#at least in the context of epiphany

[sleepystargaze]

On Caitlyn's 180: An Essay

This is all spoiler below. But I NEED to talk about it.

What if this is the exact moment Caitlyn puts everything together, including Vi being one of the children who burglarized Jayce's penthouse.

Hear me out.

So, Caitlyn asks Vi what she's doing there, and Vi says, "Trying to save my dad." She has this little "AHA!" moment.

(go look at the last panel of this gif set rn for more context)

That woman just had an epiphany. Furthermore, the way the music swells at this exact moment just feels like it's clueing in on more than meets the eyes.

She clearly realizes, at minimum, that her and Vi are here for the same thing: Warwick. And then doesn't even really question it. This got me to thinking, "but how she do that though?"

Well, she has all the information she needs to put it together, this is just the first time she's had a reason to pull that SPECIFIC information together.

Let's start with the fact that Caitlyn loves a mystery, and the rise of shimmer is a part of her favorite mystery.

Literally, in her giant bedroom, the only part of it that looks lived in is the big map at the foot of her bed. The show doesn't indicate when exactly this obsession started for Caitlyn, but it makes it clear that it's been on her mind for a very long time. Jayce called it "the great conspiracy," so she definitely talked about it a lot. And Jayce's flippant attitude tells us she's definitely been thinking about it since she was a teenager.

Educated guess, I believe this started with Sheriff Grayson's murder. (a) It would be unsurprising Caitlyn felt a great need to bring justice to the person that murdered someone she cared for. (b) It was a murder that would ultimately become a cold case. (c) Silco being the main conspirator to her murder, the trail would lead her to a larger conspiracy.

And from this scene above, we know that Vi is impressed with what Caitlyn was able to gather without ever going to the Undercity. Which means, we know her board was really close to the truth. Afterall, it did lead her to Vi, who single-handedly led her to the answers she sought.

So, why the hell does this matter in regards to Vi being involved in the burglary?

Caitlyn knows that Grayson's main priority at the time of her death was finding the culprits of the explosion.

Caitlyn's parents clearly involve her in the conversations revolving around the explosion at the penthouse. I don't feel it's a stretch to assume she also knew that the council were putting pressure on Grayson to solve the case.

The explosion of the warehouse happened on the same night as Grayson's murder. While I don't think Caitlyn had a way to really connect the 2 explosions except that they happen within days of each other, I doubt Caitlyn forgets this fact even if she does not connect them initially. 

Now you may being wondering why the heck that matters. What does the warehouse have anything to do with it?

Caitlyn was in the ruins of the destroyed warehouse at the end of season 1.

In which she heard this conversation.

Thing is, she was going through an extremely traumatic experience at the time... Then her mom was killed... So I doubt she realized it was the same place nor had the mental capabilities of processing the information. And by the time she did have the capacity to really consider it, she likely had no reason to...at least yet.

Regardless, she's here for this conversation. She now at least knows Vander's name and that he was important to them and that Silco murdered him here.

So, she has her connection here. If she realizes this was the location of the second explosion, she now knows that Grayson and Vander were murdered on the same night. And if she connects it to the penthouse explosion, Grayson's investigation and main focus at the time, she also knows that...

4 children were fleeing the scene.

Seems like everyone knew this within the hour after the explosion. Word spread so fast, Vander knew before the kids even got home. Caitlyn undoubtedly knows about the kids. She just doesn't know who they are, but she has seen them.

Caitlyn has an eye for detail and a mind for investigation. I doubt she lets much fall between the cracks. They didn't leave Ekko's home until it was dark. She had plenty of time to look at this mural, at the 4 children including Vi. Then at the tea party when Jinx starts talking to her hallucinations, she's pointed to...

Again, traumatic experience. Probably not thinking about it that hard, but she did see the puppets. Again, no reason to connect those things yet. But she does now have the context to connect that these 2 other children are important to Vi and Jinx and that they were important enough to be brought to the "tea party."

And because of the mural, she knows that these were real people and that they died.

FURTHERMORE, they undoubtedly know who Vander was by the reputation he left behind.

When that one guy getting tortured gave up Vander's statue as the meeting location, Ambessa's second-hand man, who is not from Zaun OR Piltover, knew exactly where that was. There's no way Caitlyn doesn't also know about the statue. Besides that, she also saw him in the mural. If she's seen this statue, she knows it's the same man.

Caitlyn would now know that Vander is important to the whole undercity. "Well respected."

Lastly, Singed told Ambessa about the man behind the monster.

This one is a bit of a stretch, but think about it. Ambessa has no reason to withhold the information Singed gave her. Here it is below if you want a reminder:

"He isn't a monster. He was once a man. Well respected, at that. Victim of great tragedy. He had a furocious will to live. An incredible tolerance for pain. With him, I was able to make strides impossible with any other specimen. But the mind... the mind I could not recover. The man forever lost in the bowels of the beast, compelled only by the scent of blood. Or so I thought. It now seems I had yet to uncover the right catalyst."

Singed is awfully forthcoming with information once he realizes he doesn't have to hide it from Ambessa. And when Caitlyn walks in on them in Singe's lab, Ambessa makes no effort to hide her current involvement with Singed. AND even if Ambessa realizes Singed is talking about Vander, I highly doubt Ambessa has the information necessary to realize she's literally delivering Caitlyn to a connection to not only Vi, but Jinx.

Caitlyn, however, does have all the information. If Ambessa or Singed told Caitlyn the same info or even more, Caitlyn could likely start making some assumptions on who the man behind the beast is.

She just didn't have a catalyst to put everything together... Again, yet.

And while we're on the topic of this scene...

We learn Caitlyn abhors a gap in information.

Caitlyn talks about the mystery of shimmer, "This led to one other missing puzzle piece whose absence has always gnawed at my mind."

She wants all the details even if it does not add much to the full picture.

She already knows Silco and the chembarons are responsible for the manufacturing and distribution of shimmer. Learning who made it only tells her who made it. It doesn't solve anything or change what she would have to do to stop the spread of shimmer. But she wants to know. She HAS to know.

She wants all the dots to connect and is not satisfied until they do.

So, when Vi says, "Trying to save... my dad."

What if this one sentence was all Caitlyn needs to connect everything she didn't understand before. I mean, how else do you explain that little "aha" head move she does.

There is no way she did not take a greater interested in how the heck Vi was involved to begin with and especially as a child.

Her main focus has been on Jinx: finding her and bringing her to justice. She's been distracted.

What if this is the catalyst, the first time she has a reason to connect all those dots to make what Vi said make sense. And suddenly it all does.

Honestly, it would explain why Caitlyn jumped ship so easily.

In conclusion.

Caitlyn has all the information she needs to connect the dots.

She has the motivations to continue seeking those answers.

She just didn't have the mental opportunity to really consider it... until she did.

Anyway... Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe I'm reading too much into it. Maybe one "Cupcake" is just not enough to convince me she'd immediately plan a mutiny, but maybe she is that simple! (She's definitely not. *coughs*)

But you know what, even if she didn't glean that Warwick is actually Vander and Vander is Vi's dad in that moment, she definitely knows after this...

So, anyway, I think she definitely knows or is at minimum primed to have the realization. Guess we'll see.

[pinktie]

I just had an epiphany. You know how in Magic Kaito, Aoko is like Ran, Nakamori is like Mori? So then, people (at least I) assume Hakuba is like Heiji. But now I think that Akako is more of a Heiji than him.

At first, she saw Kaito as a challenge and wanted to defeat him. But after she failed and saw how good he was, she decided to assist him in any way she could.

She is always ready to assist Kaito before he even knows he needs it. She gives him a warning prophecy similar to how Heiji would warn Conan about his prophetic dream.

Or how Heiji and Shinichi are rivals in their field of occupation. Detective of the West vs. Detective of the East.

Akako the witch vs. KID the wizard.

If Akako is written as Kaito's rival. We will get a lot of her moments trying to defeat him for the honor of real witches/wizards. We can also get to see Kaito win, giving more context as to why he keeps receiving new names (like the Reiwa Widzard one).

Bonus points: Akako is envious of Kaito/KID for being so popular in school and heists without any use of magic. Which makes their dynamic similar to the Queen and Snow-white.

[kickbutts-singsongs]

I’ve had some thoughts about Izuku and his actions in the post-canon chapter that I haven’t known how to voice until this very moment so uh I just wanted to say that I actually saw myself in him and his decisions and here’s why:

(warning: manga spoilers and minor traumadumping)

I just recently turned 20 years old and I’ve been noticing that life feels a whole lot clearer now that I’m out of my crazy house (for the most part) and attending college, but I didn’t realize just how murky and foggy everything had felt up until now.

Like seriously looking back on it, I felt like my head was underwater and I was in a fishtank watching everyone pass me by. Some people would come up to the glass and reach out, but I didn’t really reach back bc I just assumed that since there was glass I wouldn’t be able to truly connect. Instead I kind of acted the best and brightest that I could, almost like I was performing tricks for them, in the hopes that they’d at least stick around, but I didn’t think I’d be anything more than a passing interest to them. But that was okay because I liked seeing the people and it was enough for me, I’d take what I could get.

Also some context: I was homeschooled as a kid and was a pretty isolated child whose only real connection to anyone was with her younger sister (which may or may not have been an unhealthy relationship) so when I finally attended high school, I went through those years thinking that everyone who ever met me wouldn’t really like me or want to stay connected bc if my own lil sis didn’t then who would? And though I did make friends, and they def reached out and touched the glass, I felt like I was this intangible thing that they would soon move on from and forget, once again leaving me alone in the water

Last year, someone came up to my tank and punched straight through the glass

And holy fuckin smokes everything changed

I have this dear friend that I’ve known for quite a long time (6 years now), but I never in a million years would’ve guessed that I had any real impact on her bc she was so well-liked and was surrounded by so many great people. I was just me.

But one night, she told me that I was her best friend.

Did I cry? Uh huh big time

But also?? My entire worldview changed????

Cuz WHAT DO YOU MEAN IM SPECIAL ENOUGH TO YOU FOR YOU TO DECLARE THAT OUT OF EVERYONE YOU KNOW, I AM YOUR BEST FRIEND

Basically, since then I have never felt more alive, and now I’ve decided that my days of being a wallflower to everyone I know and love are fuckin OVER

IM BEING PRESENT AND ATTENTIVE AND INSERTING MYSELF INTO PEOPLES LIVES BC THEY WANT ME IN THEM BITCHESSSSSS

“Wow, Song, congrats on the epiphany? I guess? What does that have to do with Izuku??”

Great question my friend

In my humble and lightly biased opinion, Izuku grew up without a bunch of self-worth and didn’t think very highly of himself. He also didn’t grow up with very many (healthy) friendships, and when he finally attended UA, he got his first dose of seeing people actually reaching out to him

But I think he was stuck in a daze of “Wow they really wanna be my friend? That’s crazy cuz they’re so cool and I’m just. Me.” <- similar to how I acted in hs.

And after all the ✨traumatizing shit✨ he went thru up until the end of the series, I think it’d be understandable if his life felt a bit foggy and murky, like he was existing but not truly living (esp if he never got a therapist or smth, but I sincerely hope he did) and he didn’t feel like he had much of an impact on the lives of his friends in hs other than his heroics (esp after he lost his quirk)

So my guess is that he just coexisted with everyone, counted his blessings, and then let everyone go after they graduated. It wouldn’t surprise me if the only reason he and Katsuki are as comfortable as they are in the epilogue is bc Katsuki was the one making efforts to reach out to Izuku for the past eight years, but again that’s my projections ashajkajaka

Anyways SO when it comes to the point where Katsuki’s driving and tells Izuku “if you treat everyone like they’re special to you, then no one actually is” I was shook to my core because that’s how I’d been living my life (and I still was at that point) so when I saw a lot of people criticizing Izuku for his seemingly uncaring behavior in rejecting Katsuki’s vague agency proposal, I couldn’t help but feel empathy for my boy bc I prob would’ve said and done the exact same thing. I don’t think I would’ve understood the importance of such an ask, or the impact I would’ve had if I’d said no.

And further on, when Izuku looks at Uraraka, someone who was a dear friend of his in high school, and notices that they never talk anymore and grew apart (partially bc he let that happen), he hears Katsuki’s words in his head and realizes that he’s right, and that Uraraka is someone that is special to him, actually special to him, and that he wants to rebuild that connection and put work in to keep in touch.

But I don’t think that means that that’s the end.

I think Uraraka is just the beginning.

My theory (my hope) is that he’ll start to look around at the people in his life (or currently out of his life) and allow himself to actually be in their lives again, to purposefully insert himself back in. To reach out, to connect. He’ll start being more aware of how his life actually impacts others, and how his life has meaning outside of doing things just to help people.

(And maybe he’ll re-evaluate how much he actually cares about a certain someone and notice how much effort they actually put into their relationship and wonder if they’re really just a friend to him but that’s my shipper heart alskllaksk)

Anyways uh I guess I had been neglecting my ‘thinking about Izuku’ duties for a sec so now I’ve just word-vomited a small essay that’s probably mildly incomprehensible but the point is that I care and maybe someone else will too so if u got this far thanks for reading 🫡

[dewyatt]

Escape The Mojoverse: Hivemind Talks NYX

Escape The Mojoverse has posted their interview with Hivemind here.

Highlights:

A planned issue that got cut was exploring Sobunar and the other Arakki mutants, why they're with the Morlocks, and would reveal that Dante was a journalist and was thinking about writing a book about the events in New York.

The plan for Arc 3 was to bring Empath back as the villain, and to further explore Local as part of New York, and how it would have impacted Xavier's Dream, and organizations like Perimeter and One. Kamala would not have been part of that arc because of Giant-Sized.

Quentin was planned to be in the Empath role, NOT the Krakoan as some people have reported.

Hivemind kind of double-talk on the whole Laura/Kiden/Julian thing. Kelly was the one pushing to get Julian into the book, while Lanzig was promoting bringing in Kiden. Their opinion is Kiden and Julian are both thinking about Laura every day. Laura has been thinking about Kiden more than Julian, but that there's still strong emotional ties to him. Mostly, Laura's still in a place of dealing with a lot of complex issues on top of it all, and to basically expect typical Marvel where characters aren't going to be happy for any length of time. They do confirm that Kiden's confession in #8 is what clued Laura in to how she was going wrong handling Julian. They also say Schultz will be giving a lot of focus to Laura and Julian in LKW (though we still don't know the context).

Oh, and the Legion appearing in Giant-Sized is NOT DAVID HALLER.

The whole thing about the Love Triangle may be even MORE unsatisfying than what was actually on the page.

First of all, the idea that Laura doesn't think about Julian that much absolutely does NOT track with what we saw in issue #8. You don't clear cut a forest by hand in frustration like Laura did over someone you don't give a second thought. Believe me, for one person to get under your skin like that they're ABSOLUTELY going to be on your mind.

And there's just no connective tissue between what we saw in #8, and the status quo of #10.

Everything about #8 was practically screaming Laura and Julian were on the road to rekindling their relationship:

Just the fact Julian can so easily trigger her makes it clear she still feels that connection.

Laura's reminiscences about their relationship, and her regret/fear that she was ruining his innocence with her darkness.

Laura essentially non-reacting to Kiden's confession, and in fact it giving her an epiphany she had to reach out to Julian, not Hellion, and break through to the man she was once falling in love with.

I keep going back to it: But that forehead bump while holding his head to press him close, and her voice breaking when she expresses how happy she is to know he's still Julian.

Her promise to help him make things right together.

Kiden's hurt expression when she sees Laura and Julian together.

There's a very clear reading there that Laura turned Kiden down. And then #10 does a complete 180 on that.

It doesn't help that everything about Kiden in this book was a retcon. In neither of their two interactions over the 20 years since she debuted did Kiden express a romantic interest in Laura, much less vice-versa. Hell, Laura has almost never spared her a second thought that we've been privy to outside this book and a couple mentions in Deadly Regenesis.

And while the extent of Laura and Julian's relationship got retconned as well so it had advanced further than we saw on panel, at least it was building on something that actually existed.

This whole thing just continues to be incredibly frustrating, and Hivemind's apparent lack of self-awareness over it certainly isn't helping.

Also, the fact that they actually laughed when the question about the expectations over #8 kind of rubs me the wrong way.

[sem24]

Andor is actually the Star Warsiest piece of Star Wars ever.

I’m not someone who usually takes notes while watching a show, but I literally had so many thoughts while watching Andor I couldn’t contain myself.

So here is my stream of consciousness, unedited (except for one point) thoughts from Andor season 2, episode 8. To see how I got to the epiphany above while watching the Ghorman massacre of all things.

Sorry you can really see the nerd and English major in this one folks.

Also this was at like 4 AM and I’ve slept like 2 hours in the last 3 days while I’ve been cramming for finals, (really shouldn’t have stayed up to watch this). Sorry about the spelling and grammar crimes that are so egregious they put what the Empire did in this episode to shame. And just the overall lack of coherence.

Anyway straight from my notes app to your screen…

We are the ghor the galaxy is watching

Mentor - student relationship* (most of this is in order as I watched the episode but some are random thoughts I had about earlier scenes I’ll leave a little asterisk next to these)

Basic anyone can be a hero message

Syril joins the collective visually

(Opposite to his seeing himself through facism Individualistic exceptionalism)

Only thing that causes real change is collective action and community

(So the message really boils down to power of friendship despite the grit)

Force as og intended “the power of others” more metaphorical power of the collective.*

Or Saw who’s paranoia does a similar thing.

Nobody’s listening

Fat and happy imps

“You turn your back on something this evil…”

“Not a problem if you don’t look up”

Yet another peaceful community gathering turned violent by the cops (I mean the Empire)

Escalation of stakes this time planned

Ties back to Aldhani in Imperial crowd control.

We are ghor exerting identity in the face of a hegemonic power structure which wishes to erase all identity and make a homogeneous blob.

But not selfish or individualistic (contrast American exceptionalism) “we” are the ghor. (god we really are the fucking Empire)

Loud noise, (again like funeral last season) making yourself known in the face of an uncaring galaxy.

Either Imperial horns are literally trying to We are the ghor the galaxy is watching

Could have like a shofar kinda connotation

“The Galaxy is watching” contrast “nobody’s listening”

unflinching belief in the goodness of others. Their tragedy will be known.

Wil is so dead

Similar earth tone colors to Ferix to

Drill sergeant is still complacent

The only time I support a man hurting a woman

Also white woman sympathy (the you’re hurting me, whether it is sincere or not)

He chokes her and she’s still into him? Girl serious mental issues

Wow she’s really bought in!

“You didn’t seem to mind the promotions” oooooh devastating

Everyone here is complicit

Look at you Syril growing a backbone finally, it’s too late. But you’re almost a human being.

Wow Syril is really into chocking

Othello intimacy parallel

(only edit: an explanation, in a Lit. class I just read an essay on how the intensity of Iago’s obsessive hatred towards Othello can be read through a queer lens as a form of emotional intimacy, I’m not explaining it well honestly, sorry. It makes more sense in context coming from someone who knows what they’re talking about. I just thought of that in relation to Syril and Cassian).

Syril couldn’t let go of his revenge so he died

He died anonymously in ultimate hit to Syril “I’m gonna be someone special” Karn.

Actually he didn’t die anonymously (at least what’s his name got his revenge)

Syril I think would rather die because of his own actions.

Well that was more horrific than I ever could have imagined

And she’s all alone

Well that was more horrific than I ever could have imagined

“Tell people what happened here Cass”

Listening theme repeated

Also parallels to Obi-wan message order 66.

“A thousand voices all called out all at once and were silenced”

They really saw order 66 and said we can top that.

“Is there no one who can help us!”

Oh, oh the entire point of this franchise finding hope in darkness, this may actually be the Star Warsiest, Star Wars project to date

“We gotta let people know what happened help me” - Merging of the two themes.

And that shot parallels ending of Rogue One, straight in the heart Andor, well played.

Eerie silence

“Price we pay for our own safety”

Very Bush era speech compromising safety over privacy.

[dr-futbol-blog]

Epiphany, Pt. 9

Some time has passed, Sheppard appears to have healed and is at the very least fully dressed (very likely in Avrid's clothes, or the clothes of who ever Hedda's father had been), and we see him step outside into the village for what might be the first time. Avrid is there to receive him, literally with open arms, and sounds happy to see him. He smiles, and we can also hear the smile in his voice. There are people toiling all around them, most of them seeming to be young and attractive and dressed in flowing, airy clothes in earthy colours (the red-white colour scheme may not be an accident given the many references in the episode to Through the Looking Glass). While it is not clear whose house and bed Sheppard had found himself in or whose house he lives in for the remainder of his stay here, it is obvious that he thinks of himself as Avrid's guest here. Avrid is his context. It is to Avrid that he turns for answers now.

Avrid: I'm glad you're feeling better. Welcome to your new home. Sheppard: Avrid... I'm happy to visit and I'm grateful for the food and the whole healing thing, but... do you know the way out of here? Avrid: There is no way to leave, John, other than to ascend. Sheppard: What exactly do you mean by "there's no way"?

So, we may note that while Sheppard and Avrid stand further apart from each other than Sheppard and McKay often do when engaged in conversation, Sheppard does have his whole body turned toward Avrid which indicates that at least on some level he is attracted to the man. We may also note that Sheppard uses his name here, telling us both that he had filed the name off as something to remember and that he wishes to establish rapport between them by using it. And while Sheppard feels like he has places to be, he does express his gratitude for Avrid having saved him even as he was trying to save Avrid, which we may recall is something that also happened between Sheppard and McKay.

Avrid also uses Sheppard's name, and this is something that we did not get to witness, Sheppard saying his name to them. We do not know how he introduced himself, whether it was just as John or as Colonel John Sheppard. What ever it was, Avrid uses his given name which makes their interaction instantly seem more intimate. They both seem to use the other man's name wishing to establish a connection. And while we do not get to hear McKay call Sheppard John for a long time, it is likely that at this time McKay had been calling him John in private for a while now. Avrid does not physically resemble McKay, being taller than Sheppard, lean and with a full head of hair, and even looking at his disposition he seems almost to be like the opposite of McKay. He actually more resembles Sheppard himself, which may explain this instant rapport between them. But there is still something similar to McKay in how they interact, the ease and familiarity of it.

Sheppard starts walking toward the central square of the village probably having no idea where he is actually heading, not having a destination but only a need to move about, and Avrid takes on after him because by asking him questions Sheppard indicated that he wished to continue the conversation. But Sheppard grinds to a halt as soon as he processes Avrid's words. He does not like the sound of this.

Avrid: That is the sole purpose of this place, to meditate upon ascension and one day join those who created the Sanctuary. Sheppard: The thing is, I've got other plans. Avrid: Then why did you enter the portal?

A few things to note here. First, there is a steaming cauldron here between the two of them that is symbolic of heat, and we may note that Sheppard is definitely not looking at any of the beautiful women around them, his attention focused entirely on Avrid and looking for the exit, which is why he seems to be moving around restlessly. But his body language here is actually reminiscent of McKay: his hand freezes in place as he tries to process what Avrid is telling him, something we have seen McKay do as he dissociates (or is otherwise interrupted in the middle of a thought). But as soon as Sheppard snaps out of it, he curls his hand into a fist and rubs his thumb against it, which is something that McKay frequently does when he is either anxious or turned on.

While Sheppard had already indicated that he dislikes the ascended, it is also made abundantly clear during this episode that he does not enjoy meditation. While in Avrid, Teer and Hedda, the whole trio of them, Sheppard is presented with something that he really wants, which is a family that will never leave him and that would be with him always, his experiences here show him how fuzzy the line between dreams and nightmares can be, how easily a dream can tip into a nightmare. Ascension may be something that most people should want to achieve and that Sheppard's own ancestors had sought to do, but what Sheppard wants is something altogether different.

And it is interesting he makes reference to having plans here. Sheppard has plans, he has things that he wants to do on the outside (and given the mention of Beckett and Cadman's date "tomorrow night" later, it could even be that Sheppard had actual plans). In saying this, he is not offering to share any of his plans with Avrid, merely making a wisecracking remark here, but at the same time, the notion had to come from somewhere. There are things he desires to have in life, and every one of those things involves McKay.

Sheppard: Well, call it a mistake. I tried to stop it but the damned thing sucked me in. Avrid: Those that came before us made certain that there could be no indecision. Once you set foot within the Sanctuary, your path was chosen. Sheppard: Not by me!

First thing to note is that Sheppard does not seem to blame McKay for what had happened, but he also does not want to speak his name because speaking his name would force him to think about McKay, and that would just open a world of hurt for him that he would rather avoid for the time being. Usually Sheppard would be using the "we" form in recounting something like this but here he only talks about what happened to him, as though he had been alone by the portal. His people having been there with him is intel he is not ready to give these people yet. While Sheppard is the one to walk up front and Avrid follows after him, we may note that Sheppard turns back to look at him as they converse, wanting to be able to see the man's face. Because these people are close to ascension and seem to have the Ancient gene, it could be that there is communication happening between them beyond simple words.

Sheppard comes to a halt by the watering hole that is likely the heart of the village, and given that the camera focuses on Sheppard's reflection and shows him upside down, it seems to hark back both to the idea of this being the looking glass world where things appear upside down and inside out, and to water as a medium. While Sheppard keeps glancing back at Avrid, before he comes to a stop he also looks at one of the others, and the camera work here is excellent because it is left entirely ambiguous whether he was glancing at the woman in pink working in the background or the strapping young lad in red that was walking past them. There is more precedence for Sheppard looking at dudes (and even here he almost turns to look at him again as he passes but stops his head from turning the whole way), but it is left up to the viewer what they see here. And while he likely thought nothing of it, it just tells us that the people in the village are all exceptionally beautiful. Sheppard himself is the most haggard-looking person in the sanctuary.

What Sheppard says here may also have a metaphorical quality. We later learn that he had been married, and he could just as well be describing that here: it was a mistake, and he had tried to avoid it but the thing had sucked him in because it was what his father had wanted. Later in Outcast (S04E16), the story also penned by Joe Flanigan, we are told more about how Sheppard felt like his father had his whole life planned out for him; what school he should go to, what profession he should take up, which woman to marry, and he had tried to walk the path that had been chosen for him but was ultimately unable to do that because his heart was drawing him elsewhere. And the same plays out in this episode in miniature: Teer seems to have plans for Sheppard and keeps manipulating the environment to get him to do what she feels like he should do without consulting him and disregarding what he actually wants. They symbolically play out Sheppard's marriage and divorce in this episode, we are able to see hints of what very likely had inevitably led to his divorce by looking at what happens in this episode. It is clear that there was a backstory for Sheppard the actor was basing his portrayal of the character on, and that backstory involved Sheppard having been in love with a man before he got married--and based on this, it could very well have been Nancy's brother.

Avrid: Once you cross the threshold, you are committed to be here for the remainder of your days.

Avrid sounds both happy and positive as he tries to sell Sheppard on the idea that he is actually better off now that he is here, that it is not all bad once he accepts his new reality. On the symbolic level, this might resemble his father telling him that once he has committed himself to marriage, commitment means that he has to uphold his vows for the rest of his life, until death do them part. But what happens here, between Sheppard and Avrid, is pretty damn interesting. Avrid seems happy at first but as Sheppard processes all of this, as he mulls it over in his mind, he does not respond to Avrid, at least not verbally. Sheppard seems to be rather literally dumbstruck here. But we see Avrid look at him, he actually squints his eyes as he looks, he seems to search Sheppard's face and his countenance changes. Avrid sees something in Sheppard that displeases him and the searching look indicates it was something inside, in Sheppard's mind that he did not like to see.

Clearly Sheppard needed time to think about this, he probably wanted to be by himself, but he does not say or do anything that actually communicates this. But without a word being spoken, Avrid seems to read all of this off of Sheppard and he then just walks away without saying anything further. And we have to wonder whether Avrid's gift is not reading minds, reading people's thoughts in a much more tangible manner than that vague kind of-sort of telepathy we have seen hints of between people with the Ancient gene. And Sheppard is carrying such deep hurt within him, such longing, that it tracks that Avrid would want to get further away from him (that kind of negativity might compromise his own ascension). Sheppard does not want to be here for the remainder of his days.

McKay: Alright. Launch the probe on my mark. Three, two, one, mark. The probe's about to pass through the field. Stand by. Damn it! Beckett: What happened? McKay: Exactly what I was afraid would happen. The probe was ripped apart by tidal forces at the event horizon almost instantly. Beckett: So we can't fly through it and rescue Colonel Sheppard?

We get an interesting transition from Sheppard looking down at his own reflection in the water (through which he is also looking up at the sky above) to McKay's voice talking about launching the probe that, frankly, looks a lot like a sex toy, as the jumper flies above the sanctuary. These things are connected symbolically although they do not take place at the same time, as Sheppard's scene with Avrid probably happened when McKay was still flying the jumper back to Atlantis the first time. This also means that if there is some kind of a tether connecting Sheppard and McKay, Sheppard would likely have been unable to sense any connection to him back then even if he had been reaching out for him, feeling very much alone, which would have contributed to his despondent attitude.

McKay: Not unless we wanna be ripped apart too! Weir: Did you receive any telemetry before the probe failed? McKay: Hmm. Actually quite a lot. Looks like mostly gibberish, though. This is gonna take me the better part of an hour to go through.

While McKay would love nothing more than to fly the jumper right into the crater, what cannot be done cannot be done. Disappointed by the failure of the experiment, it takes Weir nudging him for him to even notice that they were able to receive a lot of information from beyond the veil in the short time there was a connection between the two parts of the probe on the opposite sides. And realizing it is going to take a while to make sense of it, McKay seems to want to start right away meaning that he probably needs the others to shut up. But what is interesting here is the way Weir looks at McKay. She narrows her eyes, and it is almost exactly the way Avrid was looking at Sheppard in the previous scene. Weir does not have the Ancient gene nor does she have any capacity for mind-reading but it could be that her reaction to McKay saying something that she did not want to hear was the same as Avrid's to Sheppard just thinking something that he did not wish to know.

And while Weir may be frustrated by the situation, it is not as though she is more keenly aware of the time passing than McKay is. He is working as fast as he can because he does not want Sheppard to have to spend one moment longer in the time dilation field than he has to; there is really no need to pass judgement on the way he is working here. It is possible that it is McKay's tone here that made her trip because he does not sound urgent but sounded rather like he was shutting them out. And we actually hear McKay close his device before the scene ends, probably signaling that he was about to turn around to start going through the data by himself. From his eyes that are reddish, gleaming, and looking up just the way Sheppard had been looking up at the cave ceiling when he was holding back tears, McKay may have needed a moment alone here that was not just for the purposes of concentration.

Continued in Pt. 10

[tonydaddingham]

i did not break my own heart last night thinking about the missing 1941 scene and have it sat in my brain all of today spinning around like a fucking microwave in order to not make you lot suffer with me. and i somehow feel i may be right about this so buckle up and lets break it down.

so yes, following on from this post, i think that there is going to be a third 1941 scene. twice is a coincidence, three times is a pattern. it's been literally set up like that by even bringing back 1941 into s2 in the first place. but we're missing a crucial detail because it does not - at all, really - explain how they went from evading danger from hell and having a cosy candlelit bottle of red to celebrate, to the bastard 1967 scene. we all know this, this is nothing new.

the symbolism of nightingales is probably going to cast a shadow on this. these two excellent analyses look at the meaning of nightingales in the context of R&J, and the relation that the song has to this point in time, respectively. in summary; it's a song that should be around in 1941 courtesy of vera lynn and others, and the nightingale itself carries the meaning of love being hidden and forbidden by way of it singing under the cover of darkness, before being replaced with reality and soberness - represented by the lark. the Dinner of '41 scene is set in the bookshop at night; this would parallel - that they are safe and concealed, and truths can be shared, but the writing is on the wall that stepping outside would be to shatter the illusion, so to speak. it might be that the song itself gets miracled up onto the record player, or a wireless lying about - whatever. note: i don't think they'll dance though, not given crowley in ep5, "you don't dance"... but then again, if there ISNT a kiss in s3-1941, an aborted dance seems like the next best option... the cowardly one, but i'll take it

this would also track with aziraphale having his epiphany after the church in s1-1941; specifically, in my eyes, that he doesn't necessarily just realise he loves crowley, but that crowley by way of saving his books loves him too. this is only supported by the whole of the s2-1941 scene of trusting in each other as the only way to pull off the trick, the subterfuge. this is then, again, also important in the context of what i think happens in s3-1941.

i do think aziraphale is going to bring the books up again, and what crowley did, because it needs to be addressed. the Nazis/furfur confrontation has scared him, regardless of whether he saved them both, more than he realised. its put things into startling perspective. i think he's going to bring up the books, and actually question crowley a little more as to why he did it. the repeated use of, and subsequent weird reaction crowley has to, the use of the term "friend" in s2-1941 would indicate that this is going to be a focal point in s3-1941. are they just friends? is crowley disappointed that aziraphale is still referring to him as that, after what he did? 'saving' aziraphale in the church, and then saving his books? or is aziraphale just saying 'friends' so hesitantly in both instances because he's not completely sure where crowley stands?

we as the audience know the answer to this, but they obviously do not. if one of the crucial themes of s3 is going to be resolving miscommunication, it makes sense for this scene to be the first, and last, time they communicate properly... at least, until they sort out the issues that culminated in the Final Fifteen.

so let's say they start getting into a very roundabout way of discussing what they mean to each other. there will need to be the sobering, ice-water-over-the-head realisation however, as s2-1941 demonstrated, that they cannot belong to each other, because they manifestly belong to heaven and hell respectively. crowley is still being spied on, and it firmly places aziraphale in their line of sight too. it's going to bring up the holy water discussion; why crowley asked for it - to protect himself, whether by taking out demons or taking out himself, as long as it means he - and most importantly, aziraphale - does not get hurt.

they actively confess that they want to be together, in a way that is more than they are now. aziraphale wants to, but says that they can't, because it's too dangerous. crowley suggests that no one ever has to know, they can hide it (there, in the bookshop, whilst the nightingale is singing), and even if they are found out, they can run. "hell won't just be angry; they'll destroy you..." // "no one ever has to know".

aziraphale doesn't want to have to hide it, doesn't want a halfway measure- is still thinking in black and white. crowley however thinks that something is better than nothing - thinking in the grey. but ultimately, as long as they are still shackled, they cannot do what they want, and it puts the other in danger. "surely the great thing about being a demon is that you can do whatever you want" // "you sound jealous, angel...". instead, aziraphale promises that the day that they are no longer tied to heaven or hell, they can be together; crowley scoffs, thinking that that will never happen, so they will never happen, "you're so clever! how can someone as clever as you be so stupid?!"

the reason they can't right now is because they could be caught. they would have to skulk around, be ashamed, feel guilty - and aziraphale is tired of feeling like that. because only having crowley in secret would hurt more. not being able hold his hand, or dance with him, or kiss him, unless it was in the bookshop. if hell were to find out, crowley would be killed, true, but if heaven were to find out, aziraphale could be cast out. and if crowley survived hell long enough to see aziraphale fall - he'd never forgive himself, and in a way, i don't think he'd ever forgive aziraphale either.

it's tearing them to pieces, but they have to stop whatever is happening between them in its tracks. it's acknowledged, but it's not named. this gives them plausible deniability; if they called it 'love', it would be undeniable. so, aziraphale asks for crowley to go; asks him to leave before they do something they can't come back from. crowley doesn't listen - crowds him, gets in close, and aziraphale is powerless to stop it. doesn't want to stop it. he's selfish by nature, a selfless kind of selfishness, but he wants this with all his being. and then - "this is too fast, crowley, please don't..." // "im sorry, angel. please... please, forgive me". aziraphale never gets to answer, to grant him that, because boom - the actual first kiss.

so. now that i've had to make you read that, i'm going in for the kill. let's look at everything that follows - and look at how the above might recontextualise it.

1967: the offer of the picnic, the Ritz? ie. the literal lyrics of berkeley square? aziraphale has caved in the interest of giving crowley a weapon to use if all else fails, to protect him, but that's as far as he's willing to progress. everything else is still too painful; he's on the brink of tears, promising that one day they'll be able to do what they want, to be open about how they feel, but not yet. they can't. crowley tries to push, "ill give you a lift, anywhere you want to go..." (him offering again to run away? a second chance to leg it?), and aziraphale reminding him that they can't, he can't... don't make him go too fast again, it's not fair. it also sets up perfectly that aziraphale and crowley don't speak for the next 40 or so years (as far as we're aware) until armageddon is threatened.

bandstand: mostly this is still centred around the apocalypse contextually, but i think with the above hypothetical scene in mind (the offer to hide, to run away, to be together), aziraphale is sent back to remembering their mutual confession that they've nonverbally agreed not to bring up, because it's not safe, and it's too painful. they've skirted around it, and returned instead to a tentative kind of friendship at the beginning of s1, but they're still not safe to address why seeing each other again, being so close to each other and not being able to touch is so painful. anyway - aziraphale refuses their side, but the above scene would re-view this as 'our side can't exist yet, you know this! you know why it can't!', and crowley leaves, again after pushing a bit more than aziraphale can stand.

alpha centauri: basically a facsimile of the above; same steps, same dance. but this time, crowley harks back to aziraphale's foolish (?) hope that they will be together, without having to run away, when the day comes that they don't have to answer to heaven or hell. and aziraphale smacks him right back, echoing crowley asking for aziraphale's forgiveness in kissing him, "i forgive you." crowley knows exactly what aziraphale is getting at, there - he's answering crowley's whispered plea to forgive him for pushing, for trying to force him, for acting in desperation. but he's also not answering that - he's skirting around that very thing, forgiving him like a knife would, slicing back at crowley for not only insulting aziraphale on something that is likely a genuine insecurity of his, but also putting him back in his place, for their safeties, because them being together just cannot happen. not yet.

and "please forgive me" in 1941 might seem out of character, but idk if it is; crowley knows that doing what he's about to do will hurt aziraphale, aziraphale has (hypothetically) told him as much, but he needs to do it - and seeks not benevolence or forgiveness as crowley-the-demon, but actually seems aziraphale's forgiveness, as crowley-the-person. the echo would certainly match the tone given here, in multiple ways:

the ritz: i mean, what is there to say? yes, their song is literally playing on the piano, and heralds the shift in their being out from heaven and hell, the day has finally come where they can - again, going by this entirely hypothetical scene that ive concocted - actually be together as they want to. and the nightingale literally singing outside, but as @shoemakerobstetrician beautifully pointed out, god remarks that it's covered up by traffic. so actually, if we again refer back to R&J interpretation of the nightingale, the love is still hidden, still somewhat under wraps, but can only just about be heard over the noise of the streets outside. the prohibition of them being together, of loving each other, is dwindling. and one day, it'll stop singing altogether. that day is coming, it will come, and then they can do what they please. so whilst the ritz scene may well be a mark of them starting the next chapter, it's slow to take hold, there's still hesitancy - which absolutely makes sense when we see that they are still very tentative with each other come the beginning of s2.

s2 general: aziraphale realises their freedom first; he gets excited by the dance, and being able to show his love to crowley, completely and without barriers, in the form of the ball - what he has read to be the best way to do so. he touches crowley more. he shares his bookshop with him, gifts it to crowley as being his as well as aziraphale's, this safe space that is so wholly theirs that crowley has the power to grant entry. the same with the bentley - aziraphale sees it as theirs, and crowley silently agrees, granting aziraphale the same power. crowley is comfortable in the bookshop to remove his glasses, has a place for them. the bookshop becomes tidier, more minimalist, to make crowley more comfortable in it (it is more cluttered in s1, im certain of it). it might just be the grading between s1 and s2, and lack of clutter, but the yellow is more prominent - his literal favourite colour. everything just screams that aziraphale is ready to make good on his promise from s3-1941.

crowley... for once, is the one not quite catching up. not realising the little dates here and there are literally poses them as a couple (although yes, the coffee shop one is to prep crowley for the goob jumpscare), that aziraphale has granted him the power to grant entry. aziraphale literally asking, practically begging, crowley to help him hide goob. the mf colour of the walls. the colour of the bentley. it's not until nina outright asks him if they are together that he realises how careless they've been - but wait, is it careless if they have nothing to be careful of? well, arguably crowley does, hell are still hanging around him like a bad smell... but this is what he wanted! this is what he was pushing aziraphale for! so, does he risk it? he's not sure, but he's certainly realising that aziraphale is ready, if nothing else. and by the time the ladies stage their little intervention, crowley finally realises that the confession he started in 1941 now can be fully aired, can come out into the open.

the Feral Domestic: *fingers at temples* i know i have been fairly vocal about my interpretation of this scene, and frankly - until we get this hypothetical s3-1941 scene, i stand by it - but let's say this speculation about the scene is true, and re-examine the key points in the Final Fifteen that would completely turn on their heads in terms of meaning:

literally, harking back full circle to what aziraphale promised in 1967 as what they would do when they could fully acknowledge their love, and what they did as soon as - on paper - they were free at the end of s1. this is however before he's spoken to by nina and maggie, so maybe this is what crowley was planning in terms of confessing fully to aziraphale, but after their meddling he realised that yes, they need to actually talk about it again. he doesn't understand why they're telling him what they are - because he's existed so long in gestures and gifts and not talking, literally dismissed it now as a viable option, that it doesn't even occur to him to try talking again.

which is why he does something brave, and tries to tell aziraphale instead (say it out loud, make it undeniable, put a name to it, "i love you", something that i think was crowley's actual intention before aziraphale interrupts him) when he comes back to the shop... he's so nervous, because it's vulnerable, and because the last time he did, they ended up hiding for 50-ish years.

next up:

now, im reluctant to think that aziraphale lied in the Feral Domestic, because i do think the key thing at work is his paramount need to do the Right Thing (ie. make a difference in heaven). whilst metatron obviously manipulates him, im not entirely convinced that aziraphale wholly sees through it. i don't think he knew that metatron was up to something, i think the shaking off of this naivety is going to be part of his s3 character development. but this sentence - again, especially in context of the hypothetical s3-1941 scene - must on some level frighten him. especially if you take this meta into account, aziraphale must realise at least that they were never safe, even when they were denying what they were and how they felt, it didn't make a bit of difference. now, metatron could have just been talking about the arrangement, not referring to any romantic elements of any kind, but the threat of it? no wonder he pushes for crowley to join him in heaven; he could keep crowley safe there. they could be together, and heaven - in his eyes - would be able to say a word against it.

then:

the fear sets in; crowley was too late in telling him, acknowledging that they could be together, realising what aziraphale was saying to him without words, and now heaven has come for him. plonked them right back where they were in s2-1941, but perversely mirrored; instead of hell coming for crowley with violence, heaven came for aziraphale with kindness. crowley doesn't have a magic trick he can just do on the fly, perform it perfectly when the need for it is greatest, and has to cling to the hope that aziraphale still sees them as the barrier to them, the reason they can't be together. and in true miscommunication fashion, i think aziraphale does see it, but what metatron said lingers, and in addition to being inside the institution, changing it from the inside out, in order to make a difference... he knows that whilst it's exactly the opposite of what they wanted, he needs to make them safe. better to be inside the tent pissing out, than outside the tent pissing in.

but aziraphale doesn't tell crowley what metatron said, because instead he either deliberately tries to deny the implications of it (cognitive dissonance king behaviour), or he doesn't want to panic crowley and is trying to convey to crowley that he can't speak his concerns, not when the metatron could still be watching, and instead just needs crowley to trust him, take his hand, and join him in heaven where they can be safe. doesn't tell crowley that heaven hasn't captured him in shackles again, but he's willingly held out his wrists because it's the safest thing for him, and them, to do.

so it's one thing to look at what crowley's saying, but aziraphale's reaction? before, i just found it to be out of confusion, him not really understanding what crowley was saying, but tbh i never paid much attention to it (david stole this bit of the scene - not to put down my beloved michael here, but he did). and i know others have remarked here that aziraphale is flitting his eyes to the window and looks scared and stressed, but i don't completely think that its because he's scared that metatron is watching (although, now, i will accept with the rug thing and hypothetical s3-1941 in context it is definitely playing a part), but also because he's just starting to recognise that this is a repeat of the s3-1941 scene, "this sounds familiar, we've been here before... oh, we've definitely been here before... oh shit. i still can't do this, not unless he comes with me. we still can't be together, not in the way crowley wants. the way he's trying again, now, to ask for."

but the issue is: crowley wants to run away together. again. and i totally get why, but once again, going back to 1941: it's exactly the solution that will not work. they cannot run from this. heaven, and hell, will find them. they will come for them. it wasn't an option in 1941, it wasn't an option in 2019, and it isn't an option in 2023. aziraphale begins shaking his head - crowley is confessing, but a) aziraphale doesn't run from things, it isnt in his character, and b) it's just putting them back where they started - something that they have to hide. it defeats the purpose.

and this? yeah, im sure on neither side it was meant the way im about to interpret it, more of an unspoken thing, idk... but if the bookshop is indeed their place of safety, and is where they (as far as crowley sees it) can speak and keep their love, it makes sense that crowley is telling aziraphale he needs to stay. the bookshop can be interpreted so many ways - it represents their relationship, or that crowley means him, himself - but what if we looked at it like crowley is trying now to covet it, because it's protecting them? what if he's saying, "well, if you won't run away with me, we can't be free to have our relationship as we wanted it, not unless we stay here... heaven has come for you, has come for us, and whilst they're here we can't move. so what other option is left remain in this bookshop? to never leave it, and what we have inside it, because there's no other option in which we can be together if you won't run with me."

and what if aziraphale is saying, "no, i have an option, and that's to be together in heaven! they won't be able to do anything, not when im in the position the metatron has offered me, that can be our new bookshop... nothing lasts forever - this bookshop won't last forever, it's compromised, and we can't continue to secret away what we feel inside it, it's time to move forward."

welcome to the line that breaks my heart the most in this whole goddamn scene - and tbh i think is fairly self-explanatory in the hypothetical s3-1941 context. that aziraphale is trying, once again, to tell crowley that he is offering himself, letting them be an 'us', as crowley says shortly after - that before he couldnt do it, and these arent the best of circumstances, but they can finally do it and not have to hide in the bookshop. but crowley reminds him, "hey, i was in your shoes, remember. i wanted us to be together then, and you told me you couldn't, didn't want a halfway measure - well, now i don't either. and this will be a halfway measure, because i don't think us being together in heaven is going to go the way you hope it will. i understand a whole lot better than you do." in any case, it would explain why aziraphale choses this moment to look so devastated. this is what he promised crowley, but now crowley - to his mind, in the things left Unsaid - doesn't want it... him.

and then... back to the nightingales. they're not singing at all, not even under the rumble of traffic, like they were at the Ritz. they're completely absent - day has broken, the things unspoken have now been said, and there's no denying them anymore. from crowley's point of view, there was nothing to stop them this time, but if aziraphale won't run with him, then they have to go separate ways, because there is no other way. aziraphale knows there's the possibility that the only place they could actually be safe is heaven itself, that the bookshop was never as safe as they hoped it had been, but that crowley might actually come to see that. but the fact that crowley is resigned to just... returning to 'reality', to a world that's still turning where they aren't together? despite everything they've just said? "we could've been... us." well, that hurts.

and then... the kiss. now. im still of the mind that the kiss was an Issue. i definitely think it was meant out of love and desperation, and out of possibly being a goodbye. this would echo the hypothetical s3-1941 kiss... but it was hurtful. it was abrupt, and harsh, and not at all romantic (imo). it was possessive, and almost cruel. i do think still it was a last ditch attempt, a temptation, to get aziraphale to change his mind, before crowley leaves the shop and returns to the 'real world'. but it hurts aziraphale in many different ways - but with 1941 put in there, too? crowley is just testing his resolve, trying to push him, come around to giving in. crowley asked him to forgive him the last time he kissed aziraphale, and this time - this time, aziraphale is giving him what he asked for.

[aventurineswife]

Not a request since version 3.1 came out, so Aglaea is still pretty new even though her banner event is over—

I just wanted to yap about an idea I’ve had of academic / sorceress Reader (classical myth has its fair share of sorceresses iirc) and Aglaea.

Reader has studied at the Grove of Epiphany, the domain worshipping Cerces, the Titan of Reason. They’re usually clear-headed, rational and cautious. However, they are also emotional and typically irate, explicitly crass, honest to the point of verbal savagery, brutal in their punishments (to the point where even a good majority of the Council of Elders are terrified of Reader) and willing to cast aside reason and make irrational gambles (kind of like Aventurine, but irritable like Lingsha) if it means making some kind of progress in the face of obstacles.

Piss off Reader, and they might just turn you into either some kind of pathetic animal, or a sprig in their garden to use as an ingredient for their alchemical and / or medicinal practices! Not even a Chrysos Heir or a demigod would be safe from their wrath, despite Reader being among neither of them. Pretty much the only time and reason any stranger dares approach is when they truly need Reader’s help, have burned through all options they can think of, and are getting desperate. A “demon witch of the woods” is what people tend to think of them.

Anyone else brazen enough would have to be someone Reader is familiar with, or someone who has earned Reader’s utmost and genuine respect, such as Tribbie and Castorice.

Of all the Chrysos Heirs, Aglaea is one whom Reader holds seemingly NO respect for, and is harshly critical of (if not THE most critical) and also wise to Aglaea’s tricks and bluffs.

The general public’s POV so far:

Reader, an incredibly intelligent, skilled and talented academic non-believer(?) of the prophecy; and also harsh and ironically unreasonable on occasion. They’re also the only one capable of combating Aglaea’s golden threads.

Aglaea, the demigod who inherited the Coreflame of the Mnestia, the Titan of Romance; an unrivaled seamstress who also excels in other fine arts; welcoming, hospitable, and reasonable (most of the time) ruling authority of Okhema; and the face of the Chrysos Heirs. She’s also one of the few capable of calming and reasoning with Reader.

What the general public does NOT see:

Aglaea, despite being the demigod of romance, is actually growing increasingly detached from her own humanity (hence her interrogation and threats of executing Dan Heng and the Trailblazer).

Reader’s emotional sensitivity is actually their strong suit, meaning they can think of and predict more outcomes than most of their peers simply because they can better glean and take people’s emotions and irrationality into account, such as how reactions may influence future actions. They can be surprisingly forgiving for certain cases if given the full context, and actually do believe in the prophecy. (It’s just that their aggression towards Aglaea and sometimes the other Heirs is often interpreted as outright opposition.) Their criticism is because of their opposing ideals with Aglaea’s cold methods that might actually prove detrimental in the long run, and Reader is not afraid to call her out on it, boiling with anger all the while. (They are also not against cleaning up Aglaea’s leftover messes.)

Reader: “You’ve clearly forgotten one thing about the prophecy. ‘You will see outlanders from faraway realms visiting under the veil of gloom.’”

Aglaea: “I have not forgotten—”

Reader: “Can it, Goldweaver. Did you honestly think your little stunt back there wouldn’t have its own consequences? You’re letting your authority go to your head so much these days that you most certainly have forgotten. Whether you like it or not, they could be Amphoreus’s chance for survival, and you almost drove them away. At least one of them was actually considering leaving, which doesn’t surprise me at all after what you put them through, and they clearly have the means to do so. We’re damn. Lucky. That Castorice chose to call Phainon. If he hadn’t been able to persuade to them to stay, there’s no telling if any more outlanders from beyond the sky will stumble across us, especially considering we don’t even know how those two found Amphoreus to begin with since we’re apparently unknown to the rest of the universe. And if it turns out the prophecy requires them to be here, and fails because they left? Because you drove them away, you would have rendered Lady Tribios’s efforts meaningless, and damned ALL of Amphoreus! And if you actually did kill them? What about their comrades waiting for them? They certainly would not take news of their friends’ deaths well at all. We don’t know what kind of connections they might have, how many, or how advanced and powerful they might be. For all we know, it could be the entire universe against a dying world, in which case it wouldn’t matter if the prophecy was fulfilled or not, if it was a success or not, because those angry factions might come along AND DESTROY AMPHOREUS ANYWAY!”

Aglaea: “!”

Reader: “You keep saying that you have good intentions. But I guess somehow, it still needs to be hammered in for you: the road to catastrophe is often paved with ‘good’ intentions.”

Aglaea: “…You’ve made your concerns loud and clear, [Reader]… This won’t happen again.”

Reader: “I certainly hope so. And I certainly hope that I don’t have to get worked up like this again. I swear, just putting up with you is an entire list of challenges…” *leaves the chamber*

The next day, Tribbie (on Aglaea’s behalf) requests Reader to try and get friendly with Dan Heng and the Trailblazer to mend and ensure their working relationship does not sour so badly.

Hilariously, those two very easily pick up on Reader’s anger towards Aglaea; and, much like most other people, misinterpret it as animosity, so they have no idea Aglaea put Reader up to it. 😅

This dynamic is so juicy, and I love how Reader is positioned as both an academic force to be reckoned with and the one person who isn’t scared to call Aglaea out. Their relationship is almost like an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object—but the force is sheer rage, and the object is golden threads.

The fact that the general public sees them as two opposing figures—Reader, the terrifying "demon witch" skeptic, and Aglaea, the elegant and reasonable ruler—when the reality is way messier makes it even better. Aglaea is losing touch with her humanity, while Reader is, ironically, able to understand human nature better than anyone else. That’s the real reason they clash—Reader isn’t opposing Aglaea just to oppose her, but because they can see the long-term consequences of her choices so clearly.

And the way they rip into her? That is personal. They are pissed not just because Aglaea messed up, but because if she doesn’t get it together, Amphoreus is screwed. And if Amphoreus falls, all the people Reader has begrudgingly come to care about—including Tribbie and Castorice—are in danger.

Aglaea taking that scolding in silence? Her not arguing back even once? That’s how you know she actually respects Reader. She won’t say it out loud, but she knows they’re right, and she knows they’re one of the few people she can’t manipulate or outmaneuver.

And then the next day, Tribbie shows up like, "So… Aglaea wants you to go make nice with the outlanders."

Reader: "Oh, you mean the outlanders who almost got executed? Gee, I wonder why they wouldn’t want to stick around."

Meanwhile, Dan Heng and the Trailblazer see Reader coming and immediately assume they’re about to be verbally annihilated like Aglaea was. Except instead of ripping into them, Reader just sighs, rubs their temples, and goes, "Listen. I don’t like people, but I also don’t like being right about things going horribly wrong. And unfortunately, I am very, very often right. So, if you’re staying, we need to talk."

I can already see the layers of misunderstandings between Reader and the Trailblazer’s crew stacking on top of each other in hilarious ways. They think Reader hates Aglaea, when in reality, Reader is one of the only people truly trying to keep her grounded. They think Reader wants them gone, when actually, they’re the only ones who can help prevent Aglaea from making another impulsive mistake. And most of all, they think Reader is some terrifying, all-powerful sorcerer who turns people into plants for fun… when the truth is that they’re just a deeply exhausted academic who is so done with dealing with Aglaea’s nonsense.

[oswaldthatendswald]

(you don't have to answer every question, I accidentally chose a lot) for the behind the scenes fic asks:

13 for the line: How can he explain that to Law? How can he explain that wanting to live had felt like something new, something revolutionary? How can he explain that he wants to hold on to life with both hands, and he doesn't know how, but he wants to learn?

20, 21, 26 for: Cry Havoc

8 for the series: name Then Somebody Out There Loves You

1, 19 for: Somewhere to be Safe

13. My favorite line of dialogue from this fic was: "How can he explain that to Law? How can he explain that wanting to live had felt like something new, something revolutionary? How can he explain that he wants to hold on to life with both hands, and he doesn't know how, but he wants to learn?"

Oho, okay. Content warning for discussions of self-harm and suicidality in a fictional context. Because like-- this series is very much about self-destruction. More specifically, Cora's arc across the entire series, but especially in Cry Havoc, is about the experience of having gotten out of the worst parts of your life, but still being stuck in the same harmful habits and behaviours that you developed in those situations.

This scene is very much the culmination of that arc. Cora is recognizing that he wants to live, he has things in his life he wants to hold on to, and he wants to recognize his own value-- which means he has to consciously recognize and break the beliefs and behaviours he's held on to his whole life. It's sort of an epiphany for him.

20. What is something you wish more people noticed about this fic?

Huh. I can't think of anything off the top of my head! I think pretty much everything I would have wanted people to notice had at least somebody comment on it. The one thing, I suppose, is the music I pick to accompany each chapter. It's usually very intentionally chosen; I could write an essay on pretty much every song (and sometimes I do! Shoutout to kitschie for always understanding my musical vision and commenting on it!!!).

21. What is something you didn't expect people to notice or gravitate towards in this fic?

Two things come to mind immediately: Ace, and also Crocodile. I felt like I spent a lot of time shaking Ace like a dog does with a squirrel and shouting HOW DO I WRITE YOU????? The fact that so many people seemed to enjoy reading about him was a surprise, but also a delight! Crocodile got as much a part as he did because I love him, but a lot of comments mentioned how much fun he was, so-- win-win!

26. Wild Card! I'll tell you a fun fact about this fic!

Hmmmm . . . While writing Cry Havoc, I watched the Impel Down and Marineford arcs probably a dozen times each. Maybe more. I have episodes 453-504 downloaded on my computer so I can reference them at any time. (I would have Impel Down too, but I didn't think to do it until after I'd finished that section.) One of the problems I had pretty consistently while writing was forgetting to mention a minor detail that happened in canon, because I would forget that most people probably hadn't seen/read the arcs as recently as I had.

8. What inspired the title for this fic? Is that usually how you choose titles? (Then Somebody Out There Loves You)

A lot of my titles tend to be quotes! This one is from The Muppet Movie, 1979. Specifically the song "Finale: The Magic Store," which is a song I have a lot of strong opinions about (why is Rainbow Connection the song everybody knows. why does nobody acknowledge that the questions posed in Rainbow Connection at the start of the film are explicitly answered in this song at the end. it's the thesis! it very clearly explains the point!!!! ahem. sorry). Anyway, it's actually a song about making art, and how it feels when other people see the art you've made-- in short, I named the series for how it made me feel, not for the actual content of the story (which is definitely not how I usually pick titles!).

1. How long did it take you to write this fic? (Somewhere to be Safe)

Two months! And I can tell you it was written almost entirely during astronomy lectures! (don't do that) (bad idea)

19. Is this one of your personal favorite fics? Why or why not?

I will get a little personal here, so you can skip this if you don't care. I've spent the past two years recovering from depression. While I was in it, I put so much work into Functioning that I never really believed there was anything wrong with me-- so anything I couldn't do was just my fault, because I wasn't trying hard enough. Obviously, in hindsight, this was bullshit, but one of the things that I couldn't do while depressed was write. I don't think I can describe how fundamental writing is to my identity: losing it felt like a piece of the world was just gone.

I started One Piece just after I started recovering. It was the first thing in a long time that brought me joy the way that things used to. Somewhere to be Safe was far from the first One Piece fic I started, but it was the first one that made it past the low energy and lack of confidence that killed every other fic I tried to start. On a technical level, StbS is far from my favourite work, but I love it so, so much because it proved to me that I could write again. That's why the series as a whole means so much to me too: it's proof that I can tell a story, beginning to end. Two years ago, I didn't think I'd ever be able to do that again. Words cannot describe how incredible it is to be able to write again.

[sillybayo]

A 700+ Word Essay/Ramble About Sexiness in Tomodachi Life (this is interesting I promise)

I was thinking about history and tomodachi life, and had a bit of an epiphany about a decently discussed piece of localization. If the bunny suit was removed in american and european releases for allegedly being too sexual, then why is the flapper dress in the game?

Bear with me here. I have two theories.

1. The flapper dress replaced the bunny suit (somewhat unlikely).

2. The bunny suit was removed from american and european versions of tomodachi life not because it was sexual, but because it isn't as popular in said regions (likely).

Personally,I don't think its because japan views the bunny suit differently like everyone else says, or at least implies. As far as my research goes, everyone sees bunny suits as at least a little sexy. You can even see the intent here in the description for it.

-Bunny suit description (japanese and korean, translated): "A bunny girl that men are crazy about. The pompom on the butt is cute."

Now I'm sure bunny suits need no introduction. But what about the flapper outfit? Why am I using it for comparison? If you don't know this piece of womens history, then allow me to briefly explain (however, while I'm sure I have a good picture of things, I'm still only a 17 year old yapping about a mii game on the 3ds. So I suggest you to do more research yourself if you're interested).

After WW1, with ladies finally getting higher wages, the rise of jazz clubs, the 19th amendment giving (white) women the right to vote, alcohol smuggling being more common with the passing of the 18th amendment, and younger folks gaining independence via cars, it generally felt like a good time to party. The war to end all wars had ended, after all! So young girls and women decided to rebel by wearing dresses that revealed their calves and necklines, wearing their hair in bobs, using heavier makeup, and wearing bras and lingerie underneath rather than a restrictive corset.

Not only that, but they smoked, drank, danced suggestively, and most scandalous of all, went to "petting parties", which ranged from making out with boys and men to full on fondling.

-Flapper outfit description (american): "Be the bee's knees of the Roaring Twenties in this jazztastic dress."

-Flapper outfit description (european): "Express your individuality with this sultry dress and fabulous headpiece."

The use of the word sultry means that they 100% know that flappers have sexual elements and history. Why its only used in the european version, I have no clue. But no matter how you look at it, flappers are historical icons for womens sexual freedom, and theres no denying it.

You could argue that flapper outfits are a bit more modest than bunny suits, which shows off your cleavage and far upper thighs. But for the time period, flappers were so sexual that state laws were pushed for women to be more modest, women couldn't wear swimsuits at the beach without being shooed away, religious figures HATEDDDD them, and even 1920s feminists argued that they were getting in the way of womens rights! Its still not very daring by todays standards, and no parent is going to freak out if they see their childs mii dressed as a flapper. But I still think the historical context is important to consider here. The devs knew that it was rebellious and sexy, and decided to add it in anyways.

Now, personally, I don't think the flapper outfit replaced the bunny suit. The bunny suit is categorized as formal wear, and the flapper outfit is categorized as a costume. It couldn't have been a simple swap. Interestingly enough though, the flapper outfit isn't present in the japanese/original version of the game, so take that as you will...

Therefore, I argue that the bunny suit was removed from american and european releases simply because its not as iconic in these regions. Sure, its recognizable and loved, but it isn't as widespread and iconic as it is in japan. Meanwhile, the american 1920s aesthetic is more well known to the people who reside there. I see the bunny suits removal as more of a cultural thing rather than it being too sexual. Because as you can see, everyone wants miis to be sexy every once and a while! Its silly, and they look absolutely fabulous!

But those are my two cents. I simply thought that this was an interesting enough topic to bring to the table. Feel free to add more to this if you'd like, I'd love to hear it :3c.

(Sources below cut) (I don't usually put sources below my rambles, but since this is so rooted in real life history and slightly obscure video game localization, I figured to do so)

Editors, History. com (2025) Flappers, History.com. Available at: https://www.history.com/articles/flappers#Women’s-Independence (Accessed: 11 May 2025).

Not all women gained the vote in 1920 (no date) PBS. Available at: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/vote-not-all-women-gained-right-to-vote-in-1920/ (Accessed: 11 May 2025).

Weeks, L. (2015) When ‘petting parties’ scandalized the nation, NPR. Available at: https://www.npr.org/sections/npr-history-dept/2015/05/26/409126557/when-petting-parties-scandalized-the-nation (Accessed: 11 May 2025).

Wiki, C. to T.L. (no date a) Clothing/costumes, Tomodachi Life Wiki. Available at: https://tomodachi.fandom.com/wiki/Clothing/Costumes (Accessed: 11 May 2025).

Wiki, C. to T.L. (no date b) Clothing/Formal Wear, Tomodachi Life Wiki. Available at: https://tomodachi.fandom.com/wiki/Clothing/Formal_Wear (Accessed: 11 May 2025).

[cosmicallyloved]

Ok time to play again

Once again, this is one sentence per (maybe) 5 lines in-game so its gonna be looong

SPOILERS FOR AMPHOREUS

(also to avoid getting my draft deleted i will post this and edit it as i go thru the game. Everything in [] is me editing to add context)

I am going in with my Therta team (Gallagher, Therta, Anaxa, Ruan Mei)

"thats a huge chest" flashbacks to camden (Aventurine VA) yelling "DOCTOR YOU'RE HUGE" every pull

My heart is beating too fast both for wvtr happened to Aglaea and what will happen to Cipher and also i unfortunately scrolled thru tumblr before starting so i saw Phainon's second form😭

"big and dumb, just a pure lump of stupidity"

Isnt Cas technically from Styxia?

Oh she is OLD [Cipher]

SHE KNOWS ITS FLAME REAVER IM HAPPY SHE KNOWS BUT WHY ISNT SHE RUNNING AWAY

Love Bartholos VA

OH NO ITS THIS GOAT AGAIN. Nvm Ez [scapegoat puzzle]

Wow thanks for believing in us Aglaea [she said without Cifer we'd be in trouble]

BARTHOLOS IS SO SLOW BROO [they didnt realize Aglaea was controlling them]

Oh so this isnt flame reaver but its the god themself [I thought Bartholos was flame reaver but apparently its Zagreus]

I thought titans die if their coreflame is taken, how is Zagreus still alive?

SHE DIES OFF-SCREEN??? well they saved me from a terrible headache in the morning at least [Aglaea's death]

WE'RE BACK AT THIS DAM HEARTBEAT AGAIN NOOO [theres a very loud heartbeat in grove of Epiphany]

MC IS MEEEEE "bro you sound so cool" "bro you sound kinda scary" [about Phainon when he was threatning the cleaners]

Nevermindddd my tears are runnin

SHES SO SELFLESS😭😭 AGGYYY

I am battling with my life rn. My ping is 999 its dying just like Chrysos heirs

Ok this is sad and all but Tribbie wdym "the scroll over there" THERES LIKE 13 [rooftop of baths]

Aglaea's words are as pretty as her

Chartonus you're huge

"Leadership of chrysos heirs-" PHAI THERES ONLY 4 OF YOU STILL ALIVE MY BOY😭

THE FLAME REAVER'S SWORD YAYY "Dawnmaker" ok fancyyy

Oh so Phainon intentionally said what flame reaver's sword looked like to have a replica? Ooo

Aglaea truly was the goat huh

Everyone yelling "better people" is so goofy Phainon why was that the motto😂 [Phainon's speech]

Ok that last part made me cry again

Anaxa and Trianne at the end of the screen, Castorice close by, Aglaea behind Phainon... This is beautiful and sorrowful

How is he talking to the dead? [Phainon]

ANAXA BEING SALTY ABOUT THE THINGS HE TAUGHT IS SO HIM CODED

OH hes imagining

Uhhh Mydei casually foreshadowing... [Sparring with Phainon again]

DID HE ACTUALLY SAY ITS A DATE?!?? HOYO W HOYO W THEY FULLY LEANED INTO IT

first it was Ying Xing and Dan Feng being married now its these two having a date (im not a shipper, but this is a major W)

Is that March's VA? [Cyrene]

Cipher being me rn with the way she thinks about people

FAT FUR IS SO CUTE AAAA ITS MY LITTLE PONYYY🥰

Does Hyacine's basic attack outside of combat have a rythm? Theres like notes im hearing

Anaxa really values his pride "if you mess up DONT say my name"

I LOVE THIS MAN😭 "talk crap? Credit deduction Phainon!" And Cas's little giggle🥺

Hyacine really didnt wanna let Anaxa get away with slacking

So full names: Mydeimos, Cifera, Hyacinthia, Tribbios, Castorice

Anaxa casually destroying everyone on his last class WOW

FAT FURRRRRR I LOVE ITTT

Is Dan Heng seriously considering letting Hyacine see his magical girl transformation?

Oh he got an upgrade! Wowww nvm not a transformation

Is Tribbie gonna die before getting to see Cipher's gift?

So Hysilens was alive all the way back to the time when skyfolk werent allied with Okhema yet

Hyacine's grandma is a chad and a badass

The way she sang "my little hummingbird" was so emotional🥰

Phai doesnt sound like Phai. He sounds too sad and emotionless [right before the campaign to go to the sky fortress]

Finally someone mentioned it, yeah if we stay until the next cycle, wouldnt MC be reincarnated as a titan? But also if they go, who will become the next time titan?

"Seal... slammers AHEM That bumping seal game" PHAIIII

ah yes the problem with most villains who celebrate before actually winning "opening champange halftime"

Its been 5 minuts, ive repeated this line 6 times

Dan Heng really taught him a come back JUST to stop/spite MC huh. Phainon understanding our friendship waaay too well

MC's inspirational words are goofy and Dan Heng's are straight to the point but also elegant. JUST LIKE THEMMM

Finally! A cutsceneeee

Also Hyacine looks like a baby with everyone else around her

Aquila's theme park, i love MC [one of the options for describing the place]

Am I just seeing these glitches or is it actual glitches and the black tide is close?

Im so happy this quest isnt walking simulator but also, i havent touched a single teleport thingy. They really stepped up the story telling, tho... I'd appreciate if there was one cutscene per hour this still feels too text heavy

That eye is really scary. Imagine just an eye following your moves...

If you walk on the rainbow bridge, theres notes that play and it also glitches. And when the OST is silent, you can hear sounds of wings which is really cool

Phai and his hero worship

For a "legend" solabis died in 3 moves (Ruan Mei buff, Anaxa and Therta ult)

MEM SOUNDS SO DISGUSTED WHEN SHE CALLED HERSELF PINK PUPPY ITS LIKE EMERGENCY FOOD PAIMON

"Combined strength" dude it was literally 2 attacks [to destroy Solabis I only attacked twice]

Imagine Aquila just cries in the third phase

Is Phai a skyfolk? Did he fall from the sky into Aedis Elysiae?

WHAT DOES THAT MEAN "IT WAS THOSE TWO" BRO ELABORATE [Solabis says this]

Mem is just a cheat code arent they [time powers]

Why does the black tide have its own special sound

Is Seliose's VA Mavuika's?

Phai really do be copying ppl left and right "resistence is futile"

Is there a thirteenth titan?! Is that why Cyrene existed?

Is it Ica thats Seliose's descendent NOT Hyacine?

Oh Phainon knows I skip fights lol

So Amphoreus might not be a simulation but a computer, i just watched Dan Heng call something a hard drive and they do look like hard drives but ✨Aesthetically✨

Ok very focused on Seliose's story rn [crazy story btw]

"Im increasingly intrigued by what happened next" sounds like sarcasm but knowing Phai its probably not

Thats dark [the entire story of Seliose. It sarted cool but ended tragiclly not for Seliose but everyone else]

Ohhh we arent fighting Aquila, we fight Seliose?

DID PHAINON JUST PULL OUT A GOD FROM THEIR PLACE??

Phai sounds so scornful [when talking to Aquila]

AGLAEA NOOO OH?? [Cutscene]

THATS IT? WHERES PHASE 3? [Aquila died very easily, no struggles whatsoever]

SHE DIED TWICE DUDE WHY ARE THEY SO CRUEL TO HER [Aglaea died twice while fulfilling her prophecies way of dying]

[cressidagrey]

I have been a silent reader for a while and have been following your work since you were posting ACOTAR stories and conveniently enough had become a F1 fan a bit before you switched over to writing for F1. Firstly, I am absolutely in love and obsessed with everything you write! I was just curious about your writing process. When you have ideas for a piece of work whether a one-shot or a chapter for one of your stories, do you write them up straight away and hold onto them until it feels right to post or do you typically write a piece and immediately put it out for your readers to enjoy?! Can’t wait to see what you write next!!:)

Oh wow, this turned into a waffle!

Thank you so much for your lovely message! 🥹💖 I’m so happy to hear you’ve been following my work since the ACOTAR days and that you’ve enjoyed the transition into F1 writing. Your support means everything to me, and I’m so glad you’re loving everything!

As for my writing process,it depends! 

I try to write at least the idea down as soon as they come to me…thought I am not always good at that, so a bunch of them just lives in my brain. But everything starts as a note in my notes app. 

Then, when I have more than one line. Like a chapter or something and I know I actually want to seriously write it…then it’s get it’s own Google Doc. 

For White Horse, I had a bunch of stuff pre written but eventually run out of it and now I write and then post as soon as it done.

For The mysterious Mrs Piastri, I have a bunch of stuff written in first draft mode. That means, that nobody but me would  would even understand it, because it’s just random snippets. 

(To give you a context: I have published around 50k in that universe. My word doc for it is around 60k, which involves bits and pieces that I know I want to eventually publish, but that aren’t done. 

For example: I have a bit half written that’s the Piastri Family Group chat and it’s just Oscar’s family making fun of the whole „married or tattoo?“ thing. In the same one-shot, I have Oscar and Mark Webber texting about the wife reveal. I know that there needs to be something else written to be in that one-shot to make it complete but I haven’t figured out what yet. So until my brain figures that out, it stays in the Google Doc.)

If I have an idea for something that I know will probably just be a one shot, like So High School or A Pawfect Coincidence, I had the idea and then immediately  wrote the whole thing down. So that was pretty immediate. Then of course, I need to go through and like fix typos and grammar mistakes and plot holes etc, but sometimes I miss stuff. I give it like one or two re-reads and then I am done. 

For one-shots it’s much easier, because I don’t need to think about consequences in a way. Like there’s no way that a throwaway line could destroy a future plot point five chapters later. That’s why writing that is far quicker. 

Once you have reached the last third of a long form fic, at least in my experience, I need to be really careful not to let any of my plot threads just dangle or just forget they exist. 

For multi chapter fics, I also need to figure out more stuff before, including how I want it to end 😂 Also just like stupid little biographic bits, like when OC was born, where she came from etc. 

For most one shots I can get away without giving my original character a full CV but for longer form texts I need that, otherwise I change their university or their eye colour or something halfway through on accident. 

And then of course, I have like ideas and drafts of things that aren’t finished, because I can’t get it to gel how I want it to. I am still waiting for an epiphany of how to get it to work. 

(Sometimes it just doesn’t work in the way I first conceived it, and that’s okay too. For example, I had this idea titled Overheard in the Paddock, which is about a deuxmoi - kind of but not really- ish Instagram account. And originally it was supposed to be Oscar x NorrisSister!OC but written from Lando’s POV. And it didn’t work, like at all. Until I realised that I had two ideas in there. So Oscar x NorrisSister!OC got its own word doc, together with two ideas for Oscar x Leclerc!Sister and Oscar x Verstappen!Sister and the Overheard in the Paddock thing is now Carlos x OC but from Alex Albon’s POV, which works much better, I think. 

So tl;dr: I have like a bunch of stuff written in first drafts, but I don’t just sit on thousands of words of publishing ready stories. 

Thank you again for your incredible support and for asking about my process! I hope you’ll enjoy everything I have coming up next, and I can’t wait to keep sharing these stories with you! 💖

[terramemoriae]

How I Think My Dad Low Key Shipped Spirk

(Platonically or Otherwise)

Warning: Spoilers for Star Trek (2009)

For context, my (late) dad is a huge Trekkie. We're talking about watching it as it aired and revisiting it whenever possible. He watched all available Star Trek content from back then, TOS, TNG, all the movies, etc.

Then Star Trek (2009) came out. Say what you want about AOS, what it did was bring me into the fandom and made Star Trek another thing I could bond with my dad.

Now, 5 years after his death (he passed in 2020), I'd always revisit Spirk when I miss him or just want a dash of oh my gosh they're both geniuses but so dumb or like, mutual pining soulmates because AOS is great for that.

So. Back on topic. Here I was, on AO3, looking for tasty Spirk fanfics over 30K long when I had this epiphany.

Did my dad low key shipped Spirk?

Let's see...

Back when we watched Star Trek (2009) for the first time, during the Kobayashi Maru and Kirk's academic hearing scenes, my dad's comment was something along the lines of;

"You know, in the series, Spock praised Kirk for that. It's when he acknowledged Kirk's ingenuity."

I was 13 at the time and a baby fujoshi in the making so... Pardon my denseness.

After, when we were on the bridge, where Kirk argued about how the "lightning storm" was the same as the day the U.S.S Kelvin was attacked and Spock had to agree with Kirk's logic...

My dad, while smirking; "There we go... "

Thinking about it now, it was kinda like he just enjoyed when everything is starting to right itself (with Spock having to agree with Kirk).

Then, of course, we were on Delta Vega. My dad actually was a bit sombre and so touched at seeing Leonard Nimoy. When we got the line; "I have been, and always shall be, your friend."

My dad was all; "There's no Kirk without Spock, and no Spock without Kirk."

Not in those exact words but like, his sentiments were that they are who they are because of each other. Then, of course we had the beautiful, sooo shippy dialogues between Kirk and Spock Prime;

"You're coming back in time, changing history, it's cheating."

"A trick I learned from an old friend."

My dad was full on grinning. Especially, since at this point, our crew is complete.

Then, of course, we're at the confrontation scene and my dad was: "That's such a Kirk thing to do."

I didn't get it at the time and some of you might disagree, but I'm on my dad's side with this.

The moment Kirk was in the captain's chair, he was so excited. Like he was expecting something good to happen. And, when we got to this point;

"I'm coming with you."

"I would cite regulation, but I know you will simply ignore it."

"See, we are getting to know each other."

He had such a proud, happy smile. Then, we got to the kiss and he was totally blindsided. Literally heard his "Huh." Yes. The period was how I remembered it.

When we got right back to it, and were treated with the scenes in The Jellyfish, the red matter implosion, Spock meeting Spock Prime and last, but not least, when Spock is right by Kirk's side on the Enterprise...

I remembered seeing my dad's happiness as he saw them together, building their trust and starting their adventures together with the crew.

At this point, when we get to the closing narrative by Spock Prime;

"Space, the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Her ongoing mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new lifeforms and new civilizations, to boldly go where no one has gone before."

He let out such a satisfied sigh. He was so happy.

To be honest, I don't know if he shipped them shipped them, you know?

He did believe in soul bonds. Soulmates, platonic or otherwise, and how all souls knew one another once, some closer than the other, that might resonate with each other when they met.

To me, that's what Spirk is. Of course, my preference is on the romantic side and for my dad? Who knows.

But I know, to him, Star Trek is about the crew and above all else, nothing is truer than the bond between Kirk and Spock.

Now, is there a point to this rant? Well. I'm about to jump into the Spirk rabbit hole (again) this weekend while browsing through AO3 and Tumblr when I had this epiphany.

I had to just let it out! ଘ(੭ ᐛ )━☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ

Well. That's it from me.

From a casual Spirk fan to all who love this fandom...

P. S. I feel like this one is the most appropriate one. And goddammit, I miss my dad so much! Gonna go read fanfics now. Terra, signing off.

[isuggestwishcraft]

Siffrin did indeed loop without dying ;)

Something to ponder, perhaps?

OH THANK FUCK IT WASNT STABBING. STONE FALLING FROM MY SHOULDERS MOUNTAIN LIFTING FROM MY SPINE THANK YOU ANON FOR CLARIFICATION THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU

the situation isnt. great... still but at least bonnie didnt have to see siffrin kill himself right after yelling that they hate him. yknow? i think thatd be Very Fucked Up. yknow??? especially if its going where i Think its going and everyone Might remember previous loops at some point.

otherwise... hm. i already suspected their amnesia is artificially induced cuz everything Points to this with time craft and the like, but by whom? it cant be anyone we Know know, not allies or people on their journey or the king too or he wouldnt be asking if sif remembers, so that leaves us with siffrin himself and, well. loop i suppose?

if it was loop then the comments about only caring about siffrin are made with a little creepier context than i initially assumed. which to be fair also was none because hey i ate a fucking pineapple after they told me explicitly Not to eat any. im stupid as shit

if it was siffrin however.... that would mean he wanted to forget Something. the Something might be his entire life or just a very specific aspect that made his memories go Fucked like a card house or particularly unstable jenga. which, huh! that cant be good!!!

in all honesty i inch closer to the 'siffrin did it' theory. the no-death looping he did really tells me Enough about how much sif really.... learns in loops. like yes its the Houses layout, the traps (of which i saw only 2- and there was at least 4 stones more i have a bad feeling about this), the items, passwords and whatever else, but that My knowledge to use, as a player. he, as a character, grows more comfortable with looping, i think. he learns what it feels and learns what it does and.... well. hes the one experiencing it. is it That kind of a stretch if he learns anything after (for me) 11 tries?

i do wonder what happened with that island north tho. i initially assumed siffrin ran from there, or well. he ran from his parents because he didnt want his veggies, as per his own words, took the boat and saved his life by accident but.... but now im kinda curious if he knew anything. if he was even a kid at a time. if hes the one responsible for that, somehow, somewhat.

.....oh!

just had a (maybe?) unrelated epiphany. that ladies sibling went north, huh? oh that would click with everything nicely. the siblings gone so shes an only child- but the siblings also lived with her for some time outside of northern island so the memories of That time remain. superposition of sorts

wouldnt that be fucked up huh?

[oddballwriter]

Polaroids

Summary: Steven takes on the chore of cleaning around the flat while you're away on a trip. But in the process, Steven accidentally finds some risqué, to say the least, photos of you hidden away. Although he tries to resist, not knowing if he's meant to see them or not, he caves in and has some fun with them.

Warnings: Pervert!Steven if you squint. Male masturbation. Post-nut clarity. Nude/suggestive photos of the reader. Gender-neutral/non-specified gendered reader. Mentions of cum and accidentally getting cum on things. Honestly, we're letting Steven be a little freak in this one. Joke-y kind of ending. Mentions of the reader and Steven have sex, are in a relationship together, and live together. If I find out that someone who's a minor or is below the age 18, you will be blocked, no hesitation.

Author’s Snip: One of the two things that I had in my poll that one in the tie. I hope you guys like it.

Notes: This is more so just Steven getting off to the reader but it's still smut. 

I’ll shut up now. Enjoy! And don’t be afraid to request.

Word Count: 1,226

Just doing the laundry.

Such an innocent chore. Even more innocent in the context that Steven was doing both his and your laundry together so that you wouldn't have to handle it some other time since you've been busy with other things lately. You prefer to do it yourself but Steven saw no harm in taking a load off of you.

It wouldn't be until he was putting away the newly dried and folded laundry into your dresser that he found something, peculiar. When he was trying to put away some of your clothes in the bottom drawer that he knew you kept the clothes in he found a strange cluster in the back. At first, he thought that it was just some clothes that had been pushed into the back but when he grabbed them to fix them back they revealed a small box underneath.

"Strange." he thought to himself. He took it out to see what exactly it was, since a box randomly being in a drawer for clothes didn't make sense. It was a little paper box, like one that you buy for cheap but is still sturdy to hold things. He tried to think of what could be inside but couldn't come up with anything. In hindsight, he shouldn't be wondering about a box that was with your belongings, but it just seemed odd and out of place. Maybe he could just shake it a bit to get a clue and then he could leave it alone and probably forget about it.

But the rattle that the box made when it was shaken just made it more of an anomaly. It sounded like a few things were in there that were left loose inside. Again, he knew that he shouldn't be looking at things that you were clearly keeping private, but his curiosity was a strong thing and had convinced him that it wouldn't hurt to take a quick look. Maybe it was nothing and it was just something that was for some-

Polaroids.

Polaroids?

He took out one to get a look at one of them. Why would you hide some polaroid pictures in a box in one of your drawers-?

Oh...

They were of you, but they weren't normal.

Looking at the rest of them, they all were of you in varying positions and poses on a bed with either hardly any clothes or no clothes at all, and some were of you giving a sultry look at the camera or the person holding it that wasn't seen. Steven took a moment to look anywhere else but you on the polaroid, but when he did he saw a date written on one of them, and presumedly the date of when all of these... photos were taken. It was way before you met Steven, that's for sure.

Who knows how long Steven was staring at these photos of you till he snapped out of his stupor and realized that he was staring at photos that were actually personal, and most definitely not meant for him to see. After this epiphany, he scrambles to put the photos back in the box and then place the box back in the drawer. He also scrambled to put the clothes that he was originally meant to in.

He tried to walk away and ignore having seen anything along with ignoring the blood that was making his face red, and the blood that was feeding life into his new erection. But it was too late. He's opened Pandora's box. He's gained forbidden knowledge. He knows now that there is a box with actual physical pornography of you inside of it.

Steven tries everything. Reading a book, watching a movie, solving his rubix cube, listening to something, he even tries to take on another larger chore, but all he can think about is you and those photos. The man part of his brain keeps it in his awareness and he can't make it stop it's already got him going and with how much he's been moving around, his erection has been rubbing against his briefs and pants.

He felt perverted for giving in but if he didn't take care of it then it would be a nuisance for the rest of the day and get worse. After all, it would hurt to take the load off of himself just once. You didn't need to know. So he takes the box and photos back out and settles them on the bed with him as he unzips his pants and removes himself from his boxers. With one hand he holds out the photos and holds his length with the other, starting to slowly move it up and down.

The pace picks up after a while after he's allowed himself to just let himself loose to make it easier on him. Switching to a few more of the photos. There wasn't a whole lot so he took his time with them, letting himself stare at your body and eyes. God, your eyes were making it worse. You were giving the same eyes that you gave him whenever you two had sex, the same kind that always made him come quicker. His mind made him think of everything. Who were these originally for? Did you and the photographer have sex afterward? You would have to. No one can resist those eyes. God, what he'd give to be them. Never mind the fact that he is currently your boyfriend and sex in your relationship is very much alive.

Steven was a mess. All he could do was jerk himself off while staring at your photos and say your name through his panting and choked-back moans.

His end came faster than anticipated, but it wasn't until he had begun to come that he realized that he hadn't grabbed anything to cover the would-be-affected area on the bed.

Steven sighs in shame at his work cleans himself and puts everything back. He throws the covers of the bed into the washer and places new ones to get rid of his doings before sitting out on the couch until you eventually come home.

He gives his usual hello and you head into your shared bedroom to store your stuff away. He hopes that you brush off your done laundry and don't think anything, but after a minute you come back. And you have the damn box.

"Steven," you say. He doesn't have the chance to deny anything thanks to his red face giving it away and you can see that by the way you say "Okay." with a small nod. "I'm not mad." you clarify, "I'm flattered, really." you admit. "But next time, could you..." you try to say before you snicker at the situation, "Could you make sure that you keep them clean?" you finish off as you pull out one with a visible smudge on it. Steven nods, face still burning red from being caught, but he finds it in himself to say something.

"C...can I ask?" he says.

You seem to have already figured out the question and nod, "They're from an ex. He was artsy and stuff so we took these together. I took them after we broke up for safekeeping just in case." you explain.

"Don't worry we can buy our own Polaroid if you want some of your own." you teasingly joke.

[witchysquirrel]

Epiphany

Chapter Thirteen

Ravenna found her way to her room, immediately ridding herself of the gown that felt restrictive and hot now that she was at home. She changed into a pair of black lounge pants and a black sweater, leaving her jewelry in place out of laziness. The healer felt like she could hardly keep her head on straight. At least she’d have good news to give Rhysand if Fetrin had indeed told her the truth about his stance on the slavery happening on the Continent. 

Maybe she’d ask Rhys about her dynamic with Cassian, too. She trusted his opinion… most of the time.

The anxiety lost out to the exhaustion at some point, and Ravenna slept long and hard. She stayed in bed the entire next day in addition, just because she couldn’t bring herself to leave her bedroom. 

She awoke the next morning with a decent headache, and dragged herself to the bathroom. Beginning to draw a bath, she turned the faucet all the way right, then moved to the medicine cabinet above the sink. She poured herself a small plastic cup full of a tonic she kept on hand for this type of headache, and threw it back. It left a metallic taste in her mouth, but worked nearly 100% of the time. Stripping from her clothes, Ravenna settled into the warmth of the tub and closed her eyes.

Her mind wandered back to the night prior, flashing from Fetrin’s words, how sure he had been in what he’d told her; then to Cassian, the image of him spinning her around with the biggest smile on his face etched in her memory forever. She’d prefer to just replay the last image over and over again, and avoid thinking about any other context. She resolved to ask Rhys his opinion when she saw him later today. She needed someone else’s perspective to even everything out.

-

Ravenna wore a black velvet gown that fell just above her ankles, inky curls falling loose behind her shoulders. She made her way quickly to Rhysand’s study, hoping to avoid talking to anyone else on her way there. When she arrived, he glanced up at her from where he sat at his desk, puzzling over a lengthy piece of correspondence, which he set aside as she hastily closed the door behind her. 

“How did your night end up going, my spy in training?”

She took a seat in the plush armchair across from his desk. “It was mostly good, honestly,” she said. “I don��t think we need to worry about the Dawn Court, if everything he told me was true.”

Rhys nodded. “Good. You held up okay emotionally?”

“Mostly, yeah,” Ravenna answered, biting the inside of her cheek.

“Mostly,” Rhys repeated, looking at her with curiosity.

“Fetrin said something that kind of threw me for a loop,” she said, quietly. Rhys continued looking at her, waiting for her to fill the silence that followed. He narrowed his eyes.

“Spit it out, Ravenna.”

“He thought Cassian and I were mates.”

Another weighty silence followed, Ravenna attempting to read the expressions on her friend's angled face. 

“What made him say that?” Rhys asked.

“He said it after watching us dance together,” she said plainly. “And he seemed very sure about it.” 

“That’s interesting,” he replied, eyes trained to his desk once again.

“I thought so too,” she said, watching him.

“Well? Have you felt the bond?” he asked, resting an elbow on the surface in front of him and looking at her carefully.

Ravenna blinked. “I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?” 

“I don’t know what it’s supposed to feel like,” Ravenna replied curtly. 

“I suppose I don’t either,” he answered. She rolled her eyes.

“You’re being weird. Tell me what you know,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest.

“I think you should talk to Cassian about it, not me. I really don’t know anything,” he said, shrugging smugly. 

“I brought it up because I wanted your opinion, actually,” Ravenna shot back, leaning forward in her chair. 

“I mean I will say, it has seemed like you guys have gotten closer recently,” Rhys answered, hands raised in surrender.

“Was that so hard?” she half-joked. “I feel like we’ve gotten closer too, since we started speaking mind to mind.”

“Since you started speaking –” Rhys cut himself off, just before the point of clapping a hand over his open mouth like a cartoon character. “No, you know, that’s really interesting. My honest opinion, Ravenna, as your friend and High Lord, is that you should talk to Cassian.”

“What if I don’t want to… ruin things? And he has Celeste. I just don’t know.”

Rhys paused, gaze returning to Ravenna. “He and Celeste broke up last week. I thought you knew already.”

Ravenna felt her stomach drop. “I didn’t know,” she said, quietly, looking back to Rhys. She shook her head. “That doesn’t change anything.” And with that she rose, leaving the way she came, the door swinging in her wake. Rhys rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands, impressed with himself for not giving in to her questions, allowing it to be Cassian’s responsibility.

Ravenna left, heading straight for Mor’s side of the house. She flung open the door of Mor’s suite to find it in complete disarray, with Mor in the center of it all snoring softly. Ravenna stepped over out of place furniture and a stray glass bottle, until she reached Mor, shaking her awake. Mor jolted awake, but relaxed when she realized it was Ravenna. 

“I need your companionship,” Ravenna huffed, resting back on her knees. “I was going to say I need someone to get drunk with, but you look like you don’t need that right now.”

“No, no! Those bottles are from the night of the ball. I honestly just haven’t cleaned up yet,” she snorted, rubbing the sleep from her eyes, although it was nearly 6pm. “I’ll never turn down the proposition of Rita’s.”

Mor changed into a casual midnight blue gown that plunged so low, Ravenna actually checked to make sure everything was covered. Ravenna put on light makeup, flipped her hair a few times, and called it good. Rhys offered to fly them into town, which they gladly accepted, and Ravenna wondered if he was pitying her. They arrived at Rita’s, each ordering a glass of wine, and picked a couple of seats at the end of the bar. 

“Tell me everything about the ball,” Mor said, bringing her elbow to the bar and resting her chin in her hand. 

Ravenna sipped from her glass slowly. “It was fine,” she said. “I actually had a fine time with Fetrin, it was nice to talk with him again.”

“Oh good! So he wasn’t a complete asshole?” 

“Surprisingly no! Only a slight asshole.” The two laughed in unison.

“Well that’s great, Rav. I’m glad it wasn’t entirely awful,” she replied, her features soft. 

“Speaking of which, I didn’t see you at all after the first twenty minutes of the ball,” Ravenna said, sitting up slightly and raising an eyebrow at her friend. 

“I was around,” she reassured. “I did bring someone home fairly early but I was mostly there.”

Ravenna giggled. “So you had a good night, I take it?”

Mor nodded, taking another huge gulp from her glass of red wine, before something caught her eye behind Ravenna, towards the front door. “Oh there’s Cassian, let me-“

“No!” Ravenna yell-whispered, eyes wide as she smacked down the hand Mor was raising to wave him over. Mor’s eyes widened at Ravenna’s behavior, but she stopped what she was doing. Mor was surprised at her outburst, as was Ravenna herself, and she covered her face with her hands. 

“Do you wanna tell me what in the hell that was about?” Mor asked, brows raised at her friend. 

“I really don’t want to talk about it, but I know I should,” Ravenna replied, grimacing slightly. 

“Okay… spill then,” Mor answered, and flagged down the bartender. “We’ll take a bottle of Merlot to share.” Mor joked about wondering if they had any larger wine glasses, and Ravenna offered to ask for her. 

“So anyways,” Ravenna finally said over the din. “Fetrin was convinced that Cassian and I are mates.” She said it all in one breath, letting the words hang weightless in the air. Mor’s eyebrows raised once more, her face morphing into a huge smile. Ravenna immediately began shaking her head.

“Oh come on! This is a best case scenario, Ravenna,” Mor mused excitedly, as Ravenna continued shaking her head. 

“No.”

“Why not?! I love the idea of you two together, I can’t believe I hadn’t thought of it before! Ravenna. Please.”

“I have no idea if he’s actually my mate,” Ravenna answered. “Or if he feels anything even remotely for me.”

“I mean you did tell me about his voice in your head,” Mor shrugged. “That’s not very common for someone who’s not entirely Daemati. Could be the mating bond.”

Ravenna hadn’t considered it that way, her chest feeling tight as she realized the truth to Mor’s words. She drank more wine and tried to take a deep breath, to calm down. 

“I’m telling you, this is such a good thing. Why are you so scared?”

“We have such a good friendship. I don’t want to ruin everything.”

“Ravenna. The friendship part doesn’t have to end,” Mor said, “you get to be friends and have crazy sex. It’s the best of both worlds. And I’m sorry to say this about your potential mate, but also, happy for you when I say that their little ‘wingspan’ jokes are absolutely true.”

Ravenna couldn’t help but crack at that, laughing with Mor and taking another gulp of wine. 

“Maybe you’re right,” Ravenna replied, sighing. “I guess I’m scared of all these hypotheticals I’ve created in my head. They’re all hypotheticals where I get hurt.”

“You’re scared of getting hurt,” Mor repeated back to her. “I don’t think it’s unreasonable. I just don’t want you to miss out for fear of something that hasn’t happened yet.”

The healer looked at the blonde next to her with gratitude. She was so thankful for Mor; her ability to level out Ravenna’s anxieties was nearly unmatched. Ravenna needed Mor’s confidence, more of her willingness to believe she deserved something good. 

“I still don’t know what to do next,” Ravenna said. “I’m not sure what the bond snapping is meant to feel like... There has been one time… or maybe a couple times, that I thought I felt something, when I’d been, uhm, close to him. But I got scared, and I left.”

“Replicate the conditions,” Mor said with a devious smile. “And then give into the feeling instead of running away from it.”

“You’re right, I guess. I should talk to him.”

“Good thing he is quite literally across the room.”

Ravenna sighed. “I was thinking more like tomorrow, the next day, something like that.”

“Just do it! He’s literally right there.”

Ravenna chugged the rest of her wine, took a deep breath and then turned from the bar to face the rest of Rita’s. Her vision was slightly fuzzy in the dim lighting, but she made out familiar wings across from where she and Mor sat, but to the left. 

“I don’t know if I can do it,” she said, face wrought with worry. 

“You can!” Mor urged with a smile, nudging her off of her barstool and onto her feet. It was the push she needed to propel her in Cassian’s direction. Before she knew it she was crossing the floor, black velvet swishing at her ankles as she walked. Cassian was standing against a far wall, arms mostly crossed in front of him, holding a beer in one hand as he mostly listened to the males around him talk. His eyes softened when he saw her approaching, and a small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. 

“Hi,” she said.

“Hey,” he echoed. 

“Can we talk for a second?” 

“Yeah, of course.”

Cassian followed her through Rita’s until they reached the corridor where the bathrooms were, and then they branched off into another hallway adjacent, stopping before a door marked ‘Employees Only’. 

Cassian almost looked amused, watching her as she turned to face him again, waiting for her to speak first. She looked up towards the cracks in the ceiling to avoid his face as she started talking. 

“I feel like our relationship has changed, recently,” she started, attempting to keep her voice steady. “I feel closer to you.”

He hummed a little, contemplating her words. “I agree,” he said, swallowing. Ravenna watched his adam’s apple bob as he did so. 

“I think…” she began, taking another breath. “I don’t know..” she said again, stuttering. “I just wondered what you thought about that, I guess.”

“About the fact that we’re mates,” he said bluntly, Ravenna shocked to hear him voice what she hadn’t been able to. 

“So you know,” she replied, quietly, cheeks flushing. 

“I suspected, for a while there. Until the bond snapped for me,” he added. “Then I really knew.” She met his eyes then, their soft hazel burning into her with an intensity she hadn’t expected. She wet her lips with her tongue, heartbeat pounding in her ears. 

“I’m worried,” she said, after a moment. “I really love our friendship. I don’t want to change anything.”

He took a half-step closer to her. “We’re still friends,” he said, quieter than before. “We’ll always be friends.”

She bit the inside of her cheek, heart continuing to flutter madly in her chest. “What did it feel like?” She asked him. “When the bond snapped?”

He smiled a little bit. “It felt like something opened up in me,” he began, touching the base of his sternum. “Like deep inside, and it wanted to reach out for you. I ignored it the first time, I don’t think I realized what it was. I accepted it the second time, fell into it, that’s an entirely different feeling.”

Ravenna was quiet. “I think I’ve felt it,” she said softly. “But I’ve been too scared to accept it.”

“I know it’s scary, and I know I’m acting really normal right now but I absolutely fucking freaked out at first, too,” Cassian said.

“What did it feel like once you accepted it?”

He broke his gaze from her, flushing just slightly in the cheeks as he scratched the back of his neck. “There’s no way for me to say it nicely, honestly. I wanted to take you right there, and everywhere.”

She turned pink at his words, laughing nervously. “I shouldn’t have asked, truly, I knew the answer.” Cassian chuckled, shoving his hands in his pockets. Ravenna took another deep breath in through her nose, exhaling slowly before looking back at him again. “I’m willing to take the risk,” she said. “It’s really hard to ignore this thing, believe it or not.”

Cassian took another step closer to her, close enough that she had to look up at him a little. “Are you sure?” Her heart pounding in her chest, Ravenna hesitantly closed the distance between them, lifting her arms and snaking them around his neck. His hands found her waist, settling in lightly. She looked up at him, breathing in the scent of him, that feeling beginning to grow in her chest once more, spreading its warmth through her. She nodded, a shiver of warmth traveling down her spine. “Positive? Once we start I’m not going to be able to resist you anymore.” 

She nodded a second time.

-

Epiphany Masterlist