖

01. The last sentence you wrote

Minfilia stands a few feet away, eyes bright, smile soft, blonde hair glowing in the solar’s warm light. For the leader of a covert organization, she is not what Aureia expected. She thought she would be meeting a hardened veteran, grounded and devoid of the usual idealistic nonsense, with a keen understanding of the difference between lofty aspirations and harsh reality. The kind of person prepared to do whatever it took to see their goals realized. A spymaster or a soldier or a general.

Not a woman younger than herself who wears her heart on her sleeve.

(sorry that is most definitely not a single sentence sdfsdfs 😂)

18. If you keep them, share a deleted sentence or paragraph from a published fic

I couldn't find anything from my published ffxiv stuff since it's either been overwritten or incorporated elsewhere, but this is a bit I cut from a post-5.3. shb wip since I changed my mind about some details:

She has a tradition now to make her rounds of welcome as soon as she arrives. Today, this includes Lyna, Cylva, Beq Lugg, and Moren, too, though she does not stay for long. The headache is making her nauseous. As Ryne is not in the Hortorium, she leaves a message for her before retiring to her inn room.  

24. How do you recharge when you’re not feeling creative?

Ahh burn out. 😭 I write for work, so this is something that I struggle with a fair bit since work doesn't wait for me to have a break and catch up.

Right now, I try to get at least 100 words written every day. It doesn't matter the quality, it doesn't matter what fic I'm working on, just 100 words of something. Writing is like a muscle; you need to work it to keep it in shape. The longer a break you take, the harder it will be to get back into it. Building it as a habit helps me maintain it in the long term.

But re-charging is still important. If I feel stuck or worn out from the thing I'm working on, I try to be creative in other ways (right now that's music! I play piano and clarinet, and it's been so nice getting back into that). Relaxing with a book or TV show or video game is good, too--sometimes you need to get swept up in another story for you to come back to your own.

Good luck with the horrors! 😭💖

✍️ fanfic asks

[trans-estinien]

So I may have written a 2900+ word "summary" of Eleutherios' lore. It's not finished as I only made it to the start of the Dark Knight quests post 5.3

If you're interested you can read it here 🥺

[sailtomarina]

A Promise to Keep

hermione x antonin | cw: brief references to sex

As one of Neville Longbottom’s oldest friends and a fervent supporter of his aspirations to open his own greenhouse, Hermione made sure she stood at the front of the line for the soft opening.

Nevermind that she was only one of a handful of people who’d gotten up at the crack of dawn.

Nor that one of them was only there because she’d dragged him along with her for moral support.

“We could still be in bed, right now, dusha moya.”

Hermione had to stifle the laugh that threatened to bubble up her throat. It was a near thing, particularly with the way her lover hugged her possessively from behind to growl the words into her ear. The bristles of his beard tickled the sensitive skin; images and memories of that same cheek brushing up her inner thighs, pressing against her intimates until she lay in a panting, sweaty mess.

“We can always take a midday rest, Antonin.”

His approval was instantaneous, a tightening of his arms and an uptick in volume. “Promise me.”

She twisted her head up to catch his eyes. Her favourite shades of blue–dark enough to be considered navy, but brightening to a close azure when something caught his interest. His lashes were as thick as the rest of his hair, the complete look at times soulful, and, at others forbidding. When magic crackled in his veins, he had the appearance of a god of war seeking blood payment.

Payment Hermione was more than willing to give these days.

“Must you always be so dramatic?” She chose to tease him instead of giving him what he wanted.

She did so like to make him work for it. For her.

One hand inched up to rest against the hollow of her throat. Equal parts threat and possession, enough to make her legs tremble in sudden weakness.

“For you? Always. Promise me.”

“Only if you help me plant the hanging baskets first.”

He frowned, as if that would intimidate her. “Dusha moya....”

It was at that moment that the doors swung open, revealing a familiar wizard decked out in an apron and gloves.

“Witches and wizards, friends and friends-to-be, The Grove is now open for business.” Neville stepped to the side and swept his arm in a welcoming gesture.

Rather than take him up on the offer, Hermione threw her arms around the man in a full-bodied hug.

“Neville! Oh my god, I’m so proud of you! Congratulations!”

“My love, let the man breathe–”

“Neville doesn’t mind, do you, Neville?”

“He can’t speak with how you’re choking him–”

“I am not choking him. He’s too tall for me to choke him–”

A loud laugh shut them both up, then a gloved arm darted out to grab her unsuspecting lover by the collar and drag him into the embrace.

“Hermione, Antonin, thank you for coming.” Neville was all warmth as he smiled at them both. He didn’t look put out at the least when the other wizard stepped back with a cough and proceeded to smooth his rumpled top.

Hermione kept one arm wrapped around her former housemate as she stuck her tongue out at the love of her life, earning her a glare. 

He could be so cute.

“We wouldn’t have missed it for anything, Nev.”

“And that’s why you get your pick of anything you want. My treat.”

She found herself hauled straight out of one man’s arms into another as Antonin pulled her past the doorway and into the awaiting greenery.

“I’m going to pick the rarest, most expensive flower that sappy zhopa has in his possession,” he muttered.

Hermione knew, just as well as he, that he would do no such thing. He respected Neville too much, even if he’d never say it more than the one time.

“Of course, my love.”

“I mean it.”

While Antonin did end up finding one of Neville’s rarer varieties, her friend did not go back on his offer, nor did his cheerfulness waver. They left with an entire cart’s worth of annuals that Hermione intended to plant in their baskets and window sills before lunch.

She had a promise to keep, after all, and a man to take to bed.

702 wc

Cross-posted on FB, Tumblr, and AO3 (MarinaJune)

Written for the FB Dolohoe’s 5.3.2024 prompt: Flower

Sheesh, May is chock-full of flowers, isn’t it? I hope my readers don’t mind the profusion of blossoms overflowing my writing these days. But hey, that’s part of the season, isn’t it?

Russian translations: dusha moya - "my soul", intimate but casual term of endearment zhopa - "arse", originally an insult, but gradually became more playful/endearing

[sandorara]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love❤

Oh, this is so nice! And incredibly difficult, which has made me feel nice. Can you believe I have so many works I'm still pleased with that it was difficult to choose? What a pleasant feeling.

Anyway, in chronological order of posting, starting from the most recent. I've decided not to choose unfinished ones or co-authored pieces, so we're going decently far back right from the start.

1. See you in Eorzea - Yizhan & FF14, 69k, E I (M 28) picked up someone (M 2x) in a video game and I think they might be famous. Please advise.

Famous/non-famous MMORPG AU, meet cute in Sastasha. My longest work ever when I wrote it, and it was completed before posting anything. Still really happy with it, and, Yoshi-p should pay me royalties for how many converts it's created. I'm confident you do not need to know yizhan to enjoy it, if you would like to give it a try 💕

2. For the future you (the one without me) - Yizhan, 6.4k, T “Why Singapore?,” she’d asked him once, and he’d not known how to answer. An exploration of what may lie outside the few minutes the Vogue Film offered.

Inspired by a Vogue shortfilm Wang Yibo starred in, link to it can be found in the a/n of the fic. 9 minutes, very aesthetically worth it. I'm really happy with the atmosphere of this work, and I feel like it's very representative of my shorter, fleetier, ever bittersweet style. Am proud still. 🥺

3. Written, never said - cql - lwj & mianmian, wangxian, 6.6k, G ”I have a letter to deliver to young lady Luo Qingyang. It has arrived from Gusu today, with the quickest delivery.”

Thirteen years of correspondence, understanding and friendship.

My Mianmian and LWJ friendship agenda. Epistolary fic covering the years of WWX's death through Mianmian's eyes on the letters she receives and writes. I'm still happy with how this one conveys what I wanted to say. I'm pleased with it stylistically. And they deserved that friendship, IT WAS THERE, OK.

4. Sensations - ffxiv - wolexarch, 4.7k E ”Make it hurt, please,” he’d finally whispered, as each day, more of his body was being eaten away by the crystal, leaving him missing touch in places he did not know he’d wanted it.

A stand-alone AU within my wolfic series in which G'raha's crystallisation speeds up after the events of 5.0 and the completion of his mission. and with it comes loss of sensation. This one came to be when my dear friend @draiochteve prompted me to write "soft knifeplay". I love the bittersweet desperation and love I managed to convey in this one, and, I just want you to take note of the publication date: This was posted exactly a year before the release of patch 5.3. 😌

5. Nothing more than a willing substitute - ffxiv, asahi/zenos, 4.3k, E He would do anything to please his beloved Prince.

Oldest one here and I will admit I'm impressed that I still think it's worthy of this list, five years later. One of my first 14 fics, and definitely the most wretched thing I had ever written at the time. Mayhap one may call it my descent into the filth-pit. Asahi just made me feral, and it worked out. My dear gf @g0g0mi just desrcibed this one as "iconic", so. Unrecruited obsession love, swordplay, bondage, choking... there are things. IDK. My brand started here, OK. And, I think it still holds up. 😎

Thank you for letting me do this, it was quite the mood-boost! Will pass it on. 😊

[therovingstar]

Illustrious

Summary: When everyone lowkey wants to be your favorite. Chill fun with the OG Scions, set sometime post-5.3, I reckon. ~1600 words.

She should have known to stay away when she entered the Rising Stones only for every eye in the room to immediately find her. Odzaya resists a reflexive pause in her step and continues on her way to the bar, where Lucianne greets her with a tellingly amused smile and her usual cup of tea. “Should I be alarmed?” she asks, just loud enough for the bartender to catch, as she accepts the earthenware mug with a scaled hand and appreciative nod.

“Depends on your answer,” Lucianne cryptically replies, and lifts an encouraging eyebrow before scooting her way back down the counter with a chuckle.

Not promising. With a silent, preparatory sigh, Odzaya turns from the counter and, pointedly ignoring the half-dozen stares that follow, makes her way to one of the sitting area’s armchairs.

Before she has taken her first sip or even fully sat her rear into her seat, Lyse is in her sights, and practically in her face.

“Who got you to join the Scions?” she asks without preamble, hands planted on her red-clad hips as she stands before her.

Odzaya lifts a thick violet brow, just barely seen beneath locced bangs. “Good to see you, Lyse. How is Ala Mhigo’s restoration progressing?”

“Slowly but in a good direction. It’s annoying work sometimes but worth it. Raubahn and M’naago say ‘hi’. Who got you to join the Scions?” The first three statements fly nearly over her head, quick in succession as they come. The fourth – clearly considered by the monk to be the most important – is slowed just enough to register.

“Context?” Odzaya asks simply, eyebrow rising higher.

“Thancred says it was him,” Lyse vaguely clarifies. “But whoever of us you met first gave you the invitation, yeah? Between Thancred, Shtola, and Papalymo and me, it was us, right? It’s practically on record.”

Is it? Before she can ask, Thancred speaks up from his position leaning against Tataru’s desk.

“There is no record, Lyse. Just your word, which is wrong.” He tips his chin toward Odzaya with a small grin. “Welcome back, love.”

“Mm,” she sounds in acknowledgment as she settles back against the cushions and brings her mug to her lips, just as Lyse continues.

“Well, maybe not on written record,” the blonde amends, turning to the older man. “But it might as well be. We met her while investigating the Twelveswood, remember? Gave her her invitation to the Waking Sands after she helped us out. That’s how she got there.”

Thancred lets out an incredulous laugh. “Before or after you knocked your block and imagined it?”

“What?!”

“They’ve been arguing about it for near a bell, now.” Odzaya looks up to see Y’shtola planting herself at the nearby table, gaze narrowed in what can only be perceived as fond exasperation. “Lyse refuses to let it go.”

“Because I’m right!” the young woman insists.

“Meaning wrong.”

“Shut up, Thancred!”

“How did this begin?” Odzaya asks in a rare – and usually regretted – indulgence of curiosity.

“Fond reminiscence,” Urianger supplies, amusement writ clear on his face. “Knowledge of thy visit to the Sylphs prompted Lyse to recall your first fateful meeting ‘neath the great boughs of the Elementals’ domain.”

“You were practicing your conjury, remember?” Lyse takes over. “Saved Papalymo from getting nearly plucked up off the ground by a buzzard.”

“There’s some hilarious imagery,” Thancred comments.

Odzaya nods. “In the Central Shroud, near Bentbranch. I recall.” Though she was not so much practicing her conjury as ensuring the young Sylphie did not kill herself practicing hers.

“See?!” Lyse exclaims, aiming the declaration at Thancred. The older man graces her with a smirk.

“Odzaya’s memory is not the one we are calling into question. She would also recall our own first meeting underneath the Sultantree, yes?” He meets her gaze expectantly.

Odzaya takes her time enjoying a long draught of tea before agreeing. “We defeated a voidsent.”

“And in so doing rescued the Sultana,” he adds, his smirk widening at Lyse as if to brag. She sniffs at him.

“As if that’s relevant.”

“Of course it is. How else than through such a serendipitous partnership would she have been convinced to join us at the Waking Sands? Which, for the proverbial record, is located in the very region I monitored?”

“Proximity doesn’t mean anything! Zaya showed up in the Shroud long before she ever made it to you out there in the desert!” The monk turns back to Odzaya. “Right?”

“Mm...” the other woman begins, happily distracted by the taste of nutmeg and heavy cream on her tongue.

“Ha!” Lyse exclaims, taking the monotone intonation for confirmation as she whips herself around to Thancred, only...

“No,” the woman finishes.

...to whip right on back around in a near-complete circle, her expression plummeting in surprise. “Huh? No?”

“Ha,” Thancred mocks. Lyse shoots him a barbed look.

“I did reach Thanalan first,” Odzaya corrects, circling a clawed finger around the mug’s rim before bringing the residue she finds to her mouth. “By boat, coming from Kugane. I met Thancred soon after, and not long after that he gave me the name of the Scions and invited me to the Waking Sands.”

“But you never mentioned him when you met Papalymo and me!” Lyse questions. Odzaya briefly lifts a shoulder.

“I cared not for the invitation, nor the thought of involvement in an organization.” She spares a glance in Thancred’s direction. “Nor the not-so-subtle flirtations of a random rogue I met beneath a tree in the desert. I chose to forget the encounter occurred.”

“Are you serious?” the man questions with an incredulous grin. Odzaya grants him a small, teasing smirk, and he loudly chuckles. “Well, damn. Consider me effectively humbled.”

“Guess that extends to both of us.” With a slight pout, Lyse plops herself on the arm of Odzaya’s chair, the long red silk of her sleeve draping itself over Odzaya’s lap. “If you were looking to avoid joining any groups, I can only assume that means Papalymo and I didn’t convince you, either.”

“No,” Odzaya confirms, her smirk widening when Lyse answers her bluntness by wriggling herself partially into her seat, only to settle for the chair’s arm when the spikes of her friend’s curled tail promise something decidedly different from comfort.

“Well, if we failed to convince you, how’d you end up joining?”

Reflexively, Odzaya glances over her mug’s rim, sunset eyes finding their way across the table, only to meet Y’shtola’s own misty gray gaze.

Urianger catches the subtle exchange, and his delight is obvious. “And the sorceress strikes once more,” he dramatically intonates. Lyse whips her head around for what seems the umpteenth time.

“Shtola?!”

The scholar in question merely lounges further into her own seat, her own cup of tea in hand. She takes a leisurely sip, and the subsequent clink of the porcelain on the accompanying saucer seems to sound her answer better than words.

“Why do I feel like we should have known?” Thancred comments with an amused shrug.

“But that’s not fair!” Lyse exclaims, eyeing Odzaya. “You were never in Limsa! Were you?”

“For a brief time, yes,” she corrects once more. It was her original destination after leaving Kugane, in fact, only for the small ship to be blown off course by an unforeseen storm. It found purchase instead in Thanalan, at the docks of the Silver Bazaar, from which she found her way to Ul’dah on foot.

An attempted guiding by higher powers, it may have been, the more she thinks on it. An annoyance, it most certainly was.

“Just long enough to capture the attentions of the local populace,” Y’shtola confirms. “The commercial link between Limsa and Kugane does make the citizenry more accustomed to foreigners. Nevertheless, a rather elaborately garbed Au Ra adorned with both blade and scepter set tongues wagging rather enthusiastically when she arrived via airship.”

“Unsurprising,” Thancred comments, a teasing wink already on hand when Odzaya briefly meets his gaze.

“I shall enjoy my respite in peace now, yes?” she inquires of Lyse, the question just short of sarcastic as she makes a point of raising her mug back to her lips. The monk releases a final, resigned gust of air and theatrically drapes herself along the armchair’s back, her blonde head alighting upon Odzaya’s shoulder.

“I suppose,” she says, a pout pulling at her voice as well as at the bow of her lips. “Still think it’s cheating,” she mutters.

“Simply be glad our illustrious friend found her way into our midst, dear Lyse,” Urianger soothes. “Twas a united effort, one could say, for our prayers to be answered as they were.”

Just then, the din of Mor Dhona’s marketplace heralds the opening of the Rising Stone’s doors. A familiar sight soon follows: an enthusiastically arguing Alisaie, her arms a tangle of emphatic gestures, and a calmly protesting Alphinaud, at whom said gestures are aimed. The former only pauses in her tirade when she catches sight of Lyse’s figure and, apparently more importantly, the high-pinned fall of Odzaya’s locs partially obscured behind it. “Aha!” she exclaims. “Zaya will clear this up!” And against her brother’s protestations, she makes a beeline for them. “Zaya! Who do you rely on most amongst the Scions?”

Once more, the Warrior of Light lowers her mug, her expression characteristically neutral but for the slightest pinched purse to her lips. “And soon to find my way back out,” she quietly declares.

[hallowed-nebulae]

3 for the fanfic ask game!

from this ask game

3: What’s a fic idea that you have but haven’t written yet?

oh i have SO MANY loose fic ideas (curse of an active imagination). i will say that the current one i've been rotating in my head is a ffxiv fic that details an incident mentioned in 5.3. specifically, that time the crystal exarch apparently used a salmon fillet as a letter opener. i think it'd be a fun little scene to write, maybe use it as a character study for lyna and the exarch's relationship, maybe use it as an excuse to write some family fluff, something like that.

alternately: i sort of came up with an au with a friend or two, where alphinaud and alisaie (from ffxiv) somehow ended up in daybreak town (kh) and got dragged into all that politics with the unions and all the tension and such. the two of them would absolutely not vibe with the unions i think, ahaha, and since that au would have them be from either post-5.0 or post-5.3 (the shadowbringers character development it important), they'd not take too kindly to the insistence over being rid of all darkness. especially considering they'd Just seen the damage that Only Light can do, over in norvrandt. it'd probably be a bigger fic but i do want to write it some day, it'd be fun

[emeritus-fuckers]

Hello! I saw match ups event was open and I decided to shoot my shot.

1. I'm a cis woman and bi in both sexual and romantic way.

2. Papas and sister Imperator.

3. I often change my hair color, but right now I have brown straight hair with blond/white bangs. I also have green eyes color and my skin is ghostly pale (no matter how many hours I'll spend on the sun - I'll get burned and nothing will happen lol). I'm also 5.3 (163 cm) and have multiple tattoos.

4. I like to think Im pretty funny. I have soft spot for animals I love my cat even If he doesnt love me back (I saved your life goddammit, you could at least pretend ;-;). I don't have many close friends, but those who are around me are my whole world. Im also extremely loyal and introverted. When it comes to romantic relationship, Im usually laid back and flirty, but It'd take time for me to really get involved.

5. I like watching films, especially thrillers, but in addition to enjoying creppy things, I also have an artistic side. I like to draw, making DIY presents if there's ocassions and I recently got into cosplay (Simon "Ghost" Riley is on my list, kisses to cod fans 👀) and I love playing video games.

6. English isn't my 1st language, so sorry in advance for any mistakes and sorry I'm anon but I have social anxiety.

Also I just wanted to say, congratulations on the milestone! Even though I've been your follower for a short time, you seem to be great people <3

This post is part of the 1000 followers match up event. Entries for the event are now closed.

Your match is...Old Sister Imperator

She values how loyal you are. Loyalty is something she sees as being a very important trait to have.

She loves watching films! This is something you two bond over.

As soon as he finds out you enjoy thrillers, she shows you her walk in closet with her giant film collection. There is a section just for thrillers. Each date night you take turns in choosing a film.

She’s an expert in films. She will pause it to tell you about any technical issues, Easter eggs and so on.

These pauses can be quite long. Long enough to forget what was happening in the film. You often snuggle up to her while watching a film and during these pauses you sometimes let your eyes close. She wake you up with kisses and ask if you want to save the film for another night?

You often make her gifts. She loves these gifts so much. She loves the thing itself but what is more special to her is all the effort you put in just to make it for her.

If it’s a really sunny day she will insist you wear suncream because she doesn’t want you to burn. She’s concerned of the damage and pain it can cause you. But also because she thinks you are beautiful just the way you are.

She’s really understanding and supportive of your social anxiety.

She’s also happy to help with your cosplay outfits. You’d be surprised what she can find around the ministry and what she has in her office.

~

Written by Nyx

[starsandauras]

FFXIVWrite 2022 Master Post!

I said I’d do one!

Cross (Spoilery for 5.2)

Bolt (Streamer AU!)

Temper (Spoilers for 5.5)

Brothers (Free Day)

Cutting Corners (Streamer AU!)

Onerous  (No notes)

Pawn (Pre-ARR, heed warnings)

Tepid (No notes)

Yawn (No notes)

Channel (Streamer AU!)

Sisters (Free Day)

Miss the Boat (Streamer AU! Apparently)

Confluence (Pre-ARR PLEASE HEED THE WARNINGS HERE IF NOWHERE ELSE)

Attrition (No notes)

Row (No notes)

Deiform (No notes)

Novel (No notes)

Mothers (Free Day, Spoilers for 6.0)

Turn a Blind Eye (Spoilers up to 5.3)

Anon (No notes)

Solution (Spoilers for 6.0)

Veracity (For the Dancing and the Dreaming AU, Spoilers up to 3.5 to be safe)

Pitch (Streamer AU! Featuring cameos from Persona 5 and FFXV)

Vicissitudes (No notes)

Fathers (Free Day, Spoilers up to 6.0)

Break a Leg (Streamer AU!)

Hail (No notes)

Vainglory (Spoilers for 6.0)

Fuse (No notes)

Sojourn (Spoilers for 6.0 in the vaguest of ways)

And I guess I’ll do some thinky thoughts under the cut, and keep an eye out on AO3 for the October Edits, under Listen to the Turning Tide!

So! Six years! And still haven’t missed a day! It’s an amazing thing, isn’t it? And I even did it after moving to full time at work! (Y’ALL I GOT OUT OF THAT FUCKING DELI IT’S SO GREAT) I look forward to this every year, and honestly it’s rather the highlight of my year. I write all kinds of things and I get to see what everyone else has written and find new people, and I learn new things about my own characters! I get the chance to practice with characters I’m not used to, test things out before I incorporate them into the main universe, and maybe next year I’ll actually be brave enough to try Y’shtola!

I was thinking of doing stats, but that’s a bit more granular than I really want to do, I think. Maybe I’ll do one with the pre and post October Edit numbers instead. Until then, love you all, you all did amazing!

[awryen-nyx]

RE: Last Reblog on G'raha

Ok. It's no, uh..secret that I am just not a catboi fan.

I find him too simpy to a point that comes across a little creepy, but not in a fun way. And a lot of that reason is because he's our friend/colleague/forced to be a part of our group, so we *have* to interact with him.

But that last post? Ngl, if he'd been written to be more sinister and really lean into that in ShB, and it carried over in his memories for THIS timeline G'raha?

I might actually like him more.

Give us more Yandere vibed characters that work with the WoL, SE!!

(i don't have types, nope, what do you mean?)

I mean...ffs, I love Zenos, and he's like...kinda on a similar wavelength as far as simpyness...just on the other end of the spectrum. Or something. :V

And goodness knows, I'm a fucking Emet simp.

I dunno.

I guess, for me, it's because characters like Emet-Selch and Zenos are just that way out and out. Like, their kinda stalkiness was very upfront and not couched in UWU style simpiness that post 5.3 G'raha tends to have.

Like, Emet straight up tells everyone he's an observer. He's almost always watching.

But Ardbert is the one that tells you the Exarch can (and has) easily spied on you.

That kinda thing is skeevy on a level for me that makes me not like the character, but also...had it just been baked into him after that admission, I might have to come to like the catboi.

Because I like me some problématique blorbos~

[captainmdhridoyhossain-blog]

[ad_1] Developing Effective Reading Strategies: Enhancing Comprehension and Analysis HTML Headings: 1. Introduction 2. Understanding the Importance of Effective Reading Strategies 3. Types of Reading Strategies 4. Pre-Reading Strategies 4.1 Previewing the Text 4.2 Activating Prior Knowledge 4.3 Setting Reading Goals 5. During-Reading Strategies 5.1 Annotating Texts 5.2 Previewing Text Features 5.3 Chunking Information 6. Post-Reading Strategies 6.1 Summarizing the Text 6.2 Reflecting on the Text 6.3 Synthesizing Information 7. The Role of Vocabulary in Reading Comprehension 8. Incorporating Analytical Thinking Skills 9. Overcoming Reading Challenges 9.1 Reading Speed and Fluency 9.2 Comprehension Difficulties 9.3 Maintaining Focus and Concentration 10. Technology Tools for Enhancing Reading Strategies 11. FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) Introduction: Reading is an essential skill that empowers individuals to gather information, develop critical thinking, and expand their knowledge. However, merely scanning text is not enough; to truly comprehend and analyze what you read, it is crucial to develop effective reading strategies. In this comprehensive guide, we will explore various strategies to enhance reading comprehension and analysis, enabling you to become a proficient reader. Understanding the Importance of Effective Reading Strategies: Effective reading strategies play a vital role in deciphering complex texts, extracting essential information, and developing a deep understanding of the subject matter. By employing appropriate strategies, readers can analyze texts more effectively, make connections, and derive meaning from the written material. Types of Reading Strategies: There are three main categories of reading strategies: pre-reading, during-reading, and post-reading. Each strategy serves a unique purpose and contributes to overall comprehension and analysis. Pre-Reading Strategies: Pre-reading strategies set the stage for effective comprehension. This section delves into essential techniques such as previewing the text, activating prior knowledge, and setting reading goals. By employing these strategies, readers can gain insight into the text, establish a purpose for reading, and activate their existing knowledge on the topic. During-Reading Strategies: During-reading strategies help readers engage with the text while reading. Annotating texts, previewing text features, and chunking information are examples of effective techniques to enhance comprehension and analysis. These strategies promote active reading by highlighting key points, making connections, and comprehending information in manageable portions. Post-Reading Strategies: Post-reading strategies are employed after completing the reading process. Summarizing the text, reflecting on the material, and synthesizing information are powerful techniques for reinforcing comprehension and analysis. These strategies enable readers to recall essential points, evaluate their understanding, and extract meaningful insights from the text. The Role of Vocabulary in Reading Comprehension: A robust vocabulary is crucial for effective reading. This section explores techniques to develop vocabulary skills, such as using context clues, word mapping, and utilizing digital tools. By enhancing vocabulary, readers can comprehend texts more accurately, infer meanings, and fully engage with the content. Incorporating Analytical Thinking Skills: Analytical thinking skills facilitate deeper comprehension and critical analysis of texts. By employing techniques such as questioning, prediction, and inference, readers can delve into the underlying themes, evaluate arguments, and formulate well-supported opinions. This section provides strategies to develop and incorporate analytical thinking skills into your reading practice. Overcoming Reading Challenges: Reading can present various challenges, including speed and fluency, comprehension difficulties, and maintaining focus.

This section addresses these challenges and offers strategies to overcome them effectively. By improving reading speed, enhancing comprehension, and implementing focus-enhancing techniques, readers can overcome these obstacles and become more efficient readers. Technology Tools for Enhancing Reading Strategies: In today's digital age, technology offers numerous tools and resources to enhance reading strategies. This section explores the benefits of utilizing online platforms, mobile applications, and assistive technologies to improve reading comprehension, vocabulary acquisition, and overall reading efficiency. By harnessing these tools, readers can augment their skills and enjoy a more immersive reading experience. FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions): Q: Which reading strategies are most effective for improving comprehension? A: While there isn't a one-size-fits-all answer, employing a combination of pre-, during-, and post-reading strategies yields the best results. Experimenting with different techniques and tailoring them to your individual learning style can significantly enhance comprehension. Q: How can I improve my reading speed and fluency? A: Practicing speed reading techniques, such as minimizing subvocalization and eliminating regressions, can help improve reading speed and fluency. Additionally, expanding vocabulary and increasing exposure to various genres can enhance reading speed and comprehension. Q: What can I do to maintain focus and concentration while reading? A: Minimizing distractions, creating a conducive reading environment, and employing active reading techniques, such as annotating and asking questions, can help maintain focus and concentration. Regular breaks and time management strategies can also improve reading stamina. In conclusion, developing effective reading strategies is crucial for enhancing comprehension and analysis. By exploring various pre-, during-, and post-reading techniques, as well as incorporating analytical thinking skills, readers can navigate complex texts, extract essential information, and derive deeper meaning. Moreover, overcoming reading challenges and utilizing technology tools can foster efficient reading habits. Implementing these strategies will empower individuals to become proficient readers and expand their knowledge across various disciplines. [ad_2] #Developing #Effective #Reading #Strategies #Enhancing #Comprehension #Analysis