#all the grandparent marriage and death family drama

[astrosky33]

HOUSE MEANINGS IN ASTROLOGY

[READ] People often question why there’s so many meanings for each planet/house and the reason is so that you can learn more than just one thing about yourself through each placement. Otherwise astrology would be very vague and boring. These are all meanings that I’ve learned from my astrology classes at Kepler College

1ST HOUSE: identity/self, outward personality traits, outlook on life/approach to life, appearance, physical body, beauty, confidence, beginnings, how you initiate/ambition, your mannerisms, your outward behavior, physical fights, your presence, individuality, and passion

2ND HOUSE: money/finances (how we spend it, store it, and manage it), work, short term jobs, your work ethic, material possessions, self worth, values, emotional security, stability, financial security, how you meet financial obligations, your singing voice, giving/receiving, and resources (both material and non material)

3RD HOUSE: communication, your speaking voice/the way you talk, your mind, the way you think/your thinking skills, your perceptions, your opinions, your conscious mind, neighbors, siblings, interests, gossip, ideas/information, mathematics, literature, transportation (only ground not flying/air), local media, social media, cell phones, phone calls, visits, social activity, publishing, early education (before college), short trips, and short journeys

4TH HOUSE: homes/houses, family/family roots, your parents (particularly the mother/motherly figure), your inner child, emotions, foundations, your childhood, heredity, tradition, self-care, places of residence, real estate, properties, femininity, and conditions in early life

5TH HOUSE: children, childlike spirit, talent, creativity, drama, risk-taking, spotlight, romance (shows short term relationships, flings, hookups, and if long term relationships then only puppy love), hobbies, pleasures, objects of affection, vacations, games, speculation, fertility, concerts, festivals, and joy

6TH HOUSE: daily routine/day to day life/daily tasks, your health/fitness/the work you do on your body, your duties, self improvement, consistency, step-siblings, your hygiene, innocence, systems, service to others, co-workers, analytical nature, diets, animals, and your pets

7TH HOUSE: long term relationships, marriage, concern for others, attraction/attractiveness, charm, conflicts, partnerships, business partners, contracts, love affairs, open enemies, close associates, lower courts, negotiations, peers, agents, equality, harmony, and sharing

8TH HOUSE: major transformation, sex, death, longevity, changes, joint/shared finances, investments, stock market, your partners resources, taxes, inheritance, reproduction, seduction, intimacy (in general not only sexual), rebirth, merging, taboos, resurrection, loans, assets, secrets, mystery, businesses, spiritual transformation, magic (especially black magic), psychology, surgery/operations, trauma, periods, and the occult

9TH HOUSE: wisdom, law/laws, beliefs, religion, philosophy, higher education (college/university), viewpoints, languages, foreign environments, in-laws (your relatives through marriage), ethics, long journeys, travel, ideologies, higher courts, media, television, interviews, cross-cultural relations, grandparents, and learning

10TH HOUSE: your legacy, your career, your public image, your status, your reputation, fame, long-term goals, worldly attainment, sense of mission, responsibilities, recognition, authority, father/fatherly figure, experts, bosses, achievements, and professional aspirations

11TH HOUSE: friends, friend groups, gains, money made from career, desires, step/half parents, step/half children, uniqueness, inventions, technology, film, social awareness, influence, manifestations, hopes and wishes for the future, ideals, humanitarianism, associates (not just close ones), groups (in general), politics, social networking, where you make your debut into society, companions, allies, science, socialization/social interaction, clubs, organizations, and parties

12TH HOUSE: healing, the hidden, karma, karmic debts, old age, sleep, mental health, solitude/isolation, dreams (the ones you have when you sleep), hidden enemies, hidden causes, illusions, secret bed pleasures, spirituality, fears, losses, endings, escapism, impersonations, closure, need for withdrawal/privacy, afterlife, limiting beliefs, subsconcious memory, subconscious mind, hypnotism, self-undoing, hidden desires, the past, delay, and restrictions

MASTERLIST

MORE BEGINNER ASTROLOGY

PLANET MEANINGS

© 𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐤𝐲 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐝

[wangxianficfinder]

In the mood for...

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1. itmf a fic where lan zhan interacts with wei ying’s mom. ty!!

Cartwheels In Cloud Recesses Series by ShanaStoryteller (Not Rated, 23k, WangXian, CSSR/WCZ, CSSR and WCZ Live, Cloud Recesses Study Arc, Cloud Recesses Shenanigans)

💖 Magical Marriage Ribbons Series by starandrea (Varies, 1m, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Accidental Marriage, Fluff, Happy Ending, Telepathic bond, Kink Negotiation, Family Drama, Magical Pregnancy, Dual Cultivation, Shapeshifters, Modern with Magic, Immortality, Yilling Wei Sect) the later part of the Magical Marriage Ribbon series

the world will follow after by dottie_dramas (dottie_wan_kenobi) (E, 8k, wangxian, CSSR/WCZ, modern, humor, smut, love at first sight, CSSR & WCZX live, meet the family, genderqueer WWX, shotgun wedding, fast burn, fluff) and the second part of the world will follow after series

in case of fire, break glass by Jenrose (T, 65k, WangXian, Time Travel, Established Relationship, Hurt/comfort, Everyone loves/nobody dies)

Wújī by FairyTaleDreams (M, 50k, WIP, WangXian, Canon Divergence, WCZ & CS Lives, Rouge cultivator WWX)

From the Warm Sun by sunshine_sparrow (T, 58k, WangXian, CSSR & WWX, CSSR & LQR, Discussion of Rape, Period-Typical Sexism, Mostly CQL but probably some MDZS too, CSSR Lives, Madam Lán Lives, Qingheng-jun lives, But WCZ Still Dies, Fix-It, Happy Ending, All Soft and Very Little Angst, the wens live, Yīn Iron, Good Person MY, Good Person LQR)

mother of mothers by SpeedingCheetah (T, 11k, wangxian, CSSR & WWX, canon divergence, fairytale elements, implied/referenced self-harm, implied/referenced character death, BSSR is WWX’s grandparent, LWJ pov, LWJ centric, WWX centric, trans WWX, curses, curse breaking, LWJ’s grief & unresolved feelings about his mother, triggers in notes)

~*~

2. Hi, I have no idea if this even exists but do you know of any fics involving a time loop/groundhog day kinda situation?

Wearing Down Every Bone by CSHfic, VSfic (E, 30k, WangXian, Groundhog Day, Time Loop, Temporary Character Death, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Canon, Case Fic, Curses, Pining, Getting Together, Time Travel, Night Hunts, Hurt wwx, Mystery, Angst with a Happy Ending, Use Your Words, Mutual Pining, Depression and Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, gratuitous use of empathy)

the cycle of regret by KouriArashi (T, 14k, WangXian, Groundhog Day, Fix-It, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Alternate Canon)

see you yesterday by glyphic (M, 138k, WIP, WangXian, Modern with Magic, Ghost Hunters, Time Loop, Case Fic, Hurt/Comfort, Memory Loss, Angst with a Happy Ending, Slow Burn) it's incomplete, but glyphic's 'see you yesterday' is an AMAZING russian doll/time loop AU

A Necessary Evil by GravityWinsAgain (M, 8k, Wangxian, Major Character Death, time travel, hurt/comfort but mostly hurt, I’m not going to lie this is all angst, not a happy ending) we only see one iteration of the loop, but it's definitely a loop

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3. Hi, I'm looking for fics that give Wei Wuxian a good childhood, time travel fix it or just retelling, either with the Jiangs or adopted by another major sect

Do you know any you can recommend? @forestandstardust

Hope Series by RoseThorne (G/T, WangXian, Transmigration, Time Travel Fix-It, Memory Loss, Angst, Sharing a Bed, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Good Parent YZY, Referenced Sexual Slavery, Sexual Tension, Arranged Marriage, POV Alternating, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Good Parent LQR, Butterfly Effect, Kid Fic, Epistolary, Cultivation Sect Politics)

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4. for itmf, could i ask for ppl's time travel recs, specifically where:

A) other characters travel than wangxian (even OC if there's a fic like that)

B) its "a glimpse of future happiness" type of deal rather than erasing the timeline (basically time travel to the future or characters temporarily going to the past) - i would love if it leads to actual written payoff in the new timeline <3

thank you! @danmeiireader

4A)

Lessons relearned by Iamnotawriter (T, 44k, WangXian, LQR & WWX, Not Madam Yu Friendly, Time Travel Fix-It, Angst with a Happy Ending, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Inventor WWX, It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better, No Golden Core Transfer, YZY Bashing)

Lynchpin by ShanaStoryteller (Not Rated, 103k, WangXian, ChengQing, Time Travel, Fix-It)

i told you when i came i was a stranger  by Caramelized (M, 70k, LXC / OFC, minor wangxian, canon divergence,   Isekai, transmigration, fix-it, Butterfly effect, sunshot campaign, not everyone dies au, no golden core transfer, dimension travel,   self-insert, angst w happy ending)

With Surgical Precision by metisket (T, 20k, WQ & WN, WQ & WWX, WangXian, Time Travel, Families of Choice, sibling bonding through murder, Z chirurgiczną precyzją (podfik) by tehanu, [PODFIC] With Surgical Precision by Gwogobo, With Surgical Precision [PODFIC] by Opalsong)  

4B)

A Wedding For The Ages by pupeez4eva (Not rated, 6k, wangxian, time travel, humor, everyone lives au)

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5. hii for the next itmf do you know any fics where wwx disappears for some time and then comes back kinda changed and everyone is shocked? pls wangxian and preferably modern au

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6. Hi!! Do you guys know any fics that are alternative takes to the scene in the untamed where WWX drinks the wine for LWJ?? or anything that expands on that scene, really?? Many thanks!!

At the bottom of the bottle, you're the poison in the wine by KatAnni (T, 11k, WangXian, Fainting, Angst, Poisoning, Golden Core Reveal, Fix-It, Hurt/Comfort, POV Multiple, Attempted Murder, hinted Chengqing, Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Fix-It of Sorts, Canon Divergence)

every breath that comes before by tardigradeschool (T, 10k, WangXian, Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Poison, Golden Core Reveal, Sharing a Bed, Hair Brushing, very very background 3zun, Angst with a Happy Ending, PTSD)

Blackouts by GravityWinsAgain (M, 11k, wangxian, modern, date rape drugs/roofies, but nothing bad happens, JZxun & SS & WC being assholes, hurt/comfort, Mojo’s post) starts with a modern au of that scene

~*~

7. do u know of any fanfictions where the avatar movie crossed with mdzs? The one with the na'vi in it. @chrystalstitch

~*~

8. Are there any protective wen Ning fics? Wn protective for wwx

~*~

9. Itmf a)scholar wwx fics

b) lxc bashing

9A)

🧡 Stunted, Starving Juvenility by TomatenMark (E, 644k, WangXian, WIP, Fix-it of sorts, Talisman master WWX, Not JFM Friendly, Study Arc, Getting together, Fluff and Angst, Engagement)

Truths Laid Bare For All by Preludian_Staves (T, 42k, wangxian, arranged marriage, not Jiang friendly, truth serum, love confessions, golden core reveal, implied referenced abuse, getting to know each other, genius WWX, falling in love, courting, WIP (hiatus))

In Walls of Glass by Comfect (T, 43k, LQR & WWX, WangXian, XiCheng, Good Uncle LQR, Teacher LQR, Canon Divergence, Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Fix-It, Butterfly Effect, JC friendly, Family Feels, Cultivation Theory, POV LQR, Seriously the only WWX Bashing is in the first chapter or so and is canonical in LQR's head, Initial WWX Bashing, Eventual WWX Appreciation, JC appreciation)

🧡 One Can Keep A Secret (If He Does Not Know It's There) by H_Belle (T, 5k, WangXian, Modern Cultivators, Inventor WWX, Secret Identity, Identity Reveal, YLLZ WWX, Rogue Cultivator WWX, Pining LWJ, POV WWX, Background Wangxian Getting Together, Jiangs are only mentioned in the passing, inspired by a tumblr post)

To Respect a Scholar by FlautistsandPeonies (G, 5k, wangxian, LQR & WWX, WWX's canon genius, not JC friendly, author WWX)

Lessons relearned by Iamnotawriter (T, 44k, WangXian, LQR & WWX, Not Madam Yu Friendly, Time Travel Fix-It, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon-Typical Violence, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Inventor WWX, It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better, No Golden Core Transfer, YZY Bashing) (link in #4A)

the roots in my heart (also grow in yours) by halfdemonvash (M, 16k, WangXian, Modern AU, Plants, Botanist WWX, Botanist LWJ, the burial mounds are a greenhouse, Fluff, Mild Smut, WWX POV, Getting Together, Falling In Love, Sexual Content)

🧡 i really want to know (who are you) by Stratisphyre (M, 19k, WangXian, Modern with Magic, Golden Core Reveal, Single Dad WWX, Reasonable Authority Figure LQR, Allusions to violence and murder, Hospitalization)

~*~

10. Hello! Thank you so much for all you do - your posts bring me joy. 🥰 For the next ITMF post, any fics where WWX or LWJ (or both) are circus performers? Thank you! @youhideastar

Flying High and Falling Hard by UseMyMuse (E, wangxian, circus au, silk aerialist WWX, ring master LWJ)

🧡 Faire thee well by Scrippio (T, 77k, WangXian, ChengQing, XuanLi, 3Zun, Modern AU, Renaissance Faire, Mutual Pining, Fluff, Domestic Fluff, Slow Burn) They don't work at the circus, but they do work at the renaissance faire, and I think there's some overlap

~*~

11. Hello! I dont know if I should label this as fic finder or ITMF or maybe both.

its a fic where lwj and lxc compete for wwx's heart. i know that ive read one like this but i cant find it anymore [its a series where wwx died right, then when he came back, lxc said to lwj that if wwx chose him before, lxc will stand beside him (talking about the siege)] but i also want to read some fics like this. Added also to FF ~Mod L

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12. Hello, I want to request some fics for the next ITMF. Is there fics where everyone (the jiangs or whoever his family/friends is) is being overprotective over a naive, oblivious and spoiled wei ying that they regarded lan zhan as a thief who wants to steal away and defile wy? Thanks you in advance ppl ♡

~*~

13. Hey! Thanks for all you do! I was wondering if you know of any really good CSSR-centric fics for the next ITMF post. Thank you in advance!

~*~

14. Hi! For the intmf, do you have any recs for where wangxian gets together early like during the Cloud Recesses Arc? Preferably WWX's POV, and the relationship is mostly kept as a secret. But I don't mind them being shameless abt it either lol.

~*~

15. ITMF where Lan Wangji is cradling his husband Wei Wuxian's unconscious body @yupkook​

Talismans by brooklinegirl (E, 10k, wangxian)

~*~

16. ITMF the lans found out about the whip marks at the back of wwx. It can be jiang bashing, good lans, anything like lans rescued wwx / give him sanctuary or any.

💙 Holding shreds by barisan (T, 5k, WangXian, Cloud Recesses Study Arc, No Sunshot Campaign, Body Swap, Not for sexy shenanigans, Chronic Pain, Hurt WWX, Hurt LWJ, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Abusive YZY, Bad Parent YZY, Bad Parent JFM, Good Uncle LQR, Hurt/Comfort, Medical Inaccuracies, POV  WWX, Angst with a Happy Ending, Jiāng Family Bashing, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Getting Together, Smart WWX)

Warming up (to him) by barisan (T, 9k, LQR & WWX, WangXian, Hypothermia, Cloud Recesses Study Arc, Temporary Character Death, Medical Inaccuracies, YZY Abuses WWX, JFM Bashing, pre-wangxian, Good Uncle LQR, Angst with a Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort) this one and "Holding shreds" from the same author, but they are both locked

What If..... Jiang Cheng Understood? by ToxicAngel13 (M, 45k, WIP, WangXian, Cloud Recesses Study Arc, WangXian Get Married in the Cold Springs Cave, Protective JC, Confused WWX, Angry LWJ, Fix-It of Sorts, Good Uncle LQR, Implied/Referenced Child Abus, ePOV LQR, YZY Bashing, POV JFM, Not JFM Friendly, Hurt/Comfort,Protective NHS) Just caught up on this last night, so good timing!

~*~

17. are there any wangxian fics where post canon (any time period is fine really) where they find out wwx and lwj are actually blood related? @sentientcongee

~*~

If you didn’t get an answer to your ask here, don’t forget to make use of @mdzs-kinkmeme and MDZS KINK MEME on Dreamwidth. Authors actually do use them for ideas. You may get what  you order!***Your prompt doesn’t have to be kink! Fluff, crack,  whatever - it’s all good!***

[melodymidway]

The Hitchens Family

This post is dedicated to Esther and Miranda Hitchens, the daughters of Bob Hitchens and Iola Black. It also contains quite a few headcanons about Beauxbatons and the Black family.

Julius and Phineas Hearst, as well as the Elysians, belong to @helenadurazzo

Cygnus Black, Ella Max, and their four children: Sirius, Phineas Nigellus, Elladora, Iola

Don't mind Phineas Nigellus's Picrew, I tried to make it as similar to his HL look as possible, lol

Iola Black was the daughter of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black, which automatically meant much drama and trouble for the entirety of her life. The youngest child of Cygnus Black and Ella Max, born in 1851, she had no memory of her father, who died mere months after her birth in some reckless adventure of his. Neither did she know her brother Sirius, whose seemingly innocent cold turned into a full-fledged fever and took his life when the boy was barely eight. However, Iola grew under the watchful eyes of her grandparents, mother, Aunt Misapinoa and Uncle Arcturus, who later became her stepfather.

The marriage of Cygnus and Ella took place when both were very young, and was a part of a deal between the Black and the Travers families. As there was no Travers bride of the suitable age, the choice fell on the daughter of a Travers lady, who had married a Max. The union was entirely loveless, but produced four children. Ella's particular favourites were Sirius and Elladora, yet she didn't quite like Phineas Nigellus and cared little for Iola. Cygnus's death brought her no despair, save for the one of losing the position of an heir's wife; however, the fate of her eldest son scarred her for life.

Several years later, Ella married her deceased husband's younger brother Arcturus, whom she liked way more and who allowed her to remain in the Black family circle and wield some influence. It caused considerable indignation among the Blacks, as Arcturus was supposed to establish new connections with his eventual marriage. In 1860, they had a son, Rasalas, yet Ella never loved any of her living children as much as she did the ghost of her dear Sirius, with only Elladora coming close.

Rasalas was the only sibling Iola was genuinely fond of, and she often helped to nurse and educate him. Phineas Nigellus and Elladora were too cold and haughty for her taste, and out of her three Blishwick cousins, she only liked the youngest, Hadrian. Like the vast majority of the Blacks, Iola became a student of the Slytherin House. However, her best friend was a Ravenclaw by the name of Walter Ellington. Some even expected them to wed eventually, yet their friendship was entirely platonic, and Walter soon announced his engagement to Lorna Lovegood.

Iola was aware that her mother placed all her hopes of a successful match on her, as she liked keeping Elladora near too much to encourage her to join another family. At first, she tried to avoid matchmaking at all costs, claiming to be occupied with her career in Healing and Potion-making, as well as making lengthy visits as far from her relatives as possible. Yet, she couldn't hide forever, so she began to consider potential suitors. Those who pleased her family inevitably disgusted Iola, and those she could hope to like turned out taken or weren't interested or were of too lowly an origin for the pride of the House of Black.

One day, Iola ended up attending a muggle ball with Walter as her partner, as the Ellingtons were among the families that didn't reject such invitations out of arrogance and sense of superiority. There, she accidentally stumbled upon a crying child. Iola loved children and was rather skilled in dealing with them, so she was able to soothe the boy, Hugh Hitchens, with relative ease. It was how she ended up meeting his father.

Robert Hitchens, or simply Bob, was a well-to-do landowner of a noble lineage, being the grandson of a baron on his mother's side. Being the only child of a good family and having lost his father quite early, he managed the affairs of his estate, which was located near Bath, as well as the surrounding land. To aid his ailing mother and make the house less gloomy, he took a wife, who gave birth to Hugh. However, both of the women soon left him, his mother dying of a disease and his wife not surviving a carriage accident.

Iola was charmed by him and his son since that very first meeting and seeked new opportunities to cross paths in the months to come. Various events allowed them to spend much time together, and they fell in love, deciding to get married. Bob, an intelligent and courteous man, was determined to ask for her family's blessing, yet Iola dissuaded him, knowing that it would end very badly. She left the Black residence discreetly and without any regrets. Her suitcase contained only her most precious possessions, including a golden crown with stars and onyxes, her uncle's present. Bob searched for a perfect ring for Iola meticulously and eventually found one with an intricate crest, believing she would love it. Iola was flabbergasted to recognise it as the Black family crest. The ring turned out to be an heirloom, previously in possession of Apollonia Black and considered long lost.

Only Rasalas, the Ellingtons, Hadrian, and Noctua Gaunt, a good acquaintance of Iola's with whom she shared many grievances about their families, were present on the wedding on the bride's side, though Rasalas did so secretly as not to face repercussions. Phineas Nigellus, officially the head of the Black family after the death of his grandfather Licorus, personally disowned Iola and burned her portrait off the family tapestry, passionately renouncing her as his sister. Ella was completely disappointed, saying that instead of heirs, Iola's children would be pathetic Half-Bloods by the whim of their thoughtless mother. Elladora proposed to cut off the heads of Iola's husband and any children they would have, the practice she often used on the old house-elves.

Together, Bob and Iola had two daughters: Esther Emma Hicthens, born on September 1st, 1880, and Miranda Hannah Hitchens, born on June 7th, 1886. The first names were chosen by Iola and continued the star thematic of the Black family while Bob picked the middle names to honour his mother. His own name alluded to his mother's maiden name, Robinson. Emma was the lady's first name, and Hannah was the name she had wished to give her daughter, the one she never ended up having. The girls were affectionately called Essie and Mira by their family and friends.

Esther looked like a Black through and through, with her grey eyes and black wavy hair that was, fortunately, more manageable than her mother's unruly curls. Miranda's appearance mirrored her father's, her hair being straight and brown, and her eyes likewise brown. Hugh's features and clear blue eyes gave him a stronger resemblance to his mother's family. His hair was also a lighter shade of brown than Bob's and Mira's.

The relationship between Hugh and his father's second family proved that it was, in fact, possible for one man's children by different wives to get along. Iola treated Bob's son as though he were her own, and was warmly respected in return. The children never perceived each other as only half-siblings. Hugh was fond of his sisters and, having inherited his father's kindness and good humour, often indulged their games and antics. Thanks to the input of his stepmother, whom he grew used to call mother, Hugh knew quite a lot about the wizarding world. Being particularly interested in art and photography, he was fascinated by the moving portraits and pictures Iola got him.

In 1888, Iola's favourite brother Rasalas got married to Marthe Auclair, the younger sister of Maurice Auclair. The Auclair business had previously experienced a crisis, which forced the head of the family to arrange a match between his heir and Adele Lefebvre, the daughter of a less prominent but wealthy family, to get financial support and provide political standing to the Lefebvres in return. Marthe's marriage into one of the most prestigious British pureblood families was believed to be a blessing which would recover the reputation of the Auclairs completely. Rasalas, not quite as progressive and enthusiastic about the non-magical population as his sister, as well as mindful of his image, didn't invite Iola and her family to the wedding. While Iola understood his reasons and, frankly, didn't much wish to see her relatives and sister-in-law Ursula Flint (who, in her opinion, was almost as unpleasant as Phineas Nigellus), she couldn't help feeling offended and hurt.

Rasalas Black and his daughter by Marthe Auclair, Alcyone Black

Bob and Iola's marriage was very happy, but rather short. In 1889, Bob went to a different town on business and was unlucky enough to encounter the Gaunts, who resided there. Fond of torturing Muggles for the fun of it, the heavily prejudiced family made Bob their new target. He was hit with the Cruciatus Curse multiple times, and his cries for help were so horrible that Ominis Gaunt begged his relatives to show the man mercy. The next spell Bob received after the boy's words was Avada Kedavra, for the only mercy the Gaunts were capable of was death.

Iola, worried about her husband's long absence, came to the town herself and found his body. Though the Muggle doctors stated that he must have taken a bad fall and had brain hemorrhage, the witch knew what the death by the Killing Curse looked like and put two and two together quickly. Moreover, Noctua herself came to apologise for her family's actions and offer her sincere condolences, briefly meeting both of Iola's girls during her visit. It was the last time the two of them had seen each other, for Noctua soon departed to the Slytherin Scriptorium and never returned. Another loss that quite shook Iola, though it happened a few years later, was that of her cousin Hadrian Blishwick. He was an Auror and perished in the same battle where his colleague, Aesop Sharp, got his injury.

The news of Bob's untimely demise shook the family badly. Hugh, only seventeen, was forced to take over his father's work. Usually quite open to communication, he closed off and hardly ever left the estate for some time, even losing his enthusiasm for the things he had previously loved. Iola didn't tell him the truth about Bob's death, fearing that he would come to loathe magic, as well as not wishing to add another burden on his shoulders. Esther, a girl of nine at that time, was utterly devastated, for she adored her father. She was the only person whom Iola told about the magical nature of Bob's passing, without any details. Mira was only three and preserved few memories of Bob.

Phineas Nigellus thought that Iola would crawl back to the Black residence after the death of her husband due to not having anything to live on. Needless to say, Iola never did. Unlike Hugh, she didn't lock herself away in her grief, but applied for a more active job at St. Mungo's instead of selling potions from home in order not go mad within four walls. She also preserved her place as the mistress of the house, doing her best to help her stepson.

Since Iola was now often away, Hugh looked after the girls, playing an almost paternal role in Miranda's upbringing. Esther was often put under Rasalas and Marthe's guidance in France, as Iola wanted to prepare her for the future while also placing her in safety. Hearing how particularly anti-Muggle Hogwarts became during Phineas Nigellus's time as the Headmaster (the appointment Iola had once laughed at and called absolutely idiotic), she decided to send Essie and her friend to Beauxbatons.

Said friend, Wilhelmina Dallimore, whom Esther tended to call Mina, came from a neighbouring family, was discovered to be a Muggleborn witch at some point of their acquaintance, and thus taken under Iola's wing. The girls were close as children, and going to the same school in a different country made them only closer.

Mina Dallimore

Potions and Alchemy were always considered to be the main specialisation of Beauxbatons, which suited Esther perfectly. Having watched her mother make brews and learned many a particular, she was curious about these sciences since her very childhood. She also excelled in Herbology and was good at Transfiguration. Still, it was Alchemy that she felt particularly passionate about. The subject was compulsory at Beauxbatons, and Esther learned everything she could about the experiments with genuine fascination. In particular, Spagyric, the plant alchemy, piqued her interest, especially since there were few studies on it, undeservedly so. As Nicolas Flamel was the benefactor of Beauxbatons, he sometimes gave lectures on Alchemy there, and Essie attended them all.

Beauxbatons was usually associated with elegance, which was an accurate description, yet few of the outsiders cared to remember that such an appearance was created by strict order and discipline. A student's looks must be neat, and their manners refined and pleasing. The freshmen even had special classes dedicated to the rules of conduct in the wizarding society, as well as the traditions of various beings. Beauxbatons also paid a lot of attention to the classical aspects of education, particularly music and languages. Most of its students were well-versed in dancing, Esther being one of them and enjoying the process very much. She also took singing lessons, and her naturally lovely voice helped her become quite good at it.

In addition, the grounds of Beauxbatons were famous for their organised lawns and labyrinths of shrubberies, as well as enormous flower beds. Roses were the particular pride of the academy, and Essie even took a couple of them with her, charming them so that they preserved their beauty. She really liked her school despite some of its faults.

As Esther often said, Beauxbatons wasn't only about the duels of wands, but also the duels of words. The French Academy of Magic had an insane competition due to the huge amount of students from various countries, and many did their best to fight for their place under the sun. Some chose to do so with hard work and patience, as did Esther, others attempted flattery, certain individuals gladly made their rivals trip to promote their own chances. Esther quickly learned that if she wished to achieve something and stand out, she must prepare to be always vigilant. Though she and Mina made some good friends, particularly Bernadette Auclair, the daughter of Maurice and Adele whom Esther also knew since childhood, as well as their other roommate Carmen Reyes, there were way less friendly students in their year. Renard Tremblay, the cousin of Falco and Clarisse Tremblay, was a prominent example. Coming from a noble French family, he felt superior to the non-Pureblood girls and happened to mock them, not without receiving a hex in return.

Beauxbatons taught Esther equanimity, restraint, and shrewdness. It wasn't too hard a lesson since her demeanour was naturally calm, and she possessed innate intelligence. Essie even jokingly claimed that she was lucky not to inherit the Black fierceness, which sometimes turned into madness. She preferred to take things slow, disliking rush and abrupt change. Though she was unfailingly polite and kind, with all the gentleness of the world reserved for her loved ones, some considered her unfeeling due to her self-control and mostly rational approach. In addition, her sense of humour could be quite wry and biting. Esther had a pet, or rather, she took one of her mother's pets with her to school. Being allergic to owl feathers, Iola used her ravens, Huginn and Munnin, for communication. Since Essie inherited her allergy, she made Munnin, her favourite of the two, her own familiar.

In contrast to Esther, Mina was outspoken and quite reckless, seeking excitement rather than peace. She quickly became very fond of flying and Quidditch, playing in school matches as a Chaser and even dragging Essie along to a professional one. Nowhere near as enthusiastic about Potions and Alchemy as her best friend, Mina still sometimes kept her company during her practices and witnessed quite a few of her experiments. During one of them, her intervention actually saved Esther from harm. Mina pushed her friend away from the explosion, sustaining mild burns herself, much to Essie's horror. After this accident, she developed the habit of automatically conjuring a shield the second something seemed suspicious.

Esther and Wilhelmina studied at Beauxbatons for four years. Since the number of children who were willing to enter it exceeded the school's capabilities, the management decided to only accept those who belonged there by birth and couldn't be transferred closer to their place of residence. Two English girls, whose place was, by default, at Hogwarts, were on the top of their chopping list. Esther made sure Professor Weasley was contacted rather than the Headmaster, knowing that they wouldn't be accepted otherwise, and Matilda took great pleasure in welcoming Phineas Nigellus's Half-Blood niece and her Muggleborn friend at Hogwarts for their fifth year behind his back.

The witches were introduced to the Headmaster on the first day of the studies. Phineas Nigellus first wondered if Mina was a relative of the Weasleys, with her red hair and freckles, but quickly forgot about her when Esther was announced. Not unexpectedly, Professor Weasley received a lecture about letting such unworthy individuals into the school, which ended with a warning to Esther: should she make one wrong movement, she would be expelled. Such behaviour confirmed all of her mother's snide remarks on the Blacks, and Essie found herself heartily disliking the Headmaster. Alas, she would have many more reasons to loathe him in the future.

During the sorting ceremony, Mina became a student of the Gryffindor House. However, this option was immediately excluded for Esther, seeing as she was too careful and cautious to be a lion. Having briefly considered Ravenclaw, the Hat hesitated between Slytherin and Hufflepuff. Essie would have preferred the latter, as the former was famous for Pureblood supremacy that she didn't want to deal with, yet the decision was made in favour of the snakes.

Surprisingly, most of the Slytherins in her year were quite friendly. Essie co-lived pleasantly with her roommates, growing particularly close to Violet McDowell. Being the Slytherin Prefect of their year, Violet helped her a lot with her transfer troubles. She encouraged a slightly competitive friendship between Imelda and Mina since both were great flyers, all while using her purely Hufflepuff compassion to help Nerida and Grace in their respective quests. Esther also rather liked Sebastian and eagerly accepted his invitation to the Crossed Wands, however, his dark inclinations eventually led them to go separate ways.

As for adapting and meeting more people, Essie received eager help from Basil and Farrah Ellington, the latter more than the former, as they knew each other since childhood due to the friendship their parents shared. Esther also bonded with Garreth Weasley over their shared passion for Potions, and with Natsai Onai over their transferring experience. She would also grow closer to Georgiana with time, and the two would work together on the projects connected to Healing.

Still, her payment for having nice classmates was the simultaneous existence of an extremely nasty one. Cantankerus Nott was obsessed with blood purity and family lineages, so he immediately classified Esther's family situation as "dirty Muggle blood spoiling such an impeccable Black heritage" and caused unrest on multiple occasions. For instance, he once closed Esther in the Owlery, all while being fully aware of her allergy to owl feathers. One day, Cantankerus would create a list of noble Pureblood families, known as the Sacred Twenty-Eight. However, his choice of them wouldn't be entirely impartial. For instance, Georgiana Wotton and Phineas Hearst wouldn't find their surnames there due to being in conflict with Nott.

Given Esther's enmity with the Headmaster, her cold head was still very much needed. Ever since their distasteful first meeting, she decided to preserve her place at Hogwarts by being quiet, respectful, and mindful of the rules. She put a lot of effort into her studies and paid particular attention to Potions and Herbology. Professor Garlick quickly warmed to her, appreciating her help in the greenhouses; Professor Sharp wasn't against letting her practise her brews in his classroom, with their comfortable silence sometimes interrupted by small conversations.

The absence of Alchemy baffled and upset her immensely, and she tried to compensate it with books and new experiments, eventually collaborating with Julius Hearst to get a sufficient number of students to be able to take Alchemy as an elective course. The eventual list included the two of them, Stanley Midway, Garreth Weasley, Cressida Blume, Georgiana Wotton, Zsuzsi Shröder, and Adelaide Oakes. Professor Sharp was selected to give Alchemy lessons, and he wasn't very fond of the prospect, but with time, the so-called Alchemy Club grew on him. The students also became united among themselves. Esther received the nickname 'Lady Alchemist'. Her friendship with Julius strengthened, and his brother even believed they were a couple.

Esther's newly-found balance was destined to be ruined rapidly, though. At some point, she happened to get caught in the crossfire of a fight against the goblins, which led to her closer acquaintance with Phineas Hearst. While Essie did well at DADA, she wasn't an extremely talented dueller and could hardly stand her ground in a serious battle. Phineas proposed her to join him on his trainings, and Esther came to aid him in his researches, especially since she knew quite a bit about the goblins. Yet, the activities she found herself involved in often differed from what was allowed, so she did her best to stay unnoticed. It didn't prevent Phineas Nigellus from voicing his often ridiculous suspicions. For instance, he even claimed that Esther's loyalty to Hogwarts was just an act, and she was, in fact, helping the goblins. Essie couldn't quite understand if he genuinely believed it was so, or simply wanted to damage her reputation.

In spite of all the issues Esther had to face, Hogwarts granted her an unexpected ally. He was watching her intently ever since she first entered the Great Hall, and upon looking at him more closely, Essie recognised the boy she had met and briefly talked to during one of her visits to the Diagon Alley. When she got lost on one of her first days at school, he offered her help and introduced himself as Phineas Black. Esther was suspicious about his intentions at first, believing that he only meant to mock her, yet Phineas was completely sincere.

He was a year older than her and the only one of Phineas Nigellus Black's five children who didn't believe in the Pureblood supremacy. Thus, he didn't consider developing a good relationship with his Half-Blood cousin, whom he was very curious about, below his dignity. Esther was surprised at how easily they got along, and how quickly she began to feel the sort of intimacy that very few inspired with him. However, they had to be discreet about their friendship, as Phineas Nigellus was very likely to do everything to prevent it. Arcturus, Phineas's younger brother, noticed their interactions and tried to dissuade Phineas from ever talking to Esther again. Still, young Arcturus loved his brother enough not to report his every step to their father.

Phineas Nigellus Black, Ursula Flint and their five children: Sirius, Phineas, Arcturus, Belvina, Cygnus

Phineas had an imaginary scale of his siblings' awfulness. Arcturus was the least problematic of them, followed closely by Sirius, who had already graduated. He was often irritated by Phineas Nigellus, but not due to his glaringly unfair conduct as the Headmaster, but because he was overbearingly controlling and tended to ruin the fun Sirius was trying to have. Belvina and Cygnus were almost equally spoiled, having inherited all the arrogance and pompousness of their parents. Belvina was particularly attached to her father and proud of his position as the Headmaster. In the future, she would name one of her sons Nigellus. Cygnus's own behaviour greatly resembled that of his descendant, Draco Malfoy. His prejudice and disdain would reach their peak in his horrible treatment of his son Marius, who would be born a squib.

Phineas played in the Slytherin Quidditch team as a Seeker and was furious at Phineas Nigellus for banning Quidditch. However, his attempts to persuade his father to lift the ban alongside Imelda were fruitless. Still, even though Phineas was no favourite son of his, Phineas Nigellus proposed to make him a Captain the following year, when the students' restlessness forced him to let the season happen. The Headmaster saw no problem with using his position to give his children more influence. For instance, he had pushed Sirius to become a Prefect, though he was clearly not qualified for it. Phineas refused with indignation, defending Imelda's right to be the Captain. She was a good friend of his, and he admired her drive and enthusiasm to bring victory to their team. Esther had little fondness for flying, but she sometimes accompanied her friends to the Pitch, pleased to see a blooming friendship between Phineas and Mina that would eventually turn into something more.

Though Phineas was done enough with his family not to mind being disowned, Essie resorted to various tricks to undermine their closeness in the eyes of their fellow Slytherins to avoid consequences. For example, she used the identical names of her cousin and friend to her advantage and made it seem like she always referred to Phineas Hearst. Among her trusted fellows, Essie could call him Finn, a nickname that would soon get glued to him. She also enjoyed addressing him as her cousin since she grew up with no cousins, her father being an only child, and so treasured their bond very much.

On the summer after her fifth year, Esther invited Phineas to visit her family's estate. He gladly accepted, telling his parents that he would go to a friend's place. Iola embraced her nephew with all of her characteristic warmth; Hugh found an intriguing interlocutor who was extremely interested in the Muggle world; Mira made him her playmate. It was easily the most carefree summer in Phineas Black's life.

Another bond that changed Esther's life quite a bit was the one she formed with Ominis Gaunt. Their relationship had a rocky beginning due to Sebastian inviting Esther to the Undercroft without Ominis's permission, but they soon got along and gravitated towards each other in an almost unconscious way, going from exchanging small comments to getting engaged in long conversations. They had the same values and beliefs; Ominis loved the sound of Esther's voice. From the very first months of their acquaintance, they started developing feelings for each other.

By the end of Essie's first term at Hogwarts, the two of them were already close enough to open up quite a lot to each other. It was when Esther spoke about her father and his early death. Ominis was horrified when the few particulars she knew gave him a clear understanding that the murder had been committed by his own relatives. He confessed his guess immediately and tried to beg for her forgiveness, but Esther, though shocked and pained, insisted that he was in no way responsible for the crime and had even attempted to help. She needed time to process the truth, but she never held Ominis accountable and proceeded with their communication as before.

During her winter holidays, Esther convinced her mother to reveal everything to Hugh and Mira. Hugh wasn't a revengeful sort and knew he could hardly oppose the wizards, but he was rather offended by the former concealment of truth. He asked if any measures had been taken to punish the guilty. Iola's answer was that she had made an attempt, yet the Ministry was unwilling to anger such an influential Pureblood family as the Gaunts.

Ominis told Esther many stories of his Aunt Noctua. His genuine attachment to her made Essie quite curious about the witch, who reminded her of her own mother. In the Scriptorium, she had a chance to meet Noctua's ghost and interact with her. Only then did she learn about the friendship between Iola and Noctua and remember her own short encounter with the latter. In the end, Esther overheard the ghost telling Ominis that she thought the two of them would make a great couple.

While the Headmaster only meant to mock in that particular case, he soon began to consider the possibility of Ominis and Esther being together in truth. What fed his disagreeable conclusion were the quite transparent hints of one observant Cantankerus Nott, whom he even summoned to his office to question. Upon receiving all the confirmation he needed, Phineas Nigellus contacted the Gaunts, who in turn gave Ominis a violent lashing out, threatening to subject Esther to her father's fate if he didn't break up with her.

Their relationship officially began during the second term of their fifth year. When it came to the Christmas ball during their sixth year, Esther attended it with Basil Ellington, considering it a safe option since she needed cover while Basil didn't want to invite anyone after his breakup with Georgiana Wotton. Still, she managed to steal a dance with Ominis when Phineas Nigellus was sufficiently drunk, and Cantankerus had a tiny accident, organised by their friends.

While they were secretive about their relationship, with only the trusted friends knowing and their dates being very private, the situations that could make an onlooker suspicious did happen. For instance, Ominis once defended Esther against the Headmaster's accusations, automatically squeezing her hand in process. Phineas Nigellus didn't like it and made a scathing comment about the Gaunts never letting him take a mere Half-Blood for a wife.

As hard as Ominis and Esther tried to find a solution, their options were few. They were yet schoolchildren, both dependant on their families, so running away and living separately was out of their reach, and frankly, too early and abrupt for Essie's sensibility. Staying with the Hitchens family was also considered uncertain since they could be opposed to it, given Bob's story, even if her and Ominis's romance resembled Iola's quite a bit. Still, she feared that should the Gaunts find them, their wrath would be unleashed on her mother and siblings, and she must protect them at all costs.

It was what eventually convinced Esther that what she had with Ominis for more than a year at that point had to be put to an end. The circumstances forced a difficult and painful breakup on them. While Esther was pretty good at putting a brave face, she still went to Phineas, Mina, and Julius for comfort. She also tried to soothe herself by repeating that it was the most optimal thing they could do, but she wasn't quite able to keep herself from tearing up as she did that.

Even though Esther did her best to keep her feelings to herself and insisted that new assignments would make a good distraction and lift her spirits, she did snap at Cantankerus, who made a nasty comment about her and Ominis within her hearing. Though her attack was only verbal, she had the misfortune to be overheard by Phineas Nigellus, who wasted no time in assigning her detentions. Professor Sharp, who was also present, suggested that Esther serve them in his classroom in an attempt to give her a less bothersome task at least, since the situation was as unfair as could be, but the Headmaster insisted that she clean the dusty rooms. In one of such rooms, Esther stumbled upon the Mirror of Erised, where she saw herself and Ominis as adults, with two girls that could only be their daughters.

It was in such troubled times that Hugh announced his engagement, albeit sorry that when he found his happiness, his sister lost hers. His fiancée, Saraswati Byrne, whom everyone called Sara, was the only daughter of Suscrita Shah. Much like her mother, Sara attended Cambridge under the disguise of a gentleman, reversing her name to call herself Aras Byrne. However, unlike her maternal family, she studied literature instead of astronomy. Being particularly fond of poetry and knowledgeable about languages, Sara worked as a translator and was glad to find an equally creative husband, with whom she could move in the circles of their fellow talented individuals and build a loving family.

Hugh Hitchens and Saraswati Byrne

They got married in the summer of 1898, with Sara's aunt Satyavati Shah and Phineas Black among the many guests. They would soon have two children: Sullivan, born in 1899 and given the middle name Robert, as well as Hillary, born in 1902. Surprisingly, Hillary would one day become the mother of Myrtle Warren, a Muggleborn witch who, much like her great-grandfather Bob, would become the victim of the Gaunts, or rather, their descendant Tom Riddle.

Though Iola said that the estate had a new mistress, therefore she and the girls must move out to let Hugh and Sara build their lives as they saw fit, Hugh insisted that they stay at least for some time, especially since he and his wife would go to their honeymoon. Iola, Esther and Miranda liked Sara very well, and the former took up teaching her daughter-in-law how to manage a household. It was to Sara that Esther often went for advice while in doubt.

They didn't have to wait too long for another drama to occur, though. Phineas Black, freshly graduated from Hogwarts, started working in the Ministry of Magic, as his family wanted. However, it was soon discovered that he had chosen the Muggle Liaison Office of the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes, which enraged his father. Still, Phineas Nigellus held hope that his second son could yet be influenced and transferred to a more respectable position. It lasted until young Phineas began to publicly support Muggle rights. Such behaviour, in the eyes of the Blacks, warranted disinheritance.

Esther was on her seventh year when it happened. She found out from the Daily Prophet, along with a letter from her cousin that came with it. Determined to help Phineas, she and Mira immediately contacted Hugh, asking to let him stay in the estate at least before he found himself his own accomodation. Hugh was amenable, and Iola basically adopted her nephew, treating him as a son. Phineas Nigellus, furious as he was, accused Esther of twisting Phineas's beliefs and demanded that she not aid him in any way, which she chose to ignore, as controlling her life outside of school was nowhere near his rights or obligations.

Esther's last year at Hogwarts brought her reconciliation with Ominis, as they valued each other's friendship too much to part ways completely. They would keep in touch after graduation as well. The time before her finals was spent on preparation and musings about her future. Esther initially entertained the thought of becoming an Unspeakable, but the prospect of joining the Centre for Alchemical Studies in Egypt outweighed the previous plan. Since entrance control was required in the centre, Esther undertook the preparations with utmost diligence, agreeing with Professors Sharp and Garlick to act more like their apprentice than a regular student during her last year.

Professor Garlick treated her more as a friend than an apprentice; they called each other by their first names in unofficial settings and promised to keep a correspondence. Her closer interactions with Professor Sharp let Esther discover more about him and his past, which made her appreciate him even more, a feeling that was completely mutual. Her attachments made it quite difficult for her leave Hogwarts, the school she once had to get used to because of unfavourable circumstances but eventually grew to love.

Esther's graduation was notable for Iola's presence and thus her first meeting with Phineas Nigellus in two decades. Unlike her daughter, Iola had no reservations against calling her brother out in a harsh and mocking manner. Moreover, Phineas Nigellus noticed the ring with the Black family crest on her finger, accused her of stealing it, and wanted to take it away from her, believing that it belonged to his line. Only Esther's intervention saved the party from a scandal.

That summer, Iola decided to move out of the estate at last, and Phineas found them a nice house on the Diagon Alley. He didn't live there for long, though, as he soon got married and relocated to Hogsmeade, where Mina worked as an assistant at Spintwitches. As passionate as she was about Quidditch, Mina had no aspirations to play professionally, but Georgiana Wotton's tales of wood for brooms made her very interested in their crafting. She would eventually get a job in a company that produced brooms. Upon their marriage, Phineas changed his surname to Dallimore, and his name to Finn, as his full name reminded him too much of his father.

Esther enjoyed herself in Egypt, diving deep into her researches. There, she met Ryder Prewett, Leander's older brother and the second son of the Prewett family, who worked in the local branch of Gringotts as a Curse-Breaker. They became friends, and Esther joined his Curse-Breaking group for her alchemic practices, helping them with the tasks connected to her field of study. Eventually, they tried to have a romantic relationship, but for all its shine and cheer comparing to the secrecy and calmness of her and Ominis's romance, it didn't last long. Perhaps Esther intentionally didn't let it be long since she had an unpleasant experience with the Purebloods of such rank and waited for the time when his family would forbid their union. Ryder didn't take the breakup well and was angry at Esther for a while. Ironically, he would one day marry Violet McDowell, her close friend, and they would be able to have a good-natured communication once again.

Returning to little Mira, the girl began her education at Hogwarts when her older sister was on her sixth year. She had none of Esther's natural tranquility, being way more spirited but no less cunning, so she entered the school with all the drive and boisterousness of many a Black, Iola among them. While Mira had no Beauxbatons to teach her the intricacies of social ties, she was forced to learn them at Hogwarts, and very quickly. Though the Sorting Hat seriously considered Gryffindor for her, Miranda eventually ended up in Slytherin, greeted eagerly by her sister and cousin but not by her classmates. Where luck had smiled upon Esther, it didn't spare much for Mira, as the snakes of her year were mostly convinced Purebloods. Belvina Black was the absolute worst of them.

Since their very first days at school, Belvina proved that she was nothing like her brother and sneered at Miranda constantly, calling her a filthy Half-Blood. Never the one to tolerate such attitude, Mira declared war and used every trick to make Belvina's life miserable in return. Their shared dormitory gave much room for action on both sides. While Mira adored being in the centre of attention and gathering people around herself, she didn't succeed with the Slytherins, as they either supported Belvina or kept quiet in order not to be bullied.

There was one Slytherin who remained unfazed by Belvina's threats, though. Valerian Lovegood, Basil and Farrah's cousin, was a rare snake among the eagles of his family, notable for minding his own business in his perfectly acceptable loneliness and only watching the people around with mild curiosity at best and annoyance at worst. Despite their obvious differences in temperament, Mira decided to approach him, and they made a great pair of friends.

The students from other houses joined in, forming a united circle. Caitlin Sparks, a Hufflepuff who came from a huge family, brought all the kindness of her House and much fun; Severn Macmillan from Ravenclaw, the heir of the Macmillans, was the most collected and witty person of their company; Demetria Weasley, mostly called Demie, was way more well-behaved than her brother Garreth, and her cuteness masked her fierce protectiveness of her friends.

Valerian Lovegood, Mira Hitchens, Caitlin Sparks, Severn Macmillan, Demie Weasley

Mira was a skilled flyer and played for the Slytherin Quidditch team as a Beater. Her favourite subjects were DADA and Beasts, for she was a more talented dueller comparing to Esther, and the creatures, particularly big and epic ones, fascinated her. However, all the gift for Potion-making ended up in Iola's and Esther's hands, with nothing left for Miranda. She also intentionally ignored Astronomy due to the associations with the Blacks. She was disgusted by the vast majority of them no less than Essie, yet she couldn't conceal it as well.

Some were surprised that Gryffindor hadn't been chosen for Mira in the end, as she was considerably more inclined to the fire element. Even her Patronus was a Fire Dwelling Salamander. Meanwhile Esther loved water and could swim very well, so her own charm took the form of a seagull.

Sometime on the second term of their fourth year, the Slytherins were going down the staircase after the Charms class to attend Herbology a few floors below. Belvina, deep in her inner plotting, accidentally tripped and fell all the way down. Her first instinct was to cover her embarrassment and accuse Miranda of pushing her. When the news reached Phineas Nigellus, he summoned Mira and the other students to his office, all while Belvina lay in the Hospital Wing with a sprained ankle and some bruises. She decided to go along with her lies, as it allowed her to save face and get rid of Miranda simultaneously. The witnesses repeated her version of the story, some eagerly and others fearfully, with the only exception of Valerian, who had walked right near Mira at the time of the accident and tried to give truthful testimony, but to no avail. The Headmaster saw his chance to cause trouble, and did just it.

Miranda was supposed to be expelled, and Valerian, as he was Pureblood, to be given detention for slander. As soon as it was known, Mirabel Garlick wrote a letter to inform Esther. Iola was abroad at that time, and there wasn't much time, which meant that Essie had to resolve the problem on her own.

Though it happened in the middle of her own school year, she was in London, as the Centre for Alchemical Studies was temporarily closed down due to an accident. Esther's acquaintance from Beauxbatons who also entered Alchemy trainings, Odile Perrot, blew up her experiment and sustained serious injuries. As she came from a high-ranking Pureblood family, her parents demanded an investigation. Odile was an overconfident and assertive witch who cared more about people's intelligence rather than blood status, which allowed her and Esther to form an alliance. Essie was concerned about her well-being, yet she couldn't write to the Perrots, as they wouldn't approve of their daughter's association with a Half-Blood.

Esther was very exasperated at first, thinking that her sister had really done something that warranted expulsion. However, when Mira explained the situation, her sister believed her and was resolved to prove her innocence. Professor Sharp helped her revise the school rules, and the information about a student in danger of expulsion having a right for a trial was found.

Of course, Phineas Nigellus denied Esther's request and dismissed her almost instantly. Still, Mira pointed out that they were no less Slytherin than he was, and so could use their connections to achieve their goals, as it was, apparently, the only force the Headmaster would bow to. That gave Esther an idea to contact Walter Ellington, who was not only a family friend, but also a member of the Hogwarts Board of Governors. Mira's close friends also wrote to their parents. Quite a decent group was collected at Hogwarts afterwards, and if Phineas Nigellus didn't want to anger the influential families, he had to comply.

Miranda was given a small portion of Veritaserum and spoke the truth, which removed all the accusations from her, and Valerian's detention was transferred to Belvina. This case caused the questioning of Phineas Nigellus's methods in general, and though many Purebloods would have liked for him to stay where he was, the majority made a decision to fire him from his position as the Headmaster.

Such news could evoke nothing less than a huge celebration. Only the Slytherins from the highest families were upset to lose a professor who always judged in their favour. As Phineas Nigellus held other Houses in varying degrees of contempt, to say nothing about the non-Purebloods, a large number of people was gladdened by his resignation, his own son among them. Mira and her friends had their own feast with butterbeer; Esther joined the professors and drank her vine with the sensation of unexpected triumph.

Matilda Weasley became the headmistress of Hogwarts and remained in that position up to 1925, when Armando Dippet took the lead. She was determined to restore Muggle Studies, a subject Phineas Nigellus had cancelled and replaced with Magical Theory. Esther advised the her as to the perfect candidate. In the end, Finn Dallimore became a professor, much like his father, yet the subject he was passionate about was nothing Phineas Nigellus could ever approve of.

Esther returned to her researches and wrote an article that caught the attention of the wizarding community. For the first time in a while, Alchemy was actively talked about, and a fair number of students wanted to take the class on their sixth and seventh years. Right after graduating from the Centre for Alchemical Studies, Esther received an offer of a job at Hogwarts, with the promise of being able to proceed with her scientific studies. She consented, especially since Hogwarts and its surroundings housed some of her favourite people in the world.

Needless to say, a disaster interrupted it all. Belvina never forgot the slight to her family and, disgusted by Esther being made a professor, decided to take her revenge. Her fury made her bolder, so simple humiliation or resignation was no longer satisfactory for her. Instead, Belvina came up with a complex plan.

It wasn't only Mira's willingness to take up Alchemy to please and support her sister, or Finn's steady and comforting presence on her side, or Mina's cheerful suggestions for pastimes, or Mirabel's sweet smiles that made Esther's time at Hogwarts special, though. Close as they were during her time at school and afterwards, with all her esteem for him, she hardly ever entertained the thought of romancing Professor Aesop Sharp. Yet, as the time passed, something in their dynamic shifted. Their easy conversations, mutual assignments, and readiness to help each other gained a tender undertone. Esther's new job threw them together again, closely and constantly, placing them on equal ground and finally making them drop the formalities. Before they knew it, Esther bitterly regretted the impossibility of dancing with her former professor on a ball, and none of Aesop's new assistants understood him and their tasks anywhere near as well as Esther had done.

Esther enjoyed teaching, especially since she had few classes and could concentrate on her scientific activities, yet her profession had its drawbacks. One of her seventh-year students, Barron Bletchley, was intent on flirting with her and winning her favour. Though Esther did her best to gently dissuade the young man, he continued approaching her. Aesop didn't like it in the slightest and was harsher to Barron during his own lessons.

When the traditional ball descended upon Hogwarts in the end of the first term, Esther finally had proper fun with no Phineas Nigellus around to spoil it. It was only slightly dampened by her meeting a past admirer of her mother's, one of the Headmistress's guests, who called her Iola and expressed his regret about the lady's marriage to a Muggle. Still, Esther danced a lot, particularly with her cousin, and drank her favourite wine freely. Mira was also enjoying herself immensely. She had borrowed her mother's Black crown for the occasion, not due to any fondness for her maternal family but rather to rub it in Belvina's face.

Esther and Aesop circled around each other the entire evening. After their duties were completed, they were walking to the dungeons together. Their conversation took an unexpected turn, and in one of the dark empty corridors, they shared a passionate kiss. However, Aesop left immediately after breaking it, feeling ashamed and believing it to be the result of alcohol. Esther wasn't impressed by this decision, confronting him afterwards and saying that she had been nowhere near unwilling, in case he hadn't noticed. Aesop proposed her to meet at Hogsmeade after the winter holidays to talk, giving them time to think about it.

Though she and Cygnus meticulously ignored their disowned brother, Belvina pretended to want to mend their relationship. She and Finn met in his personal rooms for tea, which gave her an opportunity to study the protective spells that the professors used and find a way to enter Esther's own rooms, as she wanted to make the attack completely unexpected. She did succeed, stunning and immobilising Esther before casting multiple Crucio curses on her. It was when Aesop came to collect her, and Belvina, scared due to being discovered, accidentally dropped the spells, which allowed Esther to finally scream from the immense pain that hit her with full force. Belvina panicked and didn't manage to find a quick way to escape, so she was caught when Aesop broke into the room.

Finn overheard the noise and came out of his quarters, only to witness Aesop, face pale and angry, with a faint Esther in his arms and Belvina dangling in the air helplessly from the sheer power of his wandless magic. He was left to deal with his sister while the Potions professor went straight to St. Mungo's. Iola and Julius were on a shift at that time. Hearing about her daughter's state sent Iola into hysterics, as she was acutely reminded of the way her husband had died. She insisted on taking care of Esther herself, especially since the latter spent quite a bit of time unconscious and trapped in her agony. Julius used all his knowledge and skill to save his dearest friend.

The Healers feared that the amount of Crucio Esther had received would result in permanent damage and make her suffer chronic pain, something Aesop in particular found horrific and triggering due to having lived through a similar experience. Still, much to the relief of Essie's family and friends, Iola's capable treatment minimised the risks. Anytime Aesop came for a visit, Mira went with him, staying at her sister's side as much as she could. Iola took notice of the Potions professor's constant presence and worry, deciding to have a serious conversation with him.

When she found out, Mira was livid, pouncing on Belvina and actually tearing some of her hair out by the time they were forcibly separated. Belvina faced a trial that ended with her expulsion and sending to Azkaban, as she was already a legal adult at that time. A few years later, her family got her out and married her off to Herbert Burke.

Esther gradually recovered and returned to work. She and Aesop talked and made a decision to try to have a relationship. Some people gossiped about the inappropriate age gap and expressed their discomfort or disapproval, as did Nerida Roberts, Esther's former roommate. Still, it was the first romance of Esther's that proceeded relatively smoothly, and in 1904, she happily changed her name to Esther Sharp. Two years later, she achieved phenomenal success in her Spagyric experiments, managing to find a way to revive some plants that had previously been considered extinct. They were proven to be safe to use in potions, which opened many new paths in fighting the diseases and even some curses. It was one of her inventions that finally healed Aesop's leg. Knowing her to be a passionate dancer, he promised her to make up for all the dances they missed.

Ominis managed to move on and fall in love for the second time in his life as well. His beloved, Evangeline Elysian, was also a Half-Blood, and the one raised by her Muggle mother no less. Yet, Ominis was now an adult and independent man who could get and protect a house of his own, separately from the family that had as good as disinherited him, so this relationship faced considerably less obstacles comparing to the one he had shared with Esther. Upon their marriage, Ominis and Evangeline had two daughters, Leila and Gilda, born in 1910 and 1916 respectively. Leila had the middle name Cornelia in honour of Evangeline's mother while Gilda was named after Noctua Gaunt.

They continued teaching at Hogwarts, sometimes staying in Aesop's house near the sea. In 1909 and 1913 respectively, their sons, Castor Hadrian Sharp and Aramis Nathaniel Sharp, were born. Following the tradition of her own family, Esther chose the first names, weaving star theme, Greek mythology and even Herbology in Castor while honouring a French region where she lived and grew so much as a person in Aramis. Aesop named his sons after his late Auror partner and good friend, as well as his father. Thus, Esther never got the two daughters she had seen in the Mirror of Erised, yet as her notion of happiness changed, it caused her no distress.

Since Esther and Ominis maintained a friendly relationship, the former was made Leila's godmother. Feeling no bitterness due to their past, they were more than capable of being genuinely fond of each other's children. Said children, particularly Castor and Leila, also spent much time together.

Still, the Gaunts, namely Ominis's brother Marvolo, searched for his family. Marvolo's intention was to kill his non-Pureblood sister-in-law and nieces, as well as to potentially rob Ominis's house, since the descendants of Salazar Slytherin were sinking further and further into poverty. Esther was drinking tea with Evangeline, having agreed to babysit the girls for the evening, when the attack eventually did happen. To find out the location of the house, Marvolo had used Imperius on Sebastian.

While Ominis and Evangeline tried to make Marvolo leave peacefully, Esther discreetly apparated Leila and Gilda to her own house. When she returned, Marvolo was nowhere to be seen, but Evangeline lay dead on the ground, and Ominis was seemingly unconscious, a wound in his head bleeding dangerously. The Aurors arrived shortly afterwards, summoned by Sebastian the minute he had come to his senses, and the Healers took Ominis to St. Mungo's. In her horror and pain, Esther couldn't help thinking that if she had married Ominis, she would have been the one murdered.

Castor and Aramis Sharp, Leila and Gilda Elysian

While Ominis recovered, Esther took care of the girls, and Leila departed for her first year at Hogwarts alongside Castor under her guidance. When he was out of St. Mungo's at last, Ominis chose an even more secluded and protected house to keep his daughters as safe as he could.

Sebastian felt immensely guilty about Evangeline's death and tried to perform a dark ritual to return her back. The ritual involved a human sacrifice, and Sebastian chose to murder a Muggle. The man turned out to be Ross Livingstone, the brother of his classmate Hamish. Once his crime was discovered, Sebastian was sentenced to several years of Azkaban.

While Mira behaved in a bolder way comparing to Esther, there was no other situation that could result in her expulsion, and so she graduated from Hogwarts without any problems. As she wasn't opposed to danger in her career and was very fond of creatures, she decided to become a Dragonologist. The head of the MacFusty clan that took responsibility for the population of the Hebridean Blacks for centuries hired her to help him, as his own children, save for one son, all chose different jobs and left home. So, Mira moved to the Hebrides, and Valerian followed her, as their friendship had long since taken a more romantic turn. Despite her usual yearning for big company, Mira found a pleasing occupation and good friends on the islands, while Valerian was thankful for their calmness and quietness.

In 1913, Mira gave birth to their only son, Blaze Lovegood, a name she adored due to its association with dragons and Valerian agreed to rather begrudgingly. While the boy looked a lot like his father, his temper was very reminiscent to his mother's, and so Blaze eventually entered Gryffindor. Both of his cousins were Slytherins, and he often invited Aramis to the lion's table, as the latter was quite exasperated by his roommates.

Later in his life, Blaze would have three children, two daughters and a son. The eldest of his daughters, Elmira, named after his mother, would marry into the McKinnon family and become the mother of Marlene and Mason, dying alongside the majority of her family in a Death Eater attack. The younger daughter, Ottilie, would end up with Martin MacFusty, becoming the part of the family that her father and grandparents so loved. The son, Xenophillus, would publish his own newspaper and live a quiet life, only caring for his wife, Pandora McNully, and daughter, Luna, until the former's untimely demise.

Coming from the family of five children, Finn wanted a similarly big bunch of his own ones. Mina wasn't extremely excited about the idea, as she was very immersed in her job as a broom maker, so she limited the number to three at most. In 1903, Agnes Esther Dallimore was born, named after her godmother. She was closely followed by her brother Alan, born in 1905. As they were still young and two children were enough responsibility, Finn and Mina took a break. Only in 1919 did they have another daughter, little Antonia.

Agnes and Alan, both determined and ambitious, ended up in Slytherin like their father; Antonia took more after her mother and joined Gryffindor. Agnes had a relationship with Ogden McKay while her brother dated Violet Baudelaire, a romance that would eventually come to nothing. Antonia was the target of quite a few attacks from the pureblood supremacists, particularly Thelma Fawley. Yet, she had undying optimism and drive, which helped her move forward.

Blaze Lovegood; Agnes, Alan, Antonia Dallimore

The friends of Valerian and Mira, Severn Macmillan and Caitlin Sparks, also got married. They had three children: Melania, born in 1906, Shannon, born in 1915, and Nyle, born in 1931. Much to Mira's unpleasant surprise, Melania expressed a desire to be betrothed to Arcturus Black III, eventually becoming the mother of Lucretia and Orion, as well as the grandmother of Sirius and Regulus. Being much saner and way less set in the Pureblood ways comparing to her in-laws, Melania was one of Sirius's favourite relatives. Shannon was briefly considered as a potential husband for Reina Rosier, but it didn't happen due to her engagement to a Carrow, much to his relief. Still, he continued his family's lineage, being the ancestor of Ernie Macmillan. Nyle married Georgiana Baudelaire, and they had two daughters, Alice and Kathleen, the latter named after his mother.

Melania, Shannon, Nyle Macmillan

[gianna-palazzolo]

BASIC INFORMATION:

Name: Giovanna Palazzolo. 

Nickname: Gianna to most. Gigi to her family and close friends. 

Birthday: July 24th.

Age: 32.

Gender: Female.

Place of Birth: London, United Kingdom.

Places Lived Since: Hereford, United Kingdom.

Current Residence: Camden, London, United Kingdom.

Nationality: British.

Parents: María Morelli (mother, originally from Naples), Giancarlo Palazzolo (father, originally from Agrigento)

Aunts & Uncles: Emilio Morelli (maternal uncle) 

Number of Siblings: Nine. Five brothers: Carlo, Marcello, Francesco, Roberto and Antonio. Four sisters: Chiara, Sofia, Laura and Caterina. Gianna is five out of ten, and was the first of her siblings to be born in London instead of Sicily. (For my reference, the order: Chiara, Carlo, Marcello, Francesco (dad’s prison time gap) Giovanna, Roberto, Sofia, Laura, Caterina, Antonio.)

Relationship With Family: Very good. Even though they sort of encouraged her to leave at an early age (hence her signing up for the army at sixteen) she never begrudged her parents that. There were a lot of kids living under the same roof, and it wasn’t always easy for them. They never went without love, but they sure went without a few luxuries that her friends at the time had, and whilst it might’ve been hard to deal with back then, she definitely looks back on her childhood now knowing how lucky she was to have what she did. She’ll take seeing her parents in a happy, loving marriage, spending as much time with their kids as possible over it all being substituted with material things... Gianna definitely prefers what she had. Was close to her father, in particular, and that remains the case to this day. There are ten siblings all together, and whilst she’s naturally closer to some than others, family is hugely important to all of them. There are no rifts, there’s no drama, no estranged siblings. They genuinely all get along when it matters (arguments and disagreements are always sorted quickly) and she’s fully aware she’s lucky to have that. All of the sisters are equally close, one hundred per cent inseparable no matter how far life takes them from each other, but of her brothers, the eldest, Carlo, is her absolute rock. Loves him to fucking death, and he’s for sure her best friend in the world. Marcello and Francesco have since moved back to Sicily to work for the Cosa Nostra, so she’s sees them the least. Doesn’t hold it against them, though. They’re still always there when it counts.

Happiest Memory: The trips they’d take to see her paternal grandparents in Sicily as a kid. They were few and far between because getting them all over there was a logistical nightmare, but she still visits whenever she can to relive those moments where her family was free of London for just a little while. Gianna loves London, and being British, but there’s always a part of her heart in Italy, for sure. They try to all get over there once a year, together, as a family, and apart from the times where work kept her away, they usually manage it. Her happiest memories will be her happiest yet to come, too.

Childhood Trauma: Not really. Though I’m sure finding out her family moved to London after her father did prison time for the mafia was an...unusual pill to swallow. He was very honest about it, though, and she appreciates that.

PHYSICAL:

Height: 5'11”

Weight: 140lbs.

Build: I mean. She’s built enough that you might question trying to fight her idk. Not insta fitness model style muscle mass but enough of it to get some looks at the gym. The abs, man. She works hard on those abs.

Hair Color: Brown.

Usual Hair Style: She wears it up in a ponytail specifically so she doesn’t have to do anything to it. Gianna cut her hair into a short bob whilst she was in the army, and was pretty excited to grow it out once she left, until she remembered that requires actual work to maintain. So yeah, usually up, because she’s lazy.

Eye Color: Dark brown.

Glasses? Contacts?: Neither.

Style of Dress/Typical Outfit(s): Big Gianna vibes here. Usually just blends in. Nothing too in your face, because she’s used to trying not to attract attention. 

Typical Style of Shoes: Flats. Anything as long as they’re flat. Can she walk in heels? Absolutely. Does she ever want to? No.

Jewellery? Tattoos? Piercings?: Wears a gold St. Christopher medal that her Nonna gave her at all times. Has three tattoos. One of Mary on her right forearm which can be found here. All of the Palazzolo sisters got matching ‘sorella’ tattoos, in different fonts, on their left arms, which can be found here. (Gianna’s is the middle one, pretend there are two others okay.) Had to get an underboob tat because she can, and it reads ‘be beautiful in your own way’ and can be found here. 

Scars: Many. Most that she will never discuss. 

Unique Mannerisms/Physical Habits: None.

Athleticism: Very high. Marathon level runner. Sure not afraid of weight training at the gym, either, and could undoubtedly give some of the guys a run for their money. Keeping fit is a big part of her lifestyle because it’s pretty engrained into you in the military. Especially if you’re going to make it through SAS selection; she really went overboard on the being fit thing because it was the one variable she could really control. I think she had ideas about having a more laid back approach to it when she left, but it didn’t work out that way. It’s something she enjoys. Too much of a habit to shake. Actively trains in both boxing and Muay Thai. Loves playing football almost as much as watching it. 

Health Problems/Illnesses: Eh, she went through some pretty heavy shit whilst she was in the SAS, not going to lie. I imagine there’s a little PTSD going on, but nothing bad enough that she’s willing to confront it. Yet, anyway. Nothing physical, though. 

INTELLECT:

Level of Education: Rudimentary secondary school education. Signed up to the army before she ever got to sixth form to take her A-Levels. Look, she’s not super smart, but she’s not unintelligent, either. School just wasn’t for her. 

Languages Spoken: Italian and English natively. Spanish fluently. Intermediate French. Enough Russian to get by if she’s thrown into a conversation with one. God forbid.

Level of Self-Esteem: Healthy. I wouldn’t say she’s arrogant, but confident. Doesn’t beat down on herself like a lot of people. 

Gifts/Talents: Not really, as much as she wishes she did. Maybe if she’d had one, she wouldn’t have ended up in the military...

Mathematical?: Eh. Sort of, if she needs to be.

Makes Decisions Based Mostly On Emotions, or On Logic?: Logic. 

Life Philosophy: Family first.

Religious Stance: Roman Catholic. Though certainly not as staunchly as some of her family is, much to the disappointment of her mother. 

Cautious or Daring?: Daring. It’s in the motto...

Most Sensitive About/Vulnerable To: Oh, her family, without a doubt. If anything were to ever happen to them, she’d lose her mind. Apart from that, I don’t really think she’s sensitive to much at all?

Optimist or Pessimist?: Pessimist. Hard not to be in her shoes.

Extrovert or Introvert?: Mid-ground.

RELATIONSHIPS:

Current Relationship Status: Single.

Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual.

Past Relationships: Nothing with any real longevity until Jasper Menzies. They’d pretty much planned a life together until he decided, out of nowhere, that cheating on her with Lara Rutherford whilst she was deployed was a good enough reason to throw that all away. Broke her heart, honestly. She really did love him, in spite of the absolutely glaring differences in their starts in life.

Primary Reason For Being Broken Up With: I think career first was a problem for a lot of people who tried to date her. They didn’t like being second priority, which is fair enough. Gianna doesn’t blame them for that.

Primary Reasons For Breaking Up With People: Honestly, she can be kind of fussy. If the vibe isn’t there, she won’t stick around and waste her time. 

Ever Cheated?: No.

Been Cheated On: Yes. 

A Social Person?: Somewhere in the middle. Though she’s not introverted by any means, and is definitely comfortable around people. she also needs time to wind down. Some of her work took her away from her friends and family for extended periods of time. And then, sometimes as part of those deployments, for weeks on end, she’d only see the same handful of people. Gianna likes to be social, but she’s learnt to cope without. I think she’d changed a little since coming home.

Most Comfortable Around: Her family. Her former SAS squad. That’s it. Everyone else, thus far, she still has a little guard up.

Oldest Friend: Doesn’t really keep in touch with anyone pre-military. Hasn’t spoken to anyone from her school years since she left. Has a couple of girls she went through basic with that she still stays in touch with, though. 

How Does She Think Others Perceive Her?: I cannot tell you how much she doesn’t care enough to put any thought into this.

How Do Others Actually Perceive Her?: Not a clue. I guess she’s a bit of a difficult one to figure out because she doesn’t really share much. Gianna tries to be a nice person, though, so I don’t think people would view her negatively.

SECRETS:

Life Goals: Eh, she’s working on that. Doesn’t really know what the fuck she’s doing right now, because she’s still trying to transition back to (sort of?) normal life. For a really long time, her entire life was focused around succeeding in her career, and now that it’s gone, I guess she’s trying to find something else to focus on.

Dreams: Retiring to a vineyard in Sicily. That’s the whole dream. 

Greatest Fears: Gianna certainly fears failure, and that might be the only thing she’s ‘sensitive’ to apart from her family. Any of them getting hurt is a major fear, too, of course, but that goes without saying. 

Most Ashamed Of: Nothing. Genuinely. Gianna tries to live her life avoiding regret, because you can’t change the past. There’s no point dwelling on it. I think she’d prefer to focus on doing better than being ashamed, even if there was something that would meet that mark. Maybe crying over Jasper, because he’s trash af.

Secret Hobbies: Not being interesting.

Crimes Committed (Was she caught? Charged?): Hahaha. Is it illegal if you’re doing it for the government? No, then. I guess there’s plenty of time as she explores her work for the Sovrani to make up for that, though. 

DETAILS/QUIRKS:

Night Owl or Early Bird?: Early bird.

Light or Heavy Sleeper?: Somewhere in the middle. Leaning toward light.

Favorite Animal: Ferrets. They’re fucking chaotic and she loves it.

Favorite Foods: Sfogliatelle. Anything with Nutella on it ever. Sweet stuff, generally. Also seafood. All the seafood ever to have existed.

Least Favorite Food: Pesto. Worst Italian ever.

Favorite Book: The Foundation series by Asimov.

Favorite Movie: The Matrix.

Favorite Song: Time of the Season - The Zombies. 

Favorite Sport: Football! This girl supports Roma like no other.

Coffee or Tea?: Coffee. Espresso with one sugar.

Crunchy or Smooth Peanut Butter?: Neither. 

Type of Car She Drives: Driving? In London? Pass.

Lefty or Righty?: Righty.

Favorite Color: Pink.

Cusser?: Not often. Gianna prefers not to, but sometimes they slip out if she’s particularly mad or upset with somebody. Never around her parents, though. That’ll earn a good clip around the ear. 

Smoker? Drinker? Drug User?: No to smoking. Drinks very regularly, in true British fashion. Never used any drugs, and never will, grazie.

Biggest Regret: Answering this question earlier.

Pets: Three moon jellyfish that she never actually named because she can’t pretend to tell the difference between them. But she loves them, though. Adores them. Never really had pets whilst she was in the army because of how long she had to be away from home at a time, but I think she’d like a dog one day if she can ever afford her own place. It might be a nice change for her, and she had one growing up.

[nessie665]

helloo for the fanfic questions id love to hear about #20 for home and #29!!💕💕

20. If you wrote a prequel to [Home], what would it involve?

omg, when I rebloged that post I thought to myself ''I'm gonna keep my answers simple and short, bc that's why people don't talk to me, I never shut up'' but keep it short for that gem of a question? I could NEVER. First of all, thank you so much for your ask <3

My mind immediately went to Christine. Her growth as to become the person she was in the series. That would imply writing about her father's death, her relationship with her foster parents, the loss of them, her working her way up to be able to go to Paris, her discovering her talent, her first relationships with women. All that could be a very meaningful story to tell.

BUT, I'm a messy bitch, so I would instead choose to write about Erika's childhood and teenage years, and her relationship with her family

Erika's relationship with her paternal family was always a big factor in the way I wrote her in that series, and i just never brought it up! I never did, I had all this trauma and lore stuck in my head and I never did anything with it.

In Home's canon, Erika was brought up as Gerald's ''goddaughter'' after her mother's death, but anybody in the Carrière family with 2 brain cells could put 2 plus 2 together and knew she was his daughter. So, even if she couldn't be recognized as such, she was raised as a granddaughter more

Of course, that did stir a lot of controversy. Her grandfather DESPISED her. He hated the image she gave to the family, he was repulsed by Erika's face and just disgusted by her unique behaviors and health problems, not to mention her ethnicity -I have always written Erika as being wasian-. However, he was quite intrigued by Erika's intelligence, so he tolerated her presence as a child. But as she grew older, he would get more and more aggressive with those behaviors.

Those opinions influenced her older aunts and uncles, who then passed that same dislike to their children

Her grandmother (who is actually still alive up to the Home events, remember Gerald was basically a teenage dad, so he is not that old) is a whole liege on her own. A better grandmother than a mother, gives zero fucks and has no chill. She, NEVER stuttered choosing between her granddaughter and her husband, she didn't even think about it

She adored Erika. Not only because of her intelligence, and talent, but of her grace, passion, and creativity; her dark sense of humor and sensitive character, and dotted on her. Fiercely protective of Erika, and presented a blatant favoritism for her, (both bc genuine love and connection, and to compensate for her asshole children) which eventually became a factor in her poor relationship with the rest of the family, and later, to their own.

But moving on, after her grandfather died, the whole family began turning on each other, and Erika was just the easiest to point with a finger. After all, her being a child born out-of-wedlock was a big tension point at the time, and the fact that her very existence seemed to cause countless conflicts in her grandparents' marriage.

Not all of them were bad, but she did eventually cut contact with all of them, by getting out of the county as a teenager, and returning way too scarred to ever initiate contact again. I feel Erika has a very forgiven heart, mostly because of her desire to being loved, so she may forgive them one day.

She still has contact with her grandma, tho sporadically, and she has no idea Erika is in the same country as her, Erika would love to see her again one day. She likes to think her grandmother would love Christine, but knows she would side eye her once she learned she was an actress first.

So yeah, that's my choice, I would do a speed run through 30 something years of Carrière family drama.

[alyssalikestoreadbooks]

Same Time Next Year - Tessa Bailey

"Adored by all, Britta is an ambitious waitress working at Sluggers. The popular bar holds a special place in her heart and is a regular hangout for the Bridgeport Bandits, the local hockey club. With a half brother on the team, Britta has a strict no-dating policy for hockey boys. But she does have a soft spot for one particular player.

A beast on the ice, Sumner Mayfield is on the brink of breaking into the NHL. But time’s running out. With his work visa about to expire, Sumner’s only chance to stay in Bridgeport is to marry an American—and get a green card. Otherwise, it’s back to Canada for the defenseman.

On New Year’s Eve, the team begs Britta to marry Sumner that very night. Sum is embarrassed yet hopeful—he’s desperately in love. But Britta balks at first. Until something about Sumner’s soulful brown eyes and ripped physique makes her reconsider…"

Listen Date - July 2024

Length - 144 pages

Genre - Romance,  Sports Romance, Novella

Rating - 4/10

Stars - ★★★☆☆

Notes - Wow! My first audiobook! I actually found it hard to connect at first because I thought it’d be like watching something in the background, but I really have to focus when listening. So far I really like the book. The dynamic between Sumner and Britta is different from other books i’ve read, and I like how it stands out. The drama between Sumner’s work visa expiring and not being around the Britta anymore is interesting, and adds drama to the story. The proposition of Britta and Sumner getting married for his visa is so interesting, and i love a good fake marriage trope. I love that the family trauma is brought out. The spice of this book is brought out from the second chapter (very lightly) and it literally had me going “woooahhh okay” because I just wasn’t expecting it. Britta is so funny. I love the conversation she has with Sumner about marriage. You can tell she’s very afraid to open up, but she’s willing to do so for the green card. she HAS to in order to not get charged with fraud-- she has to get to know this man. The smut in this book is a little bit constant with Sumner, and I’m not really into it, i’m not gonna lie. I have no motivation with them yet, so it all feels very preempted. It’s in my face and I don’t know why because I barely know these characters. The time skips are a bit much for me (like the distance in the passage of time) but it makes sense why Tessa did this. Britta realizing she’s crushing on Sumner is really cute and I think their relationship dynamic is adorable. They’re there for each other, even when they don’t want to be necessarily. The conversation about Sumner’s grandparents was really heartfelt and sad, and it makes sense why both Britta and Sumner don’t have family in the seats. Britta because she’s scared to BE his family, and Sumner because of his grandmother’s death. I love how overprotective Sumner is over Britta, and it’s honestly done in a way that isn’t controlling or aggressive for once! Very very nice. The conversation at the concert is sooooo smutty and I’m finally starting to like it, like I finally understand why the characters should be together. The concert scene is sooo yummy and well written. I love how Sumner offers to commit to Britta in a different way, which gives her comfort in the relationship. It makes the sex between them make more sense in the end. I’ve gotta say.... listening to smut in audiobooks is very awkward! They are out here moaning on these tapes!! The writing is very good however, though i could do with a little more perspective from Britta. I’m genuinely glad that there’s no miscommunication trope at play here, and everyone properly talks to each other to work through the tough emotions. The talk of Britta’s trauma with relationships and meeting the family was actually really nice. There’s a little bit too much smut in my opinion, but I can see how somebody who likes spice would love a book like this. I’m just asexual! Sumner getting signed brought a lot of drama that i enjoyed, with Britta having to question where she stands in the relationship with her commitment issues. Britta going to the game where her father was showed how far she’s changed from the first chapters, when she was avoiding relationships and anything that reminded her of her dad. The last chapter is very cute, its a “couple month later” style epilogue where you get all the updates of their life, and we see how Britta has fully adapted to the relationship and is happy to be committed to Sumner. It’s a very sweet transition from the old Britta, and I just generally think that this was a VERY very cute story, i could just do without the spice levels it had. 

[kakiastro]

Houses

The houses is the next important part of astrology. The houses represents the area of life the planets and signs affect.

1 house - Aries house

Self

You are the main character of your life

How you look

First impressions that people make lf you when the first meet you

Head/ skin complexion

Incarnation

Worldly outlook

Public conscious

Manners

Habits

Early Childhood

One indication of life purpose

2 house -Taurus house

Your finances and wealth

Your family values/ your values

Banks

Investments

Comfort foods/foods

Chef

Farmers/farming

Food resources

Your voice

Throat

Taxes/ revenue

Friends of partners

Economy

Secrets pleasures and desires

Pleasures

Skills and resources

Possessions

Fashion aesthetics

Music taste

3 house- Gemini house

Communication

Radio

Information

Tv

Writings

Journals/ books about specific topics

Siblings

Transportation (cars, trucks, trains and boats)

Lungs

Fingers/finger nails

Aunts/uncles

Short trips

Education (k-12)

Teachers

Critics/ criticism

Video games / board games/arena games

4 house- Cancer house

Women/feminine

Mothers

Parents in general

Babies

Breast/chest

Milk

Showers/ baths/ ponds/rain

Home life

Family life/ ancestors

Hidden thoughts and feelings

Digestive system

Private life

Realtors/real estate/ renters/ home owners

Father in law

Old people

Nursing/nurses/nursery

Hotels/ motels

5 house- Leo house

How we have fun

Actors/actresses

Directors/filmmakers/ motion pictures/

Entertainment/amusement

Movie theaters

Concerts

Games/Arcade games/arena games

Theater/ dance/ acting

Music/musicals/musicians

Drama

Pride

Ego

Romance

Lovers

Dates/date night

Creativity

Child(ren)

Youth

First born child

2nd sibling

Gambling/gamblers

Royals

King/ Prince/ Queen/ Princess/ other novels

Your Heart organ

Lottery

6 house- Virgo house

Health

Health professionals (doctors, nurses)

Healers/ outer healing

Animals(small and domestic)

Artistic abilities

Birds

Body health

Hygiene

Physical examination

Bowels

Medical drugs

Caretakers

Brother/sister in law’s reputation

Critic/criticism

Judgement

Organizations/organized

Notes

Writing in details

Cooking

Employees

Co workers

Intelligence

First responders

Butler, maids, busboys

Cleaners

Grandchildren reputation

Offices

Companies

7 house- Libra house

Relationships (platonic & romantic )

Business/ business partners

First Marriage

Divorce

Alliances

Grandparents in general

Grandma

Husband & Wife

2nd Child

3rd sibling

Lawyers/law suites/laws

Court of law

Agents

Agreements/disagreements

Liver

Kidneys

Bladder

Butt

Lower back

Controversial

Dealings with the public

Open public enemies

Art, artist

Actors/actresses

Bars

Contest

Serious lovers

Close fan base

Affection

8 house- Scorpio house

Death/rebirth

Giving birth

Joint finances with partner

Wealth through marriage

Other people finances

Deepest fears

Obsessions

Genitals

Sex/sex work

Heirs

Heirlooms

Occult/occult studies

Debt

Underground crime

Surgery

Inner power

Psychic abilities

Psychology/ psychology therapy

Therapist

9 house- Sagittarius house

Spirituality/ religion (church, clergy, prophet, spiritual gifts)

Philosophy and ideals on life

Long range travel

Long range communication

Dreams and faith

Higher learning(college, grad school)

Teachers

Astral travel

Books/journals about broad topics

3rd child

Logic

Intellect

Metaphysics

Airports

Ships/shipping/shipping docks

Horses

Pets end of life

Hips and thighs

Liver

Upper legs

Supreme Court

10 house-Capricorn house

Career

Public status in society

Public image

Publicity

Success

Ambition

Knee/kneecaps

Skeletal system

Teeth

Famous family/family name

Fame

Popularity

Infamous

Scandals

CEO/ supervisor/managers

Father/fatherhood

Authority figure in your life

Government(president, senates, house, prime minister) all officials

Vocation

11 house- Aquarius house

Humanity

Humanitarian

Community

Friend groups

Social groups

Acquaintances

Friendship

Friends appearance

Science

Technology

Stans (loyal fans)

Support system

Aspiration and dreams

4th child

Step children

Daughter/ Son in laws

Community projects

Wealth within social groups

City

Lower calves/ankles

Flattery

Social media

Memberships and clubs

V

12 house- Pisces house

Deep dreams

Mythical/mystical/ ethereal

Asylums

Bondage

Blackmail

Fraud

Bootleggers

Spiritual

Burglary/burgalers

Cheating/cheaters

The unknown

Conspiracies

Hidden talents

True talents

Clinics

Prisons

Pass life

Karma/karmic

Monks

Intrigue

Hidden society

Hidden cults

Misinformation meditation

Inner Healing

Spiritual gifts

Drugs

Addictions

Orphanage

Partners career

Veterinarian

Voting/voters

Inner pain

Nurses

Big cats

Bigger animals such as elephants ect

Thank you for reading and I hoped you enjoyed this post

[rueluxprince]

Different taboo topics between English and Chinese fandoms

Because of course there is, different cultural context, different things people find abhorrent, and so one must take extra care not to go all “if you don’t also find the things I find disgusting, then you are being disgusting” when one is entering into a fandom that was not of your culture. *nudge* *nudge*

Case in point: Chinese fandom, does not really care if you ship incest, or underage. They really don’t give a shit. Yeah the shippers wouldn’t do it in real life, but if someone does an incest side-pairing in a fantasy webnovel the readers wouldn’t bat an eye. Like, Thor/Loki is still one of the biggest ships in Chinese pop culture today, while Thor is Patron God of Lesbians in the West with no prominent ship of his own. MCU!Peter Parker/Tony Stark is also pretty huge there, while in the West those two are kept strictly familial. And that’s not counting the literal thousands of Chinese webnovels with the specific trope of “old and wise master raises poor but cute disciple, disciple grows to want to top his master.”

Even when Jin Guangyao’s various crimes were revealed, the fact he accidentally married his biological half-sister had the smallest splash. His stans didn’t really care and proceeded to make a lot “Qin Su: I am his First and Proper Wife until my death! And you! Lan Xichen! Will forver remain his side piece!” crack fanfics. His antis mostly focused on his murders. No one really dragged him for that? It won him a lot of pity points actually? Whereas here there were a lot of Horrifed Gasping when that plot was revealed.

(Sidenote: incest ships depends also depends on the chemistry of the characters, like you would with any other ship. Jiang Cheng/Wei Wuxian is decently big in China, in the West not so much. But no one anywhere really pairs Jiang Yanli and Wei Wuxian together, or her and Jiang Cheng. The latter two ships is way too familial and filial to even be conceivably turned romantic.)

On the other hand, Chinese fandom does not take to polyamory or polygamy or even “I had previous relationships before I entered this one where the plot things started happening.” They do not like it. The ship must be exclusive and monogamous. One of them can have some previous relationships but the audience will hold that as a black mark against their soul forever onwards. Seriously. To the point where a character who had several previous romances is often used as a narrative shorthand to show how horrible a person they are.

Again: platonic 3zun, decently popular in China. Romantic polyamorous 3zun, does not exist, a blasphemy to even suggest it. You are either a Nieyao or a Xiyao or a Nielan. You are either Stony or Stucky or WinterIron, you pick a lane and you stick to it. No Chinese fan will ever suggest “just do a threesome.” Absolutely not. Inconceivable. They will send you puking emojis and “I’ll book a psychologist appointment for you” gifsets.

(Sidenote: legit. I watched this C-Drama called Love is Sweet in October and the love triangle follows this phenomenon almost exactly. There were solid foundations for the main girl to go with either the male lead or the second male lead or for the two men to come together. Good basis for a poly ship right? Well. I’ve found exactly one fanfiction that had those three be in a poly romance, and it’s on Ao3 and in English. Everywhere in Chinese? Three different monogamous ships producing their own fan edits and fanfictions, ignoring the other two completely. Seeing this unfold in real life is extremely trippy tbh.)

And I honestly have no idea how to dissect this. The closest explanation (read: bullshiting) I have is that fanworks and fandom activities and shipping are largely driven by women, and whom, unconsciously or otherwise, chose to back away from the deeply ingrained cultural harm their fandom taboos has historically wrought upon them.

Historically, in the West, it was socially acceptable or even encouraged for close cousins to marry (hello Hapsburg family, honestly all the European nobility. Also Darwin, he did that too). While in Ancient China it was never socially or even legally acceptable (you can’t marry your cousin if they are related to you in three generations. So if you share the same great-grandparent, no can do. And they would know. One does not mess with Ancient Chinese record keeping.)

Whereas in the West, Europe and North America, monogamy was largely the norm for marriage. The nuclear family is the staple. Husband and wife and not legally recognized mistress on the side if the husband is a bit of an asshole. In China, polygamy was the norm. Men could have as many concubines as they could afford, Qianlong Emperor had close to forty. There are also inheritance laws and ceremonial regulations and all manner of legal rules giving them legal status. And the wife would have to tough it out and bear it and be nice to them, or else they are labeled as “jealous” and “not a good wife” and that is enough grounds for a divorce.

And as the modern fandom is often a place where anti-culture scenarios and relationships are imagined and interrogated, it can be argued that fandoms from different cultures have different taboos because they grew as backlash to different historically oppressive cultural practices.

[hayleysayshay]

On Wu’s backstory:

Wu is a character many people find annoying, but I enjoy. His backstory is vague at best. Here is what we know.

Wu is the grand nephew of Hou-Ting. He is the only heir to the throne.

At some point he moved to Republic City. Commentary implies that he was there doing a degree

At some point Mako was made his bodyguard. Commentary implies that Mako was his bodyguard for the three years.

The canon status of all commentary is debatable. As far as I see it, the show is true canon, the only reason we take the commentary as canon is because nothing contradicts it, but it is particularly substantial.

So, let’s analyse this backstory. This is all my personal opinion and headcanon and based upon what I find interesting and what fits Wu’s character as we see it in Book 4.

Was there a Royal Family massacre and is Wu traumatised?

We don’t see any other family members than Hou-Ting in Book 3. In Book 4, we are introduced to Wu, and only Wu. He is the heir to the throne.

At the end of book 3, Ba Sing Se falls to a the angry citizens of Ba Sing Se. We do see them enter the palace. They are seen looting and burning.

So, did this mob murder the rest of the Royal Family? Wu is the only heir. He is the grand nephew. This implies both his parents and grandparents are dead. What happened to them? They all must have died fairly young if Wu is the heir as a twenty something in Book 4.

I believe this is the basis of the ‘royal family massacre’ argument. Wu is too young to be the only heir to the throne. And the mob were angry. Therefore, the heirs above Wu were killed.

Now to be clear: the real reason Wu is a young heir is because Bryke wanted someone young for Mako to bounce off of. He’s around the same age as Mako but has a completely different life to him. Wu is not serious whereas Mako is. Wu is flippant and Mako is serious. Wu is extroverted and Mako is introverted. Wu is rich, Mako is not. This contrast is more fun if they’re the same age.

I say this because I think it’s clear that Wu was created with no clear trauma in mind. Wu does not act especially scared, or traumatised by the past. He is cautious and scared of hearing of Hou-Ting’s death, but acts in a comedic manner (fake strangling sounds) but then resumes a proper mourning action (may she rest in piece). Wu acts fairly silly throughout the series, enjoys the attention from fans, and even towards the end he creates a plan that he hopes will gain him attention from Korra. Wu is breezy and flippant and shallow, only really maturing towards the end and appears to be genuinely committed to dismantling the monarchy.

The trauma seen in fan works is a result of fan expansions, and personally I don’t really see it having a strong basis in the show. Wu is never really shown to be scared, or withdrawn at any points. Wu is never shown to be angry at the local populace who killed his family, as although Wu is shallow he never treats anyone badly. So is he masking? That’s totally up to your interpretation. Wu could be burying all his negative emotions and is acting out to hide his trauma. This is perfectly plausible. Personally, the lack of anger is what slightly damns this interpretation for me, I’m sure he’d show something.

Also I don’t think Wu not being fully prepared to take the throne is unreasonable— it makes sense if he was going to finish his education before starting public duties and gaining more political experience. And he could have made public experiences but still be fairly shallow. It’s implied that the Dai Li have a great degree of power so Wu not taking things that seriously or having a lot of experience is perfectly reasonable: it’s not needed for him to do so. So no, I don’t think Wu being the primary heir to the throne has to be sudden and unexpected because Wu isn’t very well prepared or serious.

How Old is Wu?

If you take the idea that he was in Republic City doing a degree when Hou-Ting was murdered, he could have been eighteen at the time, and twenty-one by the time of Book 4. He could be older. He could have started the degree at a younger age however, so he could even be nineteen at the start of Book 4.

If you ignore the idea that Wu was in Republic City prior to Book 3, and only came to Republic City to be safe after the Queen’s death, he could he even younger, potentially around eighteen in Book 4 if you HC him as young, but he could also still be older than Mako. Basically nothing confirmed, but I think it does depend on how seriously you take the commentary about the degree.

Have Wu and Mako worked together for three years?

This is going to be my strongest opinion, but I don’t think their relationship makes much sense if they’ve known eachother for three years.

I feel like this was meant to explain what Mako was doing for three years, but Mako doing his job as a detective was enough. So I don’t think it was needed.

In the episode where Wu’s coronation is ruined, Wu has a breakdown. Mako asks why he even wants to be King. He apologises, and Wu says that ‘no-one ever spoke to him like that’.

No-one has ever spoken to Wu like, even Mako. For three years? I don’t buy it. Mako is professional but he does talk back to Wu. Mako doesn’t think Wu is deserving of power just because he was born into it. I can’t believe Mako would his tongue on Wu for three years.

Also, I think Wu and Mako have a nice arc over Book 4. They get to know each-other more deeply. Mako sees the more mature side of Wu. I just don’t get the impression that they really knew each other that well beforehand, and I think you’d learn more about each other if you were together 24/7 for three years.

Obviously a lot of fan works expand on this and make the whole three years together thing make sense (by making them fuck usually and then having ensuing drama), but my critique is that I often think this over explains Wu’s character and ignores the very real shallowness Wu does show in early Book 4 by making It doesn’t meant I don’t love these fics, but I just don’t really ever reconcile them with the version of Wu we see in the show.

What I headcanon.

Again, this is literally just headcanon, and the events have no real confirmation in canon, it’s just what I think is both interesting and what I think matches with Wu’s characterisation in the show, whilst also giving him a backstory and more depth.

Wu’s grandparent and heir to the throne had one child, who became Wu’s father. This grandparent and heir dies. This grandparent dies young.

Wu’s parent’s were married. It was a political arrangement as Wu’s mother was from a rich family. Their marriage is strained. They have one child, Wu and don’t really talk to eachother much. Wu’s Dad dies young from partying too hard. Wu is left the only heir.

Wu’s mother remarries a wealthy baron or something. Because of not doing widowhood properly she is not welcome at the palace and moves away from Ba Sing Se. She and Wu have a strained relationship, since she never really wanted Wu in the first place. They sometimes exchange letters. (This could be swapped for his father and his mother was the heir but honestly I just wanted a strained relationship with a maternal figure. She got her happy ending but not with Wu).

Wu and Queen Hou-Ting have a very strained relationship as Hou Ting considers him weak, and despises animals which Wu loves.

Wu ends up with no real close familial relationship and is used to never really caring about anything. He is very isolated and is mostly raised by Dai-Li appointed carers.

At twenty ish Wu decides he wants out and asks to study in Republic City. The Queen is against this but Wu is insistent and she sees it as an excuse to get him out of her hair.

Wu moved to Republic City. After the fall of the walls, the Dai Li are in disarray as much of the leadership flees the city. Wu was previously appointed Dai Li bodyguards but Republic City officials replace them with city appointed bodyguards instead to maintain order. Unsure of how to proceed with Wu, Raiko and the other leaders agree that Wu shall complete his degree whilst Kuvira restores order. Wu is rarely included in meetings that decide the Earth Kingdom’s policy because they don’t like him and everyone just accepts he will be a King supported by his advisors and won’t rule himself.

Wu is of course horrified but he has a lack of personal stake in the death of his great aunt other than the realisation that he is now under a lot of pressure, which Wu mostly just ignores.

Wu completed his degree. After this, he begins to move into the public sphere and begins to make public appearances. Instead of a rotating team of bodyguards he requests a personal one, Mako, because he saw him a newspaper and thought he was hot really cool. This happens around six months before Republic City.

Mako treats Wu as a job, but the events of Book 4 eventually push them to become better friends and get to know eachother. Wu matures What happens next is either comics canon or my own ideas.

This is complete headcanon and I expect some people disagree! Hope it makes sense.

[rosesastrology]

What are you dreaming of?

Neptune in the houses/signs is quite good at showing what themes your dreams might frequently have.

Neptune in the 1st/Aries: your appearance, appearance issues such as teeth falling out/balding, your self, your identity, sense of self, drugs, alcohol, substance abuse in dreams, very abstract dreams (cloudy, misty, abstract forms), energy fields, sensitivity regarding the environment, naked in public, clothes, change, weight, moving slow

Neptune in the 2nd house/Taurus: your possessions, theft, debt, money, loans, shopping, money, relaxing, leisure, self-worth related dreams, losing everything you own, house being burned down, losing your possessions, clothes, banking, materials with sentimental value, university, food, eating, gaining/losing weight, inability to fulfill needs (ex. going to the toilet), having your house broken into, wealth

Neptune in the 3rd house/Gemini: dreams related to school (up to university), old classmates, extended family, siblings, friends who feel like siblings, communication, speech impediments, not being able to talk, conversations, trauma related to childhood school experiences, the clouds/being in the clouds, traffic accidents, going to school/work, haste, nervous energy, walking in school hallways, windows, getting bad grades, your neighborhood, seeing something written down

Neptune in the 4th house/Cancer: immediate family, parents, grandparents, dying physically, being old, drowning/sinking, water, the ocean, hidden treasures, your roots, ethnicity, race, earth, community, mining, ores, minerals, the ground, your country, issues with your house (house broken into, burned down, flood, etc), death of family members

Neptune in the 5th house/Leo: pregnancy, children, sex (NSA), pleasure related activities, substance abuse, overindulgence, amusement parks, parks, spas, leisure, fun, a creative process, art, music, drama, theater, very creative dreams (dragons, creatures, etc), flying, falling, meeting people, fame, games, vacation

Neptune in the 6th house/Virgo: day-to-day life, work, being late, plants, pets, service, serving someone, chaos, instability, disorganization, guilt, nervous energy, sickness, family member sick, injuries, health, exercise, swamps, dirty places, being dirty, being chased, falling, going nowhere, medicine, hospitals, bandaids

Neptune in the 7th/Libra: love, romance, marriage, finding the one, soulmates, commitments, business partners, groups, crowds, helping your partner, enabling, being chased, pregnancy, enemies, contracts, analyzing communities or other people, philosophy, gossip

Neptune in the 8th/Scorpio: death, sex, pregnancy, abuse, violence, gore, blood, transformations, bugs, pain, often very metaphorical dreams, substance abuse, murder, suicide, spiritual dreams, money, possession, jealousy

Neptune in the 9th house/Sagittarius: higher education (uni and above), astrology, religion, prophetic dreams, philosophy, trying to find meaning, obscure dreams, space, journeys, travel, bigger purpose, bigger pictures

Neptune in the 10th house/Capricorn: career, ambitions, work, public image, power struggles, control issues, being crushed, goals, reputation, men, parents, fame, experts, professionals, confinement, construction, feeling constricted, asphyxiation, how we want to be (perceived)

Neptune in the 11th house/Aquarius: gossip, communities, friends, humanitarian goals, society, crowds, charity, earned wealth, technology, something not working, society, colleagues, freedom, independence, being lost, change (through death in any form), rebellion, protesting

Neptune in the 12th house/Pisces: abstract dreams, misty, weird dreams, everything you try to hide, secrets, emotional baggage, what you need to face, what you're neglecting, spiritual sex, the unseen, the unknown, being lost, endings, healing, death, suicide, the afterlife, reincarnation, loss on all aspects, being constrained

[drivingsideways]

in search of a better dream

This is about three pieces of South Korean media that crossed my path recently: the dramas Search WWW and Flower of Evil, and the novel Kim Ji Young, Born 1982.

Disclaimer and context : I'm not Korean, I don't speak the language, and I've watched a very limited set of kdramas. The criticisms I make in this piece are not to single out kdramas, or kdrama fandom,  as what I've described exists in Western and other Asian media and fandoms as well.

 Under the cut for length:

There's a scene in the first episode of the hit 2020 k-drama "Flower of Evil" that made me want to quit watching the show within the first ten minutes. The scene goes like this: our protagonists, Cha Ji Won and Baek Hee Seung meet Baek Hee Seung's parents along with their four year old daughter. The occasion is Baek Hee Seung's birthday, and loving wife Cha Ji Won has set up a special birthday dinner for them. On the way to the restaurant, the daughter has already complained about how she's scared of her grandparents, and they don't like her. When we meet the grandparents, we see the truth of this- they are as cold as the Arctic to all three, but especially to their daughter-in-law and granddaughter. In a bid to smooth out the social awkwardness, Cha Ji Won instructs her daughter to greet her grandparents the way they had "practiced" earlier- a cutesy little greeting where the adorable Eun-ha makes a heart over her head and chirps "I love you grandma and grandpa". When this fails to soften them, Eun-ha retreats, looking scared and disappointed. Not to worry, Cha Ji Won has this completely figured out: if you try harder, she tells her four year old daughter, they'll eventually love you.

Reader, I was, as they say, mad.

We find out soon enough that this stellar bit of parenting follows from an abiding principle in Cha Ji Won's life. Her romance with Baek Hee Seung starts when a handsome oppa walks into the family store, and is a saga of her stalking and pursuing a man who repeatedly tells her he's not interested, until he finally gives in. The power of her persistence pays off when the emotionally distant and abrasive man, in a classic beauty-and-the-beast transition, becomes a loving boyfriend, and then later, husband and father. It's a fantasy- some might even say feminist fantasy come true- he's handsome, supportive, reliable, artistic,  the primary housekeeper and caretaker of their daughter while she pursues her demanding "dream" job as a police officer, and they have enough money to live in a charming and lovingly set up two-storeyed house in ruinously expensive Seoul. This is heterosexual female wish fulfilment at its peak, and it is all made possible because she persevered.

It all threatens to come apart with the discovery of the perfect man's dark past- for a brief period, she's forced to contemplate the idea that he's actually a serial killer who's conned her for the entirety of their relationship of fourteen years; that the perfect life was, in fact, a lie.  

However, since this is written and billed as romance melodrama, this horror is short-lived. As the story progresses through increasingly improbable, violent and sometimes downright hilarious twists and turns, we grow closer to the (inevitable) happy ending. Baek Hee Seung/ Do Hyun Soo is no killer, just a traumatized child with a horrific past. The lies are the result of psychological damage inflicted by a society that unfairly deemed him a monster; the cage of repressed emotions that he'd locked himself in needed only the unshakeable conviction of Cha Ji Won's love to be broken open. "I wish you could see yourself as I see you" she tells him, in one of the show's endless supply of tearfully emotional moments, "I wish you could understand yourself the way I understand you."

This framework continues right to the end, when a bout of short term amnesia (!!) has Do Hyun Soo questioning himself and her: do you know, he asks her, when I'm lying to you, and when I'm not, because I don't.  The show answers that almost immediately- it doesn't matter, because it's her vision of him that he wants to be; in other words, he chooses the version of himself that she wants. The horror of the lie was a red herring, Cha Ji Won was right from the start about her husband- all it took was the power of her love and her perseverance to overcome the lie at the heart of her marriage,  to restore it to its previous shape- quite literally. The dream house they built together, which was destroyed by the villain, is shown in the last shots as unchanged from how it was in the beginning. One of the last shots we have of the couple is of them kissing in the artisan husband's workshop, an almost perfect recreation of the first time we see them. Paradise Regained, and all of us- and Cha Ji Won- can breathe a sigh of relief. You, the twenty-first century woman, are the architect of your own fantasy and can have it all. What could be more powerful than that?

 In Kim Ji Young, Born 1982 , a novel published in 2016, and often credited with kickstarting a new conversation about feminism in South Korea, the eponymous protagonist's story is also one of perseverance. It's a starkly written tale, an everywoman tale, a dryly narrated fact finding mission report complete with citations and references, about a woman born in the late twentieth century into a rigidly patriarchal culture, whose very existence is an aberration- her parents didn’t opt for a sex-selective abortion unlike many of their contemporaries when they found that their second child would also be a girl. Kim Ji Young, like the rest of us, grows up immersed in a misogynist culture. Even before she understands it, she learns to work around it and through it, rationalizing the micro-aggressions, burying the anger at the casual and institutional sexism that permeates her life, compromising and coping with it all, and achieving some semblance of having it all: a job, a decent, loving husband, a child. However, it's when motherhood arrives that it all falls apart- Kim Ji Young, faced with the exhausting carework of having a baby at home and another regular, full time job, does what so many women in her position do- quits her "outside" job for her parenting one. Fighting exhaustion and depression, a casually cruel and misogynist remark from a stranger in a park proves to be the proverbial final straw; Kim Ji Young suffers a mental breakdown, dissociating herself completely from her own life, and "seamlessly, flawlessly" taking on the personalities of other women she's known- her mother, her friend, her colleague. The novel ends with a narrative twist that's both horrifying and appropriate:  we learn that our narrator is actually her male psychiatrist. Kim Ji Young doesn't even get to be the voice of her own story; instead, it is told by a man cocooned in his own privilege, who displays the same paternalistic and misogynist behaviour that he correctly identified as the cause of her breakdown.

There is no escape here for Kim Ji Young save that of a complete break from reality. In the light of the narrative that leads her to that point, it feels both inevitable and even more horrifically, a blessing. This is a horror story told as it is shorn of any hope; the ending is death or insanity.

Reading Kim Ji Young, Born 1982 was to confront the familiar and heart-breaking and horrific neatly distilled into 200 odd pages; it's "fiction", but not really. My only surprise was how similar the culture described there was to my own in specifics; how incidents in Kim Ji Young's life were things I had actually experienced myself or seen other women experience, in a country several thousand miles away.

I read this novel just after watching the 2019's Search WWW, a show with a bit of a cult following, I think. Before I started watching it, one friend assured me that I would love it, that it was made for me; another said that  she dropped it because it "rang false" to her at the time. I've seen the show described several times as a feminist power fantasy, sometimes, if the reviewer wanted to demean it, with the qualifier, unrealistic.

This seemed an odd sort of criticism to me- after all, who turns to k-drama romances or really, any romance, for realism? Female wish fulfilment, which is the cornerstone of romance as a genre, whether in books or film, is still written and recognized as fantasy. So what was particularly unreal about Search WWW?

Well, simply put, it is written like the patriarchy doesn't matter, and has never existed.

The three female protagonists are all in their thirties, in powerful positions in their careers. As such, they are constantly walking into meetings where women speak more than 33% of the time. There are men in the room, but they never outnumber the women, and they don't silence the women.

The interests and decisions and choices  of women in the show- even the lead antagonist, who is an older woman whom we often see casually making beefy young men pose nude for her paintings- matter, not just to domestic and private realms, but to society at large; the antagonist is a power broker whose reach goes right up to the highest echelons of the country's politics; the younger women's ethical choices directly affect the republic's functioning as a democracy.

What about the men? It's not that they've been ignored; it's just that their place in the narrative has been decentered. Do with that what you will, the writer seems to say, as she writes in speaking roles for women wherever possible—every second side character is a woman— I have no time or inclination to justify that choice.

As for romance- it's not just that two of the three romances fall into the "noona romance" category, which is subversive in itself. It's that the power of decision making in these relationships clearly rests with the women.

In the "main" romance track, in a reversal of the usual trope, the woman is the one who is emotionally unavailable, and whom the man has to convince to take a chance on their relationship. What was hugely refreshing was that the reason for her emotional unavailability isn't trauma, that the man has to help her heal from, unlike the gender reversed versions we often see, eg in Flower of Evil. Instead, it's a difference in perspective that has its roots in the years of experience she has compared to him; it's the difference in life perspective of a twenty something man, and an almost-40 woman. She considers the implications and possibilities of entering into a relationship with a man who wants marriage and kids, while she doesn't want either and is unlikely to want them in the future. She thinks through it, and sees the pitfalls of it, perhaps all too clearly. In the end, when she makes a decision to commit, it's with the understanding that she's choosing to live in the moment, that he makes her happy; that they make each other happy and it is worth something, even if it doesn't last.  But both of them understand that her happiness is not centered in him or their relationship being successful. The other two romances end on a similarly open note- the possibility of love with the man you just divorced, but there's no hurry to get there; and a long distance relationship that may or may not last the two years of military conscription the man has to undergo.

The happily ever after in this series is not the perfect heterosexual family unit; it was always going to be the complicated, thorny and intense queerplatonic relationship between the three women, who, in the end, literally drive off along an endless open road under a blue, blue sky, to "a place with no red lights", as one of them describes it.

For a week after watching Search WWW, I wandered around in a daze. How did this show get written, I kept asking myself? How did it get produced? Aired??? What magic was worked to put it in my eyeballs, and how can it keep happening?

That feeling intensified when I read Kim Ji Young, Born 1982. But the book also provided the answer, at least to the first question. Because it is Kim Ji Young's voice in Search WWW. This is the fantasy that Kim Ji Young would have wanted to live in; a society and a life where she's seen as a person, entire, and it's not something she has to fight every day for. The gigantic leap of imagination that the writer of Search WWW took was only because that fantasy has been yearned for, in a way only a person growing up in Kim Ji Young's world- our world- could.

"Flower of Evil"- and other dramas like it— are also, undeniably, products of this world. It's unsurprising to me that in many ways, Cha Ji Won's little fantasy domestic world in Flower of Evil, on the surface, looks exactly like a post-feminist world. If the real revolution is men doing housework and childcare, then that fantasy has already been achieved on the individual level for Cha Ji Won. Sure, she's the only female member on her squad, and maybe the entire police force, for all you see women in her workplace. Sure, the other female characters with speaking roles exist mostly to be tortured for manpain by the narrative or literally by men as part of the plot. She seems to have no friends outside of work, which means that all her friends are men. As for relationships with other women, except her mother, who exists mostly to share the burden of childcare, and her mom-in- law who turns out to be an evil sort herself, there are none. When she meets her sister-in-law, the entire scene gives off a strange catfight vibe- her sister in law is the only other woman who can legitimately be said to have a claim on knowing the real Do Hyun Soo, and Cha Ji Won's reaction is to deny that claim and tell her to buzz off, basically. "I'm his family now" she tells her sister in law, "He has a wife"; firmly establishing the primacy of a heterosexual romantic relationship over all others.

Her "dream" job means nothing much despite the work she has put in to get it; for most part of the narrative she ends up betraying every professional ethic and her squad- her only friends. Of course, she is easily forgiven for it, without doing any of the work to earn that forgiveness, but that's really because who has the narrative time to develop those relationships which do not matter, like her work, which is shown up for the narrative prop it is, just like her daughter?  Even her sociopath (but not really, poor baby) husband ends the series with a tentative sort of friendship with a person he's not married to, but not Cha Ji Won, whose entire world by the end of the series has narrowed down to the four walls of her perfect little house and her perfectly-rescued husband. "I can't be happy if he's not happy," she tells her mother, who suggests that maybe it's time she let go of her not-so-perfect husband. "So please accept him."

In the end, the fantasy is based on this : self-improvement as the winning strategy, not structural change. Try hard enough and you'll get what you want. In the fine print, easily ignored: as long as what you want falls within the bounds of heteronormative patriarchal standards. It's an attitude that is passed down to the next generation; Cha Ji Won's early conversation with her daughter is an example.

The writer's vision is clear- what could have been an interesting and intimate look at our deepest fears in a relationship- that the other person will see us for who we are and horror-struck, leave; or even a deconstruction of the heterosexual woman's fantasy of The Perfect Man, is instead a tired repetition of the Beauty-and-the-Beast trope. You can dress it up and put a gun-toting, career woman wig on it, but that disguise falls apart pretty quickly. Cha Ji Won openly states not once, but several times, that she would rather live the comfortable lie; it's only when even that isn't an option- and not because of her choice or agency, but circumstances and the man coming to a decision, that she begins to let go. But only for a little while- barely ten minutes in show time- because ultimately, this is a female wish fulfilment fantasy, isn't it? Her longsuffering perseverance is rewarded when he decides to mould himself to her fantasy version of him, and the past is erased, and time reset, complete with soft lighting and soaring soundtrack.

Some love stories are horror stories, but others are horror stories masquerading as love stories. Why are we so often sold the latter, and so accepting of the narrative gaslighting? When I look at the popularity of Search WWW vs Flower of Evil, I feel bitter despair and quite a lot of anger. Why do so many women- and it is women, who are producing this work, for women, primarily (I mean, romance, as a genre)- settle for so little? It's the twenty first century, I think, why are we still here, I rage, gnashing my teeth, and indulging in the vicious satisfaction of giving Flower of Evil a single star rating that will make not a dent in its popularity. If we can't demand and aspire to a better class of fantasy, what hope do we have? As you dream, so you will do.

I often think that these days feminism is made toothless because we're shaping it into something that will validate every little feeling of ours;  we don't want to be made uncomfortable by it. But feminism is not meant to make anyone comfortable; interrogating your own desires and pleasures is as much a part of smashing the patriarchy as fighting for fundamental human rights like bodily autonomy.

I guess, in the end, what I want to say is this: for the love of sanity, dream better.

[pleasantlegacy]

The Pleasant-Broke: Angela

The sweet angel, Angela has quite changed over the years. The divorce of her parents made her want to find prof for true love, despite the cost. And she found it, I mean, she never really had to look that far. Even though Dustin Broke could be a challenge, Angela could see he had a good heart. To her, he was always caring and sweet.

Also, Angela always envied his family: they loved each other so much… After the divorce of her parents everyone knew that the Pleasants were not that pleasant, and Angela found comfort in the thin walls of Dustin’s messy home. Brandi always treated her like a daughter and her food was much better than the frozen dinners.

She also had her grandparents, although she preferred talking to them over the phone, since they had little Danielle to take care of and Lilith visited them a lot.

Unfortunately, her relationship with Lilith didn’t recover much, however, they’re now more civilized and don’t fight or scream every five minutes. It wasn’t Angela’s fault that her parents had a problem with Lilith. To her concern, Angela’s life was not that easy either: she always had forced by her mum to take part in every school contest, from spelling to math and science or simhistory. And her father encouraged her too much, training her in various sports. At least, her sister had time to do what she wanted.

Speaking of her parents, the divorce happened right after she landed a spot on the athletic team, making her find her father way too much, despite not wanting to look to his face. Even though she didn’t like to see her father at all, she really started to enjoy being in the team. So much so she started training more outside of work, going for jogs, and cycling indoors when was cold. It was now an escape to her life since everyone enjoyed gossiping about the Pleasants these days.

The one thing her new job didn’t give her was approval from her mum. Right before turning eighteen, they offered her a professional contract for the seniors’ team. All that training really paid off!! She was so happy, but all Mary-Sue could think of was she wasn’t going to uni. “All the times I helped you studying, all the extra classes and extra credits… Are you really going to throw all that away?” Angela knew it was like she was choosing her dad’s side; except she was just being Angela… Was it really that bad she wasn’t going to university?

She wasn’t like her friends and neighbours, Dustin, and Dirk. They really wanted to go to college. Dustin wanted to live better than he lived before, and Dirk was literally made for college. Her sister wasn’t going to college either and mum didn’t make a big deal out of it!

Still, after her birthday, Angela stayed home. Her grandpa was ill, and mum’s belly was getting bigger day by day. She couldn’t leave now. She wasn’t like her sister. Family mattered. Besides, staying was a good idea. Her mum started to see how successful she was in the team, and after grandpa’s death grandma and Danielle moved in. Angela loved being closer to Coral.

After Garvey’s birth, she found out how much she liked babies. He was so little and cute!

But time, was time, and grandma didn’t last long after grandpa’s… It was harsh on the whole family… Fortunately, little Garvey helped brighten up each day.

Despite the cuteness, Angela still needed to work. And that also meant exercising out of work hours, resting well, and eating appropriately… Not waking up in the middle of the night to change a nappy, or having the fridge full of baby bottles.

So, after her long-time sweetheart proposed not only marriage but her moving in she immediately said yes. Dustin’s place was not far from her mum’s, besides, her mum had Danielle to help her around and keep company. And Dustin’s place could use a feminine touch.

Angela was now the happiest she’s ever been. Besides all the losses and drama. She had love, true love. She made amends with her dad, and he even came to the wedding, even if he still didn’t like Dustin. Also, Dustin surprised her with a full-on nature honeymoon.

But… All that sickness she was feeling for a couple weeks… Ups, it turned out she wasn’t just nervous with the wedding!

[harryglom]

UNORTHODOX- The Price of Freedom

(Spoilers for the entire mini series Unorthodox)

Unorthodox is a very conventional story and also an unprecedented one.

It is at its core a coming of age story, a fish out of water story, a marriage story and a drama about finding a meaningful life. However it is also the first high-budget mainstream exploration of the lives of members of the ultra-orthodox Jewish community. It gives voice to a woman, and in-turn many women like her, who have never been seen or heard from in mainstream media. We are party to the self discovery of a woman who has had too much expected of her from God, her community and herself. She escapes to Berlin from New York, running away from a life without freedom to a liberal metropolis resting atop a historic centre of Jewish hatred, the regime her own grandparents had escaped from. The show refuses to give easy answers, happy endings or tragic melodrama: we are witness to a single part of Esty's story and in it we see her begin to assert power in her life or, at the very least, recognise she has more power over it than she had previously thought.

Esty's journey is shown in two timelines: her time in Williamsburg transitioning into a marriage with the well-meaning Yankee whilst under the watchful eye of the community and her time in Berlin, having befriended a group of liberal musicians who help her to adjust to the outside world. The scenes themselves are often matter of fact but the depth of the performances, the pacing, cinematography and music create an atmosphere that allows its naturalism to transcend into more than a slice of life drama. Berlin is distilled into its most outlandish: bars spill out onto the streets, clubs are loud and full of smoke, coffee shops are alien and austere, concert halls are modern and bright, fashion is extraneous, flesh is bared and squares are packed full of men and women from all walks of life. We can sympathise with Esty if her curiosity blooms or she gets overwhelmed by this modern world due to the sheer vividness of the city the show brings to life.

Between these frames, for most of the run-time, stands our protagonist: Esty Shapiro. Her world view is communicated quietly, often silently, in the way her eyes interact with the world around her. The subtlety of her characterisation is married with the movement of the camera: when Esty is stressed or determined we follow her closely, the outside world blurred into insignificance whilst when she chooses to observe the world, time is taken to pick up the sort of details she would also be acknowledging. From the smaller moments, like noting the strangeness of night club wrist stamps and the initial starkness of seeing queer intimacy shown in front of her without shame, or grander changes, like naked bodies at the beach or the beauty of an orchestra operating as a single organism-- the camera and Esty are unified. This makes us intimately aware of who she is, how much this experience means to her and, thanks to the flashbacks, how much she fights to be the person we see in front of us.

The behaviour of the Ultra-Orthodox community is realised with unflinching realism. Where lesser dramas would have made moralistic tales about any number of the themes touched upon-- post-Holocaust guilt, cultural trauma, matchmaking and arranged marriages, gossip and pride, gender roles, alcoholism and gambling addiction within the community, the relationship of the community to other Jewish streams and Israel, the tactics deployed to control the community and alienate those who do successfully escape-- they are explored as they would be experienced. These are all just parts of people's lives: they're presented anecdotally, matter-of-factly and, because of the pressures of the community to appear perfect, suppressed from being discussed explicitly. The most frank exploration of a single issue is in the third episode, arguably the show's best, where the story uses both timelines to interrogate and reclaim female sexuality. This may sound like hyperbole, but the rigidity and oppression of sexual norms, the objectification of Esty's body that is enforced by both men and women alike, recalls The Handmaid's Tale at its worse and it is abominable that any woman should live as deprived of information, emotional support or the right to consent. Even when Esty quotes the Talmud, that textually demands of men the pleasuring of women, Yankee simply says that women shouldn't read the Talmud. The frustration, ignorance and pain is expressed viscerally and uncomfortably.

Yet, in another way that recalls The Handmaid's Tale, the Berlin timeline adopts a very tactile filming style and direction that allows us to empathise with a point of view that has become more appreciative for what they've been denied: where desire cannot be stated frankly, where the language to invite affection is alien and bodies are beautiful and mysterious. This episode shows this reclamation of sexuality juxtaposed with the reveal of the moment Esty decides to pursue her freedom at all. With very few words at all, having withheld her thoughts from the blinded Yanky, she stands alone in a corridor and we know exactly what she is thinking. The catalyst for Esty running away is not the sexual imprisonment, the absolute lack of connection or personability with anyone around her nor the restrictions put upon her pursuing her passions but Yanky's demand for a divorce. It symbolises a multifaceted betrayal of her faith, her body, her dignity and, ultimately, every sacrifice she made for them. This triggers a single disillusionment that makes Esty's story possible: that this is no place for her child to grow up. This profound moment rests upon an incredibly moving performance and a script brimming full of understated depth.

The show should also be praised for some of its peripheral characters. Yanky is not a typical brute but a devout, vulnerable and lost little boy. Esty's aunt is as much an Orthodox woman as she is a fighter for her family's dignity. Moshe is no two dimensional villain but a man who played his hand at life beyond the walls of the community and lost. However the character most deserved of praise is that of Yael, an Israeli born music student at the conservatory Esty auditions for. She, as an Israeli-born Jew, takes Esty's experiences for granted, diminishes her community's felt Holocaust guilt, laments to her non-Jewish friends with uncaring abandon the terrifying reality of Esty's own life and calls her a baby machine. She represents a subtle nuance never before explored on television: that the wider Jewish community, for thinking they know about people like Esty and for wanting to distance themselves from being identified with that kind of Judaism, can actually be their most harsh and inconsiderate critics.

One character that could have done with more development is that of Esty's mother. Though portrayed to perfection, balancing a calm earnestness with a hidden maternal strength, there is not enough time to open her life up in the way it could have been. Queerness is visible in the show. There are two out gay couples, including one that Esty's mother is a part of. It feels strange that there is no articulation in either timeline of the homophobia that must have driven Esty's mother from the community but also the opinions that would be residual in Esty, having never been exposed to gay people in her life. Whilst the deftness with which some issues are taken as they are is admirable, this seems like a topic that would have invited a conversation between mother and daughter or, at the very least, Esty and anyone in her group of friends.

Regardless of any shortcomings, Unorthodox is a series that will stick with you for a long time. It offers a unique perspective of the modern world from the point of view of someone who has been locked away from it. Partly a modern-day fairy tale where modern life becomes a wonderland and partly the harrowing struggle of an outsider to find freedom. The series cements the success of its story with the ambiguity of its ending. We don't know how Esty will deal with motherhood, whether she will get her scholarship, how she will react to her grandmother's death, how she will fight against the community's attempts to intimidate her out of her child's life. The viewer and Esty have discovered the world together. She has friends and her mother on her side. We've seen her grow into a fighter and recognise, alone in a cafe with a quiet smile, that no price is too high for her freedom.

[klaineccfanficlibrary]

Do you know any KLAINE fanfics in california?

There are 15 fic recs under the cut. Happy Reading! - HKVoyage

Ride by @nellie12

Blaine is pretty popular in his city of Long Beach, CA. Summer is here and he’s ready to spend it with friends- BMX bike riding in the skate park and surfing when the waves are perfect. Flirting with girls is a definite. But when a new kid from Ohio shows up, Blaine finds himself wanting to share all these things with him, too. But Kurt’s just his friend, right?

~~~~~

Sotto Voce by GSJwrites

Wine critic Kurt Hummel can make or break careers with his column for Taste Magazine. But when his publisher orders him to spend a year profiling rising stars of California’s wine country and organizing a competition between the big name wineries of Napa and the smaller artisan wineries of Sonoma, his world gets turned upside-down by an enigmatic young winemaker who puts art before business.

~~~~~

Needles & Thread by msslss  [PDF only]

While a student at NYU, Kurt visits his family who recently moved to Southern California. A chance encounter in the unlikeliest of places may just spark the one thing Kurt lacks: romance.

~~~~~

Haunted by a Broken Record by DaybyDay

Once in awhile things make sense. A lot of times, they don't. Blaine Anderson and Kurt Hummel lose and find one another once again; this time under the California sunset. Kurt/Blaine

~~~~~

All for you by reidbetweentheelines

“Never be afraid to love.” Too bad Kurt never wants to find his soulmate, but sometimes fate has a funny way of doing the exact opposite of what you’d like. After the death of his father, Kurt moves to California to live with his cousin Nick Duval. A new state, new school, new family, and a Grammy nominated singer who wants nothing more than to find his soulmate.

~~~~~

Something Unpredictable by tonks42

Kurt moves from New York City to Los Angeles to take a job working in the wardrobe department of a television show. Once there, he’s introduced to Tina and Mike’s ex-roommate, Blaine. The two hit it off, but will their budding romance be derailed when Blaine unexpectedly takes custody of his nephew? 

~~~~~

If I Could Use Your Love by raeofultraviolet  

Blaine Anderson is an incredibly talented musician living in Los Angeles and trying to make a name for himself. He is also incredibly shy and can’t assert himself enough to get in the limelight. When a chance meeting with Kurt Hummel, a famous actor, opens up an opportunity for him, how can he say no? The only problem is, it requires the two of them to lie to everyone around them.

~~~~~

Rumor Has It by @xxxraquelita

When their careers took off, and took them from New York to Los Angeles, Blaine and Kurt had dealt with their agents and friends all giving them the same advice – end their engagement if they wanted to be successful. So they had. It took years for for any of it to come back to them, but when it did, it certainly did, and the truth was more than anyone anticipated.

~~~~~

Make a Lover of Me by @twobirdsonesong

Kurt Hummel has just moved from Ohio to Los Angeles and he has no idea what he's doing there. He begins an internship at a talent agency where he meets Blaine Anderson, an assistant who has more to his name than Kurt knows.

~~~~~

It Takes Two by AlexaCardew

In 2009, recent college graduate Kurt Hummel takes a job as talent agent Ari Gold’s assistant and is asked to pretend date Blaine Anderson to help with the actor’s coming out. All hell breaks lose when a jealous co-star and the media get involved.

~~~~~

Letter to a G.I. by DyrneKeeper

Cast opposite the successful actor and performer Blaine Anderson as a romantic lead in a historic drama Kurt, a relative newcomer to the screen, has to learn to navigate his relationship with his character – and with his co-star.

~~~~~

Every Word by pene

After years apart Kurt and Blaine have moved on from one another and built separate lives. Kurt is developing a quiet reputation off-Broadway. Blaine is a fledgling musical theatre writer and producer on the West Coast.

Then they reconnect - because of the music, because of the theater. Because of course they do.

"This show is Blaine’s baby. The madness is that the only person he can picture in the lead role is a boy he has been failing to forget for six years."

Sequel: Every Road 

~~~~~

Those Summer Nights by thelilacfield

Kurt Hummel and Rachel Berry are the power couple of Hollywood, madly in love and smiling for the cameras. But in private, their marriage is one of convenience and friendship. Until Rachel decides to hire a young and gorgeous pool boy and Kurt starts to wonder if he wants this for the rest of his life.

~~~~~

Not Like the Movies by Knightlycat

When new Hollywood golden boy Kurt Hummel receives some disturbing letters, his manager hires bodyguard Blaine Anderson to be with him 24 hours a day. In an attempt to hide Blaine’s true identity from the press they decide he needs to go undercover…as Kurt’s boyfriend. Famous!Kurt Nevermet!AU

~~~~~

Find Your Freedom in the Music by Teilo

Elizabeth A. Hummel died on September 11, 2001 at the World Trade Center. While visiting his grandparents in California Kurt decides to throw away all his future plans in order to honor his mother’s memory.

[kainumbernine009]

I literally cannot do anything else until I get this out.

I’m... really not okay.

And when I say that, I’m not mentally unstable. I say that because I’m tired of waiting on empty promises, I’m tired of never having money in our account, I’m tired of living in a fucking city where half of the white people fucking worship the ground Trump walks on, and where most of the gay community has so much messy drama that it’s worse than middle school. And I went to a rough middle school.

I never talk about my past, because I don’t like to. It sucked. HARD. Being and only child in my family was nothing less than torture, especially as a closeted queer person. We grew up in the white Christian part of Nashville that dominated Music Row in the 90′s and early 2000′s. I played basketball with Alan Jackson’s daughter, and being around famous people was just no big deal. But, my parents decided to leave Nashville after my dad lost his job at TPAC, and we moved down south an hour to the town where the KKK got started (Pulaski, TN).

I had maybe two non-white people in my private Christian school growing up. I was never afraid of Black people, but my parents showed their racist asses quick when we moved there. The KKK has never left America, guys, no matter how many articles you read or studies you do. From 2005 to 2009 I saw a white town show its very worst to the Black community. I’ll never forget the first time I saw a march for “White Christians for Purity” the summer before Obama got elected. The disgust I felt inside was palpable. I had all kinds of friends in school, and I didn’t give TWO SHITS who they were or what they looked like... but I saw children my age, being brainwashed by their parents, that “white” is “right.”

Ever since then, I have been learning and growing about the issues of race. I remember my white classmates using the N word and getting away with it. I remember hearing about the principal at the high school punishing all the Black kids but not the white kids. I remember being invited to a church south of town that was a historically Black church, and how nice the ladies were to me for coming.

But I’ll never forget the racism that the religious groups promoted there, especially First Baptist Church and the 12 Tribes. I’ll never forget how FBC told me that my friend was going to Hell because she killed herself. I’ll never forget my mom telling me not to marry a Black man because of “impure genes.” I WILL NEVER FORGET THE INJUSTICES I SAW WHITE PEOPLE DOING TO BLACK PEOPLE THERE. NEVER.

And thank God, I have shaken the burden of religious guilt, but I still fight against this mentality. I live in a place that’s usually not even 10 minutes away from Trump-humping, sister-fucking, meth-addicted Confederate cunts in any direction. And we’re even closer to the rich white people who silently supported him, upset that their taxes would go up because of Biden.

And in the past four years since Trump got elected, I’ve gotten married, graduated college with honors, started my own photography business, and was making more than my husband there for a minute. I did my own taxes, marketing, editing, and everything. And then I came out as trans.

I lost everything.

I lost my studio. I lost friends. I had rumors started about me. I had people post hate messages on my wall. I had people at my drag shows tell others not to tip me, for whatever fucking reasons. I’ve had bosses give cis people jobs over me, and I’ve had government workers give me second looks when I hand them my license.

It. Fucking. Sucks. To. Live. Here. Like. This.

Oh yeah, did I mention I’m also a witch/medium? I’ve talked to dead people before and have told their relatives things I shouldn’t have known otherwise about their grandparents. Like, this information doesn’t even exist on Google. And I’m attuned to reiki. I’m always aware of what’s happening on at least SOME metaphysical level. This is a gift that I’ve had to go through life developing and learning about myself, with no one’s help but me.

I didn’t even know until I was an adult that I have autism and ADHD.

I’ve taken bullets from people who were about to kill themselves. I’ve yelled at 5th grade music classrooms for doing racist dance moves and appropriating Native Americans (I have a degree in Music Education K-12). I’ve consoled kids in classrooms who suddenly have panic attacks. AND I’ve told horny teenagers to stay in their fucking lane and respect the girls around them. I’ve apparently been an inspiration to those around me, but inspiration NOR exposure pays the bills. I’ve already had COVID, and so has my husband, but I knew that after graduating college that I would never have a fulfilling life being a music teacher in Tennessee’s public schools.

And now that we have COVID, and an orange, small-dicked, pedophilic, rape apologizing, dirty, crusty white president who STILL REFUSES TO CONCEDE, who is DIRECTLY RESPONSIBLE FOR HAVING HIS FOLLOWERS SEND DEATH THREATS TO MY FAMILY, I really don’t know what the fuck else to do other than go burn down all the houses I know of in North Georgia that belong to these Christian sex cult pedophiles and call it a day. My girlfriend unfortunately was born into one of those families, and I know just how bad it can get. In fact, her dad’s lawyer threatened me with blackmail earlier in November, so that was fun!

And now, on December 11, 2020, I’m still sitting here in the same fucking house, doing the same fucking things I’ve been doing all year - trying to get a job and failing horribly. I’M SICK AND TIRED OF THIS COVID BULLSHIT AND OUR INCOMPOTENT CUNT OF A PRESIDENT! And there’s only ever one other person I’ve ever called a cunt... my own mother.

I’ve lived in many places. I’ve met many different people. I’ve made mistakes, and have grown, but there’s one thing for damn sure that I always make sure to do, every single fucking day.

I ALWAYS try to do better.

In addition to this, I treat everyone with the same amount of respect, unless they have done something directly to me to negate that. If I know that someone believes in something that directly harms me or my family, I don’t even associate with them. I don’t spend my energy on things that don’t need it. And everyone else should, too.

The problem with some of y’all is that you care about the wrong things. Like will Becky text me back or did I get front row seats to that concert, or did I slave my life away to capitalism just so that I can own a Mercedes and have my friends jealous. I’ve had way too many dear death experiences to know that EVERY single fucking day is a gift. EVERY day.

I don’t want to be remembered first for the art I create. I want to be remembered for my character. I want to be remembered as the courageous person who never backed down in the face of adversity. But when you live in a place that already hates you and that is against you, that’s really fucking hard. Trust me. My marriage went from a cis straight passing couple to a white gay passing couple. I’ve seen how people’s attitudes changed around me as I transitioned. I know what it feels like to slowly lose a piece of your privilege you were born with.

So yeah, I kinda get a little fucking upset when I see people saying All Lives Matter, or when I see doctors refusing to treat trans patients in pandemics, or when I see cops YET AGAIN harassing Black people only a few blocks away from my house for no other reason than racism. And at this point, anyone who thinks they know me but only knows what people think they know about me can suck my entire ass and eat ten dicks. I don’t give a FUCK about who you are or what you’ve done. If you treat me or other people with no respect for no reason other than to be an asshole, you’re just plain shit. If you SERIOUSLY believe every little rumor and lie that someone tells about me before meeting me, fuck you AND the horse you rode in on.

What I can’t stand is people doing or saying things just to get a rise out of me or others. I thought we left petty shit in high school. Some of the people that “know” me really need to fucking grow up and grow a pair and either say what they want to my face, or stay mad. I’m tired of playing fucking petty games with y’all. We have a whole ass pandemic to solve.

So here’s the ultimatum... if you agree that Black Lives Matter and that queer people deserve basic human rights, EVEN THE ONES YOU HATE, then that’s the bare minimum to even be a decent person. If you can’t even do those things, then I don’t fucking know what else to say to you.

So NBC, maybe not have John Mulaney joke about my license debacle with my gold van on SNL, and Seth Meyers... maybe HIRE ME INSTEAD of Mulaney because clearly y’all don’t know about the south as much as I do? Oh, and that gazeebo joke with Lee University... I caught that. I may have autism, but I’m not a fucking idiot. I mean. I’m funny when I’m given the chance. And yeah, I’m on a watchlist, but who the fuck isn’t these days? At least all my secrets are out for the world to see, and I have a bangin’ tattoo.

I’m tired of everyone being like “omg, I’ve seen what he can do, it’s fantastic!” or “omg you’re so funny haha” and bragging on me and then NOT FUCKING HIRING ME. I’m TIRED of waiting on something that’s clearly at this point never coming.

I don’t even have testicles, and my balls are bigger than most of the cis men I have EVER met.

So, if you want to help me, or hire me, or get me out to an audition... I’ll be there. But until then, I’m so fucking MAD at some of these producers. Yeah, my mom is a cunt, but she worked in various forms of digital production from the 1980′s until she retired this year. She taught me SO MUCH about directing, writing, shooting, and more. I know how these things are supposed to run behind the scenes. I know what the fuck I’m doing, and I don’t take constructive criticism like a bitch. I actually WANT to be criticized, so I can do even better.

So PLEASE, for the love of Christ... y’all need to get your priorities together AND PLEASE STOP LEAVING ME OUT OF THE LOOP WITH THIS BULLSHIT. Grow a fucking pair and either call me, email me, or leave me alone. It’s really not that fucking hard. Looking at you, Lorne Michaels.

Oh and someone tell my husband what the fuck’s been going on because I’m tired of him gaslighting me about it.

[homenum-revelio-hq]

Welcome to the Order of the Phoenix, James!

You have been accepted for the role of ALARIC MCKINNON with the faceclaim change of Charles Michael Davis! (Details for Alaric & Marlene’s background will come following discussion with their players.) We really enjoyed reading about how Alaric’s tough exterior can get him into some trouble with others from time to time. We’re also looking forward to his interactions in relationship with the wolves! Welcome to the roleplay!

Please take a look at the new member checklist and send in your account within 24 hours! Thank you for joining the fight against Voldemort!

OUT OF CHARACTER:

NAME & PRONOUNS: James, He/Him

AGE: 24

TIMEZONE: EST for the next two months, after that it may change!

ACTIVITY LEVEL: I’m currently in job school, so I’ll have the evenings and weekends free!

ANYTHING ELSE: I have about 10 years of RP experience, 7 of those being on tumblr. I’m currently active duty military, so my timezone and availability may change here and there, but I should have more than enough free time to be very, very active here!

CHARACTER DETAILS:

NAME: Alaric McKinnon

AGE: 26

GENDER, PRONOUNS, and SEXUALITY: Male, He/Him, Straight

BLOOD STATUS: Pureblood

HOUSE ALUMNI: Hufflepuff

ANY CHANGES: Could I change his faceclaim to Charles Michael Davis? I feel like he fits this character perfectly, as do the gif/photo resources that are available for him! I couldn’t picture anyone else in my head reading his biography.

CHARACTER BACKGROUND:

PERSONALITY: While he has a solid heart, Alaric’s tough outer exterior has gotten him into trouble handful of times. He’s stubborn and strong willed, and has trouble seeing things from other people’s perspectives, but he’s also fiercely loyal to his family and friends and would go to any lengths to keep them safe. Having left his life to set off on his own grand adventures shortly after graduating, Alaric found that the things that made home, well, home, were the things he wouldn’t find anywhere else in the world—family. Sure, family could include more than those who share blood, but to Alaric, no one means more to him than those who share his name.   While not a “blood purist” by any means, Alaric has always been very proud of his name and family history, even if he doesn’t always agree with their decisions. The young man feels his family plays a large part of what defines who he is: a proud, loyal and hardworking man just trying to make his way in the world.

BRIEF OVERVIEW OF FAMILY: Being raised on property that required hard work turned out to be one of the biggest blessings in his life. Alaric was raised on the farm, one of many McKinnon siblings, and learned early in his life the value of hard work. He will forever be thankful for the work ethic his father instilled in him as he grew up, teaching him the value of a galleon and that all things worth having come from hard work.  While he found it easy to get lost among his siblings when it came to having their parent’s attention, it forced him to become independent at a young age—another one of the important life lessons he was glad he learned early. Though they had their hands full, his parents were always careful to make sure each child had what they needed to be successful in school and beyond, and while some of the other siblings have left to pursue their own lives and careers, Alaric always knew deep down that his future was right here.

OCCUPATION: Alaric works full time on the family farm- there’s surely no shortage of work to be done. And with a werewolf community so close by… he often wonders how safe it would be, for his family, for him to be away for any extended period of time.

ROLE WITHIN THE ORDER/THOUGHTS ABOUT THE ORDER: While he can’t bring himself to resent Marlene for bringing the Order to their doorstep (literally), he resents the Order for taking over his home like they have. Was it even his home anymore? He knew Marlene had the best intentions bringing them here, but he finds the lot of them dangerous and an unnecessary risk to his family.

SURVIVAL: Because their business had been unaffected, and it was so easy to remain isolated on their property, thus far Alaric has heeded his father’s advice to ‘stay out of it’. ‘Let the politicians fight their own bloody wars,’ he’d been told, ‘No need to go catch the wrong end of a killing curse for people who wouldn’t do the same for you.’ The inevitable reality that one day, especially now that the Order has moved in, the Death Eaters might show up on their doorstep demanding answers was becoming more and more apparent to Alaric, and while he’d love to continue to pretend the world isn’t falling apart around him, he’s not sure how much longer he can carry on his indifference.

RELATIONSHIPS: Alaric made some good friends in London during his time away, but since he’s been home he’s spent most of the time with his family. He knows he would never forgive himself if something happened to one of them, so he works hard to look out for them (especially the younger ones) and consequently hasn’t had much time for friends. While his parents are still eager to find him a wife (despite his declarations that he was perfectly capable of finding someone himself, thank you very much), he hasn’t found anyone yet that he feels is a perfect match. “Never settle,” his grandfather once told him, and he didn’t intend to- if he had a marriage one day that was half as happy as his grandparents had been, he’ll have accomplished one of his bigger goals in life. Not that he’d ever tell anyone that it was.

OOC EXPLORATION:

SHIPS/ANTI-SHIPS: I don’t have any in mind, but if the chemistry is right and works, I wouldn’t be opposed to it! It would have to be someone either soft enough to melt his tough exterior, or stubborn and hard-headed enough to challenge him on equal footing.

WHAT PRIVILEGES AND BIASES DOES YOUR CHARACTER HAVE? Alaric has a very obvious bias against the werewolves, one that existed even before they lived in the woods just off his property. He’s not ashamed of it, as he feels its justly warranted- after all, he reasons, look at all the horrible things the werewolves have done in history. While he doesn’t consider himself prejudice when it comes to blood status, he does have a bit of an issue with people who don’t value family. It’s hard for him to accept those who turn their backs on their family, mostly because he has trouble realizing not everyone was as lucky as him when it comes to a happy upbringing.

WHAT ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO? The whole layout, development and organization of the main really caught my attention, and after digging into the plot/characters/world building I knew I had to be a part of it! I’m looking forward to writing with everyone and delving into some deep, character driven threads that really develop Alaric and push him beyond his comfortable boundaries!

PLOT DROP IDEAS: It would be an interesting plot drop to have some of the werewolves forget to take their potion (or perhaps it was tampered with to be ineffective?) on one of their full moons? Could be a fun Halloween drop- suddenly you have several out of control werewolves on the property and everyone running for their lives? Just an idea off the top of my head! Perhaps someone wasn’t killed, but infected? The fallout would definitely create drama too!

ANYTHING ELSE? Thanks for reading my application! I’m excited to hear from you.