#Irene is an adult who makes grown-up decisions

[wrench-wench]

Y'all, what is the point of moving up to New England and putting up with their bullshit winters if I still have to deal with 90°+ days and 80%+ humidity?

At least down south people believed in central air.

[mimus-mortuis]

WIP WEDNESDAY

Suddenly I was tagged @miras-ash (thanks again by the way) and had to rush to find something in the stash and then translate it into English, so here I am, totally unpunctual. I have to say that I'm not very good at writing long stories, but I had one unfinished thing that I'll probably finish someday.

Our Wonderful World.

"Eliza, can you tell me a story?"

"I warn you, I don't know a lot of stories about princesses".

The girl opened her mouth to say something, then closed it. Her small, round face frowned for a moment. Finally, she stated confidently.

"Stories about princesses are silly".

Eliza nodded in agreeing while and cheering inwardly, trying to hold back a smile. She couldn't stand those foolish "damsel in distress" stories either.

"They're also really boring and predictable".

"I don't know what predictable means".

Eliza smiled with a tenderness she never seemed capable of. But now that feeling was pouring out of her like a burst dam, and nothing could stop the flow as she looked into those big, expressive, green eyes.

"I'll explain it to you tomorrow. But it's not so bad, kid, not knowing something. Even grown-ups don't know everything. Not even mom", - she said with a small grin, turning to Elena, still standing in the doorway, who rolled her eyes in feigned resentment, - So, what story would you like to hear?"

"One I haven't heard yet". For all their not-so-long interaction, Eliza was still able to note that the child never seemed to hesitate before giving a reasonably intelligent answer and that was a pleasant surprise. She was not afraid of adults, even barely familiar people, and was polite and open with them in conversation, with a certain amount of childlike curiosity. Of course, she had her faults, in terms of a great love of sugar and the occasional unbridled energy stemming from successfully extorting sweets. However, Eliza had to admit, with some note of sadness, that Elena had managed to raise her well. She had been a wonderful mom.

"That makes sense", - she said, smiling again and now seriously considering what she should come up with that would entertain a four-year-old child, and realized with disappointment that creativity was not her strongest suit. Then she made a different decision and after a brief pause, leaned back slightly and, folding her arms across her chest, began her story.

"Well… There was a girl who took on too much responsibility, sometimes more than she should, and sometimes worried too much if she failed and if someone suffered because of it. Occasionally she felt powerless or untrustworthy, and at such times she no longer wanted to be herself. The girl had many loyal comrades who were always there for her and whom she was afraid to let down… And although some of them did leave her, it was only because she should have at least sometimes openly told them how much she valued them and didn't want to lose them, - she looked at Elena again, who listening attentively, with a slight sadness and understanding in her eyes, - Some of them, she should have told it every day". Finally Elena looked at her too, their gazes lingering on each other, filled with a kaleidoscope of emotions, like a sail with currents of air. Apparently it lasted long enough for the child to lose all patience, which was already too little in this little body.

"And then what?" Eliza blinked a few times in confusion and Mira hurried to intervene before she could get a word in. She walked over to the girl's bed and sank down beside her, pushing the fluffy camel hair filled blanket higher and gave little Irene a quick kiss on the forehead.

"And then this little girl was going on a journey into the dream world, because that's the only way little girls can grow up one day".

The child smiled enthusiastically, as if imagining this "one day" for herself, and proudly babbled, looking at Eliza for some reason.

"I want to grow up really big to protect mommy. And I'll be strong enough to help her at work". Elena, touched to the core of her soul, couldn't resist and left another kiss on the small, chubby cheek to the child's great delight.

"You will definitely be, honey". This picture of the deep bond between mother and daughter, imbued with something sacred, something unattainable, something true, branded itself blazingly on Eliza's heart. She wanted it to be imprinted on the inside of her eyelids for life, and this indescribable feeling, for which she could think of no name, but which had already blossomed into a tender bud inside her, lodged inside and took root in her lungs, because she no longer seemed to be able to imagine life without it.

[carewyncromwell]

“Careful the spell you cast, not just on children: Sometimes a spell may last past what you can see And turn against you...! Careful the tale you tell -- that is the spell. Children will listen...listen... Nothing's gonna harm you, not while I'm around... Nothing's gonna harm you, no sir -- not while I'm around... Demons are prowling everywhere nowadays... I'll send 'em howling -- I don't care -- I've got ways...”

~“Children Will Listen / Not While I’m Around,” by Josh Groban

x~x~x~x

When the vampire called Bat Varney first found himself becoming attached to Adelia Selwyn @that-ravenpuff-witch​, it intimidated him quite a bit. Having already seen his wife Loretta and daughter Irene die long before him and knowing full well how many vampires ended up going insane due to the grief of watching all the people they loved die before them, Bat had come to the practical decision that there was little point in putting himself through more pain than he had to go through -- and so, even though he knew his life would have no point at all if he had to live in complete isolation, Bat began to treat every human he encountered in a very impersonal sense, like anonymous customers coming to him for his services before disappearing into the void never to be seen again, rather than individuals. This made it so that when he inevitably heard about any of the people he’d met having died, it hurt less than if he’d made any sort of real human connection with them.

Therefore, as one can imagine, after spending so many years actively detaching from the people around him, it was very troubling to Bat when he looked at the young Selwyn and found himself being reminded of his daughter Irene, who he’d only ever been able to watch grow up from a distance. It troubled Bat all the more when Adelia started dating Teddy Ellison @cursebreakerfarrier​​, who Bat had to concede was also a very engaging young man. There were several times during their school careers and after where Adelia and Teddy would be able to sense that Bat was pulling away from them -- not because he didn’t care, but rather because of how much he cared, and how much that frightened him. Fortunately, even though Bat sometimes disappeared without any warning, he would always eventually return -- and as the years went by and Bat slowly became more comfortable with the people who’d nestled their way into his heart, he’d disappear less and less often.

The last time Bat disappeared abruptly without warning was right after he learned that Adelia was pregnant with her and Teddy’s first child. As happy as Bat was for both of the Selwyn-Ellisons, the thought of these two young people (who, in Bat’s mind, had just been studying at Hogwarts) suddenly already being full-grown adults starting a family was a grim reminder of how much faster time moved for Adelia and Teddy than it did for him...and therefore of how little time he truly had with them and any children they might have. And that was the other thing -- they were having children of their own! Did Bat even dare get attached to them too? How could he function, staying completely the same and static while a child was born and died before his eyes? Would the child remind him even more of Irene than their mother did?

Eventually Bat agreed to visit Adelia a few weeks after the baby was born, from a distance. Just like at the Selwyn-Ellisons’ wedding, Bat didn’t trust himself to get too close, considering his blood lust -- and so he’d pointedly kept to the door frame at the far end of the nursery when Teddy went over to the crib and scooped his newborn son Lawrence (or “Bertie”) up into his arms so that Bat could see him. The sight of the tiny baby in Teddy’s arms made Bat’s heart swell to three times its usual size, and he couldn’t fight back some tears as he regarded Teddy with more pride than he ever had. He could tell how much Teddy loved his son -- just as Bat himself had loved Irene -- and, as much as the thought hurt Bat...Teddy would be able to be there for his child, the way he never could...the way he should’ve been. The thought hurt so much, and yet...there was some joy in it too.

Not long after Bertie was born, Honeydukes pioneered the Blood Pop, which allowed Bat to interact with people a bit more safely than he had previously. Not only did it allow him to spend a lot more quality time with his close companion Atticus Grimsley, but it also made Bat feel that bit more secure to be around the Selwyn-Ellisons, especially their young son. Bertie Selwyn-Ellison was a precocious little boy from the off-set, eternally curious and enamored of both his mother’s bedtime stories and his father’s fluffy Belgian Shepherd Animagus form. Over time Bat’s fondness for the small boy became more apparent, from how he’d frequently sit on the floor while Bertie played with his toys so as to be more on his level to how he’d read Bertie Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol aloud every Yuletide season, complete with different voices for all of the characters. Before long, Bat had gone into full-fledged “uncle” mode on little Bertie, coddling him even more than he had Adelia and Teddy. And when Adelia gave birth to her and Teddy’s second child, Violet, Bat instantly projected the same level of protectiveness and favoritism he’d shown toward Bertie onto her as well.

Once when Bertie was about four, the little boy got it in his head to “watch over” his infant sister while she was sleeping, only to fall asleep on top of Bat, who’d laid down in his Irish Wolfhound form with Bertie on the floor next to Violet’s crib so as to supervise them. Bat only turned back into his real form when his blood lust became strong enough that he had to take a sip from his flask, stick a Blood Pop in his mouth, and then carry the sleeping Bertie over to the chair so he could tuck him in under a spare blanket. The vampire then proceeded to sit on the floor next to the chair for another half-hour, until Teddy came home from work and found them in the nursery after checking for Bertie in his room and not finding him there.

As Bertie and Violet got older, they became diligent students of their “Uncle Bat,” who rather determinedly resolved to make sure that they’d both be ahead of the game in all of the core subjects before starting at Hogwarts, so that it’d be easier for them to make friends. (Kind of an understandable position for someone who was both a Ravenclaw and the only Muggle-born in his class back in the day to adopt!) This resulted in both Bertie and Violet being among the top of their class and very well-respected for their entire school careers. And whenever the Selwyn-Ellisons went to visit Bat in his home of Hogsmeade, they’d always bring their “uncle” a pack of Blood Pops, and Bat would always take the time to spoil Bertie and Violet by helping them prepare for a pop quiz he’d caught wind of or for a Quidditch match Bertie was set to fly in.

Never question the power that someone -- even a child -- can have, in bringing out the best in someone else.

[angelsswirl]

Vellichor

The One With The Mate

Summary: The sequel to Petrichor. It's half chronological, half anthology. Basically, every other chapter will be a flashback. This first chapter is in the present day.

Check out the vellichor playlist

...

"This summer's gonna hurt like a motherfucker"

"Taylor? As in Taylor Park? You think your mate is Taylor Park?" Jisoo's eye twitched. This couldn't be happening. This was her worst nightmare come true. Ryland was her favorite. How could she do this to her?!

"Well, technically her last name is Bae-Park, but yeah same person." Ryland could see where this was going from a mile away. It was why she had been reluctant to tell her mother in the first place.

All she really knew was that her Mama had some type of beef with Taylor's Mom for no apparent reason. No one will tell her why and she doesnt think anyone ever will.

You rolled your eyes at your wife. You waved a dismissive hand in Jisoo's direction as if to say 'Don't mind her'. You then gestured for your daughter to get closer. You wrapped her in a hug.

"We're happy for you, Ry." You had to hold back at least a tear or two. Your babies were growing up in front of your eyes.

And sure Ryland was 19 going on 20, she didn't even live in the house anymore, but still. She's your baby. They all are.

Jisoo huffed, "Who is we? Do you speak french? Rosè Park's kid?! You couldn't have swung for Jennie's kid or Irene's? Literally anyone else?" LITERALLY ANYONE ELSE.

Her eye is still twitching. In all honesty, she might have something stuck in it. She gestured for you to look at her eye just in case.

Ryland pouted at her mother, "Mama, that's not how this works and you know it. I know you two have your history or whatever but that has nothing to do with Taylor and I. She treats me nice and I love her. She's a good alpha."

Now the other eye is twitching.

"It's fine, Mama. I already told the kid if she messed up I'd kick her ass." Lia shrugged. She was strewn across the couch, her leather jacket somehow crease-less even as she layed on it.

"That doesn't make me feel better." Jisoo rolled her eyes at her oldest daughter. Lia might be the tallest out of the 5 of them, but they had it on good authority that she was very fragile. Taylor Bae-Park would beat her ass.

Lia shrugged again, "Well, I tried." She turned back to the television she had been only sort of watching.

Peyton, who sat on the opposite end of the couch, watched her family silently. She was taking extensive mental notes on how this went for future references.

"Jisoo, I'm sure everything will be alright. We'll invite Taylor and her family over for dinner and you can interrogate all you want." You patted Jisoo on the chest and kissed her cheek softly.

Jisoo shook her head, still not the least bit thrilled with the day's turn of events. "Taylor Park is not your mate and that's final."

Ryland glared at her mother before hurrying to her room and slamming the door shut.

Peyton nodded to herself. She was going to say absolutely nothing about her alpha when the time came. Jisoo would most definitely have another fit.

You glared at your wife before turning on your heel. You pranced around the living room, looking for your youngest.

You found him in front of the TV, positively engrossed in whatever show Lia was watching.

You picked him up and cuddled him into your arms, "You won't ever grow up and leave me like your sisters, will you?"

The four year old shook his head, then buried it in your neck.

"Thank you, my beautiful baby boy. I don't know what I'd do." You kissed his cheek multiple times before setting him on Lia's chest, "Here, bother your sister until she remembers she's a grown woman with her own apartment."

Kaleb didn't listen, instead he layed his head down onto Lia's chest and promptly fell asleep.

"Good going, Kaleb. Now she'll never leave." Peyton mumbled under her breath. Somehow you still heard her if the swat to her head was anything to by.

"Hey! You just pretty much said the same thing."

"I'm an adult."

"I turn 18 next month!"

"And?"

Peyton went to say something but you gave her that look and she cleverly decided against it.

You walked back over to your mate and pulled her into the secluded kitchen.

"Now why are you being stubborn?"

Jisoo pouted, "I'm not being stubborn."

"Oh, then I'll go tell Ryland to invite Taylor over-"

"Wait!"

"That's what I thought."

"I'm not being stubborn. I just don't want her dating a Park."

"Jisoo. What has Chaeyoung ever done to you?"

"You! She did you!" Jisoo exclaimed loudly. Luckily, there was a thick, close able door to the kitchen.

"That was almost 20 years ago. I thought we moved passed that." Your voice softened. Who knew a decision you made would still be biting you in the ass 20 years later.

"I-we did. We did. But it's the principle of the thing. I don't know. I'm just not comfortable with it." Jisoo's shoulders slumped.

You hugged your wife tightly, "I think it's time we tell them. They're old enough. Hell, Lia was there when it happened."

Jisoo's nose scrunched in protest.

"Ryland will never be able to understand where you're coming from if she doesn't have all the facts." You pecked Jisoo on the lips lightly, your arms loosely folded around the alpha's neck.

Jisoo nodded hesitantly, "Fine, but I reserve the right to pout the entire time."

You laughed lightly, "You've got yourself a deal, Alpha."

[avionvadion]

I’m hollering on what others reactions will be with Irene and her husbands.

I can’t wait to see the look at Saizo’s face when he meets his brother’s wife. You know the woman he almost killed. Also, meeting his nieces and their future/present siblings. Also his brother’s wife’s husbands. I bet Saizo going to be shocked like ?!?!

I want to see Asugi(if he was born) just be like ayoooo cousins and aunt and uncles and even more cousins. It would be cute if they can get together and bond over sweets.

I’m even thinking about Henry’s Robin and Morgan! If they are summoned then they will get more family since Halloween Henry would be like an uncle to Morgan so he’ll get free cousins + aunt/uncles. Aunt Robin and Cousin Morgan sounds so cute.

I just like the family shenanigans and their family growing bigger.

I’m one hundred percent planning on Irene summoning Robin’s Henry!Morgan. Just saying, Irene will be spoiling Morgan so much. 😂 I was actually thinking of drawing a little comic of them trading cloaks based on his line in Heroes of, “Do you want to trade your white coat for my black one? :D”

The relationships with the Henry’s are so funny though, because on one hand you have Robin’s Henry (who’s about 26 in his timeline) treating Irene a bit like she’s one of his kids- calling her “silly billy” and ruffling her hair and stuff- and then you have Halloween!Henry (23) who straight up marries not only Irene, but also Subaki (25) and Kaze (24). So there’s a lot of teasing and jokes. Morgan probably straight up calls Irene “sis” at one point and Irene doesn’t know if she should be happy or disturbed.

Also, I’m not big on Asugi- I prefer Gaius honestly- but if he does get born his momma is gonna be Mozu because she and Saizo are ADORABLE together. And he’s gonna love his weird extended family that consists of three uncles and so many cousins. Especially since it drives Saizo crazy. Spoils Midori and Shion hard core with sweets. Goes out of his way to get all the weird and rare medicinal herbs Midori asks for.

Saizo will absolutely lose his shit though- twice, actually, because the first time they meet again Kaze and Irene will be married to not only each other, but also to Subaki and Henry, and will probably already have had Shion and Midori, and the second time there’s also baby Ren (Subaki’s son) their kids from two different apocalyptic futures.

Saizo at first: “What do you mean I’m an Uncle? What do you mean you’re married!? WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU HAD KIDS WITH THE SUMMONER!? HOW ARE SUBAKI AND THAT DARK MAGE INVOLVED!? WHAT?”

Saizo later: “You married the woman I nearly killed. Who tried to let me kill her. Who literally died in front of us when Veronica’s Xander decapitated her. Kaze. Brother. I respect your decisions, but also. What the fuck?”

Also you know Alfonse isn’t gonna approve. 😂 Ever. He was also displeased when she said she was gonna befriend all the heroes she summoned- you know he ain’t gonna be happy when she starts marrying them. Lowkey in Lif’s specific universe he was married to her.

Summer Frederick is concerned at first, as is Summer!Xander, but Freddy gets carried away with making baby blanks and sweaters and being *best uncle* that most of the concerns fly out of the window. Xander eventually decides that they’re all grown adults that can make their own decisions and decides to just help in whatever way he can, and probably is the one to teach the kids sword fighting while occasionally getting crochet lessons from Frederick.

(Also I’m debating whether or not for Kaze to have a son.)

Order of Heroes: “I have only known these tiny children for less than a day, but if anything happened to them I would kill everyone in this room and than myself.”

All the kids, time travelers and current: “Yay!”

[maleficking]

Completely Random Thoughts #2 (Continued): Acnologia Prequel Movie Headcanon Ideas (Edited)

After my last post about an Acnologia Prequel movie, I decided to go a typical tumblr poster route and bullet-pointed a list of ideas that I would personally use if I were to make this movie. The following will have slight retcons to them, so don’t be too alarmed if there is something that would change something in canon. If anyone else has any ideas for this concept, please share them. I’d love to hear what any of you have.

- To start with, the movie’s artstyle would be something closer to Phoenix Priestess compared to Dragon Cry. I have nothing against the Dragon Cry artstyle, in fact I think it looks fantastic, but I just personally prefer how Acnologia looks in the regular anime compared to Dragon Cry.

- The movie would begin with the birth of a baby Acnologia, who would be given the name “Hajimari”, which is the Japanese word for “beginning”. While initially supposed to represent the start of a new life, this name would foreshadow Acnologia’s role as the “bringer of a new era”.

- Growing up in the Hidden Land of Montes Secreta, we learn many things about Hajimari’s childhood. We learn that his father is the local medic for the village, with his wife being one of his former patients. They are both non-magical folk, as is everyone in Montes Secreta. 

- In fact, Hajimari is the only resident of the entire village to have Magic, having developed the power to use healing magic. A trait which would eventually be admired by Hajimari’s young brother.

- Hajimari actually first developed his magic power during a chance encounter with the guardian of Montes Secreta, Acnologia I. While many Dragons inhabited the village, Acnologia I served as the primary guardian and protected the humans against any threat. After a notably fierce battle, a young Hajimari would find an injured Acnologia I and helped heal his wounds with his new-found Magic.

- After this event, the boy and Dragon would become close friends. Acnologia I becoming a sort of teacher to Hajimari as he taught him Dragon culture while Hajimari served to help keep the Dragon company and helped heal wounds he attained in battles to protect the village.

- As Hajimari grows into an adult, he experiences many developments. He becomes an admirer of Dragons, gains a young brother who looks up to him,  and gains the title of “Doctor”. However, he also grows anxious about how weak his actual magic is. After failing to save someone even with his healing magic, Hajimari grew less confident of his ability to help anyone. A complex he confides with his close friend, Acnologia I.

- At this time, Acnologia I has heard the tales of wizards gaining a “Dragon-Killing” Magic and goes off to investigate the rumors. Unlike the series, however, we see what happens when Acnologia I encounters a group of Dragon Slayers who have grown mad with power. After being nearly killed by the rogue wizards, Acnologia I returns and converses with the Dragons of Montes Secreta, telling them of the kind of monsters that humans could become.

- The results are the slaughtering of the people of Montes Secreta by the very Dragons that once protected them. Among the destruction, Hajimari loses the family he once held so dear. He witnesses his parents consumed by the flames and his kid brother dies in his arms, his magic not being powerful enough to save him.

- And then the story goes as you know it, Hajimari is the lone survivor of the rampage. Looking over the destruction, he grows a hatred and lust to kill the beings he once oh so admired. For that, he needed the power to slay Dragons. As such, he heads to Ishgar to attain the power he seeks, to make all Dragons bleed.

- After a long journey, he finally makes it to Dragnof. While he’s disgusted at the idea of co-existence with Dragons, and even more so when learning he has to be taught by one, he bears with it in order to achieve his goal. While the Dragons are initially weary of the mysterious traveler, the queen of Dragnov Irene makes the decision to allow his teaching of Dragon Slayer Magic, having felt pity after hearing the tale of his tragedy. However she remained unaware of the growing darkness within Hajimari’s heart.

- To the surprise of many, Hajimari become the first and only human capable of learning a rare form of Dragon Magic known as “Spirit Dragon Slayer Magic”. A Slayer with the power to harness their own spirit in order to inflict damage to a Dragon’s very soul, hurting them in ways no other Slayer could. This magic would also allow Hajimari to consume the souls of the Dragons he killed, a tidbit that would eventually lead to him developing multiple Magic Types at a time, unknown to everyone but Hajimari.

- As the years go on, Hajimari makes a name for himself as one of the most powerful and one of the most aggressive Dragon Slayers working for co-existance. Bidding his time for when he can truly drive Dragons to extinction, he bites his tongue and continues to work with Irene’s cause. However, this form of lifestyle leaves Hajimari unfulfilled, feeling like he isn’t doing enough to avenge all of his fallen loved ones.

- Yet one day, while on a mission from Irene, Hajimari kills a Dragon chasing a girl, a young child named “Rei”. After unintentionally saving her, she begins to follow Hajimari, much to his annoyance. Admiring his strength, Rei essentially becomes a fangirl for Hajimari.

- Eventually, Hajimari begins to form a friendship with Rei, since she reminds him of how his young brother used to look up to him. They form a bond as they share their stories, revealing that Rei too experienced Dragons slaughtering her family. While some of his fellow Dragon Slayers (and even a few Dragons) would mock the “fearsome” Hajimari for taking in a kid, he didn’t care as he now had someone to protect and look after...for now.

- Everything would change, however, when Rei tragically loses her life to an ambush from a Dragon, Hajimari being too late to save her. Exploding in rage, Hajimari’s anger amplifies his magic to the point where he activates his Dragon Force for the first time and savagely rips apart the Dragon. 

- After this tragedy, Hajimari begins his true descent into madness. Becoming even more savage in his rage to exterminate Dragons and all who dare support them, no longer caring about the orders of Irene and going rogue. In this period of time is when Hajimari loses his memories, gains the title “Acnologia”, and becomes a full “Arcane Dragon Slayer” along with gaining his Dragonized Form. 

- The entire climax would revolve around Acnologia at his peak initiating the Dragon King Festival, with the onlookers including Irene, Anna Heartfillia, and Zeref. The movie ending on a shot of Acnologia atop a mountain of Dragon corpses and roaring towards the heavens proclaiming, “I AM ACNOLOGIA, THE DRAGON KING!!!” 

BONUS:

- Originally I didn’t want to make Acnologia a “Spirit Dragon Slayer” since I thought that’d be too out of place, but the appearance of a Ghost Dragon Slayer in 100 Year Quest proved me otherwise. So whelp.

- I wrestled a bit with the idea of making Rei be Sonya from Dragon Cry, adding more meaning to the Post Credit Scene. I decided against it since it would require too much retconning to actually work (Although I guess Sonya’s death would affect Acnologia slightly more after losing both his sibling and Rei in this scenario).

- Something that would definitely be in the movie would be the bitter reunion of Hajimari and Acnologia I. I’m currently on and off at thinking of having Acnologia I actually being the one who kills Rei and begins Hajimari’s savage rampage. The meeting would expectedly end with the gruesome death of Acnologia I, who would reflect on his past choices and die in shame of the kind of monster that he helped create. 

But yeah, that’s what I got so far for my Acnologia Prequel Movie idea. Please, let me know what you think of it.

[purple-haired-faerie]

Domestic Kitty

For @xxxojosdepapelxxx

It was late in the day, and the evening sun was streaming in through the windows of the small apartment that Kit and Ty owned together. It wasn't exactly Jules and Emma's cottage by the sea that Jules had designed, the institute where Ty had grown up with the other Blackthorn's and where Helen, Aline, Dru and Tavvy still lived, or the cottage somewhere between Faerie and the mortal lands where Mark and Cristina would go to visit Kieran, but it was theirs. Ty was sat in his office, working on a way to forensically identify a demon when a body was found and the demon had fled the scene.

Since Alec had become consul, he'd wanted to ensure that people's natural talents were harnessed and encouraged to move the shadow world forward rather than try and force them into the mold of "violent, demon slaying warrior". Everyone knew Ty's talents weren't in fighting but in research, in finding answers. Which meant that's what he was allowed to do. Obviously if something awful happened, Ty would be required to fight but it wasn't something he had to dedicate his entire life to.

Kit had been visiting his family in Devon. There had been a collective decision between all those involved that Kit's little sister Cordelia who was 6 (or "very nearly 7" as she insisted on reminding everyone) would come to stay with beer big brother and his boyfriend for a few days, and if Kit's texts to Ty were anything to go by, she was very excited about this, and according to Jem and Tessa, she'd been trying to pack for the last fortnight.

Ty heard a portal open downstairs, the sound of their cats running away (they had four: Sherlock, Watson, Irene and Mycroft) and the babbling of a 6 (nearly 7) year old girl, who wasn't letting Kit get a word in edgeways. Finishing his sentence, Ty laid his pen down on his desk to go and greet the arrivals. Cordelia spotted Ty first, and after yelling "Ty-Ty" she leapt into his arms for a hug. Given this was how Cordelia reacted every time she saw Ty, he knew to expect it.

Once Ty had placed Cordelia down, he was able to kiss Kit in greeting. "Eww" Cordelia groaned and both boys looked at her. "Adults kissing is gross! Mummy and Daddy do that all the time" she explained and pulled a face. Kit was torn between out right making out with Ty and running after his sister and giving her a kiss on the cheek ("I'm not little Kit! Stop being icky" she'd tell him and he'd continue, with her giggling by the end).

"How about I make us some food and Kit can help you unpack?" Ty asked and Kit gave him a soft look. That was one of the reasons he loved Ty, he was forever being the practical one of the relationship. Cordelia looked at Kit, waiting for him to pick up her bag, and when he did, she lead the way to the room that she stayed in whenever she came to visit. True to his word, Ty made food, nothing special but appreciated none the less.

Yes, when you stopped trying to raise your twin from the dead and running away to a different continent because your crush ignored you, life could actually be good

[aion-rsa]

The Stand: Inside the Show’s Changes to Nick, Tom, and Ralph

https://ift.tt/2WZqENn

This article contains spoilers for episode 3 of The Stand.

After spending much of episodes 1 and 2 with important characters such as Stu Redman (James Marsden), Frannie Goldsmith (Odessa Young), Harold Lauder (Owen Teague) and Larry Underwood (Jovan Adepo), the new miniseries version of Stephen King’s The Stand brings in or fills out the backgrounds of several more key personnel in episode 3, titled “Blank Pages.”

This episode (written by Jill Killington and Owen King, son of Stephen) of the nine-part CBS All Access limited series introduces the characters of Nick Andros (Brazilian actor Henry Zaga from The New Mutants), Ray Brentner (Irene Bedard) and Tom Cullen (Brad William Henke), all of whom play a major role in King’s tale — and all of whom have received a fairly significant overhaul for the new adaptation.

In King’s book and the 1994 miniseries, Ray is Ralph Brentner, a physically imposing yet good-natured 45-year-old farmer from Oklahoma and a key leader of the Boulder Free Zone. In the new show, Ray is of Native American origin, smaller in stature yet tough and scrappy, and one of the closest people to Boulder spiritual leader Mother Abigail (Whoopi Goldberg). Brentner is also one of the four who head to Las Vegas for the title confrontation against Randall Flagg (Alexander Skarsgard), alongside Stu, Larry, and Glen Bateman (Greg Kinnear).

Nick, one of Boulder’s leaders and also extremely close to Mother Abigail, is both deaf and mute, possibly as a result of a car accident his parents got in when his mother was pregnant with him. Born in Nebraska and long orphaned when we meet him in the book, Nick (played by Rob Lowe in 1994) is a drifter who gets by doing odd jobs. In the new show, Nick is also deaf and mute and on his own, but is a refugee from South America who was brought to the United States as a child by his mother.

Asked if changing the characters’ backgrounds (rock star Larry Underwood is white in the book for example, and Black in the new series) was simply a matter of refreshing the characters for a more diverse era, showrunner Benjamin Cavell tells Den of Geek, “That was certainly part of it, in terms of making the main set of characters, however many there are, not all white guys and Frannie.”

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Cavell adds, “It was important and felt like it made our story feel both more universal and also, frankly, more rooted in 2019 or 2020. Our cast felt like it just had to look more like the America of 2019 and 2020. King had said that if he were doing it himself, and writing it now, that he would have done that too. It was just a clear upgrade to do that.”

Another character given a somewhat major reinvention in a different manner is Tom Cullen, the developmentally disabled man who meets up and becomes fast friends with Nick on the way to find Mother Abigail in the aftermath of the Captain Trips pandemic.

In both the book and the 1994 miniseries (where he is portrayed by Bill Fingerbakke), Tom is around 40 years old and a gentle giant, a simple man-child somewhat out of step with how we view and interact with the developmentally disabled today (in the book, first published in 1978, he is described as “retarded” in both derogatory and non-derogatory contexts).

James Minchin/CBS

The Tom Cullen of the new series is explicitly middle-aged and is now seen through a more modern lens. “Tom, I suppose, was the one that seemed to me to need the most updating in terms of the characterization from the book,” explains Cavell. “I’ve always thought of Tom as sort of Lennie from Of Mice and Men, just transposed into the King universe — the old idea of a child trapped in an adult body.

“But in my experience of developmentally disabled adults, that doesn’t exist,” he adds. “I mean, not in the way I understand it, of a child trapped in an adult body, implying a child’s lack of self-awareness. The developmentally disabled adults that I’ve known are not in the dark about whether they’re developmentally disabled, or whether they have differences from most people around them.”

Cavell continues, “One of the things that was really important to me, and to all of us, and certainly to Brad William Henke, was to give Tom the dignity that comes with making him a full-fledged adult human being. One of the things we found was that speech he gives, in which he is telling whoever he meets about his deficits, and his abilities, and what he can do, and laying it all out — it just felt like that was the kind of thing that a grown man who is living a life that Tom Cullen is, would need to have as a way to navigate the world.”

Henke was the only actor offered the role, with Cavell adding that the former professional football player brought his own experience of knowing players who have suffered accumulated head trauma from the game into his research for the part.

“There is the suggestion in the book, and certainly also in our show, that at least part of what’s going on with Tom is the result of head trauma,” says Cavell. “He mentioned something in the book about getting hit on the head when he was a kid, and we mention that in the show. So it was very important to Brad to do right by that portrayal. We talked a lot about it, and he actually showed me a part of a documentary about a guy who he had played with, maybe in college, who’s pretty ravaged by some of the effects of CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a brain disease associated with repeated head trauma).”

There is another subtle but important change in Tom’s narrative later in the show, which Cavell mentions but we won’t discuss here (it comes in a future episode). But regarding both that and Tom Cullen’s overall transformation, Cavell notes, “I’m proud of all the ways in which it feels like we updated that character and his story.”

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We’ll have more from Cavell next week after the premiere of episode 4, “The House of the Dead,” including a pivotal decision regarding material from King’s 1990 uncut edition of the book.

New episodes of The Stand premiere every Thursday on CBS All Access.

The post The Stand: Inside the Show’s Changes to Nick, Tom, and Ralph appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/38Nk7uR

[michael-radi-the-glamorous-life]

10 Lessons Learned In A Decade

Ten years ago today I graduated from SUNY Geneseo and - two hours later - hopped in a car with my mother to drive 20 hours to Granbury, TX for my first professional theatre gig at Texas Family Musicals.

And with that, I embarked upon the journey that has been my post-college adult life.

To say that a lot has happened in the past decade is an almost criminal understatement: I’ve lived in three states, made a home in NYC, made and lost friends (made far more though!), had people come in and out of my life, found my artistic home, grew as a teacher, writer, actor, singer, pianist, arranger, and overall human being, and oh so much more.

As much as people like to call our high school and college years our “formative” years, I think it’s in the decade after the college experience (or your twenties into the start of the thirties, for those who did not attend college) in which we truly discover who we are, what we want, and where we want to go.

So, in honor of this milestone, I would like to share just 10 of the lessons I’ve learned over this decade.

1. People Change

People love to throw around old adages about how “no one ever really changes” or “once a ___ always a ___,” and I’ll admit that these ideas sometimes have merit.

But, are any of us the same people we were ten years ago?

Not at all.

(I mean, even on a cellular level we’re not the same people.)

I have watched as the people around me have grown and changed throughout the past ten years and - for most everyone who is still in my life in some way - I am simply proud. Looking around and seeing how the people I love and admire have struggled to continue growing, learning, improving, failing and trying again, moving in new directions, and taking on new challenges - it makes my heart swell and renews my faith in humanity.

Of course there are always those who change in a way that takes them out of your life, and that’s okay too. We’re all on our own journey.

But people really do change, and I think it’s generally for the better.

2. Self-Care Is Not Optional

We all go through phases of good and bad self-care.

And we have all gone through that period of youth where we abuse our bodies and minds for a full weekend and then still somehow get up at 7am on a Monday and deliver great work.

But that’s not the norm for the majority of our lives. We need self-care.

What does that include?

Drink water

Get yourself some proper nutrition

Move - exercise, walk, hike, anything to keep moving

Treat yourself

Find a good morning routine

Forgive yourself

Be kind to everyone

Find the joy whenever you can

That would be my short list, but an important one nonetheless.

3. Hangovers After 28 Are Terrible

Truly.

Avoid them at all costs.

4. The People Are Your Future

We are taught to think about our futures as something that is “ours.” It’s a personal journey.

And we’re also taught to think about the people around us only in terms of the “now.”

But one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is that the people around you in your now - no matter how long they do or do not remain in your life - are going to be a part of your future. And often, it’s an important part.

I’ve met some of my favorite people in the world over the past ten years, and many of them I met in situations where I was not actively looking for my heart to connect to another human, and yet it still did.

Here are just a few of those situations:

A small bar-gathering (that I did not want to go to) of my friend’s friends from a summer stock gig that I was not a part of - I met three wonderful friends and two future roommates that day.

Casting a Rochester Fringe production of my first original musical, PICk Love - Not only did I meet several brilliant friends from this, but it opened the door to my eventual BVT family.

Being asked to drive two co-teachers (who I didn’t work with) back to Queens from the studio during my second year - This is how I met one of my greatest friends and collaborators.

Getting changed for my bartending shift and (half-dressed) being asked to come meet the manager from one of our other theaters - An instant lifelong friend.

Attending the BMI Workshop as an auditor and eventual student - Two entire groups of my favorite people came from that one decision.

Keep your heart open - you never know who you may meet.

5. Unchecked Capitalism Is The Worst

Being a product of the Millenial experience, this is undeniable.

But looking back across the past ten years, it’s clear that every part of the financial and “adult” struggles have been due to a capitalist system that has been slowly stripped of its checks and balances.

And this is from a middle-class, cis, white guy.

6. Fall In Love As Often As Possible

I don’t necessarily mean romantic love - I mean, you do you - but all kinds of love.

Fall in love with work, with friends, with family, with yourself, with books, with stories, with art, with connections, with nature, with places, with movement, with travel, with anything that strikes your fancy.

If love isn’t the answer, then what’s it all for?

7. You Never Really Know Who You’re With

Too often we don’t pay enough attention to who is around us.

This can be in a super temporary sense:

Like the time I was standing next to Mark Ruffalo on a packed 7 train where no one seemed to notice him except me. He gave me that look of “oh you see me, please don’t make a fuss.” And no one else noticed, even when he squeezed his way off the train. Cell phones, y’all.

Or it can be simply treating people as though they are temporary. What happens when you lose track of people from your life?

I mean, I’ll say it, I’ve worked with and known some amazing people who I haven’t been able (for whatever reason) to stay in touch with, and who are now doing incredible things.

A couple examples:

I worked with David Hein and Irene Sankoff for a few months 10 years ago on a musical they wrote, just before they started writing Come From Away.

My roommate from that first gig I did in Texas - Bradley Gibson - has been playing Simba in The Lion King on Broadway the past two years. Casual.

Right after their summer having Dogfight Off-Broadway, I was the personal assistant to Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, right as they were beginning to work on their next three gigantic projects (yeah, those ones).

At the time, these were just people who I thought were talented and cool. You really never know where people are going to go next.

8. Do What You Love

I don’t necessarily mean that in the way of “make sure you love your job.”

But instead, take note of the things you love to do and incorporate them into your life regularly.

If it happens to also be your job - awesome, that’s great. If not, that’s okay too.

As long as you can take part in something that you love in order to help balance your life, the weight of the heavy stuff won’t feel quite as burdensome.

9. Vote And Promote

Change is slow, but it’s impossible without a vote.

And once you have this realization for yourself, I firmly believe it is up to you to help spread that message to everyone you can.

We have been allowed to raise our voices, but that right can also be taken away if we are not vigilant.

As my father likes to say, “Vote early, vote often.”

10. Your Story Is Far From Over

We don’t know what the future holds. I mean, we didn’t know what the past ten years would be as we were living them.

And milestones can be useful ways to look forward or backwards, or to set and evaluate goals.

But at the heart of it - if you are sitting here reading this - your story is not over.

Keep writing it, keep living it. All heroes have goals, suffer trials, experience new worlds, and have their lives turned upside down. And once a journey has ended, that ending is really just another beginning.

So, where to next?

Thank You

For everyone who has been a part of my past ten years, in any way, I just want to say thank you.

You have all helped shape me into the person I am today.

Stay healthy, stay well, stay home. Cheers!

[penumbra-rp]

Congratulations Aman, you have been accepted for the role of Alastor Moody!

This does mean that he has unreasonable standards for the world, sometimes. He can expect it to be…better than it is. He feels the presence of the younger order members a lot and considers it a personal failure that they’re involved. The ‘adults’ should be handling this on their own.

Admin Ash: Aman, it was all about the details when it came to your application. The fact that you didn’t shy away from Alastor’s disabilities ( the lost sight in one of his eyes and his utilizing a cane to get around after his leg amputation ), the fact that he’s so close with his little niece to allow her to interview him for her school project, the way that you carefully selected traits that showcased both the positive and negative points of his personality, even the pleasantly surprising music minor he took in school! All these things and more added something to our rough and gruff Moody that made him all the more human, all the more intriguing, and those special touches are why we can easily leave him in your capable hands. I, for one, am rooting for Order Dad Moody try to fix the world to his vision of ‘better.’ 

Please check out our checklist for joining Penumbra.

01. Out of Character

NAME: Aman

AGE: 24

YOUR BIRTHDAY: 9/11.. Why do you need this

PRONOUNS: She/her

TIMEZONE: PST

02. In Character

CHARACTER: Alastor Moody

CHARACTER’S PRONOUNS: he/him

FACECLAIM: Charlie Hunnam

CHARACTER’S BIRTHDAY: November 5th

PERSONALITY: Let’s go with 6 personality traits, and throw some negatives and positives into both of them.

Decisive

He’s not one to linger over decisions. He decides where he aligns very quickly and sticks with it unless something contrary smacks him upside the head. This includes but is not limited to how he feels about people, his alcohol of choice, and what fruit to toss in his bag for a backup snack later.

He’s a creature of habit. A lot of decisions he’s made are because they work (or because they’ve worked once).. Or even the other way around. He ate shrimp and got food poisoning once? Alright, forget shrimp, who needs it anyway.

He can usually fit things into neat boxes. We’ve got good, bad. Any shades of gray are tossed right into the bad. Better safe than sorry, after all.

Steadfast

Once he commits to something, he’s gonna do it. Doesn’t matter if it seems impossible, he’ll figure out a way. This can and definitely does lead him into some messy situations, especially because he’ll sidestep some rules to do it.

He’ll often butt heads with people who feel differently than him. It is very possible for him to argue for hours over something. He likes to think that eventually, enough reason will make someone change their mind. So yeah, he’s the old dude that gets into facebook arguments with the person who posted an anti-vaxx article. And then he’ll spend the next hour grumbling about it to everyone around him.

He’s not easily won over by the ups and downs of mass media. Whatever the hell Amazon did now is gonna have no sway on whether or not that HDMI cable is getting delivered to his place.

He can be a very strong pillar in times of doubt. He might not be the warmest, but he definitely is there to remind you you’re doing the right thing. Or call you out when you’re being a shit.

Extroverted

He gets energy from being around people. It helps him keep his head straight when he’s with company he enjoys. A lot of his friendships are built on mutual respect and bickering.  His sense of humor has grown a little twisted over the years.

That being said, he picks and chooses who he trusts very carefully. People fit in very specific roles and tend to learn about him accordingly. It’s very possible that those he works with might not know about his sexuality or that he adopted a dog last year. He tries to keep talk of work out of his romantic relationships, which has definitely led to a weird encounter or two when they stumble across his guns.

He can be pretty candid in situations and knows how to deal with the consequences of his actions/words… or at least he thinks he does.

Adventurous

He can be a bit of a thrill seeker. He’s spent a lot of his younger years with various adventure sports and enjoys the outdoors. Mountain biking, hiking, ziplining, skydiving, paragliding, and outdoor climbing have been a thing.

He’s been in a shit mood about his injuries fucking up his ability to do some of what he’s used to. He has definitely had to reassess his limits, but… he definitely gets a rush out of pushing himself to his limits.

The rush can come inside a city, too. He isn’t the type to sit still and is always poking his nose into something.

Obsessive

He can be very single-minded and has a tendency to hyperfixate. Often times, his cases take the spotlight (at the moment, it’s about The Dungeon). It can be hard for him to pull away even when work is over. He’ll spend his free time doing research, recon, lining up clues. This leads to a lot of falling asleep at his desk and then waking up with a bad neck.

Sometimes he’ll sidestep his own care while doing it. His leg, for example, definitely needs some attention every day. He’ll eat rushed meals just so he can get done faster.

The obsessions can def go somewhere else. He’ll get a crockpot and spend 3 weeks trying out different recipes and make more servings than can fit in his tupperware.

He has a lot of miscellaneous knowledge of random things.

Idealistic

His niece dragged him out to watch Captain America: Civil War a couple years back when he was visiting (shut up). Since then, Captain America is his fav superhero (fuck off, he’s never gonna say this out loud). He likes a man who knows his good from his bad and sticks up for his ideals. Doesn’t matter what the government says, what the red tape is. You should know where you stand.

This does mean that he has unreasonable standards for the world, sometimes. He can expect it to be… Better than it is. He feels the presence of the younger order members a lot and considers it a personal failure that they’re involved. The ‘adults’ should be handling this on their own.

He tends to hold himself to a higher standard, often involving pushing himself beyond his limits. He struggled a lot with losing his leg, since he still wants to do everything he could before.

BRIEF BULLET POINT BIO:

Irene Moody likes to blame her gray hair on Alastor. Honestly? She might not be wrong. A healthy baby boy should not have found himself in as much trouble as her son did. But where there’s a will, there’s a way– he’s a Moody, after all. The young Alastor collected bruises, scabs, and scraped knees like most boys collected comic books. Hell, she’d even bought a stack of them in the hopes that he’d sit down. It’d worked for the month that it took him to read through them all, and then he was jumping off beds with the sheets tied off as a cape.

It’s a good thing his mother is a nurse because the boy found himself back in the hospital on a monthly basis. His father claims that they could have bought a yacht with how many bills piled up, but as a writer, he’s always been a man of hyperboles. Alastor never quite minded the hospital atmosphere when he was younger. He’d lay back on his bed with his eyes open to all the possibilities in the white walls.

Their cozy little apartment was never quiet, between the two kids squabbling over toys, the radio cranked up to full volume in the kitchen, and the TV buzzing in the living room. His father was possibly the only person in the family who could keep an inside voice for longer than an hour. Alastor likes to think that things have calmed down since then, but their yearly Christmas gatherings show otherwise.

With a sister 3 years his elder, Alastor’s the baby of the family but was never quite treated like it. In fact, he complains that he got all of the problems with being the youngest with none of the benefits. Marie would argue back that he never actually fetched anything she asked him to so he’s not allowed to complain.  The pair would argue over everything, only ever aligning on the decision to get pizza for dinner. Leaving them alone always led to markers to the wall, ruined cushions, shredded bedsheets and, if their parents were unlucky, a food fight. Prank wars were not uncommon in the Moody household.

As a child, he picked up on concepts quickly, but would have a hard time keeping focus. His grades fluctuated as he danced from subject to subject. When he looks back, all he remembers are his red hot ears, ringing, and unable to process the long lectures from his father. Once they began, they never quite stopped. He began to dread the updating of the progress sheets that were fixed to the fridge, with more frowny stickers than smiling ones.

Alastor his report card once. He’d lied and said it’s delayed while forging his mother’s signature. For the month after, he held his breath around his parents, waiting for it to come around and smack him in the face. Miraculously enough, it never did. His sister likes to blackmail him with it even now.

At age ten, he discovered the Hardy Boys. Despite all his indecision, he latched onto the concept of becoming a detective and never looked back. The boy collected memorabilia and had about 3 different magnifying glasses. Grabbing his dad’s glasses from the other room became the mystery of the missing spectacles. Figuring out what to wear became the Closet Case. There was an unfortunate year where he insisted on wearing a detective hat at all times. He’s tried to consolidate and burn all the evidence, but a few pictures keep coming out of the woodwork… another mystery.

The kid never quite managed straight As, but he excelled where he applied himself. A little elbow grease and some late nights set him up for an admission at Hogwarts. Hit parents never quite got off his back about his performance, however, slipping away to college made it easy to unsavory hide the bits and pieces. He quickly picked a major in criminology and settled into it.

The music minor wasn’t planned. In truth, it was him foolishly following a crush into a entry level piano class. He fell in love that year. With piano, with music theory II, with the history of rock 101.

Before he knew it, his college years were over and he was thrust into a job in law enforcement. With his sights set on detective and an unwavering determination, he muscled his way into the role within a few years.  They blur together quickly as he hops from case to case, head bent down, crease between his eyebrows and small frown on his face. His days and nights are spent wrapped up in his newest obsession.

Never one to turn down a good adrenaline rush, Alastor took to adventure sports quickly. At first, it was simply a few good hikes and some mountain biking, but outdoor rock climbing, hang gliding, and bungee jumping quickly became favorites. He’d poke and prod people into trying things out.

Alastor’s the type of person who’s cut out for being a detective. He’s the type who can’t sit still when he knows he can be doing something. It’s probably why he keeps going back. The first accident involved losing his eye. The second, breaking his nose. The third, his leg’s amputation. Plenty of scars and bruises litter the spaces in between. Each time, he was put on desk duty and each time, he found a way to remind his peers that he’s still up for the job.  The loss of his leg’s still fresh but the invitation to join Operation Auror is one that he’s meant for.

Misc Headcanons/Thoughts

His colleagues are pretty smh because he keeps getting hurt and coming right back. There’s a betting pool somewhere about wtf Moody’s gonna end up getting himself into next.

He’s actually a bit of a klutz since losing his eye.

He adopted his dog, so he didn’t name her. But he really wants a dog named Jovi

His sister lives in America and his parents spend most of their time there

He has a really nice sound system set up in his place

He can play piano, guitar and is currently learning the flute

He has a bad habit of biting his nails

INTERVIEW:

i. How do you feel about your current occupation?

“Alright, kid,” Alastor starts gruffly, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees, looking down at his niece. A flicker of regret flashes across the ten year old’s face as she sits in front of him, worksheet in hand. He grins and gets going before she has a chance to pick someone else to interview. “Let’s get one thing straight. If I didn’t like this job, I wouldn’t be doing it. You’re gonna be hearing this damn debate your whole life.” He puts on a voice as he continues, pulling a face as he mocks the voices that he remembers looking up to as a child. “Do something you love so you’ll be happy. No, you don’t need happiness in work, just stability. Blah, blah, blah. It’s all bull. Do what works for you. You’re the only one who knows what you need… This job, though? With what I’ve got going on’d, it’d drive a guy crazy if he didn’t live for it. ”

ii. What song would you say describes yourself?

“Ah…” He trails off, scratching his beard as he thinks over it. “Ya ever heard of Akimbo? It’s by Stradeus. This beat that gets me every damn time, you can feel it in your bones. Actually, hey Google.” Alastor leans back, squinting a little to see if it lights up in response. “Play Akimbo.” He nods and sits up a little more as the music fills the room. “You can just feel the tension build in this song. It just keeps going, and going, like when you know you’re onto something.” He holds up a hand, listening, forcing his niece to sit through the rest. “And right there in the middle, it backs off, for maybe just a second to breathe. Everything’s just still, pulling itself back together, then we’re going hard again.” His fingers strum against his thigh along with the music as he squints down at his niece’s page. “What’s next.”

iii. Does reputation matter to you?

“I mean I’ve done plenty and people better damn well respect that. But you’re not gonna find me tripping over my feet trying to kiss ass for approval, if that’s what you’re asking.” He’s been told it might make things easier, sometimes, especially with all the damn red tape in the department. Alastor, mind your own business. Don’t be so rude. Be careful about how you approach them. But then, maybe in the end it just comes down to the question of how well you’re willing to compromise yourself just to take the easy way out.

iv. What is your relationship with your parents like?

Alastor doesn’t answer this question immediately. Like any relationship, it’s changed over the years, and peeling back the layers is a process that could take a couple hours in it of itself. His parents have always pushed him to be his best, whether that be in grades or etiquette. He’s taken some of the lessons, shunted others, but there’s no denying that he wouldn’t be the man he is today if not for them. But none of that is a conversation for their grandkid. “Not bad. They in your hair, kid? Get overbearing sometimes, don’t they?” he asks, deflecting any further questions.

v. What languages can you speak?

“I had to learn French in high school, but that’s a bit rusty. Damn French people get annoyed when we use English and then get snarky when we use broken French. Can’t win unless you figure out how to dislodge the sticks from their asses. Anyway, I picked up some German a couple years back when I was working on a case. Mmm, that’s about it.” He pauses, then frowns, as he thinks about the ex who taught him some Arabic, but that was only enough to figure out when her parents were talking about him.

vi. If your home was on fire and you could only save one item, what would you choose?

“We’re going to use the term 'item’ loosely and say Luna.” He gives a small nod towards the dog asleep on the rug by the… fireplace. He frowns. “Oi, that wasn’t a hint, was it? Go put out the fire and turn on the heater.” He responds to her hesitation by picking up his cane and knocking her legs gently.  He has to smother a smile as she grumbles and gets up. “Go. I’ll wait.”

vii. Which Hogwarts University faculty did you study at? The Gryffindor School of Applied Science, the Ravenclaw School of Humanities, the Slytherin School of Social Science, or the Hufflepuff School of Art?

“Slytherin, criminology. Want to know the secret, though?” He leans in a little, smiling playfully, and doesn’t wait for an affirmation before going on. “There’s a bit of puff in there. Did a minor in music. See, now get what I mean about the what you love, what makes money debate? I’ve heard everyone talk shit about the other twenty times over.”

vix. What is your social media username?

“AlastorMoody. Luckily I’ve got a unique name, so it wasn’t taken. Not gonna lie, if I had to come up with some nonsense, I wouldn’t have made one.” He might enjoy the avenue for arguing with people online, but any butchering of his name leaves him cringing. His unique name has opened up to more ridiculous puns than he knows how to respond to. Alastor shakes off the thought and continues. “Let me know if you take a look, there are definitely a few articles I’ve linked to that I think you should read.”

[wrench-wench]

My neighbors (who have previously been perfectly fine) have recently acquired a new roommate, and this person is driving me up the fucking wall. Their living room shares a wall with my bedroom, and ever since this person moved in they’ve been playing something (dubstep? a videogame with a bad techno soundtrack? idk, but it’s very repetitive) with bass loud enough to cause the pictures on that wall to shake at all hours of the night and day, all days of the week. When I’m trying to sleep, when I’m in a class, when I’m taking a fucking exam. I’ve politely asked them to stop. My landlord has politely asked them not to blast music late at night. I’ve banged on the wall when they start this shit at midnight. This has been going on for two months. It’s not that hard to put on some fucking headphones, asshole.

They won’t stop. So it’s time to retaliate.

My bathroom shares a wall with their place and has amazing acoustics. I just happen to have access to the entire Great Performances and Live From Lincoln Center catalogue.

It’s opera time.

[nibsthebravelostboy]

Getting Nibs [Hope x Nibs x Zach]

@hope-robinson @thezacharywinters

[Hope]

Hope knew she had to make it to her father’s office without letting anyone know she was in pain which was super hard but she managed it before making it to her dad’s office. She didn’t know if her mom was around so she had to act very natural while trying not to die. “Dad...um….I need you to do me a favor... please.” She started looking at him. “Can you please go get Zach? I need him...please.”

[Nibs]

Nibs was in his office doing paperwork when he could literally smell death walk into his office. “You smell like death...what the hell? I can bring you to him. Where is he?” The male asks while carrying her out of the office and making sure no one saw them while he did so.

[Hope]

“He’s in the caves...dad it hurts so badly.” She cried hiding her face in his neck as she hoped he could get to Zach fast. She knew asking her dad for help was putting him in a horrible position but she had no other choice.

[Nibs]

“I know honey I know.” Nibs responds while running her to where the cave was. He picked up on Zach’s scent and followed it to the cave before bringing her inside.

[Hope]

Hope could tell they were in the cave when she got a rush of Zach’s scent and she was scared Zach would be freaked out by all this. “What if he doesn’t understand?” She asked biting her lip to stop from crying in pain. “I don’t want to scare him.”

[Nibs]

“I explained it to him long ago. He understands what it means.” He reassures her before seeing Zach walking over. “You have to rebond I don’t know what happened but you two need to well...you know. So I will leave you to it. I will be outside so get me when you need me.” He responds before leaving to give them some privacy.

[Zach]

The male was confused when he heard people in the cave but when he saw Hope and her father he knew something was wrong. Hearing Nibs words, Zach nodded his head. “Thank you for bringing her to me. I can take it from here.” Zach carefully picks her up and carries her to the bedroom and helps get her clothes off as well as his own. “I know it hurts baby girl. It will stop hurting soon. I promise.” He explains while going over and kissing her on the bed.

[Hope]

She had never felt anything like this and tried to help Zach get her clothes off but her body was too weak and every motion hurt. She laid back on the bed and just nodded as she kissed him back. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t think he would do it.” She said feeling tears in her eyes as she looked at him.

[Zach]

“Don't worry about it princess. Save your energy okay?” He responds before nudging her legs apart as he rested between them. “You ready baby girl?” He asks before sliding into her in one fluid motion therefore reconnecting the bond.

[Hope]

Hope moaned softly as he thrusted into her; her eyes turned pink as she entwined their fingers together and she squeezed his hand. “Zach.” She moaned in his ear as could feel the pain leaving her body.

[Zach]

Zach holds her close to him as he feels her squeezing his hand. “Do you feel better baby girl?” He asks while seeing her eyes turning pink.

[Hope]

“Yes thank you.” She nods before becoming quiet as she looked away from Zach.

[Zach]

He pulls out of her before kissing her sweetly. “Please don’t scare me like that again okay?” Zach asks while peppering her face in kisses. “I don’t even want to think about what might have happened if your father didn’t bring you to me in time.”

[Hope]

“I can’t do this Zach. I can’t pretend to be with Liam and I can’t act like being away from you is easy. I love my mom but I can’t do this anymore.” She said shaking her head. “I have to tell my dad I’m not going home.”

[Zach]

“Are you sure that you want to leave your family though? Are you sure your mother will be okay with it?” He asks with concern knowing how much it meant to her to be around her family.

[Hope]

“What other choice do I have? I almost died trying to change her mind and it didn’t work. It will crush her but I have no other option.” She said moving to grab her clothes. “My dad is outside right?”

[Zach]

“And there really isn’t anything we can do to change her mind? Yeah your dad is right outside.” He responds while looking at her before going over and grabbing his own clothes and getting dressed too.

[Hope]

“I don’t know Zach...I’m out of ideas.” She replied getting dressed before taking Zach’s hand and leading him out of the cave to her father.

[Nibs]

Nibs had been patiently waiting outside while Hope and Zach rebonded. He felt guilty that she had to go through something like that and the fact that she almost died deeply upset him.

[Hope]

Hope let go of Zach’s hand and went to hug Nibs tightly. “I’m so sorry.” She said softly knowing she scared her father.

[Nibs]

Nibs was relieved when Hope came out of the cave with Zach. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close. “You really scared me you know that? What the hell were you thinking?”

[Hope]

“I thought I could change mom’s mind. I thought if she saw me with Liam she would know this was huge mistake but then it just didn’t go the way I thought it would. I just ran out of options, I can’t lose Zach.”

[Nibs]

“I know princess. I know. I am not mad at you. You should do what is best for you.” Nibs responds while pulling back before kissing her forehead.

[Hope]

“Dad there’s no way you can talk to her and get her to change her mind at all? Nothing you can show her or we can do that just gets her to forgive Zach?” She asked looking at him.

[Nibs]

“I have already tried to reason with your mother but she already made up her mind. I told her that if Zach was banned that you would follow and we would lose you...she didn’t seem very phased by it which was surprising. Maybe you being away will give her the wake up call she needs. I don’t know any way that I could convince her to see otherwise. I already tried basically everything.”

[Hope]

She frowned at his words, “I didn’t want to leave. You both just lost the twins and I wanted to stay...I don’t want to hurt you both.” She said before sighing. “But I plan on getting Emmett and our things and leaving. When she is willing to welcome Zach back in our home then I will come back...can you tell her?” She asked.

[Nibs]

“I know princess. I know. I rather you be happy and alive instead of almost dying a miserable...I would like to hope that in time she will forgive him but I can’t guarantee anything. I can tell her but I think it might mean more if you were the one to tell her. Try to reason and explain to her. Maybe her seeing you miserable and conflicted in having to choose will change her mind.”

[Hope]

She shook her head, “It won’t work. I asked TJ for help and he told me he agreed with mom and that she wouldn’t care because she brought up valid points. If TJ is saying that then nothing I say to mom will change her mind about it. So please just tell her I’m not coming home. I know her and TJ won’t forgive me for this but it’s what I have to do.”

[Nibs]

“You know that she will be mad at me if I am the one to tell her all this right? I already brought you here against her will. I am not going to get her more upset with me than she probably already will be. So that will be up to you and Zach to tell her. I am sorry.” He responds.

[Hope]

“Dad of course I don’t want to cause any issues with you and mom but you can’t be on both sides. It’s either you disagree with her and want to help me or you agree that I shouldn’t be with Zach. You have to pick.”

[Nibs]

“I think that there are pros and cons to both. I don’t like Zach’s past obviously but I can’t feel the need to punish you for that because by sending Zach away that is sentencing you to death. I can’t do that to you. I don’t think she fully understands that you can’t just find someone else who isn’t your imprint.”

[Hope]

“Well can’t you talk to her? Tell her that? I just don’t understand if you feel that way why you haven’t told her that and give Zach’s his job back. You can bring him back to the castle, you’re the king and you aren’t doing anything.”

[Nibs]

“Hope I already tried to explain this to her before we went to the vacation house and she didn’t listen. If she didn’t listen then why would she listen now?” He responds, “I tried to convince her but she is being stubborn and won’t let up on her decision.”

[Hope]

“You don’t need to convince her. You are king, you can decide for yourself. If you are so against this why don’t you just decide what to do?”

[Nibs]

“Because I am not risking losing my wife over this that is why. This is the end of the discussion. You tell her for yourself, you are all grown up so you can take that on yourself. I have other things to do, I am sorry.” He responds before leaving before Hope could say anything else.

[Hope]

Hope’s eyes turned red as she looked at Nibs stopping him before he could leave. “Great to know TJ was right, you left our mother just because TJ hit Stiles but the moment I need you to do something you turn your back on me.” She replied. “No I’m sorry, you weren’t willing to lose mom but you lost me. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised with my name being Hope and all.”

[Nibs]

Hearing her words, Nibs growled. “I just got your mother back. I really rather not lose her because I am not having her go through what she did when TJ had Irene over for the first time. For the first time in a long time she hasn't tried to kill herself and I am not giving her another reason to do so, if that were to happen. Give her time. She will come around to it.”

[Hope]

“So what me dying isn’t okay but her it’s an issue. By the time she comes around I will have built a life for my family away from you. How am I supposed to explain to Emmett why you two don’t visit? Do you even care?”

[Nibs]

“I will get her to come around to it Hope, this is a very fragile situation. Let me handle it if you don’t want to talk to her about it yourself. Otherwise you talk to her about it. You are an adult Hope you can handle this situation without having to drag me into it to. So if you don't like my answer then find another solution.”

[Hope]

“If I am an adult let me date who I want to date. You treat me like an adult when you want to not all the time. You are already in this, you don’t think she’s going to find out that you brought me here or that you don’t agree with her? I know how fragile she is, I am scared to lose her just as much as you are but I am not afraid to say I disagree with her like you are.”

[Nibs]

“Yeah that might be true but will understand eventually. It might take her a while but she will understand....give me a few days. I need to think things through, until then just stay here and let me figure out what I need to do.” He responds, “Can you do that for me.”

[Hope]

“Yeah...I guess.” She nods, crossing her arms over her chest. “I don’t have much of a choice in this situation anyway.” Hope said running her hand through her hair. “I’ll see you later then and I’ll be back Zach.” She said walking away from both males.

[Nibs]

Nibs sighed before running his fingers through his hair. “I will see you later then.” He responds while turning around and heading back to the castle to find Misty.

[Zach]

Zach watched the conversation between Hope and Nibs and he wasn’t really sure if he was allowed to say anything and he figured it was best to stay quiet and let them figure it out on their own. When Hope said that she would be back, Zach nodded. “Please be careful wherever you are going.” He responds before going back into the cave.

[wrench-wench]

Sadly, for the next 5 weeks, this will become a Game of Thrones blog.

Unless they kill Sansa. If she dies, I will re-write existence so that Game of Thrones never existed.

[wrench-wench]

Good fucking riddance, 2018

The Good:

Dad survived his bone marrow transplant

I went back to school and got ‘A’s in all of my classes

Spider-Verse

lilbit is still out there being wonderful

I finally got my ADHD confirmed, even if I had to pay ridiculous amounts of money to do so

????

That’s it.

The Bad:

     -    Literally Everything Else, but especially the following:

My grandma, the person I love most in the world, died

Everything leading up to her death, because it could have been prevented if our healthcare system was designed to actually, you know, heal people, instead of maximizing profit and minimizing liability.

Everything regarding my extended family during all of this. I get too angry to even talk about it coherently.

My dad’s dog died

My dog died, a month later.

Specifically I had to leave my dog in my baby brother’s care for a few weeks while I helped with my grandma after she first got sick & also helped a friend move. While I was gone my dog started going into heart failure, and I had to euthanize her the day after I got home, from, you know, trying to nurse my grandma back to health.

My boss announced he was retiring in April, and I spent about a month not knowing if the shop would be bought or just shut down. So, that’s why I decided to go back to school. Because I was terrified of becoming destitute, and also sick of the way my family just expected me to get another job to support them while they did nothing.

I’ve been too wrapped up in my own shit to be a decent friend to anyone.

My godfather is slowly dying of cancer, and it’s awful.

My older brother had a mental break down. The tentative diagnosis has him on the schizophrenia spectrum. He refused treatment.

I noticed something wasn’t right in early October, but shit really hit the fan later that month. The first time things got bad I went with my dad to see him, and my dad refused to call 911, and wouldn’t let me call either & ignored the advice & help of my friend who is a practicing psychiatrist. Dad proceeded to put my life in danger multiple times, including inviting big bro to come back to his place, which involved me driving the 5-6 hours home from DC with big bro in the back seat wondering if he was gonna snap and try to interfere with me driving and get us all killed. Btw, dad’s house is filled with guns.

Brilliant fucking idea, dad. Don’t bring the mentally unstable person screaming at you that you’re a part of the illuminati sent to control him to a hospital, with trained medical professionals. No, bring the person whom you repeatedly acknowledged was a threat to the safety of yourself and your daughter to the house filled with guns.

The second time big bro freaked out was right before Thanksgiving, and his roommates called us in to help. I put my foot down with my parents, and baby bro went up with me and had one of my friends meet us in DC and we dragged big bro’s ass to the hospital. Can I say, sitting for several hours in the little room in the emergency department alone with my big brother as he rambled constantly making menacing comments, was one of the more harrowing experiences of my life?

Oh, hey, this second time? It happened about a week after my grandma died. I had driven my mom down so that she could see the body before it was cremated. And had to pick out Nina’s urn, and write her obituary, and pay for it myself, because someone had to keep their shit together, and it wasn’t gonna be my mom. And the great thing is that during the first incident, my dad called my mom and guilted her into leaving grandma’s side, where she was nursing her and making sure she ate, saying that Nina wouldn’t die if mom left and that my big bro was more important at that time. Well guess what fucking happened. Mom left, Nina got pneumonia, and she died.

The bureaucrats in Fairfax county, Virginia, did not believe that big brother fit the requirements for involuntary commitment, so he was free to go after two days in the hospital.

Fast forward to December 23, after I made it through my final exams and earned my perfect fucking GPA even though I was a wreck, after Nina’s funeral in Florida (which was it’s own special shit show that I don’t have the energy to break down atm, but big bro's presence was just the tip of the iceberg), after I fled up to my best friend’s house in PA, I learn that big brother had flipped out again. He was traveling somewhere in NC, threatening to murder my dad, my siblings, and me, among other things. His friends, whom I had previously warned when shit first started going down, called 911 and got him involuntarily committed.

This morning they had a hearing where the state determined that big bro has to stay in the state run long-term mental health facility because the judge was concerned about the “multiple death threats, actions towards staff, and history of med noncompliance”, according to my dad, who was present at the hearing.

So, at least I’m ending 2018 with the knowledge that big brother should be in the hospital for a while, and I can probably safely return to North Carolina at some point and try to resume finishing my degree.

[wrench-wench]

it’s been roughly 12 hours since i got the second moderna shot and i am in sensory hell. i’ve got chills, achy joints, acid reflux/nausea, menstrual cramps, and the sensation of ANYTHING touching my skin makes me want to crawl right the fuck out of it. it’s worth it, but i am ready for this part to be over now plsthnx.

[wrench-wench]

hahahaha i’m a fraud and a failure and i don’t deserve to be at this school and i’m gonna fuck it all up again