#Which for the record string theory had nothing to do with

[holy-human-freak]

Finally got around to watching this video that had been in my recommendations for a while and it's great.

Basically after string theory starts getting attention from the public some big name String Theorists like Brian Greene and Michio Kaku start getting pop-sci book deals and going on documentaries and making a lot of money. Obviously, given their new financial incentives, these people present string theory as the next revolution in Physics. At the same time this was going on, actual physicists had largely stopped taking string theory seriously on account of it not making any experimentally verifiable predictions (the wiki page for the history of string theory ends in 2003). Eventually the public catches on to this and instead of learning what separates good science from bad science (creating models that explain all previous observations and make predictions about new ones) they start to view all of theoretical physics as this land of crackpots where you can predict whatever you want. Even highly successful theories like relativity, quantum mechanics, and the standard model start to be viewed like this. Theories that DID make new predictions that WHERE later observed.

Obviously there are people who became interested in theoretical physics because of these documentaries and books, and I think that's good! I was one of them! But when your theory hasn't made any progress for nearly a decade and you are talking about it like it's the next relativity and you the next Einstein, that is a massive abdication of your professional responsibility as both a scientist and a science communicator.

This has become a problem in particle physics too and I think it's no coincidence it started when they tried applying ideas from string theory to the standard model (super symmetry). SUSY at least makes predictions about new particles we should find but when everytime those particles arent observed you modify the theory so their masses are conveniently outside the range of current experiments, that's bad science. People are eventually going to catch on and stop giving funding to experiments that are actually trying to answer unsolved questions in the field and not chasing the rabbit of having one theory that can explain all of physics. A theory there is no reason to believe exists other than the fact effective field theories aren't philosophically pure enough.

(sidebar: From my understanding the foundational work behind string theory has gone on to be genuinely useful in some fields mathematics, which is why formulating these theories is useful even if from a physics perspective the final result isn't. But when you are presenting your PHYSICS theory as a PHYSICAL explication of the world to an audience that doesn't have the expertise to contextualize what you are talking about, maybe mention "by the way this theory has never made any testable predictions and was basically dead in the water by the start of the new millennium)

(second sidebar: This persons YouTube channel is great. She's probably my new favorite science youtuber. The fact that she delivered this whole rant while playing binding of Isaac to keep herself too distracted to even attempt to explain how string theory works is hilarious)

[ash5monster01]

Cold Spring Harbor

Chapter One - She’s Got A Way 🎶

Pairing: Steve Harrington x FemReader

Warnings: fluff, instant attraction, invisible string theory, mentions of childhood trauma, mentions of death, coping mechanisms

Summary: Just when Steve figures he’s bound to be alone the rest of his life, somehow he finds you, and for some reason just being near you makes him feel much less alone in the world.

word count: 2k

→ Two

Masterlist

Spring 1985

She's got a way of showin', how I make her feel

Steve hated being sad. Yet for the last six months that was all he had felt. He should be over it by now. He wished he was over it, but everyday he went to school just to see Nancy with Johnathon and know everything that he lost. He had given up his friends for her, and when she gave him up for Johnathon, he had no one left. No happy family to come home to, and no friends to spend time with, especially no girlfriend to love. Maybe that was why it was so hard to get over her, because she was the only person he had left and she left him too.

So he woke up on the first day of spring break, no parents, no plans, no one at all. It didn’t matter that the first warm sun was shining through his window and the birds chirped happily outside. He figured he would always be alone and he was still just as miserable as before. The only person he did have was Dustin but how many times can you ask a middle schooler to hang out before it gets weird? Steve didn’t want to find out.

He wasn’t going to last all of spring break like this so he was going to do the only thing that made him feel better. The only thing that gave him enough motivation to get out of bed and get ready for the day. So it’s not long until he is walking out the front door and towards his car. Yet before he unlocked it he stopped, eyes glancing into the bright blue sky, and deciding against the drive. It was sunny and almost seventy, plus a walk would be good for him. So he stuffed the keys back in his pocket and started down the road.

Town was half empty once he got there, signs showing that the new mall being built was already taking away business. It was sad to see the town that once was so busy become a shell of nothing. Kind of like him he supposed. Yet the sight of the familiar blue door eased his mind as he pushed in the one place he hoped would be here forever.

“Hey man, long time no see” Ron, the owner smiles from behind the register. Steve matches the smile right back even though he doesn’t feel it. He wished he did.

“Hey Ron, how’s business been?” he asks, eyeing the various shelves throughout the room.

“I wish I could say busy, but ever since word got out that Sam Goody was being built in the mall, no one really cares about Ron’s Records anymore” he says and Steve nods, his throat tightening at the thought.

“I’m sorry about that man, you know I’ll be a customer for life” he tells him and Ron nods, smiling at the boys kindness.

“You and your Grandpa both” Ron says kindly and Steve has to look away before tears form in his eyes.

“I’m gonna check some records out” Steve tells him and Ron nods as he moves to the section he knows it will be at.

Finally reaching the B’s his fingers start skimming the records. It feels like he’s passed a hundred Barry Manilow records by the time he reaches exactly what he’s looking for. Smiling to himself he scans which ones are there, determined what would be the best to listen to. Something that for an entire forty minutes could make him feel much less lonely in this world.

“Billy Joel huh?” Steve looks up and nearly freezes. There you are, the prettiest girl he’s ever seen, and something about the world stops. He’s not one to be shy but it’s as if the words somehow can’t leave his mouth. There was just something about you. “Since when do boys your age listen to Billy Joel?”

“Hey, he’s still rock n’ roll to me” Steve defends, and it’s cheesy. He knows that, but it doesn’t stop you from laughing. You’re wearing the most perfect smile he’s ever seen and he wants to make you do it again.

“I’m not saying he isn’t, just most guys these days don’t know good music anymore” you say, pulling the record out of his hands and he almost gasps at the way your fingers feel against his.

“Well good music to me is just Billy, always has been” he says and you give him a small nod, smile still on your face. He briefly wonders what it could be about you that makes him suddenly so content.

“Cold Spring Harbor? I don’t think I’ve ever heard it” you say and Steve’s heart clenches.

“It’s his first album, he was only 22 when he wrote it. It’s one of my favorites” Steve tells you and the mischievous grin you give him makes his heart stutter in his chest.

“Well let’s listen to it” you tell him, hand grabbing his own, and leading him to the front of the building. In the front window there’s two chairs and small record player in between. They had been there for as long as Steve could remember, he had sat in them hundreds of times. He sits in his, the one chair he always sat in, and you sit, well in the other. His throat dries as he sees you sit across from him in the chair that had been empty for many years.

“What’s your favorite track?” you muse, hands delicately working to pull the record from its sleeve and place it on the player.

"The first one, She's Got A Way. It was my Grandpa's favorite, the first Billy song he ever played me" Steve says, looking off onto the rows and rows of records. Remembering a time when he was just short enough to be the same height as them. Rushing around and looking for the most colorful covers while his Grandpa went straight to the B's. Then he'd sit in the very chair he was now, ankles just barely hanging over the edge as his Grandpa played him song after song, in the very seat you were sitting in now.

"So that's where it comes from" you muse, the record spinning as you turn on the machine. Steve watches as you set the needle on the record, sratching till it finds its groove, and fills the silence between you both.

"Why is it his favorite?" you ask after a few moments, watching the boy as he let's the words sink in.

"He claimed it was the only song he ever heard that perfectly described how he felt about my Grandmother. How the right women could completley turn you around and heal you when you least expect it" Steve smiles fondly as he repeats those words he hadn't in a very long time.

"A charmer, I'm sure you are too" you say and the shocked look Steve wears has you laughing lightly. It takes Steve only a second to laugh along with you, realizing just how quickly you had revealed him. It's when your laughter calms he realizes the smile on your face has eased his heart more in the last six months than anything else.

"If you must know" Steve says and you giggle again which has Steve wanting to spend more and more time with you.

"Where is this Grandpa of yours, I have a few questions for him?" you ask and Steve freezes, not expecting the words to leave your mouth. It takes him a moment to respond and you sense the discomfort and place your hand on his own. Steve nearly jumps at the electric touch that comes from it.

"He passed away when I was fifteen, right before high school" he tells you, throat tightening around the admittance.

"I'm so sorry, that's awful" you try to comfort but Steve just smiles.

"You would have loved him though. Everyone did. He was my best friend, the only family I really had that spent time with me. Since my Grandma passed when I was ten, me and him made sure to spend all of middle school together" Steve isn't entirely sure why he is telling you this, he just knows your the first person he has been this comfortable around since his Grandpa and he didn't even know your name yet. He didn’t know what it was about you but he figured there didn't need to be a reason.

"That's so sweet, he sounds so special" you tell him and Steve nods, recalling memories he hadn't allowed himself to think about for years.

"He was, just wish he was still around. He was the only person to ever be there for me, front row at every swim meet and basketball game. Was hard going through highschool knowing he was no longer in the stands, but Billy. Well that's all me and him ever talked about. So sometimes, on days like today when I miss him a little extra, I find him in the lyrics of a song" and your heart soars for the boy in front of you. A boy with a deep sadness buried within him. A boy the world hadn't given a chance yet.

"Is he there right now?" you can't help but ask, the last few lines of the song coming through the speakers on the machine. Steve listens, can practically see his Grandpa yelling at him for not making a move. ‘At least ask her name’ he groans and Steve chuckles lightly to himself.

"Yeah he's here. He always is" Steve says and you give him a smile that somehow heals him. "I'm Steve by the way"

"Nice to meet you Steve" you tell him before offering your own name and Steve finds it rattling through his head, the most beautiful name in all of existence, and somehow it belongs to you. The very girl who showed up while he was feeling down and has inspired him without a sound. The beginning notes of You Can Make Me Free fill the silence between you both and Steve sits up, realizing your hand is still atop his own.

"Sorry for spilling my guts" Steve says and you shake your head, wanting him to know that he had done nothing wrong this entire time.

"Don't be, it actually happens a lot. I seem to make people very comfortable. Guess I just got a way about me" and Steve agrees because somehow in just this short exchange you have inspired him to keep on going, reminded him that this is not the end and it won't be all bad. It is like you have some bright light around you and it gives him the strength to keep going.

"Would you maybe want to go get something to eat?" Steve finds the confidence to ask and you beam a smile brightly back at him.

"I'd love to Steve" you tell him, using his name like it now somehow belongs to you and Steve wishes it does. A million dreams of love surrounding you and for the first time since Nancy he finds himself feeling something for a girl he never thought he'd feel again. He just knows he no longer wants to live without you.

"Have fun you two" Ron calls out as you both exit, the record still playing as you both leave it behind. You talk the whole way to the small diner in town, Steve just smiles and listens, loving how everything sounds the way it comes out your mouth. It's as if every word lifts him up as you are walking.

For the rest of the day Steve does his part getting to know you. Making you laugh and flirting where necessary which never fails to make you blush. The sight of your red cheeks alone make his heart soar for you. It's cute the way you show it, exactly how you feel about him. In return you do find yourself charmed by the very boy you couldn’t resist talking to. You wondered where a sweet boy like him had been your whole life and for the first time you aren't as embarassed by the blush on your cheeks as you normally would be.

"I really like you Rosy" he says matter of fact, the nickname falling easily from his lips. You blush at his words again, shaking your head at the boy you figure you aren't getting rid of anytime soon.

"I like you too Steve"

Taglist: @slvtforstve @keerygal @goosy-goose @livsters @blckburd @loveshotzz @ohwauwdoritos @superblysubpar @southereads @amataadriana @violet2022 @mxrcjqckspnchqsc @madaboutjoe @thunderstomp-and-tequila @justdamnpeachy @micheledawn1975 @fangfatale @kingstevesgf @notlilyyyy @eddiesguitarskills @palmtreesx3

Comment if you want to be added to the taglist :))

[ssquilliamsquispmain]

riptide ramblings bwcouse I'm rewatching the black sea arc and thinking about things pt 1

(not all of these are black sea arc it quite literaly is me rambling)

Theory one CHIP IS DEFINITELY NOT HUMAN OMG Rose knew that chip would come for him almost supernaturally like he was told by some outside force that he was going to be apart of this somehow, leaving clues and a whole recording for him, it also is, What I’m thinking is that chip was created for this reason, by niklalus or his patron? Or whatever is in charge of nik, pecouse nik mentions that the reason that he does this “is to be free” referencing that he is tethered to something or someone. Also the "welcome home” from the hole definitely helps this case

Also in the new prophecy there Is ike a creature like the embodiment of darkness and evil or whatever that Is, i think might be tethering nik and also made chip,

“Nameless prince”

Chip definitely has got roses Desire, the clues are all there

In the Christmas one shot crystal or whatever her name is (i forgor) said that chip was "missing more than just a name,"(or somthing along the lines of that) , witch’s further proves my point, Chip is not an orphan he never had parents to begin with

“Is there another chosen one? ”not really”” WTF DOES THIS MEAN? Is Chip “not really”? Because he wasn’t chosen by a god but rather a demon thing and a the black rose? Did Rose know the whole time? Is it one of those repeating cycles where Rose had someone before him? There has been an underlying theme through the whole campaign that is desire.

Am I just insane and Chip has no destiny? Or Was chips' whole life out on sea predetermined?

Theory like 2

Jay Ferin is a clone of her sister She patient 0 of the cloning thing and that’s why she’s different, she was made so Ava could be the fall guy to ensure that the navy can take militaristic control over mana that why her name is Ava and doesn’t and with an -ey Because she was never meant to last long, Jayson knows and that’s why he didn’t grieve as much (but still did bc that’s his daughter ) but this whole ordeal was made by her grandma, the only hole in this theory is may ferin who would definitely tell Jay if this was the case.Or a more grounded theory is that Jay was always going to replace her sister and Ava’s death was alway meant to happen.

THE NAVY IS IN CAHOOTS WITH THE DEVILthem having strong holds in the Black Sea KUBA IS THERE the skin,the clones, the reasoning of them wanting to be in full control, KUBA KINTA???? THE DEAD SOLDIERS IN ARTERWA COUNTRY? Fey definitely has something to do with this she is definitely the type of person to make a deal for power Probably with nik so he has more strings to puppet the world in trying to set free his patron? Maybe Chip is the key to set it free? The deal he made is to not interfere with Gill's deal which might mean something else, maybe the Black Sea has nothing to do with that , but the Black Sea isn’t the end of Riptide (I believe) so maybe this has to be further in the future.

Theory 3 I have a little theory is that edyn is pretending to be the chosen one BECAUSE of the political stuff so the navy can use “the word of the chosen” without it actually being him.

[ideas-on-paper]

Real Boy ending, Golden Lie & NG+ death counter

(Nothing special, just a few final comments on my NG+ playthrough)

[MAJOR Spoilers for Lies of P]

When Geppetto calls Pino a puppet after you give him the heart:

It was at this moment that Pino knew: He fucked up.

(It does confirm that Geppetto sees P merely as a puppet though - when he is talking to "his son", he is really talking to Carlo's heart.)

But hey! I finished my second Lies of P playthrough! Wohooo!!!

It's a bit of a bummer that I wasn't able to get the Golden Lie in this playthrough either though, despite technically having more humanity points than the last time. (Also, if I ever do a third run, I'm gonna go for the Free from the Puppet String ending, so I won't get it then either.)

However, I think I may have an idea what the reason for this is: As far as I can tell, the pop-up message "Your heart is pounding" only is displayed after you gave Sophia peace. I only got it two times in my first playthrough, after listening to the last two records, which wasn't quite enough to unlock the Golden Lie. However, even at the point when I long should've exceeded the humanity points necessary for it, I only got "You feel warmth" in my second playthrough. This is because I chose to let Sophia live the second time around, for roleplaying reasons. I was playing a Pinocchio who lied on every possible occasion, but who didn't have the heart to kill any person he was close to. (The cruel irony being, due to his inability to see any evil in his beloved father, he ultimately ended up killing all the people he cared about.)

So, if you want to get the Golden Lie, you have to give Sophia peace. I thought the choice with Sophia only affected the ending, but apparently not.

As a result, I had never seen the description of the Golden Lie before, so I googled it. And, as with so many items, it actually contains lore-relevant information:

"There are two kinds of lies. Yours is the lie that makes your nose long." The boy loved the fairy tale about the wooden puppet's adventure. At least the wooden puppet's father was kind.

Since I wasn't aware of this, I had assumed the fairy tale of Pinocchio being Carlo's favorite book was just a really good fan theory, but this pretty much confirms it. Also, judging by the wistful remark "at least the wooden puppet's father was kind", I think Carlo's heartfelt wish was just that Geppetto would love and appreciate him, deep down.

Last but not least, I'm pretty proud of myself that I finished the game with just 16 deaths in total, 9 of which were from boss fights - discounting the Nameless Puppet of course, since I didn't fight it in my second run. (Once again, I did the boss fights without Specter for my own fun, since they're a bit too easy for my taste otherwise.)

I'm actually sort of curious: Has anyone else managed to beat the game with less than 20 deaths? (I mean, I wouldn't be surprised if there are pro gamers who can finish the game with below 10 deaths, but just out of curiosity. ^^)

[the-stitch-witch]

Heavenly Murder Mysteries

I had A Moment, and I'm not sure if it's a galaxy brain moment, or a 'red string conspiracy ready for a padded cell' moment. Please tell me what you think.

Gaiman said, when season 2 was first announced, that he and Pratchett had conceived of the story as a murder mystery. He also said, several times, that season 2 was not the story they'd planned - it was the necessary prologue in order to be able to tell that story. Which is a big part of the reason he's so desperate to get a season 3, and said that even if it doesn't get renewed, he *will* find a way to publish the story.

This season relies heavily on altered memories - we have the repeated threat of being Unwritten from the Book of Life, Nina comments that 'this isn't right' and she feels like something is playing with her mind, and Gabriel alters his own memories before Heaven has a chance to. Jumping off of @ariaste ‘s awesome theory about Metatron re-writing reality, we have our mechanism for a supremely unreliable narrator. Beelzebub clearly believes the Extreme Sanctions - being Unwritten - are a plausible threat, but Crowley brushes it off as 'something we used to scare the cherubs.' We also have that *quite* intriguing conversation between Gabriel and Crowley - "I feel like an empty house. A house someone lived in for a very long time, but now they’re gone, and the house can sort of tell where the things used to be." That's a metaphor Crowley *gets,* and when Gabriel complains that his head isn't made for those memories anymore and trying to remember hurts, Crowley tells him, "I know. Do it anyway. Look at where the furniture isn't." We have the implication that the memory-altering mechanism is imperfect, and Crowley has at least sort-of learned how to work around it - looking at where the furniture isn't, the tracks left behind where things were removed.

We also have Iain Banks' novel Crow Road featured front and center - to crib notes from the Wikipedia article, 'Prentice becomes obsessed with papers his uncle left behind and sets out to solve the mystery... Prentice's efforts to make sense of Uncle Rory's fragmentary notes and the minimal clues surrounding his disappearance mirror his efforts to understand the world and his place in it. The narrative is nonlinear, leaping back and forth with little or no warning, requiring the reader to piece things together.' We also have the three slightly out-of-place mini-sodes, that establish three physical documents recording Crowley and Aziraphale's involvement: the Book of Job, Aziraphale's diaries, and the photo of the two of them together onstage.

I have my own theory that Aziraphale agreed to the Metatron's terms only because Crowley's existence was suddenly at stake, and he's going to Heaven not to be a good little worker bee, but a murder hornet, to use Crowley's metaphor, and do everything he can to fuck up The Plan. He knows this is probably a suicide run - he makes an offer he knows perfectly well Crowley will refuse, to cut ties and try to get him out of harm's way. He seems less devastated than we'd expect, when Crowley does refuse and storms out. A clinical warning sign of suicidal ideation is giving away treasured possessions, and Aziraphale deliberately chooses not to take any of his precious books with him - "Nothing lasts forever." This, from the same angel who set out to prevent the apocalypse because Heaven didn't have sushi! This would also explain his tight, anxious little smile at the veeeery end of the credits - he's one step closer to the goal he knows is probably going to kill him, but he's going to prevent this second Armageddon, or die trying. But Metatron is far, far more powerful, and can literally rewrite reality. This won't end well for Aziraphale.

This is our setup for season 3. Operating under the assumption that season 3 is going to be a murder mystery... I think the murder victim is probably going to be Aziraphale himself. He's been Unwritten, and even if Crowley can't tell exactly what's gone, he knows something is. Something big, some*one* he structured his life around for millennia. He can see the spaces where the furniture isn't, and enough records to start to piece it together.

We get the quote from Aziraphale, "We aren’t in danger. Crowley will be back in a moment. He will have a plan."Nina: "Why don’t you stand up for yourself? Make your own plan." Aziraphale: "Oh, I am. But rescuing me makes him so happy."

Season 3 will be both. Aziraphale does have his own plan to try and protect Crowley and the world by infiltrating Heaven, but I don't think he'll get away with it. Crowley will have to be the one to solve the mystery. Season 2 was, very much, Aziraphale's. He occasionally narrates, we follow him to Edinburgh, the action follows him and his neighbors and his attempts to get them together. Crowley has a few asides, but this was Aziraphale's season. Next season will be Crowley's, trying to solve this mystery and find a way to undo it.

...we had damn well better get a third season.

[ask-but-beware-the-consequences]

Maggie is being very weird.

Like at first, I had similar reactions like the other characters had about her in the show. Then I read about some theories, and then started rewatching the season. And she is acting out of place.

First impressions matter

And the first interaction with her we see her message to Aziraphale, that it's an 'ugrency'. A misspell? Sure. When you type on a phone, but in handwriting? It's much more natural to misspell during handwriting when you actually don't know how to spell that word. Then episodes later we have Crowley pointing it out that demons don't really know how to spell. I don't think Maggie is necessarily a demon, I'm much more on board with she's being a fiction (within a fiction).

Then Aziraphale walks over to her shop to check in. They all are having a nice conversation, the angel is inquiring about the mysterious record if she knows it, then she suddenly breaks down crying. None of us expected that. Then her replies, all of her replies to be honest seems out of place, like she doesn't make sense, and just being tossed around like a puppet on a string.

She says's she's not crying while doing so, then explains Aziraphale that it's a thing you do. The angel, who has been on Earth for 6000 years. Like he needs explaining about humans.

Then suddenly she's chuckling like nothing happened, then suddenly she acts like she's turned on by alone thinking about Nina, then again a mood change all of that under bare seconds? Hell nah. That doesn't make any sense, even if she has any type of mental sickness (which isn't even thought of in the show's world as an option).

I could list all of her replies, but then all of her voicelines would be probably here.

At the bookshop attack, when Crowley gathers all the people inside to guide them out, we see Nina and Maggie staying behind, yet he only asks about Nina to come, and doesn't bother with Maggie.

Another thing is that during the interview, the cast talks about the roles they are playing, they describe their new roles, except for Maggie's character, she never gets described. It's a Clue.

Personal opinion: I think it's a nice thing that people consider them as the next nice couple in this show, but I think Nina deserves much, much more better if this is true. She just got out of a stricting, manipulative, narcissistic, abusive relationship. And now she's getting tricked into falling into another one with a fake person? Nah man, poor Nina. If Maggie gets a redemption and becomes a real person, then, sure, go ahead. But not this way.

Kind of the same with Gabriel and Beelzebub, but I already wrote about them a few posts earlier, of why I find them weird and unreal.

Plus addition: Maggie has a comment on the weird record phenomena, saying: "which is mad, but they are Scottish, so..."

Like excuse me?

[stuckinuniformdevelopment]

@albertbutyoucancallmebert

(Previous) Bert wrapped himself more in his blanket. “Thank you, Teddy. It’s really nothing too crazy, it’s just… Weird and embarrassing, I guess.” He folded his hands together. “So, let me preface with… Well actually, it’s important to know… Ach, there’s so many things…” With one hand Bert rubbed his chin in thought, and the other pet Sherri Jr, who was sitting between the two. “Eh, let me just give a quick rundown. Then if you want me to elaborate on something, I’ll try. Long story short… I didn’t want to experiment on another watchdog, which was the last straw in a string of things I wouldn’t do for Percy, so he got mad and squealed about our setup and tried to pin everything on me. I panicked and… Um, accidentally… Erased myself and Percy from the memories of everyone in the galaxy, I think. So everyone just completely forgot who we were, like we never existed.” He blinked at Teddy, waiting for questions.

Teddy was on the edge of his seat, gripping his knees as he braced himself for the worst and prepared his heart to accept anything.

Tampering with Hater Empire records. Destroying his entire department to erase evidence. Killing the original "Bert" to steal his identity. Performing dirty work for an officer in exchange for a pardon, too dirty to be done openly even-

Wait, they found a watchdog? With magic? How did Percy manage to find two at approximately the same time? Or could they possibly be..?

That outlandish theory was completely forgotten when Bert told him what really(?) happened, stunning him into a complete shutdown.

For a long while Teddy blankly stared at Bert. How was he supposed to react to that? It was just... so out of the left field that he couldn't scrounge up a single thought.

Eventually Teddy tilted his head in confusion as he murmured, "Eh?" Seriously, eh? With how he had shied away from the topic before he had expected him to confess a terrible sin that ruined at least one innocent life but... This was just... well, something.

"Embarrassing? No, that's... impressive..." Teddy believed that if anyone could do it, it was Bert... Even if it was still hard to accept on a mental level.

"Wait, the entire galaxy? Was it instantaneous or..," No. Teddy shook his head as he trailed off. Asking that would be insensitive. ...Annnnd the next question was far worse. Should he ask anyways?

After a short pause Teddy averted his eye and took a deep breath. Maybe a more indirect approach would work better. "...Did you ever get called 'scientist watchdog' before that?"

[mountphoenixrp]

We have a new citizen in Mount Phoenix:

           Lin Jiayi, a 27 year old daughter of Yue Lao.            She is a cashier at Black Forest Bakery.

FC NAME/GROUP: Jung Wheein / Mamamoo CHARACTER NAME: Lin Jiayi AGE/DATE OF BIRTH: 27/ March 18th, 1996 PLACE OF BIRTH: Heshun, China OCCUPATION: Cashier at Black Forest Bakery HEIGHT: 5’3 WEIGHT: 95 lbs DEFINING FEATURES:

Two small scars on her left side and one larger scar on her right shoulder that’s covered by a butterfly tattoo

A small number of piercings, a couple in both her ears, one belly button one, and one nose piercing.

Many more tattoos, too many to list (like 11) but they’re all very pretty ones

PERSONALITY: Jiayi is a sweetheart, she’s fairly cuddly and easy to get along with. She gives great advice and listens closely to problems if someone chooses to share them with her. She’s super supportive and adores her friends and anyone she gets close to. She has no romantic interest in men and she’s not really someone who enjoys sex but she’s very open and supportive with friends that do.

Jiayi is also a great listener and is very good at problem solving, which is why she’s the type of friend that people go to when they need advice and/or comfort. She’s also not someone who gossips, nor does she enjoy it either. In fact, if she ever hears someone talking shit about one of her friends she might go right up to them and ‘kill them with kindness’ or make someone feel very very guilty about sharing rumors or other things they know nothing about.

She’s quick to defend her friends whenever necessary and tries her best to set records straight when needed or to make it clear when something is none of someone else’s business. She honestly loves love and will always be happy to hear about it. Be it through shared stories or if it’s one of her friends talking about the person they love. She loves hearing people talk about it in any way, shape, or form as long as it’s positive feelings.

HISTORY: Jiayi lived a fairly normal life. She had two parents, a decent family, and was part of a generally peaceful community. There were some occasional mishaps once her powers began to show, other kids kind of freaking out a bit once they were all old enough to play outside at night. Of course there were always the watchful eyes of parents nearby, observing the playing children in slowly darkening yards.

One day, Jiayi got distracted while playing in such a situation. Her gaze having caught notice of little red lines trailing between some of the parents and even a couple of the other children with the moon full and bright above them all. Being a child, Jiayi of course had to point them out. This caused murmurs to spread between the parents, questions and theories flying about until one of them proposed it must be a blessing. 

No one else could figure out what it was after all, it was such an odd occurrence and Jiayi was already well known for being a distinctly honest and friendly child. No one could doubt her.

Life continued as normal after that.

High school ended up being a distinctly interesting experience, many of Jiayi’s friends from childhood followed her till high school. They all still remembered how she was ‘blessed’ and often came to her for advice of many kinds but more often than not she was asked about red strings by hopeful individuals. This information also spread around until everyone in the school knew about her ability under the moonlight.

This is where it got more difficult.

Many things happened, a lot of the time there were stressful moments and Jiayi’s parents were struggling to deal with other parents as well. It got to a point (once she graduated) where Jiayi’s mother decided to send her away. Not forever, but just abroad. Somewhere where her daughter’s power was not known. 

She ended up going to college in the UK. Studying subjects that might ultimately help her once she returned home. Things that her parents could have pride over discussing whenever they talked with their friends. Things that could hopefully overshadow her blessed status enough to make people even forget about it with enough time away from them all. 

During college, Jiayi made a very close friend. She’d invited the younger student to sit with her one day during a shared lunch and they’d become friends ever since. Her friend only stayed for a year or two, but they were still in frequent contact even as a multitude of things happening over the years from that point on occasionally made things difficult for them both.

After she finished College, Jiayi did attempt to return home but it was still hard. No one had forgotten anything like her and her parents had hoped. Something had changed between her parents as well, they were still as in love as ever but there was a certain heaviness to it that Jiayi wasn’t used to. This is when she found out her father wasn’t actually her father and her blessing wasn’t a blessing, no. 

Her father was actually the god Yue Lao and her abilities came from that fact.

After that, Jiayi decided she needed to get away again and the residents in her home town were not helping the fact. She ended up traveling some more, experienced many situations (some bad, and some very bad that she didn’t want to think about).

Eventually, she started catching whispers. Little rumors in certain communities that told her of an island. An island with people like herself. She had grown tired of holding everything in at that point, keeping her abilities mostly a secret and fighting herself whenever she caught sight of perfect matches that were still strangers and walking opposite directions with the red string between them pulled taught. She wanted to be free to talk about love again, to let people know when they were just right for each other. It’d be such a relief. 

So thus, she made her way to Mount Phoenix to try and find her own little niche where she could be herself again.

PANTHEON: Chinese CHILD OF: Yue Lao POWERS:

Can see the red strings Yue Lao uses to tie together soulmates, but only under moonlight.

Enhanced charisma, which allows them to gain the trust and (potentially) affection of those around them much quicker and easier than other people.

STRENGTHS:

Compassionate and friendly, easily charms others with her generally soft nature.

She speaks well and is a quick learner, knows how to pick things up pretty fast.

She’s fairly smart and insightful, learned to be with her natural ability to gain trust from others.

WEAKNESSES:

Sometimes she’s too friendly, doesn’t read certain signs fast enough. One instance of this resulted in her scars.

She can be a bit bull-headed when it comes to her friends, too protective and thus prone to occasionally triggering confrontations.

The way she gets people to trust her so easily sometimes freaks people out. She doesn’t do anything specific, it’s just sometimes people think it’s weird or creepy that they can trust her so quickly.

[wcrriorhearts]

𝓗𝓮𝓪𝓭𝓬𝓪𝓷𝓸𝓷𝓼 — send 💭 + a topic to receive a headcanon about said topic.

@cosmicacy said: 💭 + dragon magic ( based on that theory we were talking about ) 👀

Right, this is gonna be a lot of unhinged conspiracy theory waffling now, because we know next to nothing about dragon magic in the GOT world, so I will just give you my ideas, but i don't expect anyone else to agree with me :D

There are 2 things we do know: Valyrian magic was always closely connected to fire and it allowed those with magic powers to bond with and control dragons. Aside from that, it seems that magic in the world in general has always been tied to dragons. Magic had almost entirely vanished from the world of GOT, aside from some dark magic and blood witches basically, but as soon as Dany's dragons lived, magic seemed to be getting stronger everywhere. So it is needless to say that dragons are either in possession of strong magic themselves, or strong amplifiers, but I would suggest they are a bit of both.

I will entirely neglect the show's stance on the dragon magic, because the whole 'we can never tame dragons fully' and nailing saddles to the dragons shit completely negates the beauty of the magical bond a rider has to their dragon, so this will be mostly book based ( even though there is also only very little and vague information about such things ).

The magic between a dragon and its rider, to me, is a connection that is woven between their very souls. It strengthens with time and experience, but there is an undeniable invisible string between them that allows both sides to always feel connected to the other. Even though all dragon riders speak High Valyrian to their mounts and it may seem that this is their way of taming and teaching a dragon, I personally would rather suggest that it is a mere way of communication and sticking with tradition, but that the act of commanding a dragon happens almost entirely nonverbal, communicated by feelings and intentions the dragon senses, which could explain Vhagar's reaction in the Lucerys drama, bc she was acting on what Aemond felt, as he got carried away emotionally. Therefore the connection between a rider and their mount is very deep and profound in most cases. I would argue, however, that the first bond a dragon forges is always the strongest, but also that the bond between a hatchling and a child is different from the bond that a dragon forges with a rider who claims them. In the case of the hatchlings ( given there has never been an account of one of them rejection the child it hatched to, other than the abomination that hatched from Laena's egg that tried to eat her ), it is a bit like a duckling imprinting on the person it sees first. So their souls are connected almost from the very beginning and I would imagine that the dragons are even more an extension of themselves, because they have never lived a life without their dragons in them ( if the dragon hatched in the cradle obvs ). I would not say that their bond is necessarily stronger, but different from that of a dragon that was claimed. It is, in my opinion, definitely a difference whether someone is born into something, or if two kindred souls find each other ( eg. actively CHOSING a rider/dragon is probably a different experience for both ).

There is, in my opinion, also a correlation between female dragon riders of house Targaryen and dragons, or rather their magic and fertility. I don't think it is a coincidence that during the time of the dance, Syrax was the most fertile dragon ever recorded and they had as many dragons as they hadn't had since Old Valyria, while Rhaenyra herself was also very fertile. Syrax produced several clutches in a very short amount of time, which was not necessarily normal. The Dance also produced more dragon riders than ever, with all the children that had dragons on top of the adults. I also think there is a definite connection between Rhaenyra being the youngest dragon rider ever to bond with a dragon ( eg. carries strong magic ), her dragon producing the most eggs that hatched and her children all growing up with hatchlings, except for Viserys. Then in return, staying with the idea that women carry stronger dragon magic, we see Dany, who brings dragons back into existence after over 170 years and rings in a new dragon age basically, whereas Rhaenyra was the one living when dragons flourished the most after Old Valyria. Helaena also had a very strong connection to Dreamfyre during that time. I'm not very good at expressing my point, but I believe that women as dragon riders are vital and important for not only the prosperity of the dragons themselves, but also the land and the people in a way, as well as magic in general, and that their fertility is linked to that of their dragons, regardless if female or male, yet you notice it more in females bc they produce eggs.

Aside from that, I believe that the bonding experience is a very individual process that looks different for each rider and their dragon and depends on the way they bond & their age. With a dragon dreamer like Helaena, I would assume that her connection to Dreamfyre was forged in a dream, whereas the experience will look different for others, who cannot hear dragons sing for them in their sleep. Adults also might feel an entirely different pull than children who claim a dragon, in which case I would suggest that the dragon is more aware of the connection than the child, because they will not know what to look for and what it may feel like.

this was a lot of rambling and idk if it made sense tbh, but that's my idea on dragon magic

[ask-but-beware-the-consequences]

I love this man's take on the season.

And personally, I noticed one more thing thanks to this beautiful person, so I'm going to write about it now in this post. I highly recommend reading their full theory because otherwise I think it would not just sound like hyper-conspiracy writing, like they mentioned, but also like spoiler...? Well in a way I suppose, yes.

So, let me continue from the part, where it is mentioned that Metatron could be pulling the strings, and rewriting the Book of Life.

But before that, I also had an idea about, what if Neil Gaiman's replies (like the ones presented in the link above) are not just not to be trusted (if they aren't), but also to be trusted to be coming from Metatron's view. (F.e. saying the Job record wasn't important, feels very off when we have Chekov's gun all over the place. But what if it's meant to be coming from a different view, so the audience wouldn't get spoilered to soon of season 3. Because according to this theory the whole season was mingled by Metatron corrupting files. So what if Metatron is the one who would think of it as not an important part? Which could be a fatal error on his end, and eventually lead to his downfall)

As mentioned above some parts felt unReal. Like they were fiction. And to me, Gabriel and Beelzebub felt like one of it too. (They had chemistry in season 1 yes, but not this kind) (Explaining below)

Now, if we remember, we were promised a romantic, gentle and quiet season, (if I remember right angel and demon was also mentioned), and we did get that. Just not for our main characters (yet) that everyone expected.

And that could be, a clue to how Metatron is trying to work with the Book of Life. You don't want to rewrite the whole book, if you're just an apprentice. He's just the voice of God, and not God herself.

So here's what could happen from Metatron's view: Do we want an Armageddon? Yes. Do we want to stop the ones interfering with the Great plan and continue with it? Yes. Is the the one stopping it from our side, is on our side? No.

So what do we do? We get them to be there. And how?

There was meant to be an angel and a demon getting their romantic story. And until the very end of season 1, there was no other option, but Aziraphale and Crowley. But at the Armageddon't, both of their bosses showed up, thus them became the second subjects from different sides having an actual meeting.

So there we have it, we can use them, to replace the story with them. We can continue writing a new story, while also going back a few times in the real story to black out some unwanted parts in secret.

Why would Gabriel and Beelzebub be a good choice, when they are also demon and angel? Even higher in ranks than the original pair! It's simple: They never met before. They didn't spend proper time together. A few days to eternal beings are nothing. They don't care about Earth. They are fine with just being with each other, and doing nothing else (because they aren't humans, and never been around them to know what else to do). They don't care where they are, or what happened around them. "Wherever you are is my Heaven." It can sound sweet, but given this situation is very strange and feels almost as it was staged. Fiction, like a real person wouldn't say that, especially if they were two eternal entities who are meant to hate each other upon seeing, yet they just 'fall in love at first sight', without much of a proper build up like we had with Crowley and Aziraphale.

Secondly, why it's good for Metatron: They never. did. anything against their own sides, just to impress the other, or show their care to each other. They never plunged into philosphy, built each other's character. They never talked about their own sides, and what they stand for. As if, in their whole life, it was just a side thing and not their literal home. It feels like their whole relationship can just end at a snap. Meanwhile Crowley and Aziraphale had worked out a strong relationship throughout the years. They had perfect communication (as described in the reblogged post), they sacrificed their own tasks for the other's well being, or just liking. They learnt what the other likes, what they dislike, and how to aproach those things. They know their pace, they have a structure on what the other expects of them if one of them fucks up something, and after doing the proper apology they move on. They just figured out doing a miracle together can work out way too well, way too strongly. They do literally anything to save the other, even if they would need to go against their own sides. Additionally, they don't want the Earth to die, they don't want an Armageddon. They are a threat. Gabriel and Beelzebub aren't.

So it all makes sense! Just change the demon&angel pair and we're good! Right? Wrong! And that's because Metatron makes mistakes.

When Crowley goes up to Heaven, and listens to the files, he notices that Gabriel very suddenly changed his mind. He doesn't want Armageddon anymore to happen. He never explains why he doesn't want one, there wasn't any build-up to it, he just goes 'Nah.' He doesn't even know why he doesn't want it. Of course we see it later that it was for Beelzebub and he wouldn't have admitted that, in front of the angels, right? Wrong. Why wouldn't he? Even Metatron says that Aziraphale can literally have the demon around up in Heaven, present that he loves him, and the worst would be that they frown upon it because he would be in a high enough rank to do that. And given that it's literally Gabriel's place he got offered, it doesn't make sense why Gabriel wouldn't have been allowed to do the same.

Crowley finds it weird that he just says no to Armageddon, for these reasons, he was in a pretty high rank, he knows/knew about the etiquette, and what they can or can't do.

I think this was one of the strongest clues that not just we could get, but also one of our main characters, Crowley. We're still waiting for the explanation along with him. Except, now we see that Aziraphale had took on the offer, and now it is getting clearer and clearer to see, that this operation was staged. Let's get Gabriel out, our only potential angel with a demon acquintence, but also not really get rid of him. He can stay an archangel, even if only in other angels' mind. They don't need to know about it. Then let's get Aziraphale into his post, the one who was interfering too much. Ruin everything he got built up. Slowly getting rid of everything that connects him to Earth: Crowley, the journals he wrote (which were very convinietly have been left in his bookshop, for Muriel to accidentally find and read them), and everything hand-crafted by people. Thus when all of those were pushed down enough for him to be viewed insignificant, finally getting him in charge, to be forced to destroy all of it, like it never mattered.

Metatron is a scary, awful son-of-a-bitch-of-a-threat, and Neil Gaiman's a beautiful writer, who's already working hard on how Crowley and Aziraphale will come out of this mess ^^ (*hostage sounds*) I promise

(For the reasons mentioned in the upper post, I'm 97% sure he's a hostage to his own mind atm until he finishes the next ending)

The Magic Trick You Didn’t See: Being An Analysis of Good Omens Season 2

(or: Neil Gaiman, Your Brain is Gorgeous But I Have Cracked Your Sneaky Little Code And Have You Dead To Rights*) (*Maybe)

***

Soooooo I just spent the last 48 hours having a BREATHTAKING GALAXY BRAIN EPIPHANY about Good Omens Season 2 and feverishly writing a fuckin16,000 word essay about the incredible magic trick that @neil-gaiman pulled off. 

Yes, it’s long, but I PROMISE your brains will explode. Do you want to know how magic works? Do you want to know what Metatron’s deal is (I’m like 99% sure of this and it’s EXTREMELY FUCKING GOOD)? Do you want to know about the Mystery of the Vanishing Eccles Cakes and the big fat beautiful clue I found in the opening credits? Do you go through the whole inventory of Chekov’s Firearm & Heavy Artillery Discount Warehouse? 

Here is the essay, go read it: https://docs.google.com/document/d/193IXS11XN46lziHRb6eUpM17yK0BQkRqke1Wh64A_e0/ When ur done u can tell me I’m an insane crackpot, and u know what, i won’t even be offended

In case you don’t know whether you want to bother reading the whole enormous thing on google docs, I’ve put the first couple sections of it under the cut. JUST TRUST ME OKAY, HEAR ME OUT, THIS IS VERY EXTREMELY COOL, NEIL IS GOOD AT HIS JOB–

Keep reading

[bllsbailey]

JASON CHAFFETZ: Democrats have a major problem and they can't fake their way out of it

Following an election in which voters overwhelmingly rejected the fake competence of Vice President Kamala Harris and the fake lucidity of President Joe Biden, Democrats have opted to double down on fake.

Choreographed dance videos, duplicate social media posts, contrived town hall protesters and a sudden newfound aversion to zero-emission vehicles all scream insincerity. There is nothing genuine about it. 

This week, a devastating split screen went viral, featuring the erstwhile faces of Senators Schumer, Warren, and Booker, who had each recorded videos of themselves trying to sound natural while reading word-for-word from the exact same script. The words, (of unknown authorship), were emblematic of the lack of authenticity plaguing the flailing party.

No one is buying what Democrats are selling; it’s all fake. The outrage over some of Trump’s most popular policies is a sham. The juxtaposition of impotent Democrats against the breakneck pace of the current Trump administration does them no favors.

Voters can see that while Trump and Vance are having fun, Democrats are having conniptions. The contrast is stark. As the president and vice president appear to enjoy their verbal jousting with media and protesters, the progressive left seem to be losing their minds, flailing with fake tears of exasperation.

Democrats can’t fake cool.  

The reality is, their leaders come across childish, insincere, and desperate, not to mention old, tired, grumpy, and totally out of touch. Who can relate to the likes of Schumer, Sanders, Durbin, and Warren? 

Meanwhile, their protestors have lost the plot, projecting an embrace of violence, lawlessness, and government corruption. The party offers no home for traditional liberal Democrats, working-class people, privacy advocates, anti-war leftists, or Israel-supporting Jews.

Their carefully curated and choreographed messaging bears no resemblance to the urgent demands of a year ago. Supposedly, Democrats were all about electric vehicles. Not anymore.

Remember how Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was administering billions of dollars to build a national network of electric charging stations? (Americans got nothing for this boondoggle.) Democrats even advocated legislation to eliminate gas-powered vehicles in favor of electric vehicles. AOC personally bought a Tesla.  

Now, the message has reversed. Alas, their fealty to electric cars was also fake. Teslas are now bad; protesting and destroying them is good. Chaos is fine when they do it. 

Democratic women at the Joint Session of Congress wore pink, in theory, to support women, but they can’t define what a woman is, nor could they possibly support excluding men from participating in women’s sports. Their fake support of women falls apart when they actually have to stand up for women.

When President Trump tried to speak of the golden age of America that night, the Democrats couldn’t muster the strength to applaud. They failed to stand for a young cancer fighter, a man fulfilling his dream of attending West Point, a female victim of deep fake bullying pushing back, or a 95-year-old mother whose son was back from being held in Russia. Who are the Democrats really fighting for with their "resistance" movement?

In 2024, they defended censorship to deal with "misinformation" on social media – now they care deeply about the free speech of Hamas supporters, a designated terrorist organization, on US soil. Videos circulate of Democrats who previously criticized waste, fraud, and abuse now fighting to keep the gravy train running. We can all see that they’ve done a 180 from opposing to defending waste. The duplicity is lost on no one.

Coming off of a presidential campaign in which they all pretended to love Kamala Harris, who couldn’t string together an authentic sentence, these latest antics ooze insincerity.  

Contrast that with a President Trump who cheerfully pops in on White House tours, has candid, almost daily exchanges with the press, works the McDonald’s drive-through window, and shares irreverent memes on social media. It’s not even a fair fight. Donald Trump is unapologetically himself.

Voters are finished with the Democrats’ choreographed and curated leadership model. Their consultants, some of whom are their family members, are getting rich, but their efforts to rebuild and refresh their party are going backwards.

The party’s whole premise was based on division and class warfare. It was not about the very principles that make our country great.  

Far be it from me to give the Democrats advice. As long as they keep doing what they’re doing, the republic is likely safe from their fake leadership.

Jason Chaffetz is a FOX News (FNC) contributor and the host of the Jason In The House podcast on FOX News Radio. He joined the network in 2017.

[allthemusic]

Week ending: 11th February

We're continuing our trend of men being pathetic, with a repeat performance from Adam Faith, this time with a song that answers the question "What would have it have sounded like if Buddy Holly was the one who sang Broken Hearted Melody?"

Poor Me - Adam Faith (peaked at Number 1)

Last time Adam Faith was in the charts, I mentioned that he'd clearly taken a leaf from Buddy Holly's final hit, It Doesn't Matter Anymore. And he's at it again, here - it's not a straight-up rip-off, but everything from the pizzicato strings to the vocal stylings really do smack of Buddy. Plus, like I said in the intro, there's also a distinct whiff of Broken Hearted Melody - nothing super obvious, just something about the chromatic movement in the bassline, some little turns that the melody take. The result is a song that really sounds like I've heard it before, even though it's notionally a completely fresh song - very odd. The record company thought it, too - apparently the song was rejected several times for being too derivative. Yikes!

That aside, as a song it's fine, I guess? I like some Buddy Holly, so I've got no problem with the strings in the backing, or the hiccupy vocal stylings, and I also quite like the backing singers, who are really muted in this one, singing along rather distantly in the background, while Adam takes the lead, humming and hawwing and complaining in a vaguely country style about a love who's been untrue. All good stuff, in theory.

That said, I do think that the lyrics are just a touch too self-pitying. There's just something a bit petulant, almost, when you call your song "Poor Me", and Adam's not helping his case with lines about sorrows heaping round my head, or complaining that love's unkind and love's untrue / Oh, why did love pick out you / For me? Yes, we get it, Adam! Your girl cheated on you, and everyone knows it, and that sucks. But what are you gonna do, now? Mope? Sit around being bitter ? It's not an attractive look, dude!

I think in particular, that the line that annoys me most is the one about how I used to hold you baby / So tight, each night, that's right / I kinda hoped that maybe you might / Fall for me. I get what Adam's going for with it. But come on! You "kinda hoped" that "maybe" your girl might possibly fall for you? Honestly, if you were that cautious and insecure, doubting her love for you all the time, even as your were apparently at the "snuggling each night" stage of things, then I'm hardly surprised things ended badly. It's a small thing, sure, but it really feels like a red flag, to me. Between that and the constant "poor little me" posing, I'm definitely not a fan.

It's also a tiny thing, but there's a little annoying orphaned piano plonk right at the end that's just messy - the sort of thing that should and could absolutely have been cut out of the recording. There's no reason to have it there, and once you've heard it, it's really irritating! Like I said, a tiny thing, but it's not doing much to enamour me to this song.

Well, safe to say that Adam didn't exactly impress me, here. This is partly because the song sounds almost exactly like his previous hit. Which would be one thing if he had a distinctive sound of his own, but when it's almost wholly cribbed off Buddy Holly, you've got a problem. The funny thing is that I think I'd quite like Adam Faith, if he had more of a style of his own - he'd at least be in the "Marty Wilde" league of acceptable British rockers if he'd just branch out a bit! Oh well. It's not a terrible song, at the end of the day, even if it's not making it into my liked songs.

Favourite song of the overly self-pitying bunch: Poor Me

[little-pondhead]

“Hey, Danny.” Sam twisted her upper body as much as she could from the trio’s puppy pile on the floor. It was mid-afternoon on a Saturday, and the trio had nothing to do except comb through old occult books and internet records for more information on the supernatural. Danny was on the bottom of the pile, laying on his stomach with both a laptop and a old red journal splayed out in front of him. Sam and Tucker were piled on top of him with their own reading materials.

Sam couldn’t see his face, but she wasn’t all surprised when Danny solved this issue by simply turning his head around all the way like an owl to look back at her. Perks of being dead. He blinked. “Yeah?”

“You know how your parents have that working theory on ghosts and obsessions?” Sam asked. Tucker peeked over the edge of the laptop, interested.

Danny nodded slowly, which was odd to see when his head was backwards.

She continued, “Well we already know that some of that is true-ghosts do have obsessions but it’s not the sole reason of their existence. Right?”

“Right.”

“So would it make sense for halfas to have an obsession?”

Danny opened his mouth, then closed it as a thought occurred to him. They all thought on it for a moment.

Tucker clicked his laptop a few times. Probably pulling up their old ‘case’ files and notes for reference. “I don’t see why they wouldn’t, but maybe it’s more subdued than a full ghost’s due to their half human nature?”

“That’s a good theory.” Sam agreed. “But what if halfas are the only one with a true obsession-something that would cause them to come back to life because of it?”

“But that defeats the purpose of the ectoplasm research.” Tucker argued. “Danny was exposed to two different elements during the accident. The thing that killed him and the thing that brought him back to life. That’s what caused the halfa evolution. Besides, if a true obsession alone managed to bring someone back to life, there’s be a lot more halfas in the world.”

Sam set down her heavy occult book, dog-earring the page. (Ghost Writer won’t like that.) “Well what about Vlad?” She countered. “That fruit loop obviously has some sort of obsession going on-maybe even more that one!”

“Guys.” Danny interrupted. “I think you’re both right and wrong.” His face was still thoughtful, staring up at the ceiling that held little paper bats on string. Which, again, was a bit unsettling since his head was still turned around. “I think I do have an obsession, maybe even more than one. But it’s not because I’m part ghost.”

“Then what’s if from?” Tucker exclaimed. “What did we miss??”

Danny gave them a tiny, fanged smirk. “You forget, I have ADHD.”

[azuresins]

I also just had a thought, from your O!Ciel|Fenian theory?

O!Ciel plays the violin.

I used to think that was just a reference to the demon associations, because it's a pretty common Thing. (There's the idea that Paganini sold his soul to play so well, and there's also that song "The Devil Went Down to Georgia", and there are probably more references I don't know.)

But.

The fiddle is a pretty important instrument in Celtic music, right? And from what I understand, that's just another name for the same instrument.

(part 2) Hi, it's me again---I've realized that you might have already seen that connection between fiddles/violins and O!Ciel and I just haven't run into your post about it yet, in which case please feel free to ignore my earlier ask. * Under the cut because my reply is long.

There's a direct historical link between the Irish and Scottish immigrants in the early United States, and what would eventually evolve into Country Music. "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" is a good example of this actually... parts of the violin solo, particularly the last 30 seconds of the violin solo at the end of this song, sounds almost exactly like what you'd expect of a random Irish folk solo. Scottish and Irish immigrants also influenced American Square Dancing, it's a very bastardized grandchild of Irish step and other Scottish forms of dance. I can't say that "Ireland/the scots/celts invented the violin" because almost every single country in the old world will swear up and down they "invented" what would become the thing. And that's part of why I didn't say anything sooner, it's easily dismissed as a coincidence and something that simply suited his character... But. I do know that the oldest known bowed instrument in the world that was still somewhat intact, was found Dublin and they were said to be as old as the 11th century. Though there are references that suggest people played them even earlier than that. So obviously, the violin is the eventual predecessor of these early instruments and you're right, it's a staple of Celtic music. As much of a scandal as it is to say, we know that stringed + bowed instruments were even older than pipes/bag pipes. There's records of these similar instruments that were bowed and plucked referred to as 'fiddles,' as well. To be honest, the only reason I haven't made mention of it is simply, because there's people who will swear up-and-down that there's a big difference! Between Classical Violin, and "The Celtic Fiddle", and Our!Ciel is more-than-likely learning Classical Violin pieces. It's worth mentioning that a lot of this "Big differences!" people are talking about ... have nothing to do with the instrument itself. The instrument is literally identical. It's just the techniques, song choices, and style that the instrument is played in that they mean... that's it. I can't tell you how many people I've met that sincerely thought that "country fiddles" and "irish fiddles" were literally somehow, entirely different instruments-- that an "irish fiddle" was cheap garbage compared to a "WELL MADE!" overpriced-as-shit violin. Anti-irish sentiments at it's best, what can I say. In terms of stringed instruments with a possible Irish connection, a harp, might have been another option when coming up with his character design and what-not... But unfortunately... harps by then... were so heavily associated with other things as well in Christianity. I don't see it being O!Ciel's first choice (I don't think he'd want to play the harp... it's too "angelic"). Violins are also known, for sounding much more emotional, have that 'haunted' quality, and have a reputation for sounding sad ("Let me play you a song on the world's smallest violin..." from spongebob, comes to mind whenever I think of the violin) and I think it just seemed like the perfect choice, for his character in a general sense. Although! The conscious choice to play it... in the context of his heritage, while playing the part of A Queen-loving Noble Aristocrat ... is a lot like him, in a way. Hiding in plain sight, hiding in the ambiguity. A subtle nod to his heritage that's too subtle for anyone else to notice, or "call him out" for- because Violins are very multi-cultural as well. Integrated. Respected. An instrument, that's just acceptable enough as long as you play it the right way. So what I do think? While it may have been a coincidence, simply because it's such a popular and emotional instrument that is loved across cultures that sincerely suited his character best, however, it's also equally possible that it wasn't a coincidence at all. That these thoughts were considered, by Yana when deciding what instrument Sebastian was going to teach to him.

[ieattaperecorders]

(Saw a theory post about the tape recorders and decided to make my own post rather than add a ton of words onto someone else’s.)

I’ve been thinking “tapes are Web” for a while now and Season 5 has made that so solid for me that I would be really, really surprised if they aren’t at this point. Here’s my reasoning:

Tapes aren’t Beholding: They could record in Upton House, which was blocked from the Eye. (It’s also more or less said directly to the audience in MAG 170, when Martin points out that the Eye wouldn’t need them anymore.) This means -

Tapes aren’t Jon: Listen. I love the idea that the tape recorders are somehow Jon keeping Martin company in S4, or helping him hold on in MAG 170. But if they’re Jon, what’s he using to manifest them if not the Beholding? Even if you lean into the idea that the categories aren’t cut and dry, or that being the Archive of the fears has made Jon into a unique power himself, Upton House definitely blocked whatever powers he had, but the tape recorders still manifested. I can’t really see them being him.

Besides . . . listen. The supernatural is never nice in TMA. Even if they were Jon, they wouldn’t be anything good -- they’d be something harmful he was doing against his will, or an attempt to help that ended up dooming them. The recorder may have helped Martin in 170, but that doesn’t mean it’s his friend. Any more than the Web is Jon’s friend for helping him discover Prentiss. On that note -

There is really strong evidence in S5 that the tapes are the Web -

Annabelle Cane must be as dependent on the Web as Jon is on the Eye – her head was bashed open and there was nothing but cobwebs inside. If the Web couldn’t get through to Upton House she’d have been as ill as Jon, but she was fine. Meaning the Web can exert influence inside Upton House, while at least two other powers cannot. (Eye and Spiral. Possibly all the others but we know those two for sure.)

There’s a very short list of things Jon can’t See now, and the Web is on it. What’s particularly telling about the tape recorders, though, is that he doesn’t seem interested in looking at them. They’re a strange, obviously supernatural object that’s always with him, that he should be suspicious of, but that he voluntarily keeps around and doesn’t question much. What does that remind you of? Shut up, I’ll tell you what it reminds you of, it reminds you of his stupid obviously Web-aligned lighter.

There’s a moment in MAG 187 where the recorders come up:

HELEN: The tape recorder feels more, um… awake.

ARCHIVIST: Oh. Oh, joy. Come on.

Jon’s “this may as well happen” response is understandable at this point, so one might miss how weird a reaction it is for him. This is the person who vibrated at a frequency that could shatter glass at the prospect of a mystery in MAG 180, and he barely even pauses here. It’s not just that he’s focused on Helen, because he doesn’t attempt to See what’s up with them after she’s gone. He doesn’t even sound interested. It’s almost identical to this moment in MAG 136:

DAISY: She’s Web. Spider’s sneaky like that. Like that lighter you’re always using; where’d you get that?

ARCHIVIST: Mm. Good point. We should keep our eyes open. Anyways - How’s Basira doing?

In both cases Jon has someone point out that the obviously sinister object is sinister. He acknowledges it, doesn’t argue it, then immediately moves on and changes the subject. Not because he isn’t interested, but because the Web is keeping him from thinking about it.

There’s plenty evidence that the tapes are connected to Jon, sure. But given that the Web was the first power that marked him, I imagine they’re just a manifestation of the strings being wound around him.

(Not a S5 thing, but there’s also an interesting connection in MAG 123, where Annabelle Cane is looking for people to tell stories of traumatic things that happened to them for reasons that aren’t really that fleshed out in the statement itself. Pretty noteworthy given what the tape recorders are used for.)

Also. I mean.

I mean.

Just.

Just look at the logo. Look. Look at the logo. Guys look at the logo its--

[gretavansidecut]

Room to Breathe

Pairing: Josh Kiszka x Gender Neutral Reader

Word Count: 4,297

Summary: You're out at a crowded bar with the boys and start to have a panic attack from all the sensory overload and your crush Josh helps you through it

Warnings: swearing, alcohol use, general angst, detailed descriptions of sensory overload, anxiety, and spiraling negative thoughts. If you find any of these things to be triggering or otherwise upsetting, please proceed with extreme caution!

A/N:  So I haven't written a fic in like... God, six years maybe? But this idea popped into my head the other night and just wouldn't leave so I figured what the heck, why not give this writing thing another try? I had an absolute blast writing this, and I hope you all enjoy it!

     You held your head in your hands, trying your best to steady your breathing as you took refuge in the bathroom stall. The pounding, brain-rattling music of the honky-tonk was slightly more bearable in the relative quiet of the restroom, but you still found yourself grinding your teeth as the noise was beginning to get to you. Densely packed places were always a challenge; you weren't necessarily afraid of crowds, or claustrophobic, or anything like that, it was more that the combination of the overbearing noise and the feeling of being packed in like a sardine tended to make you a little... Panicky, to say the least. It didn't help that just getting into the bar in the first place nearly gave you sensory overload either. But you weren't about to bail early if you could help it, and you weren’t about to let a little creeping panic ruin a night on the town with the guys of Greta Van Fleet, especially not when Josh was the one who'd invited you to come along. Besides, you could handle a crowded, noisy bar for one night, right?

     The sudden slamming of the bathroom door made you jump in your stall, the rowdy voices of drunk patrons shattering whatever peace you'd had up to that point. You let out a heavy sigh, figuring it was for the best as you'd already been in there for at least five minutes. Any longer and the guys might've started to get worried, or worse, come looking for you. You emerged from your stall, ignoring the drunk people and their slurred conversation to your left as you washed your hands, and then taking a moment to splash some water on your face. Just the thought of going back out into the noise and crowd was enough to make your chest tighten, and you couldn’t help but feel a little pissed off at the current situation. You’d been looking forward to this night out for over a week; a chance to properly spend time with the guys outside of work after doing odd jobs around their studio for the last few months, and you’d especially been looking forward to spending some time with Josh. As much as you hated to admit it, you’d developed a little bit of a crush on him over the course of working at the studio, but you figured there was no harm in dreaming as long as you kept things platonic and professional. He seemed to enjoy your company and laugh at your jokes, and you definitely enjoyed his in return. 

     You let out another shaky breath, taking a few more seconds to steel yourself before heading back out there. You knew this place would be packed, and you’d been ready for it, honestly you had. But today had just been one of those aggravating days, the kind where every little thing seemed to go wrong and rub you the wrong way. And when that happened, the panic would tend to creep in more easily, and with greater intensity. Still, you resolved to hold yourself together as best you could and not ruin the evening, glancing at yourself in the mirror to make sure you were presentable, before turning around and reentering the bar.

     All at once, the blaring music and roar of the crowd hit you, and you couldn't even hear yourself think. There were flashing neon lights hung up on every wall, a few TVs scattered here and there playing some sports channels, and people zipping about all over the place. It felt like your whole head was ringing, your eyes and ears begging for mercy already as you made your way back to the far corner of the room where the boys’ table was. You could eventually pick out Josh's boisterous laughter through the mayhem, and the four of them came into view just in time for you to see Josh lob a pretzel about 4 feet into the air, only for Jake to expertly and effortlessly catching it in his mouth. Danny and Sam both cheered at once, each of them swiftly downing a shot of tequila as Josh shared a high five with his twin.

     "Hell yeah Jakey, ten in a row, that's a new record!" He exclaimed in triumph, grabbing his glass and finishing what was left of his salty dog in one gulp. When he was done, he noticed you approaching the table and his eyes immediately lit up, though whether that was because of you or the sudden rush of alcohol you weren’t sure. Still, it was always nice to see him smile, even when you felt like you were on the verge of losing your mind.

     "Heeey, Y/N's back! Now we can get this party going again!" He slung an arm around your shoulder, pulling you close to his side as he grinned from ear to ear. In any other situation your hopeless crush on him would make you nervous if he got this close to you, but after your perilous trek to the bathroom and back a little contact from someone besides a total stranger was more than welcome.

     "Yeah, what took you so long?" Jake teased, popping another pretzel into his mouth. "We were starting to think you'd fallen into the sewers or something!"

     "No, that's what you thought Jake, me 'n Sam were betting they'd run off and joined the circus!" Danny added with a grin, his words slightly slurred from the tequila at this point.

     You swallowed tightly, flashing them a half-forced grin as you shook your head. “Guys, c’mon, be reasonable here, it was nothing like that... What really happened was an alligator popped up out of the toilet and we had a riveting conversation about quantum physics and string theory.”

     The guys erupted into laughter; Jake covering his mouth so he didn’t accidentally spit out his pretzel, Josh cackling to your left, Sam almost choking on his beer, and Danny holding his face in his palm as he snickered drunkenly. Even in your heightened state of anxiety, you couldn't help but genuinely laugh along with them in the moment. After all, even in a stressful situation the guys were still a hoot to be around. They each had their own oddball sense of humor that made you, a fellow oddball, feel right at home with them. And the fact that Josh's arm was still wrapped around your shoulder was pretty nice too. It was almost enough to make the blaring noise and packed-in-like-sardines feeling of the bar bearable... Almost.

     You were able to keep it together enough to have another round of drinks with them, finding solace in a simple vodka cranberry as the guys got drunker and more boisterous. Danny and Sam decided to have an arm wrestling contest, which Danny won quite easily given his drummer's arms, though that didn’t stop Sam from challenging him to a rematch, and still losing, five more times. Then Jake ended up slipping into his Oliver Reed impression, made all the more credible in his intoxicated state, and he began to ramble on about how wild and wonderful the filming of Tommy had been. Josh of course piped in when he could, commentating on Danny and Sam’s contest like a sports announcer and slipping into his own goofy voice as he ”interviewed” Mr. Reed. If this were happening anywhere else, literally anywhere else besides an overcrowded bar in the most overcrowded part of Nashville, you would've been having the absolute time of your life. But instead you found yourself getting more and more tense with each moment that passed by, the pounding noise and mass of shifting bodies behind you making your pulse race and your head ache. Your drink had done absolutely nothing to calm your nerves, and not even the continued feeling of Josh's arm on your shoulder seemed to help, and you were starting to resent the fact that you couldn't even enjoy that.

     You finally hit your limit when you felt the sharp point of someone's elbow jab into the middle of your back, and you flinched hard away from the source of the sudden contact. You could feel Josh’s arm tighten around your shoulder slightly, and everyone's heads whipped around to see a young woman, clearly drunk and looking very apologetic.

     "O-oh shit, I'm so sorry sweetie!" She slurred out, steadying herself on her feet. "Didn't mean t'hitcha! Jus' tryin' to get s'more drinks for my table!"

     The guys all nodded, assuring her it was and honest mistake and she gave them all a smile and a wave as she staggered off towards the bar. You, on the other hand, couldn’t even bring yourself to look at her, your eyes locked on an empty glass on the table as the ringing in your head became unbearable, every nerve and muscle in your body suddenly taut like a bowstring. The guys kept talking, though what about you had no clue, unable to make out what they were saying as your own pulse pounded in your ears. In the back of your mind you thought you could feel Josh's thumb rubbing gently against your shoulder, almost in a soothing kind of motion, but you honestly couldn't be sure right now. Every molecule in your body was struggling to keep it together as you quickly spiraled into a frenzied panic, and the only thing you were absolutely positive was true was that you had to get out of there fast.

     "Hey... You alright?" Josh's voice was suddenly clear and crisp in your ears like a bell, and it was enough to snap you out of your spiral for just a second and address the table. Though the way Jake, Sam, and Danny were looking at you expectantly made you feel like you wanted to run and hide under a rock. If there was one thing you hated more than having a breakdown in public, it was people knowing you were having a breakdown in public.

     "O-oh yeah, I'm good! Sh-she just startled me is all..." Your voice trailed off, and you swallowed dryly as you fought back tears. "I... I'm just gonna s-step outside for a second and get some air, yeah?" You said with a plastered-on smile, doing your best to not let them know anything was wrong as you reluctantly wormed your way out of Josh's grip and made your way towards the nearest door. You pushed your way through the crowd, ignoring the protests as you bumped into several people along the way, struggling to focus long enough to make it to your goal. You could feel your throat tightening, hot tears stinging your eyes as shame and embarrassment crept into your panic stricken mind. ‘Seriously? You couldn't even handle one night out in a crowded bar? You just had to let your sort-of-crappy day get to you and ruin everyone's night, didn't you?’

     Finally reaching the door, you stumbled out of it, desperately trying to catch your breath as you welcomed the sudden rush of fresh air. Unfortunately, in your panic, the door you ended up choosing wasn’t the one that led to the bar's outdoor area like you thought, but the front door, and you suddenly found yourself adrift in the churning tide of rowdy, drunken humanity that was the Broadway strip on a Friday night. You didn't even bother trying to hold the tears back at this point, completely overwhelmed and hyperventilating as you found the quietest spot in sight, an empty doorway on the other side of the bar's front windows, and sank to the ground. You hugged your knees tightly as you brought them up to your chest, shaking as you buried your face in your arms, the blaring noise, blinding lights, and sheer presence of the crowd causing you to shut down on the spot.

     The feeling of a hand on your shoulder jolted you out of your stupor, and you scrambled away from the touch as fast as you could with a startled scream. You were fully prepared to yell at whatever stranger had just touched you, because the last thing you needed right now was some rando putting their hands on you. To your mix of shock and relief, it was Josh's face that you saw, his eyes a little wide as he held up both of his hands in a defensive manner.

     "Easy Y/N, it's just me, it’s Josh!" He said as softly as he could while still being audible over the throng of the crowd. You couldn't find it in you to respond, just staring at him like a deer caught in a car’s headlights as your body started to shake uncontrollably. You suddenly realized there was, in fact, something you hated more than people knowing you were having a breakdown in public, and that was your goddamn crush knowing that you were having a breakdown in public. In the back of your panic-stricken mind you wondered, if you just stayed still long enough, whether Josh would just turn around and leave you alone. You realized just how futile that thought was when he did quite the opposite and extended a hand out to you.

     "It's pretty intense out here. Let's go find a quieter spot, alright?"

     The rest of your body still shaking, you nodded your head eagerly, accepting his hand as he pulled you up off the ground. Once you were standing, he let go of your hand and wrapped that same arm around your waist, pulling you in close to his side as he cocked his head in one direction.

     "You're ok, just stay close to me, I'll get you out of here."

     You hastily nodded again, unable to make words or maintain eye contact as you turned your gaze to the concrete below you and let Josh guide you through the sea of bodies. It felt like you were in there forever, the crowd shifting all around you, and any time you felt someone get too close, your body began to lock up and freeze. The only thing that kept you upright and moving was Josh's arm curled around your side, keeping you grounded as he led you away from the worst of the crowd. Eventually it dawned on you that the number of people around you were thinning out, the noise getting less and less intense as Josh led you up a street and then some kind of steep ramp. A cool rush of air and the sudden smell of water hit your nostrils and you glanced upwards to get your bearings just in time to realize that Josh was leading you over the river on the pedestrian bridge, towards the eastern side of the city and away from the bedlam of Broadway. You were about three quarters of the way over the bridge before he pulled you off to the side, leading you right up to the railing where you could clearly feel the breeze. The cacophony you'd just escaped from was still very much audible from this distance, but you found its volume to be much more bearable now. There was also plenty of room out here, as well as far fewer people, and for the first time since you'd entered the bar earlier that night, you felt like you could finally breathe.

     You leaned forward, bracing yourself against the railing as you took deep breaths in through your nose, before slowly exhaling through your mouth, and you could feel your body ever so slowly start to relax more and more with each one you took. Josh was quiet for the time being, his hand moving from your side to your back and rubbing up and down in a soothing motion while you caught your breath. Despite feeling calmer, the tears were more difficult to stop, anger and embarrassment at yourself nagging you in the back of your mind, unable to shake the feeling that you'd just ruined whatever fun he'd been having that night.

     You felt something soft touch your arm and you looked up to see a packet of tissues in Josh's other hand as he offered them to you, still silently rubbing your back. You happily accepted them, tearing the plastic open and grabbing a couple before reaching up and wiping your face, your breath still hitching here and there as you tried to steady yourself mentally. After a few more moments of quiet you finally heard Josh speak up, his voice soft and concerned.

     "How're you doing? Any better?"

     You bit your lip out of nerves, nodding as you finally worked up the courage to look him in the eye for the first time since leaving the doorway by the bar. You were expecting to see anger, annoyance, judgement; honestly all the things you felt about yourself right now reflected back at you in his face, but instead you saw nothing but sympathy and concern painted across his features. In any other situation you'd be positively swooning over how he was looking at you so tenderly. It was another couple moments before the ability to speak finally came back to you, and you let out a heavy, shaking sigh.

     “Y-yeah I… I’m alright now…. Thanks.” you trailed off, trying to swallow down the shame that had been slowly creeping into your mind. “I… I’m so sorry about this… I d-didn’t mean to ruin everyone’s night.”

     “Ok, first of all-” Josh said in a calm but firm voice, his palm on your back pressing into you a bit more and pulling you closer to him. “We’re not gonna do that tonight, alright? You didn’t ruin damn thing, you had a panic attack and that’s not your fault.” It took everything in you to not star crying again when he said that, though at least this time it would've been because you were touched by his concern and not because you were upset.

     “And second, I should be the one apologizing to you. That street can be really intense if you’re not ready for it, and I should’ve checked with you ahead of time that you were. I never would’ve picked such a crowded spot if I knew that was gonna be an issue for you.”

     You sniffled a little bit, shaking your head as you slowly pulled yourself together. “I-it’s ok, really... Like, normally I can handle crowds and loud noise, but being packed in like that, with everyone bumping into you and all the noise and lights on top of it... that can just be too much for me to handle sometimes, you know?” You watched as Josh nodded along to what you spoke, indicating that he was listening, and knowing that he wasn't going to judge you for how you reacted was helping the residual panic and shame you still felt fade away.

     “And then on top of that, today just like.... kind of sucked, in general. I mean, nothing terrible happened or anything, but it was a whole bunch of little things, one after the other. I totally fucked up making breakfast, my cat threw up on my favorite pair of shoes, I got a parking ticket for a really ridiculous reason, and I have some other work deadlines coming up that’re stressing me out, so I already wasn’t in the best headspace to deal with all of...That tonight.” you gestured your hand back towards the direction of Broadway. 

     "Then when that chick jabbed me in the back it just... snapped something inside me. I-I know it was an accident, and I don’t blame her for what she did, but it honestly startled me so bad, and I just lost it..."

     "I don’t blame you,” he replied sympathetically “That’s entirely too much shit to deal with in a single day.” 

     "And like... I-I know I could’ve asked for a raincheck, but I didn't wanna like, be rude or have you guys think I was blowing you off. Because I didn’t want to blow you guys off! Especially not for something so stupid..."

     "Hey, it's not stupid at all." He replied adamantly, giving your shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "Those kind of crappy days have a way if wearing you down way harder than you’d think." 

     You let out a breath you didn’t realize you’d been holding as it felt like a weight had been lifted from your shoulders. You’d been so, so worried that Josh was going to be angry, or that he wouldn’t have understood what had happened, as had been the case for you so many times before. His hand began gently rubbing your back again in a soothing motion, and the two of you slipped into silence for a moment, letting the cool breeze coming off of the river wash over you. Even with the music still pounding in the distance, you could hear the sound of the river rushing under you if you listened closely enough, and so you did, finding the sound incredibly soothing. It was almost hypnotizing in a way, and you weren’t sure how much time had passed before Josh spoke again, but when he did, you were a little surprised by what he had to say.

     “I know a couple smaller clubs on the outskirts of the city we could check out next time. They've still got all the good drinks and music, but they aren’t nearly as intense as that one was.” he suggested, flashing you a warm smile.

     “I mean, don’t get me wrong, those definitely sound like my kind of place. But you seriously want me to hang out with you guys again after that whole mess?”

     “Of course! So you had a bad night, it happens to the best of us. We aren’t gonna hold it against you. Besides, why wouldn’t we wanna hang out with someone as awesome as you?”

     You let out a small chuckle,  a smile tugging at the corner of your lips as nervous blush crept onto your cheeks. “Well, I’m not sure about awesome... but I’m glad to know you guys enjoy my company.”

     “What, are you kidding me?” he retorted enthusiastically, his dark eyes sparkling in the dim lights of the bridge. “You’re absolutely awesome! You’re so nice and welcoming to everyone, you’ve got an incredible sense of humor, great taste in music, and you are delightfully weird!” You were glad the lighting on the bridge wasn’t the best where you were standing, because your face was rapidly turning red as he kept showering you with compliments. 

     “Well, thank you.” You replied somewhat shyly, a grin spreading across your face as you found Josh’s good mood infectious, feeling much more at ease now than you had earlier. In a sudden streak of boldness you struck a small pose, with one hand framing your face dramatically. “But what, no mention of my flawless good looks?”

     You were just kidding around, of course, and Josh knew you were too. But even still, you couldn't help but notice the way Josh’s eyes widened and his smile twitched ever so slightly when you said that, or how he seemed to be blushing if the way his cheekbones suddenly appeared darker were anything to go by. 

     “I mean...” he began with a small shrug, his smile downright sheepish at this point “That’s so incredibly obvious that I kinda figured it went without saying. But they’re definitely a bonus!”

     You let out a nervous laugh, feeling your face burn from the sudden rush of blood to it, and you turned to face back towards the river. You couldn’t keep looking at him when he said that, not when he said it while he had his hand on your back, not when he was blushing while he said it, not when he said it so... so earnestly. You pressed into his side a bit more firmly, and you swore you could feel his heart beating faster in his chest.

     “Yeah, well... don’t sell yourself short, you’ve got a face that could give Errol Flynn a run for his money.” you half-teased, nudging him affectionately in the ribs with your elbow. He let out a small chuckle beside you, his arm still firmly wrapped around your shoulder and he gave your arm a soft, affectionate squeeze in return. The two of you said nothing for a moment, just enjoying each other’s company and touch as you both gazed out over the river, watching the lights of the city twinkle and glimmer on it’s dark surface.

     “Is... is it cool if we just stay up here for a little while?” you asked, suddenly feeling very physically tired after this whole ordeal. “I hate to just ditch the others and leave them in that bar, but I honestly don’t think I could handle going back in there tonight.”

     “Oh don’t worry, a bar is the best place we could possibly leave them.” Josh said with a chuckle. “But seriously, we can stay out here as long as you need.” he assured, giving you a firm hug from the side and flashing you a soft, reassuring smile. “We don’t have to go anywhere.”

     A sudden surge of warmth and fatigue washed over you, and you found yourself leaning more heavily into Josh’s frame, which he seemed to welcome, finally letting your head come to rest on his shoulder. Your eyes slipped closed for a second, and you took a deep breath before letting out a soft, contented sigh.

     “Thank you so much for everything you did for me tonight. I seriously can’t tell you how much I appreciate it.” He hummed softly in reply as he leaned back against you, the weight of his cheek suddenly pressing into the top of your head. 

     “Anytime, Y/N. I’ll always have your back.”