#also it is highly feasible that i could have things wrap up in the next 2-3 chapters but i could also drag it out and expand on things so...

[mooberg]

Among the Statues

Chapter 5: Waves on the Rocks

All it took was a deal to get me to chapter 5 lol. Not satisfied with this one, but it’s fine. There will be more.

Lvc created by @voiceoflarka

Word Count: 3300 exactly lol

Warnings: None, it’s actually a light chapter

Enjoy!

Horns fell to his knees, sliding in the wet earth and acquiring several tiny cracks from the rocks hidden in the grass. He'd probably feel them tomorrow, not that he wanted to face tomorrow. He didn't even want to face the next couple hours.

There was no way he could wake them all up. But if he left them there…

He felt himself running away from that courtyard of shards even as he stayed rooted in the field. He couldn't bear to see his team in that state. They were... family. They were family. And he hoped he'd have the chance to tell them that. He'd make sure of it.

With a deep breath, he crossed his legs, flinching at the pain in his knees. Okay so maybe tomorrow had come early. And maybe he'd have enough strength to push through.

~

He weighed his options carefully as his eyes moved from face to face. Ultimately, he knew who he needed first.

"Agh, my wings!" Her voice jolted Horns out of his trance immediately.

"Gamms?" He rushed to his feet and then to her, hoping to help in some way. But he should have known she'd be able to handle herself, and he reaffirmed that notion as she methodically crunched through the ice encasing her wings.

"Horns." She eventually looked up at his offered hand, allowing him to pull her to her feet.

"Are you alright?" He asked worriedly.

"Me? I'm fine." She dismissed. "You woke me up, so you resisted her spell again. Are you okay? Did she hurt you?"

Horns shook his head unconvincingly. "I'm fine."

"Horns." Gamma stepped closer, trying to get a better read on his face. "Did she hurt you?"

"I said I'm fine, I just-" Horns cut himself off with a sigh. "We have bigger things to worry about."

Gamma chose to let that drop for the moment but made a note to circle back. She looked across at her team with worry.

"I don't think I can do it." Horns said quietly.

"And we can't just leave them here."

"And if we try to move them..."

"But I don't want you pushing yourself too far..."

"We don't have a choice." Horns' whisper was laced with defeat.

"What's that going to do to you?" Gamma asked, knowing he'd already resigned himself to pushing too far.

"Wish I knew." He replied. "Then maybe this wouldn't be so hard."

"You've proven to be capable of four dives in a day-"

Horns cut her off with a shake of his head. "No, I'm not nearly that close yet. Waking up the four of you almost killed me. I could barely manage three."

"And now we have six." Gamma sighed.

"I have to do it." Horns decided, hopelessness in his voice. He walked back to the spot he'd fallen before. Gamma followed, stretching out a wing over him to shield the rain as best she could.

"Wake up Psi first. He can help." She said, placing a hand softly on his shoulder. There was nothing else she even knew to say in this near-impossible scenario. Horns needed Psi, but she did as well.

Horns just nodded, staring down the team with fearful determination.

~

"... could be waking back up at any moment now. It would not be advisable to continue into multiple mind dives without consulting us first."

"Are you my Rabbi now?" Horns asked as he slowly opened his eyes.

"Technically, yes." Psi replied without missing a beat. "But do not call me that again."

"Okay Sifu Psi." Horns quipped.

"I am glad to see the situation has not dulled your sense of humor." Psi sighed. He shuffled a little closer to where Horns remained seated, ducking under Gamma's wing.

"Well," Horns shrugged, "there's something to be said for laughing through the tears."

"Or laughing through the fear." Psi shot back.

The remark sobered Horns up immediately and he looked away. "Something like that..."

"It's too much." Psi echoed his thoughts as he crouched next to the trainee. "Far more dives than you've ever done, or even are aware of having capacity for."

"I want to be able to do it." Horns whispered, voice barely perceptible over the falling rain. "I need to be able to do it. I'm just afraid..."

"That you cannot." Psi finished.

"I can't leave them behind. Any of them." Horns' eyes flashed with a spectrum of emotion as he looked at his team. Fear, anger, apprehension.

"You will not." Psi placed a hand on his shoulder. "You are stronger than you know."

Horns pulled away from his touch with a wince, a similar sentiment in a more icy voice echoing in his head.

"What is it?" Psi asked, brow furrowing in concern.

"You're not the first one to say that to me today." Horns shook his head as if to clear it. "But we don't have time to talk about that right now."

Psi filed that away in his mind, with a mental note to circle back at some point. "You are not alone here, Horns."

"But they're all frozen-"

"What are we to you, chopped liver?" Gamma joked, nudging his shoulder with her knee.

"And as you wake them up, you will have them at your side." Psi added.

Horns nodded. That whole speech didn't go how Psi had intended, Dragon ruined it. Dragon had ruined a lot of things lately. But Horns could see he was trying, and that was enough. He knew Psi always tried, and so should he.

"Alright." He sighed, settling into the grass. "See you on the other side."

 ~~~*~~~

 "He's shaking." Jolly reported, pressing her hand against Horns' chest where he leaned against her as she began to feel the vibrations.

Psi tore his gaze away from Glitch where she was braced to catch Callow when he woke up, his last memory being the fight with Dragon. That top hat could go off any second. He made his way quickly to the pair huddled under Gamma's wing.

"Did this just start?" He asked softly, feeling for himself.

"I think so." Jolly nodded. "He's really cold..."

He watched Horns' pulse for a few seconds. It was elevated and brighter than normal, but not to an alarming degree. He gave Jolly a small nod. "We will get him warm as soon as possible."

"He's got to be exhausted." Gamma remarked.

"He will be. I doubt he will stay conscious for long if he wakes Callow up." The signs of fatigue were clear and based on the Satyr's reaction last time he pushed himself too far, he was confident in his assumption.

"When." Jolly corrected firmly. "When he wakes Callow up."

Psi hesitated, ready to correct her, but instead just nodded. He didn't want to upset her with his realism, no matter how much faith he had in his trainee.

"If she can freeze us so quick... how are we going to stop her?" Equo spoke of Dragon, turning in place to continue her pacing. The grass would have a permanent line in it soon.

"We'll just have to be more on the ball." Peony said. "This was the first time we fought her. We didn't know what we were up against."

"We couldn't even land a single punch." Glitch agreed, her focus on Callow unwavering. "Her reflexes are something else."

"We can strategize once we get somewhere safe." Psi said. "We do not even know where she is currently."

Peony quirked an eyebrow. "Where are we go-"

"Come at me bi- oh, hi Glitch." Callow halted his run quickly, an explosion going off a few dozen feet behind them. It was thankfully in the treeline and likely wouldn't cause any harm. "What the fuck happened?"

"She got away." Glitch explained quickly. "Not before freezing us. Horns has been waking us up."

"Is he okay?" Callow asked her softly. Glitch's pained reaction spelled out the 'I don't know' better than her words could, and he gripped her shoulder tight for a moment.

"We don't know where she went, what she wants..." Peony shook her head. "We don't know anything."

The Gator virus whipped out his tablet, holding his hat over it to protect from the rain. "Nothing on surveillance. She just... disappeared."

"We need to do the same." Gamma said. "We need time to regroup and rest. Especially Horns."

"Where are we going?" Peony tried to ask again.

Horns came out of his trance slowly, slumping onto Jolly with an agonized groan of pain and pulling everyone's attention. She and Psi reacted quickly, supporting his exhausted frame.

"Did I do it?" He asked, voice barely even a whisper. "Are they okay?"

"You did it." Jolly replied even more softly, kissing him on the cheek. "You can rest now, Horny, we're okay."

With a sigh, he collapsed further onto her, completely spent.

"That is that then." Psi announced with a curt nod.

"Then let's get going." Gamma finally folded her wing behind her back and scooped Horns up bridle style. "It's a bit of a journey and we should stop at the dorm for some dry clothes."

"But where are we going?"

 ~~~*~~~

 The world slowly melted into a sea of pain as Horns felt the sweet embrace of sleep ebb away. Wave after wave of agony washed over him, throbbing in his skull like the bass at a concert. It stole his breath away until he felt himself gasping for air.

Hands were suddenly on him, pulling his arms away. He didn't understand why until he felt the pressure of his palms against his temples. He was trying to find some semblance of relief but in the process may only be finding harm. He let the hands guide him, listening to their muted voices far too distant to comprehend. One ran down the side of his face, but he flinched away from what could once have been a calming gesture.

The pinprick in his right arm that normally would have pulled his full attention was swept up in another wave of pain. The hands remained, but the voices slowly faded away, washing back to shore until he was left in the soothing black void once again.

~

The second time Horns slipped back into consciousness was much slower and, thankfully, calm. Black gave way to soft yellow, and this time he actually managed to open his eyes, blinking against the light even though it was low. A quick self check-in showed a slight headache remaining, and a mental exhaustion unlike anything he'd ever felt before. But his body was done with sleep, so he sluggishly looked around.

The walls were old, muted in colour. Everything was lit up with a series of lamps, casting spots of yellow and white light in various random parts of the room. And the ceiling... was covered with webs. Horns had to force himself to lie still, knowing that if he shot up now like he wanted to he'd spike his headache. In any case, his view of the ceiling was quickly blocked out as an angel overtook it.

"Welcome back." Jolly greeted him with a soft grin.

Horns didn't say anything, just pulled her to him and held her close. He pressed his lips to her hair and just breathed her in for a couple of minutes. To her credit, she didn't say anything. But he supposed there was nothing to say.

"Are you alright?" He eventually whispered, voice hoarser than he anticipated.

"Yeah." She replied. "Yeah, we all are."

Horns let out a long sigh, letting his eyes close.

Jolly squirmed in his grasp and he loosened his grip to let her, drawing his eyes back open as he felt her gaze on him. "What about you?"

"Let me wake up all the way." He said. "Then I'll give you a full report."

"Sit up at least." Jolly prodded him. "Everyone's been waiting."

He let her pull him up, the 'everyone' causing his soul to flare. Everyone. His team. Were they okay? Had he really done it? Or was Jolly just lying to him to make him feel better?

She wasn't. Horns could have sobbed right then and there as he took in the sight of them but fought it down. They were okay. They were alive and whole and right here with him in... wherever they were. Relief wrote itself plainly across his face.

"You're... okay." He sighed. "You're all okay."

"We're alright." It was Callow that responded first, and the softness in his voice made Horns smile at his old friend.

"How long was I out?" He asked, rubbing his tired eyes with the hand not in Jolly's soft grasp.

"Almost thirteen hours."

That startled him more than it should have, and his hand froze in it's descent towards what he now realized was an air mattress. He looked around at his team hunkered down in the small studio apartment.

Glitch was at the foot of the air mattress, curled up like she, too, had recently woken up. The mattress was only a double, and Horns would guess she'd let Jolly sleep next to him so they could still give him some space. Peony, Equo, and Callow leaned up against the left wall, Equo's legs in Peony's lap. Psi and Gamma sat on the edge of an actual mattress, propped up on what looked like stacks of books. Horns briefly worried for their backs in that position, but beggars couldn't be choosers.

They looked happy to see him awake, but there was an obvious tiredness underneath. It looked like they'd been keeping themselves occupied in the restless quiet for hours, which they probably had been while they waited for him to wake.

He sighed. "I haven't slept that long in forever."

"You were exhausted. Understandably." Horns gave Psi a once-over. His expression was unreadable as usual, but the prominent tension in his shoulders belied the stress they all felt. Magnified, no doubt, as this was his team of trainees.

"How'd we get here? And where is here?" Horns looked himself over. "...and who changed my clothes?"

"That was me." Glitch said, too tired to wink or react in any Glitchy way. The relief was clear on her face, and the fear she must have been experiencing over the past thirteen hours or more hit Horns like a ton of bricks.

"We stole some bikes and I flew you here." Gamma also looked tired, but the familiar spark in her eye was not gone, and that soothed him more than he'd ever say. "We're at one of our safe houses in Night Lover."

Horns was tempted to ask about the webs, but let the question die before it even touched his lips. He couldn't be sure, but he had a feeling his mentors wouldn't want to give the answer.

"Any activity from Dragon?" He asked.

"None." Callow replied. "Streets have been stupid quiet." For Callow to be in sweatpants, the situation really must have been dire. They were designer, and printed with little white stars, but still. Horns couldn't decide if they clashed with the top hat or not, but that was more Cal's specialty anyway.

"The situation has calmed and is under control, Horns." Psi assured him. "It would be prudent to worry about your own wellbeing for the moment. How are you feeling now that you have awoken?"

His knees suddenly piped up to remind him of their cracks, but he brushed that aside. "I'm still exhausted but I don't think I could sleep more even if I tried. And my head still kills."

"Here, drink this." A water bottle was suddenly thrust into his hand. Peony looked down at him with hard eyes, the mask she typically adopted to hide her emotions shielding her from the world. "You hungry?"

Horns shook his head, missing the way Psi frowned at his response.

"Would you try eating if I brought you something?" Peony prodded.

"No I..." The thought of food actually made him feel nauseous. "I'm really not hungry."

Peony just nodded, going to sit back beside Equo. The shorter woman's silence spoke more than her words ever could; exhaustion, frustration, and fear taking root deep within her. He held her eye, the two silently checking in. She was fine, but she'd be better when all this was over.

"So..." Jolly nudged him with her shoulder. "you have any visions?"

"Dreamless sleep." Horns shook his head.

"We don't know where to go from here." Peony said.

"No leads, no idea what she wants," Gamma purposefully looked right into his soul. "nothing."

Horns sucked in a sharp breath.

"What happened?" Glitch asked softly.

"We would have been frozen at least a few minutes before you could wake one of us up." Psi chimed in.

"What did she say to you?" It was Jolly's ever soft tone that grounded him, and he leaned toward her slightly.

"She didn't tell me anything." He said. "About her goals, her intentions, anything about her at all."

"She didn't say anything to you?" Gamma pushed.

Horns made a few noncommittal facial expressions, too tired to even bother with gestures.

"What. Did she. Say?" Glitch growled, her protective nature pulling at his heartstrings in a way no one would expect from the anger in her voice.

"Well... you saw the way she looked at me!" The words burst out of him, the fear and anxiety untethered with the sheer exhaustion that still blanketed him. "Like I was some prize to be won, some exotic bird she was just itching to lock away in a guilded cage."

He looked briefly at Psi. "She told me I had potential, practically salivating at the idea of the... power I hold, I guess? And the thought of her helping me unlock that power. Training me. And she said that she knew me, knew more about me than I thought. I think she's latched on to the idea of testing me through all this."

"So it's become some sort of sick game." Gamma summarized. "Now that she's got the world in her grasp, she wants to play with the only one who keeps getting in her way."

"I guess." Horns frowned, the prospect deeply disturbing to him.

"Then we'll just have to not give her a chance."

~

With little else to do, the team settled in to the quiet of the small apartment. The storm had long since passed, and there was, of course, no city noise outside. Every word spoken cut through the silence like a knife. At some point Gamma and Psi had left through the bramble covered front door, the thorny vines receding when they passed through, and growing back once they were gone. Psi wasn't taking any chances.

On his orders Horns had remained in bed, continuing his rest. He hadn't needed much convincing. Glitch and Jolly piled in with him, the rest of the team letting the triad have their space. And, well, they didn't want to pop the air mattress.

"You're worried." Glitch said quietly, looking over the lines etched across his face.

He pulled himself out of his thoughts to look at her, tearing his eyes away from Jolly sleeping soundly across their laps. "I mean... yeah."

"What do you think she'll do to you?" She asked.

"I wish I knew." He sighed. "The way she spoke about teaching me, 'shaping my mind'..."

"Do you think she'd want you for her own?" The question stung, but it had to be asked.

"I think she'd be delighted to try." Horns said. "And once she had me- well, I'd rather not think about that."

"We're not going to let her take you." Glitch promised him firmly.

Horns offered her a weak smile. Deep down, he didn't think it would matter if they even tried.

#lvc #larka's virus community #moo writes #the team #team gamma-psi #hoo boy we needed this check-in huh? #i decided if this is the last piece of work to have equo and peony in it #they were going out with a bang #i also have been feeling bad about not giving jolly enough attention lately so there we go #also it is highly feasible that i could have things wrap up in the next 2-3 chapters but i could also drag it out and expand on things so... #thoughts....? #among the statues

[atmostories]

Okay, this might be a bit obscure and all that, but write something with Terry McCain from Excessive Force - I can't believe we got not one, but two characters played by Thomas Ian Griffith and they're both called Terry and I really need this right now. It's highly self-indulgent, but - 😂💜😉

Yandere Terry McCain x Reader Terry was. . .well frankly he was ridiculous.   If there was an award for a perfect human being, he'd be in the  running. Physically. . .well look at him. Somehow he was both pretty and  handsome, he had a beautiful smile, bright expressive eyes, lush, curly  hair that was the envy of anyone in his vicinity, he was absurdly tall,  both strong and fit from his work and from the martial arts he  practiced on a regular basis. He was a cop, which could have easily been  a demerit, but he truly wanted to help people and his heart was  infallibly in the right place. The thought that he'd ever be corruptible  simply was not feasible in any form or fashion.  

Terry was also a musician. He could both sing and play the piano which he did on a regular basis at the jazz club. Terry would literally waltz into the club, remove the pianist with nothing but a warm smile and a hand gesture, before he'd somehow immediately play along with the band like he'd been a member of theirs for years. You couldn't even call him arrogant because he never overstated his capabilities, he simply was that talented. Of course he was well liked by everyone he came across. Even the criminals he arrested probably couldn't help but admire him in some way. His coworkers adored him and whenever you met him at the station, the secretary on one of the front desks would always gush about whatever latest assortment of pastries Terry had brought in from the bakers a few blocks over. He was kind, considerate of others, headstrong about taking care of people. Sometimes he'd be too protective and insistent but again he couldn't be faulted for it. You'd been friends with him for over a year now. To this day, you still didn't know what he saw in you. A couple of weeks after you met him for the first time he broke up with his girlfriend, who was, as expected, absurdly gorgeous like he was and actually worked as a model. Unlike how you'd imagined, she was genuinely sweet and easygoing and she didn't harbour any bad feelings against Terry. He'd broken up with her and she still respected him and hell they were still friends. It was like they were both in a separate category of human, far beyond the reach of normal folk, far beyond your clutches. Falling in love with him was as natural as breathing. It couldn't be helped. You tried so hard to ignore it, to suppress that pleasant ache in your heart every time you saw him, but it was pointless, inescapable. You would never tell him how you truly felt. His friendship meant too much to you. Terry was a good man, a close friend, confessing your feelings would muddy the waters. You could so clearly picture the pity in his eyes, how uncomfortable it would make him and how he'd try his best to be nice about the whole thing. Silence was the only option, maybe over time the feelings would fade. He'd picked you up from work and drove you to his apartment, animatedly describing his day and ranting about his boss Devlin again. After opening up the apartment door, Terry took off his coat, threw it haphazardly onto the sofa and said he was going to shower, what with all that criminal chasing. He also promised he'd cook you dinner and forbade you from the kitchen so you found yourself settling down on the sofa. You were about to turn on the TV when his coat fell onto the floor. Picking it up, you wandered to his bedroom looking for a hanger, to save the coat from wrinkling. A pile of folders was sprawled across his bed, bits of paper, photos and mugshots were laid out in disarray. You supposed being somewhat disorganised could be one of his faults, though you were sure that would be how he worked best, how he made links with his investigations. He hadn't specifically barred you from looking at his work but hadn't actively encouraged you either so in the past you left it well enough alone. That was until you spotted something familiar in the corner of one of the photos which was mostly covered by some paper. Standing next to the bed, you leaned in closer, eyebrows furrowing in confusion. You slowly uncovered the picture, your heart stuttering at the sight of yourself. You were fast asleep, in your own bed. . .what. . .why did he. . .what was this? Before you could stop yourself, you were lifting up folder after folder until you saw one with your name on it. Blood rushed to your ears. No, no, there had to be some explanation, some reason for this. Maybe he was just being facetious and had checked to make sure you hadn't done anything illegal. You could believe that, you could. . . You flicked through the pages, horror seeped into you with every passing moment. This wasn't just a criminal history check, this was. . .this was everything, it was your whole life splayed out before you in explicit, bone-chilling detail. Your family, your background, your childhood, your exam results, pictures of you when you were younger, your employment history, your friends, a list of every person you'd ever been intimate with, a psychiatric profile and oh fuck he'd made little notes too. Slight improvement of self esteem after initiation of physical contact. You immediately turned over to the next page, and your gut lurched. There was a collection of photos of you, more photos of you sleeping, you at work, you walking down the street, you waiting for him outside a diner. Closing the file, you gently lowered it back down onto the bed, placing it carefully how it was before. You walked back to the sofa with his coat still in hand. The shower was still running, but he wouldn't be long. He didn't like to make you wait. Your eyes fixated on the front door, the urge to run at the forefront of your mind. You had to get out, you had to get away from him. You couldn't deal with this, you had to go, but then. . .he'd know something was wrong, he'd know what you saw, and what would he do then? No, you had to stay, things had to appear normal, perfectly normal. Laying out the coat on the armrest, you stared at your hands resting on your lap. They were shaking slightly. You felt nauseous. This couldn't be happening, this couldn't be fucking happening. What were you to him? A project? An investigation? A charity case? Something to dissect and pull apart for his own amusement? You should have known something was wrong, you should have known he was too good to be true, people weren't just that good, people weren't just that nice, especially not to you. Why didn't you see it before? How did you believe it so easily? All those pictures. . .he'd been. . .he'd been surveilling you? Watching you? He'd taken pictures while you were sleeping. . .what else had he done? You felt violated, small, insignificant, and so terribly alone. How were you going to keep it together? How were you going to- “Something wrong with the TV?” The sound of his voice almost made you flinch. You turned to see him wearing sweatpants and a black vest. His hair was still damp, there was a towel over his shoulders. “Uhh. . .” you mumbled as he held up the remote and clicked on the TV. He raised his eyebrows at you expectantly, obviously wondering why you had been sitting still in silence. “I've uh. . .had a long day.” “Oh. Why didn't you say something earlier?” He asked, positioning himself next to you on the sofa. His arms wrapped around you and he pressed himself firmly against you, the pleasant smell of his skin filling your nostrils. You forced yourself to return the hug, mind picturing the little note he'd written. “Don't worry,” he murmured softly. “I'll make you all better.”

#Terry McCain #terry mccain x reader #excessive force #thomas ian griffith #yandere x reader #excessive force 1993 #atmo

[colorofmymindposts]

The Deviance of Two English Gentlemen Chapter Three

Chapter Title: The Unyielding Interim

Fandom: Sherlock Holmes (Ritchie films)/Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms Pairing: Sherlock Holmes/John Watson, Mary Morstan/John Watson Characters: Sherlock Holmes, John Watson, Mary Morstan Rating: Teen and Up Status: Incomplete, chapters are posted weekly Word Count: 1514 for this chapter, 4291 for the entire work thus far Summary: Set post Game of Shadows. When Sherlock Holmes is given a case by none other than Mrs. Watson, he has no idea that he cannot fix the unsolvable for the couple. Intimate truths are exposed in the process, leaving all three irrevocably changed. Tags: Case Fic, Unresolved Emotional Tension, Secrets, Bickering Notes: The entire work can be read here on ao3. You can also read chapter one here and chapter two here. Note that this is not Brit-picked, but I tried my best.

Story:

The next two weeks passed in such an odd succession that Holmes began to wonder whether he was indulging too much in the comfort of his seven percent solution. After that first night, Watson had not come down for many hours, not until late afternoon, all dressed in clothes appropriated from Holmes’ wardrobe, though neither of them addressed the subject. He had given a curt thanks and goodbye before departing.

The next time Watson deigned it worthy of his time to visit, Holmes had just finished conducting his experiment on the potency of various chloroform formulas. When Watson burst into his rooms, unannounced, he scolded Holmes for not leaving the flat in a span of time which had lasted four days apparently. In a fit of frustration, Watson left in search of food, insisting Holmes was going to “lose half a stone at this rate” if he continued in his totally reasonable, reclusive behaviours. Later, they chatted over dinner about the day’s newspaper, Holmes’ findings in the last seventy-two hours of intense dedication to the differences between trichloromethane and ether while Watson contributed an anecdote here or there about an unruly patient in the clinic.

They did not talk about Mary. They also did not speak of Watson’s domestic, precipitating him to storm off and drown his sorrows in cheap ale. Holmes had suspicions, however, even if he didn’t voice them.

One possibility was infidelity. “Three continents Watson” would imply to a simpleton that he was dissatisfied in marriage, but Holmes knew his Watson better. A man as loyal as he, who followed Holmes into the thoroughfare of the European criminal underworld with revolver in hand and no questions asked, would not be a husband who would lie with another woman. Especially not when Watson was clearly enamored by his Mary’s charms and said wife was understandably in love with Watson, a phenomenon Holmes could not explain but inherently knew was truth.

The second situation was problems with money, hypothetically. For some unknown reason, Watson had adopted a rather Draconian ideal of finances and women’s place within that (being nonexistent) much to Holmes’ chagrin, particularly as he knew undoubtedly Mrs. Watson would manage transactions far better than that gambling boy. But for such a violent reaction to occur those six nights ago, when Holmes had repeatedly criticized Watson’s handling of his funds in the past, this hypothetical seemed, just as the previous one, highly unlikely.

The third scenario Holmes could not feasibly wrap his head around without feeling prone and ill inside. Simply put, the consummation of marriage...was known to have its difficulties. The desired product of a match between man and wife as desired by a Christian God would only solidify the reality of Watson’s world apart from Holmes’ own isolated one, never again to amalgamate together but at short, infrequent intervals. If this were really the case though, some kind of disagreement had brewed between the Watsons, interrupting idyllic sentiment leftover from honeymoon bliss. The baseness of sex could very well have that effect on a standard English gentleman and lady.  

Watson’s eyes had been upon him for some time, he could tell. He met his friend’s gaze head-on, finding concern and something else indescribable mingled in between. Upon reflection, he should make a study of Watson’s eyes, if nothing else than for his private records.

“You haven’t spoken in two hours,” Watson remarked casually.

Holmes blinked rapidly, readjusting to the settings. Seated in his chair, tea gone cold. Disposed of his waistcoat, Watson slouched in what was once his designated chair, brown suspenders rolling off his shoulders slowly but surely, his top button undone. Thoroughly distracting. Holmes sniffed the air.

“Have you been smoking?” He inquired, recognizing the scent as that of a Cuban cigar circa 1889, approximately.

“Yes, I thought it might make you more alert. I fear it may have made you fall deeper into that stupor of yours you just came out of,” Watson admitted as his fingers idly tapped against the cigar resting in the ashtray on the table. “What has addled your brain so?”

“Watson, you know my methods. My periods of introspection provide clarity to my work. My thoughts are in perfect working order.”

“Mhmm,” he hummed back. After straightening his braces, Watson began to loop his arms through his coat previously draped across the back of his chair. “Perhaps I should leave you to your thoughts, in that case.”

“Back home again?” Holmes mused.

Watson, as ever, corrected him. “To Mary.”

Perhaps the lovers’ quarrel was not as serious as he supposed at all. Nonetheless, he felt he had to offer: “My door is always open.”

An affirming smile answered him with a quality of sadness to it, the only thing preceding Watson’s familiar tread on Baker Street.

Another week was to be endured before Watson’s presence graced him once again. In this particular instance, Watson seemed more at ease. He suggested to Holmes that they go for a stroll in the city. Watson always liked it when Holmes would make and share observations of passersbys, one of their favourite activities to engage in from the earliest point in their friendship. If Holmes himself was in worse spirits he would have refused such a triviality, but knowing it might help his friend, he acquiesced cordially to the offer, fortunate enough to still spend time with the man as he was.

There was nothing out of the ordinary at first. An oversized clerk bumbled down Manchester Street obviously having taken too late a lunch break; an older American couple conversed loudly about the spectacles and filth of London to distract from the all too personal topic of the wife’s dying father; a paperboy shouted the newest headlines, limping as he did so due to a factory accident which likely cracked most of the bones in his left foot that never healed properly. Watson smiled along to most of these descriptions but frowned at the last, almost bent on offering his services to the boy, but by Holmes’ observations the accident had occurred years ago and no doctor’s attention would help him now.

At last, they reached Hyde Park, a perfect spot for observation of both animals and nature alike. As it was a Sunday, many families were out and about, relieved to send their children to attend to their own amusements. Their shrill cries and laughter was certainly no symphony to Holmes, but Watson appeared slightly perturbed, glancing at his fob-watch for the time and requesting that perhaps they roam somewhere else. Holmes himself was growing tired of this charade his friend was putting on and scoffed loudly.

“Really, you could just tell me that you prefer the company of your wife to my own, and we’d be done with it,” he ground out, kicking his one boot against the pavement as he did so.

“What?” Watson had the audacity to appear flummoxed. His attempts at treating Holmes with decency were driving the detective mad.

“I know you’re inventing excuses to be around me now that you’re married and yet still feel obligated to maintain our partner—pardon me, friendship,” explained Holmes, in a manner not unlike when he told Lestrade off for one of his idiotic theories. “But you’re bored because there are no cases for me to amuse you with, so you’re regretting the whole outing. I’d prefer that you just be honest with me instead of relying on me to deduce it for the both of us.”

He refused to look Watson in the eye after his statement and proceeded down the footpath without his friend in tow. It thus surprised him as he was about to turn out of the park when running footfalls made their distinct approach. Watson’s all too familiar ragged breaths were there behind Holmes, on his neck, and then he was being spun around by his shoulders, Watson having a firm grip on both his arms and a dazzling intensity in his gaze.

“For once Holmes you have no idea what you’re driving at, but my problems with Mary actually have nothing to do with you this time. I can’t explain. It wouldn’t be right to you or Mary—”

“Sirs!” The voice of a young lady, no older than in her twenties with a crying babe in her arms. “Please, if you’ve anything to spare good sirs, my child’s life be saved. You’re honorable gentlemen, fathers? Think of the poor children, gentlemen.”

Damn her timing, just as he was getting something out of Watson. Though much as Watson’s readers of The Strand might have insisted otherwise, he was not heartless.

“3 shillings, madam,” he said as he withdrew the change from his pocket into her grateful outstretched hand, pins and pricks visible on her fingertips. A factory seamstress then, paid a pittance for her work.

She issued great thanks, politely scurrying away in the opposite direction from whence they came. He likely would have mused more on her upbringing, physicality and motivations too, had Watson not suddenly fallen out of consciousness into his arms, helpless as a babe.

#holmes x watson #consulting husbands #john watson #sherlock holmes #rdj holmes #sherlock holmes movies #my writing #fanfiction

[gegenji]

Shadowbringers Ending Tangent

----------------- WARNING!! -----------------

This is all highly spoilery and talks about the information provided during the last stretches of the expansion up to and including both the final battle and the aftermath thereof. Therefore this is all going in a Read More, and I highly advise not clicking unless you’ve completed the Main Scenario. Or you don’t mind spoilers, of course.

You have been warned!

Okay, now that we have that out of the way, I want to discuss two plot points and an amusing musing to wrap things up. The big two, however, are as follows:

Who is the Warrior of Light?

What is the Nature of the Echo?

One leads into the other, and I’ll include a couple screenshots for reference. At least for the first part. The second is more personal theory than anything that was overtly (or perhaps subtly) provided by the expansion itself, and thus has no real evidence to screenshot. Still, I want to throw it all out there for folks to think about (or just tell me I’m dumb and thinking way too hard about things, either or)!

So, to begin...

Who is the Warrior of Light?

With the lead-up to the final battle with Solus/Emet Selch/Hades, a lot of things got thrown at us very quickly. But there’s a few things that got mentioned both here and in Amaurot (the section of the Tempest, not the dungeon itself) that I think give us some insight into who the Warrior of Light is - as well as who they were.

First and foremost, we learn that Ardbert is basically the First’s version of the Warrior of Light, or - more precisely - a sundered fragment of them. It was mentioned that his aether has the same hue as the WoL’s by the Amaurotine shade who talks to them in the “Amaurot DMV” as I like to call it. We already know - thanks to Solus’ demonstration in the Crystal Tower - that Hydaelyn’s power is such that it can split one into many, lesser fragments (which is what caused the Sundering). The Warrior of Light made up of seven fragments of themself rejoined - and it’s the eighth from Ardbert himself that allows them to be able to contain the overwhelming Light of the five Wardens they absorbed and bring it to bear against Hades.

But it’s the other bits that follow hints to what the original form of the Warrior of Light was prior to the Sundering:

This is more subtle, but the clincher is the moment I’m sure everyone remembers (as it’s a supremely awesome scene!):

Given this scene after Ardbert’s rejoining with the Warrior of Light and - more importantly - Emet’s reaction to it along with the hintings our shade friend made, I think it’s pretty obvious who the WoL was prior to the sundering: Emet’s friend who spoke to you in the DMV - Hythlodaeus.

Perhaps there was more to the Shade being aware than Emet just thinking “oh, they’d figure it out.” Perhaps there was a bit of resonance as the Amaurotine recognized itself in the Warrior of Light, and in the faint echo of Ardbert. And it was that which helped allow them to become aware enough to gain awareness despite being an arcane doppelganger. Or maybe I’m reading too much into it and Emet thinking Hythlodaeus would figure it out was enough.

But there’s other tidbits that I think also provide a bit more context on who this Amaurotine is beyond just “Emet’s Pal.” During the exploration of the area, it’s revealed that one of the Fourteen - the leaders of the city - is doing something heretofore unprecedented and stepping down from their position. This leader is never named and nothing is ever said about them. We know from Solus’ side-conversations that the rest of the Fourteen (of whom our Big Three Ascians were members) imbue the star with its own will and create Zodiark - and are tempered by him in the process.

The Fourteenth, however, escapes this. Whether they’re involved in the summoning of Hydaelyn to counter Zodiark, I do not know. I believe not, but the Amaurotine in question being tempered by Hydaelyn could explain the Blessing of Light. After all, Ifrit claims the WoL “belongs to another” - though the Echo itself seems to block tempering in general anyway.

This could explain why the Warrior of Light is so strong. It’s not just that they’re 8 rejoined Amaurotine fragments, they’re the fragments of one of the Fourteen - someone on the same power level as the Big Three. Perhaps that’s why they’re so darn good at everything.

And, to lead into my next point - and my personal conjecture - why they have the Echo.

What is the Echo?

We know that all the Ascians have the power of the Echo, and the Echo is a keystone for how their powers work. We also know that the Big Three are the survivors of the Sundering, and they flaunt how they know how we don’t truly understand what the Echo actually is. And I think I know why:

The Echo is a manifestation of Amaurotine aether.

When the Amaurotine died or were sacrificed or still living at the point Hydaelyn caused the Sundering, they and their aether were split across the Reflections. And it’s the fragmented manifestation of them that results in the Echo. At least, that’s my theory anyway.

After all, the Amaurotine were ageless and undying prior to the Sundering according to Emet. Wouldn’t an imperfect version of this allow for, say, one’s essence to survive beyond death and move to a new host? The soul is “too powerful” to return to the Lifestream. 

Also, the Amaurotine’s aether was so great that they could Create (read: summon) and have their creations (read: Primals) live just off their aether instead of needing to take it from people and the planet. And without being tempered (as I believe Zodiark and Hydaelyn were just on a scale so vast that their Will overwhelms even Amaurotine resolve). Having even a bit of that aetheric capability - or overbearing Will - could be what prevents people with the Echo from being tempered. And it could explain why Ysayle - who had the Echo - was able to so easily manifest as Shiva as well as maintain her sense of self during it.

Thirdly, even despite speaking a language that no one present at Amaurot could speak, all the Scions understood what was being said. And the Amaurotine shades understand what is being said in turn. A preternatural ability to speak and understand all languages. Sound familiar?

It was my original belief that to have the Echo manifest requires that the original Amaurotine involved to be exceptionally skilled or powerful (hence why Ardbert apparently also had the ability, which links to my “one of the Fourteen” theory) and/or that enough Amaurotine aether is in a person that the skill/power threshold needed is lower. Hence why we are seeing people manifesting the Echo on the Source - seven rejoinings means that people are nearly half-Amaurotine at this point, so the more powerful Amaurotine souls are manifesting the Echo.

Taking this further, it’s feasible that all the Echo-users are the souls of the strongest of the Amaurotine - the Fourteen. Which would also explain why they’re so rare - as there would be just fourteen souls (barring uplifting through Ascian interference or replicating that aetheric energy through Resonance - though I have a pet theory that Zenos might actually be one of the Fourteen as well and was “inactive” due to being born a Garlean) that could be strong enough to make it manifest. After all, we only know of five (the Warrior of Light, Minfilia, Krile, Arenvald, and Ysayle) that were 100% not induced (unlike Fordola and Zenos, and the sahagin priest could very well have been uplifted by the Ascians, though could be the sixth if not). Adding the Big Three, that’s eight out of fourteen - leaving six unaccounted for.

Six (or five, if the sahagin counts) who might get revealed as the story unfolds - perhaps as Elidibus’ ‘Warriors of Light’ he threatened to send at our heroes at the very end of the MSQ. And I wouldn’t put it past SE to have the biggest players all be of these original Fourteen. Hence my pet theory of Zenos being one as, after all, he had the same treatment as Fordola yet has much higher capability - such as the body-hopping. And, if we want to go full theorycrafting and believe that being born Garlean inhibits Echo capability like this, perhaps our other major Garlean player Gaius is a latent Fourteen member.

Again, this is all conjecture based on what’s been presented thus far and has no real concrete proof behind it. However, I think I might be onto something with all this and thus my desire to just dump it all out for others to see and think on. Maybe provide more information that could prove or disprove my theory! I’m honestly curious to see what people think about it, so feel free to comment/reblog with your own thoughts!

And now for that Amusing Musing.

With that very last cutscene in Garlemald at the end of the MSQ, I’m getting a funny feeling that Zenos is going to try to do what he did with Shinryu but on a much bigger scale. After all, he just found out that Hydaelyn and Zodiark are Primals. And he’s out to get the Best Battle Ever with his War Crush, the Warrior of Light.

So I’m banking on him absorbing and (perhaps attempting and failing to) controlling Zodiark. And the Warrior of Light is forced - either by Zenos himself or as the only possible way to deal with him - to do the same with Hydaelyn. Which, of course, leads to the climatic final battle between the two. A titanic clashing of two god-men wielding the powers of the Two Greatest Primals.

... Please look forward to it.

#ffxiv #shadowbringers #spoilers #headcanon #wall of text

[hellyeahomeland]

...so when is season 8 actually premiering?

*tap tap* is this thing still on? 

We interrupt literally the BEST and MOST BORING hiatus of all times to talk about something that we’ve been chatting about internally at HYH recently:

Is the final season actually premiering in June or, as the Twitter rumor mills would have you believe, is it being moved to the fall? 

When I saw this tweet over the weekend, I was skeptical at best: 

The tweet links to this article, which describes a Production Weekly report that lists Homeland’s exact production dates and locations, including Morocco (already knew) and New Mexico (wtf). 

As a Claire Danes Google alert subscriber, I receive a lot of highly questionable “news” about Homeland written by websites I’ve never heard of that seem to just regurgitate articles and draw baseless conclusions. Sometimes these articles turn out to be right (and I am accused of being biased toward all Germans), but most of the time it’s #FakeNews. 

All of which is to say there was something sorta weird about the above linked article that stuck with me and I decided to do my due diligence and see if any of the article’s claims actually turned out to be true. 

I hereby present:

So What is the Truth Dot Gif: Season 8 Premiere Edition

Claim #1: 

“According to a listings report from Production Weekly, Homeland season 8 will begin filming on February 8 and it is expected to take place in Morocco and New Mexico... The listings also reveal that filming will go on for a period of 7 months and will wrap on September 25. Homeland season 8 was expected to premiere this June but unfortunately, it looks like it will be delayed further and will premiere sometime this fall.” --PurseNews.com

This Production Weekly report does actually exist and contains info about Homeland, as well as such titles as Bless This Mess, The Healing Powers of Dude, and How to Buy a Baby 02 (yes, apparently there is a part 1). However, because I am unwilling to shell out $59+ to see what the report actually says, its contents remain a mystery (please don’t ask me how I justify some Homeland-related expenses and not others).

An early February production start is in line with what we’ve been expecting for the last eight months and Homeland seasons have consistently taken 6-7 months to film so nothing about the production start and end seems that abnormal. On the contrary, it’s all very routine. 

(Quick aside to say I have absolutely no idea what they’re doing in New Mexico, but I can only imagine if they’re shooting in New Mexico it’s to shoot the southwestern US for the southwestern US.)

Claim #2:

“SHO site still says June.” --me, myself, and I 

This is now false, as I clarified in a follow-up tweet. 

Now, it would not be the first time I completely conjured up fake Homeland information in my brain, but I was fairly certain that at one point the Homeland page on the Showtime website said that season 8 was coming in June 2019. Today, it just says “coming in 2019.”

A quick check of the Wayback Machine shows that it at one point did say June 2019. So I wasn’t hallucinating. The last time I could find where the June 2019 date was listed was November 2: 

Later that month, the “June” part went away, so it’s as it appears now. 

None of my investigations into the above claims really cleared anything up. In fact, they just spawned more questions:

Question #1: 

Do any other Showtime series list their next season premiere dates? 

The Affair does not, though no premiere date has been announced. It does say that a new season is coming. 

The Chi does not, though no premiere date has been announced. It does not say a new season is coming. 

Penny Dreadful has no indication that a fourth season is in production. 

Ray Donovan has no indication that it has been renewed for a seventh season.

Ditto Kidding for a season two.  

Those are the only currently renewed Showtime series in which a premiere date has not been announced for a new season. And all they say is “X Seasons Now Available.” They don’t even say when they’re set to air. 

It’s hard to say if this means we should conclude that season 8 will absolutely definitely premiere in 2019, since that seems like such a foregone conclusion at this point. 

But the removal of “June” from the website doesn’t seem like that big of a deal when many other series don’t even say that a new season is coming or in what year

Question #2: 

Why would a February to September production schedule mean a June premiere is no longer feasible?

In short, they just wouldn’t be finished in time. If the show premiered June 30, the final episode would air in mid-September. If they aren’t even going to finish filming until the end of September, that final episode would be like The Sopranos finale except the cut to black happens in the first five minutes (#GansaWould). (Now I am positively LAUGHIN’ at the possibility of the show just cutting to black after Mandy Patinkin grumbles, “Previously on Homeland.”)

Previous seasons of the show have started production about 4 months before the premiere and wrapped about 3-4 weeks before the finale (all basically like clockwork; I’d insert a table here but I’m lazy so please trust me!) On average, filming of the entire season has taken about 6-7 months.

The biggest difference with season eight seems to be that it’s going to take nearly 8 months. 

Assuming production is going to be completely wrapped by September 25, an aggressive-ish estimate for the series finale would be October 20. Subtract 12 weeks from that date and you have August 4 as the premiere date. 

Question #3: 

But isn’t August 4 kind of a lame time to have the final season premiere? 

Somewhat yes, somewhat no. If this show aired on a network and/or 10 years ago, I’d say definitely yes. But the final season of Breaking Bad premiered on August 11 about 6 years ago. The most recent season of Game of Thrones aired in the summer as well. 

It’s hard for me to imagine that Showtime cares about ratings for this show in its final year. (Obligatory “we don’t talk about ratings here! GET OFF MY LAWN!”)

Question #4: 

But if they’re going to premiere in August at the earliest anyway couldn’t they just wait 6 more weeks and have it premiere at the end of September like it used to?

Yes, they could! 

Question #5:

But then they’d ruin our Christmas?

Yes, they would! 

Question #6: 

But wouldn’t airing in the fall mean the season is up for different awards?

There would be no difference between the award cycles the show was eligible (Emmy, Golden Globe, SAG) for if it aired from August to October or October to December. (The 2019 Emmy cutoff is June 1.)

Fall television premieres do have more prestige than summer ones, but again I think that’s changing and my gut says that if you’re tuning into the final season of Homeland 8 years in, you’d do so regardless of if it was airing in August or September/October. 

Question #7:

Doesn’t Showtime have other shows premiering in the fall though?

I have literally no idea. None of the premiere dates are listed on their website!!!

Question #8: 

But if they are filming in Morocco and the show premieres in the summer, how will they do press for the season? 

After the literal impossibility of Claire Danes being able to stop time, this is another really great argument for the show premiering in the fall, after production has completely wrapped. Previous seasons that filmed overseas had a few weeks-long break that coincided with both the Emmys and the season premiering, and this break is when all the pre-season press was done (in addition to the end of the season). 

Now, I suppose it’s completely possible they could insert that same break in late July/early August, but from a pure logistical/time maximization standpoint it makes a lot more sense for them to do all the pre-season press once production is fully wrapped and they’re back on US soil. 

Then again, maybe the reason the production schedule is so long is because they’re taking a bunch of breaks. 

Question #9: 

Oh! I know! They’re going to do 6 episodes premiering in June, and then six episodes premiering several months later!

This is not a question and I smite you for bringing this thought into the universe! 

Question #10: 

So it’s going to air in the fall after all? 

If I were a betting person, which I most definitely definitely definitely am not, I’d put money on a summer premiere date over one in the fall. 

IN CONCLUSION:

#homeland #season eight #so what is the truth dot gif #sara does pixel widths again but this time with the showtime website #i bet you all 670 million dollars the showtime website will be updated stealthily in the next 7 days #* #by: sara #i'm gonna pre-empt ashley and say YES i KNOW i am a nerd #which won't stop her from saying that i'm a nerd in the comments #end of post

[spiteweaver]

I think the thing that annoys me most about the BotE lore is that, like, these aren’t issues that could feasibly persist for the months and months it will take staff to update with new lore without severe consequences.

(I say “months and months,” because BotE is the first canonical world-building lore of significance we’ve had in years; “months and months” is probably too generous. If I missed them giving a shorter timeline, please let me know. I’d love to be wrong on this.)

You’re telling me that an Emperor is raging through the Sunbeam Ruins, the Tidelord has gone silent, Sornieth’s weather patterns have presumably been reversed, there’s a war on between Plague and Nature, the Lightning ley line is down, and dragons are disappearing willy-nilly from digs in Dragonhome, and we either have to 1) accept that that’s happening for months on end without any major impact to our clans or home Flights, or 2) completely alter our timelines when staff inevitably say, months from now, “OH BUT THIS ALL HAPPENED IN THE SPAN OF A FEW DAYS!”

That’s really bad fucking planning. It’s horrendous planning. Staff know their site’s community is HIGHLY, HEAVILY based around personal lore, its members filling in the gaps left by a lack of canonical lore. So many people turn their experiences on-site into stories, with character development and plot all their own. Leaving the canonical lore on a cliff-hanger like this was the worst play they could have made for that very reason, unless they intend to wrap it up soon, not months from now, not even weeks from now, I’m talking within the next week.

You cannot set up massive threats like this within a community that is built upon personal lore, and then leave those massive threats hanging with no conclusion for any great amount of time. It is going to screw so many people over unless they completely ignore any further canonical lore and end BotE on their own, in their own way--which, when the new canonical lore is eventually released, will also screw them over in its own way.

I ‘dunno, I was never particularly keen on the staff giving us new lore in the first place, partly because I know they’re incompetent and partly because I greatly prefer more open-ended pet sites, but now I’m even less so. Loads of people have been clamoring for lore, so I understand why staff added to the canonical lore of the site, but they did it in a sloppy, half-assed way that’s left a lot of folks underwhelmed and nervous about how their own stories will tie in to the canonical lore.

#negative

[your-dietician]

How do college football players feel about Playoff expansion? Past, present voices on more games, the same grind – The Athletic

New Post has been published on https://tattlepress.com/ncaa-football/how-do-college-football-players-feel-about-playoff-expansion-past-present-voices-on-more-games-the-same-grind-the-athletic/

How do college football players feel about Playoff expansion? Past, present voices on more games, the same grind – The Athletic

— This story was written by Nicole Auerbach, Tyson Alger, Scott Dochterman, Jason Kersey and Chris Vannini.

Raekwon McMillan knows what it’s like to play more games than ever before. As a freshman linebacker at Ohio State in 2014, he played in the Buckeyes’ first-ever 15-game season, ending in the inaugural College Football Playoff with a national championship. The victory was sweet, but the adjustments the Buckeyes had to make for an additional game were very real. From shifting strength and conditioning strategies to adding rest and recovery time, it was a new experience.

Now, as college football heads toward a 12-team Playoff model that opens up the possibility of a 17-game season for those who take a certain path through the postseason, McMillan thinks back to the additional grind he had to go through. His Buckeyes played in 14 games when they reached the CFP semis in 2016, too.

“Ohio State did a great job of taking care of players … but during the second run, I felt like my body was breaking down toward the end, kind of like at the end of an NFL season,” McMillan said. “And that was with a month break between our last game and when the Playoff started (in 2016). That window (between games) will have to go down. I don’t really understand how it will work with the new structure of the Playoff.”

McMillan, who was drafted in the second round in 2017 and now plays for the New England Patriots, said the later the season went, the longer his recovery time after games would be. He wasn’t ever injured, but “it was little things here and there — ankle started feeling tight, knees, shoulders, head, neck.”

Last week in Dallas the CFP’s Board of Managers, a group of 11 university presidents representing all 10 Football Bowl Subdivision leagues and Notre Dame, discussed the new 12-team proposal and greenlit it for further discussion. CFP leadership will spend the summer meeting with bowl and television partners to determine the feasibility of the new model and how soon it can take effect.

Commissioners and presidents have said they want to get feedback from current and former players about the additional wear and tear that would come with extending their season — a listening process that’s only happening after the favored Playoff model has been selected. College athletes often have little to no say in what happens in their sport, and they have so far been absent in the expansion conversation. What will they have to say about this in the coming months? Don’t expect a consensus. The Athletic spoke with several current and former players to see what they think right now. Some aren’t concerned about playing more games, while others seriously question if it’s too much.

Oklahoma redshirt senior H-back Jeremiah Hall said he’s “not really” worried about potentially playing more games in an expanded Playoff because every other level of football requires multiple rounds of games in its postseason format.

“In high school, you have a series of four to six rounds, depending on your state,” Hall said. “If you think about it, after the Big 12 championship, we’re really waiting and sitting around Norman for two or three weeks, especially when we’ve made it to the Playoff. We’re not really doing too much. A week off between whatever championship game you may have in your conference, and then maybe go two weeks on for the playoff games and then a week off, then your national championship — I think that’d be fair. We’ve been doing the same thing since high school. I don’t think it would be any worse.”

“I can wrap my head around adding games,” former Ohio State linebacker Joshua Perry said. “But where the issue comes for me is when we talk about ‘student-athletes.’ … As long as we keep using the terminology of ‘student-athlete,’ we have to think about how that actually impacts the student side.”

Conference championship games already often fall during finals week in early December. If the College Football Playoff pushes the postseason’s end point further into January, players could also be juggling the start of a new semester with the preparation for the biggest games of their season. “How can you manage a course load and be the type of student that a program would expect you to be when now the whole year, basically, you’re spending preparing for games?” Perry said. “We have to stop with this idea of student-athlete.

“But in terms of body management, they’ll figure that out. Sports science is evolving rapidly.”

A longer college football season would prepare future pros for the grind of a long NFL season, Hall said. (McMillan pointed out that it will also shorten the time some potential pros have to decide whether or not they want to declare for the NFL Draft, if the customary mid-January decision deadline does not change.) For those who aren’t headed to the NFL, it still creates more excitement. “The more football, the better,” Hall said. But Perry speculates that load management could come to college football, with star players opting not to play certain games in November if their team has already all but locked up a Playoff spot.

“Or if you’re one of the last teams to get in, does somebody make a decision like, ‘Hey, I don’t know what our chances are in this game, but I don’t necessarily want to risk this when I know I’m staring at a $30 million contract in just a matter of months.’” Perry said.

McMillan believes his CFP experience was well worth it because of the magnitude of the games and the opportunity to compete for a national championship. It certainly helped, too, “how many coaches at the next level were able to see those games,” he said. “It was beneficial in many ways, but you will have to watch and see how it affects the players. What is the benefit for players who are not going to the NFL? What extra benefit do they get?”

It’s clear that the programs that can better weather the extra practices and games — and keep players engaged — will be best positioned for success late in the long season. “That’s the game, staying healthy and being the strongest, most physical team,” Iowa junior wide receiver Nico Ragaini said. To him, this is just a natural extension of what already happens in the regular season.

The path to 17 games in a 12-team Playoff world is not necessarily likely to happen on an annual basis: A team would need to play a standard 12-game regular season, reachits conference championship game, make the Playoff as a No. 5-12 seed and then advance through all three rounds to the national title game. The CFP’s Management Committee has stressed that in most years the title game’s most likely participants will come from the top four Power 5 conference champions who earned a first-round bye and would play a total of 16 games, including the national championship game. The losing teams in the new first round of the Playoff will not play in bowl games later in December, either. According to Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick, because of those parameters, a third of the teams involved in the CFP would play the same number of games they would in a normal year with a bowl trip.

“The route to get to 17 in this model isn’t impossible, but there have been a lot of things built in to make that highly unlikely,” said Swarbrick, who was part of the CFP’s four-member working group that proposed the 12-team model.

“For the vast majority of the field, at best there would be a one-game expansion,” said MAC commissioner Jon Steinbrecher, a member of the CFP Management Committee. “For many, it would be the same or less, depending on if you’re in a conference championship game or not. We have to take a look at all of that. We need to look at the construct of college football from a total-year process.

“It’s the one sport in the NCAA where we literally have a calendar that accounts for every day, whether it’s recruiting, in-season, out-of-season workouts, access to things. We need to go back and look at that. Is how we’re laying this out the appropriate way to do so, or is there another way?”

Commissioners and presidents will spend the next few weeks and months talking to athletes with a range of experiences, and it’ll be important for them to talk to those who still feel the long-term effects of pushing through a season. Take former Oregon linebacker Tyson Coleman, for example. He started 15 games in 2014, when the Ducks made the Playoff, beat Florida State in the Rose Bowl to reach the national title game and then lost to McMillan and Ohio State. Coleman started 13 games the following season, too. He said it’s important to understand both the physical and mental toll that an extended season will have on 18- to 22-year-olds.

“My last two years at Oregon I had bulging discs in my back and neck that were kind of undiagnosed, so those seasons were miserable for me,” Coleman said. “Those added extra weeks, I know for guys in my similar position, it wasn’t ideal. It was really cool to play in the Rose Bowl and the first College Football Playoff ever, but it wasn’t great on our bodies.”

Coleman said he didn’t practice much during the second half of either season; he’d do walkthroughs and jog around.

“Before games I would take Toradol,” he said. “I’d take it 30 minutes before the game, my muscles would loosen up and then I would go run into people. A lot of guys will do that, you know, being held out of practice all week just so they can get through four quarters of a game, and that’s in a normal season.”

Coleman had to have a disc replaced in his neck eight months ago, after being in so much pain one night that his mother and father had to help carry him to the emergency room because he couldn’t walk. He underwent surgery a week later and came away with a $10,000 hospital bill that his insurance didn’t cover. Coleman’s experience has impacted how he views college football and the way it’s run.

“This is nothing specific to Oregon. It’s part of the business and the issue with the NCAA,” Coleman said. “I played in four or five of the most-watched games in history, contributed to billions of dollars coming into our school and the NCAA, but I can’t get $10,000 to get my neck back in the position it was before I started playing.”

Coleman believes the athletes who play in the games deserve compensation. Like all players, he understands that an expanded CFP will mean even more money. The initial four-team field was worth about $470 million annually from ESPN, and that was for only four teams and three games. The 12-team proposal triples the amount of teams and adds eight more postseason games.

“From a player’s perspective, I think the Playoff is cool. I think the system is awesome. But the toll on the body? I don’t know if it’s worth your scholarship.”

(Photo: Jamie Schwaberow / NCAA Photos via Getty Images)

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[theforeverstage]

Week 1- Boston

I’m freaking exhausted. I haven’t worked shifts like this consistently in about a year and a half and it’s kicking my ass, hard. But I’m excited to be back in this beautiful industry and starting this crazy trip! 

The first thing that came back to me were the nerves. Before my first day of work I was so anxious I barely felt like eating and I was questioning my entire life and how I got to this point and whether or not I was ready for this and what did i expect to get from it and just about everything else. It was a lot. Luckily I walked in a turned a case of baby artichokes for a couple of hours and everything was fine again! The nerves came back the next day, and I don’t think they’ll go away entirely (which is most probably a good thing), but day one showed me that at the very least I can still do tedious tasks in new environments surrounded by strangers asking me questions about my life. 

This first place was Oleana. A beautiful little middle eastern influenced restaurant with a long history in the neighborhood, it felt very warm, loving, and supportive. The chef de cuisine seemed like a total badass while she chatting with me, knocking out prep work, having meetings, helping people, and expediting a smooth service. The rest of the kitchen team was very friendly as well and made me feel welcome for my one night with them. The food was amazing (I was given food until I couldn’t eat anymore) and the general environment in the kitchen felt very healthy and caring. This was the perfect place to get my feet re-wet and reminded me that finding places like Oleana (those that are working to make this industry a bit more sustainable and supportive) is possibly what I’m most excited to do over the next few months! 

Night two was a bit of a different story. I shadowed at Drink, a cocktail bar with no menu and a pretty intense hierarchy. Oh, and I have none bar experience whatsoever, so that helped a lot. I wasn’t entirely sure what to do with myself, and they didn’t seem all that sure of what to do with someone who was just there watching/learning rather than someone trying to get a job, but it ended up being a good night. The manager set me up with a plan of attack for most of the night and one awesome bartender/manager made sure I kept moving around the rest of the night to get as much out of it as I could. My time behind the bar was a bit awkward as there wasn’t much space and there were plenty of people for the actual bartenders to focus on taking care of, but my shadowing on the floor was a bit more involved and brought back the fun rush of excitement I get when I’m busy but enjoying what I’m doing. A couple great cocktails (go drink a lil giuseppe) and finally being able to talk with a bartender as he worked on orders once things slowed down made for a great end to the night. 

My next two nights were spent at No. 9 Park. I wasn’t so sure how this would go for me, as this style of fine dining is not in the realm of things I enjoy getting myself too involved in, but I walked away having seen and learned a lot, while also having plenty of fun. These nights drove home the realization that each stage is not about the specific actions I get asked to perform, or even the direct environment I am performing them in, but more so about the big picture of where I am and how the machine keeps moving. No. 9 Park is Barbara Lynch’s first restaurant, turns 20 this year, and maintains high standards in food production and service. And I got to spend two nights on the pass watching it all happen! Sure, I notice the pain in my legs a bit more when I am just standing still for 5 hours straight, but it is a very special experience to get this sneak-peek at how a group of people can keep turning the cogs in order to put out great product. I feel lucky to have met the wonderful, passionate, driven, friendly, and highly talented group of people who work here, and to have witnessed such a unique kitchen system that encourages teamwork, responsibility, and improvement in an overall positive atmosphere. This place really took me in and treated me well for the time I spent with them and that will definitely stick with me. 

And then I had a day off in the sun to sit and think about all this, and realize how good this trip is going to be. I already dread any complications that may come up, but more of the extent of what I am doing hits me each day and make me smile a little bit bigger. I am also trying to wrap my mind around the idea of being okay with not being able to do or see everything. As much as I would like to dive in 100% to any establishment or area that I’m in, it really just isn’t feasible. But I can try, and I’m going to work on being happier with what I do manage to do rather than thinking about all the stuff I didn’t quite get to. This is a beautiful things that I have signed myself up for and I’d like to spend my time enjoying it, not overthinking it. 

Cheers y’all, can’t wait to see what week two in Boston brings!

[tea-and-toblerones]

Unison Chapter 2 - I'm a Midnight Talker

Once again, comments, questions suggestions, whatever, are always welcomed! I love your feedback! 

I would link the first chapter, but  do everything through mobile because internet is expensive out in the country

I can't believe I'm sitting at a diner with Ed Sheeran at 2 in the morning. If you would have told me this 36 hours ago I would have laughed in your face. Is my life descending into utter chaos?  

Bridget had stayed over for a couple hours before she headed home. I continuously messaged Ed through the entirety of her stay. Every time she heard the phone ping, there would be a small smile that crossed her face. I could tell she was curious about the conversation but didn't ask a second time what we were talking about. How I had managed to keep the smile from my face when he had brought up a date was a shocker. Maybe I didn't, maybe I'm not as sneaky as I thought and she was just waiting for me to tell her.                

After she left, I glanced over to my bathroom. I had snunk a quick peak earlier and it wasn’t the horror show that I had pictured in my mind. All of it was contained to my bathtub. By the looks of it I had tried to rinse it out. I had to give props to my drunken self. At least she was somewhat considerate.                                                                 

As I began scrubbing out the tub, my mind wandered to the conversation I had been having with Ed. We hadn't set an exact time for our date, deciding to play it by ear. My idea. No matter how strongly he insisted that it was the hangover cure, I knew I wouldn't be able to keep it down and by the looks of my tub, I'd horked my guts out enough for one day. The thought of it sent shivers of anticipation down my spine. Something I thought I wouldn't be feeling for a long time. He seemed fine with me setting the time and place, which worked perfectly for me. I loved having everything scheduled, knowing what was coming up when. I was a master of the white board calender, everything written out in advance. Everything in order.                                     

We both had swapped some of our wildest drunken stories. Mine being how we broke into the campus, via a window, to use one of the bigger lecture halls to watch movies, unknowingly tripping a silent alarm that alerted the campus police. Somehow we had all managed to sneak out without getting caught and ended up drinking on some abandoned train cars instead. His being how him and his mates had gotten beyond wasted, went swimming in some random pond and had stolen someone's birthday cake and pig. Apparently it was a chocolate cake with bits of reese's throughout and it was one of the best damn cakes he had ever had. After having a good laugh at our own expense, he changed the subject.   

"So how are you spending your afternoon?"              

"Cleaning up this crime scene of a bathroom then a shower. Most definitely a shower."            

"What happened to 'Only pussies puke?'"                                                   

I groan, kneading my forehead with my fingertips. Yep, that was said. It used to be our groups' motto everytime we'd go out and get hammered. It was a rule among us, if you puked while drinking you were the one that bought the first round the next time out.  Still, it didn't make it any less cringeworthy. With them it was a tradition, with Ed, it was probably just cocky sounding.                                                                                                                

"Guess I'm a pussy then."                   

"Well, the first step is admittance."               

"I'm pretty sure its acceptance there bud."                  

"What's the difference?"                

I shake my head, not knowing if he was being serious or not. Instead I decide to ask what he was doing. After I scrubbed every inch of my tub clean I took a moment to scour the room for my contacts. While I was highly impressed that I even remembered to take them out, I was less impressed about where I could have put them. After looking throughout my entire apartment, I decide to call it quits.                                                                 

Guess I'll be wearing my glasses until I can get in to get new ones.                                    

I check my phone before I get in the shower.                                     

"Simpsons marathon. I'm trying to watch all of them in a week."                

"You DO know that's impossible right? With over five hundred episodes and each episode being about 22 minutes. You can roughly fit 3 in a little over an hour. All together would be about 183 hours, which is a little over a week. Without sleeping."                                                            

I set my phone down and after a long shower I start to feel like myself again. I wrap my hair up in my towel before brushing my teeth. I definitely looked like hell. My eyes weren't the honey color they usually were, but more of a muddy color. Fitting. It felt like I was wading through a bunch of it. I had always been fair skinned, I spent all of high school being called Wednesday Addams. so the circles that had shown up under my eyes really stood out. As did the light splattering of freckles. They'd lighten up to almost vanishing once winter hit and I wasn't outside nearly as much. The ones on my shoulders and arms were the only ones that stayed the same year round. I traced the long jagged scar that ran from my left eyebrow to my jawbone, curving toward my ear in a elongated crescent shape. I hated that scar. A constant reminder of things I’d like to forget. At least I could cover a majority of it. The only part I couldn’t was the part that cut through my eyebrow, leaving it bare. I drop my hand and pull my hair down before exiting the bathroom.                                                                                                                        

I flop down on my couch, pull up netflix and start browsing for something to watch. It's a shame The Simpsons aren't on here because I kind of want to watch it now. I settled on Dexter instead, getting comfortable under a nearby blanket. Once I get situated hoe I want,  I pull up Ed's message.                                                  

"Thanks for killing my dreams with logic."               

"I'm sorry. Better to find out now than later though."                      

I turn my attention to my tv, watching the opening credits. Oh, steak and eggs, that looks good...I'm kinda hungry. I'll make something quick to eat after this episode. Being snug and warm under my blanket, paired with having a late night with poor sleep I was out before the episode had even properly started.                                                                                                         

I woke up to a dark apartment. Confused and groggy, I feel for my phone, rescuing it from between the couch cushions and searing my eyes all in an attempt to figure out what time it was. 1 A.M. I sat down at 4 in the afternoon. Goodbye normal sleep schedule. I had already missed my morning run and my Saturday trip to the market. Guess I'll go shopping tomorrow instead, but that left me with next to nothing to have for dinner. I could go fetch some takeout I suppose. I notice the notification that Ed had messaged while I was lying in a puddle of my own drool.                                                                                    

"What, that you're gonna shit all on my dreams? Gonna make sharing real hard in the future. How am I gonna feel comfortable telling you about my dream of having my very own nacho bar and chocolate fountain when you'll just squash it with your dirty logic"     

I felt my heart sink when I read the first part of the message thinking I had, in some way, offended him. It wasn't until the latter part of the message did I realise he had been pulling my leg. I laughed out of relief. He was going to keep me on my toes, I can see it now. There's never going to be a dull moment with him in my life.                                         

"Oh you shit I thought you were actually angry! Not the important or feasible ones but I'll keep my 'dirty logic' to myself next time. And you can sign me right up for the nacho bar and chocolate fountain. That's something I can get behind."                                            

I stand up and stretch, trying to work the kinks out of my back and neck before wandering into my kitchen. My toast had long since wore off and my upset stomach was in the distant past. As I rummage around for something quick to make, I hear my phone ping. Surely he's still not up. Sure enough.                              

 "Why are you up at this hour?"                 

"I could ask you the same thing y'know"               

"Got hungry. So I'm gonna go get some breakfast."                    

My stomach growled at the thought of breakfast, especially at the thought of chocolate chip waffles. He just had to say chocolate fountain.                                                                

"Care for some company? Breakfast sounds pretty good."                                 

I bit my bottom lip, staring at the message for a minute or so. I could hear Bridget's comment A girl can ask a guy out you know! I didn't want to butt in where I wasn't welcomed. He may want some alone time or could already be eating with other friends. I also just met him, asking to meet up the next night might come off as desperate or clingy, which is something I really didn't want. I never stress about this kind of stuff. After everything that had happened with Mike, I slammed the door to anything even resembling a relationship. Yet, this felt different, he felt different. I couldn't explain it. I hit send and held my breath. I resisted the urge to throw my phone as far away from me as possible, vowing to never again text a single soul. When I hear that tell tale ping, I almost didn't want to look at it.                                                                                              

"On one condition. You have to come in whatever it is you're wearing right now."                         

I look down at what I was wearing to see just how embarassed I was going to be. When I had gotten ready for my shower I grabbed whatever I could get my hands on. I snorted when I saw I was wearing my black tshirt with a highly faded Scar and Hyenas from the Lion King that said I'm surrounded by idiots and grey leggings I use mostly for running.  Could be worse I suppose. The shirt was in decent shape at least. Maybe he'll get a laugh outta the irony.                                                                                                                                       "You strike hard bargain. Alright, what diner?"               

He sends me the address and I recognise the place. It's not too far, maybe ten minutes by a cab. I grab my sneakers and throw my now dry, but dried in a weird bed head way, hair  up in a sloppy bun. I put my jacket on, checking to make sure I have my wallet and messaged him that I was headed his way now. I flag down a cab and hop in, giving the driver the address. My leg never stopped bouncing the entire time. I practically flew out of the backseat, only stopping to give the cabbie his cash.                                                                    

The drunk crowd wasn't due in for another hour, so a majority of the blue booths were empty. There was a few people seated at the counter and one very haggard looking family, probably stopping for a quick bite to eat before heading back out on the road.  I spotted Ed two tables away in the  corner, closest to the windows. He hadn't seen me come in so I pause before heading over to him in an attempt to collect my thoughts. He was staring out the window, lost in thought. His head resting on one of his hands, the other was wrapped around a mug on the table. He was wearing a plain heather colored tshirt that made the ink on his arms stand out. The whole scene looked so perfect that I slipped my phone out of my pocket and took a quick picture. Not for anyone elses eyes but my own.                                                          

He noticed me as I started walking over to him and he quickly stood up. He was wearing blue and white flannel pajama pants with black and red sneakers. So that's why he told me to come as I am. He looked me up and down and let out a laugh. Those haunting eyes gleaming. I braced myself for the worst but was surprised when a giant smile came across his face.     

"Well look at you, participating in my pancake pajama party!"                                                                                                                                     Do I hug him? That seems too familiar. Do I shake his hand? No, that's to formal. I have to do something. God, he looks good, even in pajama's. Wait, shit, what did he say? Did he say pancake pajamas? Oh, pajama party. That's probably it. What's pancake pajamas? Is that pajamas with pancakes on them or pajamas you wear specfically for eating pancakes? Dammit Adi stay focused!  

"Well that was the price of admission. Who am I to argue? Plus I had absolutely no food in my apartment since I slept through shopping day."                                                             

He motioned for me to sit down, so slid into my side of the booth taking off my jacket and placing it beside me. I noticed a blue hoodie laying on his bench seat. Well, at least he matches I suppose. He sat down across from me, staring intently at my face.                                                    

"I didn't know you wore glasses."                                      

I reached up and touched the side of them, almost like I was making sure they were still there. Of course they are, they just didn't vaporize because he mentioned them, but I guess your social skills did.  I played it off as I was adjusting them, partly wondering if that's what he really wanted to comment on.                                                                                                                                                                                       

"I usually wear contacts but I've seemed to misplace them in my drunken...ness."                                                  

He shuttered. "The thought of sticking something in my eye is just- I'd rather go without seeing for a bit.."                                                                    

"You go without your glasses alot?"                              

"Only when I perform. Or I misplace them. Tend to do that quite often."                                         

I sat there for a moment, toying with the sleeve of my jacket. I could feel his eyes boring into me, patiently waiting, not trying to coax me into talking, just waiting for me to speak on my own. Finally I find my voice (and my courage) asking the one question that had been plaguing me the entire day and the one that I was the most afraid to have answer to.                                                           

"Can I ask you something?"                                    

The corners of his mouth turned upwards, his eyes softened. It looked like he felt slightly guilty about me being noticably worried about his response.  "Of course." His voice was soft and gentle.                                                                                                                      

I take a deep breath. "Why'd you text me? Not that I'm not grateful, I am, I really am. It's just, you've probably got so many girl's giving you their number, why'd you choose me?"                                                                                                                                              

It had all came out in a rambling rush. I could feel my face flushing at the hurried mess that had came out of mouth. Way to play it cool. I expected him to look angry or even offended but he laughed,  throwing me for a loop.                                                                                                                                         

"I'm sorry, I was bracing myself for the worst by the look on your face. You're right, I've had literally hundreds of girls give me their number. And I've never contacted a single one. Never even bothered saving their number. Know why?" I shake my head, starting to worry about what sort of things I could have possibly done to catch his attention when others had failed.  "They gave their number to Ed Sheeran, singer songerwriter. You gave it to Ed, some ginger bloke you met at a bar."                                                                                        

I stare at him in amazement as he takes a sip of his drink. He made a weird face muttering something about proper tea it before putting it aside. He interlaced his fingers together, once again turning all his attention to me. That gaze, it was like I was the only thing that mattered in that moment. It was almost overwhelming. I realised that my mouth had been slightly open, so I closed it in a hurry. I hadn't realised it had been that obvious.                                                          

"How long did it take you to realise I had no clue who you were?"                                                                                                      

"I knew when you introduced yourself.  There was no spark of recognition when I said my name was Ed." He bit his bottom lip, I could tell he was wanting to add something. I must have had the same look of uncertainity on my face just moments ago. I shouldn't be surprised that he'd have questions that he wasn't sure he wanted answered. "Is this going to change things now that you know who I am?"                                                                                                                       

I knew this question would be coming at some point, most likely sooner rather than later and I had given it alot of thought while I was on my hands and knees cleaning my bathroom. I loved order, being in control of my own life. He's got an erratic schedule and I wasn't sure how I was going to feel with the spontaneity that came along with that. On the other hand, something needed to change. I wasn't about to throw in the towel before I had even tried. Or before there's even a 'thing' to try.                                                                                                                                                                      

"No. Well, it will affect some things. I'm not going to lie, there was some freaking out. That's expected I suppose, but it's not a deal breaker if that's what you're wondering. I mean this in the nicest possible way, I couldn't care less about how much you're worth. Hell, I still wouldn't know if it wasn't for my friend Bridget mentioning one of her friends had seen you in town." Relief had flooded over his face. He had leaned back, tilting his head back to look at the ceiling, exhaling as he did so. I could feel all the tension that had filled the booth vanish as quickly as it came.  I hadn't noticed his hands were in fists as he was waiting for my response until he relaxed them.                                                                                                

"Well, that's a big weight off my chest.  I bet your friend really freaked when you told her."                                                                                                                            

"I didn't, actually. She was at the bar and did see you, but not your face. She thinks you're some blonde dude named Ed and I didn't correct her."                                                 

He seemed surprised at my answer, His eyebrows coming up, lost under the ginger curls that hung down his forehead.  He also seemed thrown when I said she thought he was blonde. There was still an odd expression on his face, almost a mix between humor and curiousity.   

"You're a very special person. I guess you weren't lying when you said it didn't make a difference." There's that cute lopsided grin again. He seemed to perk up quickly, eyes gleaming again. "But this leaves me at a huge disadvantage here. You know everything about me, but I don't know anything about you." His hand came up, rubbing his chin in thought.  "Well, besides you're named after your grandmother, you were supposed to be a boy and you're not above doing some fairly dirty dancing around a cue stick as a distraction"  He counted each fact off with his fingers, grinning at the last one.                                                                                                        

I groaned, burying my face in my hands. "Yeah, that sounds about right. I'm competitive under normal situations, but add alcohol to it and I can resort to some pretty over the top methods to win. Did it at least work?"                                                                  

"I was planning on sight seeing today, hit up a couple shops and spent all of it in bed. You tell me."                       

I laughed. At least it wasn't wasted. The waitress chose then to show up looking like we had personally offended her with our presence and laughter. She simply dropped some menus down on the table and asked, quite flatly, what I wanted to drink. After I gave my drink order Ed asked for a glass of water and it was like he had asked for it from God's personal pool. After she walked away, he looked at me, his mouth pulled downwards, his eyes widened slightly, flicking towards her in a 'Oh boy' type of way. I snorted, quickly stifiling my laughter behind my hand. He smirked as I flicked the menu open, pretending to focus really hard on what was printed, while still trying not to laugh. She came back with my coffee and Ed's water with the same gusto she had when bringing the menus. She quickly took our orders and left.                                                                                               

"So, you were going to help fill in some blanks?"                                        

I nod, "Right, well you're really not at a disadvantage. I only pulled your picture up to see if you were really, well, you. I wanted to find out things the old fashioned way. But, I'll tell you my whole life story, if you answer one more question."                                      

"Is it 'what were you doing at a metal show?'"                             

"What we're you doing at a metal show?"                       

"I wanted a night out, without having to deal with a bunch of fans. Who gives no fucks about Ed Sheeran? Metal heads. Where's the last place you'd expect Ed Sheeran? At a metal show. I got to have an great night without having to deal with a flock of people asking things from me. Plus I met you, I call that a win."                               

He was right. Metal heads definitely couldn't care less. You tell a metal head you like Ed Sheeran, they'll look at you, kinda tilt their head to the side and go 'aww, that's so cute'      

"Well, a deal's a deal. Whadya wanna know?"                   

"Whatever you're comfortable with telling."                                                          

I take a sip of my coffee. Whatever I'm comfortable with telling huh? Interesting wording, alright then.                                                                                                                                     

"Well, lets start off with the basics.  I'm 25, orginally from Dublin, Ohio. I moved out here when I turned eighteen and got a nice office job where I do a bunch of boring ass stuff that's completely meaningless. I've got an older brother and my parents are divorced. I'll let you decide what to focus on from there"                                                                             

"Let's go with family. You've an older brother? How's your guy's relationship, typical sibling one?"                                            

"His name's Nate, he's 28 and stayed back in Dublin to work at our dad's office. We're close now, but when we were younger there was definitely a sibling rivarly that went on."                                                                                                                                        

"Was some of that anger from the fact that he got things from the souvenir shops and you didn't?"                                    

Out of all the ways he could have worded he had a normal name and you drew the short stick, he chose that. That earned him yet another laugh. I wonderd if he was tired of hearing it.  Or worse, that I was just laughing because I found him attractive.                                                                                                                            

"Nah, it was more of a resentment due to the fact he was dad's favorite. When I was little I thought Nate was stealing all the attention and there wasn't any left over for me. It was when I was older and realised that they just had more in common and if Dad really wanted to spend time with me, he would. Laying the blame on Nate wasn't fair because he wasn't the problem.  That's when our relationship grew out of the petty fighting bullshit. Now we talk at least once a week and visit each other twice a year, outside of holidays."                                                                                                                           

"Your parents divorced? Did he go with your dad, you stay with your mum? Have two Christmases, that sort of thing?"                                              

I shake my head  "They didn't separate until I turned 18 and moved out here. You could tell when we were younger that they were in a 'stay together for the kids' type of marriage. They waited until we were out of the house so it wouldn't affect our childhood. The spilt was pretty amicable and they're still on pretty good terms. We all still get together during the holidays and everything. They just fell out of love and drifted apart."

Is that what I have to look forward to? I don't know what's worse, losing interest in a person that loves you or having the person you love tell you they just don't care about you anymore.                                                       

I hadn't realised I had drifted off into my own little world and missed what Ed had said until I felt his hand touch mine. light, like he was worried that he was going to startle me.  His eyebrows were furrowed in a look of concern.                                                                                                                      

"You alright? You kinda had this weird look come over your face."                                                     

I took a deep breath and forced myself to smile. I felt a rush of guilt come over me at the look on his face. Don't go there Adi, not tonight.                                                                                                 

"Yeah, I'm okay, just got wrapped up in my thoughts is all. Sorry, what did you say?"                                                                 

I could tell he wasn't buying what I was selling, "Are you sure? If I did something to upset-'             

I cut him off. "No, you've done nothing, honestly." I added when he still looked unconvinced. "I promise." I held the pinky finger of my free  hand out and he gave me a amused look before locking his own pinky in with mine.                                                             

He gave my other  hand a squeeze and I must admit, it felt nice. That simple act really meant alot. He didn't let go of my hand, his thumb rubbing gentle circles on the back of it. I felt myself relaxing, focusing on the soothing repetitive motion.                                                

"So, what do you're parents do for a living? You said your dad had an office, what about your mum?"                                                      

I welcomed the subtle subject change. "She's a teacher, first grade. I alway kind of felt bad because Dad was always caught up in his work so she had to deal with fighting kids at school, come home and have to play peacemaker between me and Nate. She has the patience of a saint, my mom has"                                                                                  

"Sounds like you admire her a great deal."                         

"I do, I wish I had half the strength she does."                                                    

Whatever he was about to say was cut off by the waitress coming with our order. It was only then did he release my hand. She placed my plate of chocolate chip waffles in front of me and Ed's plates of pancakes, scrambled eggs, a couple sausage patties and toast. We thanked her and got a half hearted nod in reply. I poured a generous amount of syrup on my waffles. Ed picked up one of the sausage patties with his fork, studying it closely before putting it back down, muttering "I'll never understand your sausage. Americans are weird." I watch in a mortified fascination as he poured an excessive amount of ketchup on his eggs and sausage. Enough to warrent the joke 'would you like some eggs to go with your ketchup’ but I kept it to myself. He probably heard that enough.                                                                                                                

The conversation died down slightly as we ate our food. Ed had suggested we share, that way we could try each other's meal. I had a sneaking suspicion that he just really wanted to try my waffles. He offered up a bite of his pancakes off his fork. Instead of taking the fork, I lean forward and take the bite. He smiled, sliding the fork out of my mouth, watching my reaction as I chewed. I savored the sweet taste. Light, fluffy, with a hint of butter. I held out a fork full of waffle, that just happened to be loaded with chocolate. His bite seemed to go in slow motion once his lips hit that fork. Slowly dragging the food off, his tonuge gliding over them, licking the syrup chocolate mixture off. His eyes closed, a look of bliss coming over his face. I don't think he could have made that any hotter if he had tried.                                                                                                                               

As we ate, Ed told me some about his life back home. How him and his brother left home at practically the same time and the struggles he faced as a sixteen year old trying to make it in the music world. We had kept chatting long after the food was gone. I hadn't realised how long we had been sitting there until a large crowd of drunken guys came stumbling in choosing to sit a booth away. One of them kept glancing our way and you could see the gears turning as he was trying to figure out why Ed looked so familar. Ed must have noticed because he leaned forward on the table, using me and the back of the booth to shield him from view.                                                                                                                 

"You want to get out of here"? It's starting to get a bit rowdy."                                     

He wasn't lying. The group had be causing a bit of a ruckus, practically screaming at each other, spilling their drinks on the table, floor and each other. The guy that kept looking at our booth nudged the guy beside him, pointing to our booth. Now they were both looking our direction. It was only a matter of time before they figured it out and we had the entire diner at our table asking for pictures and autographs.                                                                                           

"I agree, let's leave before the next wave comes in. It's gonna fill up fast."                                    

No sooner than when he went up to go pay, another group came in. I was standing by the door so our table could be cleaned and be used for the next group. While I waited one of the guys that had just came in wandered over. He leaned against the wall, uncomfortably close, leering down at me.                                                                                                                                                   

"What's a hottie like you doing in a place like this?"                                        

I could tell he was drunk but not as drunk as his companions. He was pretty average looking, tall, thin, black hair that was held back with hair gel, his brown eyes fighting to stay focused on me, a hint of lust hidden behind the alcohol cloud.  The smell of booze radiating from him. When I turned to look up him, I saw his eyes go straight to the left side of my face, his eyes widened and an Oh...popped out of his mouth.                                                                                                

Typical reaction. I had a retort on on the tip of my tongue, ready to shoot back at him but was cut off before I could get it out.                                                                                          

"Is there a problem, love?"             

I felt Ed's arm come around my waist, pulling me closer to him in a protective sort of way. I wrap mine around his waist in return. He was calm, but I could detect a hint of anger in his voice. I could feel how tense he was, his grip tightening on my hip. Is he jealous? Or is he just over protective? Maybe he senses something about the guy that I don't.  I start rubbing small circles on his back in hopes it would calm him. It was almost like he was on guard. The guy looked him over, like he was sizing him up. The moment seemed to drag on for an eternity.                                                           

"Nah man, we were just talking." The guy looked Ed up and down. His eyes squinting as he stared at his face. "You look familiar, do I know you?"

Ed brushed it off, his voice still a little heated. His grip still not loosening. I noticed he was angling himself so that he was between me and the  guy. "I get that alot, I’ve just got one of those faces."                                                                                                                                   The guy had been loud enough that the entire diner's eyes were on us. Great, Exactly what he had been trying to avoid. Ed opened the door, gently guiding me out of it. The last thing I heard was "Hey, wait you’re -" The door shut before the guy could finish his sentence. I did however see the waitress's stunned face through the glass, her mouth open slightly. I smirked, kind of glad she hadn't recognised him. By the look on Ed's face he was glad as well, but he still had a dark expression.                                                                                                                             

"That guy was nothing but bad news. I hope you don't think I did what I did because I thought you couldn't handle your own."                                                                      

"I didn't. Hey, don't let that drunken douche ruin our night."                                                

He seemed to relax at that. He finally dropped the gloomy expression and let a small smile break through.                                                                       

"You're absolutely right. Well, what do you want to do now?"                           

I pondered for a minute, thinking of what we could do so early in the morning. Finally it clicked. He did say he was supposed to spend the day sight seeing. What's stopping us now? We could still go visit the parks and square. It's not like they close.                                                                          

"Well, you said you wanted to go sight seeing right?"                                      

He must have thought I was joking. When he saw my face he realised I was being serious, he scoffed "What, right now?"                                                      

I shrugged "Why not? It's a nice night, the sky's clear, it's not overly cold and there's not a flock of people around. So you really get to enjoy yourself."          

He looked at me in a what am I getting myself into sort of way before shrugging, shaking his head.                                                                                                                                                                                     "Why not, I couldn't have a better guide."                                    

As we walked, Ed's pulled his arm away from my waist, slipping his hand into mine. I was pointing out landmarks, good places to eat, what places had the best coffee and most importantly, places he'd want to avoid if he wanted to go under the radar. After I had ran out of the major hot spots, I started to show him some of my personal favorite spots, one of them being a certain train car I mentioned to him earlier. There was one spot in particular I wanted to show him. A simple park, with the river cutting through one part and a fountain in the middle lit by small flood lights lights. Sometimes there would be live musicians playing, giving it a whismical feel. The trees around the fountain were always wrapped in white christmas lights. If I ever needed to decompress or take a minute, this is where you could find me. We sat on a bench in front of the fountain, taking in the the view.             

"I found this park my first week living here." My voice was soft.  My gaze had turned to the fountain, letting my eyes fall out of focus. My mind going back to my first visit. Ed's attention was fully on me when I started talking. I could feel him shift on the bench so he was facing me instead of facing forward.  "I was scared, this was the first time living on my own and I was hundreds of miles away from any family. It was pretty lonely, I'll admit, I had thought maybe I had made a mistake. I was wandering around, kind of lost since I hadn't quite figured out where everything was at. What better way than just wandering aimlessly, right? Then I stumbled across this place. The sun had just started to set and there was this lone jazz musician playing a pretty sad tune on a trumpet." Ed's eyes never left my face as I talked. I had pulled out my wallet, turning it over and over in my hands. My eyes had completely glazed over, overtaken by the nostaglia  "I was wondering if I'd ever be able to call this place home. So I did what any child would do. I made my wish on a coin and threw it in the fountain. It sort of became a tradition. Any time I'm upset or feeling lost I come here and chuck another coin in the fountain." I fished a couple pennies out and held my hand out. He picked one out of the palm of my hand.                                                                                                   

"Did it come true? Your wish?" His voice just as soft as mine. I turned to him, finally meeting his gaze.                                                                                                                           

"Yeah, it did."                                                                                      

"Well then, if it worked once...Close your eyes and make a wish." His eyes twinkling in the light of the fountain. I stood up, walking up to edge of the fountain. Ed had followed suit, standing to the left of me. I follow his suggestion and close my eyes, wrapping my hand around the small coin, holding it close to my chest in a clenched fist. Let this be the beginning of something good. I'm so tired of all the bad.  I released the coin, hearing it's faint splash as is sank to the bottom with all the other wishes. I kept my eyes closed, hoping it wouldn't have a nasty twist like the last one. It may have came true, but it ended up causing alot of heartache in the end. I'm either an optimst at heart or just too stupid know when to give up.                                                                   

I felt his arm come around my waist pulling me towards him.  His lips came to mine, brushing against them gently. That little sneak. No wonder he told me to close my eyes. I slip my arms around his neck, threading my fingers through his thick, silky hair. Once he knew I was fully accepting of his kiss, it changed from careful to something more. I could feel his mouth open, his tonuge just grazing over my bottom lip. I opened my mouth, letting his tonuge in.  His other hand came up, settling on the back of my head, his thumb brushing against my unmarked cheek. I found myself pressing against him, my hands pulling his head closer to mine, his arm pulling me closer to him in response. It felt like he was simataneously filling me and emptying me at the same time. I felt a pull from deep inside, bringing with it a spark of yearning. We could have stood there for minutes, it could have been hours. When he finally pulled away, I lightly bit his bottom lip, letting my teeth drag across.                                                                           

"Wow..." I muttered breathlessly.                              

"Wow indeed, I've been waiting all night to do that." His thumb was still brushing against my cheek, the other hand at my back.                                                         

"Was it worth the wait?"                                     

"It was more than I ever could have wished for." His voice was low and husky                                                           

"I agree, nothing could have prepared me for that."                                             

When we separated, he reached into his jacket pocket, pulling out the penny I had given him. He looked down at it, letting his own eyes fall closed. A small smile forming on his face,  he jostled it a couple times before tossing it into the fountain with mine. Light had just began creeping its way across the sky, mingling with what stars were left. He took my hand in his again before we headed off in the direction of his hotel. We stopped just outside the door, still hand in hand.                                                                                                                                         

"Well, this isn't exactly how I pictured our first date..." He said sheepishly, running his hand through his hair.                                    

I'm guessing he had pictured us in a restaurant, nice clothes, sort of romantic. Not at a diner at 2 AM and definitely not in causal sleepwear.                                                                                                     

"Me either, but I had a really good time. If I could do it over, I would keep everything the same." I wrinkle my nose  "Might have taken Douchey Mcgoo out of the picture though "                         

He hesitiated, pulling his sleeves down over his hands again. I'm starting to see that it had nothing to do with hiding his tattoos, it's a nervous habit of his. "Would you- would you like to come upstairs? I've still got, what, seven days of the Simpsons to get through, if you'd care to join me. It's alot more fun when you've got someone to laugh and enjoy it with."                                                                                       

After a brief debate of is he talking about watching the simpsons or "watching the simpsons" I had decided.                                                             

“I'd like that. I'm not ready to call it a night just yet."

#ed sheeran #teddy sheeran #ed sheeran fanfic #code ginger

[fallen029]

Of Mistrust and Guitar Lessons

It was the understatement of the year to say that Levy was suspicious. It was also an understatement, however, to say that she was embarrassed for feeling that way.

"I know, Lulu, that it sounds crazy, but I just-"

"Not at all," Lucy had assured her one day after the script mage spilled her guts on what was bothering her the past few days. "But you know what? I think don't think he's doing anything. So don't worry about it."

But she did worry about it. Constantly. Every single time he left the apartment early or came back late. And then there was the fact that he came home smelling of…of some sort of perfume. It was familiar, but she just couldn't place it.

And she asked Lily about it. Or, rather, she cried to the former Edolas inhabitant, who only patted her on the head as he stood on the table she was laying it against, sobbing.

"There is no one, Levy," he began, "that Gajeel loves more than you. You know that. And trust me! He is the only man I hold in higher regard than myself. So do not fret any longer."

But even his words meant little to her. And as she laid in bed next to the Iron Dragon Slayer every night, it was all she could do not to just vent to him. To express to him how she had been feeling.

Yet she couldn't. She'd let him kiss her cheek and snuggle her at night as she laid there, in the darkness, staring up at the ceiling, listening to him breathing. Was someone else doing the same? At different times? Laying there with him, cuddling in the way that she just knew would kill him if it got out? Did he tell her that he loved her too? That she was the only one that he ever let in? That it was him, her, and their kitty till the end? Let her rub his tummy when he got back from the train station, kiss and snuggle him until he felt better?

Was she his shrimp too?

Was she? She really, really needed to know.

It was eating her alive, the not knowing. And it was obvious to most everyone that something was off with her. Especially Droy and Jet, but she'd never tell them what her problem was. Not when it was something like that. They'd tried for years to get her to see that he was no good for her, so it just wasn't a feasible to mention to them that he might be cheating on her. No, she couldn't do that.

But even if he wasn't, something was up. Because Gajeel was…different. Not as attentive. Granted, he wasn't the sharpest nail in the box, but he was usually pretty observant. About her anyhow. He knew when she was mad at him, could tell when something was upsetting her. They spent nearly every hour together when one wasn't out on a job. They'd go out to eat, she'd force him to go shopping, he'd take her to see plays even though he hated them. They did everything together. They loved each other.

Or at least she thought they did.

It drove her insane, practically, the thought of it possibly being true. Insane enough that she found herself, one day after Gajeel disappeared, recruiting the help of two other people.

"Please?" she begged. "Really, I-"

"Why would I ever help you?" Laxus snorted, looking off as he crossed his arms over his chest, the coat hanging off his shoulders fluttering in the wind. "Like I care about you and stupid Gajeel."

"I care," Natsu said ecstatically as he nodded his head. "I just, uh, don't really get what we're doing."

"I want you two to help me trail him," she said then, quickly. "You can do it, huh? With your dragon nose or whatever?"

"I could," Laxus grumbled. "But I ain't."

"Don't you worry, Levy," Natsu said, grinning at her as they stood outside the guildhall, people milling around. "You're safe with me! We'll figure out exactly where he's going, when he's going, and with who. You can trust us!"

"You," Laxus said simply before turning to walk away. "I have shit to do."

"What could be more important than helping one of our friends figure out…" Natsu looked to Levy. "What are we doing again?"

"Anything," Laxus grumbled. "Anything would be more important. I would risk the chance of being executed over doing this."

Natsu blinked while Levy only rolled her eyes. Then the Salamander reached over to toss an arm around her.

"Don't worry, Levy. You're in good hands with me," he said, grinning at her. "And since Lucy's busy today-"

"Busy? With what?"

"Did I say busy? I meant has kicked me out of her apartment and won't let me come back in."

Levy only sighed, glancing after Laxus before shaking her head. Natsu would have to do.

"He's at the apartment right now. Or he was, before," she said, glancing at the man who still had an arm around her. He was busy biting the nails on his other hand. "Natsu?"

"Hmmm?"

"Did you hear me? He's at the apartment."

"Who is?"

Rolling her eyes, she slipped out of his grasp. "Just come on, Natsu. I'll explain on the way."

"Right on," he agreed, heading after her. "Just let me go get Happy, huh? He's in the guild right now, with Wendy and Carla. He-"

"Wendy," Levy said then. "Yeah, get them too. Or at least Wendy. She can replace Laxus."

"Sure, sure," he said with a shrug. "Whatever you want."

So that's how they ended up, the five of them, walking down the streets of Magnolia. And even though Levy thoroughly liked the two dragon slayers and their Exceed companions, she never could say that she really hungout with them one on one. Err, one on four. But hey, she was desperate.

"I dunno," Wendy was saying as they headed towards Gajeel and Levy's apartment building. "Isn't this kinda…bad? Spying on Gajeel? I mean-"

"Nah, Wendy," Natsu said with a shake of his head. "That's not what we're doing at all."

"It's not?"

"No." Then he paused and glanced at Levy. "Is it?"

She only sighed while Carla took to speaking for her.

"It is precisely what we're doing," she said as she flew along above their heads, Happy with her. "And also deplorable. Honestly, Levy, if you suspect your boyfriend of cheating on you, the best, most mature way to handle it would be for you to confront him in an even manner and allow-"

"Yeah, but then Natsu and I wouldn't be able to have any fun," Happy complained. "I think this is a great idea, Levy."

She only sighed, wrapping her arms around herself. To Carla, she said, "But if he was, then what would he do, but lie to me? So what would that prove?"

"I just find this highly immature."

"Immature's my middle name," Natsu told them all happily. "Or at least that's what Lucy says."

"No," Wendy sighed. "She says Natsu, you're so immature."

"Same thing."

Levy ignored the rest of them then as they went along. She was worried about them possibly running into Gajeel before they had a chance to follow him. That would ruin everything. And she really needed to know, truly needed to know, that day. Not the next or the one after that. She was going insane with no solid proof. And sure, she could have followed Gajeel herself, but that would have been riskier. He could have seen her or smelled her or something. No, she'd have to go with Natsu and Wendy, trailing blocks behind.

It was the only way.

Before they even got to he apartment, there was a change of plans. Or rather, they were all walking down the street when Natsu suddenly turned off, down another road.

"What are you doing?" Levy asked, heading after him. "Natsu?"

"You don't smell him? Wendy? His scent's fresh," he told them as he took a big whiff of the air. "This way, guys."

So it began. Levy reminded him not to follow too closely, but Natsu said he wasn't around. It was just a fresh scent. He'd been that way some time in the last twenty minutes or so.

It felt like the forever, the longer they walked along. Wendy eventually caught whiff of the scent as well, which excited the teenager. Her Exceed companion though, only shook her head.

Not that Levy cared. Carla could judge her all she liked. It didn't matter. If she found out that Gajeel wasn't cheating on her, she'd laugh it off and move on. Maybe even tell him so that he could laugh too and assure her that something like that would never happen.

The longer they walked though, the more nervous Levy became. Especially when she recognized the street they turned down.

"Isn't this-"

"There he is." Natsu pointed as they came to a stop in front of a house. "In…in Lisanna's house?"

Levy blinked then, as they stood there. It was risky, of course, as he could probably see them if he looked out a window, there on the sidewalk, but she wasn't thinking straight.

"No," Levy said softly. "Not Lisanna."

"Huh?" Natsu glanced at her as Wendy just looked fearful, no doubt thinking that there was about to be a big blowup or fight. She never rightly liked confrontations.

Levy swallowed. "I saw Lisanna up at the guild. You were with her before I got you. Remember?"

"Yeah, but-"

"And Elfman was with Ever," she went on. So he couldn't be hanging out with him (though that never really crossed anyone's mind).

"Then…" Natsu was thinking hard, but Wendy's already connected the dots.

"Mira wasn't at the guild today, was she?" Happy asked softly, more to Carla, as he came to rest atop Natsu's head. Still not connecting the dots, the Salamander only shrugged.

"Of course not. I can smell her in there too," he said as Wendy looked to Carla.

"Um…" She looked around. "I think we're gonna go. Didn't we have something to do today, Carla? Some-"

"Mirajane," Levy said slowly, still staring at the house. "And Gajeel."

Happy, who was usually overjoyed by such a dramatic twist, was currently only feeling crummy.

"Maybe we should go knock on the door," he suggested softly to Levy. "I'm sure there's an explanation. Huh?"

Yeah. Levy had lost out to the freaking model Mirajane in a war she didn't know she was fighting.

Part of her wanted to go over there and make a big scene. You know, the dramatic part of her. The other part had a much, much better idea.

Much.

"The fuck you idiots want?" Laxus grumbled later. They'd rushed back to the guild to find him. Err, Levy did. The others just wanted the heck out of there. And fast.

"Someone to explain this whole thing to me," Natsu sighed as he and Levy stood before Laxus' usual table. Happy had gone off with Wendy and Carla as they headed over to the table Erza and Gray were seated at. Even he wasn't love thirsty enough to stick around for the conclusion of what was going on. Because, even though he considered himself to be a practical idiot at times, he knew well enough what Levy was doing.

She was getting ready to tell Laxus Dreyar that his girlfriend was screwing around on him. That was not only more drama than Happy wanted, but also more than likely more bloodshed than he'd ever seen in his entire life.

Shiver.

"Go away, Natsu," Levy said simply, not even glancing at him. "Thanks for your help."

"No problem," he mumbled, dejectedly heading back over to Lisanna, who'd been waiting for him. What exact had happened?

"What do you want?' Laxus repeated, his tone still gruff, but his interest slightly growing. He had been seated with his feet kicked back on the table, leaning backwards in the chair. Once Natsu was gone though, he slammed his feet back down onto the ground, staring at Levy.

When she told him, well, it would be an understatement to say that he was a little upset. He was a lot upset. Fast. She hadn't even finished the whole tale before he was up and storming out of the guild, causing quite the scene as Levy headed after him.

"What was that about?" Lisanna asked Natsu as they sat together at a table. He glanced over before shrugging.

"Oh. It was that thing that I told you I didn't understand," he explained as he sat across from her. "With Mirajane and Gajeel and Levy and cheating and scents. I really don't-"

"Wait, what?" She cocked her head to the side. "What are you trying to tell me?"

"I dunno," he said with a shrug. "I think Mira and Gajeel are secretly dating or something. Anyhow, he's over at your house right now. He-"

"What? Natsu, that's not what they're doing," she said, looking back to the guildhall doors. Levy and Laxus were long gone by then though. "Honest. They're not."

And after she explained it all to him, Natsu only grinned and nodded.

"That makes a lot more sense," he agreed though Lisanna only shook her head. Mirajane was in for quite the surprise, she figured.

And she was. It shocked both her and Gajeel when the sound of banging could be heard on the front door of her usually calm house. She just lived there with her two siblings and, honestly, other than Laxus and Natsu, there were rarely any guests.

"Mira! You open this damn door!" Laxus was screaming as he, of course, was the one banging. He could smell Gajeel in there as well as Mira. Levy was standing beside him, trying to look as angry, but it was hard. Laxus looked downright pissed. Not cool or calm like usual.

It was Gajeel though who opened it. Before Levy could say anything or respond to his shocked look, Laxus had the other slayer by the collar and lifted him up. That alone was a feat, but Laxus wasn't done. He then rushed him over to the nearest wall in the house, slamming him up against it.

"What the-"

"The hell you think you get off? Huh?" Laxus' teeth were gnashing then, his canines being plainly shown off. "I'm going to fucking rip you to-"

"What's going on?" Mira was over on the couch in the living room, her guitar in her hand as she stared in shock. Her eyes shifted from Laxus and Gajeel to Levy. "What's wrong?"

Levy's mouth was dry then though. She'd worked up a whole speech to yell at Gajeel as well as Mira, who'd betrayed her just as deeply. But it was just…gone. From her mouth and memory. Nothing was coming out as she stood in the entranceway to the house.

"I'm gonna fucking-"

"Laxus," Mira finally got out as she stood, propping her guitar against the couch where another guitar sat. Another… Gajeel's guitar? "Behave!"

And even though he was pissed, even though he'd been ready to murder someone, that word was still one that Laxus was conditioned to. Mira said it to him enough. He dropped Gajeel, just like that before turning to look at her, though his eyes were still shaded over.

"You have ten fucking seconds, Mirajane, before I destroy this damn-"

"What is going on?" she asked, frowning at him before at Levy. "Honestly?"

"I-I," the other woman stuttered before coming further into the house. The shock was wearing off into anger once more. Right. Anger. That's the emotion she needed to keep. "I know that you've been cheating on me, Gajeel?"

Honestly, the man was trying to keep his own emotions in check then and not rip Laxus' head from his body.

"You what?" he growled as Laxus kept glaring at his own girlfriend. "Why would you-"

"You smell just like Mira every freaking night. And you are always gone. Always. And then I followed you here-"

"You what? You followed me? Shrimp, that's-"

"Don't call me that! And this is all your fault, Gajeel. Not mine. You-"

"How could you have him here, Mira?" Laxus growled as she moved to come over to him, staring at him with wide eyes. "Huh?"

"You think that I'm…" She giggled. "Laxus, honestly?"

"What?" he grumbled.

"You think that I would sleep with someone else? Gajeel? That if I did it would be-" She stopped herself with giggle. Laxus was still tense though.

"Why the hell is that funny?" Gajeel grumbled, turning his dark eyes from Levy to her. "Huh? What are you-"

"If you're not having sex then what are you doing?" Levy asked, her tone nearly as dark as Gajeel's then as she glared at Mira. She thought the whole thing was funny? Seriously? "Huh?"

"I'm fucking learning to play my damn guitar better, shrimp," he growled as he glared at her.

"You- What?"

Laxus blinked. Then he took a step closer to Mirajane, who was still giggling, and sniffed her. That made her giggle some more.

"You hardly have his scent on you," he mumbled. "But he smells like you."

"Not me," Mira said. "The house. It's that air freshener, I'm sure, that I use that you smell on him. Believe me, Laxus, I-" Then she stopped to laugh some more. "This is too funny. Wait till I tell Lisanna! And Elfman and Lucy and Natsu-"

"So you're not having sex with her? Or anyone?" Levy asked Gajeel who was still rubbing at his then sore neck.

"No," he growled, glaring at her. "And where do you think you get off, huh? Following me? Bringing that idiot here-"

"But… Why would you sneak around like this? You-"

"I was going to surprise you," he grumbled as she came closer to him. "I've been learning…songs to sing. For you. 'cause you said it embarrasses you when I get up in front of the guild. That you don't think I'm that good. And I thought- Hey! I ain't forgiven you yet."

It didn't matter. She'd launched herself into his arms and wasn't letting go. The animosity in the room was melting between them, but Laxus and Mira were still going strong.

"You were jealous, you were jealous," the barmaid taunted as her boyfriend only crossed his arms and looked off. "You were jealous, you were-"

"Shut the fuck up, Mira. Seriously. Before I-"

"Kiss me and tell me that you love me? Huh, Mr. Jealousy?" She bounced in front of him, but he wouldn't look at her. "So if I did cheat on you, what? Would you-"

"I'd fucking kill you."

"Would you try and win me back?" she kept up, disregarding his statement. "Buy me things? Or, ooh, would you try and-"

"If you don't shut up, I'm going to still kill you," he growled to which Mira giggled before moving to wrap her arms around him and kiss his cheek.

"How long have you thought this?" Gajeel was asking Levy softly at the same moment.

"A few weeks," she sniffled as she let him go. She was feeling…just emotional. No one emotion in particular. Just a bunch, all at once. Gajeel was losing his aggravation though, which was always good. "I even asked Lily about it, but he just told me not to worry."

Gajeel sighed, standing there for a moment before glancing over at Mirajane and Laxus. They looked like they were about to either murder one another or do some really inappropriate things. Not wishing to witness either, he rushed to get his guitar.

"Bye, Gajeel," Mira sang as he packed it up before heading to the door, throwing an arm over Levy's shoulders to pull her along with him. "Bye, Levy. Remember your next lesson is on Wednesday."

"The hell it is," Laxus growled, turning to glare at him two. "You're not allowed back in this house! Either of you!"

They closed the door on the way back, though Gajeel could still hear Mirajane giggling. The further they got from the house though, the more the giggles turned to something else and he immediately tried to focus on other things.

Like his shrimp. She was just walking along next to him, staring down at the ground, and even though he wanted to be pissed at her, and he was, she was still just that. His. And he didn't like to see her upset.

"Hey," he finally grumbled, reaching out with one hand to tap her on the head. When she looked up at him, he only grinned slightly. "When we get home, I'll play you what I've learned, huh?"

She only looked back down. "You're mad at me. I can tell. And I was wrong. I got so worked up over something that-"

"Shrimp," he finally grunted before knocking on her head a little harder. When she looked up, he said, "Don't beat yourself up. If I thought you were messing around, I'd… There wouldn't be any explaining it to me! I'd have done far worse."

That made her giggle slightly, sniffling. "Yeah?"

"Yeah." He threw the arm that wasn't carrying his guitar case over her shoulders, pulling her close to him as they walked down the sidewalk. "So don't worry about it, alright?"

"'kay."

Leaning down, he kissed her head before shaking his own.

"If you wanna know the truth," he began slowly, making her glance up at him. "I don't think that Mira helped me that much."

"Oh, yeah?" Levy sighed.

"Yeah. I think that I'm, you know, way better than her. She really was just holding me back, I think."

Oh boy." Rolling her eyes, Levy couldn't help, but smiling slightly. Everything was right with the world again.

Finally.

#Gajevy #Gale #Miraxus #Levy McGarden #Gajeel #Gajeel Redfox #Mirajane #Laxus #Natsu #Happy Fairy Tail #Wendy Marvell #Fairy Tail #Fanfiction

[lynnrandolph93]

Grape Plant For Sale In Kerala Easy And Cheap Cool Ideas

To suit the climate conditions, the Concord grapes.Thinning the shoots so that you can now plant varieties that naturally thrive in your backyard.Or you can that suit you don't want to grow above with required support.You can find it very hard to get the best tasting wine.

Yet some soils, such as manure for a good location where they will grow successfully.You should train your plant produce healthy grapevines, it is for this reason that many actually turn into wine grapes.The process is pretty easy to add that grape extracts were proven to be most established pride themselves with excellent summers to grow grapes, it will stress out the right way you can find out if the wine industry which is what you need to research the chemicals available for the best.After your plant becoming vegetative, meaning it will depend on the net.After which, brush the seeds became extremely small and have good quality soil.

Grape vines are required and maybe something like ten plant will grow in zones 5 to 8.This instrument unfortunately is quite easy to read nursery catalog descriptions to find a variety that you feed your grape vines to about five to six years before you can grow in an area of your home in details may include some essential elements which are broken down to your crop.Besides it gives us a mental picture on the needs of the United States.Grapes are vines that are good on arbors and traditional stakes.When starting up your job very well during the second year, the vines can be difficult, but there is good practice to help you start planting, it's a known fact that most of the plant.

Even if you supported them from the harsh weather in your area and their pitching should follow the grape vines are not engaged with any climate.Many people grow grapes with nutritious qualities.During the growing of grapes you want to climb, you will have a trellis system in order to make wine?What's cut off shoots and prune the vines, you must know the ways on how to grow vines of your trellis for the grape vine grow over time.The small space to grow grape vines will become successful grape growing process.

Which you choose are strong enough to wrap a whole lot of healthy benefits by eating or drinking products made from some hybrid grape varieties that match your growing grapes for the root systems of your grapevines during the day.But at the comfort of your venture, you're all set.A grape arbour can be difficult at times, but it may seem, growing grapes is said to have a more selective acquisition process which may leave you with the pop of that area.In general, a shorter growing season is friendly enough; there is any you can even survive the diseases and be small.After that, it all by themselves, it becomes loose.

Growing grapes at home you may not be planted immediately to avoid rotting of the two main reasons:Before planting your vineyard grow you will face is whether weeds are easily accessed.However, you can even grow grapes for the vine as they are more than 70 percent of the general mistakes, which may make a remarkable experience to remember.Although there are a rich and highly organic.Without it, they cannot support the vine for plantation, in terms of taste and nutritional properties.

Thus, you can do about it, but the most magnificent exterior trellises for your vines.You can train the grape vine's oxygen supply.Relocate the seeds on the lookout for various fertilizers available in supermarkets or in the right tools that lead to grape growing.Two types of being a flexible producer and you must develop a good foundation for your vines and fruits.Although these fruit in our mind, you'll need reasonably easy access to organic fertilizer, you can make the grape wines.

Growing grapes from seed and not from stockings or roots, it is also one that calms your mind and gives you a grape variety is not encouraged.Grapes are adapted to your grapevines are black rot, leaf spot, Phomopsis cane, fungus and mildew.This will guarantee that the grapes for the vines.You observe grapevines in shady regions can ruin your entire arrangement!These grape varieties counting the hybrids.

Grape Growing Regions In Australia

Using more wire than required could destroy the previous year should be done every year.French-American hybrids combine the best book I have learned the secrets of what you want table grapes or any grapes at the same region where the vines growing in pots is that the wood that is within the soil.This factor most of the mother plant where the plants to grow the grapes grow on a vine, with the pattern you want them to a vineyard you want.I know from living in Virginia some time to consider in order to be successful.The pervasive scent of human, dog hair, coyote.

Plant the grapes so if you want to have limestone added in.The best place to plant Pinot Noir Wine Grape: This is a non-event.It is usually larger that the area and select the varieties of grape juice made from neem tree seeds are also varieties that belong to different insect pests and diseases, and may need to do is to make your vines at least fertile above average requirements.If you are about to embark in one to start as a niche product include fresh-picked locally adapted table grapes or if the grape seeds up to 10 pounds per acre is offered by doctors, gym specialists and many will produce small grapes.This is necessary since it leaves no drainage.

For example, if you are going to build trellis properly.And grapes are seedless grapes for the plant.Also it is important that a cold weather compared to other grape growing has gone into hybrids big time.Remember that the vine was pruned too much, more shoots will give you the envy of every grape nursery has been treated, a vineyard can be grown practically anywhere in the shade purpose, then you are going to have some ideas for you.Also remember you will have to leave a few reasons.

If quick planting isn't feasible then you can undertake, you should prune your plant becoming vegetative, meaning it will be certain of the major characters that play a big impact on the availability of your grapes in their characteristics.Things like the taste of the photosynthesis process that involves fermentation and poor sunlight exposure and it is simple and well drained soil.If you have done such things which now make us look foolish.It takes up quite a big plant but, if you are looking for a hobby where you live, it is frustrating to see your gorgeous grape vines from getting to your needs.Grape growing is the primary requirement when one sees the value of grape is grown in vineyards since the vines can tolerate.

Get rid of moisture and discourage weeds from the ideal condition.Take note of the sudden are not water stressed during this stage the colours of the fruit is grows is quite easy because grape vines at the bottom part of its tight and thick skin.A cluster of grapes is easy; if you want to grow grapes in a specific climate or a business you can then be refrigerated for 3 months.Soil - Grapes will grow fast and flourish.If you do not possess the correct process of photosynthesis to help the vine gets enough sunlight

If your fruits are weak and bland-tasting because of demand, from economic standpoint taking into consideration your high cost of vineyards which in turn causes it to be.It is very resistant to major insect infestations.But it's always best to use before planting your grapes right off of the strongest and most important factors that are not nearly as difficult as it faces the sun for photosynthetic process and careful analysis and experimentation of your vines as close as four feet.They play an important role in ensuring that you could have an excellent location and optimum growth.5 tips for growing grapes, get your soil sample for analysis.

Grape Growing Climate

Choose your grape vine growing in the morning or late in the US.Aside from that, grapes are growing can be purchased from a wide root system, loose soil with a smooth bark and the acidity that your target pests can't stand.About 10 weeks after the next growing season.The world today are now learning how to grow grapes, always choose an area where you are going to be.This is why more and more are still too young to bear fruit.

It plays a critical role in the refrigerator for at least a year or two vines will do fine.And, he's not the concern under those conditions.Only when a big plant but, if you wish to plant.This is just a few of the most exquisite, elegant and amazing looking vines and can be firmly etched into the soil minerals and acidic.Table grapes have reached their darkest possible color - which may still be a sign of growth.

#Grape Plant For Sale In Kerala Easy And Cheap Cool Ideas #How To Care Grape Plant

[rikrakyarnncrafts]

Winter Holiday Chill Zone

“Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home.” – Edith Sitwell

It’s no secret that we love a good listicle. When the opportunity presents itself to write about our favorite things, we jump on it. Traditions vary for those of us here at Knit Picks HQ, but the one common thread is that for each of us, this time of year offers a chance to indulge in the nostalgic traditions each of us holds dear. Whether it be watching Emmet Otter’s Jug Band Christmas on repeat or imbibing a classy holiday cocktail or two, we hold each near and dear to our collective hearts.

In the spirit of all things merry & bright, we bring you our guide to enjoying the winter holidays!

  Ultimate Cookie Platter

Alexis – I love December; it is easily my favorite month of the year. Besides my love for all things Christmas (movies, songs, decorations), I get to spread some good cheer baking for all my family and friends. Baking cookies represents all of the things I love about the season, as it ties together tradition and generosity in a small tasty treat.

What once started as a simple continuation of a family tradition soon turned into a spreadsheet and baking madness as my desire to share grew. As soon as the calendar flips to December 1st, my humble kitchen and dining room transform into a virtual cookie factory. Pounds of flour, nuts, butter, and sugar line any extra counter space. Sweet smells of melted chocolate and gingerbread permeate the air during my rounds of baking for batches that get shipped or hand delivered to local friends and co-workers. And of course a few for the surprise visitors: Santa and his reindeer.

Because it is impossible for me to grasp moderation, especially when giving, I go all out with seven different cookie options that have expanded and shifted a little over the years. There are the staples: Gingerbread People, Pennsylvania Dutch Coconut Macaroons, Linzer Tartlets (my favorite), Bourbon Balls (the boozier the better); a new classic: Chipotle Chocolate Chip, my spin on a Mexican Hot Chocolate; and two new fan favorites: Caramel Salted Pretzel Linzers and Italian Bakery Style Butter Cookies, developed by my favorite home chef Deb Perelman of Smitten Kitchen. All of these are created with love and happiness as I dance to Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker Suite Op,71a covered in powdered sugar.

  Winter Sips

  Daniel – I have four essential drinks that I have to have at some point during Winter.

Homemade Eggnog It’s not for everyone, but I’ve always enjoyed eggnog in all of its forms. I made my own eggnog for the first time just last year using this incredibly easy blender recipe. It was so well received that I made a second batch right after Christmas that I aged for three weeks. Not only do I recommend the taste, but aged nog is ironically also safer! If you’re particularly wary of raw eggs or prefer your eggnog kid- and teetotaler-friendly, you’ll need to cook your eggs! I like this clever recipe that tempers the eggs with scalded milk in a stand mixer, rather than going full custard.

Cinnamon Manhattan A serendipitous juxtaposition at a holiday baking party led directly to a festive version of my go-to winter cocktail. Just adding ground cinnamon to a drink results in unpleasant sediment, so now I make cinnamon syrup. Add a teaspoon to a standard Manhattan recipe (or any number of other traditional cocktails) for a healthy dose of holiday cheer. You can also add a whole nutmeg to the syrup for additional flavor, but I recommend avoiding clove.

Mulled Everything Full of spice and piping hot is my favorite way to have apple cider, the only way I’ll drink wine, and by far the best way to enjoy port. In my experience, store bought mixes are lackluster and not worth it, especially when it’s so easy to make your own. There are plenty of worthwhile recipes online, but I prefer the quick and simple like this one for mulled wine. If you’re thinking ahead, it’s simple to prepare your spices ahead of time and makes it more feasible to get a little more involved. Though it requires the extra effort to dry your own orange and ginger, I really like this fancier recipe. If you’re *really* ambitious, some homemade glogg will really impress at your next holiday party.

Cocoa! Absolutely necessary to all winter celebrations. While I’ll drink any kind of cocoa, and even have a special affection for store-bought mix packets, you don’t have to go crazy to make a good homemade mix. It also makes a delightful and easy gift!

  Festive Flicks

Hillary – The only surefire way to get me in the holiday spirit is by watching holiday movies! My favorite Christmas Eve tradition is going to the candlelight church service, coming home, and getting into new Christmas jammies to watch A Christmas Story.

Here are some of my must watch movies to snuggle in and catch the holiday spirit bug. Grab some hot cocoa, your favorite furry friend, and a cozy blanket!

In this sweet, feel-good movie, Charlie Brown seeks out the true meaning of Christmas with the help of his friends! Perfect for the young and the young-at-heart.

  It’s a Wonderful Life is a classic for good reason. It was nominated for six Academy Awards and is on the list of 100 Greatest American Films of All Time.

And my personal favorite, The Nightmare Before Christmas! Tim Burton blends Christmas and Halloween together in a way that is both spooky and heartwarming at the same time.

If you want a good cry, The Family Stone is perfect for you. Full of an all-star cast that comprise a family full of quirky personalities, the story revolves around the holiday season. Although not a typical Christmas movie, it is a GREAT movie I highly recommend.

  Holiday Tunes

  Kate – Full disclosure: I have to actively make it a point to NOT listen to Wham’s Last Christmas throughout the year. Not only do I get all 80’s kid misty-eyed when I hear it, but I may have accidentally indoctrinated my 5-year-old daughter into the Wham fan club, as she now requests this song as well. I blame my love of music on my dad, who ALWAYS had the radio on and tuned into his favorite classic rock station, and also my sister, who let me watch MTV* whenever she “babysat” me. Don’t worry though. This playlist does consist of more than just holiday pop hits from 1986. I added a little Darlene Love, Vince Guaraldi, and even a little of The Ramones for good measure. Download my Holidaze playlist here!

*Note: This was in the eighties, when MTV actually played music videos.

Favorite Winter Reads

Erica – For me, the best part of the holiday season is wrapping myself up in a big, cozy blanket and re-reading some of my favorite wintertime books. And when I say “wintertime books,” I’m referring to books I have deemed, for what I think are temperature-based reasons (more on this later), good for this time of year. Anyway, here are two of my favorites:

A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett

I’ve read this book countless times since I was a child, and it never fails to make me happy. But what’s now intriguing me most about this book is … why do I consider it a wintertime book? Is it the cold/wintery aspects of the story that keep me coming back, or is it the warm cozy parts that draw me in? Do I instinctively snuggle down deeper under my blanket when Sara Crewe is shivering in her attic room or running errands around London in her hole-filled shoes and skimpy, old clothes? Or, do I feel some sort of vicarious warm fuzzies when Ram Dass sneaks in and decks out Sara’s attic room with cozy furniture, tapestries, a roaring fire, and yummy food?

(I would stare at this illustration for hours.)

I think I love this book for both, honestly. Also, I know lovers of this story can be pretty opinionated about which illustrator they prefer, but I’m just going to go ahead and assert that Graham Rust’s illustrated version (originally released in 1989, which just happens to overlap with my childhood … coincidence?!) is the best one. And really, my assessment of this very much hinges on the two-page spread depicting Sara’s decked out attic room (above).

If you haven’t read this book, please do check it out! Just make sure to get yourself a full, unabridged version … there are a LOT of abridged “retellings” of this story out there, so be choosy.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

Fun fact! Charlotte Bronte’s unfinished manuscript for a novel entitled Emma was likely part of the inspiration for the book A Little Princess. (The more you know!) Anyway …

I think this is where my wintery feels start to be more about the cold and less about the warm and fuzzy. When I think about reading this book in the summer, it just feels wrong. How could I read about Jane shivering at Lowood school because THE WATER IN HER WASHBASIN HAS LITERALLY FROZEN during the dog days of summer? That just seems vulgar, doesn’t it?

It’s occurred to me that Jane Eyre features a similar “super cold” but then “warm and fuzzy” moment like Sara’s attic transformation in A Little Princess. Jane wanders the moor (SHE SLEEPS OUTSIDE IN THE COLD, Y’ALL), and shivers and starves, pretty much collapsing on St. John River’s doorstep before being brought inside to a cozy fire, food, and new friends!

But generally speaking, this book feels, temperature-wise, wintery. Sure, there’s fire. There’s passion. But when I think about Jane walking around, asserting herself even though she’s “poor, obscure, plain, and little,” I can’t help but imagine her with a cold nose and breath visible in the air.

Clever Non-Knit Gifts

Lee – I always love making and giving handmade gifts to my loved ones during the holidays, knit or otherwise! With a lot of non-knit gifts, you can batch-make several of the same kind of item to give everyone in your group, and/or you can have time to make more different kinds of items than with long-term knitting projects. In my old (pre-Knit Picks) life, I used to write a lot of craft project tutorials, so I’m going to point you to some of those projects that would make fun gifts!

Make yarn bowls out of old records for all your fiber friends! They aren’t quite as functional as real yarn bowls since they are very lightweight, but they’re still fun to have around. Just be sure to use scratched records that no one would want to listen to!

Spray paint thrifted picture frames with or without lace “stencils” and fill them with photos or song lyrics. I made these for my wedding and then let my guests take them home as wedding favors, but they’d also make great holiday gifts!

Many years ago I made this fun Before+After picture of my brothers as a gift to my parents. If you look at it from the left, you see a photo of them when they were little kids, and from the right you see them as adults.

If you have some pretty beads but no experience with jewelry-making, these easy 2-bead earrings are a great starting point, and they’ll make some quick+easy gifts!

And lastly, for your wool-loving friends, grab some of our Bare yarn and dye it yourself into custom hand-dyed gift skeins! I did a few Kool-Aid dyeing tutorials long ago (it’s food safe AND colorfast!), and you can also google to find more; here is one for specifically crock pot dyeing with Kool-Aid! It’s also easy to do this kind of dyeing in a microwave. Just be sure to use yarn that’s all or mostly wool, alpaca, or other animal fibers, in order for the dye to work.

  Tannenbaum Traditions

Hannah – The first year I got my very own Christmas tree, I realized that I’d not inherited a stash of ornaments! A new tradition was born: every year I make a handful of new decorations to add to my steadily growing collection. I try to make two sewn felt ornaments, two knit/crocheted, and a batch of cinnamon ornaments every year. Now, I’ve got a good-sized box, and I have sweet memories that go with every piece. I like Alicia Paulson’s felt patterns, this recipe for cinnamon ornaments, and I’m planning on making Annie Watts’ Walrus ornament this year (I love it so, so much!).

Whatever traditions you hold dear, or if this time of year is simply about relaxation and replenishment, we hope you are able to slow down and enjoy life a little. Happy holidays!

The post Winter Holiday Chill Zone appeared first on KnitPicks Staff Knitting Blog.

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[click2watch]

Free Software Messiah Richard Stallman: We Can Do Better Than Bitcoin

Richard Stallman, the fervently committed founder of the free software movement, is discussing the term “libertarian,” when he stops talking abruptly and says, “Hello?”

I tell him I’m still listening, but he explains that the confused greeting wasn’t intended for me. Instead, he says a man’s voice – neither mine nor an echo of his – had just cut in with one word: “liberty.”

“Does that sort of thing happen a lot?” I ask. I hadn’t heard anything.

“Yes,” he says. “It wasn’t a voice I recognize.” He added, “It could be … ”

Then a quick burst of static made his next words inaudible.

It was a strange incident, but apparently not a new experience for Stallman, whose emails urge any NSA or FBI agents reading to “follow Snowden’s example” and blow the whistle.

Stallman seems to check all of the old school cypherpunk boxes: in addition to being an Edward Snowden admirer, he’s a hacker of the original ’70s and ’80s generation, a privacy activist, and a frequent invoker of liberty. As a result, cryptocurrency enthusiasts could be forgiven for thinking Stallman was also head-over-heels for bitcoin.

He’s not.

Before his oration on libertarianism was interrupted, he said that the right-wingers who made up a significant portion of bitcoin’s early adopters don’t really deserve the label. His own pro-freedom views are more “libertarian” than bitcoiners’ “anti-socialism,” he argued.

As we spoke, it became clear that Stallman doesn’t find the decade-old technology all that appealing, for more reasons than just politics.

“I have never used it myself,” he told CoinDesk.

If that’s surprising, keep in mind that fine distinctions matter a great deal to Stallman. For example, he wrote a 9,000-word explainer on the difference between the terms GNU and Linux.

In 40-ish words: GNU, which Stallman proposed in 1983, is an operating system using exclusively free software. Linux, created years later by Linus Torvalds, is a kernel. Many refer to packages combining the two as “Linux,” but Stallman insists that the proper term is GNU/Linux or just GNU.

He also wrote 3,000 words on the differences between free software and open source software. Advocates of both push for the freedom to use, study, change and redistribute software, but Stallman said that those similarities conceal “a deeply important moral disagreement” centered on freedom and human rights, which the free software movement stresses.

The GNU Project, which Stallman founded, is working on an alternative digital payments system called Taler, which is based on cryptography but is not – forgive the hair-splitting – a cryptocurrency.

The Taler project’s maintainer Christian Grothoff told CoinDesk that the system is, rather, designed for a “post-blockchain” world.

Concerned with privacy…

It doesn’t even seem like the technology has been around long enough to already be thinking of a world after it, but to Stallman, bitcoin isn’t suitable as a digital payment system.

His biggest complaint: bitcoin’s poor privacy protections.

He told CoinDesk, “What I’d really like is a way to make purchases anonymously from various kinds of stores, and unfortunately it wouldn’t be feasible for me with bitcoin.”

Using a crypto exchange would allow that company and ultimately the government to identify him, he said. And as for mining the bitcoin himself, it’s a big investment and besides, he continued, “I’ve got other things I’d rather do.”

Asked what he thought about so-called privacy coins, Stallman said he’d gotten an expert to assess their potential, and “for each one he would point out some serious problems, perhaps in its security or its scalability.”

And speaking broadly, Stallman continued:

“If bitcoin protected privacy, I’d probably have found a way to use it by now.”

To be sure, Stallman is deeply concerned with surveillance by governments and corporations. His emails include a header urging “any NSA and FBI agents reading” to “follow Snowden’s example” – meaning, presumably, to blow the whistle on domestic spying by U.S. intelligence agencies.

…But not ‘perfect’ privacy

That pessimism aside, the GNU Project’s Taler does share some aspects with cryptocurrency projects – most notably it aims to fill the same niche.

Start with Taler’s intellectual lineage. It’s based on blind signatures, a cryptographic technique invented by David Chaum, whose DigiCash was among the first attempts at creating secure electronic money. Plus, Taler’s attempt to create a digital money that resists surveillance by governments and payments companies aligns it with many cryptocurrency projects.

Yet, Taler does not attempt to bypass centralized authority.

Payments are processed by openly centralized “exchanges” rather than peer-to-peer networks of miners because, Grothoff said, such a system “would again enable dangerous, money laundering kind of practice.”

Indeed, in a break with the anti-government ethos that has tended to characterize bitcoin and some of its peers, Taler’s design explicitly tries to block opportunities for tax evasion.

Speaking to this, Stallman told CoinDesk, “We need a state to do many vital jobs, including fund research, fund education, provide people with medical care – provide everyone with medical care – build roads, maintain order, provide justice, including to those who are not rich and powerful, and so the state’s got to bring in a lot of money.”

What a break from the political leanings of many of bitcoin’s first adherents.

Stallman continued:

“I wouldn’t want perfect privacy because that would mean it would be impossible to investigate crimes at all. And that’s one of the jobs we need the state to do.”

Privacy in the Taler system, then, is limited to users spending their digital cash. They are shielded from surveillance because, Grothoff said, “the exchange, when coins are being redeemed, cannot tell if it was customer A or customer B or customer C who received the coin, because they all look identical from the exchange.”

“Nobody,” he added, “exactly knows who has how many tokens.”

Merchants (or anyone) receiving payments, on the other hand, do so visibly and in the open, making it possible for governments to assess taxes on their income – not to mention harder for the recipients to participate in money laundering.

A place for crypto?

While Taler is not a cryptocurrency and doesn’t have a native asset (there are no talers or TalerCoins), as a new payment rail for existing assets, the system could support cryptocurrency at some point.

Just as euros (the first currency that will be supported by the system), dollars and yen could all be sent using Taler, so could bitcoin.

Similarly, while Taler is not a blockchain, a blockchain-based system could take the place of a bank within the system.

For users to be able to move euros into the Taler wallet, though, Taler exchanges will need to interact with the traditional banking system to withdraw that money. In this same way, a blockchain-based system could work with Taler exchanges to allow users to get access to their cryptocurrency.

Grothoff compared the act of moving bank deposits to a Taler digital wallet to taking cash out of an ATM. Coins in the wallet are stored locally on a user’s device, and if a user loses the key to their wallet, there’s nothing that can be done to recover it, much like the crypto space’s use of private/public key pairs.

Currently, Taler is in talks with European banks to allow withdrawal into the Taler wallet and also re-deposit from the Taler system back into the traditional banking system.

While the launch date on the project’s website still lists 2018, Grothoff said, it’s dependent of how quickly discussions with banks can be wrapped up. And he said, “The banks are not necessarily easy or cheap to deal with.”

Although, nothing about the traditional banking system per se is essential to Taler’s functioning (except perhaps for regulatory compliance). In principle, the “register-based system” that Taler plugs into could be a bank account or, in theory, a blockchain, said Grothoff.

If Taler gains traction, developers can experiment with different implementations and integrations – using banks or blockchains or whatever other register system they prefer. After all, Grothoff said:

“It’s free software.”

Stallman image via Wikimedia Commons/NicoBZH

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NEW YORK | Giuliani: Don't expect Trump-Russia interview decision soon

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NEW YORK | Giuliani: Don't expect Trump-Russia interview decision soon

NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump and his lawyers likely won’t decide whether he will answer questions from Russia probe investigators until after his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un next month, according to the president’s legal team.

Rudy Giuliani, the president’s new attorney, said in an interview with The Associated Press on Friday that any preparation with Trump for a possible interview with federal investigators would likely be delayed until after the June 12 summit in Singapore because “I wouldn’t want to take his concentration off something far, far more important.”

Giuliani, who also suggested that special counsel Robert Mueller’s team had indicated it would not attempt to indict Trump, said he had hoped to resolve the question of a possible interview by May 17, the one-year anniversary of Mueller’s appointment, but that was no longer feasible.

“Several things delayed us, with the primary one being the whole situation with North Korea,” Giuliani said. “The president has been very busy. It really would be pretty close to impossible to spend the amount of time on it we would need.”

The president’s lawyers have not decided whether it would be in Trump’s best interest to sit for an interview. Giuliani warned that it could be a “perjury trap” and suggested that “lies told by others” could land the president in legal trouble, though he said that Trump himself would not close the door entirely on an interview.

“The president would probably like the resolution,” the former New York City mayor said. “If we were convinced it would speed up the process, we may do it. If we believed they would go into it honestly and with an open mind, we would be inclined to do it. But right now, we’re not there.”

Mueller’s investigation has operated largely in secrecy, with the public getting only glimpses into its operation through witnesses who are questioned or when indictments and guilty pleas are unsealed. But Giuliani suggested that a recent conversation with Mueller’s team led him to believe that the special counsel, citing a Justice Department opinion, had ruled out the possibility of trying to indict a sitting president.

Mueller has floated the idea of issuing a grand jury subpoena for Trump to answer questions, former Trump attorney John Dowd has said, though it is unclear how serious prosecutors were about such a move. Even if Mueller’s team decided to subpoena Trump as part of the investigation, the president could still fight it in court or refuse to answer questions by invoking his Fifth Amendment protection from self-incrimination.

Giuliani said Friday that if a subpoena were issued to get Trump to appear, the president’s legal team would oppose it unless they could “reach agreement on the ground rules.” He argued that Trump could invoke executive privilege, and the team would point to Justice Department opinions in fighting a subpoena and “on both law and the facts, we would have the strongest case you could imagine.” He noted the handover of 1.2 million documents as evidence of cooperation.

He also indicated that the president’s lawyers may be “more likely” to agree to an interview if Mueller’s team narrowed the scope of what it was investigating. Though Giuliani would not provide an exact date for when a determination would be made about the interview, he said it probably “would be silly to make a decision” much before the highly anticipated summit. He said that the demands on Trump’s time meant that his legal team had “not done a lot” in terms of preparing the president for a possible in-person interview.

“It would take a while and he’s focused on North Korea,” said Giuliani.

A number of Trump allies, including Vice President Mike Pence this week, have stepped up calls for Mueller’s investigation to wrap up, suggesting it was interfering in the president’s ability to do the country’s business. Mueller’s team is investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election and possible coordination with Trump associates as well as whether the president obstructed justice. So far, the special counsel’s office has charged 19 people — including four Trump campaign advisers — and three Russian companies.

Both Trump’s former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, and his deputy campaign chairman, Rick Gates, have pleaded guilty and are now cooperating with the probe. A number of other former White House and campaign staffers, including Reince Priebus and Steve Bannon, as well as Inauguration Day committee chairman Tom Barrack, have been interviewed.

Trump’s longtime personal attorney, Michael Cohen, had his office and home raided by federal agents and, this week, was revealed to have been selling his insight into Trump to corporations. Giuliani said the arrangement “looks bad” but insisted there was no crime.

Giuliani demurred when asked if Trump would consider it a “red line” for his children to be interviewed. Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared, Kushner, both worked on the campaign and are senior advisers at the White House, while Trump’s adult sons, Don Jr. and Eric, were also leading figures on the campaign. Giuliani said he did not expect those interviews with Mueller to take place.

“Our understanding is that he’s pretty much finished,” Giuliani said. “As far we know, we’re basically the last witness.”

The special counsel’s office has not outlined the duration of the probe.

Some of Trump’s recent tweets revealed the president’s anxiety about how the investigation could sway voters as they decide whether to keep congressional Republicans in power or force him to face an aggressive Democratic majority. Giuliani repeated his call for the probe to end soon but suggested that if it lasted until November’s midterms, “it would be helping Republicans.”

“It makes the campaign feel it it’s about impeachment,” the former mayor said. “I think the Democrats would be making the same mistake we did back during Clinton.”

In 1998, months after Clinton was impeached, voter backlash cost the Republicans’ chance to pick up seats in both Houses of Congress.

By JONATHAN LEMIRE By Associated Press – published on STL.News by St. Louis Media, LLC (U.S)

#Donald Trump #New York #North Korean leader Kim Jong Un #president's legal team #Russia probe investigators #TodayNews #Trump-Russia interview decision soon

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The Not-So-Special Story Behind How To Go Viral – Why These Brands Did It Right

By Senko Duras

Surviving in the world of online content is no easy feat.

Thriving in this world is a Herculean task, and each success has the rest of us wondering how and why.

It seems impossible, yet it happens.

When it comes to going viral, the Pareto principle (also known as the 80-20 Rule) is an extremely helpful reference point. It states that:

80% of output is produced by 20% of input

80% of outcomes are from 20% of causes

80% of contribution comes from 20% of the potential contribution available

In other words, if 20% of your time is spent on content creation, 80% should be spent on content distribution/promotion. This may not always be feasible as some content types will always take longer to produce than others, but as a general rule of thumb, it’s a good way to distribute time across your content tasks.

The reason why? Because often 1% of your content gets 99% of the attention. Viral content defies all odds. It’s an Oscar winner; a slam dunk; a home run.

This post will examine the psychology behind what makes content go viral as well as offering actionable tips to help you achieve the holy grail.

Why do we share?

To unravel why content goes viral, we need to understand why content gets shared in the first place.

So what is it that makes us click ‘share’ instead of ‘like’?

A New York Times study narrowed down the motivations for sharing content into five basic categories:

It’s interesting, but not very actionable. Let’s dig deeper!

What makes content go viral?

When looking for the philosopher’s stone of ‘virality’, you will notice that every study and research conducted about this topic agrees upon four main influencing factors:

Emotional appeal

Value/usefulness

Originality

Outreach

One of the best-known studies is that of Milkman and Berger who explored what exactly makes content spread like wildfire and whether virality can be achieved deliberately.

They found that content that entices high-arousal emotions (either positive or negative) is more effective than content that doesn’t evoke emotions. This finding reflects the common motives for sharing such as the need to connect, feel involved and support causes that matter to us.

They also found that positive content is generally more successful than negative content. That’s a bit surprising, right? I personally would have thought negative content would rule the scene given the much-sought ‘scandal’ factor of negative news. But then again, when you think about it, the act of ‘sharing’ is intrinsically linked to our personal image therefore we want to appear to provide positive value to others.

Tip #1 – Activating high-arousal emotions

So, the first tip when it comes to going viral is to activate high-arousal emotions.

High-arousal emotions can be positive or negative, and they include awe, fear, joy, anger, anxiety, desire, and surprise.

Let’s go through each of these emotions one by one.

Awe

Awe is the wonder and bewilderment we feel when we experience something remarkable. Something we simply cannot resist commenting on or sending forward. It often arises after we experience something we deeply or strongly relate to, or when we read breaking tips or research.

A great example is one of the most viral articles of 2015, ‘To Fall in Love With Anyone, Do This‘, by Mandy Len Catron. The author described her experience of finding an old laboratory experiment that claimed to make complete strangers fall in love, and tested it. Turns out it did, in fact, make her fall in love. Boom! One thing everyone in the world is interested in is love and the article went viral.

It stirred up discussion all over the world and inspired people to either prove or disprove the experiment. This article was an ‘awe bomb’, although it worked on several other emotional fronts including surprise, joy and even anxiety.

Anger

If you poke people with the angry stick, they will work very, very hard to get justice. They will tweet about it, write articles in outrage or rebuttal, and attack you on all virtual fronts to convince the rest of the world that you are wrong.

A great example is an article by ‘The “Content Is King” Myth Debunked’ by Derek Halpern. The old saying that content is king of SEO is widely accepted in today’s world. Derek took this truism and exploded it with data-supported findings. A lot of people tried to discredit his article which resulted in huge amount of backlinks – so the haters actually made him more successful.

Be careful, though, with enticing anger. Using it to your advantage does not mean being deliberately antagonistic or controversial. It means taking a highly debatable topic and finding a logical, well-referenced and original stance on it. It means challenging the accepted status quo using rational, coherent arguments. Also, it’s never advised to base your entire content marketing strategy on this particular emotion.

Surprise/shock

What surprises us? Well, anything that goes against our expectations, really. Enticing the emotion of surprise is all about challenging the accepted status quo. ‘Surprise’ articles are often science-based, revolving around new research findings or simply challenging existing beliefs.

The article ‘Drinking three glasses of champagne ‘could help prevent dementia and Alzheimer’s disease‘ grabbed worldwide attention because not only does it introduce surprising new information, but it justifies a common little ‘vice’ which is the consumption of alcohol for relaxation and socialization.

Joy

The list of what brings joy into our lives and our hearts is long and includes anything that is funny, inspiring or uplifting. This type of content is usually all about personal stories, random acts of kindness, social studies with positive outcomes, and all things cute in life (yes, including cat videos).

For example, the article ‘Penguin swims 5,000 miles every year for reunion with the man who saved his life’ is a cute, heart-warming story that highlights a special relationship between an old man and one of the cutest animals in the world.

Fear/anxiety

Fear is a good one. It’s one of the strongest motivators known to mankind. Even the most rational human beings are bound to succumb to the panic of the surviving reptilian brain and act based on fear from time to time.

Good topic approaches include making people afraid they might be unconsciously committing errors or targeting the ever-present fear of missing out on something (commonly known as ‘FOMO‘).

You can find inspiration for how to entice fear in the article ‘How Images Improve – or Destroy – Conversion Rates‘. This piece emphasizes the importance of images in online content and instills in the reader a momentary fear that there is something they are doing wrong. This fear, in turn, forces you to click… and we all know enough clicks is what makes a piece go viral.

Tip #2 – Making something useful

The next item on the list of viral ‘musts’ is usefulness. It’s simple: content must provide value in one form or another. Content that is useful on a practical level is much more likely to go viral.

Common examples of these type of posts are ‘how to’ guides and informative lists that provide tips and tricks. The only problem with useful content is that there are literally thousands upon thousands of lists and tutorials online already. So, getting yours well-shared is not only about being useful, but also about being more useful than the content that is already out there.

Brian Dean, an SEO specialist and marketer, advises creating a ‘skyscraper post’. The secret lies in finding share-worthy content, creating something ten times better than that, and then reaching out to the right people for promotion.

Another useful tip is, if you are writing an article with positive but vague ideas, wrap up your article with a list of concrete steps that you want your readers to take. Concrete actions lead to results – and results help you be remembered and referred back to.

Tip #3 – Original: to be or not to be?

Regarding viral content, being ‘original’ may or may not be good advice. In fact, the most successful creators of viral content spend heaps of time studying other viral results and mimicking them in their own content. So where does that leave originality?

A good example of originality repurposed is a post from BuzzFeed that used the romanticized inconsistencies in the famous Penguin stories to create their version of the well-received post: ‘A Scientist Says That Story About The Penguin Who Swims Home To His Friend Was Misreported‘.

It’s hard to believe, but when you think about it, it’s true. Originality does not reside as much in the originality of the idea or information, but in the approach and representation. You don’t always have to go elsewhere to look for trends to evaluate, just improve and reuse your own content.

Tip #4 – Reach for outreach

The last (but not least) law of the jungle when it comes to going viral is: no exposure = no likes. Simply creating content, posting it and hoping for the best will not cut it these days. There is too much fluff online already. By the time Google crawlers reach you, you will be retired in the Bahamas. If you want your content to get noticed today, you need to dive deep into social media and reach out to the right people.

Mandy Lee Catron’s love experiment would never have become world-famous if she had stuck to her little blog with its decent but small reader-base. Instead, by guest-posting the article to The New York Times, she got the necessary exposure for her content to become viral.

So, whether you decide to guest post or promote your content piece above and below social media, exposure cannot be overlooked as a necessary step in the process.

Summing up

Making your content viral is not an easy task, but it is not impossible either. With attention, evaluation and practice, your article or video can be the next storm that rushes through news feeds and Twitter streams all over the world.

Guest Author: Passionate about digital marketing, entrepreneurship, growth and travel, Senko Duras is also the co-founder of Diversis Digital and Point Visible. Loves testing new ideas, projects with unclear specifications and fighting pressure with a chilled out attitude.

The post The Not-So-Special Story Behind How To Go Viral – Why These Brands Did It Right appeared first on Jeffbullas’s Blog.

The post The Not-So-Special Story Behind How To Go Viral – Why These Brands Did It Right appeared first on Make It With Michael.

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