#Anne 's House of Dreams

[leaves-lilies-and-esther]

Lol- I got to that point in the Anne of Green Gables series where Diana has two kids (little Anne Cordelia + mini Fred!) and she's raving about how amazing this new catalogue is to entertain them because they'll sit and look at it for hours.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Lynde: "I managed to raise x number of kids without the aid of any catalogue, thank you very much."

It reminded me so much of how people talk about phones now - "I raised such-and-such many kids without it!"

[jolieeason]

May 2023 Wrap Up

Here is what I read/posted/bought in May. As always, let me know if you have read any of these books and (if you did) what you thought of them. Books I Read: Free Kindle Purchase KU Purchase ARC from St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin ARC from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Bantam ARC from Sourcebooks Casablanca ARC from St. Martin’s Press ARC from St. Martin’s…

[winterhalters]

K I N G S I D E, a tale of seven kings

first season 1514-1520. Claude and François finally get married, a vacant seat for Mary Tudor, Louise of Savoy's stubborness to keep her son in check. A new King arises, the New Order, François' quest for glory in Italy. Another crown, another campaign.

second season 1522-1530. The inheritance dispute that leads Bourbon to treason. The pursuit of the italian dream, Claude dies, all is lost in Pavia. Süleyman and the unthinkable alliance, captivity in Spain. The Ottoman fleet. Royal depression. The inheritance dispute that led Bourbon to treason. The ladies' peace, Henry VIII flinching, a price for two princes, a New wife for the King.

third season 1531-1537. Louise dies, tensions between François and Marguerite. The wedding of Catherine and Henri. The rise of Pisseleu, the battle at Court between Charles and Henri and their people. War between Diane and Montmorency. Placards and the anti-heterics frenzy, another war in Italy. Wedding and death of Madeleine.

fourth season 1539-1547. Mending tensions between France and Spain. A very stubborn niece. All eyes on Henri and Catherine's sterile womb. Death of Charles. The duel in Jarnac. The King is dead, long live. Diane de Poitier's absolute triumph over Anne de Pisseleu. The Guises make their move.

fifth season 1553-1559. Diane of France's not so typical royal wedding. Catherine giving birth to the twins, Chenonceau goes to Diane, the cordial hate between the two. Rohan VS Nemours. Montmorency mess and a remarriage for Diane of France. The death of Henri, everything falls down.

sixth season 1560-1564. François II barely hanging on, Catherine's almost giving up, Elisabeth married off, the Guise family's counterpower, Montemorency's political exile, the Amboise conspiracy, preparations for the grand tour.

seventh season 1565-1572. The end of the grand tour, encounter between the royal family and Elisabeth, queen of Spain. The rise of Charles IX, a new queen, Marie Touchet and her bastard boys. Catherine's plans to get a match for Marguerite. Rising tensions between Charles and Henri after Jarnac and Montcontour. Marguerite's nuptials amidst tensions and Coligny's attempted murder.

eighth season 1572-1575. Coligny and the Protestant leaders rallying the troops. The Saint Barthelemew Massacre and the promise of Marguerite to never forgive her family. Catherine finds out Anjou's possible involvement. A new king for Poland. Marguerite's toubled married life. Death of Charles IX. Henri's escape from Poland and slow return to France.

nineth season 1581-1584. Catherine's illusions shatter. New King, no heir. Marguerite returns to Paris. Louise shows some spine against the King's favorites. Quarelling with Anjou, tensions with Elizabethan England, Anjou's election and subsequent death and Catherine's anger. The Guise family veering off the road.

tenth season 1585-1589. The mounting war of the three Henris. All eyes on King Henri who has no sons, Catherine's political exile, the slow burning of the last Valois children. Hunting down Marguerite from stronghold to stronghold, ending with her house arrest in Usson. Assassination of the Guise brothers, the death of Catherine, Henri III breaks down in Diane's arms. Marguerite in exile, Diane the only "true" daughter of Catherine's, as she sets out to (successfully) pacify the kingdom on her own.

[beaft]

formative influences/things that live in my heart (inspired by @feytouched's syllabus)

movies

alice (1988) by jan svankmejer

the double (2013) by richard ayoade

nosferatu (1979) by werner herzog

withnail and i (1987) by bruce robinson

books

the haunting of hill house by shirley jackson

the lord of the rings by j. r. r. tolkien

deathless by catherynne valente

autobiography of red by anne carson

coraline by neil gaiman

grief is the thing with feathers by max porter

the little prince by antoine de saint-exupéry

a series of unfortunate events by lemony snicket

artworks

eine kleine nachtmusik by dorothea tanning

tell me the way by kay nielsen

the garden of earthly delights by hieronymous bosch

st george and the dragon by paolo uccello

poems

the love song of j. alfred prufrock by t. s. eliot

sunlight on the garden by louis macneice

i had a dream about you by richard siken

i'm not a religious person but by chen chen

songs

that unwanted animal by the amazing devil

go long by joanna newsom

spaceboy by smashing pumpkins

lord anthony by belle and sebastian

quick! by the magnetic fields

miscellaneous

sleeping beauty concept art by eyvind earle

jeremy miranda's winter paintings

the site-specific installations of rune guneriussen

colleen moore's fairy dollhouse

bird and blend's "campfires and vampires" tea

snowflakes are dancing by isao tomita (the whole album)

viktor wynd's wunderkabinet

in the realms of the unreal by henry darger

jean-paul gaultier 2007 collection

[coraniaid]

Here is a list of every Buffy character who appears in, or is mentioned by name in, at least one episode of every season.

These are the characters that, you might assume, are the most important over the course of the whole show. The ones that the writers cared about most and refused to stop caring about. The ones that did the most to shape who Buffy Anne Summers herself would become as a person. Put simply: the main characters of the show.

Each of them appears in the first season and also appears (in one case, as a post-death vision) in the last.

Just for fun I've added (in parenthesis) the number of episodes each of them actually appears in. Can you spot the odd one out?

Buffy Summers (144) Willow Rosenberg (144) Xander Harris (143) Rupert Giles (126) Joyce Summers (58) Angel (58) Amy Madison (8)

That's right, Xander Harris is the obvious odd one out.

All the others appeared in an even number of episodes, but -- because he doesn't appear in Season 7's Conversations With Dead People -- Xander only appears in 143 of the show's 144 total episodes. Thus making him, quite literally, the odd ...

... okay, okay, obviously it's Amy.

Amy Madison appears in one -- and only one -- episode of each of Seasons 1, 2, 3, 4 and 7 and in three episodes of Season 6. She doesn't appear in Season 5 at all but Willow does mention her, by name, in Season 5's Triangle.

Other characters introduced in Season 1 who appear in or are mentioned by name in most of the show's remaining seasons include

Cordelia Chase (who is in 54 episodes over three seasons starting from Welcome to the Hellmouth, plus 88 more in the Angel spin-off; but is not mentioned by name in Season 6 or Season 7 [although there's a brief flashback via archive footage in Season 7's Him that I don't think should count]),

Principal Snyder (18 episodes over just three continuous seasons starting with The Puppet Show (and a posthumous appearance in Season 4's Restless), mentioned by name in every following season except Season 5)

Harmony Kendall (14 episodes over five continuous seasons, starting with Season 1's The Harvest, plus a dream appearance in Restless and 18 more episodes in Angel; mentioned by name in Season 6 of Buffy but not in Season 7 [unless you count that previously mentioned archive footage in Him but I still don't think you should).

Why and how Amy manages to make it on to this list is genuinely something of a mystery to me. The writers very obviously do not care about her as a character at all, they treat her primarily as a joke or a plot device, they never bother to give her anything resembling a coherent arc or show any sign of treating the various traumatic things that happen to her (months with her body magically stolen by her own mother; years living as a rat; retroactively a magical junkie and somehow the only straight witch in Sunnydale) with any sympathy at all.

And yet, by at least one metric [admittedly a pretty silly and arbirtrary metric] ... the most important recurring characters on Buffy -- the only ones to be mentioned in every single season of the show -- are

Buffy herself;

Buffy's best friend, her college roommate, the woman she shares a house with for the last two seasons of the show, her metaphorical spirit, the girl she was prepared to die for in Season 1, the all-powerful witch who brings her magically back to life when she dies in Season 5;

Buffy's other best friend, her metaphorical heart, somebody who isn't afraid to tell her that she's his hero and inspiration in the dark, the ordinary man who she trusts to protect her last living family member in an apocalypse, the boy who brought her (non-magically) back to life when she died in Season 1;

her Watcher, her metaphorical mind, the mentor who instructs her and guides her and lies to her and ultimately abandons her, the closest thing in the whole world she has to a father, somebody who cares about her so much he is convinced she would be better off without him in her life;

her mother, the person who raised her, the parent whose good opinion she's most afraid of losing, the woman who she spends two years hiding her true nature from, somebody who loves her and fights to protect her and -- ultimately -- accepts her, but isn't quite able to ever truly understand her, the mother whose untimely death marks her own transition into adulthood;

the centuries-old vampire with a soul she falls in love with as a teenager, setting in motion a tragic series of events that will culminate in him losing said soul, forcing her to send him to hell and making it hard for her to ever admit her love for anybody else (plus to him getting his own five-season spin-off show);

and ... a girl she meets in sophmore year for cheerleading tryouts, (which they both fail) and who she will have one single direct conversation with again, five years later, a conversation that comprises a total of twelve syllables ("Hi Buffy." "Hi. How've you been?" "Rat. You?" "Dead." "Oh.")

Whenever people talk about Buffy as if it was meticulously crafted and plotted from the beginning; whenever they insist you can't possibly understand a character until you've seen a flashback episode that aired five years after their first appearance, whenever they make reference to the show's Original Plan in a way that implies any deviation from this plan is something remarkable that needs to be explained, I always think about Amy Madison.

What better evidence do you need in favour of the idea that, in fact, the writers were just making it all up as they went, right from the beginning? What Plan did the writers ever have in mind for Amy? How can all of this possibly have been on purpose?

[gogandmagog]

What do you think Gilbert’s most under-rated moment is? Of all the books. 😊

— Anne’s House of Dreams, Lucy Maud Montgomery

Man, it bursts my little bubble to think about the ‘Dawn and Dusk’ chapter of ‘House of Dreams’ too much but Gilbert’s most underrated moment has surely gotta be this one.

Gilbert’s dauntless integrity is really easy to overlook in the shadow of the ineffable sorrow of this moment. This is the single most violent blow in the world to hand a mother (or arguably anyone anywhere; the loss of a child is such a ruinous grief that not everyone survives it, and here even Marilla, a strong believer in moral code, in Providence, and honesties… openly flees the scene) and yet Gilbert delivers it so softly, and directly. The fortitude it must’ve taken to not honey the inevitability of Joy’s ‘going’, by spinning counterfeit hope, that maybe he couldn’t be totally sure of what was to come, or that there was even a very small chance of recovery. With the understanding, of course, that Gilbert would’ve been properly trained in the parsing and distributing of ugly tidings (practised as a class exercise in medical schools, even in the 1880’s — though still not necessarily a very teachable skill)… but all those fine words and bedside manner instructions count for a whole lot less when it’s your own much desired child, your own much loved wife, and your own present bracing against the crippling tragedy still at hand.

For me, this moment just speaks of true shining character. Though Anne pointedly asked, where Leslie did not, we can also still see when we compare these two harsh occasions of outing-the-truths, that Gilbert’s going to do the right thing, no matter how agonising, no matter how personal, and no matter the infliction to himself. 🥹 And anyway, I love him soooo much for it.

In the even bigger picture of this chapter, how ready Gilbert is to humble himself is also up for discovery. Doctor Dave was called to the house. Doctor Dave was retiring, out of date with his technique, and so old fashioned that Gilbert wasn’t in the habit of consulting with him unless things were philosophically dire. At this point, Gilbert had already righted some Doctor Dave wrongs in the community; saved lives that he would’ve lost. And when we let all that sink in, Gilbert’s desperation in ‘Dawn and Dusk’ starkly shows through.

[akiology]

Phantom Thieves play a farming/life simulator game with S/O

Note: purely self-indulgent... my friends and i booted up stardew valley again so have this . .. i mainly have stardew in mind while writing, so the mechanics will be reflecting that ehe no sumi yet! i have no idea how to write her yet </3 but i am currently playing through p5r so i might add her later!

Akiren

Ahh... he enjoys this game very much. Being somewhere peaceful and quiet AND alone with you? Perhaps a dream come true! As soon as the game is loaded, he starts planting the first few seeds he receives, and then proceeds to forage for things he could sell. When he finds a few flowers, he will give them to you and will pout if you don't accept them.

"You need to meet the people in town!" you tell him as he tries to give you the flower again.

"Why? I already have you. I do not need anyone else."

Definitely the type to do most things with you. You are planting crops? He will water them. You are petting the chickens? He will feed them. You are fishing on the beach? He is right beside you, doing the same. You are going to the mines? He defends you from the mobs while you mine away. He genuinely enjoys being with you all the time (even if in this case, its in a video game).

Enjoys playing househusband as well, should you advance that far in the game, and will be the type to seriously think about the names of your children (in the game). Once the house is upgraded, and there is a kitchen, he now has another purpose. The type to collect recipes and cook, going around town giving dishes to the townspeople. The type to send you off with your 'lunch' and a "Take care! The kids and I will be waiting for you."

Ryuji

Probably giddy the first time you suggest playing the game. He will gladly agree, of course! The only thing though, he does not find the farm work to be entertaining, so you will have to do that. He does not mind taking care of the livestock though! As soon as the game starts, he'd probably hand you the seeds and go foraging instead. Probably the kind to always make sure to have something to sell at the end of the day.

He enjoys going to the mines, and so he is mainly in-charge of the upgrades. Will tend to give you a few pretty stones and/or artifacts he finds. Also the kind to 'unlock' things, such as new areas or new mechanics. He would probably go for achievements, but he's not really a completionist. More so does certain things for its benefits.

"Ryuji, I need a few earth crystals for the mayonnaise makers," you tell him as you were rearranging a few things in your farm.

"Alright babe! I also got you a diamond, by the way!"

He also tries to make your life easier while playing the game, such as letting you upgrade your backpack first, exchanges tools with you when he upgrades so that you have the better quality, and puts torches every where so you do not get lost. Will probably be blushing the whole time while you guys get married, and when you decide to have kids (in-game).

Ann

The game is so cute! Yes, she will gladly play with you! When you first boot up the game, she is a little bit overwhelmed because there are so many things to do, but she will most likely look at the journal/tasks as a guide for things to do. She does not mind doing a little bit of everything, but she mainly enjoys taking care of the livestock. She also likes designing the layout for both the farmland and the inside of the house.

"Oh my gosh! Can I buy the chickens for our coop? Our first children!" Ann gushes, having just finished up the fencing for the said coop.

"Sure, just do not forget to buy food for them as well!"

Once you guys have reached the stage where you are living comfortably, she will try to befriend everyone! Extra resources she have will be given to the townspeople, curious for the lore and a few character backstories. As for the romanceables, she asks for your permission to befriend them beforehand. It's honestly adorable.

When you guys get married, she will dress up accordingly. She is giggling the whole time, and will whisper an 'I love you' to you at the end. When you decide to have kids, she's a bit disappointed that they do not grow up. She finds it fun to put different hats on them, though!

Yusuke

He is a bit clueless at first, and will need you to guide him through most of the things. Once he gets the hang of it though, he will enjoy it. He really likes the background music and the art of the game so those are plus points for him. He tends to forget the farm chores though, as he will usually go to town to interact with different characters and see their stories.

If you let him be in-charge of the farm layout, it will be a beautiful farm guaranteed; even with just the use of flowers, crops, and some tall grasses. He asks that you do not touch it though, so you have two farms. One for profit, and one for whatever Yusuke decides it to be. He rarely goes to the mine, and almost never goes unless you invite him so you are in-charge of upgrading your tools. You, however, task him with buying things needed for the farm such as hay, seeds, etc. He accidentally bought 99 pieces of the wrong thing once though, and he apologized profusely afterwards.

"You bought 99 heaters?!"

"It was beside the hay, my love, I realized too late." Yusuke genuinely sounded apologetic, and you assured him that it was fine.

When you get married, he will give you a bunch of flowers he grew on the farm. He also tends to have a surprise for you every once in a while, like maybe an item he got while exploring, or rearranging your furniture. If you decide to have children, he diligently checks on them and does not want to leave them alone on the farm. You try to tell him it does not make a difference, but he refuses to leave them all by themselves.

Makoto

Another one who is a bit clueless. After watching a bit from you, she starts to learn though. You divide up the chores between yourselves, so that you get equal experiences. Also the one to fulfill all the side quests, even in-game she likes helping people. She finds the game as a good stress relief, given as it has a calming background music and cute art. Also enjoys exploring every new thing together.

"Makoto, will you be my partner for the festival?"

"Y-you don't need to ask. My answer is always yes."

She also likes the combat system, and will visit the mines sometimes. A casual player, she allows you to play even without her. Given that she is a very busy person, she's fine even with just updates on what is going on in the farm currently. Despite this, she somehow remembers which crops/products are the most profitable and encourages you to sell those instead.

If you decide to get married in-game, she is red in the face while the sequence is happening. She might also come back more frequently now, can't let her spouse do all the work on the farm by themselves now, eh?

Futaba

She is probably the one to initiate asking. She has played the game before, and wants to try playing with you as well. Will also probably play the game with a few mods, just to spice it up a little bit. As soon as the game loads, she plants the given seeds and goes to town to greet the people. An absolute completionist for achievements. Might play the game even if you are not online. The kind of player to advance ahead, just so she can help you later on. Despite this, she asks for your input in most things as she really likes including you in the decision-making.

"Should I put the coop near our crops so it's easier for you to navigate?" Futaba asks while she layouts the farm.

"Yes please!"

She keeps a mental list of the things she needs to do, and knows exactly what exact conditions are needed to unlock a certain thing, or the requirements to a certain event. So if you ever find yourself stuck, feel free to ask her! She also does a little bit of everything, therefore her stats are really balanced.

Married or not, she gives you an item every day. She says its a 'power-up', so you will have an easier time doing your tasks. Also, your cat's name is Morgana. She says you guys are one big family over here.

Haru

Yes! It did not take much convincing, honestly. She does not mind being completely in-charge of the crops. She tends to do a few tasks from-time-to-time, though. Especially tasks related to crops, such as bringing a cabbage to a certain person in town. She very much likes the combat system, sure it's a little simple, but she loves it. Sometimes goes to the mines just for it. Not to get an ore, but just to battle.

She gives you flowers, sometimes from foraging, and some she grew on the farm. She studies which crops are the best to grow to ensure profit and also which ones you can eat for HP and fatigue, both for when you or she goes to the mines. She might drop a few fun facts about some of the plants, too.

She is a very casual player, playing for the vibes and also as a bonding quality time with you. Thus, she likes when you ask her to do stuff with you, such as visiting another island together, or going to the mines together. When you get married, she finds it cute that the whole town attended. And to be honest... this game is giving her ideas.

"What if we start a farm that could supply our café?" Haru asks you one night.

"H-Haru! Let us focus on graduating first... "

Goro

A little hesitant to play, but he ends up playing nonetheless. He is a little bit unsure on what to do, so he ends up mimicking whatever it is you do. While he ends up enjoying the game, he will only play when you are online. If he has prior commitments, he lets you play but does not want you to play special events without him.

"Goro~ the festival tomorrow requires me having a partner. Can I ask one of the townspeople instead?"

"No. Do not even think about it. Wait for me," he leaves no room for discussion.

He also likes dividing the chores between you two, so you both get equal benefits. He likes exploring with you, but when he is not with you he is mining purely for the combat. If you ever need monster drops, he probably has a lot in his inventory. Will also redecorate your house a bit, and admittedly he likes the idea of living with you a little too much. Even if it is in-game. He is most definitely not remembering how you designed the house for later references.

He also really enjoyed watching the wedding sequence with you. Maybe one day, you can run away with him and live a peaceful life tending a farm instead? Would you say yes? Maybe it is not too late to start anew somewhere.

[the-ghost-bird]

Instinct; I'm sick of the chase but I'm hungry for blood.

Adam Raised A Cain by Bruce Springsteen | Excerpt from letter to Bill Bufford by Martha Gellhorn | In The Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado | Starvation by Maya Angelou | Plainwater by Anne Carson | Deathless by Catherynne M. Valente I Belovéd; Slaughterhouse by Yves Olade | The Stream Of Life by Clarice Lispector | I Used To Be A Hole In The Ground by Katie Maria | A Dowry Of Blood by S. T. Gibson | Dennis Lehane from Shutter Island | Judas Goat by Gabrielle Bates | Stratis The Sailor Among The Agapathi by George Seferis | The Third Hour Of The Night by Frank Bidart | White Oleander by Janet Fish | Not A Girl by Ashe Vernon | Blasphemies At The 5th Street Station by S. Osborn | The Civil War By Anne Sexton | Girl As Burning by Kanika Lawton | Wishbone by Richard Silken | via @itsmeyirah

[the-modern-typewriter]

Yo, I've seen your book rec posts on and off for a while, and I was wondering if you could (if you have time ^.^ if not, that's cool too) throw up a list of your favorite lgbt/neurodivergent/unique protagonist books? I don't think I've ever read a book outside of fanfiction where the lead/s weren't just some form of 'normal' or straight or whatever. Also, since you're one of my favorite authors I feel like I'd be more inclined to give one of them a go lol ^.^'

There are an increasing number of diverse books out there!

Here are some of my personal favourites in no particular order, by which I mean I have rated them 4 stars (I really liked it) or 5 stars (it was amazing) and then curated the list some more on top of that. E.g. I might have thought it was amazing at the time, but if I can't tell you anything that happened in the story years after reading it, it's not on the list. That doesn't mean it's not worth reading, just that I have a bad memory so if I remember it definitely did something right!)

You can find more books I've read on my Goodreads. There are books that fit what you've asked for on there, it just doesn't fit my personal curated favourites list!

LGBTQ books

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller (m/m)

If We Were Villains by M.L Rio (m/m)

Girls Made of Snow and Glass and Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust

Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand (f/f + ace)

In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado (f/f - non fiction)

Salt Slow by Julia Armfield (f/f)

Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin (m/m)

Nightwood by Djuna Barnes (f/f - though be warned, this is a weird one! Rated highly more because I can't get it out of my head than that I liked it)

Tipping the Velvet and Fingersmith by Sarah Waters (f/f)

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Peter Darling by Austin Chant (m/m, trans)

The Binding by Bridget Collins (m/m)

The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J Klune (m/m)

Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth (f/f)

The Greenhollow duology by Emily Tesh (m/m)

These Violent Delights by Micah Nemerever (m/m)

One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston (f/f)

(Obligatory read MY BOOK The God Key (m/m) here!) Obviously, this is my favourite ;)

Unique/Interesting protagonists:

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon

I Am Not A Serial Killer by Dan Wells

Middlegame by Seanan McGuire (Her Wayward Children series is also great and has a lot of LGBTQ rep!)

The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang (MC has Asperger's)

A Spindle Splintered by Alix.E. Harrow (terminally ill MC, also f/f)

Fugitive Pieces by Anne Michaels

House of Leaves by Mark.Z. Danielewski

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon (Autistic MC)

Disfigured: On Fairytales, Disability and Making Space by Amanda Leduc (nonfiction)

[twst-rose-prisms]

Mary Merveilles' profile

❤️ Bio ❤️

- Dorm: Ramshackle (the Prefect)

- Japanese: メアリー・メルヴェイユ (Meari Merubeiyu)

- Birthday: Aries 11th (Aries)

- Age: 16

- Height: 155cm

- Dominant hand: Right

- Homeland: ?

- Family: Unnamed Mother & Father Unnamed older brother Unnamed older sister

- Voiced by: Ayaka Ohashi

- Other Name(s): Herbivore (Leona) Lil' shrimp (Floyd) Trickster (Rook) Child of Man (Malleus)

❤️ School ❤️

- Grade: Freshman

- Class: Class A (no 9)

- Club: Pop Music Club

- Best subject: Musicology

❤️ Preferences ❤️

- Hobby: Singing, Dancing

- Pet peeves: Dirty rooms

- Favorite food: Apple pie

- Least favorite food: Chili peppers

- Talent: Musical Memory

The prefect of Ramshackle Dorm and Grim's best friend who can "understand him every time" (according to him). A curious, calm and observant girl, she always tries her best to adapt to Twisted Wonderland every day coming from a world where no magic exists. Once she goes past her initially nervous, meek manner, she's actually a really kind, friendly and supportive girl who would do anything for her friends.

❤️ Trivia ❤️

Mary's last name means "Wonder" in French. This could be a pun for the word "Wonderland" and also connected to Twisted Wonderland.

Mary's first name is a reference to Mary-Ann - a character in the Slave Labor Graphics Wonderland series who helps the White Rabbit escape from the Queen of Hearts's execution. She is known for being White Rabbit's maid and is obsessed with cleanliness, in the comic, she said that "all she really wants is to be [herself]".

She loves all genres of music and can easily like a song if it catches her attention. She also loves classical music, it's one of the reasons why she occasionally drops by Mostro Lounge.

She always carries the Ghost Camera with her in case she needs to use it, because of this she grows to like taking photos of other people or scenery.

Her favorite color is red, and her favorite shape is 4-petal flower. She considers the shape as her lucky charm and is shown to have accessories in the said shape.

She likes to spoil Grim a lot despite his attitude, as she always dreamed of owning a cat pet back when she was in her homeland as her family didn't allow her house to have pets. However, if Grim goes too far with his actions then she'll be there to quickly stop him.

She might appear like that but once she gets very serious or angry then she can look decently scary enough to other people (especially Grim).

Before Book 5, she kept her appearance very simple and did not dress up much as she often appeared meek or a bit brooding due to the pressure of being in another world with no hesitation (as seen in the reference sheet). Turns out, she loves cute and girly things a lot and would like to make herself look cuter, but due to confidence issues she had in the past to the present it gives her a hard time until after Book 4's timeline when she decides to change her appearance completely, making her appears more girly and truer to herself more.

She has a talent for music, specifically musical memory as she can remember a song or a melody quickly and retain that for a long time in her head. She also likes singing or dancing in her free time and would often dance with Grim and the ghosts in her dorm.

According to Mary, her family consists of her parents and 2 older siblings and she lives with them, although her brother and father go out to work often and don't stay at home much and her sister is focusing on her schoolwork at the current moment, it's mostly just her and her mom at home half the time.

She doesn't have great stamina, as she often got left behind during her PE class back in her homeland's school, it's also one of the reasons why she got insecure about herself overall and chose to not be overly bright in anything she did.

She cherishes her friends a lot despite their weird antics at times, she thinks that's what them special and unique from other people. (Namely, Grim, Ace and Deuce)

Because she went to beaches with her family a lot back then, she has a good surfing skill and can also be good at playing beach volleyball, though she often gets tired easily and has to sit back to watch her siblings play the rest of the match.

She specifically dislikes dirty rooms or things that are dusty and often cleans her stuff and makes sure they stay tidy; this is mostly a reference to the Mary-Ann character; however Mary is not obsessed with cleanliness too much and can still have patience and calmness when facing dusty stuff.

She also likes cleaning and doing chores as she often helps out her parents with it back at home despite her short stamina. All the dorm's chores are done by her with the help of Grim (sometimes he does help too) and the ghosts.

Hi hi~ If you're reading this then first of all, thank you so much for reading until the very end! I decided to design my MC/Yuusona - Mary! I have a fun time designing her ngl, she looks really cute~ I'll post even more OC content in the future too so please look forward to it! 🌹❤️

[filmnoirsbian]

Hi !! I was wondering if you had any book recs/favorite books? Things that you think of as inspiration or just plain like? Genuinely curious. <3 im in love with your work btw i spent the other day binging your patreon

Some favorites that deeply impacted me from a young age up into teenagedom: the Animorphs series by K. A. Applegate, Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein, Oddly Enough by Bruce Coville, The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Little Sister by Kara Dalkey, The Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C. Wrede, The Tale of Desperaux by Kate DiCamillo, A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket, The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander, Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury, the Septimus Heap series by Angie Sage, Piratica by Tanith Lee, the Inkheart series by Cornelia Funke, His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman, Holes by Louis Sachar, The View from Saturday by E. L. Konigsburg, Shizuko's Daughter by Kyoko Mori, The Sea-Wolf by Jack London, Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech, Criss Cross by Lynne Rae Perkins, Everything on a Waffle by Polly Horvath, Surviving the Applewhites by Stephanie S. Tolan, The Last Book in the Universe by Rodman Philbrick, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg, The Iliad and Odyssey (allegedly) by Homer, The Táin by many people, Harlem by Walter Dean Myers, Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan, The Wall and the Wing by Laura Ruby, The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkein, The Hainish Cycle by Ursula K. Le Guin, Till We Have Faces by C. S. Lewis, The Ethical Vampire series by Susan Hubbard, The Howl Series by Diana Wynne Jones, the Curseworkers series by Holly Black, The Turn of the Screw by Henry James, Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov, The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick, Android Karenina by Ben H. Winters, An Autobiography of Red by Anne Carson, Beloved by Toni Morrison, A Stir of Bones by Nina Kiriki Hoffman, the Mistborn series by Brandon Sanderson, Deathless by Catherynne M. Valente, World War Z by Max Brooks, This is Not A Drill by K. A. Holt, Fade to Blue by Sean Beaudoin, Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu, The Moth Diaries by Rachel Klein, Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman, Crush by Richard Siken, Hopscotch by Julio Cortázar, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame by Victor Hugo, Devotions by Mary Oliver, The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

Some favorites read more recently: The Expanse series by James S. A. Corey, Engine Summer by John Crowley, Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff, The Princess Bride by William Goldman, Heart Berries by Terese Marie Mailhot, My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix, Reprieve by James Han Mattson, House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski, Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn, Kindred by Octavia Butler, Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi, Station Eleven by Emily St. John-Mandel, The Crown Ain't Worth Much by Hanif Abdurraqib, The Refrigerator Monologues by Catherynne M. Valente, Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata, Tender is the Flesh by Augustina Bazterrica, The Girl with All the Gifts by Mike Carey, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson, The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, She had some horses by Joy Harjo, Bright Dead Things by Ada Limón, The King Must Die by Mary Renault, Books of Blood by Clive Barker, Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin, Cassandra by Christa Wolfe

Plays: The Oresteia by Aeschylus, Electra by Sophocles, Los Reyes by Julio Cortázar, Angels in America by Tony Kushner, August: Osage County by Tracy Letts, The Bald Soprano by Eugène Ionesco, The Trojan Women by Euripides, Salome by Oscar Wilde, Girl on an Altar by Marina Carr, Fences by August Wilson, The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams, M. Butterfly by David Henry Hwang, Our Town by Thornton Wilder, Sweeney Todd by Christopher Bond

Graphic novels: The Crow by James O'Barr, DMZ by Brian Wood and Riccardo Burchielli, Eternals (2021) by Kieron Gillen and Esad Ribić, Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons and John Higgins, My Favorite Thing is Monsters by Emil Ferris, Maus by Art Spiegelman, Tank Girl by Alan Martin and Jamie Hewlett, Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, Through the Woods by Emily Carroll, Anya's Ghost by Vera Brosgol

[elvisabutler]

my baby's sure, his love's secure

summary: you want to trust that elvis cares. you want to trust that he'll take care of you but you're pretty sure you know better. elvis reminds you that he chose you to be his princess and that you deserve every bit of his love and every bit of his attention and money even if it's beginning to be in a little shorter supply. rating: m. pairing: austin!elvis ( 60's sde variation ) x female failed actress reader word count: 2329 warnings: sugar daddy/sugar baby dynamic. brief comparison of the reader to belle watling from gone with the wind with priscilla being a scarlett o'hara. a possible butchering of a southern accent for i fear it is hard to decide how to write one sometimes. oral ( f receiving ). mirror sex. no age difference implied, but sugar baby situations do end up leaning that way sometimes. elvis's money troubles. author's note: so welcome to my triple dip for day five: praise kink with sd elvis, specifically 60s austin elvis. so, @sassy-ahsoka-tano when i posted my list just missed out on getting this day and it went to jerry schilling which was fine we all loved that fic. however she had requested either sugar daddy austin or sugar daddy elvis. and i wrote sugar daddy austin the same day as the jerry piece but toyed with writing this one. finally settled on something i liked and well y'all get this. normal rules apply, imagine your brand of elvis, i did a weird mishmash of real ( mentioning stay away joe ) and austin for setting, but you choose, i'm not picky. hope y'all enjoy. and see i did say i was working on something else today.

Acting doesn't always pan out, that's one of the regrettable things you've realized over the years. For every Vivien Leigh and Ann Margret there is at least ten girls like you. It shouldn't be so heart wrenching when it happens but it had been your dream since all your mama and daddy could afford was a picture every few months. You had given it a nice go of it, gotten a few tiny tiny parts, nothing to write home about- and you didn't. Truly, if nothing else what your attempts at stardom had given you was Elvis. Though given might have been a strong word, his attention always split between you, the Colonel and the others. You could take his wife, that one came with the territory, you supposed, even though it made you feel a bit like the Belle Watling to her Scarlett O'Hara nowadays with your job and her making him seem oh so respectable. Poor Southern girls don't make good Hollywood wives for formerly poor white trash Southern boys, but sweet girls he found in the army apparently do. But it was the ones that weren't you or Priscilla that sometimes got to you. The film flings- the ones that shouldn't matter because Priscilla and you share his heart with his daughter. But Priscilla has a ring and a house and- you've got an apartment that you spend more money on than you ought to for someone who claims to have a good chunk of her life financed by The Elvis Presley.

Truth be told Vernon knows when he talks Graceland and Elvis Presley Enterprise finances that that he has to tell Priscilla just by virtue of her being Elvis's wife, but telling you? That shouldn't be a thing and yet- and yet you're the second call. You're the one having Vernon pour over every expenditure in your kitchen to see if there's anything Priscilla and him missed. There isn't and you know that means that Elvis's finances are as bad as they looked at first glance. You hear Vernon murmuring about not being able to pay security and having to sell a horse or several to cover the costs of Graceland and your apartment and you wave him off.

"Don't worry 'bout the apartment, Vernon- I'm- I can pay for my own apartment. One less thing, you can probably keep at least one o'the horses. Don't need security, either." You'd like it, after all it wasn't exactly a secret that you were Elvis Presley's sugar baby but you also would prefer Elvis to be able to not worry about Graceland getting overrun by overzealous fans or Elvis himself being overrun by them. Sacrifices had to be made, besides, you could handle yourself. You can handle bits of yourself that he's been handling when his films were doing well.

It's another week before you get the opportunity to visit him on set, you think the film is called Stay Away, Joe, and while you're willing to look past a lot of things when it comes to Elvis, the look he has while on set isn't necessarily one of them. You have to bite back a laugh when you see him for the first time and when he hears the laughter, he turns, looking like he's about to tear into whoever is laughing before his face softens, realizing it's you. He motions for you to head to his trailer with a tilt of his head that he can easily play off as just twitching on camera.

You would prefer to immediately talk to and see him but as always the universe has other plans. Elvis leaves you hanging for a good twenty minutes before finally making his way into the trailer, a smile on his face that lights up the air around him before it dims just a little bit at seeing the dress you have on. Once inside he pulls you close to him and moves his finger around a simple signal to get you to twirl which you readily oblige him with.

"Look at you, dressin' up in that pretty little dress that I know I didn't buy ya." He plays with the strap humming as he does, not sliding it down but just running the fabric through his fingers. "Tryin' to show me I don't need to spoil ya? Tryin' to show me ya don't need a diamond necklace on that pretty neck of yours?"

You nod slowly, licking your lips as your stance straightens up. "You don't need to be havin' a sugah baby who can take of herself. Still got my job, Daddy."

His laugh almost confuses you before you realize that he's doing it purely because he thinks what you said is the most hilarious thing. "Ever think that's why I let ya keep it? Hate the damn thing but- it's serving its purpose now. Keepin' you above water while I'm tryin' to get you everythin' and get things sorted. It's keepin' ya from finding someone else in this town. Don't realize how many of 'em want ya. Don't realize how I gotta hear the whispers."

You swallow and lean forward a little, your body moving almost on instinct. "What kinda whispers?"

"'Bout how they all wish you had caught on in the movies. How they wish you were their leading lady or their darlin'." His hand moves to push down the strap of your dress, kissing your shoulder blade as he does. "'Bout how I've got this gorgeous woman in my bed. Bein' my baby."

A hum escapes your lip as you sigh, tilting your neck to the side to expose it for more access. "Your favorite baby?"

The answer is obvious, you know it is and so does Elvis but he catches on with what you want with a smirk, pulling down the other strap of your dress as he continues to kiss your neck, "Ain't another girl who can make m'feel like you do. 'Cilla- She's pretty close but you know how perfect I think ya are. Brilliant ya are, havin' that head for numbers I never got."

Your eyes move to the mirror, eyeing your reflection and shivering just a tad. You can see the look of pleasure starting to seep into your eyes, see how your chest is starting to rise and fall just a little bit quicker than it had been. "Haven't had that much time f'me, Daddy. Been making me take care of myself. Makes a girl think ya don't want her."

Perhaps you shouldn't poke the bear like that but it's true, you've been feeling pretty neglected, feeling like he doesn't want you, that he's tired of you because all you really are beyond the occasional- okay, relatively frequent- reassurances that you're a bit more, is a sugar baby, one who holds a bit more power than most you figure, but you are not his wife and you are not his girlfriend. You're someone he spoils in exchange for your company and well, neither one of you had been holding up your end of the bargain.

Elvis can't help but raise a brow at you and purse his lips. There's a part of him that wants to argue, wants to tell you that no one told you that you had to take care of yourself, that he was fine paying for part of the apartment but he knows that you're right. That he's been so busy trying to balance keeping everyone happy and fed and comfortable that he forgot about you. Forgot about one of three people he should care about the most. Instead he hums and starts to sink to his knees. You hands find purchase in his hair, trying to pull him back up with you own raised brow. "What're ya doing, 'Vis?"

"Makin' sure my girl knows how much I want her." He answers like it's the most obvious thing in the world as he starts to bunch up your dress, exposing your underwear clad cunt to his eyes. You're a little embarrassed that despite the fact that Elvis has barely touched you that your panties are slowly becoming soaked. You figure that it's just his effect on people but then you realize that maybe it's because you've missed his touch. You're so enraptured in looking at him that you don't register that he's still talking. "Look in the mirror, darlin'."

A response back, a retort back is on your tongue, you weren't going to look at him while he did whatever he planned on doing but you want to see what he's planning for once so you look at him through the mirror only to see him grin. "That's m'good girl. M'sugar."

The shiver that goes through your body, the way you clench around nothing at those words as you see his eyes boring into you through the mirror. It's nothing you haven't seen before but there's something different about hearing him say those words and looking at you like that reflected at you. His fingers hook under your underwear, slowly pulling it down as he groans seeing your wet cunt exposed. "Soaked for me already. So responsive, best at giving me what I want to see. Not like 'Cilla but in another way. Always so wet for me. So ready for me to do whatever I want." His tongue darts out to lick his lips before he leans down, placing a kiss to the outer lips of your cunt. A whimper leaves your lips against your will, earning a small chuckle from him. "Make the noises, darlin'. Sing like a pretty bird. Sing like Ann did for me."

Your lip curls up into a bit of a snarl that doesn't even get out of your mouth before you feel Elvis's tongue between your folds giving you little kitten licks. You figure he wants you to keep your eyes on the mirror, because you've done something similar to this once before and that was the rule, no taking your eyes off of you and him. You had broken it then but now, but now knowing that he's giving you attention you've been craving, that praises seem to be falling off his lips so easily, you can't help but force yourself to keep staring.

You can hear him murmuring against your clit and against your cunt in general. The words are slightly drowned out a bit by your own sighs and whimpers and murmurs of his name but you still catch them just by virtue of being so intune to his voice. "My gorgeous woman, my head strong woman. Always wantin' t'make sure I'm takin' care of. Don't need me but ya let me keep ya. Let me spoil ya when I can. Deserve everythin' I wanna give ya. Deserve to have a palace. Deserve to have ya own Graceland."

Your hand that's been in his hair has been trying to control how his tongue moves against your clit and how his nose brushes up against it when he moves to your cunt, the noise of your arousal making an almost sickening squishing noise. That hand tightens its grip as he starts to fuck you with his tongue, seemingly wanting to bring you to orgasm before he heaps any more praise on you, any more promises of what he wants to give you. You're not complaining, in fact, as you watch yourself you see the pleasure he's bringing you written on your face. Written in how your mouth stays open, noises erupting from it with no way to stop them. You want to pull his mouth away from your cunt and your clit but then he nips at your clit, a sensation you hate normally but in this moment you swear you see white. The urge to tilt your head back, to look up to the sky as if to pray for forgiveness for how hard you're orgasming is but you force yourself to stay looking at Elvis between your legs. Your legs are shaking just a bit and as Elvis pulls away you can see a smile on his lips. You want to taste yourself on him but he won't let you pull him up to your face just yet.

"You kept looking." It's not a question, it's a statement from Elvis as he looks into the mirror and a new burst of arousal starts to unfurl in your abdomen. "And you made all those pretty noises."

You nod slowly. "I did. Did I do good?"

His fingers move play with you, fingers slipping in between your folds with ease and earning a hiss and a low groan from you. "You did great. Did exactly what I asked you to do. You don't always but when it matters you do. And even when you don't- it's for a good reason. Like you making sure my other two girls are protected. Makin' sure I can keep the house I bought for my mama."

It's then that you have to shut your eyes, the fact that he's praising you for making the sacrifice making you a bit more emotional than you expected. You hear him sigh, feel him kiss your thigh before he speaks again. "I'm gonna get you set up again soon enough, promise, darlin'. Gonna make sure you get your reward beyond this."

"You promise?" Your voice is softer than normal but you know he can hear it. "I'll actually have ya payin' for the apartment again?"

"The apartment, every single dress, every bit of jewelry. Maybe even that new car I know you've been eyein'." Each word is punctuated by a kiss before he stops and looks up at you. "Let me give you more of a reward right now? And I'll be by the apartment tonight?"

You pull him up for a kiss. "I guess I can. Just as long as ya keep tellin' me what a good girl I am. Only the best girl for you."

[bittersweetresilience]

sunny's favorite asukiess creations

hearth (18,589 words)

Because how do you describe a dream once you wake up, when it’s fleeting and slipping through the cracks in your mind like it’s a sieve? You can barely wrap your lips around the concepts and words before you realize it has slipped through like water, and what lay in your hands is just a pang in your chest? When every moment away from it clouds your mind just a little more, until the memories are threadbare? or: Adrien understands what it means to have a home.

Back when I first met Autumn I was on a reading spree and I saved this fic for last and it just completely stunned me. I remember whipping out a textbox page to annotate for my comment, and that's what kicked off insanely long commenter™ Sunny. No matter what Autumn says! This! Is! My! Favorite! Autumn! Fic! At least until I see the secret one she won't let me see... but no, it will always be special to me.

the secrets we keep (14,661 words)

In the wake of a summer that Adrien never wanted to end, all that he wishes to push away comes back to haunt him when the school years starts again: self-doubt from identities that feel no more real than anything else; ghosts of parents who still talk to him; and most all, a fear that the people he loves will leave him in time, too. however, maybe the person who can relate most to him is the one he's never far from.

The best memories of reading this fic as Autumn wrote it and chatting about it and being teased with every Félix mention and being in love with her mind forever and always... if you've ever liked an asukiess meta post or idea post you'll love this. Combination of all of those beautiful things.

wip i saw as of yesterday

Perhaps premature to put it on this list but I have to include it because it was a taste of AUTUMN ORIGINAL WRITING!!!!!!!! AUTUMN ORIGINAL CHARACTERS!!!!!!!! And theater kid Autumn, too. Autumn could be published... Autumn could do anything... if those fools don't get it I'll start my own Autumn publishing company...

switching shenanigans (1,337 words)

Félix.............. first Autumn Félix.............................

felinette fics

FERAL EXPLODE BOOM DECEASED GRAVE HEADSTONE FIRE HOUSE EMOJIS

The art piece whose WIP inspired a fic out of me which was Autumn and my friendship's origin story... FUCKING NATHALIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I accept this. Such a drop dead gorgeous piece.

The most insane fic ever with the most insane fic art ever... WITNESS!!!!!!!!!!!! THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

EEEEEEEEEMOOOOOOOOOOTIOOOOOOOOOOOOON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love how much Autumn loves this piece, every time she reblogs it it makes me happy. Get some horror in this Felinette tonight.

POLAROIDS I LOVE THEM. LOVEYBUG AU WEEK I LOVE YOU

Can you even function after looking at this. They. Shrimping.

HE'S EVERYTHING TO MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

This is criminally underrated... Look At Him. HIS FUCKING BUNNY

I ran out of link blocks but I also wanted to share Unrequited. HAMBDS.

AND AUTUMN'S SUPER SECRET LOVEYBUG ZINE WIP

AUTUMN AND HER CLASSICS!!!!!!!!!! AUTUMN AND HER HUMONGOUS BRAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I worship this. It's all Autumn, I just helped with images.

Okay, I was slightly more involved with this one, but Autumn's contributions literally made it 1 billion times better and I will forever cherish the memory.

Hnwhnfhwnfjgnhsnghsnhsfshwhgwnhgwghgh... Emilie...

autumn's felinette and adrifelinette thoughts

Just in general. I am so lucky.

autumn's friendship

I scrolled through our pinned messages and almost cried laughing...

[the-moral-of-the-rose]

Another crossover...?

"Mr. Judson Parker is going to rent all the road fence of his farm to a patent medicine company to paint advertisements on.”[...] Anne was so worried that she didn’t sleep until nearly morning, and then she dreamed that the trustees had put a fence around the school and painted “Try Purple Pills” all over it."

Anne of Avonlea by L. M. Montgomery

Could it be... the beginning of Doctor Redfern's business, maybe?

"patent medicine is a proprietary medicine made and marketed under a patent and available without prescription." (Google definition). In The Blue Castle we are told that was the kind of medicine Dr. Redfern sold: "A girl friend of hers was asking her how she could stomach Doc. Redfern’s son and the patent-medicine background."

The "medicine advertisement" accident took place when Anne was seventeen, so around 1882. According to my own, very individual (although perhaps faulted) calculation, Barney Redfern (later: Barney Snaith) was born in 1877. (I explained why I think so in this post:

https://www.tumblr.com/the-moral-of-the-rose/745943769703202816/if-anybody-wanted-to-write-a-crossover-between?source=share

So, he'd be about five at this time.

And as far as we know: "I don’t remember Mother. Haven’t even a picture of her. She died when I was two years old. She was fifteen years younger than Father—a little school teacher. When she died Dad moved into Montreal and formed a company to sell his hair tonic. He’d dreamed the prescription one night, it seems. Well, it caught on. Money began to flow in. Dad invented—or dreamed—the other things, too—Pills, Bitters, Liniment and so on. He was a millionaire by the time I was ten, with a house so big a small chap like myself always felt lost in it."

The Blue Castle by L. M. Montgomery

So, Dr. Redfern's company existed during the time Anne of Avonlea took place! He was on his way to earn his first million! So, perhaps it was Barney's dad's advertisement that A. V. I. S. was so upset about!

[coraniaid]

Just thinking about this post some more.  

Really, there are so many instances in Season 3 alone of Buffy either having experiences that directly parallel things Faith must also have gone through or explicitly telling her friends that she can personally relate to Faith or just generally advocating for Faith as a person. 

Off the top of my head, we’ve got:

Buffy’s dismal one bedroom apartment in LA (in Anne) mirroring Faith’s motel room in Sunnydale

Buffy packing as if she’s planning to run away again in Dead Man’s Party, just one episode before Faith does the same thing when she hears about Kakistos being back in town

Buffy approvingly telling Giles at the end of Faith, Hope & Trick that Faith “had a lot to deal with, but she did it” and being inspired by her example to finally admit the truth of what happened to Angel last season

Buffy telling Cordelia in Homecoming how much she resents the fact that Slaying is “all I do; this is what my life is” and how she wishes she could one day pick up a yearbook and say she went to high school and had friends (compare this with Faith’s admission a couple of episodes ago that she dropped out of high school in part because she really didn’t have any friends)

Buffy telling Willow and Xander in The Wish that she’s been trying to reach out to Faith and that she realizes that “Slaying’s a rough gig; too much alone time isn’t healthy”

Buffy being betrayed in consecutive episodes by her mother (in Gingerbread; compare with Faith’s “my dead mother hits harder than that” or "mom was so busy drinking and enjoying the passing out parts of life") and by her Watcher (in Helpless; compare with Faith being betrayed by Gwendolyn Post)

Buffy’s “ode to Faith” during the chemistry test in Bad Girls (“it was intense … I don’t think [anyone else] can [understand it].  It’s kind of a Slayer thing”)

Buffy insisting to both Angel and Giles in Consequences that, whatever she says, Faith wants to be helped (“she just doesn’t know how to say it”)

Buffy telling Willow in Doppelgangland that Faith “had it rough” and that in “different circumstances, that could be me” (something the audience knows is true from The Wish)

Buffy wondering if Angel and Faith might be getting a little too intimate, and when Willow tells her not to worry about being cheated on saying “you’re right, Faith would never do that”.

And that’s not even mentioning how Buffy must have felt about seeing her own first Watcher die, or how she reacted to coming back to Sunnydale and finding out that the Master might still be alive (in When She Was Bad) or her experiences with Ted in Ted, or of being kicked out of her house in Becoming.  It’s not mentioning any of what Buffy later goes through in Season 6 (dragging herself from the grave the way Faith does in her coma dreams; suddenly having to struggle for money and make sense of a world in which she finds herself without control or purpose; being convinced that she’s killed an innocent person and wanting to die).

But the thing all these examples have in common is that Faith is not present to see or hear any of them, and (presumably) never finds out about them after the fact either.  I mean, she probably wouldn’t believe that these things had happened even if somebody had told her (and who would tell her?). 

The image of Buffy that Faith spends all season building up in her head – the perfect Slayer she’s always being unfairly compared to, the girl who gets the Watcher and the Mom and the friends; the impossible standard she’s never going to reach no matter how hard she might try – doesn’t have these flaws.  The Buffy Faith has nightmares about in Season 4’s This Year’s Girl, and whose life she tries to take over in the same season’s Who Are You? doesn’t have these flaws.  The Buffy Faith sees is a perfect Slayer who’s convinced she’s better than Faith ("admit it, you think you're better than me!"); and Faith can’t see past this image because it's something that deep down she herself agrees with.

In Enemies, Faith bemoans the fact that “everyone always asks: why can’t you be more like Buffy?  But did anyone ever ask if [Buffy] could be more like me?”.  And the answer is … yes, actually.  Buffy herself did.  Just not when Faith was around to hear it. 

[imabeautifulbutterfly]

Once Upon A Time on the Razor Crest

Summary: You (Ann) are looking to escape a bad situation with the help of Marshall Vance and Fennec, only to find yourself as a farm hand on the Razor Crest Ranch.

A/N: Hello Lovelies,

I may have mentioned a while back that I had a surprise for all of you, well here it is. A new Djarin fic, a modern/sci-fi AU, with Western Din.

Who can't love Din Djarin as a cowboy? I mean? hello!

The story will be a set of series all combined to tell the story of the Razor Crest Ranch.

Due to the past history of the OC there will be discussions alluding to past domestic abuse, please note that as it could be a trigger for some.

Warnings: Hints of past trauma, discussions of death, pseudonym, I think that's it, if I miss any warnings please let me know.

AO3 Link |   Words: 1,414 |   Next

Main Master List   |  Once Upon a Time on the Razor Crest

THE RAZOR CREST SEVEN

CHAPTER ONE

Yet, the land … sorry the ranch we were coming up to was breath taking, it backed on to two mountain ranges, in the distance. It looked like a happy place, almost idyllic in setting. If someone had told me, six years ago, my life would have changed so drastically from the fast, bustling, tall skyscrapers of Coruscant to this backwater, country ranch, I would’ve told them they were dreaming and full of crap. 

The road Marshall Vanth was driving on wasn't what I expected at all. The road was dusty and bumpy, and there were some glaringly obvious pot holes that he felt the need to go over. 

“You’ll like him” Cobb broke the silence that had filled his truck, “he may seem rough around the edges, but he’s a good man, just doesn’t like talking much. Or laughing. Or … well anyways, he’s a good man. Lost his wife a few years back, during childbirth, it was a really rough time, but her aunt Peli really stepped up and helped him out. His kid’s name is Grogu, good kid. Sweet kid. But definitely takes after him, in the silent department, but he’s been coming more and more out of his shell since he started attending school.”

“I see” I nodded as I listened to the information he had to provide. At least he had a very nice and soothing voice, however it didn’t seem to help the nervousness that was slowly etching it’s way into my system, as it grew with each passing minute. I clenched my hands against my knee, no one had mentioned anything about a kid, they told me this was just a ranch hand type of job, “How old?”

“Umm … let’s see” Cobb rested his elbow on his door as his forefinger trailed against his bottom lip, “Well she died … it’s … yeah … five or six, yeah around six years old.”

A huge tension released itself at hearing that, thank goodness it wasn’t a baby or a two year-old, I didn’t need any more reminders of the hell that had been my previous life, “Oh, so a young guy, kindergarten or Grade 1?”

“Yeah, somewhere around there, but like I said sweet kid” Cobb turned to look at his passenger, “listen if you don’t feel comfortable in anyway shape or form, give me a call and I’ll pick you up, Fennec and I can figure out some other plan. But you should know this guy … well he’s the kind of guy you want on your side.”

“Meaning?”

“If he considers you a friend or family, or if he respects you, he’ll fight tooth and nail for you. You can ask the next rancher down the way, Boba Fett, he’s had Din help him out a number of times.”

I simply nodded, trying to take in everything I could about the ranch that was drawing closer, the house was nice, a simple two-storey ranch home with a wrap around porch. There was a porch swing by the main door, a lovely blanket and several pillows draped across it. It strangely looked warm and inviting and yet gave the feeling that you were not welcomed.  

Behind the ranch, a water tower loomed from behind the roof, it looked well maintained despite adding to the menacing feel of the ranch. “Hmmm”

“What?”

“Oh nothing, I just really thought water towers were a thing of the past.”

“He’s a man who likes to be well prepared.”

Somehow knowing that little bit extra, made the ranch seem more welcoming, not a lot but a little. Like maybe five percent more welcoming. Okay, one. 

My eyes shifted from the ranch to the barn standing at the end of the road, the shingles looked newly replaced, however it definitely needed a paint job but looked functioning and not at all creepy like in some of those horror vids people were so fond of.

“You can’t see it from the road, but behind the house, there’s a lovely garden that Camilla planted and cultivated. She loved plants, flowers, herbs, in fact she planted lots of fresh herbs that she used for medicinal purposes. Something her grandmother taught her. I think. Maybe a great aunt. Either way, he's made an effort to keep it going strong. People from all around used to come to see her for medicinal help, since there’s only doctor in town, and he lives on the other end of the way. There's still a few who come and collect what they need but it's… yeah it's not the same. 

Anyway, there's also a lemon tree, various fruits and vegetables in general. When there’s an abundance, usually he’ll take a portion give to the elderly ones and the orphanage, and the rest whatever he doesn’t use he’ll sell, that’s what that stand was back at the entrance of the driveway” Vance motioned over his shoulder. “Well at least it's supposed to be for that, more often than not he just gives them away.” 

Cobb kept talking, sometimes having another person fill the silence helped ease the uneasiness I was feeling “He has two horses, a mare and a stallion, the hope is to have a foul by next spring, but who knows. Their names are Taika and Misty, he also has a nerf named Bessie. A nuna coop, with about 10 to 15 nunas, if none of the wolves got them.”

I turned my head to look at Cobb, shock written all over my face, “Wolves? I’m sorry did you say wolves?”

“Well yeah, we’re in Aq Vetina, and you’re pretty far out in the backcountry here, there are wolves.” Cobb let out a laugh, “Don’t worry, he’s a really good shot, use to be some sort of sniper or marine or something before he got married and settled down here. I think he was born here and then moved away or maybe not. I believe his brother is still in the military, but he doesn’t really talk about him. He’s not a ‘sharer’ per se.”

“That’s fine, I’m not exactly a sharer either” I smirked, and frankly I didn’t exactly want to be having a discussion with regards to the hell that had been my life on Coruscant. 

As we neared the ranch grew larger, I still couldn’t believe this was real. Not to mention, I couldn’t believe how long this driveway was, felt like I’d been on driving up to this ranch for half my life.

“How do you want me to introduce you?” Vance always made sure to give this option to anyone he was helping, it wasn’t his place to tell anyone their story that was their choice. 

It was the rule he and Fennec came up with, when they started this particular avenue of help. Not to mention it was a protection for those who needed the help; often times those that came to him and Fenn were ones that had no other recourse.

“Annie”

“Annie?”

“Yeah” 

“Last name?”

“Jones. Annie Jones”

“Generic enough, I like it. Remember, if you don’t feel comfortable…” Cobb stated as they pulled up to the front door, the truck’s brakes squeaking as he pressed down gently, followed by a slight shudder as the motor turned off.

“I comm you or Fennec at the number you gave me” I finished.

“Exactly, but give it a chance first, he really is a good guy. Silent, grumpy, opinionated, but good guy. I wouldn’t just let anyone interview with him. I value his friendship, and there’s always a chance he may not hire you.”

“What if he doesn’t?”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it, he’s not the only one who needs an extra hand, but I have a good feeling about this. Either way, I’ll wait around the property, till I hear the go ahead from him or you, and if you change your mind later on, no harm. Alright?”

I nodded, as I wiped the tears there were beginning to well up, I cried enough in the past few years, I didn’t need to cry anymore. Truthfully, I didn’t even know why I was crying, I cleared my throat overwhelmed by the kindness from not only Cobb but Fenn too, “I don’t know how to thank you guys”

“No need” he offered as he took the key out of the ignition, “we’ll make sure to ‘find’ your documentation with the correct information.”

“Thanks”

“Now are you ready to do this?”

“I think so”

AO3 Link |   Next

Main Master List   |  Once Upon a Time on the Razor Crest

Tag List:

@littlemisspascal@sprout-fics@liadamerondjarin @badbatch-simp24 @spicymcnuggies @lady-ren @firstofficerwiggles @darkangel4121 @discofern @kavecika @monako-jinn-stories @ladykatakuri @avathebestx @theroguesully @furyhellfire66 @carodealmeida @ciramaris @twinkofthedink @dindjarin-mandalorian