#enchanter lydia

[roberrtphilip]

Oh, when I'm with you, yeah, it all makes sense, never givin' up on our innocence, every single night's on fire when we're turnin' out the lights.

#robert philip #giselle philip #enchanted #enchantededit #robselle #robert x giselle #misc* #crazy how this song was written for them #also shoutout to lydia your edits inspired this :]

[nirikeehan]

internalised prejudice from bad things happen bingo for thalia?

Thank you!! This was a perfect prompt for some Ostwick Circle backstory exploration with Thalia. I had a blast with it.

For @badthingshappenbingo and @dadrunkwriting

WC: 2469

PS the lyrics that get referenced here are from Stolen Roses by Karen Elson.

---

The banging on the door shook Thalia from a dead sleep. “Mage Trevelyan! Open up.” 

She rolled over, opened bleary eyes. Her dormitory, its familiar slanted ceiling with the spiderweb crack in it, greeted her. “I’m coming,” she called, dragging herself from her narrow bed. The air was chilly, and she was only in the thin shift she wore to sleep, her hair hanging past her shoulders in wild tangles. 

I can’t let a Templar see me like this, she thought. She didn’t recognize the gruff voice muffled by the door, which worried her. If you knew which ones you were dealing with, you could adjust your behavior accordingly. Thalia had grown used to the regulars over the years: Jareth liked meek obedience; Stella let you get away with a bit of spunk; never let Wilfred find you alone, especially in a store room. 

She threw one of her clean robes on over her shift, grabbed the long mass of her hair and twisted it. She had no time to braid, and almost as little to secure it in a bun at the nape of her neck, but she would be damned if she let a Templar catch her with her hair down. The banging recommenced as she was pinning the last of it into place. She smoothed the frizzy bits behind her ears, fingers shaking.

Thalia marched to the door and threw it open. “Can I help you?” she asked in her best noblewoman voice. 

The Templar was one of the new ones. An additional retinue had been sent from the White Spire several months prior, supposedly to “shore up” the routine patrols. No one knew why exactly, but rumor claimed it had to do with some unpleasantness at another Circle in the Marches. The man who stood before her in full plate was tall; her eyes leveled on the flaming sword engraved into his chest. He had greasy brown hair flecked with grey, an aquiline nose, and a stony expression. 

“Took you long enough,” he growled, angling past her to see inside. 

“It’s barely dawn,” Thalia pointed out, trying not to sound annoyed. “I was asleep.” 

The Templar’s eyes narrowed, and his mouth tightened. Thalia waited for him to accuse her of lying. Kevan. That’s his name. Knight-Templar Kevan. 

“Knight-Captain Gerard wants to see you,” Kevan said, as if she hadn’t spoken at all. 

In her seven years at the Circle, she had never uttered a word to the Knight-Captain or his Commander, Faith. She was fairly certain neither of them even knew who she was, and she hoped to keep it that way. A chill went through her. “Why?” 

“Not for me to say.” Kevan stood aside, motioning her into the hallway. 

Stunned, Thalia stepped forward, only to remember she was barefoot. “Just a moment. I need to find my shoes.”

She hurried into the recesses of her room, making a show of searching for the slip-ons she already knew were under her bed. Her heart flitted against her ribcage like a frightened bird. Just be calm. Be calm.

After several deep breaths and wearing her shoes, she returned to Kevan. “All right, I’m ready.”

Without a word, he led her from the bedchamber, down the rounded corridor and to the long winding stair. Mage quarters were high up in the stone tower — to lower their chances of escape, her friend Willow had once quipped. Laboratories, classrooms and libraries were on lower levels, administrative offices lower still. Each landing they passed was accentuated by a sconce burnt down low due to the hour, and a tall, narrow window. The windows were wide enough to press one’s eye to, but not much else. Predawn light leaked in, and on each pass Thalia caught a glimpse of either the fog-laden forest or the calm grey sea, depending on their cardinal direction. 

They reached the floor belonging to the Templars, and Thalia wrung her hands while Kevan withdrew a key and unlocked the heavy wooden door. She had not been summoned to the Templar offices in years, not since she’d first arrived at the Circle. She had been sat down in a chair, had her finger pricked by a senior enchanter murmuring platitudes. Then came Knight-Templar Algernon with ink and needles, seizing her chin and turning her face this way and that, a calculation in his eyes that put a cold knot in her stomach.

She hadn’t seen Algernon on patrol in awhile, to her relief. She’d never quite been able to look him in the eye, afterward. 

She followed Kevan to the one doorway with lighted sconces. Kevan knocked lightly and cracked the door without waiting for an answer. “Knight-Captain Gerard, this is the next one.” 

Thalia stayed silent as she scurried in past the scowling Kevan, and bowed to the Knight-Captain in greeting. 

Gerard was an older man, perhaps in his middle fifties. Thalia knew little about him, except that he’d been born in Orlais and retained a slight accent. He’d been Knight-Captain when Thalia joined the Circle. At the time of the Blight, he’d given frequent speeches during assemblies about darkspawn safety. Her dorm mates Matilda and Crispin had mocked the man mercilessly afterward, exaggerating the lilt like players in a farce. It put many acolytes in stitches, but Thalia, whose tutors had drilled her for years on proper Orlesian pronunciation, found the japes rather cruel. 

She thought of this now, staring wide-eyed at the Knight-Captain as he sat behind his large mahogany desk. He was of stocky build — wide and strong and, rumor had it, capable with a sword despite his advanced age. He had a close-cropped greying beard, a shiny bald head, and skin pocked by an old illness. 

Not even fun to look at, Willow had complained once, during a holiday feast when all mages and Templars had sat to table together in the refectory. What’s even the point? 

“Good morning, Lady Thalia,” said Knight-Captain Gerard. Stoic, but not impolite. Thalia was not sure which surprised her more: that he knew her given name, or that he’d chosen to use her title. Most Templars didn’t know or cared that she was nobility; neither did most fellow mages, for that matter. “You must forgive us for summoning you at such an early hour. Please, have a seat.” 

“There’s nothing to forgive, ser,” Thalia said, falling back on remembered courtesies. She thought of following her previous bow to a curtsy, to prove she was a proper lady, but worried that might seem like overkill. She sat down as daintily as she could. “I’m certain you must have good reason.” 

“We do, I’m afraid.” Gerard’s mouth hardened into a line. “Senior Enchanter Lydia is dead.” 

Thalia gaped. “You’re kidding.” 

“I can only assure you we would not joke about something this serious, my lady.” 

She pressed a hand to her forehead, lightheaded. One of the most important mages in the Circle tower, dead? Thalia had not known Lydia well, had never worked with her personally. But like all the other senior enchanters, Lydia’s reputation preceded her. She was certainly not very old — not even so old as the Knight-Captain. Thalia clutched the fabric of her robe in both hands.

“How? Why?” 

“We’re hoping you can help us with that.” Gerard watched her with a flinty gaze. 

A chill settled over Thalia, along with comprehension. “She was murdered, wasn’t she?” 

Gerard cocked his head. “What makes you think so?” 

“Pardon my impudence, Knight-Captain,” Thalia said, “but the Templars wouldn’t be summoning mages in the pre-dawn hours for questioning if you thought it was an accident.” She swallowed hard. “Or natural causes.” 

“You’re a clever girl, Lady Thalia.” Gerard stood, his plate mail clinking as he moved to a nearby bookshelf and withdrew a volume of parchment bound in vellum. Thalia caught a glimpse of her surname written on the cover in careful script. Gerard flipped open the file, squinted as he strolled toward Thalia’s chair. “Always studious, it says here. Dedicated to your lessons. Very few incidents of…” He turned a page. “Insubordination.” 

“Insubordination?” Thalia felt her palms begin to sweat. 

“Mm. All mages have some, it seems.” He waved a dismissive hand, eyes on the file. “It’s all right, never met one who hadn’t had an instance or two. Ah.” He looked up, poking the page with his finger. “9:32 Dragon. You led some of your fellow apprentices in singing subversivesongs.” 

Thalia’s cheeks grew hot. She’d forgotten entirely about the incident in question. “That was six years ago.” 

Some of the younger children had expressed in an interest in the piano that usually sat silent and unused in a common room. Thalia had sat down and, terribly rusty, played the first song that came to mind: an old Free Marcher ballad about loss and longing. 

The thorns on the roses cut through my skin The vultures flew down and then pecked  What lay on the surface was a tiny crack And below was a gigantic wreck 

So I held my head down and I dealt with the blows In hope that I’d soon be free  to go where the stolen roses grow to forget all the bad memories. 

A passing Templar — Jareth, he always seemed to find her in those early days — had overheard and thought her choice of song nefarious. An official reprimand followed, and no more music during their free hours for six months for all the acolytes in her section. Oh, cheer up, Willow chirped when Thalia lifted her tear-stained face from the pillow, we all know that Jareth’s a cunt. I bet it’s ‘cause he likes you and can’t handle it, so he has to ruin everyone’s fun. 

“Indeed,” Knight-Captain Gerard said. “And at times, some of those rebellious feelings, shall we say… fester?” 

Horrified, Thalia shook her head. “Nothing festered. I swear it. I’ve never even touched the piano since!” 

Gerard’s mouth twitched, and he closed the file. He drew himself up to his considerable height and watched her in silence.

“What does this have to do with Senior Enchanter Lydia?” Thalia worried protesting might anger him, but risked it anyway. If he thinks me guilty of something, I deserve to know why. “I barely even knew her, but I didn’t wish her any harm. I don’t see how a song I sang half a decade ago says otherwise.” 

Gerard pursed his lips, then sighed. He strode to the bookshelf and replaced the vellum tome upon its shelf. He lingered there, trailed his hand along the procession of spines. 

“Lady Thalia,” he said carefully, “here at Ostwick we pride ourselves on fostering a peaceful environment for our mages to hone and practice their craft. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for other Circles throughout Thedas.” 

“What do you mean?” Her voice barely broke a whisper. She thought again of the rumors that had been swirling for months. Kirkwall had come up once or twice, so far away it might as well be a place that existed only in the Fade. Normally, she put no stock in such things, but now… “What’s happened?” 

“Nothing you need concern yourself with. These are restless times on the continent, that’s all. Hopefully it will all blow over soon.” He suddenly looked much older, and quite tired. “You say you didn’t wish Senior Enchanter Lydia any harm. Do you know anyone who did?” 

“No. Of course not. No.” Thalia pressed her lips together, her mind racing. 

“Are you sure? Think hard, my lady. Have none of your fellow mages expressed dissatisfaction with your circumstances as of late?” 

Thalia could think of a thousand moments, a kaleidoscope of slights: Matilda seizing Crispin’s arm to keep him from raising a hand against the patrol that had stopped him for the fifth time that week. Willow stretched out on the sofa by the dormitory hearth, scratching behind her delicately pointed ears. Trouble’s brewing with the new Templars; they’re looking at us all twitchy. Elias hunched over five open books on a library table, unkempt hair stuck in every direction — he never remembered to brush it, now that he’d made Tranquil. Calmly pushing toward her the words of a long-dead Chantry scholar about the nature of sectarian conflict. There’s always a breaking point, Thalia.

Running into Jareth again recently. Realizing how mean his gaze had turned over the years. You know so little about the world, mage, he sneered. It’s got to be like that to keep you lot in line. The horse is out of the barn with the others. There’s only one way to stop it. 

What others? Thalia had asked. Stop what? 

He’d ignored her. She hadn’t seen him again after that. She hadn’t seen a lot of the regulars recently, now that she thought about it. 

“Why are you so certain it was a mage, Knight-Captain?” Thalia asked softly.

Gerard’s expression hardened. “I’m afraid I cannot disclose that information.” 

“Because I can think of a number of Templars who might have cause to hurt Lydia.” Her voice sounded brittle, as scared as she felt, giving voice to the idea at all. 

“My Templars are not suspects in this investigation,” Gerard said, with an infuriating finality.

“Why not?” 

“Because they aren’t,” Gerard snapped. “Are you being obtuse on purpose, girl?”

Thalia flinched, lowering her head. “No, ser. Forgive me, ser.” 

A tense silence followed. She stared at her lap, wringing her hands. Gerard let out a slow breath. “No, forgive me. I should not have raised my voice at you. It’s been… a long night.” He cleared his throat and strode toward the door. His hand reached the knob, pausing there. “If you think of something you may have forgotten, or notice anything that might help us understand what happened here, you’ll tell us, won’t you?”

“Of course, ser,” Thalia lied, staring at the door. Dare she stand, or would that look too much like she wanted t leave? She met his eyes. “I will do so right away.” 

“Excellent. You may return to bed now. I apologize again for disturbing your slumber.” 

Gerard opened the door to reveal Kevan waiting for her, stony-faced. Thalia scrambled to her feet and tried not to run out of the office. 

The Knight-Captain blocked her way with his mailed arm slung across the doorframe. Thalia halted, forced to look up at him. She swallowed. 

“You should know, you were never really a suspect, my lady,” he added quickly. “Standard procedure, you understand. We’re questioning everyone.” 

A deep, seething anger bubbled up in Thalia as she stared at the old man and his contrite face. Every mage, you mean. This time, she did curtsy. “Good luck in your investigation, ser.”

“Right. Yes. Thank you.” Gerard moved his arm, and Thalia escaped into the welcome chill of the dim corridor. 

#thalia backstory #thalia trevelyan #ostwick circle #fics #dragon age drunk writing circle #everyone's an oc in this one #except senior enchanter lydia i guess lol #dragon age: inquisition #bad things happen bingo

[terpsikeraunos]

λέγουσι δ᾽ ὥς τις εἰσελήλυθε ξένος, γόης ἐπῳδὸς Λυδίας ἀπὸ χθονός, ξανθοῖσι βοστρύχοισιν εὐοσμῶν κόμην, οἰνῶπας ὄσσοις χάριτας Ἀφροδίτης ἔχων... - And they say that some foreigner has arrived, a sorcerer, an enchanter from the land of Lydia, with sweet-smelling hair in tawny curls, the wine-dark charms of Aphrodite in his eyes...

Euripides, Bacchae 233-236

#ancient greek #my translation #bacchae #euripides #dionysus

[morsmordream]

my random HP family headcanons that i firmly stand by

(not canon compliant)

creature blood was remarkably common in the older family lines that existed before modern-day laws. it is rather rare that these families produce true creatures themselves, even half-blooded creatures, but the blood can often manifest into family gifts. for example, creature blood is how the slytherin line have their ability to speak parseltongue.

the black family are world-renowned in various fields. they’ve produced countless scholars, and some of the finest duellists of each generation. but the family specialty, that everyone learns, is curse-breaking and it’s inverse. there’s a terrible item in the family vault that could kill you if you touch it? contact the blacks. you need an object enchanted to persuade someone into supporting a wizengamot bill? contact the blacks. expensive as their services may be, it’s always worth the money. customer satisfaction guaranteed.

the black family have held their reputation for dabbling in the darkest of arts, even black magic, since their very beginning. their family name comes from their reputation of practicing black magic. this is separate from dark magic, and is a dead art today. whilst books exist in the darkest corners of very few family’s vaults and libraries, the sacrifices required have deterred anyone who picked them up for centuries. a branch of black magic involves the summoning of beings from beyond our world, ‘demons’ as they are often referred to. the summoning of a shape-shifting demon, and subsequent procreation with, is a potential reason why only the black family have metamorphmagi in britain today- though this claim is unproven, and no longer proudly claimed by the family itself.

the malfoys have veela blood, especially these days. it was a rather scandalous affair when abraxas malfoy married a french witch, amelie bonnacord, who had been adopted into a notable pureblood family and happened to be a veela. the malfoys already had distant veela ancestry, making abraxas resistant to the veela allure. their children, lucius and lydia malfoy, were therefore half veela, and her grandchildren, including draco malfoy, a quarter veela. the veela allure seemed to work differently with men, and little was known about it as men born to those with veela blood was rare. the malfoys spend most holiday seasons in france, visiting family, and all speak fluent french.

the potter family never have been, and never should be seen as, a sparkling beacon for light magic. as necromancers by blood, no matter how much time passes since their amalgamation with the peverells, they naturally lean towards darker magic to facilitate practicing the art. not every potter has dabbled in their family gift, it’s not a requirement, but the ancient books in the family vault cannot be destroyed and will always return to the vault after a necromancer passes.

a few centuries into the past, the potter family migrated to india before a couple of branches returned to britain in the early 20th century. fleamont potter and his cousin, charlus potter, were the first potters to be born on british soil for centuries. fleamont potter married euphemia patil, a half-indian british witch, and had james potter. james potter, upon marrying lily evans, had harry potter- who was half indian.

the lupin family have a long history of naturally born werewolves, hence their family name. as time went on, and laws changed, werewolves born into the family would assimilate into packs instead of living as wizards with a dark secret. with time, fewer and fewer werewolves were born into the family, and the werewolf blood appeared dormant. remus lupin became a werewolf through an attack from fenrir greyback- the first werewolf in the family in several generations. his condition did not pass onto his son, but it is possible that remus being a werewolf may awaken the possibility of future werewolves in the lupin line in generations to come.

the weasleys hail from an old irish clan, one which they no longer practice the traditions and magic of- deeming them outdated in an age where they are deemed ‘blood traitors’ for their love and acceptance of muggleborns. the family magic is largely based around the elements, and is only really practiced by bill and charlie- though fred and george dabble in it from time to time. due to turning their backs on tradition, the weasley manor wards refused to grant entry to those in the family who did not practice their family magics- which is why they live in the burrow instead.

the weasleys fall from grace is infamous in pureblood circles. before the first war, they were actually a rather wealthy family. arthur weasley’s auror wage was enough to live off with two less children, and their vault was plentiful. molly added to their income by authoring books on household charms and tutoring pureblood daughters in etiquette. unfortunately, molly encouraged arthur to funnel money into the order of the phoenix to help with the war- they were not active participants, rather financial backers. by the war’s end, the family vault had been halved, they had two more children, and molly had quit authoring books to raise the children. she soon quit tutoring too, turning her back on other pureblood families due to her paranoia that anyone who hadn’t aided the order in the war were all dark and thus contributed somehow to her brothers deaths. soon after, arthur left the aurors and moved to head the misuse of muggle artifices office at molly’s insistence, due to her persistent paranoia- this time that something horrible would befall him as an auror. this caused another significant drop in the family’s finances, gaining them their reputation of being a poor family with more children than they can clothe.

the nott family are descended from viking clansmen in norway, and the majority of the family are still based there today. they’re very proud of this heritage, and every child born into the family is trained extensively in hand to hand combat from a young age. the nott family additional pre-schooling education also includes the language of old norse, nordic history, ancient runes, and runic magic. the england-based branch of the family add norwegian on to this as well.

the gaunt line, and subsequently the slytherin line, are only extinct in britain (the cursed child is not canon to me idc about delphini). a branch of the family, descended from one ominis gaunt, live on in france and have long abandoned their practices of inbreeding. the branch or branches of the family that remained on british soil rapidly squandered all that remained in their vaults by the turn of the 20th century, leading the family to financial and societal ruin with only their heritage and a few heirlooms remaining intact.

the lovegood family are rather notable as one of the few remaining seer lines in britain. pandora lovegood, upon marrying xenophilius ollivander, found her own seer ability passed down to her daughter luna. many overlook their seer lineage and focus more on the family’s eccentricity, forgetting that true seers rarely speak in plain language- they cannot always just speak the truth of what their visions show them, they must relay what they have seen in a way that makes others search for the answer. it’s not that hard to understand when you actually try it.

#harry potter #hp fandom #hp headcanon #dark harry potter #hp drabble #harry potter headcanon #harry potter drabble #harry potter fandom #the ancient and most noble house of black #draco malfoy #luna lovegood #house of gaunt #weasley family #remus lupin #theodore nott

[outtoshatter]

This week's author spotlight is: the wonderful @raisesomehale! So many delightful fics to choose from!!

One-shots:

Beyond the Canyon Nook | T | 7k tags: spark Stiles, magical realism, found family Summary: Stiles has retrieved countless children from the shadows.

But Eli is the first child Stiles has found alone.

All I Want for Christmas, is You | E | 6k tags: post-canon, pack feels, Christmas fluff Summary: The sight of him is like whiplash.

Stiles and Derek have managed to keep up a reasonably active text-ship for the last few years (heavily due to Stiles’ undying persistence on the matter) but Derek’s recent inclination to jump around between continents paired with Stiles’ grueling school schedule has resulted in them not having been in the same room since Stiles left for Brown the summer after he graduated.

He’s broader. Taller. Hair buzzed short like it hasn’t been since he was a sophomore in high school, a scar nicked into the corner of his left eyebrow that Derek remembers hearing the story about (a frisky leprechaun with a bad sense of humor and a hard-on for blades.)

And when Stiles’ eyes catch sight of Derek across the room, his grin glitches into shock and he lets go of the door.

Which must be safety-weighted, considering the force with which it slams backwards against Scott.

Club Serenade | T | 822 tags: DJ Stiles, Bartender Derek, sexual tension Summary: Stiles, popular DJ at the Hale's club The Wolf Den, catches the attention of the bartender and part owner, Derek.

Serenading ensues.

Multi-Chaptered Fics:

Define "Dating" | T | 7k | 6 chapters tags: 5+1 things, oblivious Stiles, didn't know they were dating Summary: “You and Derek text each other memes?” she sounds both surprised and delighted - but more surprised.

“Well,” Stiles says, “I send memes. Derek sent me a picture of a newspaper comic strip, once.”

Lydia says, “Oh my god.”

- OR the 5 times people point out that Stiles might be dating Derek + the 1 time Derek tells Stiles they're dating himself.

Bite the Moonlight & Bleed Gold | E | 87k | 18 chapters tags: magical creatures, BAMF Derek, Creature Stiles, angst, mutual pining Summary: Seven years after being tricked and imprisoned by the Argents, Derek Hale finds himself off the blistering coasts of Antarctica aboard the Argentum Domina, an illegal prison ship out of which the Argents operate their behemoth, underground poaching empire. Bitter and packless, Derek spends his days working off his servitude by poaching creatures for Gerard to sell on the Black Magic Market, no future or end in sight. Until, Allison Argent brings him a capture case with a reward price so ludicrous that he has no choice but to accept.

The only problem is, the target creature shouldn't even exist.

Derek is flung fast into the deep webbings of a bigger mystery than he could have ever imagined. And discovers that, like this enchanting creature, not everything is as it seems.

Bonus wip:

light a spark | T | 37k | 9/15 chapters so far! tags: canon divergence, fluff and humor, energy bond Summary: “It’s not” - Derek cuts off as quickly as he starts, teeth gritting with frustration - “It’s not like the others it’s… There’s a reason I came to your house last.”

Stiles’ eyebrows raise. This is hands down the weirdest Derek has ever acted around him, and it’s making him curious. 

“And that reason being…?” He rolls the sleeves of his flannel up to his elbows and leans against his desk to start untying his shoes.

“I need” - Derek grits through clenched teeth - “Your help.”

Stiles just blinks at him, shoes in his hands. “That was excruciating to witness, just so you know.”

Go check out raisesomehale's AO3 page and don't forget to mind the tags, leave a kudos and maybe even a comment!

#sterek #sterek fandom #teen wolf #author spotlight #raisesomehale #stiles stilinski #derek hale

[destieltropecollection]

Destiel Trope Collection 2024 | Day 27: Single Parent AU

Lavender Fireflies | @casblackfeathers Rating: Explicit Word Count: 28,573 Main Tags/Warnings: modern setting, summer camp, single parents, strangers to lovers, two-person love triangle, mutual pining, misunderstandings, bottom!dean, fluff, light angst with a happy ending Summary: Lavender Fireflies Camp is possibly Castiel’s final chance to mend his troubled relationship with his daughter. After an ugly divorce and a nine-to-five job that only further distanced him from Claire, his sister — Anna — suggests spending two weeks camping with Claire. Castiel sees this as his opportunity to bring his daughter closer to him. He had not anticipated meeting a charming firefighter, Dean, on the first day and becoming instantly enchanted by him. Still, Castiel can’t help but feel disappointed when Dean seems to change his mind about them. Usually, the hippy, kumbaya shit that Sammy digs so much is a hard pass for Dean. But coming to Lavender Fireflies Camp wins big brownie points for allowing him to spend time with his brother and his daughter Emma. The last thing Dean expects to happen is to find sex on a stick and everything his dreams are made of in the guy with messy dark hair and blue-as-fuck eyes he meets there. Dean is immediately smitten. Too bad that being a jump-the-gun kinda guy, the first thing Dean assumes is that the redhead camping with Cas is his wife. Then he makes everything a fuckton more complicated for everyone, y’know, Winchester style.

The Single Dad's Guide to Dating a Spy | @friendofcarlotta Rating: Explicit Word Count: 29,534 Main Tags/Warnings: Kid Fic, Single Parent Castiel, Government Agent Dean Winchester, Telemarketer Castiel, Accountant Castiel, Castiel is Claire Novak's Parent, Romantic Comedy, Top Castiel/Bottom Dean Winchester, Light Dom/sub Undertones Summary: Single father Castiel Novak feels stuck in his dead-end job and the mindless routine of parenting. Everything changes when an early-morning grocery run throws him into the path of Dean Winchester, a government agent whose mission is tangled up with — of all things — Castiel’s dating history.

The Waltz of Shilly-Shallying | @thefandomsinhalor Rating: Explicit Word Count: 36,395 Main Tags/Warnings: Veterinarian and Pet Groomer AU, Mutual Pining, Fluff, Single Dad Castiel, Miscommunications, Slow Burn, Friends to Lovers Summary: Pet groomer Dean Winchester has had a crush on Castiel Novak, his veterinarian friend, for quite some time now. He’s kindhearted, handsome and a devoted single father to his young, adorable—and quirky—son, Jack. But after a few hints from Dean, the feeling doesn’t appear to be mutual. As for Castiel, Dean has been occupying his thoughts more and more since the summer. Fearing to complicate their friendship, however, Castiel figures it is best for him to put these ideas out of his head, focus on his son (and his very opinionated imaginary friend, Belphegor) and simply remain friends with Dean. That is until they find themselves under the mistletoe.

Reaching Haven | @deanabean Rating: Mature Word Count: 58,044 Main Tags/Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply, Castiel & Jack Kline & Claire Novak, Castiel & Michael & Adam Milligan, Castiel & Kelly Kline (Supernatural), Michael/Adam Milligan, Castiel & Dean Winchester, Castiel/Dean Winchester, Single Parent Castiel (Supernatural), Castiel & Kelly Kline Friendship (Supernatural), Castiel Is Jack Kline & And Claire Novak's Parent, Queerplatonic Relationships, Married Michael/Adam Milligan, Castiel & Adam Milligan Friendship, Castiel & Claire Novak are Siblings, Toddler Jack Kline, Claire Novak is a pre-teen, Castiel is a Novak (Supernatural), Queer Castiel (Supernatural), Castiel-centric (Supernatural), Alternate Universe - Human, Grief/Mourning, Family Feels, F Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Healing, Kid Fic, Past Lydia (Supernatural: Slice Girls)/Dean Winchester Summary: “What?” “You know you’re a terrible liar, kiddo.” He isn't… Or at least he hasn’t been. Castiel has always known how to maintain a lie, even against himself. But right at this moment, he isn't lying. He’s not even attempting to lie. He truly feels fine. mostly. He tells them just that. “I really am, though. I'm fine. I’m–” Even better. He even feels— “‘m great.” Or; Single parent Castiel struggling to navigate; raising both his baby son, Jack. His now orphaned 13-year-old baby sister, Claire. While attempting to side-step his distant yet controlling and manipulative grandparents. All that is on top of moving to a new city he doesn't know anybody there except his Uncle Michael, a man he rarely was in contact with. While dealing with the crushing grief. Most of all, Castiel is trying to keep his head above water.

Transfered To You | Joysprings (AO3) Rating: Teen & Up Word Count: 69,989 Main Tags/Warnings: Single Parent Dean Winchester, Meet Cute, Grief, Light Angst, Mechanic Dean Winchester, Tattoo Artist Castiel, Artist Castiel, Emma Winchester, Found Family, Cas Is A Cat Dad, Dadstiel, Homophobia, Homophobic language, Summary: Single dad Dean Winchester Works at Singers Auto. There just so happens to be another shop called Singers in the area. Sure one of them is a Mechanics while the other is Tattoo's and Piercing, but apparently people still fuck up and call the wrong Singer's on a daily basis. Dean usually isn't in charge of phones at the auto shop but ends up having to transfer a call, thus meeting Castiel Shurley. He hasn't wanted to date since the death of his wife but that may be about to change.

Nuclear’s Not The Only Option | @three-cake-sandwich Rating: Mature Word Count: 221,462 Main Tags/Warnings: Alternative universe - human, alternative universe - small town, domestic Castiel/Dean Winchester, kid Sam Winchester, kid Jack Kline, kid fic, Christian Castiel, autistic Castiel, autistic Jack Kline, non verbal Jack Kline, domestic fluff, homophobic language, atheist Dean Winchester, slow burn, implied/referenced sex, explicit language, American Sign Language, found family, friends to lovers, past abuse, grief/mourning, porn watching, non explicit sex, hurt/comfort, humor, religious fanaticism, Castiel is Jack Kline’s parent Summary: When Dean's parents die unexpectedly, he is forced to leave behind his playboy life in California to look after his little brother in The Middle of Nowhere, Kansas. While juggling new parenthood and nosey neighbors with judging glares, he meets an anti-social man with a mysterious past that he can't help but feel drawn to. Can the two of them overcome the small-town gossip and live happily ever after or will long-buried secrets tear them apart?

#destiel trope collection #destiel trope collection 2024 #destiel #fanfic #supernatural #single parent au

[lovecanyon]

can you write a jenner!y/n curious gazes one shot pleaseeee 😩

Curious Gazes

ceo!harry x jenner!reader

MASTERLIST | PATREON

( indie = 9 years old

bowie = 6 years old

lydia = 4 years old )

-

Julia hated working in West Hollywood. There was constant traffic, rude people and it was always hot, especially in the winter time. Don’t even get her started on her receptionist job at a pilates studio. It was hell.

Her afternoon shifts was what she despised the most. After constant begging to her manager about placing her in the early shifts, he always shrugged his shoulders and told her to go back to work. She truly hated her job.

But when Y/N Jenner and her husband Harry Styles walked in hand and hand into the studio, Julia almost choked on the green smoothie she was drinking.

Was this really happening? I mean she’s met a lot of famous people but none of them stood close to Y/N fucking Jenner and the CEO of Gucci. It felt like a fever dream.

But once Y/N was face to face with Julia the panic started to settle in.

“Hi, we have a private class with Leah at…2:30.” Y/N says swiftly checking her Apple Watch for the time. “Sorry we’re early by the way.” She smiles apologetically which makes Julia quickly shake her head.

The receptionist quickly noticed Harry was quiet and intimidating. His stare on her made her grow nervous. It was like he was contemplating her, making sure she didn’t pull out her phone and text her friends about a Jenner being here.

His arm wrapped protectively around Y/N’s waist was the first thing that Julia saw when they walked in. She could immediately tell he was observing the place, making sure that there was no one taking photos or videos of them.

“No no, you’re fine. Nobody is really here right now so you both can head towards your room.” Julia tells Y/N which makes her smile grow bigger.

“Thank you so much.” Y/N nods. And with that, her and Harry begin to make their way down the hall.

The way they acted was completely different from all the ‘celebrities’ Julia has seen before. Harry and Y/N were both wearing hats, sun glasses, and hoodies, so they wouldn’t get noticed. It was definitely something she hadn’t come across before.

All the other prominent people that would walk into the studio would do anything to get noticed. But not Y/N or Harry. They wanted to have their privacy.

After about an hour of telling people to go into their sessions. Y/N and Harry walked out looking pretty stable. Most people that would take about an hour long pilates class would be worn out and exhausted. Yet Y/N nor Harry looked like it.

“Hi again.” Y/N smiles warmly. Instantly Julia sends one back. Her kindness blew the receptionist’s mind. Out of her whole time working at a the studio, no one has ever been as polite as Y/N has.

All most immediately Harry takes out his wallet and slides his cards chip into the machine. Julia catches sight of the card’s color and widens her eyes. A black Amex card was rare around where she worked.

Once the payment went through, Y/N gives Julia another smile before turning around and heading towards the door. But Harry on the other hand stayed at the front desk.

“Is that a Gucci sweater?” He speaks up. His voice made Julia almost faint. She wasn’t going to lie and say he wasn’t attractive, he definitely was. He had this type of enchanting aura to him that made everyone intrigued, especially Julia.

“Yes. Last seasons actually.” Julia nods her head profusely.

“Good to know.” He says sending her a small smile before swiftly turning around and making his way towards Y/N who was stood at the door waiting for him.

-

It was Lauren’s first day at her job. Serving food to rich rude people wasn’t how she wanted to spend her Saturday night. But she had bills to pay, so she pushed all those thoughts aside.

Working at Nobu with a clear view of Malibu beach wasn’t as bad. Yet the amount of impolite people she’s served tonight made her hopelessness increase. She had to hold herself back from yelling and rolling her eyes at these bad mannered individuals.

Her coworkers weren’t lying when they said everyone that came to the restaurant was unpleasant to serve.

“Lauren you’re serving a Jenner. So be on your best fucking behavior.” Milo whispers in Lauren’s ear as he passes by which makes her shoulders tense.

Almost immediately the head of the hosting staff walks up to her.

“I’m guessing Milo already told you about who you’re serving…” Jessy squints her eyes at Lauren who nods her head. “Be polite please. And like I told everyone already, outside is reserved for a Jenner. So don’t bring anyone out there, they want their privacy.”

Once Lauren nods her head again, Jessy stares at her for a moment before walking off. Her tense shoulders stayed tense as she began to make her way outside.

“Shit.”

Lauren gnaws her lip nervously as she looks at Y/N Jenner sitting at a table with her three kids and husband. She had served a few famous people tonight but none of them compared to Y/N or Harry goddamn Styles, the star of the fashion word.

She hadn’t watched Keeping Up with the Kardashians or the new Kardashians show on Hulu. But she still knew who they were, everyone in the living world did.

Nonetheless Lauren pushes the door open, pulls out her notepad and smacks a big smile onto her face, masking her nervousness.

Swiftly she makes eye contact with the oldest child, Indie who sends her a smile. The child smiling at her made her anxiety slowly die down. If she smiled at her than maybe her parents weren’t so bad.

“Hello I’m Lauren and I’ll be your server tonight.” Lauren introduces herself still sporting a huge smile.

Almost very quickly Lauren was politely greeted by each of them. The three children acted more mature than anyone she had served tonight and that said a lot.

“What can I get you?”

“Cheeseburger please.” The youngest speaks up with an obvious lisp which makes Lauren almost let out an awe. The little girl looked exactly like the man sitting at the table. Her greeen eyes matched his, her curly hair was identical to his, and the dimples on her cheeks looked similar to his.

She definitely was Harry’s twin.

“What do you want to drink Lyd?” Y/N questions her daughter as she pushes back her curls with the palm of her hand. The four year old whispers something that Lauren doesn’t pick up but Y/N does. “She would like an apple juice please.”

Immediately Lauren nods and writes down the child’s order. After, she moves onto getting the older one’s order who looked exactly like Y/N.

Indie had her mother’s nose, sported the same cheekbones as her and what blew Lauren’s mind was their mannerisms being the same. She was a spitting image of Y/N, a double of her.

Even though she had some of Harry’s features like his green eyes and sharp jawline, she still looked like Y/N’s identical twin.

“Can I get pasta and a water with ice. Please and thank you.” Indie politely tells Lauren.

“Of course.” Lauren nods and jots down her order onto the notepad. The nine year olds politeness made her surprised.

Out of all the individuals she’s served tonight, why was a kid the nicest, especially two at that. The amount of maturity these kids had compared to all the rude people in restaurant had Lauren in disbelief.

Truly that made her think about Harry and Y/N’s parenting style. The way they were raising their children amazed Lauren. She could immediately tell they were great parents.

The next child that spoke up, spoke up quietly which was very different from his siblings. The two spoke loud and confident but this boy seemed nervous to talk to her. She didn’t take it to heart because she could tell he was anxious.

“I will have the same thing my sister is having, please.” He says pointing to his younger sister.

“Apple juice too?”

Once Lauren receives a nod and a smile, she moves onto taking Harry and Y/N’s order. Her hands holding her notepad and pen began to grow sweaty all over again.

When Y/N had told her about her daughter wanting apple juice she was nice about it. She only hopes her husband was the same.

“May I get pasta and red wine please.” Harry speaks swiftly closing up the menu with his ringed hands. His attractiveness was definitely alluring. Between his tattoos, jawline and sharp eyes, he certainly was captivating.

He truly was beautiful. It made Lauren grow flustered just standing in front of him. Y/N was right for marrying him and having his children. He looked like a god.

“I’ll have the same thing but with white wine.” Y/N tells Lauren making her quickly write both of their orders down. “Thank you.” She sends the waitress a smile which she returns.

“I will be back soon with everything.”

Hastily Lauren turns around and makes her way back inside the restaurant. Once she’s inside, she lets out a breath she didn’t know she was holding in. The amount of stress she had over getting these orders made her wanna go insane

But at least this time she was treated nicely and not horribly like she had previously been treated. It definitely ran smoother when she wasn’t getting insulted or glared at.

In her opinion this was her first time serving people who she actually liked.

As soon as Lauren gives the order to the cook, Milo grabs her arm and drags her to the nearest window which showcases Y/N and Harry perfectly with their children.

They looked straight out of a rom com. Both of their faces showed how totally smitten they were with each other.

A lot of couples that were married and had kids together didn’t seem as happy as Y/N and Harry did. Just seeing the way they acted you could tell their relationship was blooming.

The children on the other hand just blew Lauren's mind. Right when she saw them she thought they were going to be spoiled and bratty just like the previous kids she served before. But no, the three children sent her smiles and greeted her.

"How'd it go?" Milo asks Lauren.

"Surprisingly they were nice. Especially the kids." Lauren says as she watches Y/N and Harry make their kids laugh. He had his arm wrapped around her shoulder as he continued to say something that made his wife and kids giggle.

They all genuinely looked happy.

“I used to serve them all the time before. They are the most sweetest people ever.”

-

tag list: @harrysmatcha @harryspinkpillow @helen-with-an-a @florencepughily @peterparkerbae @toji-dabi-wife @fallonx @drphilssoulmate @cherriesrae @alienorknight @valluvsu @ivegotparticulartaste @ayeshathestyles @hazgoldenstyles @eiffelmezarry @tsukishimawhore @renatavieira @michellekstyles @eleanordaisy @shawnsblue @academiaghosts @japanchrry @agustdpeach @hannahnikohl @hrryscherrys @whoscamila @ch3rryrry @msolbesg @newyorker14 @futuristicpalacegardenpsychic @youusunshineyoutemptress @eunoiamaa @kaitieskidmore1 @gublerscherry @cherryfragrancx @ssuziess @milkiane @golden-hoax @flwrmuse @sunshinemendes8 @your--sweetest--downfall @melllinaa @iluvjj @evansglrl @tenaciousperfectionunknown @cashtons-wife @stellarossii @scenesofobx @manifestrry

#harry styles x reader #dad!harry #harry styles #harry styles au #ceo!harry #harry styles fanfiction #jenner!y/n #jenner!reader #harry styles x y/n #harry styles x you #husband!harry #harry styles writing #harry styles one shot #harry styles blurb

[aspiffygoat]

Is Lydia's food magically enchanted to be addictive/supernaturally delicious, or is she just a very good cook?

Or is it some third thing.

She's just THAT good at cooking~ She does have a Very Good Cookbook that helps~

#lydia #ask #myart #fat #fatfur #fat fur

[jq37]

The Report Card – Fantasy High Junior Year Ep 5

Attack of the Rage Mages

Welcome back to the Report Card where the Bad Kids are ready to fucking fight dude! Even the battle episodes this season are super beefy and I am having a crazy busy week so I’m going to do my best to try and strike a balance between giving y’all all the key details and being efficient. 

To remind you guys of the setup: The Bad Kids have just been portaled to the Synod Mall by Adaine who was working there when Cassandra (there with Kalina to pamphlet) suddenly cried out in pain and started expelling crystal shards that are turning the mages that interact with them into beefy rage monsters who are attacking indiscriminately.

Also, a detail I didn’t mention last recap but is relevant in this one, hanging from the ceiling, kinda looking like the one in Grand Central Station, is a shifting interdimensional clock (since people visit the Synod from lots of places/dimensions and need to know their specific time). 

OK, that’s everything you need to know! I’m gonna do this fight in bullets and focus on just the key points, and then jump into the things that matter more in the thoughts section. Onward!

Adaine clocks the crystals as being from the school of Enchantment. She uses Dimension Door to get Kristen right next to Cass who is getting bigger and more pissed. She’s even MORE pissed when Adaine asks Kristen if she should hit her with her sword. 

Cass tries to cast Hold Monster on Kristen (ow) and Fig dispels it. Cass is also not happy about that and her skull flashes to her Nightmare King form for a moment. 

Fabian clocks that things are about to get real and then does a TON of very cool, very impressive combo fighter/bard stuff. Everyone is playing really mechanically smart this episode but I have to say, he especially impressed me. 

Riz checks the clock and sees that even though it’s only been a few seconds in the Synod, it’s been like 40 minutes in Spyre. Fabian checks in with the Hangman telepathically so he can do damage control and Fig wonders if they can use the clock to go back in time and not be late for the party. 

Kalina goes invisible but Adaine can see her with her Divination powers and can see that her eyes are slitted and narrow and her tail is twitching. 

Several of the red crystals have infected mages at this point and after Riz goes, using Tasha’s Hideous Laughter to distract one of the mages, the crystals whisper Cass’s name and the mages who aren’t distracted go for her. 

Fabian attacks one (an attack of opportunity I believe) and Brennan notes as he slices them that they seem to have way more blood than usual under a lot of pressure, which is odd enough that I wanted to note it. 

One of the mages does a whirlwind attack that hits Kristen, Adaine, Kalina and Cass. Cass and Kristen have at least this in common: they both fail the save and take the full 30 points. Cass yells for the mages to stop attacking and the red within her glows brighter.

Fig uses Suggestion to recruit one of the uninfected mages to help by Counterspelling anything harmful cast on Kristen. Luckily, Conor Counterpsell happened to be at the mall that day and is now at her service! She also hits Cass with a bardic saying that they’re there for her and that she doesn’t think she’s scared so much as pissed which is totally valid. Very rock and roll. 

Cass commands everyone to get back and does a wave of necrotic damage to everyone around her. It seems a bit indiscriminate–even Kalina is hit which she wouldn’t usually do on purpose even as the NK. 

Gorgug asks for an insight check to know if the crystals here are in any way related to the crystal in Lydia Barkrock’s chest that is keeping some evil at bay with her constant rage. Brennan gives a surprised but pleased Cheshire Cat grin. No roll necessary: they’re def related in some way. These pulse and move much more rapidly though. Hers pulses like a heartbeat. 

On Kristen’s turn, she gives Cass a heartfelt apology about dropping the ball in general and missing this meeting specifically. She says she didn’t realize she was supposed to be here this time and she understands Cass being upset. Because this is season 3, I don’t even need to tell you what Ally rolls on this Persuasion check. But I will, because that’s what a recap is. 

On Kristen’s Nat 20 (this is why she keeps getting gods despite her track record), Cassandra is instantly calmed and brought down to her regular size. She expels 7 more of those shatter star crystals and she’s bleeding and scared. She clearly internalized what Fig told her though because she also says that she’s pissed. All she wanted was to help! The red in her pulses as she says, “It isn’t f–” She doesn’t seem to be able to get out the word “fair”. And she sees that she’s freaking out Kristen with the red pulse so she tries to calm down. 

Round 2 (Breaking This Up Because Tumblr Hates Big Text Blocks)

Adaine summons a mall cop but even a wizard mall cap is still a mall cop and thus, useless. Adaine offers to Dimension Door Cass away but Cass wants to stay and fight. “How are they back here?” Cass says about the stars. “I thought you were dead.” (On an Insight check, Kirsten doesn’t think that this is NK related).  

Adaine has her coolest moment of the episode here (imo) where she casts True Strike and Steel Wind strike and then attacks again and again and again with her Sword of SIght doing 41 damage each to 4 of the stars. Brennan narrates it as the hits being foretold by her divination. It’s very cool and I’m glad Adaine can do melee attacks now. 

Kalina turns back visible as it looks like the battle is turning in their favor. She shoots Riz  a low, playful , “Hey Riz,” because of course she does. 

It’s now Cass’s turn. She’s back to herself, she’s a goddess, it looks like she’s about to end this fight super early into the runtime. But then…

OK, things go bonkers for a sec. Stick with me. 

Cass thanks Fig for the advice–seemingly utilizing her Bardic. She’s about to do some kind of Mass Dispelling. But then Fig starts to feel all weird and hot and her stomach gurgles. A fire elemental who I assume is on autopilot offers Fig a sample of shrimp and, for SOME REASON, despite her stomach feeling weird and them being in PITCHED COMBAT (Ally’s words lol), Fig takes a shrimp. The plate flips which starts a series of Rube Goldberg ass events that end with Cass choking on a piece of shrimp/having an allergic reaction (a thing that can apparently happen to a god) and going unconscious. At the table, the Intrepid Heroes are baffled except for Emily who is laughing hysterically. 

Riz notices a drip of tartar sauce on Fig's shirt and finally realizes that she’s exhibiting some real Gilear behavior. He puts together that the effect that Cass didn’t save from (hmmm) was somehow connected to Fig giving her Bardic. 

Fig quickly explains what happened with her unlocking something to help with the Night Yorb fight in ep 1 (she calls it an ancestral curse which is funny bc she’s not blood related to Gilear. Diversity win! This ancestral curse recognizes that non-traditional family structures are still just as valid!). Conor Counterspell is like Y’ALL there is a FIGHT happening to try and get them back on task. Before she does though, Fig (and Adaine) see a vision of the gleaming, golden Pride armor from the Bottomless Pit that Gilear wore back in SY. A voice says, “It was not yours to take” Ominous! Adaine’s vision has a fun Oracle bonus: Fig in the Pride armor, years in the future, causing Gilear-esque bullshit to happen on an apocalyptic scale. Goofy yet still ominous! 

Adaine almost gets all raged up by a shatter star but she saves. Conor gets hit (much to Emily’s dismay) but he doesn’t turn on them. Put a pin in that. 

Kalina yells for her mistress as she goes down but then also gets hit with a shatter star. Before the rage overtakes her she struggles to get out last words to Riz, “Ragh Barkrock.” And then she doesn’t grow, but she becomes very still. 

Fabian is still VERY shrimp party focused and wants to try and use the clock to turn back time or something similar. He climbs up and sees a vision of an old version of himself lamenting the fact that he never got to be a maximum legend. Now he’s even MORE party focused. He tries to get the wizards to fight on the premise that they finally have the chance to beat up some jocks but they refrain because they know the rage mage’s are possessed and not true jocks. Welp, worth a shot! 

Kalina gets the shrimp out of Cass’s throat to bring her back up which is enough time for Cass to give a hazy, “Kalina,” before her familiar says, “I liked you better as the Nightmare King” and slits her throat. Cass drops to zero. 

Riz casts Compelled Duel on Kalina and Adaine uses a portent roll to make Kalina fail her save. He then hides. Some attacks happen, Kalina vanishes–away from Adaine’s 10 feet of vision but still within range of Riz because of the Compelled Duel. 

The mages attack, dropping Kristen. Cass does a TON of saves and only fails one with a Nat 1. But that’s enough to trigger her partial transformation. She comes to, once again getting huge and riddled with red light through her veins. 

Fig brings up Kristen. Cass gets even bigger and redder. She’s furious, but not at them anymore. She looks like she wants to murder Kalina. Kristen, with decent Insight, sees that the Rage is giving her power but it’s making her unstable. This isn’t like healthy embracing of valid emotions, this needs to be stopped. 

She jumps on Cass’s back and says, “There's plenty of time to be angry! We can definitely talk this through, and your anger is not scary to me. I totally understand.” She casts Dispel Magic with her Staff of Doubt. A DC 23 is needed and she rolls with advantage. She missed by ONE. Brennan lets her roll again with advantage. Even worse rolls. She gets two more chances with Advantage. Nope. She rolls AGAIN, with an added d4. STILL NO. By my account that’s NINE rolls, none of them successes. Adaine tries as well and just misses. The dice REALLY don’t want this to happen it seems. 

Cass prepares to cast a 9th Level Circle of Death (14d6 necrotic or half on a save). Fig and Adaine both try to Counterspell it and Fig tells Conor to do it as well. He says he has bigger fish to fry. She doesn’t see how that can be possible, but they’re OK because Adaine succeeds. 

Conor then throws his staff at the clocks and shatters it, sending them through a trippy Labyrinth-esque (think Sarah falling out of the World Falls Down ball) scene that lands them back at Seacaster manor, ten seconds before they left. As they leave, Cass is getting bigger and bigger and she throws some kind of twilight energy spell at Kristen that follows them out. It seems like Conor saved them from something major that was about to go down. 

But now, they’re back at the manor, watching themselves about to walk into the Synod fight. They yell some advice and their doubles disappear. Fig rolls a Nat 20 to understand time loops. She’s been a secret honor student this whole time is what I’m getting from this season.  

Riz questions whether they won or not but this feels like a situation where if you have to ask, the answer is no. 

OK, phew. That was a lot, but we still have a bit more to go. 

Kristen tries to check in with Cass and she gets this ominous message: “She is at my side once more.” The Bad Kids try to parse that but don’t come up with a clear answer. The voice asks Kristen if she wishes for divinity and says they’ll give her the master she deserves. A portal opens and a slimy, rotted, Yes! slides out like a sick joke. Kristen dispels it and when the voice says, “I am coming for you. And when I find you, I will break you in a way that none who loved you will recognize the ruin I have wrought. Lean your soul in closer, that I might give you more than words,” she breaks the connection. 

She also gets some images of the shattered mall, the dead mages floating in Astral Space, and she puts together that the Astral Realm is both where the mall is (*was) and where dead gods go. 

Ragh shows up all buttered (sure) to tell them that the ramp is buttered (sure) and though Riz wants to question him right away (both because of Gorgug’s epiphany and Kalina’s last words), this party is HAPPENING so it’s gonna have to wait. They decide to go with the Fig Disguised As Kristen plan for the shrimp jump because Kristen is, very understandably, having an existential crisis. Riz makes her invisible and Fig goes to do the jump (much to the Hangman’s delight who likes her much better than Kristen). 

Everyone gives Fig buffs but she does need it as she rolls a NAT 20. She uses her leftover spell slots to do some flashy pyrotechnics and leaves the tartar sauce filled pooled “like Daenerys”. The crow is in tearful awe. They cheer, they cry, they declare Fabian a minimum legend. They know for a fact that this is gonna be a killer year. 

Honor Roll

Gorgug for Some Serious Sleuthing 

At least once per season Zac has a genuine Jimmy Neutron Brain Blast about a plot thing and this was it for Junior Year. What a pull. He def beat me to it by a WIDE margin. And it ties in super neatly to things Gorgug would notice and have a sense about since he knows Lydia and knows rage. I don’t care what any of his teachers say; he’s smart in all the ways that count. 

Detention 

Adaine for Poor Timing

Adaine I love you so much but mayhaps, “Your God is dying again, you’re gonna fail junior year” isn’t the most helpful thing to say in the middle of a traumatic life event that is also a life or death battle. 

Random Thoughts

Unironically the biggest W of this combat? Adaine losing her job. That was gonna cause more issues than it solved and she CAN get a better one. Or, you know, road trip with Aelwyn for some light matricide. Either would be better than her leaving school to work an 8 hour graveyard shift. 

I wonder if Brennan meant for that clock to have time traveling properties and the party just clocked it (ha) before it came up or if they said it and then he used it to snatch them out of the fight that it didn’t seem like he wanted them to auto fail because he gave them so many rolls to try and save Cass! I really badly wanna know what he was hoping for out of this fight. 

OK so I’m Pepe Silvia-ing a bit. In the previous episodes, there have been at least two moments where Brennan describes a character getting kinda hot under the collar. One is when Kristen is confronting her parents and the other is when Riz is mad about the Rat Grinders. And in the Kristen instance, she then got advantage on her next roll but Brennan didn’t say why. It struck me as odd both times and now I’m wondering if it’s related to whatever these shatter stars are.

Speaking of, we get a lot of tidbits about them but no real info. Cass saying, “I thought you were dead,” and also there’s a moment that didn’t make the recap where the stars almost go for something but then don’t because it wouldn’t be tactically the smartest and that feels like a level of active sentence, right? Plus the fact that they literally said Cass’s name to get the wizards to attack her. I wonder what a Detect Thoughts would have gleaned. 

Lmao at Brennan making Emily profile the minis. 

“By the laws of this ancient mall.” Bruh, it JUST opened! 

Shocked that when Brennan described the crystals moving like a flock of birds, he resisted the opportunity to use the word “murmuration”. 

Cass doesn’t seem able to get the word “Fair” out. She’s struggling like there’s a geas spell on her or something else compelling her. The obvious thing to jump to is KP’s campaign which emphasized “fairness under the rules” but it’s hard to see how those things are connected yet. Just throwing some stuff up on the conspiracy board for later.

Also, while pseudo-connections are being made, I wonder if Gorgug’s rage storyline is going to intertwine with whatever is happening with these rage stars.  There was mention of like rage that is helpful vs rage that makes you unstable and that reminded me of Porter talking about how Gorgug only really rages to protect his friends. I dunno. We’ll see if it ends up going further than just the parallels. 

My favorite moment of the ep didn’t make the recap but I wanted to highlight it here. When Adaine is targeted by the rage star, she saves but Brennan asks her what the world would look like if she was consumed by rage and she said Falinel would be destroyed as revenge and Sylvaire would be destroyed–not on purpose but as collateral damage in the quest to hunt her mother. I think questions like that for flavor and character insight are so fun! 

The Hangman’s adoration of Fig is so cute. He was lamenting his shrimp costume that he of course had to wear for the shrimp jump (shoutout Torek) but when Fig said she thought it was cute he got all blushy. I love him. 

I have to mention that Riz cast Tasha’s Hideous Laughter by flossing (like the dance). Who taught that goblin how to floss? Is Riz on Fantasy TikTok?

Lmao at Kristen suddenly being like, Shh, don’t mention the arty-Pay in from of ass-Cay in this fight as if she hasn’t been putting her foot in her mouth for the past four eps. Took 5 eps but her tact finally arrived. 

“Your anger isn’t scary to me,” is a genuinely sweet sentiment in this context. 

When the Bad Kids are speculating about what the hell happened after the fight, someone asks Kristen if Cass has a dad or something she can talk to. Idk if she has a dad exactly but closest would be that Sol and Galicaea are her older siblings, right? (I thiiink that’s right. Def about Gal. Taking the wiki's word for it re Sol). I’m more and more suspicious about this turning into a family affair. And it would make sense for them to get involved right? It parallels Kristen’s relationship with her family coming back to the forefront. And Tracker is still in the mix as Gal’s cleric. I dunno, it feels like it’s gonna be important. 

It’s likely that Kalina prob met whatever fate Cass did but we’ve seen that Kalina can operate kinda separated from Cass (like she did in SY) and Brennan said that Cass can’t truly die unless Kristen and Craig do so I guess we’ll see where that goes. 

Are Fig’s Bardics now a game of Russian Roulette? If so, uh-oh! We don’t have a ton to go on for the exact mechanics of what’s going on yet, but it seems certain that a trip to hell is gonna be necessary to start getting this sorted (which she really needs to do anyway being an archdevil with responsibilities and all). 

These have been getting too long for Tumblr to handle lately so I’ll end on these last two bullets. In the AP, Ally said that Kristen really does want to be a cleric to Cass, she’s just suffering for lack of organization. And at least to me, that’s not how it’s come across so far, but taking that into account puts her actions in a different light. It’s still all irresponsible of course but if it’s supposed to be more just genuinely scattered than callous/indifferent then this feels more like a storyline about looking for middle ground than finding yet another new path whole cloth. She was for sure more in serious mode this ep than she has been the last four eps so we’ll see if this side of her sticks around.

I ended the last recap by saying I was worried for Cass and, guess what? Still am! Galicaea, help your sister!  

#Dimension 20 #dimension 20 spoilers #d20 #d20 spoilers #fantasy high #fantasy high spoilers #fhjy #fhjy spoilers #spoilers #the report card

[cookies-and-music]

Ghost. - part 16: Carousel

My suggestion for this chapter is, of course, Carousel by Melanie Martinez, it's a totally different topic but it somehow sunded right.

Part 1 here - part 17 will be published on Sunday

PAIRING: TVA!LokixOC

TAG LIST: @kats72 ; @mischief2sarawr ; @m3ntally-unstable

SUMMARY: Loki meets sombody at the TVA he once knew. Unfortunately she doesn't seem to remember him.

"A retirement home?" Lydia wrinkled her nose.

"The retirement home," Mobius specified, "the one where Loki placed Odin in order to take over Asgard."

"Oh," Loki's past certainly didn't make the mission to save him simple "Maybe we shouldn't mention Loki to him."

"Nope" Mobius shook his head.

They entered the white structure and asked the lady at the front desk to see Mr. Borrson. She looked at them surprised.

"Are you family?"

"No, is that a problem?" asked Mobius.

"No, it's just that he's been here for a while and no one has come to visit him," she shrugged, handing them badges labeled visitor "Wear these and come with me."

She led them through the facility to what looked more like a communal space for prisoners rather than a recreational room.

"Mr. Borrson, there are some people here to see you," the woman briefly touched his shoulder.

Odin turned towards the two visitors who were waving at him with slightly embarrassed smiles. He smiled at the nurse, which she took as a sign to leave, and she walked away, leaving them alone.

"May we sit?" Mobius asked, indicating the sofa next to the armchair where he was seated.

"Certainly," he nodded.

Lydia sat between them. She hadn't formed a clear idea of what to expect when meeting the father of the gods, but she certainly hadn't expected such an… ordinary old man. Wearing a plaid shirt tucked into brown pants held up by a worn-out belt.

"My name is Mobius and this is my colleague Lydia."

"And tell me, do I know you?"

"No, unfortunately not," Mobius shook his head, "but we know who you are, and we are truly honored to meet you."

"And who am I?" He asked, raising his thick eyebrows.

"Well, we know who you really are" Mobius smiled slyly.

"And who am I, really?" Odin smiled again.

"Mr. Borrson, we know that you are actually Odin, father of all gods and king of everything else," Lydia's limited patience had already run out "We need your help with a matter of utmost importance and would like to ask you some questions, if you permit."

Odin furrowed his brows and squinted his remaining eye. "I think you have the wrong person."

"No, we don't have the wrong person" Lydia clenched her jaw.

"Trust me, dear, you do. I don't know who you're looking for, but I don't know you, and if you knew me, you'd know I spent my life as a judge, not a king, and certainly I have no children," he shrugged "I'm senile, but that much I remember well."

"Damn" Lydia widened her eyes before closing them, covering her eyes with one hand. "He's right."

"He's had his memory wiped," Mobius sighed next to her, shaking his head. "How could we forget that?"

"Fucking Loki, even from the afterlife he makes my life impossible," Lydia stood up, starting to pace around the sofas.

"Loki is dead?"

"No, but it's like – HEY!" Lydia stopped, gripping the sofa tightly. "You lied!"

"Well, did you expect me to reveal my identity to two strangers?" Odin adjusted himself in the armchair, sarcastically laughing. "If you know my son, you should have started with that."

"Wasn't Loki's spell supposed to enchant you?" Mobius furrowed his brows, leaning towards him.

"Loki is as skilled as his mother, but I am still Odin," he clasped his hands over his round belly "now tell me, what has happened to my son?"

"Nothing," Mobius shook his head "Just a small matter, really."

"Really? Because she just said he's dead" Odin pointed to Lydia, who was still standing behind Mobius.

"Well… he's not exactly dead" She exchanged a look with Mobius. "Would you prefer him to be alive or dead?" Lydia gave a weak smile.

"Come on, young lady, we're talking about my son."

The one who had scrambled his mind and parked him in a retirement home...

"Exactly" Lydia shrugged.

"Alive" he specified.

"Perfect, because he is!" Mobius clasped his hands in front of him. "He's just trapped, so to speak, in a prison he himself created. If we break the prison, we die; if we leave him there-"

"For him, it's worse than death," Lydia crossed her arms from her position. "Moreover, that prison is practically Yggdrasil."

"And this is where you come in," Mobius smiled at Odin. "We know that you know everything about the tree, and if there's a way to free him maybe-"

"You shouldn't," Odin shook his head.

"What? Why?" Lydia straightened up.

"Because if he did it, it's his choice. My son is not stupid, but he puts himself and power above all else; he's ambitious and selfish."

"How can you say such a thing?" she snapped "Sure, he's made mistakes, but the reason he condemned himself to an existence of solitude is to save us, to save him," she waved a finger as she continued listing "me, our friends, and the entire universe, including you."

Mobius ran a hand over his face, pressing his fingers against his eyes. "Lydia…" he sighed.

"What? Am I wrong?"

"Just breathe."

Lydia stopped, realizing she had lost her temper again, and took a trembling breath to calm herself.

"We know this is the person you know, Odin, but we have known someone very different, who has learned from his mistakes and tried to be better enough to be loved by those around him, to have friends." Mobius spoke calmly "So please help us, we are begging you" Mobius glanced at Lydia, who kept her head down.

Odin crossed his arms, looking from one to the other.

"Very well," he sighed. "Ask your questions, but you might not get the answers you desire."

Lydia raised her gaze to Mobius, who nodded, then she sat back down on the sofa, this time positioning herself between her collegue and the armrest.

"Is there a way to destroy Yggdrasil without causing a Ragnarok?" Mobius began.

"No," Odin replied curtly.

"And what about a way to get Loki out of there without destroying Yggdrasil?"

"No," Odin shook his head again.

"He's not cooperating," Lydia extended a hand before letting it fall loudly onto her leg "We're wasting time, again."

"Lydia," Mobius turned to her with a more severe look "Go get some water."

"I'm not thirsty," she furrowed her brows.

"Go get some water before I find a puddle and use it to drown you."

Lydia sighed and walked away, leaving Mobius to continue. After all, it was his idea to talk to Odin; it was only right he handled it. She walked down the corridor to a water fountain, pulled her hair to one side, and bent down to drink.

"Right, Time."

Lydia furrowed her brows; she knew that voice.

"What?"

She straightened up and saw the distorted reflection of herself in the fountain pipe, and behind her, Loki's shape.

She turned quickly but found only a young red-haired janitor.

"I said be careful with the water; your tie is all wet."

Lydia looked down at the fabric that was indeed wet and wiped her mouth with the back of a hand.

"Thanks" she murmured before walking away towards one of the bathrooms.

She opened the door and approached one of the hand dryers, turning it on with a sigh and putting the end of her tie under it.

How crazy. She was convinced she had heard his voice. Hallucinations were a new level of compromise. Mobius was right to tell her to calm down. Maybe there was some medication she could steal from the facility. Any would do; maybe it wouldn't make her better, but it would give her a nice trip.

"Excuse me" called a lady behind her, "do you mind using the right time?"

"What, excuse me?" Lydia furrowed her brows.

"I should use the right time" she pointed to the dryer with a smile.

"…Please…" Lydia took a few steps back, confused. She watched the woman dry her hands serenely, then smile at her before leaving.

"What the hell…"

It wasn't possible. Three times, the same hallucination with the same voice. It wasn't possible, or maybe it was? When she was captured as a variant and brought before Renslayer, even the whole concept of the TVA seemed impossible.

She leaned her backside against a sink. Maybe she was just trying to give a logical explanation to her own madness, but what if it was indeed him? Loki had become the god of time, but he hadn't stopped being the god of mischief. He could access anyone at any place and time and maybe enchant them. She wasn't sure how his magic worked, but if anyone could do something like that, it was him.

"Yes, but what right time?" She gripped the marble behind her, thinking out loud. "Loki, damn it, help me, what's the right time?" She looked up but saw only the ceiling.

She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath.

"Come on, Lydia, think."

Odin sleeps hanging from Yggdrasil. Odin knows everything about Yggdrasil. Loki created Yggdrasil.

Something didn't add up. If Odin hung himself on the Yggdrasil tree but this wasn't created by Loki yet, what did Odin hang himself on?

Unless there were two Yggdrasil trees. Was that possible? Maybe. Fortunately, she knew who to ask.

She ran out of the bathroom and went straight to Odin, still talking to Mobius. She didn't know about what, it wasn't important.

"Can there be two Yggdrasils?" She interrupted.

"Of course not" he smiled at her as if she were crazy.

"No" she repeated. Not two Yggdrasils.

"Are you okay?" Mobius asked. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"I have, but we'll talk about that later" Lydia shook her head, focusing.

It's just fucking tree. The one she repeated every day since she started looking for solutions to Loki's condition. A fucking tree, and trees are ancient, not eternal.

"Is it possible for Yggdrasil to die?"

"Of course," Odin nodded.

"And in that case, there would be a Ragnarok, right?"

Odin nodded again.

"But Yggdrasil is a magical tree, right? I don't think it can rot or… or be infested and consumed by parasites."

"Obviously. It's fueled by a magical core, a sort of heart."

"Who created that magical core?"

Odin paused, and slowly a smile spread across his face, one that reached his eye this time.

"I think you already know the answer."

Son of a bitch. She couldn't say it to the father of gods, but she thought it very, very intensely.

"Sorry, I'm lost," Mobius interjected.

"He came into contact with Yggdrasil, right? But that's not possible because the Yggdrasil we know wasn't created yet. That means we're talking about two different trees."

"And how does that help us?" Mobius furrowed his brows, looking at her as if she were crazy. Lydia was not crazy.

"Allow me to help you," Odin cleared his throat. "I think there's a translation problem. Our Ragnarok doesn't exactly equate to your apocalypse, but rather to a rebirth. In the ancient stories of our peoples, it is told of several Ragnaroks, in which a world was destroyed to allow the rebirth of the same and the gods who inhabit it. And according to these stories, there are certain figures who always perform the same task: who creates the tree and who destroys it, to then make it reborn."

"And how would destroying the tree help me if to do so I would have to kill Loki?" Her tone was slightly irritated.

"Nobody said anything about killing our Loki. There have been many Lokis and many Lydias, many Thors and many Asgards throughout history."

"Are you talking about reincarnation?"

"He's talking about variants," Mobius interjected, throwing a glance at Lydia, who raised her eyebrows, shaking her head indicating she didn't understand.

"After all, Norse mythology is full of cyclical myths. Everything is destroyed before the gods come back to life and rebuild."

Odin must have felt particularly generous that day, because he decided to help them with one last piece of information.

"You've studied," he smiled, pleased, "but allow me to give you one more detail, something you won't find in any text. The tree is not powered by Loki himself, but by his power, which is encapsulated in the heart of Yggdrasil and those, my guests, are two very different things."

EXTRALONG CHAPTER FOR MY DEAR READERS. I FEEL LIKE LYDIA'S MOOD IS "LOKI MA BOY IZ DAT U?"... GURL IS ONE MENTAL BREAKDOWN AWAY FROM MADNESS, AND I KINDA FEEL THAT. AS USUAL THANKS FOR READING AND A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO @mischief2sarawr FOR ALWAYS SUPPORTING ME <3. SEE YOU SOON. AAAAND IF YOU WANNA SEE LOKI YOU GOTTA WAIT, THAT'S THE PRICE FOR TRYING TO SAVE THE DUDE.

#fanfic #loki series #loki #loki laufeyson #loki x reader #loki x oc #loki season 2 #loki x reader images #loki x you #loki x y/n #tva!loki #tva!lokixreader #tva!lokixoc #tom hiddleston #ghost

[medium-observation]

JUNE RELEASE!

Monty Python's Spamalot - Kennedy Center May 18, 2023 - Medium Observation Video | Matinée

Cast: James Monroe Iglehart (King Arthur), Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer (The Lady of the Lake), Matthew Saldivar (Patsy/Guard 2), Rob McClure (The Historian/Prince Herbert), Jimmy Smagula (Sir Bedevere/Dennis's Mother/Concorde), Alex Brightman (Sir Lancelot/The French Taunter/Knight of Ni/Tim the Enchanter), Nik Walker (Sir Galahad/The Black Knight/Prince Herbert's Father), Michael Urie (Sir Robin/Guard 1/Brother Maynard), Michael Fatica (Ensemble), Kaylee Olson (Ensemble), Ryan Kasprzak (Ensemble), Phillip Attmore (Ensemble), Daniel Beeman (Ensemble), Maria Briggs (Ensemble), Eloise Kropp (Ensemble), Daniel May (Ensemble), Shina Ann Morris (Ensemble), Kristin Piro (Ensemble)

Notes: Nice video of this hilarious show. Filmed from the orchestra. Lots of wideshots, which can lead to some washout at times. Beautiful zooms however on the cast (Alex Brightman fancam at times but it never takes away from the video!). Overall a great video of this Hilarious and perfect production.

NFT Date: December 1, 2023

Screenshots: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjAEn7m

Video is $20

Hadestown - First US National Tour May 20, 2023 - Medium Observation Video | Matinée

Cast: Colin LeMoine (u/s Orpheus), Hannah Whitley (Eurydice), Matthew Patrick Quinn (Hades), Nyla Watson (u/s Persephone), Nathan Lee Graham (Hermes), Belén Moyano (Fate 1), Cecilia Trippiedi (u/s Fate 2), Dominique Kempf (Fate 3), Racquel Williams (Worker), Jemal Lee Harris (Worker), KC Dela Cruz (s/w Worker), Ian Coulter-Buford (s/w Worker)

Notes: Fantastic video of Colin's Orpheus Debut! there is a small head obstruction in the far left bottom that obstructs nothing but Hermes legs at times. This was a very unique and stressful show for the cast as they were down a worker and had everyone in the company on in the show. the show started almost 25 minutes late as they had to rehearse and change choreo. The lights hit in wait for me and the choreo change is quite fun to see and it's unique!

NFT Date: December 1, 2023

Screenshots: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjAEEBp

Video is $20

Beetlejuice - First US National Tour February 19, 2023 - Medium Observation Video | Matinée

Cast: Justin Collette (Beetlejuice), Isabella Esler (Lydia Deetz), Britney Coleman (Barbara Maitland), Will Burton (Adam Maitland), Jesse Sharp (Charles Deetz), Kate Marilley (Delia Deetz), Danielle Marie Gonzalez (Miss Argentina), Abe Goldfarb (Otho), Brian Vaughn (Maxie Dean), Karmine Alers (Maxine Dean/Juno), Jackera Davis (Girl Scout), Matthew Michael Janisse (s/w Ensemble), Ryan Breslin (s/w Ensemble)

Notes: Big head obstruction on the left side of the screen where the crib, and Charles room is. it's worked around fine, but it's there and can be very distracting at times. besides that it's a great 4k video and it's a unique one, because they had asl and captions so the cast had to stick on script, which led to some fun choreo improv!

NFT Date: December 1st, 2023

Screenshots: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjAsYaU

Video is $10

Videos can be purchased through me at [email protected]

#mediumobservation #beetlejuice #alex brightman #spamalot #hadestown #musical bootlegs

[toomanytookas]

Pedro Pascal Fandom Bingo (+ April Reading Roundup)

@burntheedges is a genius and the creation of this bingo game is proof! I love how this has been encouraging me to reach out to people and broaden my reading, Kate. I'm posting this even though I'm late to the party because it's also helping me realise that I was actually quite active this past month even though I've been feeling down about not being as engaged! Here’s to an eventual board blackout. 🥂✨

I definitely did not plan to somehow fill so many squares without getting a bingo, it’s kinda wild. 🤷‍♀️

Spaces I’ve Marked So Far (as of 30 April)

This is just turning into my roundup of April reading because I couldn't handle leaving out any of the wonderful things I read this month!

I’ve tried to provide a super brief summary of each fic as a taster (obvs more info is provided by the author on each fic’s actual page). If you’re an author whose work is listed here and feel I’ve misrepresented your fic, let me know and I can change the little blurb/status! <3

List is alpha sorted by character then by author.

✅ Read and reblog a character that needs more love - Ben (my first!) visiting - @ladamedusoif - chaptered (ongoing) > Art history professor Lydia takes a visiting post that leads her to meet a certain lit professor, Ben Morales.

✅ Read and reblog a Dieter fic: park - burntheedges - oneshot > Reader encounters a snoozing Dieter in the park Recovery Road - @chronically-ghosted - chaptered (complete) > An epic-length tale of an ill-fated affair between actors (and their better-timed second chance at love). I'm Not in Love (If Wishes Came True) - @schnarfer - series (complete) > Dieter can’t help but sabotage his relationship with MUA reader (but first we get to enjoy the delightful, enchanting beginnings)

✅ Read and reblog an Ezra fic: be your hallowed ground - @kedsandtubesocks - oneshot (complete) > demon!Ezra lures reader off the beaten path and into a bit of delicious sin.

✅ Read and reblog a Frankie M fic: watch - @luxurychristmaspudding - series (ongoing) > Frankie and reader’s instant chemistry is brought back into play in their dynamic with Joel and Santi Be Good for Me - @pascalssbabyy - oneshot > Subby Frankie gets treated to some tasty pre-bedtime activities with reader. Up Sky, Low High - @undercoverpena - oneshot > Frankie and reader have a bit (a lot) of fun while on a helicopter ride. (Also a major shout out to Jo's Do Me Yourself. I'm an ao3 reader of Frankie & Rainy because of a weird mental hangup, so it doesn't count for bingo, but it's a story that means a lot to me!)

✅ Read & reblog a Javi P fic: Paranoid Heart - @goodwithcheese - chaptered (complete) > Two souls who are a bit too worldly wise for Laredo meet through their parents and fall for one another. 

✅ Read and reblog a Joel M fic: Maintenance Request - burntheedges - chaptered (ongoing) > Lit prof reader and [hey we know his job title now!] Joel meet as he works on facilities maintenance and landscaping around campus come morning light (safe and sound) - @janaispunk - chaptered (ongoing) > Joel & Ellie crash land at the reader’s home post Joel getting stabbed. Most Ardently (Nicest Things) - schnarfer - chaptered (ongoing) > Reader’s uncle’s neighbor, Joel, is everything her boyfriend isn’t—caring, attentive, and happy to help her read Austen while her hands are busy

✅ Read and reblog a Marcus M fic (my first!): Afterword - @secretelephanttattoo - chaptered (ongoing) > New-in-town reader makes an instant connection with local stationery shop owner Marcus

✅ Read and reblog a Marcus P fic: I'm Here - @davnittbraes - (open?) series > Reader discovers Marcus is the softdom she didn’t know she could ask for. in shades of gray and candlelight - @freelancearsonist - oneshot > Marcus meets reader at a gallery opening for a case. Raining in Baltimore - schnarfer - oneshot > Soggy Marcus angsts after a fight with reader.

✅ Read & reblog a Tim R fic: i don't wanna be me (bloody kisses) - @perotovar - series (ongoing) > Shane’s gay awakening is full of angst and a bit of getting into trouble. Good thing he has Tim Rockford to turn to as his gentle guide.

✅ Create & share a rec list: discovering lit through fic ✅ Send 3 people a fun ask: I passed this ask meme along! ✅ Send an ask to 3 people you never have before

The pie and bar charts are stowed away this month since I've got this bingo graphic instead, but for my own number-loving brain: In April, I read 320k words from 19 distinct works written by 14 authors. I made 47 comments across tumblr and ao3 (~13k words).

#PedroPascalFandomBingo #reclist #reading roundup #if you know i'm supposed to be packing instead of doing this no you don't #sorry i still haven't quite figured out whether i should tag people when making lists like this or not??? #just lmk if you want me to untag you & sorry if i've tagged you for the same thing a lot lately

[powdermelonkeg]

Assorted headcanons about my current Team Dragonborn:

Lydia Iron-Forged:

Former Companion, left after being invited into the Circle

Serious to a fault—a fan of deadpan humor, to the point where you often can’t tell if she’s actually joking

Older sister ran off to join the Stormcloaks, carries an amulet of Talos that was sent home shortly after

Can lift a werewolf if she really tries

Likes her mead with snowberries

The kind of drunk that laughs at everyone and everything. Tally thinks it’s an unsettling change

Practices, either with sparring or with forms, her swordplay just before dawn

Has a soft spot for horses, uses them as a litmus test—good people always take care of their animals

Can cook, mostly hunts for her own meals. Makes a good hearty stew

Sword is named “Stormblight,” enchanted with shocks. Was a gift from her father, bought off a Khajiit caravan

Has a scar on the back of her neck from a fight with a troll

Mikael used to pick on her when she was a little girl. Her sister taught her how to punch to break noses, and Mikael’s nose hasn’t been straight since. She’s the one woman he won’t flirt with

Bisexual, with a preference for Ysolda women

Kaidan (of Northwind):

Once had an affair with a young noblewoman named Isabel. She got engaged to the count of Bravil, so he tried stealing her away and was thrown in the dungeon for it. Paid the fine, was going to serve sentence (40 lashes), but Isabel got in the way of one and stopped the whole thing. She didn’t say anything else except to tell him to leave. She still has a scar on her cheek

A thrill-seeker, though won’t admit it. Takes vampire contracts for the rush of adrenaline

The tattoo on his face marks him as blood-kin to the Orcs

Has a faded lightning-pattern scar spread across his back, beneath the newer interrogation lashes. Rosalind gave it to him

Could learn a shout if he really, really tried for it. Not as easily as the LDB, but in a vastly shorter time than the Greybeards (as per the Akaviri Dossier). Would learn Aura Whisper (Laas Yah Nir) if given the chance

Can follow being read to much more easily than reading. Not that he can’t read, just prefers a voice—pages blend together after awhile

Very much a “hold my beer” kind of drunk. Don’t tell him he can’t do anything or try to show off in front of him

Does scrimshaw to burn extra stress, especially after a nightmare. Tries to make his work useful in some way (ie a horn, some cups, a knife, etc)

Sells his scrimshaw in between contracts

Gets tense and snappy from moon sugar withdrawal

Caryalind Thallery:

Wears gold lipstick when in town. It’s very subtle and usually only noticeable to fellow Altmer

Is a slow morning person—the kind to wake up early, but spend the next hour basking in morning sunlight in a silk robe with a coffee

Skyrim’s air is NOT good for his curly hair. Whenever he can manage it, he scrounges up some septims and stops by the caravans to see if there’s any orange oil in stock. He always smells faintly of oranges

Whenever Cary senses magicka, he immediately goes on high alert, even if it’s just Restoration

Cary got a handful of threatening/hateful letters as prince, and kept them, feeling terrible and not as if he should be allowed to throw them away. His friend back home (Termia) found them one day and convinced him to burn them with her

His hair is soft. Very soft. Feather-down soft. Yes, it’s natural

His calian (sphere of aetherquartz that denotes his place in Altmer society) is clear magicka blue, the size of a clementine, and has translucent etchings of his birthsign’s stars set in it. Sometimes he almost laughs at the irony

Taliesin (alias):

He used to write up letters on the field about things he’d seen to send to his sisters. Couriers were sparse, so sometimes he’d wind up sending 5 at once because he’d been holding on to them. He keeps them in his robe, next to his chest

He had a packet of letters on his person when the Talos Shrine incident happened. They got bled through

He still writes sometimes, even though he might never be able to send them

He once swiped the head Justiciar’s hood and pretended to be him to amuse his colleagues. Said justiciar walked in on it

He will judge you SO HARD if you eat dog meat. No it’s not the same as when he eats slaughterfish, slaughterfish at least have the decency not to slobber everywhere!

A decent cook, if only because he got tired of having to special request everything

Very intelligent. Not in the sense of book smarts (though he does have those), but he has an uncanny knack for reading the room and gauging reactions—part of it is to be of service to whatever his current task is (knowing when someone is about to run, playing good cop/bad cop with other agents) but the majority is because he had to learn how to read his father’s bad moods

Pays extremely close attention to how his friends react to others’ mistakes. Especially mistakes he has in common with them. What’s the difference between his past and Paarthurnax’s? Kaidan’s? Caryalind’s? Bonus points, this means you can gain his trust more effectively by treating people besides him well

His jokes and wit double as a litmus test. When he meets someone, it’s to test how much of a pain they are to get along with. Past that, it’s his subtle way of checking in; if someone who normally laughs at him is annoyed, or someone who’s usually annoyed doesn’t react, something’s wrong

Complains because it’s cathartic and misery loves company

Has a few dragon scales in his pocket once he starts traveling with the LDB. It’s to show his sisters if he ever sees them again

Accidentally acquired a taste for firebrand wine—Summerset cuisine is notoriously delicate, so drinking firebrand was the “cinnamon challenge” in the Solitude Thalmor ranks. Naturally he wanted to show off and one-up everyone

Like Kaidan, is a “hold my beer” kind of drunk. If the two get drunk together, they’ll keep one-upping each other until they either black out or are physically separated

Never learned how to swim because when he was little, his father deadpan-joked about maormer in the water kidnapping altmer that didn’t behave. He avoided deep water like the plague, then never remedied it when he got older

Calian is milky-rose quartz, big as a gooseberry. It got chipped once on the field; after repairing it, he’s padded its box with as much cotton as he can get

An absolute ace at card games, and decent at dice. Won his horse in a game of cards. Loves her to death and spoils her

Has a lovely voice but makes you earn it. Favorite song to sing is “Star-Eyed Bride of Alinor”

Very much an “I told you so” kind of person, takes it to the point of “Oh, I was right? What was I right about? Speak up, my pointy ears can’t detect your whispers of shame.”

#skyrim #tesv #taliesin skyrim #caryalind thallery #Kaidan skyrim #Lydia skyrim #what can I do for queue #long post #apologies. these got progressively more wordy as time went on

[turntwenty-if]

On a scale of least to most slowburn, where do all of the ROs lie? Can you tag this question with #slowburn, please?

I'm a sucker for slowburn, you know wink wink I think many fanfics I've read are tag slowburn too.

If I were to rank them from the least to most slowburn, it might go like this:

1. Lydia/Luke Parker:They already genuinely admire the MC. They already like you. Of course, I won't make the story that easy; there will be other challenges and issues, for sure.

2. Kaia/Kai Carlson:With their looks and personality, I feel it wouldn't be difficult for the MC to be enchanted by them. It won't be hard for the MC to capture their attention either. However, with fame and scandals in this industry uh oh it won't be that easy.

3. Ava/Adam Blackwell:They are the cold, work-focused type, so when they start developing feelings for the MC, they'll be more in denial, especially if the MC acts similarly. Moreover, if the MC behaves like them🤦‍♀️

4. Madison/Mason Ashford:This one is probably predictable. There's a lot of hatred, frustration, regret. From the beginning, you two didn't have a good relationship, and adding that 'incident' makes it the slowest burn of all.

#ask rence #the night i turn twenty #slowburn #wip if #Anyone here read manga/manhwa/manhua too?👀

[bougainvillea-and-saltwater]

Hiii beloved mutual!💖

I'm not sure if you ever got this ask before, but what are let's say 10 bad temperamental characteristics of Jia?

(you can totally ignore this but I'm in blorbo mood rn and I really really want to hear more about Jia:)) )

Hello, friend!!! 💖 I definitely won’t ignore this ask, it made me so happy seeing your name sliding into my inbox again! (Sorry if it took me some time, my mind wasn’t in its right place…🥲)

Okay, I adored this question! I kept thinking about it, and I believe I ended up with these 10 negative temperamental characteristics of Jia:

She can be impulsive. 

She’s rather quick to anger and can be (self) destructive in it. 

She’s not patient at all, especially with anything that involves magic. Literally, if it doesn’t work the first time, she’s not touching that enchantment again. 

She’s introverted and distant at first, to the point someone may mistake her for snobbish and arrogant.

When she feels threatened, she has no thoughts between those eyes. She can be as dense as a rock.

 She stays too focused on the past.

She is deliberately avoiding her problems by hiding them under the carpet. 

She is overly emotional, and her mood has many ups and downs. 

It can be a bit challenging and cranky to live with her sometimes. She doesn’t like/gets frustrated when people touch or move her things from one place to another; she purposely places them all in certain positions and doesn’t want others to mess with them in any way (good luck, Lydia and Gregor and Miraak). 

When she’s uncomfortable (something quite frequent mainly in her adolescence because she was a puppy that didn’t socialize well) she can be clumsy and goofy—no grace there whatsoever. 

What about Arya? 👀

#asks #thank you so much for this! 💖🥰 #oc: jia

[sarawritestories]

WIP GAME

Thanks, @shadowdaddies @prythianpages @milswrites for tag!

Rules: make a new post with the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet or tell them something about it! And then tag as many people as you have WIP's

1. Let Me Be Your Wings a collab with @milswrites

2. They Said I Did Something Bad, Then Why's it Feel So Good Cassian X Fem Reader (sequel to You're on Your Own Kid, You Always Have Been.)

3. All I Ask Of You Cassian X Reader (Sequel to Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again)

4. I Wanna Be Yours Chapter 2 (Xadien Riorson X Lydia Aetos)

5. Unwavering Presence Chapter 14 Part 2 (Cassian X Archeron Sister)

6. All Too Well Enchanted Estella X Cassian and Estella X Eris (later)

7. Umbrella (Rhysand X Fem Reader)

8. Don't You Dare (Astarion X Fem Tav)

9. Celebrate (Team Flash, Mostly Harry X Reader)

10. Untitled Dark Bat Boys with Cassian X Tamlin's mate being the focus

11. You're Too Sweet For Me,But I Have A Sweet Tooth. (Cassian X Tamlin's Little Sister)

12. Cat and Mouse (Zoom X Short Fem Reader)

13. House of Memories (Azriel X Human fem reader)

No Pressure Tags: @lady-of-tearshed @illyrianbitch @thehighladywrites @adriellej @skyfallscotland

#cassian x reader #acotar fanfiction #cassian acotar #arrowversefanfiction #harry wells x reader #the flash fanfiction #baldurs gate 3 fanfiction #astarion x reader #astarion x female tav #eris x oc #fourth wing fanfic #xaden riorson x oc