#It was satisfying to see that I was right on the circumstances of which Fred would fall for someone

[munsons-maiden]

I actually don’t think Eddie was “truly happy”. I think he was generally pretty ok, was happy within his hobbies specifically, and was as distracted as he could be, but I don’t read him as a very happy person. It doesn’t really have to do with being poor, but I feel he wasn’t happy or satisfied with his circumstances. Mainly still being at home while his friends were halfway done with college. Still living at home while his original group of friends were likely moved away. I think he was secretly bothered by it. He has people around him but none he could turn to in his time of need. I think he was just not experiencing very active, ongoing trauma the way Chrissy, Patrick, max etc were. Like Patrick’s was still dealing with current abuse, Chrissy was actively making herself sick and maybe dealing with emotional abuse(?), max wasn’t over seeing her brother killed in front of her in a horrible way, while also wrestling with the fact that he was abusive towards her. Like maybe if Eddie’s dad was still in his life and being abusive to him, that would make him more susceptible to Vecna. But he was dealing with more “normal” life issues - graduating, planning campaigns, some existential dread about the future maybe, etc. even the people we got glimpses of when Vecna was “searching” through ppl were currently dealing with something. Eddie has past trauma but not something currently happening the way those people did.

I agree with almost everything, you phrased it way better. What I meant was that Eddie wasn't unhappy because he was poor or unpopular or wasn't loved by the chicks, to stick with the things he listed Steve had and Eddie didn't. Eddie didn't want to have rich parents, but of course a financially more stable situation and a "better" home would have been nice. He didn't want to be popular, he just didn't want to be ostracized anymore but accepted. And he didn't want chicks to love him, he wanted a chance to find love. Let me re-phrase it, because you're right: he wasn't unhappy. The general circumstances of his life didn't make him unhappy, but his third attempt at graduation, many of his original friends moving on and being able to leave Hawkins behind, definitely nagged at him, but I think he is one to stick to positive thinking. Focusing on seizing the final change to graduate instead of sulking over the two times he failed.

I disagree with you on the trauma part, though. While you're right, Max, Patrick and Chrissy were dealing with ongoing trauma (Chrissy was verbally abused by her mother, as her first Vecna vision in teh bathroom tells us -> "open the door or I'll gut you like the fat pig you are"), but Fred wasn't. Fred was dealing with the aftermath of a deadly accident he caused, putting him in a similar position as Eddie with his own past parental/domestic abuse that was implied.

My point about this was that in psychology, there are different protective factors which can help reduce the effects of trauma. We see that with Max: she was shutting herself out, cutting off Lucas (her romantic partner) as well as her friends to deal with her trauma on her own, which is unhealthy coping and made her vulnerable to Vecna's attacks, with Vecna being a symbol of mental illness in this context. Which leads me to all of Vecna's other victims: Max locked everyone out, so did Patrick (he lied to Lucas about his bruise, and it gets obvious that Patrick didn't tell anyone about the abuse he suffered which, sadly, is very common), just like Chrissy never told anyone except for Mrs. Kelly. Just like Fred kept a secret what happened last year. All of Vecna's victims show the unhealthy coping strategy of isolating themselves, making themselves vulnerable. Plus, except for Fred, they all dealt with the situation of a parent abusing (or in Max's case neglecting) them, which is another parallel to whatever Eddie went through before he came to live with Wayne.

And Eddie never isolated himself. He was playing in a band, in Hellfire, had a social circle which granted protection. Not neccessarily from Vecna himself, but from the mental illness Vecna symbolizes and uses to his advantage. Because Vecna, in the end, is another abuser, targeting those who are isolated because they are the "weaker" targets. That's what I meant with Eddie being protected from Vecna's influence.

[hasansonsuzceliktas]

A Truck in the Quantum Universe

by Hasan Sonsuz I listened to a speech by quantum physicist Fred Alan Wolf, and one thing he said really impressed me. Chapter 1: A Truck in the Quantum Universe I listened to a speech by quantum physicist Fred Alan Wolf, and one thing he said really impressed me. In a nutshell, he said, “If there’s a voice in you saying, ‘you can do this,’ then the voice that says, ‘you can’t do this,’ also exists in the universe. If there’s a voice saying you can’t, then there is a voice saying you can. You come across these as various paths. Wherever the observer focuses their look, that’s where they will head towards.” As I was thinking about how this takes place, I came across a motorcycle accident on a TV documentary. Just as the biker makes a turn, a truck appears on the road, and the motorcycle crashes into it. The narrator said something like this about it: “The biker’s biggest mistake was looking at the truck. All bikers know that a motorcycle goes wherever you point your gaze. If he had focused on the space to the right of the truck, his body would have automatically steered the motorcycle away from the truck, and he might have survived the accident.” So, here is the trick! In any circumstance you encounter, you can do it or you cannot do it. Something may happen, or it may not. This is how the system is structured. It’s pointless to make a fuss about a truck being in the way when you’re on a road, because roads have plenty of trucks, as well as cars, buses, and other vehicles. They all follow their own paths, but it’s only natural that you encounter a few of them. There is a truck approaching, sure, but there is also empty space to the side. Wherever you look, the motorcycle will take you there, to wherever you direct your focus. It’s as simple as that! Chapter 2: Three States of Knowing After the article above, one dear soul mailed me and asked a very good question. I therefore decided to write a few words about this, both to address the question and to satisfy the curiosity of everyone else. First, this is the mail I got: “Is it really so simple? I think those who accomplish what you say probably believe that it’s a simple thing to do. I consume myself when I can’t achieve a certain goal or consider matters in which I feel inadequate. When I talk to anyone about this, they usually say, ‘So what! Go and do it!’ Is it really that easy, though? When will I get there? Will I ever get there, I wonder? I feel like such a looser when I meet someone who has achieved something I cannot.” To begin with, we have the “truck and the empty road” situation here. You are being dragged toward your inner voice that says, “You can’t!” and therefore crashing right into the truck. I can completely relate to this, because over the years, I‘ve smashed into that same truck over and over again. I felt like a looser, something inadequate and incompetent, whenever I was around people who did better than myself. I grew jealous of them, too. Now, though, I pray that I come across such people. It is such a great blessing to meet them, because they provide such great inspiration. They show me my inner potential, the potential I need to bring out. Yes! Yes! You may have heard people say that the negative we see in others is our own reflection. Well, the positive you see in others is also a reflection, and it’s called the positive shadow. When I changed my perspective, when I got the jealous, looser, inadequate, incompetent loser in me to receive inspiration, I noticed how I am surrounded with many inspiring people. In fact, when I get involved in a conversation, I pray that I am the least knowledgeable in the group. I pray to be the one to listen and learn. To be clear, though, I’m not talking about what happens when I’m around the know-it-alls. At this point, it will help to explain the three states of knowing in Sufi mysticism. This model cleared up everything for me. First there is İlm-el Yakin (knowing), which means you have mere knowledge. Next, there is Ayn-el Yakin (experiencing), which means you know through experience. Finally, there is Hakk-el Yakin (living), which means you are living what you know. For instance, the concept of Sacred Marriage represents the highest level of love and sharing you can experience with your sacred partner. You have knowledge of this, so you know what it is. This is İlm-el Yakin—you just know it. Next, you witness a couple living in such a Sacred Marriage, and while witnessing it, your brain forms new connections in preparation for recreating this experience. This is called Ayn-el Yakin, knowing through experience. One day, though, the time comes, and the Sacred Marriage is right before you. It’s staring you in the eye lovingly. You hold hands and embrace, kiss, and smell it. You are mesmerized. You know that you are reunited, and this is the very Hakk-el Yakin itself. So, we create our experiences by going through these three stages. In such a context, being surrounded by people who are good at what they do is a great gift. When someone is good at what they do, they put their all into it. This is when God and the spirit are present. The one who gives inspiration to all is the spirit. No matter what a person does, if it is done while embracing the spirit and God, that person doesn’t even need to talk. His or her mere existence is an inspiration. So, considering this, even if people have stacks of money, it doesn’t mean that they are “wealthy.” Likewise, having zillions of followers on Instagram or appearing on TV all the time doesn’t make someone “successful.” Having sold 100,000 copies of a book doesn’t make a person an accomplished author. For such people, the energy in their energy field is not inspiration but rather spite. Spiteful energy can never inspire anyone, because it makes you feel like an inadequate looser. God and the spirit are not anywhere near. There is just the ego, me. And unfortunately, the energy of social media channels such as Instagram derives from here. When a person knows what is what and understands who acts on which energy, he or she better understands what to focus on. Once you shift your focus, your environment changes as well. Many souls provide inspiration merely through their presence, and they begin to appear in your life. For example, of late I admire the “Aziz” character in a series called “Vuslat,” but I know that it is Aziz within me that I admire. By watching him, I connect the neurons in my brain, so the Aziz in me can be activated, and I can transform into Aziz. This is what I say and what I pray for. May you be surrounded by many who are good at what they do. May it be so, so you may see yourself in them and evolve yourself accordingly. If there is an experienced biker leading the way when a truck comes along, I can keep my eyes on him or her and move forward. After a while, I won’t need the master, and I will be able to move forward all by myself. I hope this is a clear reply to that question. People say to look not at the people who talk but those who make them talk. Thank you for giving me this opportunity to talk to you, you dear soul. Read the full article

[theangrycomet]

Some fluff for a RarePair I’m honestly shocked isn’t super popular. Have some civilian Voydzilla on the house. 

[citydreamgrls]

a simple favour - part two

fred weasley x fem!reader

summary: it was all in her best interests, fred never meant to catch feelings for her. it had started as a simple favour.

words: 4,785

warnings: swearing , tw: stalking / stalker , smut in later parts (18+)

find part three here

“You did WHAT!” Ron was the first to respond to Fred’s confession. The rest weren’t far behind. Harry burst into a fit of nervous giggles, unable to truly contemplate it all George just switched up his facial expressions from confused to shocked to horrified over and over again. Hermione’s reaction was similar to Ron’s, as she threw herself into a flurry of telling Fred how mental he was, and asking him questions without waiting for answers.

All the while I sat in disbelief, unsure if I’d heard him correctly. I held my head upright, just a blank expression stuck on my face as I watched the wall, hoping that something would come to mind.

“YOU’RE FUCKING MENTAL FRED!’

“HAS SHE NOT GONE THROUGH ENOUGH?”

“GOD SHE’S ONE OF MY BEST FRIENDS, THIS IS DISGUSTING.”

“Poor girl, you should be ashamed Fred.”

“And to think I ever looked up to you.”Ron huffed, setting Hermione off again.

“IS THIS YOUR IDEA OF A SICK JOKE?” She screeched, stopping everyone in their spiralling tracks, even making me look over to see what the twin would say.

“It- it just slipped out okay, but wait-” He stopped his brother from ripping his head off, “I think it might have done something.”

“Does he believe you?” I asked into the following silence, making him look at me with more of an apology than he had ever spoken aloud. “I can’t say for sure.. But he was definitely bothered by it.”

“And what if this is all he needs to get back at her, just a reason to hurt y/n?” Hermione asked.

Fred’s face dropped and he sighed with genuine regret, if what he was saying was true then it could go either way. Mclaggen could either get bored of seeing me with someone else and move on, or he could come after fuelled with jealousy.

“I’m sorry,” He finally spoke, looking over to me and keeping his eyes on mine as he carried on,“I know it isn’t ideal, but it could at least mean he isn’t as interested.”

“There isn’t much else we can do, is there?” My best friend replied, tying her hair up and sitting down in defeat.

“I suppose we better make him believe then.” I nodded, the words feeling heavy and wrong as they came from my throat. Nothing felt right about this, I felt bad for Fred having to lie for me and act as if he loved me just because some guy was being a creep.

Fred smiled weakly, he must have sensed my nerves. Or maybe I just wasn’t as good at hiding what I felt as I’d always presumed I was. Either way, he knew something about where my head was at. He was also right. This situation wasn’t ideal, but equally it was the only idea any of us had come up with that seemed to actually work in some way. Fred wasn’t malicious, he would only ever do this to help.

Now we just needed to pull it off properly.

-

None of us talked over it for long, no one really wanted to go into much detail of how soppy Fred and I needed to act around one another. No one less than Ron, who had a permanent scowl aimed at his brother as we discussed the plan. It all came down to what people outside of mine and Hermione’s room thought. It wasn’t just Cormac who we would be lying to, but everyone else in the school. If just one person caught wind that this was a set up, then it would be a wasted effort and I’d be stuck with a stalker for the rest of my time at Hogwarts.

“What about Ginny?” Harry asked, “Do we tell her?”

“She needs to believe it like everyone else,” Fred said. “If she thinks we’re together, then she’ll tell mum and dad straight away. Saves them hearing from anyone else, that would be more suspicious.”

“We can still tell her the truth,” Ron was still angry, finding every reason to disagree with people. “Even if she knows she can tell mum and dad.”

“She’s still young Ron, we can’t trust that she won’t let slip.” He argued back.

“She’s family you git, it isn’t fair to lie to her too!”

“Fred’s right.” Hermione put a hand on Ron’s, all of us nodding in agreement. “All of this stays between us, that’s all. We can trust one another, and that’s it. No one else.”

Ron reluctantly gave in, not quite agreeing, but nevertheless refraining from arguing the point any further. It all seemed quite futile to him, and something deep down made him wonder what his brother was up to. George coaxed everyone out, leaving Hermione and I to talk things over once again.

“One of us can watch the tower from the common room, that way he can’t get to you.” He explained once the boys were going down the stairs. I thanked him as he smiled and left, always the one to keep smiling despite the circumstances.

My best friend hugged me once again, refusing to let go as we tried to chat about anything other than Fred, which lasted about 2 minutes.

“What was he thinking?” She scoffed and I shrugged.

“It’s our only chance Mione,”

“And if it doesn’t work?”

“Then I’ll kill him.” My face was blank, probably pale and sickly. I felt sickly so it seemed right that I look the part.

“Who? Fred or Mclaggen?”

“Both,” I laughed, the tiniest glimmer of happiness stabbing its way through the dark. My friend’s wrapped round me more, unwilling to let go until she absolutely had to, her hands squeezed my sides comfortably. “Thank you, for stopping Mclaggen last night… and for looking after me so much.”

“I know you would do the same,” She smiled, stroking my hair with one hand.

“Were you scared too?” I asked, breathing deeply as I tried to repress that feeling I’d had seeing him standing in the middle of the room only a few steps away from my bed.

“A little bit,”

“You’re braver than me… what do you think he would hav-”

“Don’t think about it y/n, it’s over. Just focus on you and Fred.”

I sat up, her arms slipping away as I did so. She mimicked me, crossing her legs as I did mine and watched my mind whir as I thought about Fred over and over.

“There must have been other things he could’ve said.” I sighed, Hermione nodding.

“Probably..”

“Hell, he could’ve beaten him to the ground.” “So why didn’t he?” The girl asked, no answer coming to my mind but plenty inside hers. “I just think there’s a reason he lied to Mclaggen.”

“He said it slipped out,”

“Oh I believe that, but it’s what that means that’s confusing me.” She admitted, I frowned at her, not quite following.

“What do you mean?”

“Well,” She sat up onto her knees, looking me right in the eyes to make sure I understood what she was thinking. “For Fred, the guy who couldn't care less about girls, to suddenly pretend he has a girlfriend seems strange. But when he said it just slipped out to Cormac, I think he was thinking of you more than himself.”

She was right about Fred not being bothered with girls, he’d seen George mess around with enough of them that the aspect of a relationship probably seemed useless to him.

“Yeah I understand that, he was confronting him about me.”

“But… he could’ve said anything else. Why did Fred, think about you and his head immediately go to girlfriend?” She leant back now, satisfied with her theory. I hummed.

“Maybe you’re over-analysing it a bit?” Hermione did tend to after all.

“I have a gut feeling about this one.”

-

Harry came to check on me halfway through the day, telling us that Ron had been sulking all day despite Fred's attempts to apologise. Hermione went to spend some time in the library as I continued to hide away in our dorm, refusing to come out until dinner. Tomorrow would be a different day, I’d have classes all over again but luckily none with Mclaggen because he was in the year above. However, it meant I’d be matched with people asking questions, whether they knew about the night’s events or not. I now had a fake relationship to speak for, not to mention I needed to be somewhat happy about it too in order for things to go smoothly.

“Hi.” Fred said quietly, making Harry look up from his magazine. He got the idea and left us to it, shutting the door behind him.

“I’ll see you at dinner y/n.” He smiled sweetly, each step echoing down the stairs. The twin shuffled over to sit on Hermione’s bed to face me.

“How are you feeling?” He asked me, avoiding my empty eyes.

“Fine,” I smiled weakly, doing my best to lie. I didn’t want him to think I was nervous.

“I cannot apologise enough,” He started, hands moving slightly as if he wanted to reach out for mine. But they went back to his lap, fingers tightly crossed over one another, I watched him clench them until his knuckles went white.

I felt like a toddler that needed watching all the time, like he wasn’t sure what to do with me or how to talk.

“Fred don’t, just- it’s fine.” I stood up and walked across the room, desperately trying to find something to busy myself with. I folded some clean clothes, his eyes on my shaky form.

“You’re nervous?” He tried again, his voice scratching the air. I nodded, not daring to turn around and face him. I felt pathetic alone in his presence, vulnerable to his gaze as I clutched a jumper Ron had given me one Christmas between my fingers.

My thoughts were scrambled but they refused to come out to Fred. So we were alone in the silence.

“Everyone’s angry, aren’t they?” I said, at first to himself, but when I peered over he was waiting for me to tell him otherwise.

“I am grateful Fred,I know you were just looking out for me.” He smiled, having been given the reassurance he’d wanted.

“We all are.”

I swallowed once, feeling the spit slide down my throat with a disgusting taste. He meant that as a humbling comment, to show that everyone else cared as much as he did, but why was I disappointed. Had I really been holding out hope that he wanted this?

“Do you need any time before we go?” I nodded, suddenly realising how much of a state I must have been in from the night before.

“I should probably shower,” The words came out meekly, like I was too scared to speak any louder.

“Okay, you can use our bathroom.”

Hermione and I didn’t have a bathroom big enough for a shower in our dorm, subjected to walking halfway across the castle each morning before breakfast. Yet Fred and George had been lucky enough to bag a room with a bigger bathroom, giving them an annoyingly better deal than us.

He checked that the common room was empty before letting me walk through it to get to his dorm. I had never been inside, the twins rarely using their room for anything besides sleeping and washing. They did share it with another boy, Lee Jordan, but as Fred explained he was never really around either.

I showered quickly, enough time to enjoy the privacy of the warm water as I shivered beneath it. Fred was waiting outside, that I could tell from his light footsteps as he paced the room.

“Ready?” The boy stopped walking when I came out, fresh clothes on and my others in a small bundle in my arms. “I’ll put those in with my laundry if you want?” I smiled and dumped it in his little washing basket, taking a deep breath.

He gave me a sudden hug, making me jump slightly. Fred wasn’t one for complex emotions, generally sticking to the safety net that was happiness and anger. I certainly hadn’t seen him hug a single person before without being coerced. Maybe he saw me as such a basket case, that he didn't even know how to react.

“I’m fine Fred.” I laughed awkwardly, patting his back and letting him pull away. For a second I thought he hadn’t heard me, because he didn’t move away, but then he coughed himself back to normal and turned to leave. Me following behind, more confused than ever.

-

The noise of voices in the great hall boomed louder than ever before, even from down the hall. Fred had started holding my hand the second we’d left the common room, chatting casually to me as we walked through the castle, people giving us looks as we passed them. I too wouldn’t have understood his change in demeanor, he had never been overly affectionate to anyone. Yet here he was, acting as if I was the only person in this whole school. We didn’t stop to discuss anything, or reassure one another, before walking into the hall. I feared that if we had done so, then that slight slither of courage I had would’ve melted away quicker than wax.

Fred’s smile was so natural as I peered up to him, already looking over at George on the Gryffindor table. They were all at our usual spot, watching expectantly as I did my best to ignore the many turned heads and hushed murmurs of surprise. My eyes were fixated on Hermione, who seemed to express a great deal of pride. I hadn’t even noticed that we’d passed Mclaggen’s end of the table, Fred’s body blocking that side so I never even saw him.

When we sat down, I shuddered at the feeling of Fred’s arm around me, which I hope he hadn’t noticed. It was strange, having someone’s hands on me at all times, even worse when it was Fred's. I’d seen the boy fidget before, it was a normal occurrence, but to be the one on the receiving end of his restless fingers playing in my hand was weird.

It was as if he wasn’t necessarily paying attention to me, but yet he was letting me know I was still on his mind. All without a single word spoken. It was nice just to see a different side to the boy, but I needed to remember that all of this wasn’t real. None of these feelings were true to Fred.

Ron ate his food in silence, refraining from looking over at either me or his brother. I ate slowly, mostly speaking to Hermione and Harry and avoiding eye contact with anyone else in the hall, especially him. George and Fred were keeping themselves entertained, which made things much easier for me as I realised that I had no clue how to chat normally with Fred. A fact that became evident as we walked hand in hand through the halls.

Some people congratulated Fred as he took me to potions class, most just whispered about us as if they were invisible. I stayed quiet, the attention mostly on him thank god.

“You didn’t have to bring me,” I smiled as we stopped outside the classroom door “I’m sure people would still believe you.” I whispered.

“Y/n.” He frowned, like I was a naughty child.

“Sorry.” I became very aware of him flipping out. Not even one whole day, and he was already seemingly sick of pretending. The boy looked around, eyeing up a group of Ravenclaw’s hanging out at the other end of the hallway and sighed, turning back to me.

“I didn’t mean it like that, sorry.” He took my hand again, confusing me with a gentle smile.

It became apparent that Fred was a great liar, both to me and everyone else. He said goodbye, and I did my best to produce a fake smile, not that he would be able to tell the difference.

-

Fred watched her leave, noticing how uncomfortable her smile had been and wanting to punch himself in the face. Why was he acting like such an idiot around her? She was so easy to be happy around, but he repressed it, not enjoying the vulnerability she instilled in him.

He couldn’t deny himself the joy that came with the smiles, or when she held his hand so small inside his own. But he couldn’t let her know that, not ever. Because, when she looked up at him, those eyes so big and innocent, he wanted nothing more than to keep her safe from all the world’s evil. That was what made him weak to her.

She wasn’t ‘his’ in any sense of the word, not a possession like Cormac had described, but god why did he like showing her off to all the boys in her year. The same dirty guys that had confessed the things they wanted to do to her in the dark during a game of truth or dare. Thinking back on it made him mad, physically furious, he wanted to go back and kick them all in the mouths for ever defiling her that way.

It was wrong. Fred felt as though he was benefiting from something y/n had been so traumatised over, like he was her protector from Mclaggen and now she owed him the satisfaction of acting as his girlfriend. He had the nerve to revel in every fucking second of it too.

Fred felt as bad as her stalker. He felt as vulnerable to her as Cormac was, begging for her over and over until it drove him mad. He saw how easily love had turned his father obedient to his mother, and he’d watched Ron stumble over words whenever Hermione looked him straight in the eyes. Fred wasn’t like them, he didn’t need a relationship to belittle him as he’d watched it do to others. He needed to control himself, but it was so hard when he held her and felt what it was like to be under that trance.

She was most likely only being polite with him because he was just that little bit better than someone who broke into her dorm to do god knows what. He wished that she hated him, that she would scream and yell and tell him what a dick he was for making her do this. At least in that case, it would be easier to forget all that he wanted from her. It made him angry that she was so encaptivating, so furious that he felt the need to push her away.

That rage had gotten everyone into this mess to begin with, that anger had made him notice those desperate feelings for y/n that shouldn’t exist. Fred vowed to himself in that moment, he would do everything in his power to rid any attraction to the girl he merely owed a favour to.

-

Days went by, Fred and I agreeing that kissing one another on the cheek was far enough for people to still believe while not making things awkward between us. The boy, however, was becoming increasingly distant over the next few days. He seemed so calm and collected when we were around others, but the second we were alone he shut down.

His hands would drop mine as if I was the plague, no words exchanged. It hurt, knowing that it truly was all an act, contrary to Hermione’s theory. But nothing else had been hinted at from the start, he himself told all of us how much of a mistake it was. Now I had no choice but to believe him when he said that.

Each time he went silent, or grunted to me instead of talking, I was reminded of how many times he apologised. How quickly he regretted his actions, the second he’d told all of us that morning in my dorm. He never did it for me, I was just naive enough to think differently. Maybe it hurt because he was so convincing, he held me proudly and smiled as if I was the only person in the room. But I too was just someone else being fooled by a very good actor.

The only upside to it all was that Mcglaggen seemed to back off a bit, keeping the creepiness down to just stares across the great hall. It put me at ease again, knowing that I wouldn’t have to worry about walking into a room of flowers and gifts from someone I despised. At this point, he had to be yet another believer of mine and Fred’s fake relationship, thank god.

-

“I think he hates me,” I said into the darkness one night, unable to sleep and hoping my best friend would be the same.

“Who does?” She grumbled, drowsiness in her voice but not in her body.

“Fred.”

“Why do you say that?”

“You must’ve seen it too, he just ignores everything I say. Like he can’t even stand to be around me.” I huffed.

“Maybe he feels bad for you, he kind of forced it upon you.”

“It doesn't feel like pity… more like disgust.”

Hermione fell silent, searching her mind for a good response.

“Maybe there’s something else on his mind?” She explained.

“Maybe,” I rolled over and looked at the room from my bed, sighing and closing my eyes in another futile attempt to sleep.

-

I soon realised it was so incredibly stupid of me to ever think that Cormac would have backed off when I snuck off to the black lake one evening to have some time to myself. All I’d done for weeks on end was in the company of others, and it had started to suffocate me slightly. Hermione hadn’t mentioned our conversation about Fred, and his attitudes had only worsened over time, so I just decided to keep it all to myself. I’d snuck off while everyone was busy and walked to the water’s edge, watching the sunset.

It was peaceful, and refreshing to be alone. Finally, I could enjoy my own thoughts without someone interrupting them or the need to fill the silence between Fred and I. He had barely spoken to me all day, only putting on a smile at breakfast before going off to quidditch. Then he disappeared, not even turning up to dinner later on, which seemed to make some people talk as I prodded the food around my plate.

My mood’s were at an all time low, Fred’s constant rejection only pushing them deeper. I’d never needed his approval before, so why was I longing for it now? I hated that I wanted him to come and tell me he was sorry for being off with me. In reality, he probably enjoyed the one day without me around to bother him.

“All alone y/n?” His voice made me want to cry, the once bubbling anger had been conditioned into fear every time I heard him speak. I turned around, ready to leap up and run at any moment. Cormac stood smugly, arms crossed, as if he had finally gotten what he wanted. He had. Now I was all on my own, as he’d asked me already, and he could do whatever he’d wanted to since he’d laid eyes on me.

“What do you want?” I forced the words out shakily, only making him smile more.

He stepped forward and I scrambled to my feet clumsily, stepping back as he came closer.

“I want you to myself y/n, you’re wasting your time with Weasley.” I cringed at his words, if only he knew. I moved around him, trying to leave. But he would never give up that easy, he followed me up the hill with ease.  

“Stop it.” I begged.

“We’re meant to be together y/n,” He smiled, reaching for my hand but I just sped up. Making him jog after me. He wasn’t quite chasing me, neither of us moving fast enough for that, but it felt like a wolf closing in on me. “You can’t deny your feelings, can you?”

I stopped, for a split second pondering over the idea that he was talking about Fred. Then he smirked, that ugly god awful, gut-wrenching smile and I remembered that when Cormac spoke it was only ever in his own interest. So I kept walking, finally reaching the bridge to the courtyard.

“I’d love you so much more than he could y/n,” I didn’t dare respond, the tears pricking at my eyes. “He barely pays attention to you, I see it, there’s no spark with you two.” I hated that he was so right.

His words were impossible to ignore, even as we got into the castle with noises everywhere, Cormac’s rang out above them all. “Does Weasley ever touch you?” He asked me, that sick feeling increasing by the second.

Just the stairs to go, then I’d be inside the common room. Someone had to be there, and if not then Hermione was bound to be in the dorm. I prayed I wouldn’t be alone, I had no chance against Mclaggen if I needed to defend myself. I was fearing for the worst, his words unrelenting as he demanded to know intimate details.

“I want to be all over your body,” He whispered as I spoke the password, the painting swinging open. I’d never run inside so quickly, just to whip round to the boy following me closely. He seemed caught off guard, stumbling a little in his step.

“You’re a sick fucker, what will it take for you to understand that no one is ever gonna love you if you threaten them!” I screamed in his face, not giving him a chance to respond.

“I’m not something you can play about with, I’m a fucking person. Do everyone a favour Cormac and leave!”

I hadn’t spotted the three boys peering over at us, getting up in defense the second they saw who had followed me. Ron, Fred and George waited until I was done before coming to my side.

“There he is, your precious boyfriend.” I rolled my eyes at him and turned away again, not in any mood to deal with any of them.

“Leave her alone Mclaggen, she’s had enough of your shit.” Fred pushed the boy to the ground, towering over him with a foot pressed to his neck. He nodded, wanting to be let free and got up to rush off. I scoffed, but not at the pervert.

“I bet you’re so proud of yourself aren’t you,” I huffed, making Fred frown. He’d yet to see me mad, but it had been growing over time.

“What’s wrong?” His tone was dull, as if he couldn’t be bothered.

“You, you’re so full of yourself” I scoffed again.

Ron and George sloped off, deciding this was between the two of us alone.

“What did he say to you?” Fred tried to change the subject with a sudden gentle tone.

“Jesus why do you do that?”

“Do what?”

My face was blank with annoyance. He was so thick sometimes. He must know what he was doing, no one was that ignorant.

“You spend all day acting as if you hate me, out of nowhere, and then you do this. Play all protective and caring as if it’s normal. None of this IS NORMAL!” I was getting closer to him, trying my best to get him to understand from nearly half a foot shorter.

“I’m doing what we agreed, what’s the problem.”

“Do you hate me? Is that what it is, because tell me now and we can end this.” I laughed, wanting nothing more than to be far away from him.

“Y/n you’re mad over nothing.” He lied.

“I actually thought you could be half decent... but jokes on me eh?” I ranted, getting more and more furious by the second. I could see he was hurt, but my words were still riling him up and pissing him off. Fred took a deep breath to compose himself.

“It’s complicated y/n,” He tried his best to explain calmly, but I was too far gone.

“I get that I’m just charity work to you Fred.”

I went back out of the common room, passing Ron and George leant against a painting on my way down. They called after me, confused, as I raced down the stairs, but I didn’t dare stop. I needed to be away from them all, somewhere safe where I could hide from it all for a little while.

[mirkwoodshewolf]

Guardian of Creatures; AU! Queen x oc female x reader Chap. 13

*Author’s note*

Well been awhile since I did an update for this series but here I am with another update! This time we’re gonna turn back the clock and find out what happened to our gang of mistfits when Serafina left them. So as I told you all before, Oded Fehr plays an allied wizard for John and Serafina, but now we get introduced to a new THREAT to our heroes. So I hope you all enjoy this chapter and until next time :)

Taglist:

@plethora-of-things

@waddles03

@psychosupernatural

@ixchel-9275

@simonedk

@queen-paladin

@queensdivas

@queendeakyy

@jd-johndeacon-or-jackdaniels

@glitter-at-the-panic

@kinole009x

@geek-and-proud​

@wormzteef​

_________________________________________________________

Chapter 13,

The Ambush

*2nd Person POV. The morning after Serafina leaves*

The next morning you awoke to the desert sun shining in your tent.

“What do you mean she’s gone!?” you hear John’s voice snap with anger.  You peek out of your tent to see the boys all standing around under the desert sun but Serafina was nowhere to be seen.  John stood in front of Freddie, his hands fuming with his purple magic while his sons Seraffel and Thor stood behind their father, the same look of anger across their faces.

“I’m saying what is true. She’s gone on her own path.”

“What is it with you fucking Nagas and your riddle talk!? Where exactly did our mom go!? And I swear to god if you don’t start making any sense I’ll freeze you so bad you won’t start to thaw till the next Ice Age!” Seraffel warned.

“Always barking but never biting. Really Seraffel you’ve threatened me thousands of times since your hatching and you’ve yet to hold up to that threat. No matter how old you were.” Freddie spoke nonchalantly, like he didn’t even care for the ice dragon’s threat.  You walk up to Brian and ask him.

“What’s going on here?”

“It would appear that Serafina has gone off on her own somewhere. John and Serafina have rarely been apart from one another, the longest I’ve seen them be apart is when Roger and I were first sent by Freddie to save them.”

“Freddie please just—just tell us where our mom’s at? She could get captured or-or killed!” Thor pleaded.

“Your mother can handle herself. Right now she needs to go on this path on her own.”

“Fred normally I would agree on with what you say but this is no time for a pissing contest! Grindelwald knew we were in New York, who’s to say that the rest of his family or even his spies could be out here looking for us right now!? What if her power alone is not enough?” Roger said as he paced back and forth with worry.

“For someone who claims to care for her you seriously underestimate her Roger dear.” Roger halted in his spot to stare at the Naga. “Serafina’s path lies on a different path than ours for the moment. This part of her journey will come to pass with what we need for the final phase of ending Grindelwald’s followers once and for all. Now will the four of you get your heads out of your arses and understand Serafina is more than capable of taking care of herself and isn’t some fragile little maiden that always needs protecting!”

Freddie’s eyes glowed a fearsome yellow and his voice grew deeper and more snake like.  

“Now then, we should reach the Medjai coven by the sun’s highest point if we leave now. Burn the tents and get rid of any evidence of our trail here.” Freddie slithered onward.

As the boys went on with Freddie’s orders, you then ask Brian once more.

“Will she be okay?”

“Serafina is unlike any other witch I’ve met before. Elf or otherwise. She has power unlike anything I’ve ever seen. If I had to say who I should be more worried for, I’d say it’s whatever poor unfortunate soul crosses her path.”

Once the site was cleared up of any of your traces, you continued onward to the Medjai covenant.  It felt like an eternity had passed until finally as you all came up over a hill and just down below, several village stood there in the middle of the desert.

“We’ve arrived.” John spoke as he urged his black stallion onward.  You followed behind him, then his sons, Brian and Freddie, while Roger flanked in the rear.

As you all approached the entrance into the village, several men in black garb with most of their faces covered, held up their wands towards you guys ready to strike.

“Waqaf!” one of the guards spoke up.  Your horse whinnied and reared on it’s hind legs.  You held onto the reins as tight as you could as you tried to calm your horse down.

“Whoa, whoa boy whoa easy!” you tell your horse.  John’s horse nickered and anxiously paced forward and back.

“We’re not spies! We’re friends with your covenant leader Ardeth Bay. My name is John Deacon and these creatures are my friends.” The guards looked at one another suspiciously when a stern but warm voice proclaimed.

“Let them pass!” soon riding on top of a camel was an Egyptian man with long black hair, two Arabic tattoos on each cheek and one across his forehead, and chocolate brown eyes.  He sported a mix of a goatee and beard which went well along his strong jawline.

He was a big man on the muscular side, probably standing at around 6ft, maybe a couple inches.  But it was the way he just seem to carry himself that made it seem like he was a true leader, a chieftain maybe.

“This man is under my protection. Anyone who tries to even lay a curse upon him shall face immediate exile, do I make myself clear?” the way his voice commanded these guards, it just made goosebumps come across your arms.  The guards put their wands away and bowed with their left feet forward and their right arms crossed over their chests, hands going right over their hearts.

He then turned to John and soon his camel and John’s stallion stood face to face of each other.

“Welcome back my friend, it’s been a long time.”

“I wish the circumstances could be better Ardeth.”

“Well, it is most definitely an upgrade from being lost in the desert for days on end without water and hardly any food.” John chuckled embarrassingly but then the two men clasped hands with each other in a firm handshake.

Then they taking back their hands, kissing the side of their index fingers and placing it on their foreheads before placing their hand before their lips once again (must be an Arabic greeting).

“You and your friends have had a long journey not only from your last hideout but also across the desert. Come, satisfy your hungry and quench your thirst. And for two of your companions, regain their energy.” Ardeth said the last part as he looked to Roger and Seraffel who both looked practically exhausted.

“Thank you Ardeth. We appreciate you giving us a place to rest and regroup.” John thanked him.  Ardeth bowed his head before urging his camel forward.  You all follow behind the leader of the Medjai sorcerers and as you enter the village, you can see hundreds of Arabic witches, wizards and young children running about going about their day.

Some were selling robes, others had potions and spell books for sale, animals were also being sold at what almost looked like a petting zoo setup but it also had dogs, cats and falcons in their cages.  Horses and camels were also on sale at the shop, each wearing a price board around their necks as they went about either pacing around the fence, drinking their water, or eating the food provided for them.

This entire marketplace was just a buzz with people.  As you passed by, some of the Medjai wizards and witches looked at you and your friends.  Some were in awe, others were skeptical, and the rest held respect as they bowed their heads to you and the others.

Soon you arrived at a large tent.  It seemed a pretty good decent size (maybe about 8ft long and 13ft. wide) for all of you to fit inside.  The front flaps were a stripped pattern of cream and, at least to you, an earthy kinda brownish-red.  The rest of the tent was an earthy tone of dark green and brown stripped pattern.

You all unmounted off your rides and Ardeth walked up to the tent and opened it up for you all.

“Enter my friends, eat and make yourselves at home.” John bent down to take his shoes off before entering inside the tent.  Brian did the same thing and gave Ardeth an Elvish thank you by placing his hand over his heart and bowing his head.  Ardeth did the same motion and Brian entered inside.

Roger, Thor and Seraffel, then Freddie followed behind after Brian.  You undid the last of your laces on your shoes and set them down beside the rest of the shoes that aligned the tent.

“You are the human savior the Naga Freddie has foreseen, aren’t you?” he said to you.

“Well—I don’t think I’d go so far as to say that. I mean yeah I did save John and Serafina’s sons from being imprisoned for all eternity but—other than that I’m not really all that special.”

“I disagree. You have a strong powerful aura within you. You may not yet realize it but it’s in there.” His strong, calloused hand gave your shoulder a gentle squeeze of reassurance.  “Every creature on this earth whether mortal or mythical has that power. It’s only up to those brave enough to seek it out. Not all heroes are of just one image.”

He walked back over to the flap of the tent and opened it up for you to walk inside.  You enter in and soon Ardeth follows right behind you.

Whoa! This tent was bigger on the inside! Various and beautiful kaleidoscope-like patterned quilts hung along the walls of the tent. There was a pool at the center of the tent and that’s where you saw both Seraffel and Roger, half naked, in the pool rehydrating themselves after being under the hot African sun for the past couple of days.

Thor was just drying off his wet hair (probably just getting out of the pool himself) wearing a white Arabic tunic.  Freddie was curled up under the shade fast asleep, while Brian and John were conversing quietly to themselves.

“Hey (n/n) get in the water’s amazing!” Seraffel called out to you.

“It was amazing till you nearly froze it over yah overgrown icicle!” Roger snapped.

“Oh whatever you’re made out of water yourself you’re fine.” Seraffel waved off nonchalantly.  You shook your head at seeing those two argue pettily.

“Maybe later guys.” You gave them an answer.

“I apologize for what happened with my guards out front. We’ve been needing to increase security for our coven.” Ardeth said as he went over to the kitchen to make some drinks for us.

“We understand Ardeth. My grandfather—is resilient.” John spoke lowly.

“He is. Unfortunately, it was not your grandfather or his followers that I was referring to.” At hearing this, most of you all look up at the leader of the Medjai sorcerers confused.

“What—do you mean then?” questioned Thor.

“It would seem Grindelwald has finally convinced an even greater foe to side with him.”

“Who?” you ask.

“The Shadow Sorcerers.” At hearing that name, everyone in the room went frigid with fear.  Even Freddie’s eyes had opened at hearing their name.

“Who are the Shadow Sorcerers?” you ask.

“A separate branch of one of the most powerful and most dangerous wizards and witches. They branched off during the time of Thomas Deacon, they viewed his radical thinking of submitting themselves under the Sorcerer Supreme’s rule unlawful. So they branched off, became their own branch of sorcerers.” Freddie first explained before John joined in.

“Once my grandfather became Sorcerer Supreme, he tried to sway the Shadow wizards not as pawns, but an ally. A secondhand ally you may call it. Some of the Shadow covens agreed and allowed some of their students to transfer into our school. To study our way of magic. But they made for certain that they would never submit themselves under the rule of the Sorcerer Supreme. At least not without something to gain from it.”

“They value their pride more than anything else in the world. But it would seem some of the Shadow covens have decided to go fully under Grindelwald’s thumb. Their source of magic comes from the most ancient and most darkest of all magic. Using their very own shadows as an extension of themselves in order to take down any enemy.” Ardeth said.

“The Shadow coven takes their inspiration of their magic based on the animals that you humans refer to as Nocturnal animals. Even basing each specific family off the Latin name of said animal. I’ve even seen the Shadow Sorcerers even control other beings to their will by using their own shadows against them. A few of my people before the massacre learned that the hard way.” Freddie said.

“How many Shadow sorcerer covens are there?” asked Thor.

“There are 10 main covens of Shadow Sorcerers, and then depending on the Nocturnal animal they are inspired to emulate, the covens get subdivided into classes based off the species. The covens with the most subclass are the Felines, Rodents, and Mammalia clans.” John answered his youngest son.

“So that means we’re screwed.” Seraffel exclaimed angrily.

“Not necessarily my young ice dragon.” Ardeth added.  “I said that some of the covens have joined Grindelwald. You see there are some that have remained either undecisive or wish to remain neutral. But I’m afraid the ones that did join along with Grindelwald, are one of the most strongest Shadow Sorcerers of all.”

“Which coven classes joined alongside him?” Brian asked. Ardeth sighed and said.

“I—truthfully do not know the exact number. But the one that has been skulking around here lately come from the Corvus clan.” You noticed John clenching his hand into a fist and even saw it tremble.

“So what do we do now?” asked Seraffel.

“Right now my friends you rest. And I strictly ask that you do not leave this tent as the sun sets. The shadow wizards tend to do their hunting at night. And whatever you do; Never. Turn on. The lights.” With that, Ardeth left you guys alone to your thoughts.

“Damn. Siding with the Shadow Sorcerers. Grindelwald must be getting desperate if he wanted to ask for their help.” Roger said.

“Does Grindelwald fear the Shadow Sorcerers?”

“To an extent. My grandfather is many things, a coward is definitely not one of them. But he is aware of who is powerful than even him. He must’ve sueded them to a deal that not even they could refuse.” John said. He lowered his head down to his hands and run his fingers through his hair anxiously. “I just hope and pray to Merlin that Serafina’s at least not in Egypt anymore. Or at least nowhere where a Shadow wizard could be.”

“She’ll be fine John. She’s stronger than you realize.” Brian comforted the anxious young wizard.

For the rest of the day, you all rested and pretty much stayed inside the tent because after traveling the desert for 2 days none of you even thought about wanting to go back outside.

When the sky became dark, it was as Ardeth said, no lanterns or lights were coming on in the camp.  Not even lights from the tents or houses nearby were up.

“Man, Ardeth wasn’t kidding. Not a single Medjai has their lights on.” You said as you came back into the tent.

“Then we must do the same.” Brian said. He went up to one of the lanterns and turned off the flame candle inside.  Roger did the same to his side of the room, and on and on until finally the entire tent was nothing but pitch black.

You adjusted yourself on the soft red velvet couch (well it felt more like a bed with how big it was).

“Goodnight everyone.” You say.  They all reply with a goodnight and soon you all fall into a silent sleep.

‘(Y/n).’ a ghostly whisper calls out to you.  You moan and try to go back to sleep but the voice calls out to you again. ‘(Y/n)~’ the soft gentle coo of this man’s voice reminded you a lot of your grandfather.  The grandfather you lost back in the War.

He had moved to a small town of Leuven in Belgium after remarrying a woman named Pamela Janssens.  She was nice and she really helped your grandfather out of his depression when your grandma died of a heart attack.  He enjoyed the Belgium countryside and the people were nice to him even from being from America.

But when the German troops invaded Leuven, you were told by your mother (who was the daughter of your grandfather) that he had been shot and killed by a German soldier and Pamela had been raped before being brutally murdered and then their house was burned to the ground.

Your granddad was like a superhero to you.  Even in his old age, he never let anything bring him down. That’s why he was able to still pick you up even as you became a teenager.  When you received word of his death from Pamela’s sister, it crushed your entire world.

‘(Y/n)~’ the voice called to you again.  No it—it couldn’t be him. There’s no way.

“Granddad?” you whisper as you sit up.

‘It’s me.’ You gasp and quickly hop off the couch. ‘I’m here.’ The voice called out again.  You peek outside of the tent but it’s nothing but pitch black outside.  The crescent shape moon hardly gave off any light but it was then a small blue flame stood before you.  It danced and you swore that it had eyes staring up at you.

A trail of them soon popped out, leading away from the village. Something in your gut didn’t seem right but there was a magical force that was just beckoning you to go forward.

‘Hummingbird. It’s me.’ No way…..it—it was him.  Only one person ever called you hummingbird and that was your grandfather.  You then find yourself walking out of the tent and followed the trail of blue flames, each one of them disappearing as you walked through them.

*3rd Person POV*

Freddie’s eyes snapped open as he looked up in time just to see (Y/n) leaving the tent.

“Roger! Roger!” Freddie hissed quietly.  Roger groaned and turned his back on Freddie, burying himself under his pillow. “Thor! Seraffel!” the dragons only kept snoring softly, well Thor was.  Seraffel was mumbling incoherently in his sleep.

Rolling his eyes, Freddie decided it was up to him to get their human savior back.  He peeked his head out of the tent, his tongue sticking out to taste the air, hoping to get a scent of where they had gone.

He left the tent and soon spotted some fresh footprints leading away from the village.

“Damnit!” he slithered forward following the footprints as fast as he could, hoping it wasn’t too late.

A few feet from the village, he soon heard the sound of wings flapping.  Quickly finding a rocky ledge to hide under, he soon saw 4 figures land down a few yards away from him and soon the figures of 4 men in black robes stood there.

However one of them kept out his black feather wings out and he spoke to the three men.

“With them separated it’ll be easier to take them down. But leave them alive—for now.” The three wizards soon took off on foot now to find (Y/n).  Each going a different direction in hopes of ambushing them.

Freddie kept his eyes on the leader who merely just stood there, scouring the entire desert sand.  There was something off about this Shadow sorcerer just standing there, he had to be plotting something.

Suddenly out of nowhere Freddie felt three steel blades being shot into his back.  He arched himself but as he turned around he was caught by surprise as the figure of the leader fired some type of gas at him, all the awhile saying BOO!

Freddie swatted the air but it was too late.  His vision soon started flashing back to the day his entire race was killed.

“Aww, having trouble?” the leader’s voice (sounding thunderous, haunting, almost demonic).  Freddie saw the leader’s eyes glowing the same haunting blue as Thomas Riddle Deacon’s eyes.  The very same cold blue eyes that stared back at him as he slaughtered each and every Naga. “Watch the stars, have a drink!”

Freddie began thrashing around trying to get rid of this horrifying memory but all he kept seeing was blood spurting, the flash of green light, and the agonizing screams of his family.  He soon felt some sort of liquid being dumped onto him as the Shadow Sorcerer continued to taunt him.

“You look like a snake who takes himself too seriously.” His palm soon sparked out a blue fireball and as Freddie finally went calm for a split second to look up at the wizard, he told Freddie. “You want my opinion? You need to lighten up.” He threw the blue fireball at Freddie and soon he was being burned alive.

The leader soon disappeared into the shadows as Freddie screamed in pure agony.  The blue flames eating away at his coils like a hot grinder slowly and torturously burning away every inch of his skin.  Somehow he managed to send a telepathic cry for help to John who immediately woke up.

“Freddie!” John shot up exclaiming which soon woke everyone up. Brian’s elvish hearing soon heard Freddie’s torturous screaming.

“Come on!” everyone soon left the tent and raced to help the Naga.  Suddenly all the lights in their tent came on and the shadows soon came alive.

Razor sharp teeth and red eyes surrounded them as they now felt themselves being bound by the shadows.  John tried to break free but he soon heard the very same thing happening to the tent next to them.  And the home after that, until the entire Medjai was either screaming in terror or with their last dying breath.

“Hello John, remember me?” soon entering the tent with Ardeth also trapped within his grasp was a lean stature man with short black hair, ice blue eyes, a strong jawline and skin as pale as the moon.  He looked to be about his mid-30’s possibly even 40s. But it was his voice.

His voice that was soft and lulling like a lullaby, but it held an icy, haunting tone to it as well.

“Jonathan Corvus.” He smirked.

“It really has been too long. How’s little Fina been?” John snarled softly but soon let out a groan as he felt himself being squeezed tighter by Johnathan’s magic.  “And you know, it is very surprising to not see her here with you. I mean back at school you guys were—heh stuck together like glue.”

“Dad, you actually know this son of a bitch?” Seraffel asked.

“Now that is quite rude. Didn’t your parents ever teach you manners?” A shadow spear shot out and struck Seraffel in his thigh.  He let out a painful scream.

“Seraffel!” Thor screamed.  Seraffel groaned and growled in pain.

“Dragons always were quite brutish for my taste. But I guess that’s why you and sweet, sweet Fina adopted these monsters. Freaks till the end.” The shadow spear slowly went deeper into Seraffel’s thigh.  The blood now starting to ooze further down his pant leg, he threw back his head trying to hold in his agonizing screams.

“What do you want from us Corvus!?” John demanded.

“Well truthfully we were ordered to take you and your little band of monsters to see your dear old grandfather but it seems we’re one short. So—you’re coming with us till you tell us where Serafina Black is.”

The last thing any of them ever saw was pure darkness as the shadows wrapped around them till they couldn’t breathe.

*2nd Person POV*

You kept following your grandfather’s voice until you came out towards the Nile River.  Whatever light from the moon directed itself into the water, almost giving it a crystal like glow to it.  Panting after running so hard you couldn’t hear your grandfather’s voice anymore.

“Granddad?” you called out. “Granddad!” again nothing but silence.  Suddenly something whooshed behind you.  “G-Granddad?” soon a figure appears out of thin air.  He had a black hooded cloak covering himself from whatever light there was and he just stood there silently for what felt like eternity.  His hands slowly came up and you were frozen with fear at just who was now standing a few feet away from you.

John’s grandfather, Grindelwald Deacon.

You quickly take out John’s wand from your hip and aim it at him.  Even though your hands and legs were trembling with fear you tried to stay strong.

“You stay right there! I know who you are!”

“(Y/n) (L/n). I am not here to hurt you.” His soft whisper of a voice said to you.  Hearing him speak in the flashback was one thing but now that he was actually standing here before you it—it made you feel……cold. “I only want to help.”

“Help me?!” you snapped quietly.

“Yes.” He told you. “You are so very, very far away from home. Far away from everything that you know, far from those that you love.” You thought back to your family.  You hadn’t even really been keeping them updated on everything since you took the job in trying to discover John and Serafina’s secret club.

No, no he’s manipulating you! You’ve seen this before with John the night Serafina’s family was slaughtered don’t. fall. For it!

“I said don’t take another step!” you warned.  But your façade was easily dropping as your hand trembled even worse.  And still, he kept walking closer and closer to you.

“My child, I would never see you harmed. Unlike with what the Naga has told you.” What? What is he talking about. “Dear one, it is not your fault that your very birth was planned to go along with the Naga’s plan for vengeance. It is not your fault that you were forced into this world, if you were siding alongside me I would ensure that you were free to live your life. A world where your very existence is not meant to satisfy someone else’s gain.”

Even though you wanted to strike this man down, no matter how much rage and fear was starting to build up within you…….he was right.

Everyone so far has kept calling you the ‘Human Savior’. You didn’t ask for any of this. And why did it have to be you? Sure you might have gone along with it but now—now it was starting to feel like a game to you.  That your only purpose for even existing was just to satisfy Freddie’s plan.

“I—I……” you loosened your grip on your wand. Grindelwald’s hand slowly comes up and wraps his fingers around John’s wand.

“You are an innocent. So go now. Leave this place, return to the life that you know.” With that he apparated into smoke and disappeared from your view.

You debated and debated long and hard.  Yes you had come this far already but—was it really worth it? Why did it have to be you? Why couldn’t someone else take this job? Clearly John and Serafina have something to gain out of saving all these creatures as well as their entire community, why did you need to be involved?

Suddenly something pierced right through your back. Although no blood spurted out from you, you still felt like something was piercing your very soul.  Your right arm suddenly shot out and twisted itself inward.

What—what was happening to you? You tried to resist but each time you did, you were forced to contort and twist about until you were pulled to your knees.

“What’s…….”

“Thought you would realize just what we were? Guess Muggles really are as stupid as they come.” Soon coming out was a strong-bulky looking man who had shadow-like tentacle arms coming out from behind him, his hands seeping out a black aura (much like John and Serafina’s magical aura).

“Shadow sorcerer.”

“Oh look it does speak.” You narrowed your eyes at the insult but your eyes were forced to go wide-eyed.  “Such manners, nothing but beyond neanderthal anger. Running about like starving goblins.” You soon felt yourself being lifted up into the air, still unable to gain even the slightest ounce of control back.

“What did—you do…..with my…..friends?”

“The same thing I’m about to do to you, muggle.” In a flash, the shadows shot right towards you until you were cocooned in complete blackness.

[thoughtfullyyoungduck]

Superhero part three

Summary: I swear this is the last time I ask for something, but could you make one where Richie protects Freddy from bullies? Please?

A/N: I hope you enjoy anon! Let me know what you think. 

Warnings: this is about bullying so please don’t read if that triggers you! 

At first, the rumors aren’t so bad. Freddy is aware of them, it’s hard not to take them in when his classmates don’t bother waiting to start gossiping until he’s out of ear shot, but he can deal with that.

He convinces himself that the whispers behind his back are about more than his physical disabilities. That they reference how cool his shirt looked or something, but Freddy knows that’s not the case. Everybody who sees him limp but can only focus on his disability, it’s like that’s the only part of him that matters. His mom shared that sentiment along with the rest of the world, but prior to attending school -he wasn’t allowed to at first, his mom said he was too fragile and that he may trip and injure his leg further-, Freddy held out hope the rest of the world would indicate his mother wrong.

It didn’t, but Freddy was still happy to be out of the house, so he refused to tell anyone near him about the whispers that follows him like a bad scent. It’ll go away some day, he told himself as he laid in bed, equal parts eager to go to school and learn, and disheartened about the tattles he’ll have to endure.

He was proven wrong again. Instead of evolving past the childish glee he invoked, the bullies became braver, more outspoken about how much they enjoyed to see Freddy suffer. The careless whispers were barely there anymore, but they shuffled to the background as violent offences now became Freddy’s primary concern.

On the regular, his crutches would get kicked down from under him, so that Freddy, with no other way to balance himself, stumbles to the floor. Sometimes, that was enough torment for the day, and they would walk away satisfied, other times, the would proceed to punch him again, or wait until he was almost scrambled back up before again sending him flying to the ground.

Freddy had a lot more issues ignoring that sort of bullying. He never tells anyone still, he’s not a little kid that needs his dad to come rescue him, and either way, the only thing he would gain from that is more attraction from his bullies.

He has a new routine now, one where he hides during school breaks and avoids being the laughing stock as much as he can.

His dad always drops him off at school at precisely 8 am, and comes to pick him straight after school. Freddy can’t walk all the way home, nor can he bike, not with the state of his leg, and riding a buss without a guaranteed sitting spot isn’t a stable option either. That’s all fine by Freddy, taking the buss would mean more time for his bullies to go after him.

As soon as he gets out of the car, he waits until his dad has turned a corner, and then walks around to the back entrance. By the entrance, there is a second door that leads to a supply closet no one barely uses. The school has pretty much abandoned it, and that’s why it’s the prefer place for Freddy to spend his breaks in.

Don’t get him, he does try to socialize, in the five minutes before class starts, but everyone finds him both piteous, and a huge nerd -Freddy can’t help that he’s really into superhero’s-, so everyone ignores him.

It’s not the glamours life he’d imagined himself living, but it’s better than being couped up inside of the house all day.

After the final bell of the day rings, he’ll rush to get out before anyone can stop him, and jumps in the car which Eddie is driving. Eddie has never witnessed any bullying, but he’s never been late either. Not until today.

Under normal circumstances, his dad would be awaiting him in the car at the parking lot, standing ready for when school ends. Today, Eddie’s black SUV is nowhere to be seen. Freddy’s eyes float across the parking lot three times, hoping every time that he just somehow missed him, but he ends up empty handed.

‘Shit’, he curses, knowing full well that that is not going to have a happy ending for him. He tries to back out and walk into school quickly, but before he can, his arm is gripped tightly, while another set of hands rips his crutch from him. Freddy flails you grab it again, needing it o balance himself, but it’s useless, he watches in helplessly and in shame as his crutch goes flying over the side walk.

There are other people outside too, but they don’t pay attention. Or maybe they do, but they don’t have the gal to speak up.

Trent, his number one bully and the only one offering him ‘support’ right now, begins to sway them dangerously.

‘Stop’, Freddy protests, but his pleas are ignored. Trent and his posse laugh at him, and push him to the ground.

Freddy angles himself so that he falls onto the grass instead of the concrete, to safe himself from bruises, but now he has green stains on his pants that he knows his dad will question. It’s the lesser of two evils.

‘Oops- sorry about that Fred, I though you would be able to fly, you know with that superpower you so love’

Freddy understands he’s being bated, but physically, he’s not match to Trent or his other bullies - not only because of his leg, but also because they are two years older than him and taller-, so he can only defend himself with words.

‘My favorite superpower is Invisibility, but I’m guessing yours is stupidity?’

Trent’s smirk falters, and he punishes the comment by pretending to stomp on Freddy’s leg. He stops last minute, but Freddy flinches in fear regardless.

‘Oh’, Trent coos, fist bumping his friend as they smirk. ‘What’s wrong little Freddy’, he starts talking in a baby voice, ‘can’t you get up?’

‘Your voices really suck,’ a voice coming from the opposite side reproaches. It only takes a second for Freddy to identify who the voice belongs too, it being so distinct he doesn’t need to conform it with his eyes. It’s Richie, who for some reason is picking him up instead of his dad.

That’s not too bad, Freddy resigns. He figures Richie is going to chase them off but will let the issue rest, and maybe with some tinkering Freddy can avoid Richie telling his dad about it all together.

Trent, unbothered by the unexpected witness to his behavior, snorts and flips Richie the bird.

‘Why don’t you move along old man? There’s nothing to see here.’

Freddy scrambles to get back up, seizing his opportunity to escape his doom, but one of Trent’s friends forces him back down. Freddy can’t bring anything against the gravity force, and lands on his back again. ‘Oof’, he breathes, winded.  

Richie’s eyes flash with something Freddy has never seen before. Richie is the equivalent of a man child; goofy and energetic – sometimes-, and friendly to every person he meets. The glint of pure anger that is now flickering in his eyes is something Freddy would have never associated with him ever before. He looks like a different man.

‘Get the fuck away from him.’  

Trent wants to laugh again, the corners of his mouth already quirking up in a sneer, but then his demeaner changes and he stops. ‘Wait, are you Trashmouth fucking Tozier?’

‘I’ll say it one more time, step away from him.’ Richie’s voice is calm, serious, cool and collected, and Freddy would be a little bit frightened if that was directed at him.

‘Hey man we were just having some fun. No need for such a big fuss.’

‘Yeah I’m sure it’s really funny for you jerks. You know what I find funny? Calling all your parents and letting them know what their kids have been up too lately. You know what else I find hilarious? Getting some assholes expelled after I threaten the principal with bad publicity. Do you find that funny?’

He could technically do that, Freddy reasons. Richie has a lot more influence now after his breakdown and miraculous comeback, such as appearing on SNL and doing a lot of interviews. He could, but Freddy is sure he would never go that far.

‘Fine, whatever. This nerd isn’t even worth it.’

Trent and his friends walk off fast, their dignity only intact because no one else was their to see them get on their asses by a forty year old man. It could be Freddy’s imagination, but he’s pretty sure he saw Trent blush in shame.

Freddy reaches for his crutch, and Richie rushes to bring it over and help him get into a standing position. 

‘Little shits’, he mutters under his breath. 

‘Ow, dude. You shouldn’t have done that, now I’m really in for it next week,’ Freddy complains as he watches the group march away. Richie pulls him in for a sideways hug, and Freddy forgets what he was so apprehensive about. During the hug, he’s just happy Richie was there for him, again.

‘They can try’, Richie accepts, but the way he protectively glares when Trent glances back proves he’s not going to let that slide.

‘Are you gonna tell my dad about this?’

‘I have to Freds, he’s your dad.’ Richie tells him honestly, and begins leading the two of them to his car.  He drove his red sports car, notable to everyone. ‘But’, Richie says amicable, ‘I’ll compromise. What do you say to a good old fashioned round of bragging. I’ll drive you to school on Monday?’

Freddy grins elated. He couldn’t be happier with the pick his dad chose.

[llendrinall]

Imagine. 1/2 The war has ended & the Wizengamot are currently holding court & reviewing Dumbledore's memories that he saved. In the span of months they find many containing Death Eater spy Severus Snape, & Ministry spy Percy Weasley. With one dead & the other Missing the British wizarding world is thrown upside down as they review the Memories & realise just how much Percy Weasley was a Mastermind Schemer in saving the lives of many Muggle Borns, Goblins, Half-Blood's and Blood Traitors.

2/2 The Wizarding world are looking for where war hero Percy Weasley is. Especially his family (In this story Percy saves Fred's life & then vanishes). They see that Percy Weasley had worked as an informant during his entire Ministry career, also being the one who thought out Dumbledore's death (Shocking the courthouse) "You're already dying Albus, why not have Severus strengthen his position with the Death Eaters by being your killer?" 'He used every situation to his advantage to end the war'

Ah, the reveal of the wronged hero, what a simple and satisfying trope. It gives us angst, the bitter taste of not being appreciated mixed with the sweet sauce of late recognition and regret.  

But Percy doesn’t care about that or any other tropes because he is exhausted. Winning a war is a tiring job and he was being doing more than winning. So as soon as Voldemort keels over and dies, Percy checks that his family is alive (they all are, good job there, Percival) and he makes himself a portkey and goes away.

One wizard can’t make a portkey, you say? It takes at least four? Barty Crouch Jr had to imperius three other wizards to enchant the Goblet of Fire? And portkeys don’t work in Hogwarts under normal circumstances? Well, these are not normal circumstances, there was a battle and Percy has a lot of practice making portkeys, all right? A lot.

(There are less than twenty goblins in Britain right now and it is all Percy’s doing).

He goes to East Asia because Percy is vaguely aware that a single white man in need of enlightenment and self-discovery should go climb a mountain on Asia. Percy doesn’t climb any mountains, though, because he can never do things as he is supposed to. There must always be a twist. In this case, he gets food poisoning twice and spends over a month trying to learn how to play a plucked string instrument. He is harassed by a flock of geese and meets a talking dragon. He fails to realize that there are no accounts of talking dragons in history (at least the history badly learned and repeated in wizarding Britain). Dragons do not talk nor do they speak. Your brother works in a freaking dragon reserve, for Merlin’s sake, Percy. You should know this.

After that Percy goes to the Caribbean, because he feels that his stress-relief and self-discovery journey should also involve a stay in a tropical beach. He doesn’t particularly enjoy the experience because he is a red-head. Also, sand is annoying. He freckles all over, eats a lot of pork, learns to play the maracas, to the locals’ amusement, and leaves.

By the time Dumbledore’s memories are uncovered Percy has made his way to a Greek island. He dresses almost exclusively with a t-shirt tied around his waist like a loincloth and a pair of trainers. He also carries with him a bag made from a t-shirt like some sort of wild instagrammer. He carries all kind of knick-knacks in his bag that he uses to create himself a house at night, as if transfiguring a nutshell into a bed were a normal thing, Percy, you utter maniac.

From time to time he goes to a wizarding community and offers to do some chores or magic in exchange of goods. If a goblin woman sees him, she will give Percy a loaf of bread. He has no idea why they do that but it’s very good bread, so Percy is happy to take it. One time Percy met a male goblin and he gave Percy some salt, that he still carries with him. It is possible that for the last seven months Percy had been eating goblin bread and whatever fresh produce the Greek witches offer him in exchange of doing chores.

It is at this time that the Puddlemere United goes to Greece to do some pre-season training.

(This is something that football teams around Europe do. Go somewhere outside the country to train for a month or two in different conditions. The Manchester United often goes to Malaga, in Spain, for a warm-weather training. I don’t even like football, I don’t know why I know this.)

When Oliver Wood sees Percy Weasley standing around in little more than a loincloth he naturally assumes that he is having a hallucination, a combination of the relentless training under the hot and punishing sun, the hours spent fighting the wind (they don’t know what it is with the wind there, but it will try to kick you off the broom. They are all coming out of this with iron abs) and the constant stories in The Prophet about yet another plot Percival Weasley had conducted, saving a dozen lives.

“Percy?” Oliver asks, sweaty and thirsty and half mad from training.

“Oh, hi, Oliver!” Percy answers, and then, because Percy is simultaneously the cleverest and dumbest wizard alive, “oh shit”.

*

Percy has not been reading the news. He refuses to. He is on vacation, he is still tired and he has a white hair on his temple. Just the one hair, but Percy is twenty-two and far too young for white hair.

Oliver nods. He gets it. He is still telling the Weasley family that he has seen Percy and that he is not dead at all, only slightly insane. But he will wait until he is back in England. Oliver doesn’t know if all the things in the paper are true, but even if Percy has only rescued one thousand five hundred goblins instead of the fifteen thousand the papers claim, he is still entitled to a nice quiet vacation in which clothes are optional.

Did Percy Weasley stop a goblin genocide in his free time? Does he not realize it? How dumb is this boy?

Come September the owls start to arrive. Letters from the Ministry, from the papers, from his family. Percy watches the owl fly around and doesn’t allow himself to be found. He does read Oliver’s letters and even answers explaining that no, his family is not heart-broken. They were heart-broken five years ago when Percy very publicly acted like an asshole. They got used to it, so there is no need for this new sentimentality now that Percy is on vacation.

Percy might be acting a bit like an asshole now, but he has very complicated and ugly feelings over his family and he would rather not think about them. Mostly, he is irked by the fact that they were so quick to follow Dumbledore’s lead. Perhaps because Percy never worked for Dumbledore, he worked with Dumbledore and had the distinct pleasure of pointing to his face, on multiple occasions, what a sly bastard he was. He has little respect for people who never confronted Dumbledore.

(So basically Percy only respects Aberforth Dumbledore and Minerva McGonagall).

Also, Percy always did what he was supposed to: he washed his hands, minded his siblings, got good grades and he yet he was not the favourite son. This is all subconscious, of course, but he resents it.

Oliver keeps writing so Percy keeps writing back.

 “Did you actually side-apparate a family with twelve members?” writes Oliver.

“I have no idea.” Percy writes back. “Wait, do you mean the Johnsons? How are they?”

 “They are going to give you an Order of Merlin, 1st Class”.

“Surely they realise I don’t want one.”

“I think it is evident they realise nothing, Percy.”

 By October it’s getting cold and Percy finds that he doesn’t particularly care about wearing clothes, so he is getting ready to portkey himself to Argentina when Ginny arrives. She has such a driven and purposeful look around her that Percy assumes that she must be in the middle of a very important quest, so he hangs back and follows her as she treks all over the island and vanishes a thousand year old monster. It doesn’t occur to Percy that her quest is finding him and that the monster was merely an unfortunate bystander.

Eventually he reveals himself to Ginny because she is screaming incoherently at the sky and Percy thinks that she might be suffering hypoxia and dehydration. Ginny throws the water bottler at his head.

“I’m not the jerk here.” Percy says. “I needed a vacation and if you hadn’t seen those stupid memories you would have been fine with me being out of the country indefinitely.”

Ginny hexes him seven times, but afterwards she lies on the beach next to Percy and they look at the clouds. They spend a week together, nicely quiet and wild. They go for walks, play on the beach, make a house at night out of random transfigured things (Percy doesn’t notice Ginny’s look of utter bafflement and awe) and eat goblin bread (this time Percy does notice the look but assumes it’s because Ginny loves the taste).

Percy refuses to go back with her but he promises Ginny that he will be there for Christmas. Two days later he does go back to England, the bastard. His correspondence with Oliver has become… heated, to put it some way, and waiting a week for the owl to arrive is intolerable.  

Percy thinks this might be some sort of penance. It’s nippy in England and he can’t be dressed in a t-shirt/loincloth anymore. There is a flock of owls permanently following him, trying to deliver their messages from the Ministry and the papers and maybe, even now, from his family. Worst of all, Oliver writes him all kind of randy letters but refuses to shag Percy, even though he is right there, because of sports. Something about turning frustration into spectacular athletic performance, Percy doesn’t know. He is so frustrated that he goes and stops a plan to assassinate Potter all by himself.

On Christmas Eve Percy goes home and he is yelled at, cursed at, cried at and loved, very loved, it’s embarrassing. He is rescued from the madness by Potter who easily admits he has been fuelling the newspapers infatuation with Percy because that way they left him slightly in peace.

(And on Boxing Day he moves in with Oliver).

[adamwatchesmovies]

The Best of 2019

What a year. By the time 2019 ended, I had seen over 130 new movies. It's actually probably closer to 150 but I lost count. There are a few titles I missed, such as The Dead Don’t Die, The Fanatic and Honeyland so obviously, this is not an all-encompassing, definitive list of 2019’s best, but it should give you a good idea of which films you need to check out if you haven’t already.

I usually like to save the #10 spot on my list for a movie that’s just for me. Normally, this would mean a giant monster movie, an off-beat creation nobody else saw, a comic book movie that spoke to my particular tastes or maybe a Canadian movie I know didn’t get the opportunity to shine like it should’ve. This year, that’s not happening. Trimming my list down to 10 was hard enough. I certainly wasn’t going to sacrifice one more to make it just 9. Let's dig in.

10. The Farewell

It’s been weeks since The Farewell and I’m still thinking about it. If I was put in the same position as Billi, I'm not sure what I'd do? Is it better to tell someone that's dying that their days are numbered, or should you spare them from that burden? Is it really them you’d be sparing, or is keeping the secret for your own selfish needs? Writer/director Lulu Wang asks serious questions about culture I had never contemplated before. There’s a lot for you here and even more if your family comes from mixed backgrounds.

9. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

I heard some complaints about Fred Rogers (Tom Hanks) not being the main character of this film by Marielle Heller, from writers Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster. It was the right choice. The plot has a cyical reporter meet Rogers and through their relatively brief interaction, learn what we knew going in. It delivers a moving character arc without having to stain its subject with flaws we didn't want to see. The quasi-meta presentation is what elevates it into top-10 status. That extra touch means it does a lot more than simply re-iterate what we saw in the 2018 documentary Won't You Be My Neighbor?.

8. Knives Out

Knives Out is one of the most entertaining films all year. There are no profound moments of meditation, no earth-shattering realizations about yourself, just a mystery to be solved. All the suspects are so intriguing they could be the stars of their own movies. Put together in the same house as a dead body and you’ve got no idea who did it. Its screenplay is excellent. The twists are juicy. Everything ads up in a satisfying manner. Rian Johnson is already working on a sequel. I can’t wait.

7. Apollo 11

There are few holdovers from the list I made halfway through the year, which either says something about the strength of the second half of 2019, or the weakness of the first. Either way, you’ve got to see Apollo 11. It’s the closest thing to going back in time and being there when man landed on the moon. The tension and anticipation are overwhelming. Knowing what happened doesn't matter. The way the footage is assembled is nothing short of incredible. Why this documentary wasn't present at the Academy Awards is beyond me.

6. Uncut Gems

Adam Sandler should’ve been nominated for an Oscar. He wasn’t. I’ll bet you dollars to donuts it's because of his association with all of those brain-dead Happy Madison Production comedies. His history with cinema shouldn't matter. The movie is what matters. The fact is, this was the perfect role for him. It isn’t even that Sandler’s doing something different, it’s that he’s being used to his full potential. If you weren’t glued to the screen, eager to see what’s coming next, this movie would have you jumping out of the window screaming - anything to escape the anxiety the Safdie Brothers serve up with devilish grins.

5. The Lighthouse

Next on my list is The Lighthouse. Right away, the aspect ratio and black-and-white cinematography lets you know you’re in for something different. You have no idea. What I love so much about this film is the way it handles madness. At the end of the day, I’m not sure if I could tell you if Robert Pattinson’s character was crazy, if Willem Dafoe’s character was the nutty one, or if they both were. It shows you just enough to make you doubt your own sanity. It’s also unexpectedly funny, which makes it feel oddly genuine. In one scene, Robert Pattinson's Ephraim Winslow gets a hold of the lighthouse's logs. In it, his boss, Thomas (Willem Dafoe) recommends Ephraim be disciplined for masturbating excessively. Considering Thomas has been cavorting with some kind of tentacle creature up in the lighthouse (at least that's what I think I saw, I'm not so sure anymore), all you can do is laugh. What kind of loony bin is this turning into? One I'm looking forward to revisiting.

4. 1917

Shot in a way that makes it all look like one take, 1917 is a technical marvel. It hooks itself up to your circular system and steadily replaces your blood with pure, undistilled stress. As you're about to flatline, it stops and gives you a breather. A shot of a meadow untouched by the ravages of war; a reminder of what the soldiers are fighting for and of how utterly devastating armed combat is on humanity as a whole. Gorgeous cinematography, powerful emotions, magnificent production values.

3. Joker

Along with Godzilla: King of the Monsters (a movie they basically made for me), this was my most anticipated movie of the year. To get ready, I watched Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy, two Scorsese films Joker director Todd Phillips drew a lot of inspiration from. For some reason, it seems as though many critics took offense to the similarities. Sometimes I understand differing opinions from mine. This time, I don’t. It’s a great film that warns of the dangers of letting people like Arthur Fleck (brilliantly performed by Joaquin Phoenix) fall through the cracks. Left unchecked, he discovers that by doing terrible things, he becomes a “better” version of himself. It’s not a drama. It’s a horror movie that spins the familiar Batman archenemy in a new direction but also stays true to the character. There are several scenes in this movie that are going to be permanently imprinted in my brain. Those stairs. Need I say more?

Runner-ups

Avengers: Endgame

Even if every single Marvel movie going forward is awful, this caps off the whopping 22-chapter saga epically. A couple of aspects bugged me enough that it could only manage to make the runner-up list but it's a terrific film.

Booksmart

The funniest comedy of the year. I think back to Amy and Molly using their hairs as masks and still can't manage to hold back a few chuckles months later.

Toy Story 4

This one was hard to cut. The only flaw I could find was that it isn’t on the same level as 3… even though they’re both 5-star movies.

Midsommar

I’ve heard the extended cut is even better than the original. I wish I’d had the chance to see it in theatres.

Jojo Rabbit

Audacious and heartfelt. I loved those scenes of Scarlett Johanson being a mom. Her agent might've dropped the ball getting her cast in Ghost in the Shell but she sure knew how to pick great work in 2019.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Quentin Tarantino brings us back to a time when Roman Polanski was simply a good director instead of a convicted rapist, movie stars were untouchable, and the death of someone’s wife under mysterious circumstances was nothing to raise eyebrows about. It’s not a movie that screams “here and now”. If anything, it’s regressive. That said, I cannot deny the experience I had watching it. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime kinda thing and I doubt even Tarantino could pull it off again. I wonder how many people went in knowing what happened to Sharon Tate like I did.

Marriage story

It’s nothing but raw emotion and powerhouse performances in this drama about two people you love going through a divorce. I always make it my goal to watch movies all the way through without any interruptions. Several times throughout, I was tempted to hit "Pause" so I could catch my breath.

Internet lists are everywhere. You know why, don’t you? They suck you in and when you get down to it, most don’t require all that much effort to put together. Except when I make them, apparently. These bi-annual lists always turn out to be difficult to put together. 2019's proved particularly arduous. I’m fairly sure that my #3 movie belongs there. Out of all the movies on this list, it’s probably the one I’m going to go back to most often. The other two? I’d say that technically, one may be better than the other but I think the other one is “more important” so that gives it the edge. What I’m trying to say is, they’re all winners and on a different day, I might even swap them around.

2. Little Women

I have only seen three of the seven silver screen adaptations of Louisa May Alcott’s novel and I don’t expect any of the others to top this one. The secret ingredient to this one's success is Greta Gerwig. Writing and directing, she does so much more than merely translate the classic to movie form. She re-arranges the story to give the events a greater punch than they would if they were shown chronologically and puts a little more emphasis on a couple of key moments (that tear-jerking Christmas, for example) to crank up the emotion. She also makes it more modern without having to change anything about the setting or characters. Admittedly, the back-and-forth between the past and present is a little jarring at first - makes you wonder what Greta Gerwig could’ve done had she been given the de-aging budget Martin Scorsese was given - but that’s where the performances and costumes come in. It takes mere moments before you get what the movie is doing. I’ve said it already but it made me cry.

1. Parasite

To make this list, I didn’t go through all of my past reviews and check which ones were rated what. I thought back to which movies gave me the most vivid memories, which ones gave me the biggest reactions. I’m still not sure how I feel about the final final moment but there’s so much about Parasite that I admire. This would be a great one to watch with others just to see their reactions to the reveal about the bookcase.

[starstruckteacup]

Cottagecore Films (pt. 4)

Funny Face (1957)

starring Audrey Hepburn, Fred Astaire, Kay Thompson

Book-loving empathicalist Jo Stockton’s simple academic life is brutally interrupted by a chance encounter with Dick Avery, a fashion photographer, who convinces her to become Quality magazine’s new face for a unique collection. The duo travel with the Quality team to Paris, where Jo discovers that her rising feelings for Avery, her dedication to philosophy, and her contract as a model may not come together as easily as she thought.

I should preface this review by saying I’m not much for musicals, so it may just be me but I found the music numbers to be, at times, somewhat meaningless and drawn out. Song and dance in film strike me as very emotional scenes, and there was a pretty heavy mix of emotion-laden songs and arbitrary songs. When the characters were genuinely conveying their feelings in a way only singing and dancing can fully portray, I was drawn in and really appreciated the songs, but very often it seemed like they were dancing just to show their abilities as dancers. The first half of the movie felt like it moved far too quickly, and there wasn’t any build-up to the conclusions each character reached; for example, Jo went from being absolutely livid at Dick Avery for ruining her bookstore to singing about how in love she was with him in under a minute, just because he kissed her. I know it’s a product of the time but even for that it felt rushed. The second half was a much more natural progression that I was readily drawn into, and it was easier to see and feel the character development occur. It was certainly romantic throughout the film, but the ending truly felt like real love. 5/10

An Inspector Calls (2015)

TW: suicide by poison (on screen), rape

starring David Thewlis, Sophie Rundle, Ken Stott, Miranda Richardson, Chloe Pirrie, Finn Cole, Kyle Soller

Based on J.B. Priestley’s play of the same title, this film investigates an upper class Edwardian family through the lens of Inspector Goole, a mysterious police inspector seeking to uncover the events that led to the death of Eva Smith. The Birlings all have personal ties to Eva in the years leading up to her death, which are uncovered one by one by the meticulous and straightforward inspector in an effort to teach the family about their carelessness and selfishness.

This film was quite riveting. Although not exactly cottagecore (I apologize), this period drama built incredible tension without ever leaving the Birlings’ dining room (aside from flashbacks). I found myself gripping a pillow waiting to find out the ending as it all came together. It seems like it would have a straightforward resolution, but just the right amount is left to the audience’s imagination to leave you more satisfied with the ending than if it had all been explained. The film was an excellently portrayed criticism of the brutalities created by the carelessness and ignorance of the upper class, and really placed its finery under harsh examination. The acting was excellent, and seemed to me that each character was played with impeccable emotion and chemistry. 9/10

Full Count (2019)

TW: suicide (on screen), vehicular manslaughter, police brutality, assault

starring John Paul Kakos, Natalia Livingston, Adam Boyer, E. Roger Mitchell, Rick Hearst, Jason London

High school athlete Milton Young struggles to pursue his passion for baseball while his time is consumed helping his father take care of the family farm. His talent and dedication pay off when a college scout watches him carry his school to victory at the state championship, and Milton is offered a full scholarship to a competitive school. He’s only there for a short time before tragedy strikes and he’s brought back home to help his family. There, things only get worse for Milton when he’s charged with driving under the influence and striking a woman walking alongside the road; however, he can’t seem to remember any of the events leading up to it. When his family’s farm falls into crisis, and Milton himself can’t take much more, a drifter named David comes into their life and offers to help bring the farm back to life. Amid the struggles with the farm and the criminal charges, David has to come to terms with who he is and who he wants to become, and reexamine his faith along the way.

This was a decent movie. I appreciated how it focused on kindness and believing in others, and yourself, above all else. It takes place in a small Georgia town and is strongly centered on Christian faith, but it does so without being overly tacky and unrealistic, which I greatly appreciate. It really emphasized the impact of loving other people, regardless of their circumstances, which I think we need more of in this world. However, I definitely felt like more effort could have been put into the characters; they were rather bland and unrelatable, and while I liked the message of the movie, I didn’t think the characters carried it very well. There’s also a twist at the end that I saw coming from the very beginning, and it’s my most disliked twist that always seems to come into Christian movies: the drifting stranger turns out to be an angel. I always feel like this invalidates the message of love and kindness, since it places this expectation that we’ll always receive blatantly divine payoffs for being kind to others, when we really should just do it for the sake of humanity. Also it’s incredibly cheesy and really just detracts from the seriousness of the rest of the film. 4/10

Part One // Part Two // Part Three

[misslisterkeepsajournal]

1826 Sunday 12 March

6 3/4 11 1/2

Read over my letter and note to Mrs. M- [Milne] waited for the post before sealing up the parcel - Letter from Mrs. Norcliffe (Langton) a page of useful memoranda for our journey - on the 1st page the 2nd left blank - to be torn off - page 3 and the ends very friendly chit chat - Burnett only knew Betsy Harrison as quite a child, and in fact knows nothing of her now, that I am no wiser - Mrs. N- [Norcliffe] concludes with 'Remember me most kindly to your aunt whom I hope will receive every benefit from her journey and do hope you will let me hear constantly from you and believe me to be most truly your affectionate friend Ann Norcliffe'

Letter also from Miss Maclean (Edinburgh) 3 pages the ends and 1/2 the 1st page crossed - she hopes to come in June - does not think Macdonald too old for us - gives incidentally a still more tempting account of her - she is living at 'General Drummond's Culdees Castle, crieff, Perthshire' - my friend hopes to see me in Scotland some time or other

'when that may be I shall not even guess - I assure you I have often mentally blessed our drive to Otley - Our meeting at Esholt completely changed the style of my regard for you - and the time was so short we had no time to dislike each other'

this rather strikes me she is evidently fond of me - Letter also (3 pages and the ends) from M- [Mariana] (Lawton) She is nervous at the thought of coming as the time draws near but puts it off from Monday to Wednesday, hoping to be here on that day about 4 p.m. the delay on account of 'a miscalculation on my part of circumstances which a couple of days will rectify and which I hope trust and flatter myself you will thank me for when we meet' she writes on the first page

'my mind is perplexed though wishes hopes and fears rush upon it so unbidden so unexpectedly that I know not how to separate them and I feel as if the tumult of my mind was so much beyond control as to leave nothing for it but the best effort I can make to keep my feelings as little active as possible and to think of nothing but the present moment yet this is the hardest of all possible asks God knows I do all I can that I think right yet the treasure and the heart must go together in pity Fred do not love me less let not change of circumstances change the heart that has confessed I nt never loved before nor er can love again oh if you knew who perpetually how constantly how entirely my every thought is yours you would be sorry for me often when your heart knows not how mine is aching' -

tis plain enough she would leave delta [Charles Lawton] for half a word but I will not give it she must weather it out I am attached to her and have no thought but of being constant but she must wait I like not the idea of having another mans wife -

After hastily reading over my letters sat down to write 3 pages to Mrs. N- [Norcliffe] thanked her for the memoranda - said I was anxious about my aunt - much engaged - no time to spare - several serious concerns on land - besides thought of making some purchases that would 'lessen our income a hundred a year for 3 or 4 more years to come' but promised well for the future should not hesitate but for my aunt - would not for worlds abridge her comforts - 'do you think we can live  upon £900 a year?' Promised she should always hear how we were going on - Closed the parcel, and sent it down (directed to Mrs. Milne Mr. Norcliffe's Langton hall Malton carriage paid - to go by the old mail) at 10 1/4, containing my letter to Mrs. Milne, my note to the same, and my letter to Mrs. Norcliffe (Langton hall) -

Breakfast at 10 1/4 - read aloud to my aunt the morning service and sermon 56 volume 2 my uncle's collection after which had 1/2 hours nap in my chair - staid downstairs talking to my aunt, and standing by her as she sat on the flags in the garden for perhaps 1/2 hour - Went out about - walked to the end of the walk, and up and down it, and came in at 5 - wrote the whole of the last page - dressed - Dinner at 6 10/60 -

Afterwards wrote the last 16 lines - then wrote 2 pages to M- [Mariana] to say, with my aunt's best love, we could not hear of her leaving Watson and Offley Crewe at the Inn - they must all come here - said I could understand her feelings of nervousness better perhaps than she thought, but her mind would be 'tranquil and satisfied before the dawn of Thursday' - then wrote a note for my aunt (for more medicine) to Mr. Sunderland - all which had done and directed in an hour - tea and coffee at 8 - Very fine day - Barometer 6 1/4 degrees above changeable Fahrenheit 51° at 9 50/60 p.m. at which hour came up to bed - read from page 7 to 17 1/2 last Quarterly review no. [number] 65 on the Reformation - strong observations against Linyard's history of England - Settled my accounts -    

Reference: SH:7/ML/E/9/0069

[annewithagee]

Seven and a Half (1)

It was only a week before Gilbert would leave for Kingsport and not much more before Anne would go to Summerside herself - and yet, it could be nothing but the happiest week of their lives so far. The week when they got engaged. Shirbert, post Anne of the Island.

fanfiction.net / AO3

Chapter 1: The brithday of our happiness

“And as for the waiting, that doesn’t matter. We’ll just be happy, waiting and working for each other—and dreaming. Oh, dreams will be very sweet now.”

Gilbert drew her close to him and kissed her. Then they walked home together in the dusk, crowned king and queen in the bridal realm of love, along winding paths fringed with the sweetest flowers that ever bloomed, and over haunted meadows where winds of hope and memory blew.

- Lucy Maud Mongomery, “Anne of the Island”

Ever since she had been a little girl, Anne Shirley had often thought of what her first kiss would be like.

It had been little more than a dream at first, when she had felt too lonely and unloved to fully believe it might indeed happen to her one day; a colourful vision that had clashed so terribly with the cold and bleakness of the orphanage, with the hostility and despise of the homes she had lived in. Back then, she had not even given herself the right to carry her own name with her in those dreams, living them through her heroines, Princess Cordelia being her most natural choice.

After all, what was the chance that the homely, freckled, unwanted Anne could ever charm someone enough to willingly kiss her?

It had taken many years and the constant, almost stubborn support of Diana Barry for Anne to finally overcome the horrid and unjust image she had had of herself. Even then, however, her wish of this special caress always remained somewhat abstract, with poetry and music successfully blocking any trace of reality that tried to enter her thoughts in the process. She well remembered her girl friends' musings and comments on the appearance of the boys they knew: Ruby, swooning over one or other of her beaux, both at Queens and in her joyful Carmody circle; Diana, shyly pointing out how much the looks of her beloved Fred might gain if examined closely; even Stella and Priss, only half-jokingly admitting that if they were to have a kiss stolen from them, they could easily indicate which of the possible candidates they would have liked to see in that role the most.

And only Anne refused to give her man o' dreams any particular shape or face, beside fitting him into the well-worn, yet sufficiently vague description of the dark-eyed, mysterious knight, and feeling greatly vexed every time one of her chums suggested that under a favourable light and even more favourable circumstances, a certain pair of hazel eyes could be easily called both of those things.

And yet, as she stood in the midst of Hester Grey's garden now, held in the most loving embrace by no other but Gilbert Blythe himself, she could do little else but admit that she would willingly take the sparkling, teasing, tender hazels over any dark and misty gaze she might find along her way.

And he was, indeed, kissing her.

It was a strange sensation, for a lack of a better word. It was as abstract and incomprehensible as one might think, surprising in all its freshness and yet more astonishing still in how real and familiar it was. The same lips which she had watched for years, with one corner twitching up in a teasing smile or it all curved in an unwelcome grimace of vexation or pain... the same lips that had professed his love to her mere minutes ago... those lips were now pressed softly against her own, caressing her with an utmost gentleness and yet with an eagerness and longing of a decade of wait behind it.

Inexperienced as they both were, she could not imagine herself feeling more comfortable with him than she was right now.

"So many dreams I've had of this and yet they all pale in comparison with the real thing. With the real you," she heard him murmur as he had finally pulled away from her. "Anne, you can't know – you can't imagine how long I've been waiting for a chance to kiss you like this."

Anne met his gaze then and saw it was as dark as it had been in their most heated moments in the past, be it their fiery arguments over their Redmond assessments, discussed both in Avonlea and then Kingsport itself, or the rare moments of impatience, when Gilbert’s walls had crumbled to reveal the yearning of the heart she had not been ready to accept. It was a look that had scared her then – a sign of change she had once feared so much, one she had tried to prevent with such despair.

But her fears were gone now; whether it was mostly because of her own change of heart, or the new flash of happiness that brightened Gilbert's eyes this time, she could not yet tell... But she knew for sure that she was equally glad to recognise both.

"Well, I suppose your confession sheds some light on that matter," she said with a small, shy smile and a blush that still had not gone from her cheeks. "The slate, was it?"

Gilbert chuckled lightly at her words and tightened his grasp, holding her even closer to him that he had before. She felt her skin warm up further at the little change, the sensation helped greatly by the feel of his chest rising under her hands that still rested on the pats of his grey suit. She had an odd feeling that it was not exactly wise to lower her eyes to its level, either, but it was too late to worry about that aspect of it now...

And besides, when, if not now, when was she to experience all that?

"I'm sorry if it's not exactly what you hoped it to be," she picked up again timidly with a small, slightly embarrassed laugh of her own. She glanced up at Gilbert and saw him look at her curiously. "The... The kiss. I obviously had no chance to work on that particular skill in advance, and since even my dreams of it are so much younger than yours..."

"For goodness' sake, Anne, stop that right now," he cut her off, easing his embrace a little by lifting one of his hands to her still parted lips. "I only just told you that it had exceeded all of my dreams. What more reassurance do you need from me, now?"

With his fingers still pressed gently against her mouth, Anne could hardly be expected to answer right away. Gilbert, however, clearly had no intention of silencing her in that particular way, and instead chose to brush said fingers over the corner of her lips, over the flushed, pinky cheeks, over the fine line of his beloved girl's jaw. Anne could not help but let out a sigh at this; her eyelids fluttering shut for the shortest of moments, only to open up again at the sound of the most quiet, yet certainly very satisfied hum on his part.

Once again she met his eye, recognising the old look of self-assurance she had once thought had been lost for good.

"You know, Gilbert, judging from your expression alone, I think you are enjoying this far too much," she pointed out softly, although the teasing twinkle of her eye was unmistakable.

Gilbert's smile turned roguish in response to her words and he leaned in towards her again, his lips hovering over hers in a proximity that had only occurred between them once before. His own eyes were sparkling with mischief, and suddenly, Anne could not call the sight anything but endearing.

He was endearing.

"Oh, but I think I've earned it."

Almost despite herself, she pulled away from him a little, her face falling at the renewed remembrance of the past longing and hurt. Gilbert noted the change in an instant and cupped her cheek with the same hand that had already been holding her waist, ready to stop her on the dangerous path he knew she'd been about to step on. And yet, before he even managed to open his mouth to speak about it, Anne changed her tactics abruptly and threw her arms around his neck, clinging onto him in a tight embrace he had no reason to expect two seconds earlier.

With her face buried in the crook of his neck and her soft hair tickling his ear, she said the only thing that came to her suddenly troubled mind.

"Oh, Gil, I do love you so!"

This she knew how to do. To show the true depths of her affection, not by words as much as it was by action; by this simple yet most meaningful gesture, one that she had not yet had the chance to make towards him, even though she had practised it so many times on those she loved. All of her feelings seemed to be locked in her clasp, radiating onto him even when he could not tell what she was saying by it.

It was an embrace of a daughter, a sister, a friend – now to become one of a woman betrothed, ready to give all of the love she had stored in her soul and to discover the new seams of it with the man she had chosen to do it with.

As positively surprised as Gilbert was by this sudden display, however, it was not it that caught his attention this time. After just a few moments he pulled away, just like Anne had done before; his eyes round with awe and elation that had overcome him so completely. An enormous grin blossomed on his face as he looked into those green-grey irises of which he had dreamt for so many years now, a grin that only widened when she looked at him, surprised, only to shift her gaze down at his own collar, blushing.

"It's the first time you've said it," he whispered, trembling with excitement he didn't even try do hide, while Anne gazed back at him, her own eyes widening as she comprehended his words. He leaned in again, resting his forehead against hers and closed his eyes, never ceasing to smile. "Can you please say it again?"

Before Anne managed to stammer anything out, Gilbert decided to surprise her even further, loosening his tight grip on her delicate frame and crouching suddenly before her. She could feel his arms wrap around her knees a moment later, and before she knew it, she was in the air, spun around to the sound of a most jubilant laughter, too shocked to even determine if the cry she'd heard in response really was her own reaction to it.

The sudden shriek only made Gilbert laugh more, and even when he eventually stopped spinning, the smile on his countenance was as sly and satisfied as it was loving. The feel of Anne's fingers buried into his shoulders thrilled him infinitely, and he could not willingly bring this moment to an end.

"Say it again," he repeated emphatically, rejoicing at this new closeness he could finally share with her. "Please, Anne."

"Gilbert Blythe, put me down!" was all she cared to say in response.

"I won't," he responded evenly, tightening his grip so she could at least feel a little more secure. "It's the day when my dreams come true; and since having you in my arms like this definitely is one of them, I'm going to keep it that way for as long as I can."

Anne found that she could hardly answer him with anything more than another flush of her cheeks. A smile returned to her own face as she gazed at the man who had so unexpectedly turned out to be so dear, and only the memories of their old days and shared mischief stopped her from bending down and kissing him fiercely without further delay.

"And what about my dreams?" she asked playfully instead, her hand slipping to the back of his neck and stroking his hair gently. "Are they of any meaning today?"

"Of course they are, silly. And I promise you we'll take care of them as soon as you're back on the ground safely."

It was Anne's turn to laugh at him then; with a little hesitation she moved her hands again, trusting Gilbert to hold her securely while she cupped his face between her slender fingers and brushed her thumbs against his cheeks. For long moments did they gaze at one another, so much that Anne began to wonder just how long exactly her fiancé could stay in this position unchanged.

Realising that she was by no mean willing to find out, she spoke to him at last.

"Well, I do fear that my dreams are scandalously similar to yours now, Mr Blythe," she admitted sweetly, well aware of – although still slightly surprised by – the effect her words were having on him. "And even though I have not spent a decade wanting to say those words to you, there was little else I wanted to do these past few weeks – and they did feel like years to me."

She saw his look darken as she bent down to whisper, "I do love you, Gil. I love you so much it hurts me, and it scares me and it absolutely thrills me – and to know that you still care for me too is the greatest and most undeserved gift that has ever been given to me."

She closed the distance between them then, knowing he would use the opportunity to oppose her had he only been given one, and not at all wanting to engage in such conversation right now. So she kissed him, sweetly and lingeringly, taking her time to learn her own way through this new, exciting field and trusting Gilbert to appreciate her endeavours rather than mock her for her inexperience in it. As she had hoped, his response was as eager as her try; his grip on her legs tightening once again as his lips caressed hers, his head raised up in a desperate urge not to risk parting with her ever again.

At some point Gilbert's claps loosened and he placed her down on her feet again, although Anne could not for the life of her determine when exactly that particular change of setting occurred. But that her arms slid around his neck instantly, instinctively, was a fact – that he deepened his kiss with the same haste was a fact, too.

Neither of them felt like coming home just yet.

[somerandomwriter1234]

GMW Fanfic - Farkle and Smackle: Ready for the Next Step

Summary: After years of long lasting friendship, finally it’s the day of Farkle and Smackle’s wedding. Nuff said.

Scene 1:

-Outside of a church one afternoon, a large group of individuals stood in front of Farkle who was speaking to all of them.

Farkle: Thank you everyone. I'm glad you all made it. And of course I'm very happy that you were able to be here for…

-Suddenly from nearby, Smackle ran towards Farkle as she smiled.

Smackle: Farkle! Catch me!

-Smackle then jumped into the air as Farkle's eyes got wide.

Farkle: Aaaaahhh!

-Farkle then moving quickly tried to hold out his arms trying to catch Smackle. Smackle landed in Farkle's arms but the two both immediately fell onto the ground.

Farkle: Uuuuggggg. Smackle… you okay?

Smackle: THAT WAS AWESOME! Now I wanna re-enact that scene from my childhood fanfiction where the magical pony known as Rainbow Dash leads her army of Transformers in their war against Voltron: Defender of the Universe! Of course, the enemy might have a secret ally since rumor has it that Optimus was their spokesperson as a part time job back in the 80's.

Farkle: Smackle, can you get up? It's time for our wedding rehearsal.

-Smackle then jumped up seeing the crowd of people in front of her.

Smackle: Yay! You brought everybody that's gonna be at our wedding tomorrow to the rehearsal.

-Farkle then got up as he stood near Smackle.

Farkle: Well there was no telling what kind of… unforeseen circumstances might occur on our wedding day. So I decided everybody should be prepared.

Smackle: Aww. You left wiggle room for me and my ingenious spontaneity. I love you so much my beloved. Ooo! But I hope you have some wiggle room in you right now. My Uncle Fred who is bringing his special piano to our wedding is dropping in from his flight from Sweden right now.

Farkle: Oh, does someone have to pick him up?

Smackle: No. That's why I'm glad you have wiggle room. He's dropping in right now. Look up.

-Farkle then looked up seeing both a man wearing a parachute and a large piano attached to a parachute dropping down towards him. Farkle's eyes then got huge as he screamed.

Farkle: Aaaaahhh!

Scene 2:

-In a large dining hall, several individuals were getting a large amount of food ready. Farkle entered the room and walked towards one of the individuals that was setting up: Lucas.

Farkle: Hey. Room looks great. You and Leena have done some great work in here.

Lucas: Thanks. By the way, you okay? Heard some screaming earlier... and then I saw a gorilla running around outside.

Farkle: Oh yeah. No big. I mean once you run away from bats, dealing with a hip hop dancing gorilla from Poland is no issue. Now from the looks of it, all of the guests are here except for…

-Suddenly Farkle's thoughts were interrupted by the voice of his friend: Riley.

Riley: Farkle!

-Farkle turned to see Riley walk into the room and towards her.

Farkle: Riley!

-Farkle and Riley instantly gave each other a strong hug and then sat at a table together.

Farkle: Riley, I am so glad you made it.

Riley: Wouldn't miss this weekend for anything for my long time friend.

Farkle: So where's Maya and…

Riley: Upstairs. And speaking of my wife… Wow. You and Smackle… getting married.

Farkle: What makes it so wow? The fact that it took me so long to ask her, or the fact that I actually did ask her.

Riley: Both actually.

Farkle: Riley, listen… you've been a good friend to me for so many years now. So I need you to give me an honest answer to a question I'm about to ask.

Riley: Yeah. What is it buddy?

Farkle: Do... do you think I'm ready to marry Smackle? Am I ready for this next step?

Riley: Farkle… first off, you're smarter than most people for just asking that question. And second: I know you love Smackle. Because only love could cause you to look past Smackle's… quirks… and see her for the true caring and loving soul she is. You shouldn't prolong this any longer. You're ready to marry her. You're ready for the next step.

-Suddenly incredibly loud rock music and elephant noises could be heard causing Riley and Farkle to cover their ears. From nearby, Lucas turned the volume on a set of loud speakers down as he called out to Farkle.

Lucas: Sorry. I was just testing the sound system with the playlist Smackle left for me. Are you guys really playing Rock Music with Elephants as the soundtrack to your wedding reception?

-Riley and Farkle then looked at each other with faces of uncertainty.

Riley: Well maybe you're not ready for her taste in music. But that's a little detail you can work on later.

Scene 3:

-In a church sanctuary, many people were sitting in seats while at the front of the room Farkle stood in front of everyone as he spoke loudly.

Farkle: Okay, everyone. So after the opening music plays, we'll get to the part of the ceremony where…

-Suddenly a rope attached to the ceiling fell down near Farkle, and then Smackle appeared sliding down the rope and jumped right next to Farkle.

Smackle: Where I'll jump into the sanctuary like a Ninja Penguin from Nigeria.

Farkle: Smackle, I thought you were going to go down the aisle with your bridesmaids near you.

Smackle: Well this is just the rehearsal. I'll still go down the aisle once NASA gives me my supersonic jet pack back.

Farkle: Oh. So I guess now we have to make sure no planes are flying over the church tomorrow morning. Any other changes to the ceremony we should be made aware of?

Smackle: Hmm… Nope. I'm good. Thank you for being so flexible with all of my changes beloved.

Farkle: Well… you're worth it to me Smackle.

Smackle: You know Farkle… I never thought anyone would want to marry a silly girl like me. So when I finally found someone who was just willing to be my best friend, I decided I would be satisfied with just that. But when I realized that you wanted to marry me, it felt like an impossible dream was coming true. I can't wait to marry you tomorrow.

Farkle: And I can't wait either. Which is why I wanna get married right now.

Smackle: What?

-Farkle then got close to Smackle and held her hands.

Farkle: The pastor knew I was gonna do this along with everyone else here. Smackle, I don't want to wait one more minute of having my life not tied to yours. We have our closest friends and family here right now. We can make all of tomorrow just one super long reception full of any... interesting ideas you want to suddenly dish out. But today… I want this to be the day I marry you.

Smackle: So if we get married today and have no ceremony tomorrow… then we'll have extra time for the tap dancing buffalo from Ireland! You are brilliant!

Farkle: Well considering how spontaneous you are, I figured I might as well start.

Smackle: But where are our wedding rings. We're gonna need….

-Farkle smiled as he then got on one knee and took out of his pocket two wedding rings and held one in front of Smackle.

Farkle: Isadora Smackle… will you marry me right now?

-Smackle began to smile as she covered part of her face with one hand as tears of happiness began to come out of her eyes. Smackle then nodded as she moved her hand down.

Smackle: Yes Farkle. I will marry you right now.

THE END

[tumblunni]

Random game idea that came to mind: clockwork man simulator

I dunno, i just got the general image in my head of a soft homey aesthetic equivelant of that terrible game about the androids. Itd be more like just a life-living game, like stuff like animal crossing or harvest moon. Just fully exploring the perspective of these creatures and the world that created them, rather than BOOM ACTION SETPIECES or whatever

I only have some scattered ideas for it tho, and not really any idea of a main plot or gameplay gimmick or 3 act structure or like.. Anything to take this from idea to game, lol.

SO ITS MISC IDEAS TIME

* more of an olden timey fantasy style instead of sci fi. Youre still an artificial person created to run errands for humans, but youre more of a combination of clockwork and magic. There's still an element of being made of inanimate object parts but there's also some glowy energy core or something. Possibly would be interesting if it was something unusual to use as a power source? Like i dunno, a bell or an acorn or a teacup or one of those rocks with the hole in it that sometimes wash up on beaches. Or just a glowy orb of Generically Defined Energy Substance, which flows through you like aesthetically pleasing glowy veins

* you're a service clockwork homunculus thingy, bought by a disabled person who needs help around the house. PERHAPS A SWEET OLD GRANDMA! Whatever i decide on (IT'LL PROBABLY BE THE GRANDMA), your owner is a kind person who sees you as part of the family and feels guilty using an android as they believe you are absolutely a real person and wish they could set you free. Unfortunately theyre kinda one of the people who needs androids the most, as they dont have any family who can help them. At the same time though, they are very old and quite resigned to nobody caring about them, plus theyre just a good person who'd put your life over their own. So i feel like the plot would literally start with this person trying to set you free and you are just like "i do npt understand the concept, that is not in my programming". Its become kind of a morning routine now to hear "youre free! Get out, dammit!" and have a brisk argument over breakfast that inevitably always ends with you refusing. Grandma's prpbably got so desperate they're resorting to tactics like trying to trick you into getting on the bus out of town or "if you dont leave im gonna hold my breath and i wont stop til i pass out". All inevitabley failing! So they just try and help you understand your sentience and become more independant, encouraging you to take free time every day and go around the town to enjoy yourself. Which is kinda a concept you dont understand yet, so its just like MISSION RECEIVED: WALK IN CIRCLE AROUND PERIMETER OF TOWN. And its kind of a hit and miss experience because the people in this town have never seen an android before- this magic is usually a thing for rich people and this proposed scheme of disability assistance androids is still in its test run. Some people are suspicious or hateful, but there are others who welcome you to the village and brighten up your day. Not just a world of 100% everyone assholes to make a melodramatic point delivered awfully through racist stereotypes.

* i think a good subplot with this disabled grandma would be to show her regaining her independance too. Like she starts off quite fatalistic and used to nobody caring about her, all this mobility aid stuff is new and she feels like its too complicated and she'll never get it, or its too expensive and she doesnt deserve it, or all the nonsense that ableist society drills into people. But with the support of her new friend and access to more tools to help take her life into her own hands, she starts regaining hope again! Like ironically she felt like her previous carers were all the kinds of awful things people expect these androids to be. Robotic, emotionless monsters who dont care about the person's feelings and comfort, and certainly not independance. She suffered from a lot of the same nightmares that androids do too: being forced into a rigid schedule, limited in her options, deprived of basic rights, being told how she's supposed to feel, etc. But to an android that all seems like an inefficient way to do things! My function is healing and human healing efficiency is decreased in this circumstance! I am incapable of ignoring data due to personal bias! Basically imagine MAGIC BAYMAX ok. Anyway this plot would progress with grandma regaining her smile and eventually itd be a super happy day when she's able to get her new wheelchair that she can wheel to the shops on her own without needing someone to push her. Itd be really sweet from the player's perspective to get used to saying goodbye to her every morning and then suddenly you see her wandering around the shops with everyone else and she can become a part of the vibrant town too. Im thinking give her more complex AI than all the other villagers even, like give her a more complicated set of actions and move routes and stuff like SHE IS EVERYWHERE and she is LOVING IT! Life is back where it belongs: in the hands of the person living it! And it also intensifies the message of android slavery not being necessary or moral or good. Like i mean here this lady benefitted from getting an android but literally all she needed was a friend, a healthcare professional who gave a shit, and affordable access to mobility aids. Humans could have done that if they werent lazy assholes! And this android deserves the right to the same uplifting independenceifying experience they helped this grandma have!!

* random idea: all the events you encounter on each daily walk are actually stored in your inventory as items. Memories of experiences, good or bad, become literally experience for you! They each affect stats in different ways because of what you learned from that moment. Maybe bad experiences give you combat abilities and good ones help with your daily life skills and development of personality? And its possible to crack or even shatter a memory, if new experiences end up clashing with it. Usually its just 'oh i learned the more advanced version of this skill through better understanding of why humans do it', but also traumatic memories damaging good ones, and good ones helping ease traumatic ones. And maybe you could solve puzzles and make friendships through using these memory items? Youre faced with a challenge and have to make the connections in your mind to figure out which past experience is relevant here. And becoming more talented at something would help narrow down the choices you get given? And being unskilled would do screwy stuff with the interface like putting the correct option far away near the bottom or mixing up the names and icons of each memory. (Dunno how i'd program that though!)

* Maybe character customization similar to Medabots? The games were so cool and ahead of their time, you get to collect hundreds of different robot base frames and then mix and match the parts to make your own cool aesthetic! Shame it was only used for fighting though, that could be cool in a more social game too! Like go out wearing different fashions to help befriend different people, but its more fun cos its ROBOT FASHIONS! 'hey grandma do u think fred will like this arm or this arm?' She fusses over you all excitedly cos you showing an interest in fashion is a good sign of developing free will! Though you still get stuck in logic loops of 'you should wear what you like best, honey' 'HUMAN OPINION IS OF HIGHER PRIORITY' ...god i think i just made this character so i can ramble Relateable Social Anxiety Moments BUT ROBOTS

* possible ideas for Memory Events you can find around town! Meeting a cute neighbour cat- a fascinating creature you were not programmed to deal with, as you're a hospital android who isnt even meant to leave one single room for your whole life. You get absolutely entranced by the confusing small carpet with legs, and spend all morning interrogating it on why it wishes to rub its face on you. Why is your motor overheating, tiny carpet? Human master, how do you troubleshoot this noise?

* Another idea! You get 'mission: count the steps on the stairs to town' popping out of nowhere, and at first you ignore it because this is an illogical directive that does not come from a human. But it keeps happening every time you go here!! You try finding new ways to get to town crossing through fields or forests or walking directly into the path of a horsedrawn carriage, but ALAS it seems the only efficient path is those curious curious steps! Only then do you finally realise the mystery command is coming from yourself! You're not used to this strange concept of just..wanting to do something, all by yourself. You talk to your human and she says that's 'natural curiosity', 'personality', 'free will'...things that seem impossible to understand. You ask her to take you back to the shop to get this fault fixed, but she says its good and you should try acting on it. But it'll serve no purpose!! BUT AAARGH I HAVE TO KEEP SEEING THOSE STEPS EVERYDAY!! Eventually you do count them and you find it makes you satisfied for no logical reason. And that was the end of that small crisis, but you'll forever be confused by the whole thing! The next week you're like "what if i organized all the blue things with the blue things" and youre intensely frustrated at yourself. Human grandma says this is a "taste for fashion" but you remind her that you do not have a tongue. (And then she gets you the robo parts catalog and you unlock customization. Yay!)

* Possible idea for a sad subplot! A new human visits the village and he seems very strange, sometimes seeming kind and other times being angry and standoffish. You think its a simple 'jerk with a heart of gold' story but the truth is a lot stranger! It turns out this stranger is actually an important bishop in disguise, and he has multiple androids acting as body doubles to protect him while he's on the road. Theyre supposed to just be empty husks who only know how to imitate, but they clearly have their own personalities! You're tasked with finding all these runaway androids and returning them to their master for a reward, leading to a goofy lil game of hide and seek with twelve of the same guy. But it starts to get a bit sad because they're all convinced theyre the real one, and whenever they stumble into holes in their memory they freak out. When they all see each other gathered together its an absolute despair explosion and theyre forced to face the truth. And you can help them bond together as brothers and develop their own individual identities, even helping them pick out their own new faces from your set of fashion roboparts. Sadly you cant keep them here for long because itd obviously be suspicious to have exactly twelve new people move into the town right when twelve bots went missing. So you get help from one of grandma's friends to send them off in a stagecoach to another town where they can find employment and start their own life disguised as humans. The asshole bishop obviously doesnt react well to his androids vanishing into the night, but he never thinks of blaming you because after all you're only an android and you could never choose to help others out of all that free will you dont have. He just berates you for being so incompetant as to fail his quest to find them, and you get your reward taken back. Oh no~ i am~ very ashamed~ i will go tell my human that my ocular circuits require recalibrating~ (internally: HAHA YEH FUCK U OLD MAN) Grandma is super proud of you!

And thats all i got so far

[illycanary]

Anne’s, “I was right,” is such a great, deeply satisfying line and a perfect bookend to this story, and here’s why:

The modern-day equivalent would be 16-year-old Anne’s boyfriend Fred trying to persuade her to have unprotected sex. Anne has some misgivings and asks for advice from her closest adult female role model. Auntie tells her, “That’s a bad idea. You could get pregnant, have to drop out of high school, and end up an uneducated single mother who has to work minimum wage for the rest of your life. But you already knew that because you’re a smart kid. Remember what you owe yourself and stand your ground.”

Anne could be more measured in how she interprets and follows through on this advice. She could say, “You know what, Fred? I think we should graduate, set up our careers, and get married before we have sex.” Or she could go for a more middle-road approach such as, “Let’s do the sex, but use protection.” Instead she opts for, “I don’t want poor Freddy to have to deal with the discomfort of blue balls or a rubber. He’ll be happier if I just cut him loose.” That’s 16-year-old black-or-white thinking for you.

Then Anne graduates, researches a practical career path that has a modest pay scale but a high degree of stability, and sacrifices most social pleasures and personal comforts in order to work her way through college without going into debt. She finds herself secure, but somewhat unhappy with her job because she’s got a crappy boss who sits above her on the career ladder with his foot on her face, underpaying her and denying her deserved opportunities to move up. 

Then Fred (who took the riskier route and didn’t go to college, but managed to work out a successful, high-paying career for himself through a moderate amount of talent and a lot of luck) comes back around. He starts rubbing his happiness and success in the face of the overworked, undervalued girl who had the audacity to dump him and fools around with his adoring entourage just to spite her. “See, Anne? Look at all the fun I’m having without you! Don’t you wish you’d put out for me now?” Except, one of those sorority girls gets pregnant. Now it’s, “Oh, crap. If I don’t marry this groupie I had no intention of having anything permanent with, I’m going to be an absentee, deadbeat dad and relegate this not-too-bright girl to life as an undereducated single mom. WhatdoIdo?WhatdoIdo?WhatdoIdo?!” Fred’s bacon gets pulled off the fire when his baby mama miscarries a few months into the pregnancy, at which point he realizes what an absolute dick and butt-hurt moron he’s been for eight years. He finally dredges up the sense to crawl back to Anne with his tail between his legs to see if he’s got a chance, because suddenly, a woman with a lick of sense and enough self-control not to let the whims of the moment make all her major life decisions doesn’t seem like such a bad deal. 

So it all works out for them because circumstances are different now. They’re not sixteen. Their future is far more secure. They still agree on every other point that cultivated their initial attraction. And Anne, looking back on how different their happiness and feelings for each other might be now if they had been forced together by a teenaged pregnancy and trapped in a lifelong cycle of scraping by paycheck-to-paycheck, is more than entitled to a well-placed, “You’re lucky you’re cute. Also, I was right not to let you knock me up in high school, you dumbass.”

I've just finished rereading Persuasion and at the end Anne says that listening to lady russell was The Right Thing and it seems really forced. Isn't the whole book about making your own choices and taking some risks? How is submitting to the persuasion right? she was young when she did, of course, but the fact that she says, after eight years of sufferings, that she did the right thing always leaves me confused. what do you think?

I think with Anne it’s not so black and white. We tend to think in terms of “this wasn’t wrong” to then mean “it must have been right” when Anne also elaborates and points out that in her case, it turned out to have been the wrong choice. My reading of it is that she’s saying in the moment, aged nineteen, she did make the best decision she could have made at the time, with the information she had available. Also recall that had Wentworth swallowed his pride a couple of years later and renewed his offer, she would have had the certainty she needed to accept him. So of those eight years of misery, in hindsight, two of those years could be blamed on her choice, and six of them could be blamed on Wentworth’s choice.

Lady Russell’s place in Anne’s life can’t or shouldn’t be minimized. In adaptations, where characters are kind of broken down into their basic note-hitting points, Lady Russell’s position as a neighbourly adviser kind of takes center stage, and in order to highlight Anne’s isolation and unhappiness, she’s often shown as being very lonely. Which she is, in a sense, but she is not alone, nor is she without love. Her family is ridiculous, but Lady Russell is her lifeline, and I don’t think either adaptation really shows that–she’s played off as a meddling but well-intentioned older woman with no perception for Anne’s true feelings. But the text tells a different story. At nineteen, Anne is only five years on from having lost her dear mother, and Lady Russell has stepped into that void and cherished and loved Anne as nobody else has done. Lady Russell has been the next thing to a mother Anne has had as she matured into a young lady, and certainly the best friend in the whole world. Lady Russell is noted as having been a sensible and deserving woman, who helped to guide Lady Elliot, while she lived–and Anne is noted as being very like her mother, in many respects. A superior creature, yes, but everyone can do with a sensible and worthy friend to talk things over with when times are hard.

So here is Anne, at nineteen, with her one consolation and emotional outlet being Lady Russell, who is halfway between a mother and a best friend to her.

[Lady Russell] was a woman rather of sound than of quick abilities, whose difficulties in coming to any decision in this instance were great, from the opposition of two leading principles. She was of strict integrity herself, with a delicate sense of honour; but she was as desirous of saving Sir Walter’s feelings, as solicitous for the credit of the family, as aristocratic in her ideas of what was due to them, as any body of sense and honesty could well be. She was a benevolent, charitable, good woman, and capable of strong attachments, most correct in her conduct, strict in her notions of decorum, and with manners that were held a standard of good-breeding. She had a cultivated mind, and was, generally  speaking, rational and consistent; but she had prejudices on the side of ancestry: she had a value for rank and consequence, which blinded her a little to the faults of those who possessed them.

So from this we can determine that Lady Russell has her faults–as does anybody–but she is certainly no evil meddler, and a very worthy friend to have. Her objections to Wentworth as a match for Anne are indeed material–that he has no high connections, and no fortune, but even were Lady Russell not on the snobbish side, these would still be valid concerns. Lady Catherine’s objection to Elizabeth Bennet’s low connections is true snobbery–Eliza has no career to speak of. But in the case of a professional man, particularly in the Army or Navy, a single connection in the right place could be the difference between a life of hard graft and no promotion, and access to wealth and rank. Though the Navy in war-time certainly allowed for more merited promotion than the Army and peace, it is acknowledged that young Captain Wentworth can offer no guarantees for Anne’s support and comfort, and as a gallant young officer, will run the very real risk of injury or death throughout his career. We see the Harvilles living very poorly, though they strive to be happy enough, with the support of Benwick and other brother-officers…and that is with Captain Harville alive, on reduced pay, and still able to do gentle work in mending nets. They are getting by, but only just, and in the best-case scenario. Any crisis–another child born, Harville’s health worsening, some accident or unforeseen cost–can still be the tipping point into abject poverty. This is the uncertainty which rather rightly terrifies Lady Russell on Anne’s behalf, who perhaps has not even thought of these things until Lady Russell points them out to her. Anne has never been married, or really known a married couple other than her parents; Wentworth is a bachelor, and has saved nothing to support a wife and family, though he’s confident enough to propose, anyway.

Anne, being genteel and elegant and high-minded and young, Lady Russell cannot bear to see risking all her happiness on a man who is barely known to any of them. This was very much a whirlwind romance, and now Wentworth is that boyfriend from the other side of town saying “What do they know, babe? Trust me.” If Anne is not persuaded by Lady Russell, she is to be persuaded by Wentworth…so this is less her making up her own mind independently, and more her having to decide who to trust to ensure her future happiness. And Wentworth…Wentworth is not unbiased, here. Sure, Lady Russell has her blind spot of snobbery (but note she doesn’t object to Wentworth the man so much as Wentworth’s career being uncertain and risky and her fears are for Anne’s material style of living being adequate and consistent, rather than believing Wentworth is some stupid peasant who isn’t worthy of a daughter of Kellynch. That’s Sir Walter’s view.) But Wentworth’s blind spot is that he’s deeply in love and all he wants is to be married to Anne. Which, fine…but at what cost? Could his love and his hopes have over-inflated his belief that Everything Will Be Fine well beyond what is reasonable to expect? Lady Russell sees his confidence as foolhardy, perhaps even tempting fate, and it worries her deeply. That Anne eventually sides with Lady Russell causes deep resentment in Wentworth, and rather than understanding Anne’s position and feelings, he leaves the country in a fit of pride which lasts long enough to prevent him renewing his offer two years later.

Now hindsight is 20/20 and we know it’s Wentworth and Anne and true love and all will be well (kinda sorta the risk of injury or death is still there but hey he’s fine for money now) but what kind of mother/best friend figure wouldn’t step in at that point with teenager Anne to be like

Lady Russell, whom she had always loved and relied on, could not, with such steadiness of opinion, and such tenderness of manner, be continually advising her in vain.

So when, in the end, Anne says “I don’t think I was wrong to listen to Lady Russell” it’s a defense of the deep bond and respect she has with her closest friend, and the trust she had placed in her. In the time to come, Anne would learn the value of relying more on her own judgement, yes, and admits that she made the wrong choice in doing precisely as Lady Russell advised (why not settle for a long engagement, instead of breaking it entirely?) she must admit that, given the circumstances, Lady Russell’s caution was entirely reasonable, and that *in general* young people could do much worse than heed the well-meant guidance of older people who have some perspective and loving concern for their well-being. In this particular case, yes, it’s not so simple, and Lady Russell was proven wrong by what, in time, happened…but that’s not proof anybody could have whipped out in 1806 to support Anne and Wentworth’s arguments in favour of the marriage. Wentworth can only hope to make his fortune–he cannot claim with any certainty that he will. His personal convictions are strong enough that he feels able to rely on them, but that’s not enough for Lady Russell, and ultimately, Anne’s doubts work to persuade her, as well. Wentworth resents this, of course, and Anne regrets it…but Anne is doing her best with what she’s got. Should she have ignored her best friend? Specifically, yes, because Wentworth’s gamble prevailed. In general, no.

It was, perhaps, one of those cases in which advice is good or bad only as the event decides…

If Wentworth had died or sunk into poverty, Lady Russell’s point would have been proven. Luck was with him, however, (yes, he is brilliant and brave, but in such a profession one cannot wholly discount the hand of fate,) and he has been raised to wealth and power enough to make Anne and their family secure.

The book, I think, is about weighing risks, rather than simply taking them, and how to best judge and allow the influence of others. Louisa Musgrove is our cautionary tale from the other end of the spectrum–no one can persuade her to do anything she does not wish to do, and ultimately she suffers for it when she is too headstrong and the advice of her sensible friends goes unheeded.

[barchiestories]

Kidnapped (PART 4)

*BARCHIE* The search continues for Betty and Archie’s son, we also get a peek at who the kidnapper might be

Betty looked up the stairs seeing Veronica making her way down

"The monitor is pretty quiet," Betty said shaking the baby monitor in her hand

Veronica nodded and took a seat next to Betty "Your little ginger beauties closed their eyes as soon as I put them in their cribs" she pulled out her phone showing Betty a photo of each of the girls fast asleep in their beds

The corner of Betty's lip turned into a small smile "Thanks, I wanted to get a head start on Fenix's posters" she said pulling her laptop closer to her and motioning for Veronica to come closer. "I scanned a couple of photos that weren't already in the computer" she explained

A file was open with at least two dozen photos of the young boy, some from last year when he was 2, some from his past birthday party, Christmas and a few others.

"That one's cute" Veronica pointed to one of the toddler sitting in a tree, his hands up in the air in the middle of a hearty laugh

Betty nodded "Yeah, Polly took that one while she was babysitting them back a few months ago." She explained

Veronica thought back and quickly figured out when she was talking about. She had asked her to watch the kids but she and Reggie had a doctor's appointment that day "That was the day you had to go to the morgue for your dad-wasn't it?" Veronica asked

Betty looked down and nodded "I promised myself after I told him goodbye that last time that I'd never see him again. But- "

Veronica rested a hand on her shoulder "Hey-it's not like you gave him a mournful burial. Besides, you went for your mom. She had to be there to identify his body, it's not like she wanted to be there either"

"Yeah I guess your right" Betty agreed

"I'm just sorry that I couldn't help out. I feel like I was a bad best friend" Veronica added

Betty quickly shook her head "Don't, you and Reggie worked hard to get that doctor for your baby if you had missed that appointment you'd of lost your spot. Besides Juniper and Dagwood love seeing their little cousins"

Veronica nodded they were quiet for a moment before she spoke "As much as I do love this picture, it doesn't show enough of his profile"

Betty nodded in agreement "I like this one" she said enlarging a photo of Fenix from May. He was sitting on a horse while Fred Andrews stood next to him for safety "Arch's mom owns a horse now, this was taken 2 months ago when we visited her and saw it for the first time" Betty explained grabbing the mouse "We can crop the picture and- "she spoke as she did so pressing enter once she was satisfied

Veronica examined the photo before nodding "Yeah I think it's perfect, it has his bright smile and the sun is highlighting his big brown orbs and golden blonde hair excellently'

Betty nodded as she continued to work on the computer pasting the photo into the template she had already designed "That's what I thought"

Veronica rubbed her stomach and watched as Betty continued to type away at her computer

A crackling game from the baby monitor on the coffee table in front of them followed by a faint "Mama" Betty sighed seemingly ignoring the call until a few seconds later when another one came through "Mama" "Mama need you" two high pitched voices now spoke

Betty sighed sliding the laptop off her lap

"Bee I can get them" Veronica assured resting a hand on Betty's

Betty shook her hand "You already put them down for me once, besides even though Archie was just trying to talk me into coming home he was also right. We can't let the girls know something is up otherwise they might start getting scared too"

Veronica nodded 'Is there anything I can do with-this?" she waved toward the laptop

Betty nodded leaning down the girls' voices still coming from the monitor "Go through the photos and pick more that you think we can use on missing posters. The more we have out of Fenix the better"

Veronica nodded "Will do, I think I actually have some on my phone of him that might be of use as well" sheshowed her a photo that she had of the boy on her phone

Betty nodded "That would be awesome, here is a cord where you can import those into the laptop," she said handing the cord to Veronica before heading upstairs to check on the twins

It was now raining as Jughead and Archie lead their team of five through the muddy woods. Jughead watched as Archie slid his phone back into his pocket "Betty says the twins are giving her a hard time" he sighed

Jughead flashed a sad smile "Is it because they can sense what's going on?"

Archie shrugged "Possibly, but part of it may also be because I always sing them to sleep"

Jughead couldn't help the light chuckle that escaped his lips "Leave it to Archie Andrews to be the cliché parent that serenades his kids to bed"

Archie nodded "Yeah I've done it ever since- "he paused "Ever since the night we brought Fenix home from the hospital" he stopped again and fidgeted with his hands "Come on let's keep going" he waved

Jughead nodded and watched Archie walk ahead of him Kevin soon replacing him at his side. Kevin had changed a lot over the years. He discovered the gym and became a lot buffer even growing a slight beard which he kept neatly trimmed at all times. Tonight, though like everyone else he looked rough, drenched in water, covered in mud and exhausted. He had heard through Cheryl during his short talk with her that over the years Kevin and Moose married, adopted a baby girl and were now separated…. temporarily. She swore that they would soon rekindle

"Sucks we reconnect on such circumstances" Jughead spoke first

Kevin nodded "I couldn't agree more, but it's lucky we have you here Jughead I'm sure it eases Betty's mind is a little more at ease knowing that her old detective partner is out here helping find her and Archie's boy"

They stopped talking as they jumped over a large puddle "Unfortunately I'm going to have to go back soon. It's already almost midnight and Moose is bringing Nina-our daughter to me in the morning"

Jughead nodded then did the math in his head Cheryl had left the search party as soon as it began raining, then another volunteer followed in suit soon after, Fred showed up not too long ago telling Archie there was absolutely no way he was going to sit at home and do nothing to help. So, Archie let him join their group. With Kevin leaving soon it would leave him, Archie, Fred, and one other volunteer to continue for the night. He knew if they were going to find Fenix they'd need more package. So, he did something he never thought he'd do. Pulling out his phone he scrolled down through his contacts happy to discover he still had one member in his phone. Jughead Jones called -The Serpents

Fenix Andrews was scared, to say the least. Last he remembered he was watching fireworks with his family. Then someone put their hand over his nose, they had a washcloth that smelt funny. After that, he woke up in this dark room, from what he could tell the room had no toys or furniture, not even a bed.

The door opened Fenix quickly jumped curling into a ball in a corner of the room.

The person walked further into the room the floor creaking as they walked, with each step they got closer and closer until they were right in front of Fenix

The person bent down, Fenix couldn't see his face because he was wearing a full white mask with black netting at the eye holes "I'm not going to hurt you" the deep voice spoke

"Stand up and come with me" the voice ordered

Fenix obeyed out of fear as the kidnapper grabbed the little boy by his arm and pulled him out of the room

He dragged him into a bathroom and turned on the light

"Relax" the voice spoke resting their hands-on Fenix's shoulders "This is the only room with good lighting and I want to get a good look at you"

Fenix remained frozen

"Ahh yes you have your mother's hair," he said stroked Fenix's head "I can't believe I finally found you"

Fenix sniffled holding back tears

"I told you to relax" he shook the boy a little

Fenix nodded doing his best to obey

He watched as the kidnapper looked him over, then cupped the boy's tiny face

"These eyes though" he pressed his thumbs near the crease of Fenix's brown eyes

"They are not" he continued

Fenix didn't know what the bad guy was talking about "I don't know where your eyes are from" he pressed harder against the creases of Fenix's eyes forcing him to close them "But I do not like them" he continued

"Please stop" Fenix pleaded in a fearful whisper

The white masked man immediately stopped taking his hands completely off the boy "Was I hurting you?" he asked

Fenix nodded

The masked man looked at him again "Are your toilet trained?" he asked

Fenix nodded

"Do you have to go to the bathroom?" he asked

Once again, the boy nodded his eyes shifting to the dirty nearby toilet

The man nodded "Okay I'll let you go to the restroom- but then you are going to the room with the other boys and there you must obey do you understand?"

Fenix bit his lip nodding

Keeping his word, the man turned around, allowing Fenix privacy as he used the restroom but not trusting the toddler enough to leave him completely alone.

When he finished he waved leading Fenix further down the hallway past the room he had previously been in. When he stopped and opened the door it was a nicer room than the one he was in before, this one was lined with two bunk beds on each side. Two boys one around 10 the other 6 or 7 occupied the bottom bunks of each one.

"Hello boys," the masked man said flipping the bright light of the room

The boys remained silent

"I brought you a new brother" the man continued shoving Fenix inside

"I expect you to treat him with respect he is-special to me. If I hear that you have not treated him properly there will be consequences" the man ordered, then pointed at the older boy "Now since you're the oldest I expect you to fill him in on how things go around here"

With that, the man closed the door leaving the three boys once again alone. A loud crash of lightning struck outside causing Fenix to jump. If he as home right now he'd crawl in bed with his parents

"You can sleep here if you want little guy" the older boy spoke, Fenix looked up at the Auburn-haired boy with freckles all over his face "I'm Leo and that's Trent" he pointed at the younger boy in the bed across from him who head dark black hair

"I'm Fenix," Fenix said with a shaky voice as he crawled into bed with the older boy.

[thegalacticzoo-blog]

Hope

Hope, Fred and I went on several day-long and multi-day adventures! This often involved my help in getting Hopes Toyota Pathfinder repaired (repaired and moved). Sometimes these treks involved overnight stays at motels while attempting to satisfy a laundry list of errands and chores in need of doing; and always lots of time spent in parking lots outside of fast food joints, convenience stores and the like.

They were like little urban safaris, complete with errands, shopping lists, laundromats, Taco Bell and Baha Blasts! As often as not with me and Hope waiting around wondering where-the-hell Fred got to, what bright shiny object has beguiled Fred into losing all sense of time and place...??

Those several times in the motel (with ALL the lights on all night) were an amalgam of night sounds, reality TV and fast food wrappers. Fred would set-up his computer and tap-tap away as we watched tv and chatted about celebrities and whatnot.

There were all those times on the way to work, phone calls in the car. One time in particular Hope mentioned the passing of Tom Petty. I remember this in particular because I have always been a Tom Petty fan, and her bringing up the circumstances of his passing stuck with me. Not so much many of the other celebrities she would update us on.

But she was like that - a kind of link to the current social zeitgeist, some of which I knew, and some not. Some of what she would talk about was meaningless to me (don't care about that one, never heard of that one! etc), but often a subject would arise, kind of organically, and suddenly a substantial conversation would develop. We would talk about some fairly weighty issues, offering opinions, observations and reactions to the happenings of the world around us.

She would talk about what concerned her, as we are all wont to do. Her kids were always right up front there. Her relationship with Fred. Not trusting or believing the Doctors, or the meds. I think she felt that she wasn't always being heard, or taken seriously when she offered her opinion, her take on what was happening. ----     Hope and I spoke on the phone numerous times over the last weeks and months of her life. The latter part of which, she and Fred had moved into a triplex on Portland Rd, up a few miles from where I was staying. I was glad she and Fred had finally settled on a place for her to be, hoping that she would finally be able to find a measure of peace and tranquility there.

It can be difficult to have peace or enjoy tranquility when one is being preyed upon by various converging health issues, as she was. It was during some of these telephone conversations with Hope, that I came to realize that with Fred working much of the time, it was fitting that I should try to buoy her spirits, try to alleviate some of her loneliness and worry.  

In a sense all three of us were refugees of one sort or the other. The Wildfires, housing, Covid, health and other issues, all converging like a wildfire; a perfect storm of collective mishaps. Not just us three, but all of society as well.

So it was during this past year, she shared with me many of her worries and concerns. Yes she railed against this situation or that circumstance, marveling at how so much didn't make any sense at all. She would seem dumbfounded that more people didn't see things her way, that so much of all of this was perfectly obvious.

She had a habit that I used to have (and still fall into occasionally), and that is of talking too fast, trying to get ones say out there, from fear of being shut-down, not heard; not understood. Sometimes I would tell her to slow down, that I AM listening, not to worry about that with me. So over time, my relationship with her grew into a straight-up and honest one.

I realized that things were hard for her, that developing willpower and cultivating discipline is h a r d. It is often very hard to extricate ourselves from various predicaments we find ourselves in. I learned to keep these things in mind as regards Hope. She was in a health trap. One we should all be less blameful of, and more understanding of the realities that ARE.

I myself having some convergent health issues understand fully well how frustrating it can be. So it amazes me that right up until our last phone conversation a couple of weeks ago, that she still had a laugh in her. At her heart she was a kind and decent person, steered sometimes by fears and anxieties that sometimes eclipsed that aspect of her character.

I for one am thankful that I was able to know her well enough and long enough to see these excellent qualities of character and humanity that were there all along; waiting to be seen, heard, felt, and understood.

Have a Baha Blast on me, Hope. You will not be forgotten.