#and of course i won't talk about our coincidences.......

[jkvjimin]

(103/∞) the perfect nose for butterflies to land on it ♡ for @cosmicdreamgrl 🤍 | cr. qdeoks

[dduane]

Hi Diane!!

You answered an ask just recently wherein you talked about how the Writer Brain often is continually working "behind the scenes" in ways that don't necessarily manifest as words on a page. As someone in the midst of two year (and counting) writing hiatus, this was such a helpful reminder. I'm becoming a mature enough writer to recognize when I'm simply too exhausted to enjoy the the fun parts of writing, and to trust that the magic will come back when I'm ready for it.

The very next day, because OF COURSE it was the very next day, you won't be surprised to hear I had a revelation. I was playing a video game that has nothing to do with anything in my writing world, when a full and complete fix to a plot problem I *hadn't even realized I'd been having* hit me like a truck.

It was a beautiful moment. The whole third act outline changed into something emotionally coherent. And my guess, based on paying attention to your writing advice for some time now, is that my brain was secretly working on this plan the whole time. Even without going near a keyboard for ages. Maybe even while I was at work, or parenting, or sleeping.

That it happened during a moment of relaxation can't be a coincidence. I'm still not ready to return to writing, but when I am I'll have a reliable outline to work with, as well as a good deal of renewed excitement.

Thank you for sharing your experience with us so freely! We are so lucky to count you as a member of our community on this hellsite (affectionate). Thanks for being here :)

For whatever help I may have been—because you and your brain are plainly managing this perfectly well—you're absolutely more than welcome. :)

A continuing difficulty for a lot of writers these days, old or new, is that many of us are embedded in cultural matrices that insist that if something's not working, you should immediately do something about it to fix it. The pressure to Do Something about whatever's not functioning is incessant. (Just look around, for examples close to home, at all the advice on dealing with writer's block. Do this! Do that! Don't do this, do something else!... ad infinitum.) There's not a lot of acceptance of or even interest in advice that centers the idea of not doing anything: of, in fact, consciously and deliberately, doing nothing.

It's a problem, because such cultural mindsets too routinely come to equate any form of "doing nothing"—even simply resting, ffs—as a form of failure. You gave up, you stopped fighting back, you surrendered, you're a loser! ...And people stuck in this way of thinking, even if they briefly try relaxing and letting go, tend to abandon it too quickly, well before it has a chance to work. Then they wander off muttering about how relaxation is a waste of time, they just need to work harder, fight more, keep banging their head into that wall until the wall gives...!

(sigh) It's frustrating to watch... and to be caught in. Don't think I don't occasionally stumble over/into this old calcified mindset myself, and have to remind myself to step back, sit still, be quiet and wait. Or to just go do something else, something as non-writing-adjacent as possible, for short periods. (It would profoundly embarrass me to have to admit how many useful realizations I've had while standing over the sink and doing the dishes. It's a lot more congenial when these insights arrive while cooking: but you don't get to pick and choose.) :)

Also: the realization that this solution happened for you while doing something recreational is extremely useful. Because the word can sometimes mean re-creation literally, as a refreshment or restoration of a malfunctioning, injured, worn-down or dog-tired mental or creative state. Which is why we need play... and the older and more "adult" we get, the more we need it. We need, literally, to recreate ourselves.

So just keep doing what you're doing. Or not-doing what you're not-doing. (snicker: this is veering toward the somewhat Zen.) Whatever: keep it up. :)

[drunk-person]

The Rumor (Modern Au) P.1

Pairing: Aemond Targaryen x cousin!reader

Summary: One of the most talked about gossips among the lower class servants in Kings Landing is the fact (or not) that Aemond Targaryen got involved with his cousin Y/n Targaryen when they were both teenagers. Mainly due to the fact that at the age of 17 she was sent to Old Town overnight. Some employees claim that Aemond was caught between her legs. Some say that, like her father, she had had a horrible fight with her uncle and uncle and was sent away. And other than that none of this happened, she just became interested in the course offered at the Old Town conservatory. But now five years later, Y/n Targaryen is back, and rumors haunt those who favor them.

WARNING: 18+ mdni! Smut, p in v, fingering, Oral Sex, no description for reader.

Author's note: No accurate update predictions because I need to write, correct, translate and correct again. All this in the middle of a boring adult job. (Adulthood kind of sucks) But I'll do my best to finish it and it won't be a long story.

A/n²: The next chapter is already written, just needs to be translated. I hope you like this little story 💕.

Word cont: 1.400 k

"Hey hey kings landing, to the gossipers on duty it seems that after almost five years in Old Town the Rogue prince's daughter is back in our society. She was seen at the black Water bay airport in the morning, has our dear Targaryen returned to to stay?"

❦❦❦

Aemond had been in a terrible mood all day, the people around him had already given up on getting close to him. According to Lizze, his secretary, he could very well bite anyone who got too close. The reason for the more bitter than normal mood, no one had yet understood.

-Mrs. Mayotte. - Aemond said with a cutting voice from inside his own office and Lizze made a face at Sana, Aegon's secretary, before entering the room.

Shortly after, she returned with a huge stack of folders in her hand and a look of disgust.

-That man was possessed by a demon last night Sana, this behavior is not normal even for him. - Lizze whispered to her indignant colleague, Sana just laughed while filing her nails and looking at things on the Internet, according to Lizze one of the privileges of being a secretary for someone who doesn't work.

Suddenly Sana's eyes widened when she saw something on her phone.

-Oh my seven. - She said in shock, pulling Lizze by the hand and dragging her to the end of the corridor where they could not be heard with the cell phone in hand.

-What is it?

-I think I understand why the man is breathing fire today. - Sana said showing her cell phone to Lizze with the article from the gossip site, which now contained a photo of Y/n at the airport, with her hair braided back, wearing a blouse with low sides, shorts and sunglasses.

Lizze rolled her eyes at her co-worker.

-Sana, these are just malicious rumors that spread around.

-Did her uncle send her to the other side of the country because of a rumor? - Sana raised her eyebrows.

-No, he sent her to study. - Lizze rolled her eyes. - Now enough of that.

-Lizze, do you think it's a coincidence that he arrives here breathing fire from his ears on the very day she returns to the city?

-Sana...

-Lizze, this is no coincidence! - She stated vehemently.

-Which is not a coincidence, ma'am. Heyors? - Came the cutting voice behind Sana and she felt her body freeze as she looked at Lizze with wide eyes.

-N-othing Mr. Targaryen. It's just... just... - She babbled in despair.

-Our grandmothers attend the same dance class. - Lizze spoke quickly in her colleague's place, and Aemond raised his eyebrows in disbelief.

-No matters of a personal nature during working hours. - He spoke in a sharp voice as he went to the elevator. - Cancel my appointments today, ma'am. Mayotte, I don't have anything important and I'll need to leave.

And before one of them could open their mouth he had already disappeared into the elevator. Causing the secretaries to let out a sigh of relief.

-See? - Sana spoke soon after. - It's not just a rumor.

❦❦❦

Aemond didn't even greet anyone before leaving the family company. He just went down to the parking lot, got in his own car and got out of there before he collapsed. It was as if his blood was boiling, he hadn't had that burning sensation inside him for about five years. And now there it was again, Aemond wanted to bang his head against the steering wheel.

The phone rang while he was stopped at the traffic lights, and Aemond eagerly picked it up and was disappointed to see "Floris" written on the display.

-Shit. - He mumbled before answering the call.

-Aemond? - Came the soft voice from the other side.

-Hi.

-Don't forget we're attending Cece's birthday today.

Aemond wanted to hit his head twice as hard. Cece Lanister's damn birthday was definitely the last thing on his mind at that moment.

-Ok, I'm driving. - He confirmed before hanging up with a scowl on his face.

❦❦❦

-Viserys! - Alicent squeaked, staring at her husband in despair.

-What do you want me to do? - Viserys asked tiredly.

-Send her back to Old Town!

-She is already 22 years old, she is of legal age, I can't just send her back there.

-Viserys, you know very well why she came back here, and I will not allow her to take my son down the wrong path.

-They were children Alicent. - Viserys grumbled.

-Viserys they are 17 and 18 years old. They were far from being children.

-Alicent...

-No. - She replied. - She is just like her father, she has no respect for anything or anyone, I welcomed that girl into my home out of pity and how did she show me gratitude? Dragging Aemond along the wrong path. I don't want her anywhere near him!

-Alicent they are of age, we can no longer control what they do.

-Then we must be connivingwith this affront?

-They both probably don't even remember this anymore. It's been years, Aemond has found a girlfriend, finished college, and is working at the company. He's a responsible and mature man, he won't make the same mistakes again.

-And what about your niece? - She arched her eyebrow in irritation and Viserys let out a sigh of frustration.

-I haven't seen Y/n for as long as you, my wife, I can't know, but I'm sure that her time in Old Town as you requested helped her understand that what happened between her and Aemond was wrong.

-I hope so. - She grumbled and left her husband alone.

❦❦❦

Y/n smiled as she walked down the flour street, she missed being home so much. She looked at the Visenya Hills coffee shop and couldn't help but smile even more, the number of times she went there with Aemond wasn't even measurable.

She decided to go into the café and out of sheer nostalgia, she didn't even look at the menu, she just ordered the same thing she always ordered when she went to the place. As soon as she received the order and brought the straw to her lips, a flood of memories came with her and she almost moaned with satisfaction.

-Y/n Targaryen. - Came the execly sweet voice from behind her and Y/n turned around smiling.

-Cece Lanister.

-How long ago, I found out that you came back this morning. - The girl smiled hugging her and Y/n returned the gesture. - How was it in Old town?

-Definitely dull when compared to Kings Landing. - Y/n said rolling her eyes.

-Well, I need your new number. - Cece said, handing the cell phone to Y/n, who smiled at her and typed her own number, saving it with a heart on the front.

-Okay, then call me so I can have yours.

-You totally need to come to my birthday party tonight. - Cece said with a big smile. - It will be your official return to society.

-Oh Cece, I'm so tired from the trip. -Y/n gave the excuse, she wasn't tired. She just had plans to look for someone else.

-You need to go Y/n! Everyone will be there!

-Everyone? - She arched her eyebrow.

-Yeah. - Cece said, pulling out the vowel. - Even Helaena told me that she would go at least for an hour.

Y/n's eyes brightened. If Helaena would be there, he would be there too, he would never let his sister go unaccompanied to an event full of potential idiots.

-Well, I'll try to make an effort. - She smiled sweetly with a hint of mischief in her eyes.

-I'll wait for you! - Cece said ordering her own coffee while Y/n went out into the street again.

She drank her coffee while smilingly observing everything around her, until she passed a magazine stand and saw the cover of one of them.

Targaryen and Baratheon close to announcing engagement?

With a huge photo of Aemond next to Floris Baratheon. Y/n's blood boiled in her veins when she saw that, engagement. Aemond wouldn't be betrothed to some Baratheon bitch if she had a say in the matter, and she most certainly had a lot.

The smile slowly returned to her lips as she looked towards a store window and saw a short black dress that she was sure would look perfect with the heels she had seen two stores ago.

She would go to Cece Lanister's party, and she would go ready to take back what was hers, or she wouldn't be called Y/n Targaryen.

next chapter

[karasbroken]

This tiny moment is one that I completely misinterpreted for the first decade or more and I still don't know exactly what I think but I'm going to ramble anyway. I played with filters to make the tie more obvious, because for the longest time, I thought Moya John threw scissors and Talyn John threw rock.

And that makes sense, right? They had two different experiences while they were parted for several months, and that made them into two different people. He talks later to Aeryn about not being the same person, and that her feelings, "you're just like him, you are him" are wrong. So I never questioned when my dark DVDs and fuzzy TV made it look like they tied.

But then I saw the 4k versions, and I was watching on a good screen and I could slow it down and pause and replay, and nope! They are both clearly throwing scissors. And the whole beautiful symbolism falls apart. Why did they tie? Does that actually mean they are the same person? Why doesn't John or Aeryn truly seem to believe that?

Everyone will have their own opinions, but how I think about it now is that this was a promise from Talyn John to Moya John. Yes, they had different experiences. Yes, that means they diverged. Yes, being with Aeryn changed Talyn John in ways Moya John couldn't (yet) understand. Talyn John feels older, calmer, more settled and mature in a rather dramatic way to me. But the tie is a reassurance that they are still both John. That they can be made whole. That the core of who he is, the man that loves Aeryn and controls wormholes is still capable of being loved by Aeryn (and learning to control wormholes). It will just take time.

We aren't wholly our memories and experiences. Which is reassuring to me, as a person who struggles with long-term memory formation.

John was twinned. "Equal and original." They are both him. They were always both him, even if he doesn't remember what the other twin experienced (yet). Moya John and Aeryn both struggle to believe this, though, for similar but related reasons.

Aeryn can't believe that he is actually John because she is terrified of loving him. She isn't mentally strong enough (yet) to survive his loss again and she knows that John is about to throw them all into terrible danger. She tries to convince herself that he's just a copy because she has to for her own sanity (but ultimately, eventually, she gives in. He is John, she does love him, and she can't won't stop herself from wanting to be with him).

Moya John can't accept that he is the same as Talyn John because it's just too psychologically weird. He was in two bodies having two different lives, and the whole time he knew, he deeply knew that the other guy was with Aeryn. Because he would have upended the universe to make it happen with her, so of course he did. A lot of Moya John's irresponsible and annoying behavior can be explained by the constant maddening awareness that his life was in the middle of being stolen by himself. For his sanity he has to create some sort of mental accommodation to survive being twinned, and turning the other guy into The Other is how he manages it. And then the Other is gone and now he's on this long journey to recombine his two selves.

I think the tie is a promise that they haven't diverged too far. That they're still both him. John doesn't realize it yet, but he is already starting to reintegrate his two selves. We will see him eventually, slowly, recover all the memories and knowledge that Talyn John possessed, he will even join together with him physically (it's not a coincidence that he injured his head in the same place, leaving the same scar, when Einstein unlocks the wormhole knowledge). Only when his integration is complete can he fully move on, marry Aeryn, have their child, and move forward to the next stage of their singular destiny.

That unification is something John can't even imagine in this moment. But the tie, that's hope.

[dlscenarios]

Thief - Akira Kurusu/Ren Amamiya x Reader | Persona 5

I have started pretty much EVERY format P5R comes in & I have finished NONE of them—

Things started getting weird when the infamous transfer student came to Shujin. He was the talk of the school. Everyone would whisper about how he's a criminal, how he "definitely killed someone", that he was "involved in drug deals."

When he walked into your homeroom class, you couldn't pull your eyes away from him. He didn't look like someone that would commit crimes.

Soon after, word got around that he and renowned troublemaker, Ryuji Sakamoto, had gotten in trouble with Kamoshida. Days later, a bright red card was plastered across the school. You took one off of the board and read it.

The note stated that whomever wrote it knew of Kamoshida's crimes and would make him pay for his sins. Putting the card into your bag, you walked away only to notice the transfer student, Ryuji, and Ann Takamaki whispering to each other. You sped away before they could notice you.

Everyone knew Kamoshida was evil, but the day he burst into the gym and confessed caught everyone off guard. This started talk of the "Phantom Thieves" being real.

Before leaving the gym, you approached the group of misfits, tapping the transfer student's shoulder. You asked him to meet you on the roof after school, which he agreed to.

You paced the roof in circles until the boy came through the door. After exchanging hellos, the two of you sat at the group of desks.

"We haven't officially met yet. My name's Y/N." You started, fidgeting with your fingers.

"I'm Akira. Nice to meet you." He gave you such a sweet smile. It was hard to believe this was the guy students were weary of. "I have a feeling you didn't want to meet here for just introductions, right?"

You shook your head, "No. It's about Kamoshida."

Akira perked up, adjusting in his seat before nodding for you to continue.

"Those cards from the other day. Signed the 'Phantom Thieves of Hearts'. Were they from you? I saw you, Ryuji and Ann talking close by. Plus, word is that Kamoshida wanted to expel you right before those cards showed up," You paused to pull out the calling card you had in your bag, "It says that they will make him confess his sins. The next day, he didn't show up to school and then today, he confessed to everything."

"Maybe the timing was just a coincidence." Akira responded, briefly glancing at the card.

"But it's suspicious! You showed up and it was like Shujin got flipped upside down! Kamoshida's been abusing students for years and if anyone opposed him, he ALWAYS won. Then you came and, magically, Kamoshida crumbles. It's too strange to be a coincidence."

Akira smirked.

"What if I WAS involved? You didn't want Kamoshida to stay the way he was, did you?"

You jumped out of your seat, "Of course not! I'm glad he's getting locked up! But...if you ARE a part of the Phantom Thieves, I won't tell anyone. I'm your ally."

Akira stood. "In that case," he gently placed his hand on your head, "Glad to have you on our side, Y/N."

You turned your head, "Yeah yeah. Just let me know if there's anything I can do to help you guys."

~

After that rooftop encounter, you grew closer to Akira, Ann and Ryuji. You even grabbed the attention of Mishima, who asked if you could assist him with his Phantom Thieves website. You were there to greet the new thieves as they joined the squad. Akira had even asked you to hang out with him one-on-one numerous times.

Slowly but surely, you've begun to consider the band of misfits your friends.

One night, you were at Leblanc after Akira called, wanting you to try the coffee he'd learned to make.

You sipped, careful not to burn your tongue, and hummed. "It's delicious. You're getting better at this, 'Kira."

The black-haired boy smirked, dramatically posing.

"Guess you could say I've stolen your tastebuds."

You burst into laughter, grabbing onto the bar as to not fall off of the stool.

"That is the dumbest thing you've ever said to me!" You took a breath, trying to steady your voice, "Aren't criminals supposed to be sly?"

Akira shrugged, "Maybe I'm just special."

You rolled your eyes. "Yeah, maybe you are."

The thief leaned on the counter, looking at you with a soft gaze.

"You're special too, you know?"

"How?"

"Let's see. You were the first person to know we were the Phantom Thieves, you are willingly helping us even though it's dangerous, and you-" He gently booped your nose, "-are the cutest person I've ever met."

"Mmh." You leaned on your arm, ignoring the heat rising to your cheeks. "You're cuter. Do you know how many students say you're the hottest criminal they've ever seen?"

Akira lowered himself to your level, looking into your eyes. "They don't have a chance with me though. I've already got someone I'm interested in."

"And who is that?"

"You." Akira rose to place a kiss to your head before walking away, taking off his apron. You buried your face in your arms.

Suddenly, you perked up and called out to Akira.

"Maybe you ARE a thief, because you've stolen my heart!"

[tsukiusagi180]

stan x reader x Ford ??

You had met Stanford at university, he was quite an intriguing student you must admit. I guess what made him intriguing to you was his hands, yes he had 12 fingers instead of 10 but you couldn't help but find it cute.

Then you started to get closer to him, it all started with Fiddleford, he had understood what was happening after all Stanford was in the science branch and you? Well you were quite literary so to constantly come across him it wasn't a coincidence.

Luckily for you Stanford finally made the first move, he came to see you one afternoon while you were on campus relaxing

Hi, uh, I noticed that we often meet, but uh, it seems to me that we're not in the same class?"

Seeing him talk to you surprised you, you didn't think he would, honestly he didn't think so either

"Hi, I also noticed that we often meet but no, we don't have a common class"

“Oh uh okay thank you, I won’t bother you anymore”

"Wait! Don't you want to sit down, can we talk?"

You asked the question so insecurely that a blush appeared on his cheeks.

“With pleasure, but can I ask what your name is?”

“My name is (Y/n) (L/n) but call me (N/n)”

“Enchanted Stanford Pines (N/n)” “

Nice Stanford”

“Ford”

“Ford?”

“You can just call me Ford”

“Very good Ford”

And that was how your love story began, you were both very happy, a perfect dynamic, then when you finished your studies you both went to live in Gravity Falls, for a time it was really happiness until at a certain time.

“Hey Sixer.”

"Bill! I told you to leave me alone"

“Oh but you are my muse, I won’t leave you alone”

“Our agreement no longer holds, I’ve put lead in my head, you can’t go in there anymore!”

“Fine, but what would you say if I decided to play with someone new, like oh hey why not (Y/n)?”

At this precise moment Stanford was frozen, he couldn't allow Bill to let you hurt yourself, you had nothing to do with all of this.

“Leave her out of this Bill, she has nothing to do with it”

“Oh oh it looks like I touched a nerve, know south you won't be able to protect her forever”

Without saying another word as Bill disappeared, Stanford was left speechless. He had to protect you at all costs, that's when he had the idea to ask his brother to come, Stanley, he could take the newspapers with him and prevent Bill from hurting you any more than he had planned.

A few days later you heard the doorbell ring, when you opened it you saw Ford, that's what you thought at first sight before he arrived pulling his double into the house.

"Stanley! Aren't you being followed?" "

What? Sorry? It's been years you haven't given me any news and suddenly you bring me here for no reason, you attack me and don't introduce me?"

You moved closer to them by putting your hand on Ford's shoulder just to reassure him, you remembered now it was your lover's twins. He had already spoken to you about it but very vaguely, you knew it was a sensitive subject so seeing him here was more or less impressive.

“Sorry, Stanley this is (Y/n) my partner, (Y/n) this is Stanley my twins”

“Nice to meet you (Y/n)”

“The pleasure is all mine”

You really thought it, Stan was someone who cared about doing well, at least he tried, you started to like him as friends of course you were madly in love with Ford, then one day when he came home from winter from work you saw Stan in the kitchen crying. You felt that something was wrong but you didn't want to believe it, you tried to convince yourself that it wasn't Ford.

"Hey Stan, is something wrong?"

“I- (Y/n) I’m terribly sorry but Ford and I had a big argument and and.”

A sob escaped his mouth as he started crying again, wanting to reassure him you took her in your arms rubbing her back hoping to make her feel better

“Shh, it’s not serious whatever happened we can figure it out together.”

“Ford has crossed the gate”

You froze.

Damn.

Ford went through the gate.

You may not have been a scientist but you knew what this portal represented, it had gone to another dimension and God only knows if it will ever come back Your eyes started to water and your vision became blurry, then you punched Stan. It happened on its own, you knew it wasn't intentional and he blamed himself but holy shit the man you loved was in another universe?

“Forgive me, I’m really sorry, I uh, I’m going to repair the portal, I swear, I’m going to do everything to bring him back.”

“It’s in my best interest, Stanley.”

He started working on the portal, you obviously helped him as best you could, at the beginning the cohabitation was going extremely badly due to the fact that you were angry with him and then after a while you ended up less TO DO. While Stan started to secretly jealous Ford for having you, you were so fucked up, you were beautiful smart funny and so many things in his eyes that you were just perfect Over the years you too began to fall in love with Stanley, you knew that he was not Stanford and that he never would be but you loved him for who he was, when the twins they were very surprised to see that their grunkle had a wife.

Everything was going extremely well, until Ford came back.He stood there in front of you, in front of you, the one who was supposed to be his girlfriend, the one he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. He hit Stan because it was dangerous then he looked at you

“(Y/N), did you stay?”

“Of course yes, with Stan we did everything to bring you back”

He grimaced at the thought, you had spent 30 years with his flirty twin brother?

“I’m so happy to be back, I love you”

You looked down and so did Stan, then he understood, you heard surprised voices behind you, it was the twins who also understood very quickly

“(Y/n) you were dating Grunkle Stan!”

Mabel shouted almost as if it were obvious

“So, now you’re dating my brother.”

"I, Ford listen to me I'm terribly sorry I waited for you for years believe me but"

“No need to justify yourself (Y/n), I suspected that after 30 years you would have started your life again, I just didn’t think it would be with my brother.”

He decided to leave with the twins, remembering seeing you in a parallel dimension.

He remembers remembering very well. He traveled through dimensions and universes, then he fell into a universe where you both lived in Gravity falls, he saw you happy full of joy with himself, you were both in the garden enjoying summer to relax. It was this vision that allowed him to survive all these years, a better future for both of you.

Which does not exist in this universe..

[loquaciousquark]

when will eppie hawke and fenris meet tavish and astarion? (:

"And anyway, it won't be that bad. One last little Fade rift. We'll barricade it up as best we can, send a message to Skyhold, go home, and—"

One of the craggy footholds crumbles away beneath Hawke's foot, and it's only Fenris's quick hand that saves her from a plummet back down the side of the barren mountain. "Hawke, please."

"Please yourself. I said you didn't have to come."

Fenris throws her a longsuffering look, the flickering green lightning of the rift casting weird shadows over his eyes, but he doesn't let go of her arm until she's got both feet on solid ground again. "Just seal it and let this be done."

"My heart's only desire, lover," Hawke says, smiling, just as another pair of voices rises from the other side of the rift.

"Careful—careful! It shocks like the entire Hells are in there. Where's Gale?"

"Wherever Karlach dropped him, I suppose, with that little sprained ankle of his. No, I see them, they're almost here. Come away, darling. No need to get so dramatically close."

"This, from you?" says the woman, just as she and her fellow voice round the far edge of the rift. "Oh!"

"Well!" Hawke says almost at the same moment. Two of them after all: a short, slim woman with auburn hair pulled back in a low tail, and a tall, lithe man with hair as white as Fenris's and eyes that gleam like rubies. The man has a dagger drawn already, a thin smile playing over his face; the woman's fingers rest on her sheathed rapier, but her gaze is open, friendly. Hawke plants her staff on the rocky ground in as welcoming a gesture as she can manage. "Fancy running into someone like you up here of all places."

"I could say the same," the woman says. The green rift, still hanging between them and stretching a good twenty feet into the sky, gives an ominous rumble. "Our wizard's been fretting about magical disturbances along the city's borders for weeks. He finally traces the source to this location, and here you are at the heart of it. I'd like to believe it's coincidence."

"Alas," Hawke says, "one of my greatest faults is a terrible habit of being around when things begin. Fenris can attest to that better than most." She lays a hand on Fenris's shoulder, but he's stiff as iron, eyes glued to the man's dagger, and he's reached back for the hilt of his greatsword. "I'm Hawke, by the way."

"Call me Tav."

"And I'm Astarion," the man says grandly, accompanied by a wholly unnecessary flourish of his dagger. "We're here to steal the world."

"Save it," Tav says sharply.

"Of course, my dear. Save the world. What did I say?"

Fenris makes a short, disgusted noise, but Hawke's pleased to see he's let go of his own sword. She doesn't think this Astarion is going to kill them—not easily, anyway—and she likes the look of Tav despite herself. Both of them quick on their feet, she thinks, both moving gracefully with an innate, self-assured balance. As Tav steps around the rift Astarion moves with her like water, without even needing to see where she's gone. It reminds her a great deal of Fenris and herself, actually, though Hawke would give an arm to trust her own feet that much.

Fenris, it seems, has come to similar conclusions, and he rolls his shoulders as he releases their tension. Even his voice has lost its nascent fury, which for Fenris is practically friendly in situations like this. "The rift is dangerous. We will guard it until the Inquisitor can seal it permanently. Be on your way."

"Inquisitor?" drawls Astarion with that same, thin-lipped smile. "Sounds like someone from dear Shadowheart's former enclave, don't you think?"

"I don't think they're Sharran," Tav says. "Are you?"

"What a speculative look you've put on," Hawke says, delighted. "I haven't the faintest idea what you're talking about. Unless you'd like me to be Sharran, in which case, I most certainly am and in fact have always been."

Both Fenris and Astarion roll their eyes—hilarious in its own right, but heightened by the clear antipathy still remaining between them. Fenris sighs. "Hawke—"

The rift explodes.

Green lightning shatters over the rocky cliff. The rumble bursts into a deafening roar; the faint breeze that had been dancing around them sweeps up into a hurricane. The air cracks and snaps with a sudden smell of ozone.

Hawke throws her hand over her eyes. She can't see—the wind tears her hair from its bindings and she can't see past the brilliant flashes of blazing green and she can't hear— "Fenris!"

Someone's fingers wrap around hers. She wrenches up her staff, calls for fire—for ice—for anything—but the rift has become a maelstrom and every scrap of magic sucks into the raging whirl before she can shape it. Her boots skid on the stone as she tries to brace against the inexorable pull, pebbles and rocks rattling along every step. She can't—the hand wrapped around hers has seized tight as a vise, but she's slipping anyway, and Maker, she can't—

A man's echoing voice, stripped bare of all artifice, wild with fear: "Tav!"

The wind dies. Not slowly, not gradually; it falls off like someone's upturned a glass over the rocky cliff, and Hawke's ears roar in the sudden silence. The wind is gone, and the rift is gone with it as if it had never been, the thunderous clouds that had been swirling above it already dissipating to glimpses of blue morning sky.

"Andraste preserve me," Hawke says, loud in the quiet, and she looks over to see Tav still crouched against the face of the mountain. One of Tav's hands clutches a dagger she'd wedged deep into a stony crevice; the other is still wrapped tight around Hawke's wrist where she'd pulled her away from the tempest.

No sign of Fenris. No sign of the other one—Astarion. A long white scrape in the stone marks where Fenris's sword had sought and failed to find purchase, disappearing at the precise place where the rift had torn itself open.

Gone. Gone, gone. Her heart hammers in her throat, and she indulges in thirty seconds of agonizing grief before she sets it aside, turns, and pulls Tav to her feet.

"Well," Hawke says at last. "Looks like it's just you and me, then. Ready for an adventure?"

"Yes," Tav says, her grip on Hawke's hand like steel, and her eyes blaze. "You and me. Let's get them back."

—

Everything hurts. Everything godsdamned hurts, and Astarion lets out a pained groan as he rolls to his back and drops his arm over his face. His ears ring like bells, and something twinges painfully in his left hip, and the inconvenient sun has decided to blaze right in his face and gods damn it, he'd known they ought to wait for Gale. Wretched wizard and his weak ankles. Wretched Tav and her complete inability—

"Tav," Astarion says, and sits bolt upright.

No Tav. Not even the dark-haired sorcerer with the wide smile. Just that taciturn warrior in leather and half-plate seated on a rock a few feet away, watching Astarion get his bearings, his greatsword slung across his knees and a deeply sour look on his tattooed face. The skies above them are clear and blue as a song.

No Tav. No Hawke. No rift. No plan, and no company besides an irascible stranger with the same sudden look of dawning horror.

"Venhedis."

"Shit."

[thatscarletflycatcher]

I have been using some dead times these past few weeks to go through/purge my latest Project Gutenberg raids, and there are two funny findings I have made:

1- Patricia Brent, Spinster (1918), by Herbert George Jenkins

In general a run-of-the-mill fake dating romance, short and innoffensive, but here's the thing, for anyone familiar with Dorothy L. Sayers' Lord Peter Wimsey

The love interest is a lieutenant-colonel Bowen (the story is set in the last year of WWI), wounded in action, D.S.O., M.C. now working at the staff

He's later revealed to be Lord Peter Bowen

He's the second son

His brother holds the title, and his mother, the dowager, is a kind, generous woman with a special link with her second son

Lord Peter has a sister too, Lady Tanagra, who helps the war effort with volunteers

Lord Peter has a man by the name of Peel on the same type as Bunter and Jeeves

Lady Tanagra is in love with a friend of Peter and hers, but nothing has come of it yet because he's of a lower class than her and not rich.

Lord Peter falls in love at first sight with Patricia, and proposes marriage to her many times

She refuses him as many times because of a sense of shameful gratitude and what his family would think

Of course the story and characters are different in several ways, and they are not as charming as Sayers', but the coincidences, the coincidences!

2- The Lonely House (1920) by Marie Belloc Lowndes (sister of Hillaire Belloc)

What I didn't know before downloading this book, is that it is subtitled A Hercules Popeau mystery. Yes, you guessed it, Poirot. But it predates Poirot for a little. The wikipedia page on Poirot puts it this way:

Poirot's name was derived from two other fictional detectives of the time: Marie Belloc Lowndes' Hercule Popeau and Frank Howel Evans' Monsieur Poiret, a retired French police officer living in London.[2] Evans' Jules Poiret "was small and rather heavyset, hardly more than five feet, but moved with his head held high. The most remarkable features of his head were the stiff military moustache. His apparel was neat to perfection, a little quaint and frankly dandified." He was accompanied by Captain Harry Haven, who had returned to London from a Colombian business venture ended by a civil war. [3]

But to say that the name was derived is to understate the situation immensely. Popeau has the physical shape, age, and way of talking and dressing of Poirot. Like Poiret, he's French (though still living in France; the plot of this story happens on a vacation he takes to Monte Carlo with... you won't guess... his friend captain Angus Stuart. A Scottish man, who, believe it or not, falls in love at first sight with our fair protagonist!).

Jules Poiret. Hercule Popeau. Hercule Poirot.

And like, wow, we complain about fanfic with the serial numbers filed off, but if you were into reading many novels in 1920s Britain, there were THREE eccentric, short, plump, dandy-ish, French speaking, British captain adopting sleuths around. We'd have three nickels. Historians 1000 years from now would believe there was a significant number of French and Belgian sleuths traveling England and Europe during the first half of the 20th century.

[misstrashchan]

So... Please tell me I'm not the only who has Thoughts. About Hayward's plan to recruit Shrue and specifically Carpenter's involvement in it because. Adjudicator Shrue has been working to legalise the Trawler-Man's people and was working with Mason and the current Katabasions. Before that they were trying to eradicate them, being the one to hire and send out Mercer and Gage with their own platoon of soldiers.

Which brings us to Faulkner and his murder of Mason and Thurrocks, his opposition to the Katabasions plans to legalise them and let the Withermark and their people be used as a weapon of war, and the story he spins pinning the murders on Carpenter, painting her as a traitor who was working with the legal authorities (aka Shrue) and undermining them:

FAULKNER:

I could never have imagined that the Legislatures could have won her over to their cause.

It was Sister Carpenter who alerted the government’s forces to the location of the Paraclete’s Gulch. 

(With a weary finality)

But they had, and of course her return was no coincidence at all.

It was Sister Carpenter who attempted to undermine our defences from within.

And after their attack failed, thanks to the combined strength of our disciples…it was Sister Carpenter who waited for a moment when the entire Gulch was gathered below in joyful celebration, and she assassinated Katabasian Mason and poor Sister Thurrocks.

(3x01 Something Dreadful Shall Arise)

And we know how strongly Carpenter feels about the idea that she would ever work with the government legislatures against the people who were once her family, how angry she is that Faulkner has written a story that has made that lie true:

CARPENTER:

You think I’d ever make peace with the people who did it? You think I’d work with them against my own family? 

Against my brother, my parents, my grandmother?

You think I wouldn’t have put a bullet in my own skull already if I had that weight pulling me down?

And I think it's important to point out that Carpenter has no idea why Faulkner killed Mason and Thurrocks. She doesn't know anything about Mason and the other Katabasisons plans to legalise their god by proving themselves useful as a tool in the war. But we do know that in the past, when the idea of legalising the Trawler-Man was brought up before in S1 by Paige as a more peaceful way forward, she loathed the idea as much as Faulkner:

PAIGE:

But this is what's absurd, isn't it? We're talking about ancient history. Laws from 50 years back, long dead legislatures.

They're accepting new faiths back into the canon all the time now. You just need to get your god's name on a petition and-

CARPENTER:

Listen to her, Faulkner. "Our god's name, on a petition". Well. Why shouldn't we be reasonable about all this? Now that the Peninsula is ready to hear our case?

Why shouldn't we go through the proper channels? Why shouldn't they be allowed to get away with it?

FAULKNER:

Carpenter, let's keep this quiet...

CARPENTER:

My parents were dragged in shackles to the Saints hydroelectric dam, a year after I was born. They were dragged there, they were sentenced, and they were tossed off the side into the churning waters.

And the last words that they ever heard were that they were to be devoured by something that they did not understand. Because the dam was new, and on unconsecrated, and because a god must feed, and because these false faith renegades from deep in the fens made for the easiest sacrifices.

I will not hear that the world is a better place than it was because there is process. I won't and I can't.

(1x12 And To Fight Is Just to Choke)

And now Carpenter is with Hayward, and are headed towards Adjudicator Shrue to try and work with them so they can help the Woundtree seem more sympathetic and have someone who can better tell their story, as it were.

Carpenter is still being hunted by Faulkner's schism, only being given a break by being in a no man's land, only now she won't be, as she's heading into Glottage.

CARPENTER:

(Staring out of the window)

If we stayed on this road heading south, we’d make it down to Marcel’s Crossing by nightfall.

Another day’s driving, and we’d be at the Paraclete’s Gulch.

(3x06 The Wise Man Knows the Taste of Rot)

So the next time Faulkner hears about Carpenter, it's going to be about how gosh, you were right all along Katabasion Faulkner, that devious Carpenter is working with the same government official who tried to eradicate us and who is now trying to legalize us to use as a tool in their war! (that's not even mentioning she'll be seen with Hayward as well, who as far as Faulkner is aware is the cop who was hunting them down back in S1) And Faulkner is just gonna be like

Wondering if he told his lie about Carpenter working with the legal authorities undermine the Parish of Tide and Flesh so convicingly that he made it into the truth and what's that? IT'S THE FOILING TO VAL AND THE LAST WORD WITH A STEEL CHAIR READY TO BEAT ME SENSELESS-

[kiwioala]

all (or most) of the books cellbit got from the strange guard today! they're definitely not all in the correct order but i did the best i could

Hello Cellbit. You don't know me but I know you.

Exactly. And you've been an amazing asset to our organization. Every single task we've assigned you was completed in a perfect state.

I know. I've been the one writing those tasks. From the beginning.

(there was a book in between here that said something along the lines of "but i never mentioned an invitation to presentation A0")

Ha, ha, ha! I see! You're right, Max was there, but because I told him to go. And he made a mistake, he died. Thus, leading you to get the invitation.

Don't you hate it? When no matter what you do, everything just falls apart?

Cucurucho is the perfect employee. The ultimate tool of the federation. Nothing he ever does is wrong.

I need you to do something tomorrow. Of course, I don't expect you to do it for free. I'll give you something in exchange. Information, of course!

What do you know about project A0? [...] It's a bit vague, but yes. You're on the correct path.

We used to be a small team, you know? Ah yes, everything was so much better back then. But something went wrong and we all paid the consequences. [...] A0 was our way to make it right.

Tomorrow everything will make sense. It's an important day for Cucurucho. But I say, it won't.

We will sabotage it. You already know where the conference will be, every password is different, and there will be multiple entrances to the hall. No one will notice you're there.

But we can't do it alone. You'll need to bring multiple people with you.

They'll present something and you all will need to steal it.

They'll also talk about something interesting, I invite you to listen to every single word. Once the presentation is over, move and don't stop.

That doesn't matter. You probably won't see me around that much. I prefer my office, you know? But I've seen and lived too much not to take this perfect opportunity. Cucurucho shall fail tomorrow.

Cucurucho asking all of the questions from the beginning, and all these people disappearing. You need to be a fool to believe it was all a coincidence.

We don't know. That's why you need more people with you. There's multiple people working for the federation, it could be anyone.

Unfortunately, no. The top ranks never leave anything to chance. Everything is changed, removed or put in pace for a reason. Nobody knows what the place looks like.

You seem to know about our ranks, huh? There is an even more secret circle who have access to that information. They all talk about it within the system, I don't know more.

This system only allows not only allows us to send messages, but it has many secrets.

I'm not sure, but the system is old. We've been using it for years. There should be a way in.

You're looking for some eggs, right? Their whereabouts are still a mystery, but they might have some clues.

The main channel is restricted. You need a user and a password. But to get one is difficult.

You do? Mh, that's interesting. I want to ask where did you get it, but I won't. If someone shares their information, it's almost suicide. But let me see what I can do to get you in. (second page: "i'll send you more information in the following days")

Just like the federation, I change the location of my office everyday. It should be no issue.

Tomorrow, in the afternoon. Be ready. I will see you but you must not see me. Stay hidden.

Hahaha, if you want to open, it just open it.

It was. I told you. I've been keeping most of it. They are all copies, though.

Sounds like a plan. But you shall remember, the moment you signed it, you chose to live with the burden of working for the federation. So make sure no one sees you.

[kanmom51]

JK 'Seven' Campaign Behind-The-Scenes Film

Hey all, coming a little late to the party here, but hey, it's the weekend.

Basically JK is gorgeous.

End of post.

Nah.

Not really done, although there isn't too much to say about this clip.

One thing we got was JK in a white singlet, which is one more parallel to JM's Face photo shoot campaign.

One more piece just falling into place.

Oh, and obviously we all saw this too, right?

You know, the mud on the pants.

Mud that happened to be all over JM's Like crazy MV.

Was JK also walking through the mud? Together with JM? Is that what JK is telling us? Just in case we didn't know who these lines were meant for:

Every night you spin me up high

The moon that embraces you

Let me have a taste

Give me a good ride

Oh, I'm fallin', I'm fallin', I'm fallin'

Oh, it's gon' be a good night

Forever you and I.

And the spikes.

Let's talk about the spikes a second.

Yes, they both have the spikes. JM on his actual skin, JK on his jacket.

I had a little interesting back and forth with @ffjj5 about this.

JM's spikes on his skin representing inner struggles, finding a way to be happy in his own skin, to find his real self and accept both his masculine and feminine sides. @ffjj5 bringing this up. How possibly it was his own skin that was the cause of most of his pain.

On the other hand, JK's spikes are on his clothes. And my thoughts were perhaps JK's spikes are on the outside, because the for him, the struggles were external. JK, the golden maknae, the one that at 15 was front and centre. the one with "the best voice", the one that BTS cannot do without, the one that literally EVERYONE had the highest of expectations of.

So JM was dealing with internal struggles - spikes on the skin.

And JK dealing with external demands - spikes on the jacket.

JM dealt with some of these issues during Covid and this came to be in Face.

And with JK, well, we've kind of seen him fighting back lately, perhaps his way of dealing with some of these external demands.

Oh, and did I mention the song playing in the background during JK's clip?

13

Just another coincidence?

Anyway, I love how every single thing JK does is thought out. Might not be that our interpretation is the one he was thinking of, but 100% there is a reason for every single thing he does.

One good thing coming late to the table is that I get to see what others are talking about before I open my big mouth. And well, how people twist every single thing they can when it comes to JM and JK.

How people take the "JK being JM's copy cat" and twist it all around to JK stealing JM's ideas? Plagiarism? Really?

Let's start with what plagiarism actually is:

Before people go open their mouths, maybe better they go check what the meaning of the words they throw around mean.

Did JK ever come out and say this was all his idea?

Did JK even talk about the photo shoot, the concept, the ideas, how he came up with them, and why he chose them?

Of course he hasn't yet.

So how the hell is this plagiarism?

The day JK says "this is all my original idea, omg what a surprise, didn't even know it looks so much like JM's", then fuck them haters, maybe then they could open their disgusting mouths and say that word. But see, that day won't come. So for now, they need to stop talking shit.

Did we forget this?

or this?

Now, this one isn't about JK stealing JM's ideas like some want others to think. It's about JK looking at JM, seeing him as someone who inspires him. Someone whom he admires. I saw @roo-bastmoon use the term muse, and I agree. JM is JK's muse.

So, the way I see it is that JK is mirroring JM.

Like I said, every single thing JK does means something. It's well thought out. The outfits, the muddy jeans, the silver rings, the spikes.

So, instead of seeing JK doing this, showing up styled so very similarly to JM's Face campaign, inspired by JM, mirroring Like crazy, not copying it, honouring it in his own way, people are taking that and making it out into idea theft.

The way JK is underestimated by this fandom surprises and angers me every single day.

Oh, and btw, JK's morning concert on GMA is sold out. Surprise surprise.

Oh, and one more thing:

Please don't hate me for this.

Yes, he's damn adorable, but please, that hair style... no more... Please.

[sugar-omi]

Kinda a request but also not: I would like to see jealous/possesive!MC bc I've been somewhat lurking in the tags, and I haven't seen any of it besides one person scraping an idea of both Cove and the MC being yanderes for each other. Like I'm insane about Cove, ik I'm not alone 😭.

It would be super interesting to see how a jealous/possessive!MC responds to Baxter during the step 3 prologue when he hits on Cove. 🤭

i can ramble abt this forever n ill prbly end making a part 2 to this lol pls even a few of my first post have a lotta jealous/possessive reader w a light yandere theme since im not completely in the scene but the possessiveness makes my brain churn LOL <333

tags : Suggestive, step 3, slight yandere theme, jealous/possessive reader

synopsis : you might be a bit too possessive with cove. but if he loves it and it sets the record straight, what's the problem?

when baxter starts making subtle flirtatious comments to cove, it makes your head spin

of course you know your boyfriend is attractive!

you've seen the way tourists look at him, and when you were still in school, you heard and saw the way other students ogled and giggled to each other about how cute cove is.

unfortunately, you can't just put a collar on him with your name on it. although a small part of you thinks cove might like it.

so even after baxter gets the idea that you're both taken. (not that it needed to be said with the glare on your face and the way you straighten up, pulling cove into you)

you still go to some lengths to make sure he remembers that

instead of just holding his hand, you'll pull him into your lap of you can, wrapping your arms around him and kissing his shoulder/neck occasionally

and if you're in cove's car after a dinner date, and baxter just happens to walk out of his condo where he can see you stretched over the middle console, tangling your fingers in cove's hair and kissing within an inch of your lives...

well that's just a coincidence <3

and if you're coming back from a trip at the beach that was getting much too steamy with your hand dipping under the leg of cove's swim shorts, and run into baxter on the way back

you won't easily admit that it brings you too much happiness to see cove fidgeting, itching to get away so he can be alone with you, and how baxter's eyes widen a bit at the blooming marks on cove's skin

if you can put the grudge aside enough to hang out with baxter during the "sightseeing" moment, then of course the topic of dating and crushes comes up

baxter smiles when you say that cove has only ever been with you, and vice versa.

of course you note the melancholy look on his face, and you feel like he's being sarcastic. or at least half-hearted in his well wishes

maybe the look on your face is a bit too much on the sour side, but you don't worry about that. "cove and i will certainly spend the rest of our lives together. our souls are intertwined after all."

your smile is a bit sickly sweet, but you move on anyway

I wanna talk a bit abt cove though...

yk how in step 2, if you punch/scare/cuss at jeremy, cove admits that he likes it?

I think he knows and sees how jealous, how possessive you are and feeds into it sometimes

it makes his heart beat (and even turns him on) that you're claiming him in any way

he sees how you pull him into your lap, or how you hold onto his arm, or how you kiss him even more when in front of baxter

he knows that when you ran into baxter, you find too much pleasure in how he squirms. and when you finally get back to his room for a little privacy, you're almost feral with how you touch and kiss him

he sees the way you leer and smirk when baxter walks by you two, and cove flushes because even though he's embarrassed bc baxter definitely saw you making out, he's also a bit... excited by it

it doesn't make sense, and it embarrasses him more just thinking abt it, but it just makes him feel so warm and tingly when you act like this that it overrides his shame <33

[consanguinitatum]

DT and His Appendicitis Scar: So When Did That Happen, Anyway?

I think I've mentioned in previous posts that I come across quite a few personal tidbits about a young DT while doing research for my sloooowly developing podcast. I think - well, I certainly hope! - I've also mentioned those sorts of tidbits are not going to be in the podcast? Well, if I haven't mentioned it before, I'm mentioning it now.

I see no reason to include these sorts of things because the podcast won't be about David's personal life (either then or now) but about his professional life. But while I tend to consider most of the theatre work he did between the time he entered the RSAMD Junior School at age 11 (and then got his Equity card and went on to drama school) and prior to his move to London in 1994 part of his professional life, technically they're really not -- because up until he took his first job in the 7:84 in 1991 for The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, he hadn't been earning a wage. And he's said in interviews Arturo was his first professional gig.

But I'm choosing to split hairs here. For the purposes of my podcast, I plan to treat his drama school years as if they were part of his professional career. I do this because I want to give them the same consideration and respect as the rest of his career, and feature them as the seminal experiences they were. They helped build the foundation of his professional life. Besides, he himself has said that attending drama school was essential for him to become the actor he wanted to be.

Because I consider them professional experiences (and because I'm acutely aware of his desire for privacy) the podcast will stay as much in the professional arena as I can possibly make it. He's talked quite a bit about this period of his life before, and I don't feel uncomfortable highlighting anything he's mentioned which happens to coincide with information I've discovered. Anything of a more personal nature which gets included in the podcast will have been measured against all of these factors before it gets added in. So all of that said, we come to an interesting bit of information about something David has definitely talked about and shared about it before - but which has no place in my podcast. So let's talk about it!

The lovely mizgnomer did a great little post a few years back which featured a photo set of David chatting about the near-death experience with appendicitis he had when he was a child (see below):

David's mentioned his appendix scar a few other times as well, and each time he speaks about it, the range of his age at the time of the attack varies by a few years - usually from age 8 to about 10. That's not surprising at all, of course, because for most of us, trying to narrow down some of the events in our childhood to specific time ranges can get a bit fuzzy. But I'm pretty sure I know when it happened.

Back in 1980, a society/organizational newspaper column entitled "Church News" appeared regularly in the Paisley Daily Express. This column often featured prominent figures in churches all over the community and were often framed as "One Week in the Working Life Of" these certain figures to debunk the myth that ministers only work on Sundays. One of these columns, published on 1 May 1980, featured a certain Rev. Sandy McDonald, the minister of St. Marks Oldhall.

That week, Sandy was busy recording a series of short services at his church which would later go out on STV. These were likely part of one of two religious television broadcasts he was a part of at the time: Late Call or That's The Spirit (both programs David has mentioned over the years).

The article goes on to document Sandy's busy week, speaking about his duties chairing festivals of praise and being principal speaker at church rallies and charity events. In between these duties, the article mentions, Sandy has to attend to all his pastoral duties, including meetings with his own church groups, and - and here is the important part - "visits to hospital patients (including his own son)."

The time at which this article was written implies one of Sandy's children was in the hospital in late April to early May of 1980. It's probably a safe bet to assume it was David: while it could have been either his elder brother or his elder sister, this does happen to fall pretty splendidly into the age range of "9 or 10" for his appendicitis scare which David has given in the past. David would have just turned 9 years old in mid-April of that year.

So there you have it. David was 9 years old when he suffered the bout of appendicitis - which burst, and brought him near death.

Thank goodness he made it!

[sheikahwarriork]

Dimileth fic, where they have to contend with Yandere Edelgard, perhaps?

i like this idea, especially with byleth being BE's professor 👀 also you didnt say WHO edelgard is yandere for..... so........ let's make both of them!

byleth saw dimitri in remire and felt in love with him right away; but the feeling was so strong for her (she wasn't used to) she chose the black eagles to avoid the strange feeling seeing the blue lions leader gave her. but still, she began to enjoy dimitri's company- their tea parties and trainings were her favourite part of the day. 

soon edelgard begins to notice something isnt right with her teacher and dimitri's relationship. [NOTE: this is an au where edelgard does remember her time with dimitri, due to me being a non-english first speaker with a localization that implies edelgard remembers dimitri and i prefer this >:D so el and dima chaotic siblings energy ahead]

edelgard notices her dear (step)brother is having funny feelings for her teacher- and she cannot allow him to have romantic feelings for anyone. after all, she is his BIG sister (let's all remember he's 6 month older than him!), so she must protect his innocence! and at the same time, her teacher is so naïve and unaware, she cannot let her fall into the arms of a pervert man such as dimitri!

so soon, everytime byleth invites dimitri to tea, the Boss Edelgard Theme starts.

Byleth: do you hear it too?

Dimitri, too distracted by the professor's smile: (the bells for our wedding?) no, what are you talking about?

Edelgard, ready to go full hegemon mood at seeing them together: <___<

The academy year keeps going on and the relationship between byleth and dimitri gets more ambiguous. edelgard can't keep but surprise them during their tea parties every time (byleth tried to host the tea parties in her room to keep edelgard away, with little success. everytime dimitri is red as a tomato- something byleth doesnt enjoy even a bit of course). soon, all the monastery starts to see edelgard as a third wheel to dimileth; but the only ones that don't realize are in fact dimitri (he keeps his feelings for the professor so well hidden no one will suspect of him- sylvain just likes to tease him, and the glarings from dedue are just a coincidence), byleth (she keeps her feelings for dimitri so well hidden no one will suspect of her- her father's teasing is just a coincidence), and edelgard (her feelings of jealousy for her teacher AND her little brother are so well hidden no one will suspect of her- hubert's warnings are exaggerated and dorothea is just trying to mess with her).

then, one day, the strangest thing happens. it's the day of the ball, and edelgard was expecting dimitri to ask byleth to dance (of course she was going to interfere- ahem to check proper distance between man and woman); but nope, claude of all people drags the professor on the dance floor. at first, edelgard is relieved, her teacher is going to be safe from dimitri's dirty mind, and at the same time her little brother (again, SIX month) won't lose his innocence. but soon she realizes something feels off. byleth doesnt seem to have much fun (she usually smiles more during the tea parties, edelgard notices), and dimitri is visibly nervous, he has broken 3 glass already, and is muttering something about a head and the gates of deirdru. and there, edelgard realizes. dimitri is the only one that can make her teacher smile so much, and byleth is the only one that can calm her little brother to his core. she smiles, and turns to dimitri: "have you heard about the legend of the goddess tower, bro?"

dimitri just broke the 4th glass. "i have. why?"

edelgard smiles mischievously. "as house leaders, we must assure no one break the rules and go to the goddess tower. it's forbidden, isn't it?"

dimitri is confused, and only nods.

"my feet are hurting, i need to sit down a bit. so you should go check nobody is there. and of course you should go with the professor, since you can't go all alone."

dimitri is blushing. "r-right. yes, the professor and i... should go immediately. to check nobody is breaking the rules, of course."

"of course."

byleth's dance with claude is over, and dimitri heads to her, but first, he turns to edelgard. "thank you, sis."

edelgard smiles. "it's fine, bro."

edelgard learnt to accept dimileth; but she still has an-almost heart-attack the day she sees byleth and dimitri holding hands. ("YOU'LL GET HER PREGNANT!! YOU CAN'T GET HER PREGNANT, YOU'RE BOTH TOO YOUNG!!! LET HER GO, DEE!!!!! AND HUBERT, YOU LET ME GO, I HAVE TO BEAT HIM AND BE SURE NO KIDS BEFORE THE WEDDING-")

the war doesnt happen, jeralt doesnt die, dimileth get married right after the academy year, edelgard plans the wedding and manages to stay calm thanks to dorothea, who started to kiss her everytime she was going into hegemon-mode, and everybody lives happily ever after :D

that was so random, but i had so much fun, thank you anon :'] idk if it was what you had in mind dear anon, but i hope you had fun, at least half of the fun i had writing this LMAO

also yes, edelthea propaganda at the end-

i love writing about el and dima chaotic siblings, and i can't be serious even for a sec so yes everything is going to be comedy/nosense about them :]

[thebestcrew]

Okay, maybe I won't make one BIG post. I'll do a couple of separate ones as they come to me.

First one that comes to mind of course centers around my daemons. Daemons are easy for me to talk about and everything about them comes so much more naturally and makes so much more sense.

TLDR: My daemons were precursors, and I think acted as building blocks and even the final bridge, of my endogenic plurality becoming traumagenic and my adventure into having OSDD

I do believe that I was predispositioned to plurality because of my neurodivergancy and perhaps trauma and escapism related to it. But, I don't think I realized just how close I was to being an OSDD system until my daemons started to multiply.

When I started to gain multiple daemons, I thought it made sense. I wasn't a CDD system so I didn't have alters splitting during those couple of years when I was under severe stress and almost daily trauma. I had daemons, so my daemons were splitting.

My daemons are aspects of myself. Facets almost. They are the personification of different thoughts and traits that I have. So when I needed things most, they would appear to try and fill that need. I don't think it clicked just how serious it was though until I got Lynnette.

Lynn was without a doubt the most intense daemon I had. I considered her the bulk of my subconscious. The daemon who was tired of my shit and was going to get through to me. She was brutal. She was cutthroat. She and Cayde *hated* eachother and often fought. She was the closest thing to a persecutor I had ever had.

But she also wasn't one in many ways. She never sought to hurt me or put me in danger. She realized that the ways everyone else was helping me was not actually solving anything, so she was the first one to stop playing nice. She was the embodiment of my intrusive thoughts, but she also countered them with logic. It was a really interesting dance.

But anyway, I ended up with 4 daemons who also ended up becoming what we called a daemon system. They had a single daemon persona they would take when synced together.

This daemon was named Æshe.

Which, is a CRAZY not coincidence becaus the very first member who was here because of trauma was Ashe.

But when I think back on it, yeah, my brain at the time hadn't quite reached the threshold of splitting off completely separate individuals. Alters just weren't possible yet or perhaps wasnt needed. So it was doing what it could with what it was familiar with at the time, which was using my daemons to cope. My sense of self held out as long as it could until one day it just flipped and boom, what was likely only ever C-PTSD growing up got kicked up to the next level.

I think that if I wasn't already hardwired for plurality at that point I don't think I would have developed OSDD later on in life. It wasn't a huge leap, but it still took a LOT before things trickled in from one to the next.

The headmates I had prior to my late in life trauma were from daydreams and hyperfixations. They were not tied directly to any specific or ongoing trauma. If they were, well, it was never apparent. They came and went with only minor passive influence. They behaved and felt *so* different than Ashe and the others. I cannot even describe it without doing it a disservice. But it's so potent and so obvious.

My daemons have been the most consistent mental companions. But, when the BIG STRESS happened, they disappeared. I could not reach them and if I did, they were so weak and frail that Cayde could do little more than flutter our chest (the location I associate with him) and that was it

Which makes SO much sense. Because one, yes stress and trauma and heavy dissociation and emotional disconnect will do that. But Ashe was still here and FAR more prominent than before my daemons disappeared. Which, if my daemons were tied to my sense of self and identity, then it makes sense that they disappeared when my sense of self split from that trauma. My mind did that whole fun splitting event and was in shambles while we tried to slowly recover and pick up the pieces. It took ages afterwards for me to return to my former self. But when I did, my daemons returned.

My plurality has never been the same since.

[theboombutton]

Spoilers Ahead

OK let's talk about the lore implications of The Magnus Protocol episode 4's statement.

Timeframe

The Mannheim School was founded in 1741-1742; and the Royal Court of the Palatinate left Mannheim in 1778. This gives us a roughly 35-year timeframe within which which our violinist could have made his initial carriage journey to Germany - barring timeline differences.

This absolutely destroys my theory that the Fears arrived here from the TMA universe, found a universe without Fear, and broke through in East Germany during the Cold War. This episode firmly establishes that there were Fears in the Protocolverse in the late 18th century, and that they were well-established at the time - established enough to have a guy giving out cursed artifacts in the woods of Baden.

Were they the Archiverse Fears, that just happened to arrive earlier than I thought? Were they Protocolverse Fears? Were they Fears from yet another universe, escaped from their own Fearpocalypse?

The Fears

So this is a really fascinating statement because it seems to marry our old friend TMA Slaughter Classic, with whatever the fuck Ink5oul was doing in TMAGP episode 2, with just a mention of the Archivist-associated power to elicit an unintended confession.

The Slaughter connection I'm sure I won't have to argue - it's straight out of TMA. In fact, it's so straight-out-of-TMA that to me it suggests that this is almost certainly the Archiverse's The Slaughter. If we were dealing with an artifact of a different universe's Fear of violence, I wouldn't expect it to be so connected to music. There's nothing about music that inherently connects it to horrific violence, and yet Bardwell jumps out of a carriage and dashes his skull on the rocks because of what seems an awful lot like the Piper's Song. Violin Audrey Two goes full Grifter's Bone when it's unable to get blood.

The interesting part though is that these incidents are the exception to the rule of the violin's favor. At first it seems happy to make small, flesh wound mutilations of its player, which doesn't sound like the Slaughter at all. Yes, he moves on to serial killing, but it's a very methodical, planned kind of violence - not at all what I'd expect from the Archiverse Slaughter. And the theme of an artist mutilating themselves in service of their art seems very similar to Daria in Protocol episode 2.

Of course, the art connection might just be a coincidence. There is a disproportionate amount of art about art and artists, just because it's high on the list of things artists tend to think about. It's the same reason there's not a whole lot of art about septic tank maintenance*.

I doubt it, though.

Here's my working theory: I think there are at least two universes' Fears at work here, and there wasn't enough room in the Fear-Space for two full sets of entities to represent and feed on essentially the same fears. So they got smooshed together.

The Archiverse Slaughter got smooshed with a close equivalent - a fear that included Archiverse-style violence, yes, but also included a significant element of self-harm, and was culturally wrapped up with artistic performance in the same way that the Archiverse Slaughter was wrapped up with the sound, but not always the performance, of music. The Smooshed Slaughter teeters between its aspects, showing one face or the other depending upon the situation.

OK but what was with the Archivist powers?

idk tbh. I can think of two theories, neither of which I find particularly compelling:

The guy in the woods wasn't actually an avatar. Instead, he was a Salesa type, a distributor of supernatural trinkets. He had some kind of artifact of the Eye on him that gave him archivist compulsion powers.

All of the Archiverse Entities were changed by their time under the rule of the Eye, so being strongly-enough touched by an Archiverse Fear gives you mild Eye Powers for free.

Augustus

Yes I know everyone thinks this is Jonah, and I admit there is a good chance it is Jonah. But I don't like it, and I hold out hope that it isn't.

Personally, I like the idea that the Fears were specifically attached to the voices that told the stories in TMA, in which case Jonah wouldn't have been dragged along; but, if it was based purely on the physical presence of the people in the top room of the Panopticon, then yes, Jonah could have been brought along. To our knowledge nobody ever went after Jonah's body down in the labyrinth, so his eyes would presumably have been left alive in Elias's head for like, the whole episode.

I still hold out hope that Augustus is an Archivist-equivalent from another universe that also went Fearpocalypse and also released its Fears to the multiverse. While I'm pretty certain we're dealing with two sets of Fears here, possibly combined into one set of Smooshed Fears, I'm not at all certain that the non-Archiverse Fears are originally from the Protocolverse.

Conclusion

It's 3 AM and I have to go to bed. I think I've properly scheduled this to post an hour after the episode drops; if I'm wrong about the episode timing and accidentally spoil someone, I'm very sorry.

---

* yes I know there's septic tank dive fetish photos, I said "not a whole lot" not "none whatsoever."