#Just because I get asked for quotes all the bloody time when I point out that the Starks are not poc I am compiling these here

[jackoshadows]

Jon Snow appearance descriptions from the text of the books with references to Arya, Ned (and Lyanna) because they have the house Stark look and he is often times described as looking similar to them by characters who know of all of them.

Jon's eyes were a grey so dark they seemed almost black, but there was little they did not see. He was of an age with Robb, but they did not look alike. Jon was slender where Robb was muscular, dark where Robb was fair, graceful and quick where his half brother was strong and fast. - Bran, AGoT

Arya took after their lord father. Her hair was a lusterless brown, and her face was long and solemn. - Arya, AGoT

The boy absorbed that all in silence. He had the Stark face if not the name: long, solemn, guarded, a face that gave nothing away. Whoever his mother had been, she had left little of herself in her son. - Tyrion, AGoT

Jon had their father's face, as she did. They were the only ones. Robb and Sansa and Bran and even little Rickon all took after the Tullys, with easy smiles and fire in their hair. - Arya, AGoT

“She might have overlooked a dozen bastards for Ned’s sake, so long as they were out of sight. Jon was never out of sight, and as he grew, he looked more like Ned than any of the trueborn sons she bore him. Somehow, that made it worse.” – Catelyn, AGoT

Her (Arya's) face was dirty, and her tears left pink tracks down her cheeks. – Eddard, AGOT

Sansa could never understand how two sisters, born only two years apart, could be so different. It would have been easier if Arya had been a bastard, like their half brother Jon. She even looked like Jon, with the long face and brown hair of the Starks, and nothing of their lady mother in her face or her coloring. And Jon's mother had been common, or so people whispered. - Sansa, AGoT

"Lyanna might have carried a sword, if my lord father had allowed it. You remind me of her sometimes. You even look like her." - Arya, AGoT

Riding through the rainy night, Ned saw Jon Snow's face in front of him, so like a younger version of his own. - Eddard, AGoT

They felt good. She (Arya) wished she could take off her clothes and swim, gliding through the warm water like an skinny pink otter. Maybe she could swim all the way to Winterfell. – Arya, ACOK

All in black, he was a shadow among shadows, dark of hair, long of face, grey of eye. - Jon, ACoK

A gust of wind sent icy tendrils wending through his long brown hair. - Jon, ASoS

Jon, he'd said, but Jon was gone. It was Lord Snow who faced him now, grey eyes as hard as ice - Sam, AFfC

She stood on the end of the dock, pale and goosefleshed and shivering in the fog. - Arya, AFfC

The flames crackled softly, and in their crackling she heard the whispered name Jon Snow. His long face floated before her, limned in tongues of red and orange, appearing and disappearing again, a shadow half-seen behind a fluttering curtain. Now he was a man, now a wolf, now a man again - Melisandre, ADwD

He looked at her face for a long moment with those cold grey eyes of his. His right hand closed, opened, closed again. "As you wish. Edd, take Ghost back to my chambers." - Melisandre, ADwD

Note: The 'Dark' and 'Fair' comparisons refers to hair/eye colour. As in Jon's dark brown hair and dark grey eyes and Robb's comparatively lighter auburn hair and blue eyes as is commonly used in English literature when describing/comparing white people.

Also Note: The First Men - the OG colonizers of Westeros and ancestors of the Starks - are white. Ygritte, Tormund, Val, Mance etc. are not poc in the books

#Jon Snow #Arya Stark #Eddard Stark #Lyanna Stark #Ned Stark #asoiaf #House Stark #Descriptions #Appearance #Just because I get asked for quotes all the bloody time when I point out that the Starks are not poc I am compiling these here #If only people would actually read the books.... #sigh

[shreddedleopard]

I genuinely think William’s real name is actually still William, just with a different surname.

Hear me out.

#1 — irony.

Remember the omake where Bonde asks him and he’s got his ☺️ face ‘that’s a secret, heh heh heh.’

Lol William is the biggest mischievous jokester going. This would be his exact reaction if people were asking like 👀 omg what is it?? And all along he’s like, lol will.i.am guys, chill. No-one cares about your first name, it’s your surname which means anything around here. You’ve all been barking up the wrong tree. Which brings me on to my second point ~

#2 — symbolism.

I cannot scream enough about how bloody genius it would be for William’s name to be, in fact, just William, but with a more common surname like ‘Smith.’ For the purposes of this discussion, let’s call him William Smith. As an orphan, he gets adopted into the family Moriarty, where there is in fact another William: Master William James Moriarty. Immediately, you have two boys of similar ages with the exact same first names, highlighting how, in fact, they should be equal if we’re looking at their basic information and identifiers. But what is it which sets them apart, and is the very message and theme running through the heart of Yuumori? Class inequality. And what dictated your social class at the time, so very unfairly? Your family lineage.

The name of Moriarty is what gives Albert’s little brother his superior, privileged position in life, over William ‘Smith.’ And yet, they are both young boys, both Williams, both should have the same sort of start in life in the equal world our William wishes to create. But they do not; the moment they are given their surnames — the moment those are penned on the paper of their birth records following ‘William’, the chasm that divides these boys is immense and unfair.

#3 — interesting coincidences, hints and clues in the text.

• William loves Shakespeare — that’s part of his identity in the same way being a mathematician is. He quotes Shakespeare all the time, he grew up in a library and has all of the plays memorised. Shakespeare’s first name was also William. Additionally, Shakespeare’s birthday is believed to be April 23rd. William’s birthday is listed as April 1st — April Fool’s Day, and it has been confirmed that this is a fake birthday, so we don’t know his real one currently. (But my guess is it’s still in April).

• The Moriarty’s never call William by his name, pre-fire, but the children at his orphanage do, and they call him Will.

At the Moriarty house, he is on the receiving end of more hate than Louis; they seem to despise him to the nth degree. I wonder if this might be because he shares a name with their precious William, and this irks them. They refuse to call him by his name because that doesn’t belong to him, filth from the streets, it belongs to their beloved son who can do no wrong.

I can see a mother like Lady Moriarty refusing to call another boy by the name she gifted her son, especially when William reminds her that there is something she had in common with his own mother — someone who she would view as completely beneath her: they chose the same name. What a disgrace, to be associated or viewed as having a similar mind to a woman of such low standing!?

We also see William only ever call William Moriarty with the title ‘master’ in front, as though he also feels the need to make the distinction. This could just be because he’s trying to be polite, though. I could honestly dissect the entire first chapter panel by panel and highlight how William being William is such a simple but perfect concept which highlights this noble family’s insecurities, discrimination and narrow mindedness. William Moriarty feels the need to constantly reaffirm his own identity in the presence of our William.

Because … if they share full names now, with the adoption … the lines are blurring. What makes one William Moriarty superior to the other? A worrying thought indeed for this boy. (Answer: there is no difference, they’re both equally deserving of opportunities in life.)

It all makes such perfect sense and explains away the awkwardness of the writer having to avoid use of William’s name simply because ‘it needs to stay hidden to create the mystery.’ This gives the characters themselves reason within the text to avoid using it, which makes everything so much more authentic and real. It makes sense because it does, not because it has to for the plot.

• William promised not to steal anything. Twice, we see him reassuring and then reaffirming that he wouldn’t steal anything, and both times are in the presence of William Moriarty.

If we want to take this statement in light of names, and toy with that lovely device foreshadowing, William having always shared the same first name would in fact mean that statement holds true — he did not steal William’s name; it was always his own to begin with, and Moriarty was a name given to him as part of his adoption, the same as it was given to Louis. He really didn’t steal anything, despite the fact that he was probably made to feel guilty or worthless every day because of the name he shared with William Moriarty.

This also means that William probably never actively deceived any of the townspeople, either; it really was just a case of mistaken identity which he manipulated for his own cause.

The townspeople made the mistake, rather than William outright lying. William is, by trade, more of a master manipulator who turns situations to his advantage with his quick thinking, rather than straight up lying or deceiving people (see: The Merchant of London.)

• Sherlock saw his birth name but never mentions it. And still chooses to call him Liam. Yes, we might’ve had a conversation happen off screen. Yes, Sherlock might choose to do that because that name is sentimental and William has asked not to be called his true name for reasons unknown. But it would fit so beautifully if William really is his name, and Sherlock’s realisation that day when he read the birth records was that oh, so this — William ‘Smith’ — is Liam’s real name. Naturally, he would continue to call him Liam with no discussion needed, because it’s a shortened version of William.

• We have lots of characters who share the name William, but with different variations on the shortened version; another symbol of how people can be equal in some senses but also their identity can be individual to them also. William H Bonney is Billy the Kid, the mathematics genius William and Sherlock stumble upon in Durham is called Bill Hunt.

#4 — practicality and marketing.

People become attached to characters and their names, and there comes a certain point in a work where it’s very difficult to alter a character’s first name and still retain a fan base’s sense of identity for that character. Calling William say, Robert, from now on, or revealing that as his true name while we continue to see him referred to as William is all sorts of confusing, emotionally. Perhaps it’s just me. But the idea that I’ve been calling William the wrong name all along feels off and sad, whereas the knowledge that he’s at least been able to keep that part of himself consistent, when everything else has had to be an act, is actually really comforting and empowering.

I’d love to write another thought dump on why William being William all along is also, so very emotionally delicious when you explore the implications in the story; it’s heartbreaking and makes him an even more sympathetic character who I just wanna hug, so perhaps I’ll come back to this! Because re-reading those earlier chapters with this in mind really hurts so good.

He stole nothing; he was always the true William, that at least is one thing that always belonged to him — it was only society and us that dictated there was one William worth knowing more — was more interesting and held more narrative power — than the other.

This is still William’s story.

#william james moriarty #william moriarty #yuukoku no moriarty #moriarty the patriot #yuumori #William Moriarty analysis #meta #Yuumori analysis #Moriarty the patriot analysis #meta analysis

[allwaswell16]

[4 pics, 4 quotes, 4 iconic fics]

Iconic Fics by...

- Rearviewdreamer -

1.

“Lou says you’re around eight to ten weeks along if that helps,” she says to jog his memory.

Harry already knows exactly how far along he is. He doesn’t need Lou or his stupid hormone levels to tell him that.

“Wait a minute,” Niall interjects with narrowed eyes. “You were in Hawaii eight to ten weeks ago,” he points out like he’s the only one in the room who can fucking count.

“Yes, I was in Hawaii,” Harry confirms through gritted teeth.

“You hooked up with a random in Hawaii and you didn’t tell me?” Niall says with a scandalized expression. Harry swears he’s going to punch him.

2.

“A thing... as in a special sign between the two of you?” Gemma smirks. “That’s so gross it’s cute.”

“Shut up,” Harry rolls his eyes, attempting to hide his blush behind his coffee, but he knows it’s useless. “It doesn’t mean anything. People get name signs that are special. And, you and I have secret signs.”

“That we made up when we were five and wanted to sneak sweets behind mum’s back,” Gemma snorts. “But, I get it. Special signs for special people. Michal and I also had special signs when we were still PRETENDING to be just friends.”

3.

He genuinely looks disappointed until Louis closes the door behind them and then steps around Harry to lead the way down the corridor. Harry’s face lights up like the bloody sun and Louis rolls his eyes.

“Don’t smirk at me like you’ve won or whatever. I’m only going for the food. And I’m only leading the way to James’ office because you still don’t know how to get there.”

Harry quickly schools his face into seriousness, adding a serious nod along with it. “Oh, of course, Louis,” he says, delighted grin still shining through despite Louis’ request. “Whatever you say, mate.”

4.

In the long breath of silence that passes between them, Louis steps forward into his space making Harry go still before him. There are several alarm bells ringing in Harry’s head, but he doesn’t move when Louis leans in, bypassing Harry’s stunned lips to press a kiss to his cheek.

Those blue eyes pierce him yet again when they suddenly crinkle up with a fresh grin as he pulls away.

“What was that?” Harry asks, noting the peculiar, uneven rhythm of his heartbeat flooding his ears as the butterflies return to flood his stomach.

“A bookmark.”

- answers below -

1. Falling For Me Won't Be A Mistake 

Harry is married to his job and so overworked that he doesn't know how to stop. All it takes is a forced Hawaiian get-a-away, the warm tropical breeze of the island, and the most beautiful, elusive man he's ever seen to make him remember what living is like outside of work. Well, that, and the little souvenir he accidentally takes home with him.

2. It Feels Different When You’re With Me

Harry fell in love with sign language as a kid. He never imagined the first love of his life would lead him straight to his second.

3. When It's Late At Night

Louis has zero interest in an ex-boybander turned solo artist when his appearance on the show gets announced, but that's exactly who he gets stuck with when Harry Styles shows up at the Late Late show to promote the release of his debut album. For an entire fucking week.

Or The Late Late prompt that we all need to get through this excruciatingly hard time.

4. You Might Want to Marry My Husband

When Harry’s husband dies, he asks one thing of him; to find love and happiness again without him. It’s a request that Harry is happy to disregard, until he meets the one person who is impossible to ignore.

[ @all-these-larrythings - Happy birthday!! ]

#happy birthday! #rearviewdreamer #ficrec #authorrec #1dficvillage #hljournal #hlcreators #trackinghome #trackinghappily #hltracks #1dsource #ficsfor4am #march 17

[iexistforidkwhatreason]

My experience with Lumii/HoneyStarlightz/Lumiidere/Lumii after dark/KiramekiCookie

I have to get this out of my system because I'm deadass tired of watching this person wander around as if they're innocent when they aren't, and I'm also annoyed because of people not noticing what this person does behind the scenes because it now takes one quick Google Search using the prompt "Luca Wii Sports" to go down the rabbit hole. This is about HoneyStarlightz/Lumii.

Lemme begin with the minor stuff. So you know how Lumii has a massive grudge against me because of most of, if not all the stuff I drew in my DeviantArt account? Almost everything there was drawn when I was a FUCKING MINOR. I am 20 years old as we speak, and most of the drawings Lumii mentions happened BEFORE MY 18TH BIRTHDAY on the 1st of December, 2021, and I'll admit, during most of that time, I was a dumbass, immature, and an edgelord. I then stopped posting anything bloody and/or revealing but continued to post harmless drawings before my 18th birthday happened. October 11th of last year was when I stopped posting on that account all together because I found out that DeviantArt was blaming Hamas and Hamas only for the Palestinian deaths and making it as if the Israel military didn't do a thing to innocent lives in Palestine after Hamas attacked.

Next, we have them making me look like an asshole for shipping Luca with Abby (The one shipart I made of the two apparently traumatized them). Back when I was 17, I decided to draw Abby and Luca, two Miis I'm not a fan of, nor close to, as a couple because I thought shipping the two was a good idea. I then posted the finished product on the 23rd of January, 2021. The drawing was not meant to traumatize anyone. It was JUST. SHIP. ART. OF. ABBY. &. LUCA. The only bad thing about that drawing was that I shoved my opinion of the two Miis down people's throats in the description by asking how the hell do people like them because to me, they're just not fun to play against at all, and even then, it was drawn three to four years ago, and I don't even ship the two anymore. I ship Abby with Wii U Barbara now. Mate, I didn't even know Lumii EXISTED back then, let alone know they had a massive love for Luca.

Next, there's the clear as day hipocrisy that people have yet to notice somehow. So you know how Lumii has "Opinion Bashers" on their DNI list, right? On that same list, they also have people that hate, despise, even dislike Luca, instantly making them a hypocrite because they said they don't want to interact with people who just cannot tolerate others having a different opinion while also saying that if you think Luca is not a good Mii, you're instantly on their shit list. Also, they said no exceptions, meaning you can be the nicest person in the world, but if you dislike Luca, go fuck yourself.

I have several friends that like Luca a lot, some of which are here on Tumblr. I do not like Luca. We get along perfectly fine. I don't understand why they feel like Luca haters and Luca lovers can't co-exist when they clearly can. Just don't be an ass to others when it comes to what you think of the character, mate.

Lastly, we have the fact that they cannot take criticism. They said criticism is prohibited on their DeviantArt profile, which means that you can say anything positive about their art, but if you say anything negative, then nope. Get out. Oh, I'm so sorry I gave you a harmless critique that was just saying what I didn't like and how you can improve. I apologize.

Seriously tho, how sensitive can you be to the point where you prohibit people from critiquing your work? Or is it that they can't criticize you? Or is it both?

Now we go to the bigger stuff, starting with the TRANSPHOBIA ACCUSATIONS and obvious delusion. They said, and I quote "please shut the fuck up for calling him "Lucapoopa", "Boring", "Annoying", "Scum" and "Tedious" for the love of fucking god, he's fucking overhated and y'all are too harsh and transphobic at him, fucking hell".

Luca is not canonically trans. Don't even say he is because of unused data because I did my research, and the only unused data he has is facial hair related. Don't get me wrong, Luca being trans is a HC that I'm completely fine with. If you want to headcanon him as trans, fine by me. Trans rights all the way, mate. Don't fucking call people transphobic just for disliking Luca tho! Luca is not canonically trans, and even if he was, bold of Lumii to assume that someone that hates Luca hates him because he's trans. He appears as an opponent in three games and there's a chance that he might piss you off in all three.

How delusional do you have to be to see someone hate a character that isn't trans outside of your HC and go "Oh, they're transphobic"?

Next, there's fullblown insensitivity. I decided to check on DeviantArt for something, and I get a DM from someone. We had a chat about Lumii, and in that chat, they showed this...

Can you spot the insensitive part? Here, I'll make it easier for ya.

I'm completely fine with people giving dark backstories to Miis in their HC, but there's a line, and you crossed it. Can we not do rape related headcanons, please? I feel like that should go without saying because, oh, I dunno, that shit is OBVIOUSLY IN BAD TASTE!

Lastly, there's something I cannot show here because if I do, I'm going to get in trouble... It has to do with porn...

Lumii has a total of three accounts that I bumped into while looking at Luca images on Google that have porn of Miis on them. They have a Newgrounds account (KiramekiCookie), which has two drawings of Luca porn, a Bluesky account (Lumii after dark), which has twelve, and a Twitter/X account with the same name, which not only has porn of Luca, but of other Miis too... AND THERE'S AN UNGODLY AMOUNT OF IT, MOST OF IT BEING LUCA PORN! TELL ME YOU'RE OBSSESSED WITH OUT TELLING ME YOU'RE OBSSESSED!

I make YOU uncomfortable, Lumii? I make YOU uncomfortable?! You drew Luca laying eggs, you drew a worrying amount of Luca porn, and yet you have the AUDACITY to say I make YOU uncomfortable when you're obviously worse, you fucking hypocrite?! You drew art that is bound to make several people uncomfortable the moment they see it on the THREE ACCOUNTS you have, you falsely accuse people of transphobia, you obssess over Luca an unhealthy and uncomfortable amount, and yet I'M the one in the wrong because I drew ship art of Luca and Abby and art that has blood on it years ago?! I don't get your logic!

BTW, for those who say that this could've been resolved privately, it couldn't because Lumii has blocked me on DeviantArt, and they also blocked me on an old Tumblr account of theirs too, meaning that talking to them was out of the fucking question. They CLEARLY did not want to talk it out. They just wanted to avoid me entirely while also antagonize me for shit I did years ago that wasn't even that bad compared to the crap they did.

Lumii, if you manage to see this, which I know you will because I know you have a Discord and I know someone's gonna send a screenshot to you on there... All of this could've been avoided had you just been a better person.

#miiblr

[crackers4jenn]

Jeremy Carver didn't get the respect he deserves in that pollsnatural writers poll. I need to remind y'all who was doing a lot of the heavy lifting when it came to early destiel. Jeremy Carver wrote (or, was credited as the writer) for the following:

3x11 "Mystery Spot" - not a destiel ep, just a banger 👍

4x03 "In the Beginning" - aka the first hint of Cas being sympathetic to Dean. 3 episodes into Cas's existence Jeremy Carver was asking the big questions, like what would it look like if Dean and Cas stared all soulfully into one another's eyes??? I MEAN,

4x20 "The Rapture" - the Jimmy Novak episode. Gave us Dean's tranquil fishing dream, Cas's note-passing interruption. Gave us all the conflict of Dean witnessing Jimmy Novak in place of Cas. Gave us that mic drop "I learned my lesson while I was away, Dean. I serve Heaven, I don't serve man. And I certainly don't serve you" hell of a walk-off line.

5x03 "Free to Be You and Me" - do I even need to expand on this one??? "I need your help because you are the ONLY one who will help me," Thelma and Louise quote, Bert and Ernie quote, "you are not gonna die a virgin," the Raphael confrontation, etc etc Dean tells Cas it's the happiest he's been in years!!!

5x08 "Changing Channels" - another classic episode that's great even without the undercurrent of destiel. But undercurrent there is. One of the recurring themes of the episode is Dean being worried about what Gabriel's doing to Cas. Plus, helloooo, "pretty boy angel" Jeremy Carver's horniness for Misha CAME THROUGH.

5x18 "Point of No Return" - do you all not remember "last person who looked at me like that, I got laid" do you all not remember "I gave EVERYTHING for you, and this is what you give to me????" do you all not remember "what the hell happened to him? / "me"???? And a sidenote: do you all not remember Cas carving a banishing sigil into HIS OWN CHEST?????? Again I say, Jeremy Carver's crush on Misha CAME THROUGH.

8x01 "We Need To Talk About Kevin" - I'm pretty sure at this point JC became showrunner, so there was a ~shift in the blatancy of destiel in his writing, but still. This ep is the start of the Purgatory flashbacks, the first peek at Dean's guilt over Cas not making it out with him.

8x23 "Sacrifice" - the 'ET goes home" bar scene, the dozens and dozens of pages worth of meta about cupid and the arrows and the two dudes falling in love in front of Dean and Cas.

9x01 "I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here" - Dean's "please, man, I need you here" prayer to Cas, which miiiight be the first time he prays to Cas seriously. Their v. soft phone call sometime after where Dean is just as worried for Cas as Cas is for him. Plus, hey-o, would it be a Carver episode without objectifying Misha in some way? This is the ep with the infamous laundry scene, of Cas shucking off his clothes in a very poignant loss-of-identity horny way.

9x23 "Do You Believe in Miracles?" - uh, ever heard of "to save Dean Winchester. That was your goal, right? I mean, you draped yourself in the flag of heaven but ultimately it was all about saving one man" which is pretty much a Castiel thesis statement dropped casually as dialogue.

10x01 "Black" - okay, picture this, Cas is depressed and lying wantonly atop a bed, clad only in a robe that's open juuuust wide enough his chest peeks through. To Sam, he wistfully admits "I miss him" as they tiptoe around the subject of Dean. Fanfic, you say? No, Jeremy Carver.

10x23 "Brother's Keeper" - there's a deleted scene of Cas showing up in Dean's dream, bloody and beat up, introduced by the bartender as Dean's "admirer." Not to mention! Winchester Derangement Syndrome. Not to further mention!! Shattered at the altar of Winchester.

11x01 "Out of the Darkness, Into the Fire" - gonna let this gif speak for itself:

#in conclusion: 👑 #destiel #supernatural #castiel #dean winchester #otp: profound bond

[totally-sapphic-posts]

Oh man you've had some really bad kisses. My first kiss was with this dude who just didn't move his lips at all. He was just like 😐 the whole time and he had more experience so I just thought "well I guess this is it then". But then suddenly BAM 👅 tongue forcing its way through my locked lips and once inside rapidly moving around like it was trying to clean my mouth up or something. I so clearly remember thinking "really, this is what people are so hyped about?"

(I now know it's not)

Omg ew 😭😭🤣 people who are bad at kissing but have experience, especially when you don’t really have experience, make you question a lot. Lmaoo

I remember, my first kiss, the guy was also having his first. We didn’t realize you actually use tongue, so it was just a bunch of lip movement without tongue. It was a weird experience 🤣

This other time, this person with experience was kissing soooo fast. I kind of forced them to slow down and they pulled back and said, “damn, that turned into the best kiss of my life”, hilarious in the moment.

This other person after the first time we kissed, at the end, had to take a ‘cool down’ breather and said, and I quote, ‘you’re a great kisser’, then proceeded to get turned on and choke me in the next kiss 💀 I was shocked and thrown sooo off guard because that was not discussed at any point. Side note: ASK PEOPLE IF THEY’RE OKAY WITH CHOKING BEFORE YOU GRAB THEIR THROAT OUT OF NOWHERE (I thought this person was about to bloody strangle me to death)

#ask

[wordsinhaled]

so i was thinking more about the crowley/aziraphale pacific rim AU and i couldn't figure a way to stick them right in the middle of the action but i think that's okay because one of the best things about crowley and aziraphale is their "just some person"-ness anyway

i ended up with "if they just had a meetcute in the pacific rim universe what would that be like?" which. is not quite what i was imagining initially. but nevertheless? now this exists in my brain so y'all can be privy to this exceedingly handwavey scifi fluff

like, i don’t think aziraphale would ever step foot in a jaeger (can you imagine? i can't). but i think he could, in this AU, still own a bookshop, and have somewhat of a committed interest in cryptozoology. such that a.z. fell & co becomes sort of regionally renowned for its extensive cryptozoology section even before the kaiju wars. at first it's like a cult landmark but once the attacks begin it becomes something of a hotspot for information (much to aziraphale's dismay, because he still hates selling books)

crowley... i’m thinking. maybe he starts out in school studying astronomy. he's stoked about earthlike exoplanets. he gets to studying the conditions that permit life on earth, which leads him down the separate avenue of horticulture. he gets a rad little greenhouse going; propagating plants and all that.

(i don't know why plant nerd!crowley is just an natural arrow right to kaiju nerd!crowley to me but… something about it just makes sense in my brain. i mean, you know if humanity ever went off into space, crowley'd be the one responsible for preserving the seed library. but i digress.) the kaiju wars start, and crowley has a lightbulb moment, like, ohhh. they’re… fascinating? massive bloody efficient death machines, sure, but they’re cool, in the same way that carnivorous pitcher plants are cool. he's like, what questions can i ask about them??? answer: ask all the questions. and this leads him to aziraphale’s bookshop, of course

aziraphale’s got a sign up at this point, pointing out the cryptozoology section. he has a ton of people coming in asking about the topic, so he figured he’d make it easier for them to find, and subsequently be bothered less.

but no one else is as much of a regular. aziraphale learns, after the first few times he comes in, that his name is crowley—anthony crowley. it's because he asks if aziraphale can order increasingly specific books in, and he writes his name and phone number on a catalogue card so that he can call him when the books come in (...and if it's a ploy to give aziraphale his info… who's going to know?). aziraphale, for his part, wonders why crowley doesn't just use his university library, because anthony crowley is a graduate student. he's tall and rakish and bespectacled, with fiery hair and a serpent tattoo coiled around his wrist (aziraphale has no idea how far it goes after it disappears up his jacket sleeve, but the head of the serpent peeks out of his shirt collar sometimes, so aziraphale assumes it goes across his shoulder). he saunters about like he hasn't got a solid bone in his body. he has, apparently, a near-encyclopedic knowledge of the cosmos (which aziraphale is impressed by though he tries to be prim and reserved about it). occasionally, aziraphale hears crowley humming "flash" or "seven seas of rhye" from across the shop, and smiles to himself.

aziraphale doesn't know if crowley falls outside of his usual type, or if he's simply never come across anyone quite like him before, but he's finding himself becoming oddly attached. he tells his friend muriel about it over tea. "aziraphale," they tell him, "i think from what i've heard you're experiencing what they call a crush." (air quotes included.) "don't be ridiculous," aziraphale says. "i don't get crushes." (it's true, he's never had what one might traditionally call a crush. but so what? maybe he has one now)

crowley camps out in the stacks and writes notebooks full of spidery notes. once, he stays until past closing time, accidentally, and the next day he brings aziraphale a cup of english breakfast from the coffeeshop nearby, and a little pot of african violets as an apology. with a slightly sheepish grin, he says he grew the flowers himself. there's a little care card stuck into the soil, with more of his handwriting on it.

the violets bloom beautifully on the windowsill next to aziraphale's desk.

fast forward some indeterminate amount of time and now they actually spend time together.

maybe a kaiju came up the thames (i mean... listen. it could happen! if only just because it would be logistically fucking unhinged and the imagery of a kaiju rearing up out of the river while people are sitting on the london eye in the background is kind of great.) anyway, aziraphale had to impromptu barricade his bookshop and crowley was there too so they’re just. shut up in there with a handful of other customers until it’s safe to come out again. someone’s watching the live news coverage on their phone. crowley and aziraphale are sitting on the floor together between bookcases. a bit apart from everyone else, and passing crowley’s little flask of whisky back and forth. for fortitude, or whatever (fortitude against the kaiju threat, and not because they’re sitting next to someone they’re pining for, of course)

“y’ever thought about joining up?” crowley asks him eventually. aziraphale gives him a blank look. “you know.” there’s a metallic crash outside as if to prove crowley’s point. “the defense corps.”

“oh, heavens no. me, in a jaeger?”

“yeah—i suppose—nah, couldn’t see you doing it, now i think of it.”

“most certainly not.” the mouth of the flask is warm from crowley’s lips or maybe aziraphale’s imagining it. in any case he passes it back quickly. “you?”

“well… i’ve thought of it, sure. ‘course, it’d be k-science for me.”

“naturally.”

“oi! i could pilot a jaeger. if i wanted.” a pause. “what!”

“it’s only… well, it’d be a bit too slinky, wouldn’t it, with you piloting.”

“slinky!” mock indignation, giving way to curiosity, and circling back around to delight. “mister fell! have you been looking at my h—”

aziraphale steamrolls over the end of that sentence loudly. “it takes two, anyway, darling, as you well know. who would be your co-pilot?”

he resolutely doesn't contemplate crowley drifting with someone who isn't him. in this hypothetical scenario, which is never going to actually happen—

“you. obviously.”

(was it obvious?)

“but i would never—”

“yes, yeah, sure, mm-hmm. we’ve established that, aziraphale. i just figured we'd probably be... y'know. right?" they stare at each other for a moment before crowley barrels on. "anyway. just being silly, me. doesn't matter."

and why does crowley sound so tetchy and maudlin all of a sudden?

(narrator voice: crowley sounded tetchy because he had just been about to confess his feelings to aziraphale in the most roundabout way possible.)

anyway

maybe after this event crowley doesn't show his face in the bookshop again. aziraphale tries calling his number but his line's been disconnected. tries his level best not to pine for him and the next he hears of him is like, five years later when he's reading the newspaper one morning and sees an article on the oceanic monitoring operations going on in the pitcairn islands, and there's a photo of crowley grinning, dressed in a black turtleneck with the k-science logo on the chest, and he's quoted in the article, saying something about how he'd never have joined k-science if it hadn't been for a conversation he'd had with someone very important to him in a bookshop thousands of miles away what feels like a lifetime ago...

so aziraphale (madlad that he is, in any universe) is all, THIS. IS A SIGN and books himself a flight that very day

okay, and imagine their faces when aziraphale shows up on premises and crowley is all WHAT'RE YOU DOING HERE (basically—picture his disbelieving grin, the one he wears every time aziraphale surprises him) and aziraphale is all "well, i saw you in the morning paper, didn't i?" and he's, staring at crowley, who's got his sleeves rolled up and gloves on and he's up to his forearms in radioactive-looking bioluminescent goo, and he's all "hang on, let me get these gloves off, this stuff'll eat straight through your clothes and i remember how much you love that waistcoat—" "you remember?" "...'course i remember."

*insert soppy looks here*

anyway, then they go on a dinner date, sushi and chilled sake, and crowley rambles on at aziraphale about kaiju gut microbiomes and how they harness radioactive phytoplankton to power their digestive system through nuclear fission (or whatever), and aziraphale tries very hard to focus more on his food than on crowley's wildly gesticulating hands

i could go on but essentially it's just... pining and fluff. fluff and pining. and enormous sea monsters from another dimension of course

#good omens #ineffable husbands #ineffable pacific rim AU

[amumandherthoughts]

The birth story.

This is a long one..

I was 41 weeks and 3 days pregnant when I had my last 'normal' appointment with the midwife team. It was then that they told me if I hadn't naturally gone into labour in 2 days, then they would have to induce me.

Not exactly what you want to hear with your first pregnancy. Lots of people tell you lots of stories and how induction can be more intense or it was the best labour they'd ever had. Whatever, everyone is different, so I took it all with a grain of salt and hoped for the best.

2 days went by and I had my next appointment where the midwife and Drs recommended a 'Cook's Catheter'. To try and prompt my body to do its thing without the need for an IV.

Well I came back the next morning and still no labour! Shit. I was going to have to be induced.

Ok, so I'm in the birthing unit ready to go (and completely terrified but trying to hold it together).

They take out the Cooks Catheter and I'm 4cm dilated. Great! Almost half way there!!

The nurses broke my water, put the IV in and the contractions began.

Holy shit.

To quote my mum- "they don't call it labour for nothing." Boy, was she right. I had all the pain from my contractions in my lower back, and it was excruciating!

I'd never had anything hurt as much as those bloody contractions! No one told me as much, but I presume my baby was posterior because of all the back pain.

I was using heat pack after heat pack. Having my husband massage my back as hard as he could and it still barely helped! I was using the gas, which I think mainly just helped keep my breathing under control...

After 5 hours, I was ready to up the ante - I asked the nurse for the next step in pain management - Endone.

Well, all of the people who say Endone is the best are all fucking liars. It didn't take any of my pain away, just made me super drowsy and want to fall asleep even during a contraction!

Right, so by this time, I'd had the IV induced contractions for roughly 12 hours, and every time the nurse did an internal exam, my cervix was at 4 cm. There was no change! I could have cried! Well.. I did! And I was exhausted!!!

So the reason it took so long to get to this point was because every time I contracted my baby's heartbeat was waver and so the nurses couldn't increase the hormones to get me to dilate more/faster. They turned it off for a short time, and bub was all good, but then they turned it on, and the heartbeat wavered again.

So the Dr recommended an emergency ceasarean section due to failed to progress. Meaning my body didn't do what it was supposed to and bub couldn't come out!

I was ok with having a caesar, that part honestly didn't bother me. It is what it is and the team I had were incredible.

I had an epidural, which was heaven! For about half an hour. Until it made me vomit and bubs heartbeat wavered again and I needed to lay on my side. Well then the anaesthetic drained to the side didn't it and I started feeling the contractions down the other side again! This certainly wasn't what I expected when they gave me an epidural.

Ok, so after this, we headed to surgery. We're talking 17hrs after being induced now.

I'd never had any sort of surgery in my life. Only ever had mild local anaesthetics!

So when they numbed my torso and down it was the weirdest feeling. So see my legs being moved but unable to feel it. I hated it.

And then, being in the ice-cold theatre, thank God I had my husband by my side because I was downright terrified.

Terrified of feeling pain (which I didn't)

Terrified of the surgery (I would visualise it and freak out)

Terrified something bad would happen to me (haemorrhage or have tools left inside)

Terrified most of all that I wouldn't hear my baby cry.

During the surgery I kept vomiting and felt gross as fuck. The lovely nurse suctioned the vomit from my mouth and all was well.

Bub was taken out, and he cried! So I cried in relief! I can't tell you how much relief I felt about that. He had a bit of a hard time breathing, so I couldn't hold him, and he had to go up to special care. My husband went with him, and I went to recovery (where I slept for 2 hours, apparently!!)

I was then taken to the maternity ward and special care unit to see my bub. So surreal being able to see and touch him! Still no cuddles yet though because he was on the breathing apparatus.

I was wheeled back to maternity and tried to sleep. Though that was difficult being so very numb and worried about tearing stitches or whatever else might've gone on down there.

Thus, my baby boy was born, and I am still emotional remembering these happenings. Very emotional.

It was traumatic and downright awful. Will I do it again? Yes, because it's a small drop in the ocean for what I now treasure more than anything.

#birth #birth story #pregnancy #pregnant #childbirth #labour #labor #c section #caesarean section #caesarean

[thefisherqueen]

I'm back from holiday and I'm watching Sherlock Holmes Granada's The red circle tonight. There aren't many episodes I haven't watched left. I've been putting off The three gables and The dying detective since I really didn't like those stories, and I first would like to read the novels before I watch those movies, so this marathon is nearing the end :( I have no doubt however that I will be rewatching this series from time to time.

I don't remember much of The red circle anymore. Something with a kidnapped timekeeper, hidden female lodger and a couple fleeing from some Italian crime circle?

We're starting with murder, a couple fleeing and a man breaking into their house and creepily sniffing her night gown. Really sets the mood

I love it when Watson narrates the start of the case. Feels reminescent of the stories. And Holmes working on his scrap book and acting like a petulant child when he is interrupted at his task - straight out of the canon, so good

Holmes: "If I were your lodger you would not see me for weeks on end. That does not trouble you, does it mrs. Hudson?" "Nothing troubles me when you're concerned," Haha, I love mrs. Hudson

Holmes looks so touched when the client tells him about how an earlier client praised him. *watches this part 10 times just to stare into Jeremy Brett's eyes*

Holmes' black dressing gown is gorgeous. I want one

"Watson, deduce." "Me? *chuckles*" Aww, Watson is adorable and Edward Hardwicke played him so well. I love how engaged Watson is in the Granada series. He's actually an active part of each case.

"Please vanish" Rude, Holmes! Leaving mrs. Hudson and Watson once again to do damage control

Holmes: "I helped him (his former client) find a close relative once." So much emotion and hestancy there. I'm not entirely sure why Jeremy Brett chose to act so affected? I bet he had a whole headcanon about that former case. I wish I could still ask him! It is like he's acting like Holmes didn't tell Watson everything there. Did Jeremy interpret Holmes as feeling like he failed that former client maybe?

Watson reading the newspaper to Holmes is always a joy :)

Watson against Holmes' former client: "Some are more at risk than others because of their beliefs and courage." "I do what I do, doctor. Don't make me out to be a saint" Oh this is all so intruging. Something more than just case-related is being implied but I can't lay my finger on what exactly

All the imagery with the red circles is a little overdone. Yes, yes, we get the point

The former client is murdered right while he is at work in the theater? Gods. Holmes' and Watson's reactions tear at my heart

Jeremy Brett singing and narrating when he and Watson are looking at the agony coloms is oscar worthy. I adore him

mrs. Hudson: "What is it mr. Holmes, I'm washing curtains!" Bless that woman. Can't even wash her curtains in peace :D

I have to laugh at the kidnapping scene. They literally yeeted him out of the moving couch, poor old man

Landlord: "And I don't care for foreigners!" Holmes, with disdain: "Oh really?"

They kept the insane "journeys end with lovers meeting!" quote from Holmes to Hopkins. I love it

*Holmes climbs out of the roof, scares the hell out of everyone in the house* He totally would do that, wouldn't he? Excellent addition to the canon story

Holmes is so gentle and understanding when he goes to meet the lodger, he's so soft at heart and the whole Granada team understands that so well

They really made the finale very exciting, with the villain right at the lodger's door and the chase on the roof and the rolling down the stairs! Ouch, both Holmes and the american detective got a little bloody. Luckily Watson is close at hand. Always appreciate a bit of hurt/comfort

American detective: "When you're on a trail of a lifetime, mr Holmes, you put all thoughts of personal safety out of your mind". Oh he knows. I'm not sure Holmes even knows what personal safely means

This vaillain is like a fish - he escapes everyone's grasp. Until he finally got murdered himself. I love that his wife runs out over the street to look for her husband when she sees through the window that something went wrong

"No doubt mister Holmes, if you'd be here on your own you'd have found a different solution." "The law is what we live with, inspector. Justice is sometimes harder to archieve" What a great quote.

And then the couple gets a happy ending, and they go to the opera. Jeremy Brett's expression as he listens is perfection

Granada has done it again. I didn't find the canon story that memorable, but they made it into another great episode. I really loved this one.

#sherlock holmes #granada holmes #the red circle #jeremy brett #edward hardwicke

[popcornforone]

December 15:- Christmas Cake

Cooking with Loki

Master list

I have a very special relationship with Christmas Cake. When I was about 3 my Granddad asked me to make a Christmas cake with him for a cute photo to send to everyone. From that Christmas onwards until I was 23 & got a full time job, I made a Christmas cake with him every year. Yep even moody teenage me did it with him. As I child I tried the brandy & almost spat it back into the Christmas cake. It was always fun. My granddad is now no longer here he passed in 2019 just before I turned 30. We now have a friend who makes my dad one each year. It’s good but it’s not the magic of making one with Granddad. Bloody miss you Phil. To quote the old bill Crappy Hismas to you all.(Happy Christmas)

Anyhow you’re here for Loki, so he’s making Christmas cake & he’s got help too.

Yes Aligator Loki is here & is being rather impatient. His jaw chops away & his tail flicks out. Loki is trying to concentrate on his master piece, because the icing has to be right. But trying to converse with his friend is making him a little frustrated.

Loki has his Christmas music on which is playing let it snow in this universe. Like me Loki has mini trees in his kitchen too. But he can’t get angry at baby aligator loki. He’s having a dance on the cake, & using the icing like a skating rink. Loki just smiles & laughs at his variety. This is a Christmas memory they will both cherish for years.

You walk into the kitchen.

“What going on?” You say at the scene before you. The Lokis are having a stand off. Aligator Loki snaps growls & licks his lips & your Loki sighs.

“No this will be the thirds” he turns to face you. “He’s eaten 2 of the last cakes whole. Look at his belly” Aligator loki lick his lips & taps his tummy.

“Well you can magic them up except for the icing” you say as you hug your loki.

“That’s not the point”

“I know baby” you then scowl at the Aligator. “Dont up set Loki or there will be no gifts on Christmas Day” the smug Look on his face drops, & he leave loki to finish his cake.

This Loki & his Aligator variant, know team work is fun & gets the job done. You’ve taken photos of the whole process of them making the cake together. & now here they are icing it. Both laughing & smiling at their achievement. You can’t wait to put this on your multiverse email, so everyone can see that two Lokis really are better than one.

I really enjoyed these Lokis & im sorry I went off on a tangent at the start. I hope you enjoy these little shorts & pictures too.

#loki art #tom hiddleston loki #loki season 2 #loki series #mcu loki #loki #loki laufeyson #loki odinson #tom hiddleston #Tom Hiddleston art #cooking with loki #cooking #Christmas #christmas cake

[galactic-pirates]

For the Fanfiction Writing ask: 2, 18, 29, and 48, please! 😁

Yay thank you for the ask!

2) Where do you get your fic ideas? Ask me at the time and I'll know. Ask me now and I'm not sure. Some are obvious. Like if there's a specific prompt and then my brain chewed on it and lightning struck boom and it coalesced and came together into something.

As you are a Sanctuary friend let's take some of those fics:

Happy Ending = the song "this is the way that we love / like it's forever / and then live the rest of our lives / but not together" and I was like, make it fluffy. I don't know. I was just coming off writing Our Darkest Hour.

Choosing Fate / Time Will Tell = the tropes. I was like let's do an arranged marriage AU. Pretty sure I was watching Bridgerton at the time as well. And then I wanted to see if I could make Soulmates a trope I could like.

Life Without Purpose = for a Zombies in July event

Gentlemen of Blood = I was given the title, and had to think of a fic to go with it. That Bond quote by M came into my head of "when they say they have people everywhere, you don't expect one to be in the bloody room" plus the Sherlock Holmes movies.

I don't know, does that answer it a bit? My brain is a mess and it just needs prompting for it to spark basically.

18) Do you enjoy research? Which fic of yours required the most research? Nope I'm too lazy. I get easily frustrated. If I can't find the answer quickly I get annoyed. The internet is wonderful and I want to strangulate it sometimes. It's like I know the information must be there, but can I find it? It's no wonder I am drawn more and more to making my own worlds, because then I can just make everything up and don't have to worry about if I'm right or not. I just have to be consistent within my own story.

The aforementioned Happy Ending actually took a surprising amount of research, which to be honest probably ruined the fic because once I had all the stupid marriage details, I had to include them because I had bothered to look them up dammit. Haha, I know, why self? Also Odyssey: Future's Legacy had a lot of history in it and I had to make all the timelines line up. Let me tell you timezones + international travel = headache. I'm pretty sure Warehouse 13 never paid attention to travel times on the actual show but I made everything plausible.

29) What’s something about your writing that you’re proud of? Already answered here :)

48) Who is your favorite character to write for? Has this changed since you’ve started writing for that fandom? This is very close to question 41 (here).

Ok well let's go with Sanctuary fandom. I'm going to go left field and answer with Nigel. Which isn't exactly true but I will explain. Nigel is like the forgotten member of The Five a lot of the time. He's the one that didn't live until the 21st century and the one that isn't romantically linked with Helen. There's very little known about him and I was surprised and delighted as the more I referenced him, the more cohesive he felt in my mind. He got an actual personality, backstory, goals etc. So while Nigel isn't a favourite character, I do enjoy how I developed him.

Bonus question as you had a repeat!

11) Do you write scenes in order, or do you jump around? I'm a very linear writer. I literally can't write out of order. Sometimes this trips me up because I think if I sense that something I have written isn't right (aka the foundation is rocky) then I grind to a halt and stop making progress. Now with fanfic which I never tended to revise that heavily, that's fair enough - I'm not going to do a complete redraft but with original work? Ehhh.

It is generally speaking better to revise a complete draft, to see the entire picture. I can't recall where I first heard the expression but I have applied it to drafting ever since - "there's little point in polishing a turd" - aka, I don't know what I'm going to have to cut until I can look at the whole thing, so don't waste time polishing a scene that might not make it. But yeah getting frozen because I have to be linear, but something isn't right, but I shouldn't waste time fixing it - frustrated mental scream!

Oh another point! I have a friend that exclusively jumps around, I don't think they could write linearly if they tried. I have always wanted to ask them, but haven't dared in case they think I'm judging them (and I'm definitely not!), whether they find foreshadowing/thematic arcs/character emotional journey's etc. harder to write as it's out of order. For me, I can't imagine getting my head round it backwards but clearly people do it, so that's a me problem. But yeah no I have to be linear.

#long post #I answer things #sam talks writing

[apocalypticavolition]

Let's (re)Read The Dragon Reborn! Chapter 3: News from the Plain

Another day, another chapter, another generic image because we're off the visual map! Come one, come all, get your Wheel of Time impressions here. Unless you don't want spoilers. Then bloody stay away.

This chapter has a Wheel icon because... Moiraine talks about the weaving of the Wheel a lot, I guess.

Someday, perhaps, he could bring himself to ask her what she knew. An Aes Sedai must know more of it than he did. But this was not the time. There never seemed to be a time.

Perrin, you've had like four months, plus the month you spent with her in Fal Dara. You are never going to ask her anything at this rate.

“An accident,” she said in a flat voice, then shook her head and vanished back inside the hut. The door banged shut a little loudly.

I suspect Moiraine thinks that this was a deliberate act to try and fuck up her meeting to punish her for not having a plan beyond "Wait". And since the temper tantrum is about that, she's not exactly wrong, just assigning more motivation to Rand than is fully there.

“If something goes wrong with it, it isn’t my fault. Rand spilled half of it on the fire with his. . . . What right does he have to bounce us around like sacks of grain?”

Trust me Min, when Rand wants to be bouncing you around like a sack of grain, you will be enthusiastically consenting.

“Min, maybe you had better go. First thing in the morning. I have some silver I can let you have, and I’m sure Moiraine would give you enough to take passage with a merchant’s train out of Ghealdan. You could be back in Baerlon before you know it.”

Perrin doesn't quite seem to understand that Min is going to inevitably see horrible shit no matter where she goes, short of becoming a hermit. It is a kind offer though.

“Just because fate has chosen something for you instead of you choosing it for yourself doesn’t mean it has to be bad. Even if it’s something you are sure you would never have chosen in a hundred years. ‘Better ten days of love than years of regretting,’ ” she quoted.

It's a little funny that Min has a deep understanding of the existentialism necessary to function in her present times but has absolutely nothing to do with Rand coming to understand it himself.

He thought he had said that too softly for her to hear, but the look she gave him was full of sympathy. And agreement.

Min probably knows that even when Perrin goes home it won't be home anymore. Perhaps she even sees his parents' grave at this point. Maybe even his sisters', though perhaps they haven't been retconned into existence by the Pattern yet.

Careless. He had grown so used to the Shienarans knowing how well he could see—in daylight at least; they did not know about the night—that he was beginning to slip about other things. Carelessness might kill me yet.

Yeah, you definitely don't want to confide about your awful extrasensory perception to Min. She wouldn't know anything about that and hates anyone with magical talents they shouldn't have. She'd totally turn Perrin into the Whitecloaks if she knew he was a freak.

Min sounded so troubled that Perrin was surprised for a moment. Then he nodded to himself. She did not really like doing what she did, but it was a part of her; she thought she knew how it worked, or some of it, at least. If she was wrong, it would almost be like finding out she did not know how to use her own hands.

See what I mean? They have absolutely nothing in common. I can only assume that there was a glitch in the Pattern this winter and that all the friendship that Perrin should be feeling towards Min got assigned to Mat accidentally instead (see book 14).

Perrin made an involuntary sound in his throat. Light, did I sound like that? I won’t let a death matter that little to me. As if he had spoken aloud, Moiraine looked at him.

It's rather funny to see early!Perrin on the other side of the "I understand your emotions better than you're trying to let on to me" exchange.

Perrin shifted—the Horn was where no Hunter on Almoth Plain would find it; where he hoped no Hunter ever would find it—and she gave him a cool look before continuing.

Seriously, Perrin apparently learned one hell of a lesson from Moiraine. And it's good to see the Hunters of the Horn aren't all total idiots. They should have arrived ages back.

“Or the first part of it. The Children have announced that their purpose is to bring peace, which is not unusual for them. What is unusual is that while they are trying to force the Taraboners and the Domani back across their respective borders, they have not moved in any force against those who have declared for the Dragon.”

Lan suspects this is a Whitecloak plot, but it's probably Carridin trying to thread the needles of his orders. By always letting Dragonsworn get away, he can seem to both being trying to kill them and not.

“One died by poison, two by the knife. Each in circumstances where no one should have been able to come close unseen, but that is how it happened.” She peered into the flames. “All three young men were taller than most, and had light-colored eyes. Light eyes are uncommon on Almoth Plain, but I think it is very unlucky right now to be a tall young man with light eyes there.”

These are the victims of Grey Men presumably deployed by the Forsaken who actively hate Rand, or perhaps Moghedien who is vaguely in the area. Striking unseen is very much her MO. Again though, the Dark One doesn't want Rand dead so it's not the official plan.

“So nothing has changed,” Perrin said glumly. “Not really. We cannot go down to the plain, and the Dark One wants us dead.” “Everything changes,” Moiraine said calmly, “and the Pattern takes it all in. We must ride on the Pattern, not on the changes of a moment.”

Moiraine, I've given Perrin a lot of shit so far this book so now it's your turn. He's accurately summarized the situation as it stands: your current plans aren't changing. You're just muttering a bunch of nonsense to seem mystical.

Since it is not possible to set two kinds of warding at once, I leave the scouts and the guards—and Lan—to defend us, and use the one warding that may do some good.

I don't recall if this comes up again. If not, I bet that one of the things the bright new minds of the Fourth Age will come up with is creating new ward weaves that are effectively combos while still obeying the one weave rule. Though obviously they won't be worrying about Shadowspawn at that point.

He had a hut to himself, a small thing of logs barely tall enough to stand in, the chinks filled with dried mud. A rough bed, padded with pine boughs beneath a blanket, took up nearly half of it. Whoever had unsaddled his horse had also propped his bow just inside the door.

Where Rand and Mat are equal parts panicked and embarrassed over being treated like nobility, Perrin is not really good enough with people to even find it worthy of comment that for some reason he gets his own hut. He probably just assumes he should for the same reason that Loial and Min probably do, even though there'd be different reasons for each.

Ah well, we can only hope that at some point, perhaps ten to sixty years after Tarmon Gaidon, Perrin will be just a wee bit better at social cues.

Next time: A dream sequence!

#let's read #wheel of time #wot #robert jordan #wheel of time spoilers #wot spoilers #perrin aybara #moiraine damodred #min farshaw #lan al'mandragoran #rand al'thor #uno nomesta #loial

[baconcolacan]

Having claimed that both tom and tord arent kin to spicy food, but would still eat it out of spite makes me imagine them getting into a competition with eachother, probably young and stupid, i wonder who'd be the first to give up

I was re-reading the small stay oneshot u wrote (where tord found tom sleeping in his office after overworking himself) and i couldn't help but question, at the moment where tord whined and i quote "my love i am so sorry for neglecting you!! please let me still call you my love" (While tom kept worrying over someone seeing them) how would paul and pat react, hearing their leader saying such things were they somehow still there, worse yet, what if they went to investigate?What would Tom do had he seen them via camera/VR?

Hey bud! Sorry I took a while to get to this but I'll answer them under the cut as some of the questions have fic spoilers ^^ Starting with the asks here Here we go!

Tord would be the first to give up. He grew up with a more salt-savory oriented palette while Tom at least had to try out a few spicy foods due to his mom being fond of them. So Tom doesn't like it out of experience and Tord doesn't like them for lack thereof.

IF Paul or Pat heard that they would DEFINITELY think that Tord was in some sort of secret relationship. Knowing protocol, they would try to get as far away as possible because its a safety measure, at this point Tord's paranoia would have rubbed off on them, so they would immediately go for plausible deniability. BUT if they only heard his distress and couldn't make out the exact words, therefore leading to them investigating. If Tom saw them approaching on the cams, he would immediately shut Tord up with a kiss, and use his momentary placation to say 'Sorry love' and kick him off him with all his strength. This would most likely lead to Tord getting thrown into a wall well before Paul or Pat gets to Tom's office. "Red Leader?! THOMPSON?! What the hell happened!!" "We got into a fight." "THIS EARLY?!" They leave it at that, albeit frustrated that the two of them had one of their daily squabbles at 2 in the morning.

Hilarson would probably try but he wouldn't have his resources or allies at that point. He would panic of course, as his charge had been taken to the very place they spent so much time and effort getting him away from. He'd probably find a way to get to him, maybe even meet with the Odense rebellion.

Hmmm, well, this wouldn't be realistic as why would they both be there? But I would assure you that they'd be a bit scared and panicked for Tom, both would probably try to stop him from hurting himself, but at this point, Tom would have been too out of his mind to recognize them, so it would end up really bloody for everyone.

The cancer thing actually didn't happen in Stay ^^ Tom loses his eyesight as a result of the bomb that caused Tord to also lose his arm. The explosion really fucked up all four of them, but Tord had thought that Edd had died, and so only saved Tom and Matt. Though, during Tom's recovery stages, Tord had cried his heart out asking for his forgiveness behind closed doors. He spent a lot of time in Tom's hospital room, just holding his hands.

This is a funny story actually. I was well into getting back into EW around this time, so it was occupying most of my thoughts. Then I had a, lets say, unfortunate maybe supernatural maybe might not be experience while I was away at college. My father used to say that our family was cursed, and that he brought it with him when he moved to where we live now, and that I had to always be careful because things liked to latch on to our clan. So anyway thats where the idea came from lmao, I was getting my monthly haunting and I just figured I'd write about a story like that for a fandom I liked.

Oh and AHAHHA NAWW THANK YOU, I dont get tired of hearing it, and while that sounds like a massive ego trip, I just really REALLY appreciate the kind words you all seem to never stop giving me ^^ Though dont idolize me too much lmao, Im really just a sleep deprived artist rotting in my work desk.

#asks #letmeaskdanielaquestion #regimen ao3 #regimen ao3 spoilers #ew Stay AU #church grim ao3

[ellaintrigue]

Me at 3 months old. I sent the last photo of all three of us to dad and he ignored it. I asked if he got it because I didn't want it to have not sent (he has bad reception) and he did, he's just not into babies. He never wanted kids and didn't even want to touch me after I was born.

That is okay! I am not faulting him for that at all because I am the same way! It runs in my family. My grandmother did not want my dad and would throw things at him or hit him, resulting in a busted lip or bloody forehead each time. She told him he "wouldn't amount to a row of shithouses." That's a direct quote. What terrible things to do to a small boy.

I am no genius but I credit myself with being smart enough to know I wasn't meant to be a mom. For as long as I could remember I hated babies. I was given a baby doll one Christmas and I was enraged and threw it. I was about 5. By the time I was 6 or 7 (I have vague, but strong memories) I was given another baby doll and I gouged its eyes out and buried it in my sandbox. My grandmother thought I was confused so she bought me another one and I did the same thing again. By the time I was about 11 I knew how to clean my room and make small choices for myself. One of the first ones was shoving that baby doll in the trash.

At that point I was strongly obsessed with cars which I had played with since age 3. I had tons of Hot Rod and Matchbox cars but everyone was telling me it was just a silly phase and that all little girls wanted to be mommies and keep house. By age 16 I knew I wanted to be a mechanic and I knew I didn't want kids. But I was not allowed to go to school to become one because I was a girl. And girls are meant to get married and have babies, so they said. Even in adulthood I have men tell me that's how it should be and that I'm "just following a trendy liberal feminist trend" but I've literally had no interest in kids my entire life. It has nothing to do with politics or feminism.

At 18 I had tears in my eyes when one Christmas I walked outside and saw a used car waiting for me. Babies were still the last thing on my mind.

By my mid-20s my mom and others suggested I have a baby because I could be on welfare and it would be free. Mom wanted to be a grandmother really bad. Again, I've never wanted kids, but I am on some welfare myself now, because my health is so poor. It's really not a good feeling because it's A: being co-dependent, B: you can lose it over any little thing, and C: having a kid just to live off the government is wrong. The EBT and heat assistance (only things I qualify for) are things I do need and deserve because I'm too sick to work like I used to. But welfare babies? No, people should not be rewarded for popping out kids.

My mother said I would come to love hypothetical baby because I "love those cats" but cats are not children. I spent over $3,000 in vet bills for one cat which is fine. The little guy deserved the best care. But he was either sleeping or wandering around all day, not any real responsibility. That's what I like about cats, they're independent. And let's face it, you will hate that I say this, and you will judge me, but I like my damn car more than anything still, including men, cats, or children.

But give me credit for this: at least I'm not a neglectful/abusive mother or a welfare statistic.

#Baby #Retro #Aesthetic #Old photo #Cute #Childhood #Family #Childfree

[thatonelittleindiekid]

Solitaire Quotes I found on Goodreads that you might need to read today

“I don’t want people to be worried about me. There’s nothing to worry about. I don’t want people to try and understand why I’m the way I am, because I should be the first person to understand that. And I don’t understand yet. I don’t want people to interfere. I don’t want people in my head, picking out this and that, permanently picking up the broken pieces of me.”

“As far as I'm concerned, I came out of the womb spouting cynicism and wishing for rain.”

“All I know is that I’m here. And I’m alive. And I’m not alone.”

“You like to act as if you care about nothing and if you carry on like that then you’re going to drown in the abyss you have imagined for yourself.”

“There’s a time and a place for being normal. For most people, normal is their default setting. But for some, like you and me, normal is something we have to bring out, like putting on a suit for a posh dinner.”

“I think you should know that I make up a lot of stuff up in my head and then get sad about it. I like to sleep and I like to blog. I am going to die someday.”

“You look like you're having a midlife crisis." "It's not a midlife crisis. It's just a life crisis.”

“School literally doesn’t care about you unless you’re good at writing stuff down or you’re good at memorising or you can solve bloody maths equations. What about the other important things in life?”

“Nobody is honest, nobody is real. You can't trust anyone or anything. Emotions are humanity's fatal disease. And we're all dying.”

“There comes a point, though, when you can't keep looking after other people any more. You have to start looking after yourself.”

“Do you think that, if we were happy for our entire lives, we would die feeling like we'd missed out on something?”

“I hate the phone. It is the worst invention in the history of the world, because if you don’t talk, nothing happens. You can’t get by with simply listening and nodding your head in all the right places. You have to talk. You have no option. It takes away my freedom of nonspeech.”

“We’re so used to disaster that we accept it. We think we deserve it.”

“I actually think that a lot of people are very beautiful, and maybe even more beautiful when they are not aware of it themselves.”

“The problem is that people don't act. The problem is that I don't act. I just sit here, doing nothing, assuming that someone else is going to make things better.”

“I don't know why I made all that fuss the other day. No that's a lie. I do know why. It's because I'm an idiot.”

“I think it's better to just read and not study books.”

“Happiness," he says, "is the price of profound thought." "Who's that quote from?" I ask. He winks. "Me.”

“Just because something doesn't matter doesn't mean it's not worth doing.”

“I really don’t do anything unless I actually want to do it. And most of the time I don’t want to do anything at all.”

“I hadn’t realized I was crying. I don’t really feel sad. I don’t really feel anything.”

“Basking in the light and glory that comes with not giving a damn.”

“I think you should know that I make up a lot of stuff in my head and then get sad about it.”

“You know, if you want to be happier, you have to try. You have to put in the effort. Your problem is that you don’t try.” I do try. I have tried. I have tried for sixteen years.”

“we're all waiting for something to change. Patience can kill you”

“What can I say? People aren’t observant. People don’t question stuff like this. They never think twice about déjà vu when there could be a glitch in the Matrix. They walk past tramps in the streets without even glancing at their misfortune. They don’t psychoanalyse the creators of slasher-horrors when they’re probably all psychopaths.”

“If this is the best time of my life, I might as well end it immediately.”

“Split between the green and the blue, there is an indefinable beauty that people call humanity.”

“Nice people are vulnerable because they don’t know how to be mean.”

#solitaire quotes #tori spring #micheal holden #alice oseman #book quotes

[singsweetmelodies]

sorry if it's too much but I NEED to know your opinions on these 4, 7, 8, 13, 21, 41, 54 🫣

thank youu, love you, 💋💋💋

hiiii anon! 😍😍💕 you know, my first reaction when i saw this mega ask was "what a LEGEND." and yes, i am quite aware of how much that sentence sounds like something george russell might say. but to quote him again: FACTS. you are an absolute legend for this!! in my opinion, there's no such thing as too much when it comes to piarles, so, mwah 🫶🥰 let's go!

4. Which one is more protective? Who needs to be ‘protected’?

ohhh, great one 👀 and i think my answer here might surprise some people, but i'm actually going to go for: charles is more protective, and pierre needs to be protected. hear me out - charles has been in a much more stable career position for much longer than pierre. i mean, he has a five year contract with freaking ferrari. above all that, he's italy's literal darling, and the tifosi would do pretty much anything for him, probably. he has a massive base of support, is my point. pierre? not so much. he's been stuck in the red bull machinery for years, and i don't need to re-hash 2019 here.

actually, no, i am going to re-hash 2019, at least a little bit. because 2019 was a prime instance of charles being protective of pierre: no matter what any journalist or anyone tried to get from him, he never said one bad word about pierre. he insisted that pierre is a great driver, and if you go watch that infamous and horrible 2019 post-demotion press conference, you will see charles pressed tight to pierre's side all throughout it. pierre needed him then, and charles was there.

in my headcanons, 2019 actually had a massive influence on their protector/protected one dynamic. pre-2019: yes, it probably would have been pierre being more protective of charles, since he is the older one, etc etc. however, after 2019, i feel like charles would have become a hundred times more protective of pierre. we see it in interviews - he's always praising pierre as a driver, saying how much he deserves a second chance. i get the distinct feeling that if anyone said anything bad about pierre where charles could hear it... well. i always like to picture it like this: charles is the kind of person who would give you a babygirl smile and make you think he's an absolutely harmless little angel, but then turn around and quite calmly get you fired from your job. still smiling.

so yeah, i think charles is more protective of pierre - quietly, and in his own way, but very efficiently. ❤️💪

7. Would they build a pillow fort together just because?

yessss 🥺🥺 in my mind, they absolutely would. since they're childhood best friends -- they probably used to build pillow forts together when they were little and going on holiday together, right? so doing it again now would be very nostalgic, and i could totally see them squished together under a too-small, structurally shaky pillow-and-blanket construction, reminiscing about all their favourite memories. and how it's always been the two of them, and it was never going to be anyone else, and and and -- yeah. i'm a little obsessed, but, well. it's about the childhood friends to lovers of it all for me 🥺❤️

8. What happens if one of them gets sick?

i feel like this very much depends on who's the one to get sick? if it's pierre... i feel like he's an absolutely terrible patient, and charles completely despairs over him. like. he HATES lying still in bed. complains every minute of every hour that he would rather be doing literally anything active. in fact, he probably tries to get up and go to the bloody gym while running a ridiculous fever. and charles would be like "YOU CAN'T FUCKING DO THAT" absolutely losing it with worry, whereas pierre would be all "it's fine, chéri." (this man definitely doesn't care about his own health enough.) in short, pierre is the most annoying and exasperating patient ever, and charles is over there tearing out his hair - and also probably calling both pascales and the ferrari team doctor for advice and all the help they might possibly need, because, well. he will do anything for pierre, after all.

(oh my god. this just reminded me... i actually have a half-written ficlet/drabble somewhere about charles taking care of a sick pierre. hmmm. maybe i should dig that up again 👀👀)

anyway! if charles is the one who gets sick, then i feel like it's almost the complete opposite, lmao. as long as it's not a really serious illness, then i feel like charles would be an absolute baby about it. taking every chance to be curled up under the covers, waited on hand and foot... "can you get me some more tea, mon amour? i am just feeling so unwell and couldn't possibly get up and do it myself 🥺" pierre sees right through him, obviously, but he indulges charles. (when doesn't he?) on the flip side, i also feel that if charles were ever quite seriously sick, then he'd downplay it a lot. pretend it's not half as bad as it actually is, etc. etc. of course, pierre would see right through him yet again, and it's at this point that pierre would become that very overbearing partner in the doctor's office. taking charles to not one, not two, but three doctors. constantly butting in with questions and "yes but is this going to help him now?" and being a fucking pain in the ass, really. those poor doctors. and charles gets irritated about it, but he's also a little bit soft on the inside, because, well... pierre cares. he cares so much. and this is how he shows it.

just... ugh. everything, for me, is about how much they love each other, and care about each other. ❤️❤️

13. Who’s the bigger tease?

answered here 😉

21. Who would get into a fight to defend the other's honor? Who tends to the other's wounds?

to be quite honest, i don't think either of them are the kind to actually get into physical fights?? charles would definitely not - he would do the "smile prettily at you while planning your imminent demise" thing, lmao. i feel like pierre is also more likely to be petty and sarcastic than actually get in a fight.

but if it really came down to it... yeah, pierre would probably be more likely to get into a fight than charles. and of course charles would tend to his wounds 🥺 i'm just now imagining a scene of pierre leaning against the sink in the bathroom, or something, and charles ever-so-achingly-gently wetting a cloth and wiping the blood off his face... aaaaahhhh. my HEART. i am weak for that, i can't even lie. something about the intimacy of taking care of your loved one after they've been hurt... and charles would be so careful, too, so earnestly making sure that he's cleaning the cuts just right. although he'd probably also half-worriedly scold pierre for being such an idiot, and pierre would just laugh, and kiss him to make him shut up. then wince, because that's maybe not the best idea after you've gotten hurt. and of course then charles would fuss over him some more, and make sure he doesn't do anything dumb for the rest of the night, and take care of him as best he can... just. yeah. 💙💙

41. Which one would take their jacket it off and drape over the other one because they were visibly shivering?

pierre. this is another one from my little personal stockpile of piarles headcanons i hold close to my heart: charles is someone who gets cold very very easily. and pierre, as we know, is a bit of a possessive bastard, so any excuse to make charles wear his things is a good one 😏 lol, i joke, but i also do think that these two love about each other fiercely and completely, and they always want to take care of each other. so, yeah. if pierre ever sees charles getting cold, his first thought will be to take care of him, then to be a little smug and possessive about "he's wearing my clothes, he's all mine, ha 😌❤️"

56. What do they do turn the other on/put them in the mood?

answered here 😘

(obligatory otp asks)

#asks & answers #anon #obligatory otp asks #oh wow this was SUCH a long one #but thank you SO MUCH for the incredible questions; anon!! 😍 #i really enjoyed doing these :DD #as you can probably tell... because i have once again rambled... so fukcing much... #yeah i truly am INCAPABLE of being normal about piarles #oh well!!! i love them and i love YOU anon #<33333 #🦑🏎️ piarles #piarles headcanons