#also Rose is the one that gets really close with all of them like Eleven did with the Ponds

[time-like-tears-in-rain]

It would solve so many problems. Maybe Amy does end up with her weird little three episode crush on the Doctor, but then there's the Second Rose and Amy goes "oh. oops." And moves on! Without the really weird intervention of a "dream lord." River Song nonsense drama? Second Rose and Eleventh Doctor exchange a look of "What the fuck was that about?" and move on.

Clara needs someone to pose as her boyfriend? Second Rose thinks it's hilarious and volunteers the Eleven, like yeah sure he hates this stuff, it'll be a riot. Eleven gets a god complex? Second Rose is soon to follow because regeneration probably does a number on a human mind, even one that was capable of going through All Of That.

She and Bill get along great, maybe we're on the Third Rose now, she regenerated before Eleven, and she's older, and finds it hysterical because he's always been older than her, every time, and then when Eleven regenerates and Twelve is older than Rose again he acts like he won and then "....wait. No, I didn't' want to win this game."

And it all works because even as a couple, they're still just Like That. They're friends. They're best friends. Hand holding and hugs aside, they still don't ever kiss on screen. It's a running gag that we never heard the Doctor say he loves her. It's implied, and implied that Rose has heard it, that others have, but we sure never do. We have finally gotten rid of unnecessary romantic subplots.

Fourth Rose is a handsome ginger man and Thirteen is furious, "What you only like women?"

"Where have you been? No, THIRTEEN regenerations and I have never once been ginger, and YOU get it on your FOURTH go. That's not fair!" (Maybe Rose goes by Ross or Rob or something, and the Doctor gets to say something stupid about a Rose by any other name, and Fourth Rose: "that was a bad line even for you."). When Jack runs into them he assumes Rose is the Doctor and vice versa, until he tries to flirt with someone and Thirteen is the one to tell him to stop while Fourth Rose laughs, which is how he figures it out.

Fifth Rose is when we'd beg for Billie to come back for the 60th. Something happens to take down both her and Thirteen and they regenerate around the same moment, and see each other like "What YOUR FACE!" "Is it bad?!!" "No but it's...! "OH MY GOD YOU!!!!" "Doctor, how often does this happen???" "NEVER????" "We couldn't get your Ninth face back? I miss that face." "I'd be jealous of myself if I didn't already have a headache."

I'm just saying, if taking on the Vortex could have granted Rose the ability to regenerate, they could have used that to let Billie step out of the limelight like she wanted, and Rose could have stayed as a character. Maybe she isn't there all the time, but she exists which is a fantastic way to axe any and all future romantic drama on the show.

[howtofightwrite]

Sorry if you’ve already answered this, I’m having trouble finding different posts in your blog.

I know a lot of your asks are more practical-related, but how do you suggest fully encapsulating the horror and tragedy of war in a (fantasy) battle scene? I really need that emotional and gory impact but it also to seem reasonably realistic.

My favourite references are Battle of the Bastards in GoT and scenes from Lord of the Rings.

Thanks!!

Martin and Tolkien are not two authors I’d ever expect to find together when discussing thematic and abstract concepts like the horrors of war in their writing. One of them is extremely deep, and the other is a puddle. Neither of them are particularly “realistic” but only one of them claims that pretense while drawing from real history. If you’re wanting horrors of war, you’re much better off moving away from Martin and taking a gander at the actual War of the Roses.

Let me explain.

Tolkien served as an officer during World War I. By sheer body count, The Great War was one of the most bloody and brutal wars in human history. As a point of reference, over a million soldiers died during the Battle of Somme. Perhaps as importantly, World War I killed the cultural concept of the Summer War. Before World War I, the British upper class viewed war as a game. War was an adventure, something young men did between reaching manhood and getting married. Watson from Sherlock Holmes is an excellent example of the end result for this particular outlook. They figured they’d go off, have some jolly good fun, get a few scars, and be back in a few weeks in time for tea. What they got was a meat grinder. Two of Tolkien’s close friends died during the war. He also lived through the bombings during World War II while working as a professor at Oxford, he experienced the devastating effects that war had on the civilian population first hand, and, likely, saw a few of his students die. Despite his hatred of allegory, the man was working through some shit in The Lord of the Rings.

If you’re interested in learning more about World War I or even about effectively demonstrating the horrors of war, I do recommend reading All Quiet on the Western Front. I read it once in high school (more years ago than I’d like to admit here) and, much like Elie Wiesel, it has stuck with me. It was also such an effective anti-war novel the Nazis banned it and it was one of the first books they publicly burnt, so you know it’s good.

Back to Tolkien.

What they don’t tell you about fantasy is that it’s real life, just with elves and dwarves and magic. The real world forms the foundation of fantasy and it’s the humanity of the emotional experience in war, the good and the bad, with both ends cranked all the way to eleven that really makes Tolkien’s work so impactful. LOTR is operatic by design, but what keeps the narrative from falling into melodrama is the core thematic message underneath the pageantry. One of the major themes is hope, which gets symbolized in light, and hope’s interplay with despair, symbolized in darkness. Not just a rosy view of it either, but the genuine struggle to keep the light burning against all the overwhelming reasons to give up or give in. Tolkien allows his characters to be corrupted and redeemed, their struggle with temptation before ultimately choosing the better path or failing and falling into darkness. He commits to the idea that hope can be restored in the unlikeliest of places.

Boromir’s death is, perhaps, one of the best examples of Tolkien’s philosophy in action. Boromir is a character we’re not sure of, he wants the one ring from the outset, he’s the only one advocating that it shouldn’t be destroyed. The hearts of men are easily corrupted. When he tries to take the ring from Frodo, he falls into his worst instincts and breaks the Fellowship. But then, against the overwhelming flood of Uruk-hai, Boromir tries to save Merry and Pippin. He fights wounded, shot again, and again, until he’s felled by twenty arrows and he fails. Yet, in his failure he restores Aragorn’s hope in his people, gives him a reason to fight for Gondor, and inspires the audience to believe in Man’s potential for greatness.

Tolkien could have left Boromir in the dark, but he didn’t. He could’ve given into cynicism, but he didn’t. In every adaptation, Boromir’s death never fails to get me bawling. Boromir is both good and bad, both dark and light, his best and worst instincts are driven by the same underlying, sympathetic reason—his desire to save his people and fulfill his duty to his father.

On the whole, I find Tolkien’s presentation of the human condition and war to be more compelling and realistic than Martin’s. Tolkien’s underlying themes have more in common with All Quiet on the Western Front, Saving Private Ryan, and HBO’s Band of Brothers. For all that his characters often feel larger than life (by design, he’s telling an epic) there’s always a grounding quality that allows the audience to connect with them. Whether we agree with Tolkien’s core thematic message or not, Tolkien genuinely has something to say about warfare and its effect, both on personal and world changing levels, and he communicates that message very well.

The irony about the “horrors of war” isn’t about the horrors of war. Thematically, the “horrors of war” is about who we choose to become in the face of them when trapped in the crucible. Do we rise to our best selves? Do we fall to our worst? When every illusion about who we believe we are is stripped away, what’s left? It’s an existential question, not a “realistic” one.

You can’t write about the horrors of war in fiction if you have nothing to say about war, humanity, and its effects. All you’ll end up with is gore for shock value. The world becomes hopelessly depressing, and, in the end, all the blood turns brown before it’s finally shat out.

Hi, Martin.

Don’t get me wrong, Martin is a very skilled writer. His prose is genuinely beautiful and his first book in ASOF, A Game of Thrones is actually a pretty decent deconstruction in the traditional fantasy narrative and a fairly realistic treatment of how events would go for the standard well-meaning fantasy protagonist. And that’s… the deepest we get.

Martin comes out of the 24/Joss Whedon death for shock value school of writing and the land of Iron Age comics that doesn’t have anything to really say beyond, “people suck.” Underneath it all is a level of cynicism in the human condition that would make Garth Ennis blush. The deaths are just shock value. There’s nothing more to it than that. Once you’ve acclimated to the gore, there’s nowhere else to go and nothing else to think about. Ironically, out of his contemporaries, Robert Jordan is better at giving both war and death in his narrative lasting effect, driving character growth, and real meaning.

Martin and Tolkien are opposite ends of the spectrum in their approach to war and their outlooks are utterly incompatible. One of them is a complete cynic and the other is facing himself honestly, openly, fearlessly, and without a smidgen of irony. (The true irony here is that the latter is the Englishman.) Following Martin’s blueprint won’t bring you to a Tolkien outcome. Tolkien’s genuine emotion is the subject of mockery in Martin’s world. Season 8 may’ve been clumsy and infuriating, but it was the natural end of Comic Book Iron Age cynicism. There are no good people, people with power can never be trusted, and all heroes, no matter how noble, reveal their true colors as villains in the end. As Christopher Nolan said, “You either die a hero or live long enough to become a villain.” This philosophical outlook may be sold as realistic but it’s really just Political Both Sidesism, Fantasy Edition.

The irony is that the real history Martin draws from, The War of the Roses, is simultaneously crueler, kinder, more noble, more horrific, more impactful, and ultimately more hopeful than Martin’s own work. And this was post the Hundred Years War and all the wars that preceded it.

I bring you, the Duality of Man.

If you want to write a realistic battle scene, start with real war. If you want to write about the horrors of war, start with real war. Pick a war, any war, and dig in. Reading the experiences of others is a way to gain insight into experiences you yourself don’t share and start to process the different philosophies born out of those experiences. The horror of war is a human one.

The most important lesson is that you won’t get there by focusing on the battle itself. To truly feel the impact, every character needs to be carefully built from the very beginning with a through line to every horrific event that happens to them. If you want to learn how to do that, then you need to go study every single war movie from good to bad (including the jingoistic rah-rah ones) like Apocalypse Now, Saving Private Ryan, Battle for Iwo Jima, etc, to really start internalizing the underlying storytelling structure and character design formula that makes those films tick. There’s no one better at portraying the horror and humanity of war than the war film industry. Part of what makes the best of these films really good is their willingness to allow their characters to be emotional and vulnerable. Which you won’t find in a lot of fantasy novels that run on machismo, but is the secret sauce that gives Tolkien his impact.

Having the confidence to allow your characters to struggle, be vulnerable, experience humiliating circumstances, and appear weak is an aspect of writing that a lot of men and women struggle with. Cynicism is a form of self-protection to keep those emotions away, to keep one from being emotionally invested, and is a means by which we protect ourselves from being hurt. We may portray cynicism as the more realistic reality but it’s just a cloak we hide behind. Martin’s approach to warfare is less realistic than Tolkien’s. Tolkien’s characters approach warfare with an eye toward protecting their civilians, safeguarding their future, or, in the case of his villains, focus on genocide. War for Tolkien is the eradication of civilization and the destruction of the future. Characters from experienced combatants to innocent civilians are willing to risk their lives for a world and for the people who matter to them. Martin has the Summer War. It’s there in the title, A Game of Thrones. An entertaining charade of musical chairs. And while all of his characters are chasing power, almost none of them have any sort of vision or goal for the future beyond the accumulation of more. In Martin’s world, the only way to truly win is not to play, but in the real world playing is the only way to create the world you want. Cynicism ends with no seats at the table and no means to change or save anything.

It’s funny because England during the War of the Roses had been in a state of near constant warfare for hundreds of years with their own domestic powers and France prior to the War of the Roses kicking off. The concept of a Summer War didn’t really exist for the medieval nobility. Much as we joke today about war being a game for medieval nobles due to their ransom protections, it really wasn’t. The peasantry was also much, much more dangerous en masse than they are in ASOF. They drove traveling monarchs to hide in monasteries plenty of times and, while that’s funny, it’s not actually a joke.

Now, picture Joffrey dragged off his horse in the middle of a riot and having his skull crushed by a local fishwife right before being trampled into a bloody, unrecognizable pulp by sharp hooves.

Or enjoying the Agincourt bathing route.

You’re welcome.

-Michi

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[haute-pockette]

The Doctor's incarnations have fears associated to what caused their regenerations Two acting childlike and whimsical because he's afraid of growing old again. He's scared of becoming a crotchety old man that will die alone. He surrounds himself with friends just as he much with surrogates, to help him feel like he isn't too old to be running about having adventures. Three having a lot of complex and mixed feelings about the Time Lords. He resents them for what they did to him and his companions, but also very scared of facing that fate again should cross their path once more. Four can't stand spiders. They didn't directly kill him, but damn did they play a big part leading up to his regeneration. They give him the willies and Sarah Jane and Romana always have to take care of invading arachnids while he is perched safely on the center console. Five hating heights might actually be canon, he's shown freaking out on a cliff in Castrovalva and hating every minute of a plane ride in Time Flight. Boy likes to keep his feet firmly where he doesn't risk falling. He'll get vertigo if too close to a ledge. Six being scared of getting sick. While this one is more vague, it was the fever of Spectrox Toxemia that kills, so I could see him being panicky and over compensating when it comes to illnesses. Pulls manflu pity every time: bed rest, tea, soup, hot waterbottle on the forehead, reciting rhetoric about his woes. Poor Peri and Mel has to tend to his drama. I can also see him hating bats but in a "why can't you fuckers make more than a tiny vial of milk, asshole???" kind of way. I think Seven's might also be canon (in the books at least) with the way he mentally locked away his Sixth self in fear of the Valeyard. Though he wasn't really a cause for regeneration, he certainly set the Doctor on the path to it. Eight terrified of medicine and hospitals. Aspirin is already deadly to Time Lords, anesthesia fucked up his regeneration. This boy won't go to a medical professional unless he's dragged in unconscious. He will look at broken leg twisted out of shape and claim he can walk it off. The Warrior/War Doctor scared of failing people the way he did Cass. His spirit for hope and brighter ending to the war broken when he regenerated. He became the one that got his hands dirty because he was too scared to let anyone else die under his care.

Nine scared of war. War Doctor held off his regeneration for years to keep fighting, and Nine clearly does his best to step away from the incarnation he hated being more than anything. Like he said, "Coward, any day." Ten is a bit tricky. He's scared of Daleks, losing companions. He's scared that people around him will be willing to sacrifice themselves for him. Scared of the heart of the Tardis, the very soul of time itself ripping away what/who he loves. After Rose is safe from it he was very careful to never let anyone open it again. Eleven scared to see another Time Lord again. He's heartbroken about being the last of his kind. Romana, Brax, Damon all gone. The Master's plans had gotten so much more violent and destructive and insane than they used to be. The other Time Lords so desperate to escape the Time Locked war that they'd destroy time to do it. He's scared of everything ending if the Time Lords return. I haven't really seen enough of Twelve or past that to give proper interpretations on them, but I'm pretty sure Twelve is determined not to be seen as an old man. It's like he sees this new cycle as starting over so he's trying to act like he's the young, rebellious first incarnation? idk

[spaceagesparkledust]

Random Doctor Who Hcs: Favorite Types of Touch!!

Nine loves hand holding. I feel like Nine is very closed off (emotionally) but this man grasps Rose’s hand all the time. So much. First thing he does. And he just…never stops. While dancing. While running. While walking. Probably while sleeping. Ultimate sign of trust for him. Long as he’s got Rose’s hand in his everything is okay. 

Hugs? Yeah. Loves a good congratulatory hug/clasp on the back. But again, huge fan of hand holding, him. 

Ten loves hugs. Like he and Rose also hold hands through all of time and space but he loves hugs. And he needs one constantly. In constant need of a hug. Sir was born out of love and after Rose leaves is constantly touch-starved and clingy. Loves to pick people up as he hugs them. Little spin. Totally would benefit from being compressed into a zip file.

Enjoys people (rose, Donna) messing with his hair. Just like a little scratch and he’ll melt. He’s like a cat. 

He’s very touchy with Donna who has learned to just deal with it. He’s taller than her so he’ll just lean down and put his chin on her shoulder. Or lean against her while watching movies. Just. puddle of time lord. Personal space who?

After Martha stops being his companion, he’s much more open to touch with Martha. He enjoyed hugging her before but his hugs just feel so much better afterwards. Holding hands with Martha is also pretty nice (makes him miss Rose though).

But I think also if he’s being particularly broody he won’t let himself be touched nor will he seek it out because’s always alright. (Donna’s got him though). 

Slightly touch-adverse post Midnight. If it’s a stranger and he doesn’t initiate it, he’s not going to enjoy it. If it’s someone he trusts then he’s more open to it and will likely reciprocate. But a stranger’s hands on him start to feel a little too much like the shuttle. Especially if its a harsh grab.

Tentoo gets to touch Rose all the time. Its great. Favorite type of touch is probably cuddling and kissing because he can do that now. Any time he wants without fear. 

Eleven likes subtle touches. Grabbing Amy’s arm while he’s excited. Patting Rory on the back or shoulder. Poking someone. He moves around too much for other types of touches so he’ll give little swipes of affection. 

He does still enjoy hugs though, particularly from Amy. 

I think if the Doctor’s hugged for too long he’ll like shut down or something. 

Amy discovers the head scratchy thing and it like, shuts him off. Completely slack. Amy finds it hilarious and so fascinating and 11 hates it so much. It is a good way to bring him back down to earth though. 

“Rory, come look at this.” 

“Do you feel better?” “yes. Don’t think I’m not mad at you anymore Pond.”

River also knows about this and threatens to use it for evil all the time. She and Amy have definitely chased 11 around the TARDIS, only for 11 to run into Rory’s arms thinking that Rory is safe. He’s not. Rory knows about the spot. Rory is not safe. 

I don’t think 11 really knows how to respond to kissing. Not his favorite. Could do without it/give him a warning if you’re going to kiss him. 

He’s gotten used to kissing River but sometimes he’s still ick about it.

He does love giving Amy forehead kisses though! 

Martha likes cheek kisses. She seems like that kind of girl. A little smooch to the cheek. She’ll do it with her family, they’ll do it with her. She’ll give them to her friends. She gives one to the Doctor post-companionship. She gives them to Jack. He gives them to her. Its very cute. 

Fourteen is touchy as heck. Oh my gosh. It’s different from 10 though where he was constantly touch-starved, no Fourteen just loves giving affection to his friends. 

Most affectionate with Donna. They’re like glued to each other. 

Gives Mel enthusiastic hugs too. 

Likes giving more than receiving. He very much needs to be held for a good minute but he much prefers giving hugs and other forms of physical affection TO other people rather than them to him.

[mulderscully]

i kinda also have negative dw feelings but i would looooove to hear yours

it's complicated because a lot of my feelings turned sour over a leak for the last special and that's ruined my enjoyment of the other two.

but basically: i don't like donna getting her memories back. I KNOW this is the most unpopular opinion of all time, but the more i sit with it the more i know it's how i feel.

i didn't always feel this way, but i love the trajedy of donna's ending. i love that it was hard and painful for both of them.

i always assumed she would get her memories back temporarily and then CHOOSE to lose them again because she has found meaning outside of the doctor. but to see that she is still in that same mental space is really a downer, and to me it feels like... donna clearly has some serious mental health struggles that just cannot be "oh, she's happy when she's with the doctor!" because what sort of message does that send?

one things i love abt rtd era is the the focus on family, and we saw a glimpse of that in the first special, only for it to be ripped away and have her and fourteen thrown into some insane plot for the second special, which is such a strange decision to me just because this is an anniversary special! as a standalone, great! but as an episode that is supposed to celebrate 60 years it's like.... ok?

i also just feel like there is too much disconnect for me. fourteen is written in a way that doesn't make much sense to me. it feels like he's written like... ten but more emotional? not like this was JUST the thirteenth doctor. it feels like a reversion that doesn't feel honest or earned at all? thirteen was closed off too! and it's odd for him to be suprised about certain behaviors that are "new" when they're absolutely not to the doctor. eleven was a VERY touchy feely doctor for a thousand years. this isn't new to him, but it would be to TEN and it feels like rtd can't let go of writing fourteen as ten in this regard.

and my issue is also just the fandom. i love the tenth doctor. i love his pain, his repression, his intensity. so people saying fourteen is "ten but better." or whatever is just confirming that people never actually understood or loved ten for who he was, and that's making me sad since he is the most popular doctor there is in new who.

and it's like... no matter what this gonna change how people see ten. how they see his era and his regeneration as well and that bums me out. i love specials ten, i LOVE i don't want to go. and while all of that still happened, it somehow feels cheapened to me now :|

this would all work if rtd has used what he already had: the metacrisis doctor, instead of having david be the doctor three times. not bc i'm a tenroorose girlie but bc then everything wouldve stayed in tact. and having cameos from rose and maybe martha as well would've felt more like an ode to what made his era so strong and revived the show in the first place.

idk this is messy and i'm still sorting it out but i feel a little bit churny abt it and not rly in a positive way because in his book rtd was soooo proud of how he ended s4 that the last thing i expected was for it all to be undone with a wave of the hand and without delving much into the life donna has made for herself and/or focusing on the people the doctor has ADORED in the time since as if he didn't have a downright manic devotion to clara.

[felonytaxevasion]

Arc 1 - Bonds

My assorted commentary on the first chapter of Pact for my mutuals who were interested in my thoughts. Testing out formatting this might be mess thank you for your patience.

As always no spoilers please thank you <333

This is technically my second time reading this but I wasn't paying attention the first time so I wanted to start over

1.1

“My children are useless,” she said. She was so dismissive and casual about it.

First of all. Icon. I absolutely love wretched old women and I love having the foresight of knowing practitioners cant lie meaning that this is presumably an objective evaluation of her children's capabilities. I'm also gonna watch out for Blake's mom and Aunt Stephanie though. They aren't included in that statement so maybe we can have an evil magic milf era. Like in Umineko. I love Umineko.

If anything I’d said had an impact, it was that. I could see the faint amusement drop away from her. “Are you accusing me of being a liar, Master Blake?”

aHA BECAUSE PRACTITIONER RULES

It was well after dark when someone stepped outside to talk to me. I closed out of the puzzle game I was playing on my phone. The brightness of the screen made for a dark patch that lingered in my vision as I looked up. Eleven-fifty at night.

This is an interesting writing choice because it's clear that a lot of time has passed but not exactly how much. Which adds mystery to the question of "was Rose planned all along or did Rose Sr. make an impulse choice after talking with Blake.

Also I really wanna know. When Rose met Ivy did her parents bring her in and talk or did they just set the baby on the bed and leave.

“Molly! Don’t be rash!” Aunt Irene admonished her. “I don’t want it,” Molly said, again. She grabbed the footboard of the bed. “No.“ “Molly, don’t be silly.”

Molly is one of the biggest reasons I don't want spoilers. Everything about her is so interesting. She was the first choice but she died very quickly. But not THAT quickly. Was Rose 2 always the plan and Molly was the sacrificial lamb to pave the way or was Molly just genuinely the best choice to become heiress. She survived for four months which is, if Pact is paced similarly to Worm, long enough to survive Leviathan, The Slaughterhouse Nine, Coil, and Echidna or whatever their equivalent in Pact land is. And that is no small feat. Like obviously I'm assuming here but I can't imagine the combined forces of Jacobs Bell were just letting her chill. I have so many questions about her and I want answers to none of them.

The blonde woman opposite him folded her hands in front of her. “That was… noteworthy in scale. Kind of her to point the way, but she was never crude. We’ll need to know what she did before we move on.”

THIS SHIT RIGHT HERE. Noteworthy in scale. Rose is not a small feat. Why are she and Blake positioned as the backup plan. Thinking so hard

“Funny thing, Maggie,” Padraic said, and when he smiled, the expression extended further than it should have. The smile too wide, the eyes too long and narrow. “When something momentous occurs, it can be the equivalent of lighting up the night sky, scattering fog and clouds to the horizons. You can see more clearly… but when you look, they can look back, too.”

Maggie and Padraic are some of my favorite characters based on vibes alone. I just know they're going to die so horribly so early on. At least Maggie.

“Mm,” the man in the throne said. “‘Lo, stranger. Listen, I don’t think you should believe what any of them say about me. If you need help, I can offer it.” “For a price,” the dog added.

Now see Johannes I would love to give you the benefit of the doubt however I know for a fact (a pact fact!) I have not seen any fanart of you making out sloppy style with Blake Thorburn and as such I find it hard to believe you are his ally. The wildbow ecosystem is too yaoi deprived to not jump on that pairing unless you're some type of fucked up.

“Run,” she said. “Get to the house, now.” “Which house? Who-” “Molly’s dead,” she said. “You’re next.”

HAI ROSE

1.2

I actually don't have much commentary on this chapter other than RIP to BlakeRose but I would happily take the deal to become a creepy bird monster. That's the ideal living situation actually.

1.3

The first sheet had only a simple message, penned in a curling script I almost envied. ‘Birth date’. I tried the year I’d been born. It didn’t work. Day, month? One-eight-oh-one.

...

“Molly!” I hollered, loud enough I should have been audible throughout the house. “Anyone!?” No response. Somewhere, in my general confusion and the mess of stuff I didn’t know or understand, I’d hoped that Molly being alive would be one of those things that caught me off guard.

Not to needle at his grieving process but I'm pretty sure the fact that it was His Birthday Not Molly's that opened the door was a pretty clear sign

I shook my head. “No clue. Something to keep in mind. After stipulations, there’s a section on stipend, with a regular allowance, notes on how often the lawyers can be called without incurring a debt. Oh, right here. A mention of the bird-skull monsters.” “What?” I could see Rose move, standing from her seat. “I’m joking,” I said, with zero humor in my voice.

I think Wildbow should do what visual novels franchises do and make a non canon crossover beach themed spinoff episode with all his characters. I want to see Blake and Lisa be cunty together

My friends were artists and artistic types. I had the unfortunate distinction of being a less than stellar artist. But I’d owed them for the help and support they’d given me, and in helping them with their jobs, I’d stumbled onto a bit of work. Setting up their work, installations, as well as all the other grunt jobs. Sure, they could go to a carpenter to get something put together in the way of a display stand, but that carpenter wouldn’t necessarily know what was at play with the art. Along the way, I’d settled into being a go-to handyman and delivery guy in the local art community. I knew the gallery owners, I knew who was who, and if I couldn’t do a job myself, I knew who to call. Not so glamorous or fancy, not exactly stellar pay, but I had stupid little skills that I could use here. In a pinch, I could use my stride or my arm length to help me figure out measurements, thirty three and a half and thirty-two and a half inches, respectively.

So fun fact I was a gallery tech assistant for about three or four years in high school and I would just like the record to state. A. Wildbow you captured the gallery tech mentality exactly. Tired, sassy, and overall filled with peculiar useful skills. 100% accuracy rate.

Also Blake please call your friends sooner rather than later. The blond gallery tech who works for cheap going suddenly missing is going to DEVASTATE that community. Blake you are a protected species under the wildlife conservation act and the human equivalent of catnip for bisexuals with an art history degree you are the foundation of that community and they are going to be CONCERNED

1.4

She looked a little agitated, nervous. “I think we can go this route. Avoid getting into the ugliest stuff, the books on demons and whatever else. If witch hunters and inquisitors can survive this sort of thing, maybe we can too.” “Borrowing power instead of using it?”

I'm trying to figure out if Rose II is in on it. Because like. She should be right? But then she says things like this that make it sound like she really is just as lost as Blake

“In case you haven’t noticed, I’m kind of attached to you, metaphysically. You die, I’m going to be a goner too.” “You think. Either way, I’m the one who got injured,” I said. “I’m the one who has stitches in my hand and a cut on my face.” “At least you’re alive,” she retorted.

They've so immediately become siblings.

Which by the way. If Blake and Rose are fucked up twins of a sort. I have questions about Paige and Peter. Especially seeing as Paige is considered a non starter for Rose Senior

“In this scenario, we’ve got a situation involving a number of countries. If you will, there’s America. I’m rather interested in America for the purpose of this discussion, but that’s just me. Powerful, perhaps overly proud, large, keepers of the peace.” I glanced at his uniform. “Sure.”

Close enough. Welcome Back Victoria Dallon!!

1.5

“It smells like a rose,” a man announced, “It’s as beautiful as a rose. I dare say it’s as fragile as a rose, once you get past the thorns. But is it really our Rose?” I turned. Three twenty-somethings, if I went by appearances, were approaching me from behind. I might have been off. Each had alcohol in brown bags.

I want to be one of them so bad. I want to join the fucked up Fairie gang.

“No,” I said. I grabbed one of the books from the coffee table. “Anger is good.” “Good?” “It keeps us moving. You read the book on implements, I’ll read up on familiars when I’m done Essentials.”

True gallery tech mindset <3

1.6

“Blake!” Rose’s voice, from the living room. “You have to help him!”

This is one of those passages that makes me think Rosie is in on it. You've read more than Blake how has this being an other trap not occurred to you

1.7

Should another practitioner need to bait him again, know that this author used: a pile of festering boar carcasses, six feet high, each carved with his name when well into their state of decay, the decay timed using refrigeration to be roughly parallel; seven jars of burning hair, resupplied keep the flames perpetually alight

Yea who hasn't been here at one point

“To everyone and everything that’s listening,” I said. I heard Rose start speaking behind me, but my words drowned hers out. “To me, and to nobody in particular, I’ve gotta say, I didn’t choose this. I’m doing this for family, to respect them as they were in the past, when my cousins were also my friends, so the others don’t face what Molly did. I’m doing it to respect stuff in the present, because even if I dislike my cousins, I don’t want them to have to face this situation and get killed off. I’m doing this for the family that comes in the future, so my kids and all our descendants don’t have this debt hanging over our heads. Above all, I think I’m doing this for my real family. For the friends I made who gave me support when I needed it most, so I can demonstrate what they taught me. Past, present, future, and… more abstract.”

Guy who can only hate his family this much because of how much he loves them Augh Augh

I could hear Rose behind me, still talking, as if she were very distant. “-than a vestige.”

SUSPICIOUS

“It doesn’t matter,” she said, quiet, “because it’s not blood. I’m not offering anything worth taking, and there aren’t any spirits here to listen and obey, are there?” “There are other options, maybe?” “It doesn’t matter,” she said, again. “I don’t care anymore.”

But then this is the opposite of suspicious because she can't lie but she's saying it didn't work and she wants to give up hhhhhhh Rose you are so slippery to understand

Gathered Pages

I didn't highlight any particular passages but Rose Senior I love youuuuuuuu

[abbatoirablaze]

Surrogate Luna, Chapter 22

Word Count: 1.6k

Warnings: implied smut.

“Now that the formality is over,” Tony muttered as the last person left the war room.  He looked between Cinna and Bucky, “what is this?”

Cinna felt a blush rising to her cheeks as Bucky wrapped an arm around her waist, “she came upon me yesterday, alpha Stark.  Our wolves recognized one another and…they courted.”

Tony chuckled. 

Pepper slapped his shoulder.

“What?” Tony laughed, “it’s funny!”

“That’s my baby sister, Tony!”

“And that’s Steve Rogers’ other mate,” he laughed, “you couldn’t have possibly expected them not to come in contact with one another despite how you placed Barnes’ pack in the asylum house and Cinna as close to our quarters as possible.”

Cinna’s brow rose, “y-you knew about Steve and Bucky?”

“Cinna…it’s not that simple…” she sighed as she gave her sister a frown, “everyone knows about Bucky and Steve’s past.  But I didn’t-I guess I didn’t expect that you and Steve were really mates…he and Bucky were crazy about each other.  Someone insulted Steve and Bucky when Bucky openly proclaimed he was Steve’s mate at a tender age, and Bucky challenged him to the death trials.”

Cinna’s eyes snapped to Bucky’s prosthetic and Bucky let go of a low laugh, “I’m passionate…and I care about what is mine.  What can I say, omega?”  

“No grander gesture than to challenge a full-grown delta to a death trial at the age of eleven.” Tony added in. 

Cinna’s eyes widened as she looked at the man that she realized she barely knew, “you were eleven?”

“And I won!” Bucky pointed out, “I will do anything for my mate, Cinna; protection and all…but that also includes letting you take the lead if that’s what you need.  And in this case, that means getting your pup back from Sharon and Steve.”

“I have Sharon’s pup…”

Bucky frowned, “what?”

“We fell pregnant around the same time with our firsts…Peter is her pup…she had conceived him with her omega follower, Brock…but when she found out that Peter was an omega as well, she wanted to kill him.  So, I stole him and claimed him as my own.”

Bucky smirked, “you’re a fiery one, omega…”

“Sh-she won’t give me Stevie…”

“I know how Sharon works,” he reminded her gently, “she’ll get the message from Sam. She’ll hear about how I openly claimed you as my mate and luna to my pack.  She’ll bring Steve and your pup as a show of force.”

Tony smirked, a small gasp leaving his lips as the realization to what Bucky was implying came into his mind, “you have a plan, don’t you?”

“I have an idea of how to work around Sharon’s claim on Cinna,” Bucky admitted, “I told everyone of how your wolf accepted my wolf’s invitation to court you for a reason…”

“The full moon!” Pepper gasped.

“What?” Cinna asked as she looked between the three, “what’s going on?  What do the three of you know that I don’t?”

“I suppose you want my blessing then?” Tony asked Bucky.

“Will someone please tell me what’s going on?”

“Cinnamon…Bucky provided you with an outlet, a loophole to get out of Sharon’s claim on you,” Pepper explained, “the full moon is tonight…and you became part of the Stark pack when I mated Tony and became his Luna…”

“Pepper…English.”

“He’s offering you the option of a mating ceremony.” 

Cinna gasped once more, her eyes snapping back to Bucky’s, “What?”

“It’s entirely up to you, Cinna…but it is one option,” he nodded, “I’m not asking to mark you…just that you mark me, and that we complete a mating ceremony where you officially become my luna.  You could stay with Tony and Pepper as long as you like while I officially court you, but allowing you to mark me, with the intention of me marking you down the road and calling you my luna would mean that you belonged to the Barnes pack.  She would have no claim over you, even though she and Steve share a pack, and you have pups with Steve.”

“Y-you want me to mark you?” she asked, the words buzzing around in her mind far too quickly for her to actually process, “Y-you want me to be your luna and-“

“You are my luna, Cinna…even if you do not want me to mark you.  I want you to know that you have all the power here,” he reminded her gently, “you and your pups will be first to me, just as my pack is in my life.  I will protect you with the same passion and vigor that I would protect them.”

“And Peter?”

“Peter may not biologically be yours, but he belongs to you…I would do the same for him.”

Cinna felt her heart swelling at his words.  Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked at the passionate, intense alpha, “Bucky….”

“I will only do this though if you want me to, Cinna.”

“I-is it what you want?”

“I’ve been waiting my whole life for my true mates, Cinna…I want this more than anything.”

“Then I want it too!” she confirmed. 

“Great,” Tony grinned as he stepped forward and clapped Bucky’s shoulder, “we’ll prepare to make the trip to the Barnes den immediately then, that way we can be back before Sharon and her pack undoubtedly arrive tomorrow.”

Cinna looked nervously at Bucky as they stood in front of the doors to what was Bucky’s family den. 

“Are you sure that you’re okay with this, Cinna?”

She nodded, “I want this…are you okay with doing this, Bucky?”

“I already told you, Cinna.  I will do anything for you.  I know we haven’t known each other for a long time, but I love you.  You’re my omega.  And I will do everything I can to protect and honor you.”

Pepper sighed, and Cinna felt the blush rising to her cheeks once more as she turned away from Bucky to give one last look back to her sister and Tony. 

Bucky pulled Tony into a hug, and the two men clapped each other on the back.

“You have the full blessing of the Stark pack to have Cinna Potts as your luna.” Tony confirmed. 

“Thank you, Tony.”

“Cinna…”

Cinna sighed as she looked at her sister once more.  Pepper had tears in her eyes and a sad smile on her face, “you act like you’ll never see me again, Pepper…”

“I’m happy for you!” she answered, pulling her younger sister into a hug, “alpha Barnes is a good alpha.  And I know that he will treat you right.  And you are an amazing young woman.  You were cut out to be a luna…and this pack is lucky to have you.”

Cinna sniffled, a few tears slipping down her cheeks as she backed away from her sister, “I-I guess I’ll see you guys on the other side?”

“Omega?” Bucky asked gently, holding a hand out to her.  Cinna was unable to stop the chittering that built up from the back of her throat and Bucky smiled, “are you ready to see our pack den?”

She nodded and took his hand. 

Bucky pushed through the first set of doors and led her down a spiraled staircase.  At the bottom of it was another set of doors. He let go of her hand and walked over to a set of runes.  He traced over specific ones, in a very specific order, and with a hiss the doors opened. 

“This is our pack den, luna…only attendants to it are allowed to refresh it and clean it…I had called for them to set everything up for when we got here.”

“I-it doesn’t smell like anything…” she commented, “i-it doesn’t smell like you or-“

“I didn’t want you to be overwhelmed,” he admitted, “my family has used this den since we claimed the land.  But I made sure that the only scents in it would be ours…this is an important night.  The mating ceremony is important in our culture…”

“I-I know…”

“If you go into the room to the left, you can prepare yourself with the traditional clothing and oils…I’m going to be across the room on the other side,” he said slowly, pointing to both doors on the left and right, “when we come back, you can mark me.  And then our pack official will commit us under the full moon with a few selected elders and your sister and Tony.”

“Bucky…” she asked, her voice barely coming out above the sound of a whisper.  She had pulled on his arm as he went to turn towards the door and turned him right back to her.

“Wh-what’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” she answered, “I just-I was thinking about it…and I want you to mark me as well.”

She swore she could have seen Bucky’s eyes lighting up at the idea, “a-are you sure, luna?”

She nodded and leaned up, pressing a gentle kiss to his lips, “mark my clean side?”

“Anything you want, luna.”

“I want you, Bucky…”

A growl rose from the back of his throat, and she looked down to see his cock already bumping against her stomach as it hardened.

“Omega…those words…hearing them from you affects me like nothing else…”

“Go prepare yourself, alpha,” she smiled, reaching up to stroke his cheek, “we only have a few hours before it’s midnight…”

“I might just have to carry you to the altar,” he growled playfully as he leaned down to press another kiss to her lips; this one a little more aggressive, “the way you’re speaking like that.”

“Don’t promise something you can’t live up to!” she teased as she turned away from him, adding a little extra sway to her hips as she went into the room.  As the door closed behind her, she could hear the animalistic growl that came from her mate; the scent that he was releasing, letting her know that he was primed and ready to go. 

Her heart raced as she let herself feel all the emotions that she’d put in a box and thought she’d never see again whenever Sharon took over her relationship with Steve. 

Maybe the fates weren’t torturing her.

Chapter 23

Tag List:  @lohnes16, @prokey16, @tenaciousperfectionunknown, @teambarnes72, @mrsevans90

[witchofthemidlands]

i'm writing doctorjackrose angst currently in my recent fanfic chapter so you guys can have my brain rot as a result, i apologise in advance.

the fact that the two people eleven mentions by name is rose & jack as people he would want to spend time with to avoid his trip to lake is such a throwaway line but it makes me absolutely insane regardless because i can just imagine jack&rose being with any of the modern doctors & it still being as electric & beautiful as it was when they were travelling with nine (before satellite 5 obviously) because you cannot tell me that there were not polycule vibes between the three of them.

i mean, i can imagine that they would have so much fun with eleven. he's a near feral energy goblin & weirdly smooth in his own way so i feel like elevenjackrose would go on some incredible adventures. they would ALWAYS be touching one another in some way, there would probably be the most physical contact from this version of them & they would scare the locals of every planet they go to. eleven strikes me as the doctor who would attempt to be the big spoon & then decide that he'd rather enjoy being the little spoon between the three of them. ACTUALLY i can also imagine eleven innocently putting the three of them in bunk beds & being so elated about it that neither rose nor jack want to say anything but they nearly have & all three of them have somehow ended up in the same bunk before. I can picture them just being practically joint at the hip & just about get stuff done because they're always having a great time with one another & need to remember to stop being near indecent to save the world.

twelve, there would be ✨tenderness✨ (especially with rose, similarly to how the moment is with the war doctor) not as much physical contact as the previous regenerations but he'd probably link arms with rose & jack in an old fashioned manner as they’d walk around together. i think rose would adore twelve (both she & jack would tease him for the attack eyebrows though) & wouldn't even really take much notice that he looked a lot older than the previous regenerations because he’s got his usual big doctor personality, even more so as twelve & slightly more ���unhinged✨ mean personally, i doubt jack would even speak to twelve at points due to the decisions he made concerning missy but despite all that, i think those three would have a wonderful time together. i can just imagine twelvejackrose all trying to fit in one big chair in the tardis library together to sleep whilst twelve rambles on about something. twelve would be the big spoon & would have his arms resting around both of them.

with thirteen i think thirteenjackrose would be similar to eleven where they’d have so much blissful fun together & be practically joint at the hip. her northern accent would be so nostalgic to both rose & jack. there would also be so much flirting between thirteenjackrose that the rest of the companions are nearly always facepalming (cue jack telling them that any of them are open to join in) i can also picture thirteen basically banishing jack to the tardis at first because she is sick of people assuming that he's the doctor & rose always finds that hilarious. people might disagree with me here but i think thirteen would be the big spoon between the three & would hold them both so close. i also think if rose&jack encountered the hologram that they would see thirteen as she is but it would occasionally flicker to other doctors probably both nine&ten.

[roseaceae]

and i won't forget to put roses on your grave

 ִֶָ ᯽ .ﾟEVERY ROSE has its thorn ╱ meet the circle of blue rose ╱ tw for mentions of verbal abuse, neglect, drug use, death, and bullying

on a cold christmas morning in a buzzing hospital, bae minseok was born in incheon, south korea to a educated and ambitious firefighter for a mother, but with a cowardly and insecure data entry clerk father. it was quiet growing up, due mostly to the fact that he was not the most sociable, considering that mom and dad weren't home during the day, and minseok spent most of his afternoons distracting himself with boring yet interesting extracurriculars, the relationship between him and his parents wasn't really anything for the first eleven years of his life.

his parents' relationship slowly became unconventional, they became not only a problem for their son, but for each other. it was a norm for minseok to listen to the constant back and forth between his mother and father, and it amazed him to think that those two were once in love. he would listen to all his fathers stupid theories, oh no his wife had a promising career ahead of her? how disturbing! i should turn our son against her! after the first few years of his parents back and forth bickering, minseok decided to turn to something else to get his mind off everything.

in one of his previous extracurriculars, he learned how to play several instruments, but none of them interested him as much as the good old guitar did. if there was anything that could get his mind off the incessant shit talking his parents would do to each other, it was the beauty of the chords he produced on the stringed instrument. playing the guitar, to him, was just a coping mechanism, nothing too serious and nothing meant to be taken any further than a hobby, a thing he did when all the shouting was too much for him.

it wasn't until a friend, a very specific friend, nudged him one day and suggested that he auditioned for a company, at even the sound of those words, an immediate laugh escaping his lips as soon as his friend uttered them. what could he even do besides play one instrument and sing just a little well? what was he supposed to do with his lack of talent? (in his opinion, of course) every company would turn their backs on him, send him out of the door the moment he walked through those doors, but no matter how much he dispelled the words, his friends kept urging him and urging him to at least try to audition, because they just had an inkling that he would make it in.

after the constant harassment from his friends, minseok would roll his eyes and step into the audere media building on an early august morning in 2012, and like his friends predicted, he passed, with much surprise to himself. now— he knew about the shady reputation under the company, but he had also been promised to debut, a promise that would be fulfilled after four years, several lineup changes, and the loss of close friends he'd made in the corner of the practice room. over the four years he found himself trapped in the practice room of a shady company, minseok would lose, then gain, then lose some more hope, he had been accepted into the company for his talents, but he felt as if they were never truly considered by the higher ups. he often felt as if everyone was disregarding him, and he'd never be considered to even debut.

after all the work, the long nights spent in the practice room, and the hundreds of times he almost quit, minseok would finally find his place, with a group of people who understood him, for him, debuting in blue rose was one of the best things in his life, but he'd never admit that to his members, he remains stubborn.

ʬʬ . THE BASICS !⠀

STAGE NAME CUPID ( 큐핏 )

BIRTH NAME BAE MINSEOK ( 배민석 )

DATE OF BIRTH DECEMBER 25, 1995

PLACE OF BIRTH INCHEON, SOUTH KOREA

HOMETOWN INCHEON, SOUTH KOREA

NATIONALITY SOUTH KOREAN

ETHNICITY KOREAN

ʬʬ . THE CAREER !⠀

OCCUPATION SINGER-SONGWRITER, GUITARIST

LABELS AUDERE MEDIA ( 2012 — 2016 ) LUXE DESIGN ( 2016 — present )

TRAINING PERIOD 4 YEARS 6 MONTHS

POSITION LEAD VOCALIST, RHYTHM GUITARIST

DEBUT DATE FEBRUARY 13, 2016

ʬʬ . THE PHYSICAL !⠀

FACE CLAIM YOON JEONGHAN

HEIGHT 178 CM ( 5'10" )

WEIGHT UNKNOWN

BLOOD TYPE B

on a snowy february evening in hat yai, thailand, vidura sukkasem came into this world angry, an emotion which would become a staple for him throughout his life. often compared to a "ticking time bomb", the fury he had seemingly been born with wouldn't disappear with age like his parents had hoped for. instead it manifested into something more, something which would become a liability to his parents. he had not been showered with the same kind of love as his siblings, he was often "too much" for the adults in his life to handle, so as a result, he began to lash out.

his emotions would range from angry, to frustrated, to absolutely fucking pissed directed towards everybody. he eventually became a problem, so much of a problem that his parents had "no other choice" but to ship him off to some boarding school for troubled children, hoping that the harsh lessons would put him in shape, but the schools, just like his parents, stated he was "too much to handle" and he eventually became nothing but your no good troubled teen stereotype (not so much troubled, he just lacked the attention children so needed from their parents). he would battle his own demons all on his own, he didn't need friends, he'd already gotten this far with his parents not giving two shits about him, whilst his siblings pretended he was never there, it was no surprise to anyone that he wasn't interested in the whole making friends part of life.

his personal interests would all be a little wishy washy, from snowboarding, to composition, to dancing, and finally, the guitar (specifically the electric guitar). vidura would stay up all night watching performances from popular rock bands, watching as they did their thing, so effortlessly, he knew that teaching himself how to play such an instrument would be a challenge, but he was never one to give up. having been inspired by bands such as aerosmith, van halen, and of course, queen, the second eldest would find himself borrowing his coworkers' instruments to test them out, just until he could save enough money to buy his dream guitar. over the next few months, not only would he almost completely learn how to play the electric guitar, and keyboard on his own, but he also did some considering, and that considering would eventually manifest into a want, he wanted to be in a band.

even with the constant remarks, chortles, and snickers from family, vidura wouldn't just halt with what he'd wanted for so long, who were they to talk about his life? when they did nothing but cast him aside? it seemed idiotic to him, which he had no problem voicing, yeah it lead to a less-than-stellar altercation between him and a few cousins, but he would say it was all for a good cause. it seemed that his prayers would be answered, when a scout from a familiar (then still) small record label szene vinyl stopped him on the street, having recognized him from a video his manager had posted online, he almost didn't accept the scouts offer, convinced they were a scam, or some sort of cult trying to brainwash him.

but after pondering for a good week, continuously staring at the business card in his hand, he'd try at the audition, even with the way he was clearly nervous, stumbling through the little korean he knew, and uncomfortable under the stare of so many strangers, he would pass, he likes to think it was a miracle, or the clear passion that seemed to ooze around him, or maybe they were just pitying, to this day, he will never truly know why he actually passed.

everything seemed to fast track after that, the titular thai 'wannabe rockstar' (that's what dione calls him, rich), would go through several practice rooms, sleepless nights, two almost life ending injuries, arguments with dance instructors and his fellow trainees, as well as a few predictable breakdowns and broken nails. if vidura is anything, it's a fighter, he wasn't about to be tossed out by this company for being "a nuisance" like he'd been by his parents and the tens of schools in the past. he doesn't care if he fought tooth or nail to be in that lineup, he did it because he deserved it, and he knows that better than anyone else.

ʬʬ . THE BASICS !⠀

STAGE NAME JUNIPER ( 향나무 )

BIRTH NAME VIDURA SUKKASEM ( วิฑูรา สุขเกษม )

DATE OF BIRTH FEBRUARY 18, 1996

PLACE OF BIRTH HAT YAI, THAILAND

HOMETOWN HAT YAI, THAILAND

NATIONALITY THAI

ETHNICITY THAI

ʬʬ . THE CAREER !⠀

OCCUPATION DANCER, COMPOSER, GUITARIST, DRUMMER

LABELS SZENE VINYL ( 2012 — 2016 ) LUXE DESIGN ( 2016 — present )

TRAINING PERIOD 4 YEARS

POSITION MAIN DANCER, VOCALIST, LEAD GUITARIST

DEBUT DATE FEBRUARY 13, 2016

ʬʬ . THE PHYSICAL !⠀

FACE CLAIM CHITTAPHON LEECHAIYAPORNKUL

HEIGHT 176 CM ( 5'9" )

WEIGHT UNKNOWN

BLOOD TYPE O

on a blinding july afternoon, noh hyeon (though originally born noh jaewoong) was born in the heart of daejeon, south korea to a freelance photographer of a mother, one who had such a bright imagination, an ambitious future ahead of her, well— not before she got pregnant with her previously named son, and dumped by her college school boyfriend, who stated he just couldn't "take care of a child with all of his other responsibilities". so, at 22 years old, no college degree, only $1000 under her belt and a whole child under her care, she'd try her best to maneuver through life, and give her son the best life he could ever ask for.

for most of his life, hyeon could recall his mother being unhappy, she'd try to cover it with fake smiles and laughs, but he always secretly knew it. he wished he could help her, but he could do nothing but watch her suffer in silence, as he was just a defenseless child. he would stay up all night thinking, dreaming of a day where he could finally save his mother from the suffering she was put through trying to raise him, he prayed that one day he would find success in a field which would help him provide for her. it was no surprise to anyone who met him that hyeon had quite the imagination, the only things at the forefront of his mind being caring for his mother and his one true dream—

becoming an idol.

baby v.o.x, shinhwa, and of course, h.o.t became big inspirations for the soon to be leader, well, as much as an inspiration as they were an escape. he recalls sitting down at home and watching in fascination as the idols did their thing, so effortlessly, so flawlessly, dressed in stage outfits he could only dream of wearing. for most of his life, though, he only thought that dream would stay like that, a dream, something he could fantasize about in his mind but never truly fulfill, though his mom would enroll him in dance practices, singing lessons, and do all sorts of karaoke in the living room, he never actually thought he would make it, it all seemed like an actual thing he'd accomplish.

but it'd all go to his head, it'd become his main focus, something he couldn't stop thinking about. it got to the point that he couldn't focus on school, too busy thinking about being one of those idols, singing and dancing catchy songs on a stage, loved by the korean public.

it seemed that his mother could see right through the act he was putting up, and she didn't hesitate to drop a train ticket in front of him on a random day, telling him to audition either now or never. though very puzzled by the sudden way his mother decided to tell him to go audition like he'd been itching to, but he knew this was a once in a lifetime chance. so, with adrenaline coursing through his veins, a fourteen year old hyeon hopped on a train and took the whole two hour ride from daejeon to seoul, shaking nervously the whole entire time. he would walk into that audere media building and never look back, his future somehow decided for him in that very moment.

of course, the six years spent in that company were nothing short of hellish, like all of the members, who once considered quitting and going back home, feeling as if he had been wrong at what he thought he wanted to do with his life. it took so much perseverance, encouraging words from (ironically) minseok and remembering what his mother told him to not walk out of those doors and flip the bird at absolutely every person who worked there. it would all eventually be for good, even if he was stuck with the position of bass guitarist, one he wasn't truly keen on receiving (he was much more skilled in terms of the keyboardist position, he even would've settled for being the drummer). still, he'd persevere, spending almost two and a half years working on his skills as a guitarist, he has the lovely juniper and lim jaesang to thank for that.

ʬʬ . THE BASICS !⠀

STAGE NAME HYEON ( 현 )

BIRTH NAME NOH JAEWOONG ( 노재웅 )

LEGAL NAME NOH HYEON ( 노현 )

DATE OF BIRTH JULY 27, 1996

PLACE OF BIRTH DAEJEON, SOUTH KOREA

HOMETOWN DAEJEON, SOUTH KOREA

NATIONALITY SOUTH KOREAN

ETHNICITY KOREAN

ʬʬ . THE CAREER !⠀

OCCUPATION SINGER-SONGWRITER, RAPPER, KEYBOARDIST, GUITARIST

LABELS AUDERE MEDIA ( 2010 — 2016 ) LUXE DESIGN ( 2016 — present )

TRAINING PERIOD 6 YEARS 2 MONTHS

POSITION LEADER, LEAD VOCALIST, LEAD RAPPER, BASS GUITARIST

DEBUT DATE FEBRUARY 13, 2016

ʬʬ . THE PHYSICAL !⠀

FACE CLAIM CHO SEUNGYOUN

HEIGHT 186 CM ( 6'1" )

WEIGHT UNKNOWN

BLOOD TYPE A-

born with what is described as a "natural aura of bad luck" on a rainy may day in ulsan, south korea, ji hansaem was never a blessed child, stuck in the middle of seven other children, he was quickly tossed aside in favor of his less fortunate siblings (which he easily understood, they all needed to be taken care of), so from a young age, he seemed to always be on his own. his three older siblings were either much older or found him boring, whilst his three younger siblings were too young and suffering with life-altering diseases, disabilities, or simply disadvantages. it was no surprise to anyone that the lack of attention from at home caused him to start acting out, taking his anger out on anyone and anything, often resulting in his knuckles ending up bruised.

wherever hansaem went, trouble seemed to follow. it was always chalked up to his horrible situation at home and the fact that he seemed to be the only one of all seven children to inherit his father's angers issues, so he never found any actual help for the constant frustration he felt towards strangers who'd done nothing to him. so, he looked to other ways of coping, because if none of the adults in his life would try to help him, he was going to try to help himself, even if it would take so much time.

the leftover anger he decided to not channel into fistfights would instead be channeled into newfound instruments, namely rapping, dancing, and his mission to be able to play at least 10 instruments by the time he was 30. rapping was always an interest of his, time not spent at home (due to how the apartment had literally a whole village living there), would be spent in his close friends sihyuk's garage, taking free sample beats from not always legal website and rapping over them. he wasn't good at it in the beginning, which he clearly states every chance he gets, but as long as he was left alone with his thoughts and a random beat before him, he could come up with anything (but he would never be considered for the rapper position until last minute).

hansaem doesn't exactly know why, or what kind of confidence had overtaken him at that very moment, but he found himself walking into a familiar company on a horribly humid day in august of 2011, sm entertainment (not sure if you've heard of them or not..), but with all shock, he passed, and he found himself in a mundane day-to-day routine full of practice rooms and gossip about if he would debut in the upcoming nct. unfortunately, his popularity as an sm rookies members didn't immediately mean he was going to be a member, which was clearly hinted at him by the actions of his beloved former company. not wanting to waste his time rotting away in a company that didn't really give two shits about him, he would exit after only 1 year of training, but all hope would not be lost, as he would quickly be approached by szene vinyl with an offer that he just couldn't refuse, of course it meant he had to be stuck around just the single most annoying person ever (i.e juniper), but if it meant debuting, so be it!

ʬʬ . THE BASICS !⠀

STAGE NAME DIONE ( 디오네 )

BIRTH NAME JI HANSAEM ( 지한샘 )

DATE OF BIRTH MAY 23, 1997

PLACE OF BIRTH ULSAN, SOUTH KOREA

HOMETOWN ULSAN, SOUTH KOREA

NATIONALITY SOUTH KOREAN

ETHNICITY KOREAN

ʬʬ . THE CAREER !⠀

OCCUPATION RAPPER, DANCER, DRUMMER

LABELS SM ENTERTAINMENT ( 2011 — 2012 ) SZENE VINYL ( 2012 — 2016 ) LUXE DESIGN ( 2016 — present )

TRAINING PERIOD 4 YEARS

POSITION MAIN RAPPER, LEAD DANCER, DRUMMER

DEBUT DATE FEBRUARY 13, 2016

ʬʬ . THE PHYSICAL !⠀

FACE CLAIM YOO TAEYANG

HEIGHT 181 CM ( 5'11" )

WEIGHT UNKNOWN

BLOOD TYPE B

on a cloudy autumn afternoon in jeju city, south korea, jeon yunseok was born as the second of three children, stuck in the middle and becoming the only boy born in his family after 25 years of just girls being born. from the get go, his family members knew there was something special about him, he had a bright smile and seemingly bulletproof optimism, nobody could ever wear him down, he was just strong like that. he was born naturally sociable, always ready to talk to people, never seen without a smile on his face. yunseok was a boy full of dreams, dreams he wouldn't discard until he at least excelled in one of the fields.

one of his biggest dreams included being an idol, and he would find that dream coming true when he debuted in the former "child" idol group DVIX in 2010, being only twelve at the time. now, the whole thing about the group was that the members would graduate when they were eighteen, then a whole new lineup of boys would show up and repeat the process, but it wouldn't be all smooth sailing. for starters, the lineup was full of children, and children are mean, his fellow members wouldn't think twice before deciding to torment every waking day of yunseok's life, his groupmates found it amusing to call him names, whilst his former company found it entertaining to overwork him with stupid brand deals and acting gigs. all he ever truly wanted to do was be an idol, but he had members who made it unbearable and a company that decided to make him do everything but that.

so, yunseok confided in his parents about the whole situation and they weren't any happy, they immediately removed him from the group in 2013 and sued his former company for child endangerment. the most he knows is that they did eventually get paid, he just doesn't know the specific amount they did. his dreams of being an idol wouldn't falter, though, because he would go on and audition for another company, namely audere media, and with his previous expertise in the idol industry, it was no surprise that he passed.

he would never say that his time in the practice room of audere media was a "horrible one", compared to his previous label, they seemed like angels. of course, his bright personality and constant optimism was still meant with hostility from fellow trainees, but most of them actually liked him, cherished him even. he was known as the "unofficial therapist", as he was an amazing listener and advisor. his shiny reputation would carry on to when he debuted, known as the "brightest member of blue rose".

ʬʬ . THE BASICS !⠀

STAGE NAME YUNSEOK ( 윤석 )

BIRTH NAME JEON YUNSEOK ( 전윤석 )

DATE OF BIRTH SEPTEMBER 25, 1998

PLACE OF BIRTH JEJU CITY, JEJU ISLAND, SOUTH KOREA

HOMETOWN JEJU CITY, JEJU ISLAND, SOUTH KOREA

NATIONALITY SOUTH KOREAN

ETHNICITY KOREAN

ʬʬ . THE CAREER !⠀

OCCUPATION RAPPER, DANCER, VOCALIST, KEYBOARDIST

LABELS HAZE2! ( 2009 — 2012 ) AUDERE MEDIA ( 2013 — 2016 ) LUXE DESIGN ( 2016 — present )

TRAINING PERIOD 7 YEARS 2 MONTHS

POSITION LEAD RAPPER, SUB-VOCALIST, KEYBOARDIST

DEBUT DATE JULY 1, 2010 ╱ FEBRUARY 13, 2016

ʬʬ . THE PHYSICAL !⠀

FACE CLAIM LEE JAEHYUN

HEIGHT 182 CM ( 5'11" )

WEIGHT UNKNOWN

BLOOD TYPE AB

on a seemingly random november day, right as the month was coming to a close, song rinhyo (though he is preferred to be called riley) was born in rochester, new york, as the eldest of four children. his mother- a desirous music teacher who dreamed of doing more with her life, and his father- an equally determined children's book illustrator who was trying his hardest to recover from a once almost life threatening addiction. his father was a man who, like everyone, made mistakes, and had many regrets he wished he could've taken back before his inevitable demise. he would die when riley was only 4, leaving the love of his life and three kids behind (along with a fourth one who would unfortunately be born after his funeral).

as a child, helping around the house was never a foreign concept to him, considering his mother had now become a single parent and didn't have a partner available to watch over the kids anymore. riley would take over the position as "surrogate parent" with ease, mostly because he had a natural instinct to protect everyone younger than him, his siblings are his lifeline, he'd go to any lengths to protect them, so much so that he basically became their parent for a good chunk of their lives. he'd make them breakfast, take them to school, then go to school himself, pick them up from school and proceed to take care of them at home. his routine was a mundane one, the same thing every single day.

as a child, singing was always something he was interested in. his mother was a music teacher, the person who taught him everything he knows about how to advance his vocals, as well as play his two main instruments (the guitar and drums). he would often sing his siblings to sleep, though always begrudgingly due to the fact that he never really enjoyed singing in front of people that weren't teachers or his mother, believing he wasn't exactly amazing or that he would embarrass himself. he always described his skills as "mediocre", he was just your regular guy who enjoyed singing on some occasions and playing guitar solos for fun.

everything would come to a stop when, without him knowing, his younger brother noah would send a video of him singing the song (and playing the guitar instrumental) stairway to heaven by led zeppelin to szene vinyl as an audition tape. he had previously tried to convince the older to audition for the company, having read that they were accepting trainees from everywhere around the world, riley, though he clearly wanted to audition, refused profusely each time due to the fact that he didn't exactly want to just up and leave his family to chase some idol dream that probably wouldn't come true considering his odds. he wouldn't even know until his siblings brought it up to him awkwardly, he swears he almost punched them in the face when learning what they did, but he was even more shocked to know that his audition was accepted, he passed.

riley thought about it for a long time, talked about it with his mom for several days, but she persuaded him, and a decision was eventually made. in a matter of two weeks after his brother had sent that video to szene vinyl without him knowing, he was now on a plane to seoul, able to fulfill a dream he once thought would be impossible to. after arriving at the building for the first time in 2013, he would eventually train for 3 years until he got the chance to debut in blue rose, as their maknae, and as the only member with two instrumental positions. he often thinks his debut was only due to the fact that his best friend, louyoung, left the company, he often feels undeserving of his position, but the members and his family never fail to remind him that he deserves what he has.

ʬʬ . THE BASICS !⠀

STAGE NAME CERES ( 케레스 )

BIRTH NAME RILEY KIERYN SONG

KOREAN NAME SONG RINHYO ( 송린효 )

DATE OF BIRTH NOVEMBER 28, 1998

PLACE OF BIRTH ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, USA

HOMETOWN ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, USA

NATIONALITY AMERICAN

ETHNICITY KOREAN

ʬʬ . THE CAREER !⠀

OCCUPATION SINGER-SONGWRITER, GUITARIST, DRUMMER

LABELS SZENE VINYL ( 2013 — 2016 ) LUXE DESIGN ( 2016 — present )

TRAINING PERIOD 3 YEARS 7 MONTHS

POSITION MAIN VOCALIST, LEAD GUITARIST, DRUMMER

DEBUT DATE FEBRUARY 13, 2016

ʬʬ . THE PHYSICAL !⠀

FACE CLAIM JUNG WOOKJIN

HEIGHT 177 CM ( 5'10" )

WEIGHT UNKNOWN

BLOOD TYPE O

[soccerpunching]

3,4,5,10 and 15 for Kaleidoscope? (Also maybe extra question: Do the OG ina11 characters that didn't appear in go (ex: Jin, Shorinji) appear in this story?)

Thanks for being patient! I had trouble with choosing which narration and dialogue to take from this fic and there are not that many things that didn’t show spoilers for something in the story. Just a reminder also that this is from my rough drafts so expect grammar fails waaaahhh!

Kaleidoscope

(canon compliant from s1 to galaxy; a queer story; taking place 1 year after the events of inago)

3: What's your favorite line of narration?

Context: Endou is not and will not be romantically involved with Gouenji in this story. He’s married to Natsumi like in canon and that’s not about to change or will ever be implied to be challenged. Both Natsumi and Endou are not straight nor monogamous too.

In this scene, it’s the dead of the night. Raimon Eleven (go) had an overnight camping in the school (like the og did in s1 before the match vs Zeus). Something came up and Gouenji was his last saving grace but he was angry to be called for something unserious when he thought there was an emergency (he’s wearing jacket over his sleeping clothes even as he rushed to get there). Endou then “weaponizes” his doe eyes on Gouenji. I love this because it’s so silly and doesn’t reveal much of the plot but does say a lot about their bond.

Raimon Eleven just saw their coach at his most pitiable and couldn’t react. All they knew was that if he ever used that on them, they’d fold immediately; that’s not a sight they could stand to watch. That being said, the legendary flame striker’s gait was not only unaffected but had also become more fierce than they remember; eyes glinted and jaw hardened. Anxiety rose from them as they watched Gouenji’s face hard and uncaring… until he breathed. Sighed. “Well, I’m already here, aren’t I?” He begrudgingly closed his eyes and slipped his hands inside his pockets. The frightened team collectively sighed in relief, Gouenji seemed to calm down. Just when they were about to lower their guard, a blinding light came from their coach’s face. “Gouenji, you really are heaven's gift to me!” Endou beamed at the unimpressed striker. He clung to his arm in full splendor and what the kids would only call a desperate act of placation.  “Thank you so much!!” Some sensed a tiny change in Gouenji’s expression. He impassively let himself get dragged by his best friend without making an effort to push him away. The audience looked at the scene for a while before making a move. “Well, there’s a sight.” Without vocally acknowledging Kurama’s observation, the players all soundlessly followed the two to the scene of the crime.

4: What's your favorite line of dialogue?

I’m giving you two of them because I cannot choose!!

1. Context: [This one is still a script] This scene takes place in the opening of the first Football Frontier since Holy Road was abolished and Gouenji is still the chairman of youth soccer. He went to where the Raimon Eleven was waiting for Haruna in the parking lot riding a motorbike with her at the back before going to the stadium’s VIP room.

Endou: Yo! Shouldn’t you be even earlier than us, Chairman? *teases* Gouenji: *opens his helmet; voice muffled; makes no move to turn off engine or get off* I’m considered early, you know. Otonashi: *just takes helmet off as she jumps off* I’m sorry! That was on me!! You went out of your way for me, Gouenji-san! Gouenji: *raises his brow* Like I said, I'm considered early still. He just wanted me to be late. Endou made a loud chuckle that some were convinced echoed in the whole parking lot. Gouenji: See? *extends one of his arm to take the helmet from Haruna and hangs it on the throttle* He's just counting on me being late for something all the time. - other dialogues that I can’t reveal yet - Gouenji: *looks at the signages* This is far away from the entrance I should be using. See you later, everyone. *looks around as if looking for where he should be going then turns the throttle* Endou: Make me dinner if you do get late!! Gouenji: Jinx me and you’ll never taste my cooking again! *drives away* Endou: *waves and laughs* 

I keep on putting in all the parts with Endou because he's just such a guy!!

2. Context: My 13yo OC (named Yori) is in the process of being adopted by Kidou, now age 25 here. Kidou got angry at someone that I won’t be mentioning here and Yori witnessed that. They left the scene together…

“Whaaa!!” Yori barely stopped himself from colliding at Kidou’s back. The adult turned around, his head hanging solemnly with an indescribable expression. “I’m sorry, Yori. You didn’t need to see that.” His cracked voice pierced a knife on Yori’s chest. That was not something he knew the absolute commander of the field to be. He was always sure of himself, outspoken, snarky even; and his head would only lower for empathy. Yori tried to find the words to get him back to his usual self, “Oh… that’s…” “I should be better than showing such pettiness in your presence,” he said barely with a better tone than he did his last.  “Uh– you’re allowed to feel how you feel, Yuuto-san,” Yori stated with the confident tone Kidou usually had. “Besides, [Redacted] prefers that people tell him how they feel about him upfront. Like you did.” “I know, but this isn’t about him—” “—And I prefer knowing about how you really feel about things, too.” Kidou stared at him for a long while with his mouth slightly open, a foreign sight to the child who had only known him at his best. He then smiled; a small one but meant a lot to Yori. “You’re a great kid. But don’t push yourself too much.” He squeezed his shoulder, teeth on his mouth now showing. Yori could hear the gratitude in his revived voice. “The adults should be the one taking care of you.” Kidou looked at him more before motioning to continue walking. Yori smiled at Kidou’s back, guided by the memories they shared for the brief time they’ve known each other. ‘You already are…’

5: What part was hardest to write?

The story being OC-centric in general. It was difficult for me to find that balance on how much I should be showing the other characters and their side of things without coming off as if they’re stealing the OC’s show. Since my OC is a first year in middle school here who just enrolled in raimon and the other characters already went through their character arcs, it’s difficult to make a problem that they wouldn’t be able to solve for my OC. I found the solution to this by placing my OC in the 2nd team btw. Surprisingly easy solution but it also sounds like running away from the problem. But it went fine (I think) so far.

But concerning specific parts of the plot, all the emotional Kidou parts were devastating for me to write and I’m not talking about this one above. May the universe have mercy on this guy because my muse did not.

10: Why did you choose this pairing for this particular story?

Hmm… I don’t really have a pairing for my OC since he’s aroace and not interested in one but there are a lot of ships here that people may be interested in. The ships for the recurring supporting characters that I chose here all mostly serve narrative purposes (not that anybody needs to for a ship, mind you), while the background ones are just what I like. These are the ones I can say for now: Kageno x Other OC, Endou x Natsumi, Max x Handa, Someoka x Fubuki, Sakuma x Fudou x Genda, Midori x Akane… aaaaaaaaand more!!

I was planning to watch all of areori first before going midway here since they have interesting characters that I may be able to add. I have a concrete outline of what’s about to happen though but I want to be sure about where I want the story to go first before actually publishing this.

15: What did you learn from writing this fic?

A lot about how the professional soccer players in Japan live their lives ig and what do they usually do or what is usually the issue with them that the public is concerned about. Also on what happens to those who don’t pursue a soccer career when they were considered a prodigy when young. I learned a lot about the political diaspora and read a lot about how bigotry is shown. Now that I’ve mentioned it, most of what I know about Japan that’s not in our textbooks here and not shown in their shows or anime is because of this fic wow.

I’ve also got myself interested in their period dramas, thanks director and producer Kageno.

Also maybe extra question: Do the OG ina11 characters that didn't appear in go (ex: Jin, Shorinji) appear in this story?

YES THEY DO!! Thank you for asking that OMG! Actually this story itself is set in Inazuma Town where my OC basically lives his life and he stumbles into the og Raimon Eleven a lot!!

First responder and firefighter Max (also part time delivery person) usually will be seen waiting for his fiance Handa who is the coach of KFC. Shourin has his own dojo around town that incorporates hissatsu techniques in their style (he won’t be seen a lot though because I can’t think of a plot-relevant thing for him to do ����). 

Kageno here is the director and producer of a show called Inazuma Eleven that’s literally just the entire first season of ie that tells THEIR story!! But with teen actors (surprise Actors AU!!! Everything that we’ve watched in the first season is everything that is part of this “based on a true story” series by Kageno but with a few episodes with contents I will add on a separate AO3 series).

My OC is the actor for Shishido so he also meets him on the set because Shishido likes crashing there! He gives Yori pointers on how to act him and overall adds good vibes to the cast in there! The other actors who are also in middle school are people my OC will also find as his opponents in the field because of course they know soccer!! I promise there’s a purpose as to why they have this series! Trust me!!

OMG thank you so much for sending this ask!! I enjoyed talking about this! Motivated me more to write about it!!

And yes, this is a very ambitious project. I’m not even sure if I can pull it off but I want to tell this story since it means a lot to me. Like personally. So, I’ll do my best!

Ask about my WIPs here

[braveclementine]

Chapter 10

Warnings: None, Readers under 18 can read this book. It is solely fluff- nothing sexual

Copyright: I do not own any Wizarding World characters that J.K. Rowling wrote. I do however own Elizabeth Kane (main character) and Trang Nyguen (best friend). There should be no use of these two names without my permission. I also do not condone any copying of this.

.💚💚.

𝕴 𝖜𝖔𝖐𝖊 𝖚𝖕 when the other Hufflepuffs started rummaging around in their dressers. I sat up quickly, giving myself a head rush, and rolled over out of bed. Then, throwing my bed together rather sloppily, I raced down to the Great Hall where Harry was sitting with the rest of the Gryffindor team. None of them were eating and they all looked rather sick.

I sat between Harry and Fred. "Eat something." I advised them. "you're going to do fine and you guys are going to win."

"Easy for you to say." Harry muttered.

I rolled my eyes, pulling over the plate of toast, eggs, and bacon. "Eat Harry."

Harry helped himself to some food with some coaxing and the rest of the team gradually started eating.

"Why are you guys up so early anyways?" I yawned, stretching. I shouldn't have gone out last night. "The game isn't until eleven."

"Wood will probably give us a three hour lecture." Fred said loudly, making sure Wood heard him.

The entire team laughed, even Wood, though Wood also looked rather sick. Slowly, the rest of the school filed into the Great Hall, while the Gryffindor team rose, getting ready to go out to their locker room.

"Good luck Harry, you're going to do wonderfully." I said, pulling him into a tight hug. I loved being able to hug him, even as a friend. "You too Fred." I said kissing him on the cheek. Fred grinned like an idiot, and I dashed off to find Ginny so that we could sit together during the match.

Ginny and I found our seats somewhere near Hermione and Ron, though not directly with them. We talked about all sorts of things while we waited for the match to start. She mostly wanted to know if Harry really was a good seeker. I happily complied with all her questions, knowing that she had a crush on him. Then she returned the favor by answering questions about Fred.

Was it that obvious I liked him?

Then the Gryffindor team walked out onto the pitch. The Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, and Ravenclaws all cheered as loudly as possible. The Slytherins hissed and booed, then cheered as their own team walked out onto the pitch.

I heard the whistle blow, and the teams rose up into the air, level with our sight. I had brought my own pair of binoculars this time, and Ginny and I took turns looking at Harry. (I also looked at Fred and Oliver because they were really good players).

Malfoy yelled something at Harry, but Harry ignored him, dodging a bludger that very nearly took his head off. Both Ginny and I gasped and we grabbed each others arms.

George whacked the bludger towards one of the Slytherins, but the bludger swerved away from the Slytherin chaser and quickly shot back towards Harry. I watched, in shock. Okay, so I'd seen him break his arm, but this?

Quickly, I closed my eyes. Surely I would foresee where this was coming from? I searched my mind and tried to find the source. I frantically searched, but I kept finding unrelated things. What I'd seen in the Mirror of Erised, Mrs. Norris, Lockhart screwing up Harry's arm. . . there! In the hospital after the match! The house elf with large green eyes! It was his bludger!

I jumped up as Fred knocked the bludger as hard as possible away from Harry. The bludger swung back towards Harry who took off across the field. I heard Lee Jordan announce the dreadful score of "Slytherin lead, sixty points to zero-"

Fred and George were flying so close to Harry that they looked like a sort of lopsided sandwich. Harry was never going to be able to find the snitch that way. I saw George trying to make a time out signal to wood, while also trying to stop the bludger from knocking Harry out.

It was like a repeat from last year. Fred and George always seemed to be the ones that were trying to save Harry's life whenever he was in trouble. Last year when Quirrell tried to buck him off his broom and now: As the house-elf's bludger was trying to kill him. Well. . . the house-elf probably wasn't trying to kill him, just maim him.

I heard Madam Hooch's whistle sound and Harry, Fred, and George dived for the ground, all of them trying their best to avoid the bludger. Ginny pulled on my arm and I realized that I was still standing. I sat back down automatically.

"Do bludgers normally act like that?" She asked, her voice and eyes full of fear and anxiety.

I shook my head, "Not at all."

I looked down as the Gryffindors angrily jabbered amongst themselves, making rude hand signs at the Slytherins. They obviously believed that the Slytherins were the ones who had tampered with the bludger. George, Fred, Alicia, Wood, and Harry were all waving their arms about, each of them arguing their sides while Katie and Angelina hung back. Madam Hooch started to approach them. I could hear the Slytherin's jeering from the other side of the pitch.

I glanced over at the teachers. None of them seemed to be thinking that there was anything wrong with the bludger. McGonagall looked extremely relaxed, perhaps because I had already told her that Gryffindor would win. Snape was sulking in his seat, his arms crossed across his chest. I wanted to tell them about the bludger, but the Professors never interfered with the Quidditch games- if the danger element was a Quidditch thing like a bludger.

I heard the whistle again and Harry kicked off hard. The bludger was immediately after him. Ginny was clutching my arm very tightly. Harry climbed higher and higher and then he started to do loops and zigzags and rolls. I heard laughter from the other houses, but not the Gryffindors who had, of course, sensed that something was wrong with the bludger.

The bludger just nearly missed him and he turned right, speeding in the opposite direction. It came at him again and he did a kind of twirl on his broom. I saw Malfoy up on there on his broom, laughing at Harry. I gritted my teeth, tempted to curse him. My arm was starting to lose feeling from Ginny squeezing it so tightly.

"MOVE HARRY!" I screamed at him, as he stood still on his broom. He gave a start, but it was too late, the bludger smashed into his elbow. He grabbed it in pain and then shot towards Malfoy, his other hand out. Malfoy moved out of the way, fear flickering across his face. I jumped up, wrenching my arm out of Ginny's grasp, ran down the aisles to the stairs, and started making my way down the stairs as Harry zoomed down to the ground.

He rolled off his broom and splattered into the mud and laid there. I quickly knelt by his side. "Harry?" I asked frantically, "Harry!"

He'd fainted. I tapped his face as the others came running down the stairs and the Gryffindor team came to land around him. The bludger came down again, aiming for him and I quickly raised my wand and shouted, "Finite Incantatem!" The bludger exploded into pixie dust and settled down around us gently.

"Guess we'll have to get a new bludger." Wood said, but he was grinning, glad that they'd won the game.

Suddenly, Lockhart was there, kneeling down next to Harry. Harry fluttered his eyes open and then said, "Oh, no, not you."

I laughed out loud, relieved. Relieved because Harry was awake and sensible, not relieved because Lockhart was there.

"Doesn't know what he's saying. Not to worry, Harry. I'm about to fix your arm." Lockhart said, pulling out his wand.

"No." I said quickly, my panic fluttering up again.

"No!" Harry shouted, panicking. "I'll keep it like this, thanks. . ." Then he added, "I don't want a picture of this, Colin." I realized Colin was taking pictures. I would've snapped at him if I hadn't known what was going to happen to him.

"Lie back, Harry. It's a simple charm I've used countless times-" Lockhart was trying to force Harry to lie back.

Harry gritted his teeth. "Why can't I just go to the hospital wing?"

"He should really, Professor." Wood said, still grinning and then added, "Great capture, Harry, really spectacular, your best yet, I'd say-"

Fred came to stand next to me. "Well done with that bludger." he whispered in my ear. I felt my cheeks redden.

"Stand back." Lockhart said and the crowd all backed up.

"No" Both Harry and I said at the same time and instinctively, without thinking, I reached up to grab Lockhart's wand from him. I missed, an inch short and I felt a tremendous, unspectacular feeling go through my arm. Lockhart didn't seem to have noticed this as I stumbled back in surprise and he did the spell again unconcerned. This time the spell hit Harry's arm.

"Elizabeth?" Fred asked in concern, catching me by the shoulders. "What happened?"

I tried to open my mouth to tell him, but instead, shook my head. I thought I might be sick with pain. I prodded my arm. My bones were still in there, thankfully, but my entire arm had this pins and needles sensation that felt like how TV static looked. My head was starting to feel fuzzy too.

"Ah." I heard Lockhart say as my vision started to swim, "Yes. Well, that can sometimes happen. But the point is, the bones are no longer broken. That's the thing to bear in mind. So, Harry, just toddle up to the hospital wing- ah, Mr. Weasley, Miss Granger, would you escort him?- Madam Pomfrey will be able to-er- tidy you up a bit."

I leaned around Fred's arm and nearly threw up again. Harry's arm no longer looked like an arm. It resembled perhaps a balloon or rubber glove.

"Let's get you to the hospital wing." Fred murmured in my ear. "Come on."

I was able to walk, though the pain in my arm was immense, and I leaned on Fred on my way up to the Hospital wing, Harry, Ron, and Hermione following from behind, then the rest of the Gryffindor team.

Madam Pomfrey was outraged with the both of us, more specifically Harry because his arm had originally been broken. We got beds right next to each other. She started muttering underneath her breath about incompetent teachers and I wondered just how aware the other Professors were of Lockhart's stupidity and why Dumbledore had let him teach us.

'He was on'y person for the job.'

Madam Pomfrey treated me first because apparently mine was going to take longer to mend than Harrys! My arm wasn't mendable the way it was already. So she had to give me a potion to remove the bones from my arm, then give me a potion to make the bones regrow! Can you believe that? As if I needed another reason to highly dislike Lockhart.

The deboning took nearly an hour so Madam Pomfrey bustled about Harry, giving him Skele-gro in order to regrow the bones in his arms. The Gryffindor team showed up some time later with food and drinks to celebrate but Madam Pomfrey shooed them all out, yelling about the number of bones we had to regrow tonight. Thirty-three, to be precise.

Once all the bones were out of my arm- and my arm no longer hurt- Madam Pomfrey gave me the Skele-gro. It burned my throat and I choked and sputtered and coughed it down. My eyes were streaming with tears as I laid down on the bed and tried to fall asleep as quickly as possible.

I got my wish.

.💚💚.

𝕬 𝖑𝖔𝖚𝖉 𝖈𝖗𝖆𝖈𝖐 woke me up and I gave a start, startled. I laid in my hospital bed for a moment, sure that it had just been a noise in my dreams. Then, there were some whimpering noises and someone was scuttling around, and I heard water being run, and someone hopping up onto someone's bed.

I was frozen, not entire sure what was happening. Were we in danger? Then I heard Harry's voice mutter, "Get off! Dobby!"

I rolled over carefully in bed, nearly shouting aloud when I felt pain in my arm again.

I saw the house-elf, crying and peering at Harry in the darkness. I closed my eyes half-way so that I could see and hear, but so that they wouldn't know I was listening in. I wasn't sure that Dobby would talk if he knew I was awake.

"Harry Potter came back to school. Dobby warned and warned Harry Potter. Ah sir, why didn't you heed Dobby? Why didn't Harry Potter go back home when he missed the train?"

I heard a sound and flicked my eyes open for a second as Harry pushed himself up onto his pillows, sitting up. "What're you doing here? And how did you know I missed the train?" The house-elves bottom lip quivered, but he said nothing and Harry exclaimed, "It was you! You stopped the barrier from letting us through!"

"Indeed yes, sir. Dobby hid and watched for Harry Potter and sealed the gateway when that girl over there put her hand on it. Dobby couldn't let Harry Potter into the school, no matter what! Dobby had to iron his hands afterward but Dobby didn't care, sir, for he though Harry Potter was safe, and never did Dobby dream that Harry Potter would get to school another way!"

Awww, poor Dobby. But my damn hand!

"Dobby was so shocked when he heard Harry Potter was back at Hogwarts, he let his master's dinner burn! Such a flogging Dobby never had, sir. . ."

Harry slumped more comfortably into his pillows. "You nearly got Ron and me expelled! And Elizabeth had to stay there for nine hours! You'd better get lost before my bones come back, Dobby, or I might strangle you!"

Dobby smiled weakly, the last thing I thought he was going to do. "Dobby is used to death threats, sir. Dobby gets them five times a day at home." Then he blew his nose on the pillowcase he was wearing.

"Why d'you wear that thing, Dobby?" Harry asked curiously. His anger had burned out once again. I reckoned he was in to much pain to get properly angry. Plus, he was to nice of a person.

"This, sir?" Dobby asked, pulling the pillow case away from his body for a second and letting it fall. "'Tis a mark of the house-elf's enslavement, sir. Dobby can only be freed if his masters present him with clothes, sir. The family is careful not to pass Dobby even a sock, sir, for then he would be free to leave their house forever."

I closed my eyes. Perhaps I could fall asleep again? There was another sharp pain in my arm. I gritted my teeth. I was going to hate myself forever for grabbing Lockhart's wand. Or- attempting to anyways.

"Harry Potter must go home! Dobby thought his Bludger would be enough to make-"

Harry interrupted Dobby angrily, "Your bludger? What d' you mean, your Bludger? You made that Bludger try and kill me?"

"Not kill you, sir, never kill you! Dobby wants to save Harry Potter's life! Better sent home, grievously injured, then remain here sir! Dobby only wanted Harry Potter hurt enough to be sent home!" Dobby said, so shocked that his sobs had stopped.

"Oh, is that all?" Harry asked, still extremely angry. "I don't suppose you're going to tell me why you wanted me sent home in pieces?"

I wondered if Madam Hooch had ordered a new Bludger yet and if I was going to get detention for destroying school property.

"Ah, if Harry Potter only knew!" Dobby groaned. "If he knew what he means to us, to the lowly, the enslaved, we dregs of the magical world! Dobby remembers how it was when He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was at the height of his powers, sir! We house-elf's were treated like vermin, sir! Of course, Dobby is still treated like that, sir. But mostly, sir, life has improved for my kind since you triumphed over He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Harry Potter survived, and the Dark Lord's power was broken, and it was a new dawn, sir, and Harry Potter shone like a beacon of hope for those of us who thought the Dark days would never end, sir. . ."

I realized that I was silently crying. Bloody hell, there was something wrong with me. . .but Dobby was painting such a beautiful picture, one that I could connect with. Harry had been everything to me when I had been younger. I had been so excited to tell him I was his sister when we started Hogwarts and yet. . .

". . .And now, at Hogwarts, terrible things are to happen, are perhaps happening already, and Dobby cannot let Harry Potter stay here now that history is to repeat itself, now that the Chamber of Secrets is open once more-"

I gave a start and rolled over. I yelped in pain, but it was covered my Dobby cracking himself over his head with Harry's water jug and muttering "Bad Dobby, bad Dobby." Harry looked over and we locked eyes for a second. I put a finger to my lips.

"So there is a Chamber of Secrets?" Harry whispered, excited now. "And- did you say it's been opened before? Tell me, Dobby. . . But I'm not Muggle-born- how can I be in danger from the Chamber?"

Because, I thought but didn't say, you're an enemy of Voldemort.

"Ah, sir, ask no more, ask no more of poor Dobby. Dark deeds are planned in this place, but Harry Potter must not be here when they happen- go home, Harry Potter, go home. Harry Potter must not meddle in this, sir, 'tis too dangerous-"

"Who is it, Dobby?" Harry asked. He had a firm hold on Dobby's wrist, probably so that Dobby couldn't punish himself for telling Harry so many things he wasn't supposed to. "Who's opened it? Who opened it last time?"

"Dobby can't, sir, Dobby can't, Dobby mustn't tell! Go home, Harry Potter, go home!" Dobby squealed.

"I'm not going anywhere!" Harry said fiercely. "One of my best friends is Muggle-born; she'll be first in line if the Chamber really as been opened-"

I felt pride fill my heart. I really did love Harry.

"Harry Potter risks his own life for his friends!" Dobby moaned in a joyful, melancholy way that made my bones shiver. Or maybe that was the Skele-gro. "So noble! So valiant! But he must save himself, he must, Harry Potter must not-"

He stopped talking, listening. Harry threw himself down on the bed and Dobby disappeared. I quickly rolled back over onto my good arm, my bad arm on top of my chest.

I watched, through squinted eyes as Professor Dumbledore and Snape shuffled slowly, carrying what seemed to be a marble statue. Professor McGonagall trailed after them, a hand over her mouth. What was Snape doing? He hadn't been part of the original vision. Unless he was only here because I'd told him along with Dumbledore and McGonagall about Colin. The statue was probably Colin- petrified.

They laid him down on a bed two away from me.

"Get Madam Pomfrey." I heard Dumbledore whisper. I closed my eyes, in case one of them looked over at me.

I heard urgent voices in another room and then the sounds of feet walking back and then a gasp of surprise from Madam Pomfrey.

"What happened?" She asked, leaning over Colin.

"Another attack." Dumbledore said calmly. "Minerva found him on the stairs."

I nearly scoffed. Sure she did. She probably stayed up the entire night and then went to where she knew the attack was and then she did find him.

"There was a bunch of grapes next to him." Professor McGonagall said and I saw an image in my mind of a pale white hand laying on the ground- a bunch of pure purple grapes laying inches away. "We think he was trying to sneak up here to visit Potter."

I heard creaking on the bed next to me and knew Harry was lifting himself up to see who it was, probably figuring that it was Colin.

"Petrified?" Madam Pomfrey whispered. I figured it was kind of obvious.

"Yes." Professor McGonagall said. "But I shudder to think. . . If Albus hadn't been on the way downstairs for hot chocolate- who knows what might have-"

She drifted off. The four of them were silent for a long time. I watched Dumbledore wrench the camera out of Colin's grasp.

"You don't think he managed to get a picture of his attacker?" Professor Snape asked slowly. He didn't sound hopeful.

Dumbledore didn't answer, perhaps because he didn't want to get anyone's hopes up. I heard a click as he opened the back of the camera.

"Good gracious!" Madam Pomfrey exclaimed as a jet of steam hissed out of the camera.

The smell wafted over and I smelt the burnt plastic and metal and battery acid and the smell filled my lungs. My eyes teared up and my throat burned and then I started to cough horribly. The Professor's heads popped up, looking in my direction as I rolled over so that my head was over the side of the bed, dry retching.

Madam Pomfrey was by my side in a second, leaning over me. "Miss Kane, are you alright?"

"No, I think-." I managed to say through the retching. I really was going to throw up any second. She quickly conjured up a trash can and I vommited twice, and then laid back on the pillows, breathing hard. Tears were rolling down my face.

"I'll be right back." She said and hurried over to the cupboard and pulled out a bottle. I sat up so that I could take the medicine.

"Thank you." I muttered. I didn't look at Professor Dumbledore or McGonagall or Snape or Harry.

"This'll help you sleep and soothe those coughs." Madam Pomfrey said in her kind voice.

I laid back down and pulled the covers over me thickly. The medicine was fast acting. The last thing I heard was Dumbledore saying, ". . .Chamber of Secrets is indeed open again." Then, I was out like a light and I had no idea what was said after that.

⬅️➡️

[allthewriteplaces]

Magnolia in May ~ Chapter Eleven

Author's Note: It's honestly a MIRACLE that I got this released in time considering how my week has started off with me feeling really sick and a bunch of other stuff. Hopefully by next week, I'll feel better, but for now, let us indulge in some Lizzie x Jessie friendship! Chapter Warning(s): None

Word Count: 4271

Chapter Eleven

The minute I got inside, I took off my jacket, put it on the coat hook and then placed my boots next to Charlie and Ruby’s. This place was not as big as Arrow House, but somehow, it suited her. It was much like her character; quiet, friendly, and inviting. People came to her with their problems and she was always willing to offer a listening ear or words of advice when necessary. I took quite a liking to her when we first met, considering the obvious tension between her and Thomas.

“You and Tommy seem very close.”

In spite of said tension, I also thought it was funny how she still called him ‘Tommy’ and he called her ‘Lizzie’ when they were in the same room, as though they were still good friends. Maybe they didn’t get on as well at first as they did now.

“We are quite fond of one another,” I nodded.

Her eyes sparkled in the light coming from the window and a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. Then she leaned forward as if to whisper conspiratorially. “It is a wonder he hasn’t taken you to bed yet.”

My jaw nearly dropped to the floor the second the words came out of her mouth and I could tell that I looked like a codfish, so I forced my mouth closed and then cleared my throat, swallowing thickly and feeling my cheeks turning pink with the sudden heat. “Yes, well, it’s a little hard with the nightmares and all that.”

“He told me they were becoming less frequent.” She sounded concerned.

We made our way to a sitting-room a little ways down a corridor from the entrance of the house. I was silent for a few moments. I wanted to plan my next words carefully, because it would be easy for her to assume that she was the one at fault for the return of the nightmares. There was no need to add to the excruciating amount of guilt she was feeling over separating from him, no need to drive her already fragile emotions to the very edge. I wanted to reassure her that it wasn’t her fault, that she was the cause of the nightmares.

Knowing that the children were around was another good reason to keep my voice quiet and to filter through my words. Looking around, I made sure they were not within earshot before I continued. “They started up again several weeks ago. He said something about tunnels and shovels and feeling trapped beneath them.”

Lizzie was considerately quiet now, too and after a moment, she nodded. “He used to be what was known as a tunneler. He and several other men dug long tunnels underneath contested no-man’s-land territory to bury explosives underneath enemy trenches. The job was incredibly dangerous — they risked capture by the enemy and death from tunnels collapsing. They also fought at the Battle of the Somme and the Battle of Verdun, two of the most infamously bloody conflicts of the war.”

She closed the door when we stepped over the threshold. It clicked quietly shut behind her, then she went to sit in one of the two armchairs near the fireplace and gestured for me to do the same.

“He’s never gone into complete detail about what happened,” she continued, picking up the teapot and pouring the warm, soothing liquid into two white, porcelain tea cups. The steam rose from the rim and evaporated into the warm air. “I understand that he would much rather forget that part of his life ever happened, then have to explain it all as if it were fresh in his mind.”

I pick up my cup and then take a small sip to avoid burning my tongue. “He woke up in such a dreadful state that it makes me wish there was something I could do to help him besides offering words of comfort and embracing him in ways that only temporarily eliminate the ghosts of his past.”

“Someone’s been reading a lot of Shakespeare,” she said with a tiny smile.

“I’m sorry?” I blinked several times to try and comprehend the meaning.

“No, I just meant when you said ‘eliminating the ghosts of his past,’ it sort of sounds like something he would write about.”

“Perhaps in his early years of his writing,” I laughed, “I am not as well-versed or have such an advanced vocabulary. Nor do I think I could keep speaking in riddles.”

A few minutes of silence passed, but I didn’t mind it. While some may have seen it as awkward, or felt the need to fill it with idle chatter and small talk, I took it as a spare second to think, to allow my mind to wander wherever it wanted to. I wasn’t sure where Thomas was right now, or who exactly he was going to speak with when he got to wherever it was he needed to be, but I hoped that he knew what he was getting into and I wanted him to know that I and the rest of his family would be praying for his safe return. Soon enough, Lizzie spoke again.

“Permit me for saying this, but I have noticed that he has been a different man since he met you,” she said. I looked her way, surprised by not only the break of the silence, but of the words that were spoken. “I mean this in the best possible way, of course. Ever since Grace died, and after losing his brother, he doesn’t let people get too close to him and whenever someone tries, he pushes them away. He keeps his heart locked up in a safe that no one can find the passcode to, not even me, the one person he vowed to share everything with. At the beginning of the divorce, he barely paid any attention to them aside from mealtimes and they would call me on the telephone, begging for me to come and pick them up.”

I was surprised to say the least. Thomas always appeared to be a doting father to his children. He gave them everything and anything they wanted without spoiling them. He listened to them play their instruments, he comforted them when something was bothering them, sat with them during mealtimes and played with them when he wasn’t working. He even put his work aside to attend the picnic with them that one day and it made them so happy.

It might seem to some that we were speaking of two different Thomas Shelbys, one who was present in the family and his children’s lives and one who distanced himself from the people he cared about and who cared about him.

“It’s one of the things that caused us to separate. He just wasn’t the same anymore, and when he went away, he smelled like other women. He reeked of blood and danger and Charlie even said to me, ‘you’re more my mum than he is my dad’ and it broke my heart. Not just for Charlie but for Thomas. They had an unbreakable bond, which seemed to crumble more and more until it was nothing more than dust, old memories that were left behind in the past.”

She paused again, gazing into the fireplace for a moment, collecting her emotions. One thing I admired, but was also slightly concerned about, was that too often, her main focus was taking care of everyone else and making sure their needs were met while rarely allowing herself to take care of her own or to let anyone see her own sadness, anger and pain. After all, the separation took a toll on her as well and it seemed to me like her way of dealing with her negative emotions was pretending they didn’t exist in the first place.

I wasn’t sure what to do at that moment, but I felt this strong inclination to reach out to her, to put a hand on hers and tell her that it was okay if she needed to cry, or to take a step back for a while. On the other hand, having the children with her for a couple of weeks might be just the thing to lift her spirits.

“But things changed. I was surprised that one night near the end of April when I didn’t receive a single telephone call and at first I was worried, because what if something happened to them? Now I see that it’s because of you. I should be jealous of you, furious even.”

“I assure you, Miss Stark, that you have nothing to be jealous of. Thomas and I are good friends. Nothing more.”

She added a few cubes of sugar into her tea and then gently stirred it so it wouldn’t remain in a clump. “Good friends, eh? Then why did it take you so long to say ‘goodbye’ to one another?”

My head snapped upward and she looked back at me through narrowed eyes, raising one brow sceptically. I opened my mouth to speak, in a lame attempt to explain my absence and protect my reputation, but then she started laughing.

“Look at your face, you’re as red as a tomato.”

While Lizzie tried in vain to recover herself, I wasn’t sure what to do. I didn’t feel like laughing in the least, and I sat there feeling awkward and embarrassed and a little bit foolish. I should have known Lizzie would find out about Thomas and I and while I did wish we had a little more time together, him and I, I am glad that we parted ways when we did, or else we would have taken a lot longer, thus raising more suspicions.

How much she knew, however, I still wasn’t sure and I wasn’t going to ask any further questions about it, dig myself a deeper hole than I was already in. At least now she was smiling, though. That was the only good thing about it, even if it was at my own expense.

“Well, to be honest with you, I would much rather see him with you than that May Carleton woman.” She looked down at her clenched fist and loosened it. “She’s practical and follows structure and routine very strictly, which I am certain you’ve noticed, but she lacks imagination and creativity. Not like you.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” I smiled, and took another sip of my tea.

“You should,” she said, smiling back at me, but it quickly vanished as soon as it appeared. “She is a bit too forward, however. She knows exactly how to draw Tommy in and sometimes he is too quick to fall for it. Or he was, anyway.”

“Was?”

“Like I said, he’s been different since he met you. Although, if there ever comes a time when I need to make a choice between who I think best suits him besides you, I would easily choose her over Tatiana.”

“Tatiana? May? Lizzie? Grace? How many women does Mister Shelby know exactly?”

My mouth snapped shut, realising I had just asked that question out loud rather than in my head. Lizzie leaned her head back and sighed dramatically.

“Too many to count, I’m afraid.” She added a little bit more sugar to her tea, seeing as how it wasn’t sweet enough already. “But rest assured, he will not be seeing Tatiana again. And May? Far as I know, she’s just a friend.”

“Who’s Tatiana?” I asked.

“No one you need to worry about.” She shook her head, setting her cup and saucer down, then meeting my eyes again. “She is a duchess. Rich, beautiful, a real temptress who would do just about anything to get what she wanted. I never met her or knew her personally. Not really, but I never liked her, and shockingly, neither did Tommy. She stayed over one night, and things got out of hand. That’s all he was willing to tell me about her.”

“Men are weak when it comes to women, especially those they know are trouble. And they rarely think twice about the consequences until it’s far too late. I’m not saying all men are, and forgive me if what I’m saying is too bold, but let’s just say that when you’ve been in the business for as long as I have, you get to know a bunch of different characters.”

“So I’m assuming you have a handful of scandals?” she asked, perking up.

“Oh, trust me, I have many.”

“Well, then, you must tell me about them.”

“And here I thought you weren’t one for idle gossip.”

“What are friends for if you can’t gossip with them? Besides, it’s in the past now, isn’t it? it? Surely it won’t harm them and they’re not going to hear us anyway. I, too, have met my fair share of characters whilst in my old profession.”

“Really? And what was it?” I asked, taking a sip of my tea.

“Not the sort of business you want on a resume, I’ll say that much.”

“Oh,” I said, unable to keep the surprise out of my voice.

“You seem shocked,” she said, glancing up at me.

“Not at all — I mean, you’re very pretty — That is —” I was stumbling over my words. I didn’t want to offend her by saying anything rude or by making some remark, and surely this was not an appropriate topic to discuss while having tea with a dear friend.

She laughed again, shaking her head. “I know what you mean. It wasn’t my first choice. Originally, I wanted to become a writer, print articles for the daily papers, maybe write a few stories and get them published, but no one believed in me, not even the people I called my friends. Then after losing my parents, I had to find some way to provide for myself.”

Her tone became less amused and more serious as she went on. I thought she might start weeping and instinctively, I put a hand out and placed it on top of her own.

“You needn’t talk about it anymore if you don’t want to.”

She looked relieved now and she smiled. “Thank you. It’s all in the past now, so I need not dwell on it.”

“Still, you shouldn’t have had to give up your dreams because no one believed in you. Do you still wish to write?”

“Well, I’ve started writing short stories for children. Not sure if I will ever publish them, but—”

“You should!” I said, a little too hurriedly. “I’m sure Charlie and Ruby will love them. They’ll tell their friends, their friends will tell their friends, imagine it!”

Her smile grew until it stretched all the way across her face.

“You really think I can do it?”

“I don’t think so. I know so,” I answered.

A few moments of silence went by and none of us seemed to mind it.

She stood up and collected both of our cups and saucers. “More tea?”

“Thank you, but I’m afraid I feel a bit ill.”

When she noticed the almost faraway look on my face, she placed a reassuring hand on mine, which startled me at first, but a few seconds later, I found myself appreciating the gesture. “Don’t worry. Tommy’s gotten himself into plenty of scrapes before, tricky ones, at that, but he’s always found a way to weasel his way out of them. No doubt he’ll return safe and sound.”

“I hope so,” I replied, rubbing my hand on the fabric of my dress and meeting her eyes. She gazed at me with a sympathetic expression in her eyes just as Charlie came into the room, glancing between us.

“Jessie, will you play with us?” he asked softly. I could tell he’d been waiting until we’d finished our conversation to ask the question. Something I am certain his father or Lizzie must have taught him.

“Of course I will, give me a few minutes and I’ll be right there.”

He nodded and then ran back out of the room, possibly to tell Ruby the good news. Lizzie and I both stood up at the same time and I took a deep breath.

“The kids seem to have taken quite a liking to you as well,” she observed. “Good. I can’t imagine having a governess like Mrs. Pritchard was a pleasure. They told me how much she disliked them.”

“Charlie has mentioned her a few times, yes. He told me she was horrid to them. She would literally drag them out of bed in the morning, make them dress themselves and but the thing that was when he told me all of the things she said to him and Ruby. Shaming them for who they were and where they came from.”

I could feel my hands shaking but I didn’t know why. No, actually, I knew exactly why. I was angry. I was angry for the very same reasons that I was when Thomas and I were talking not long ago, and when Django and his family once returned from the city and people had been insulting them and whispering about them when they thought no one was paying attention. What had they done to deserve such treatment? And what could someone possibly gain from degrading someone else?

“Why bother working with or having children if you don’t like them?” I whispered, sitting down again rubbing my arms nervously. Lizzie watched me from the corner of her eye and after a moment, she placed her hand on my shoulder.

“I wasn’t expecting Ruby to come so soon after Thomas and I married, and to tell you the truth, I wasn’t sure I was ready to become a mother, but as time passed and this baby inside me grew, the first time I held her in my arms, I knew that she was meant to be. That I would do anything for her, and for Charlie. As soon as they told me about what happened, I begged them to talk to their dad. It was the only time he’d set his work aside and listened to them.”

She paused and it looked as though tears had come into her eyes.

“Are there some things I wish I did differently? Yes. Do I wish things had turned out better for us? Of course I do. But I feel like things are in a good place right now. I mean, if things had worked out, the children never would have met you.”

Neither of us said anything for a little while, until the both of us had a chance to settle down and collect our emotions. Then Lizzie sighed and ran her fingers through her hair.

“Did you ever wish you could be a mother? Or had you dreamed of having children of your own?” She paused. “Forgive me. You don’t have to answer that question if it’s too personal.”

“That’s the thing. I never thought about having children, I just like working with them and teaching them. I will admit, way back when I started, there was a little boy who screamed and kicked and pinched, sometimes over the smallest things. I made a vow to never have children.”

“How did you manage? Did you end up resigning?”

“Trust me, I could have, but one day, I just sat him down and he told me he felt so angry all the time. His mother had died a few weeks before I arrived, and his father sort of shut himself up in his office. He only ever paid attention to the boy if he acted up, so that’s what he did.”

Lizzie shook her head dismally and looked at me. “Poor child.”

I nodded. “I told him that it was okay to be angry and to feel sad, but also that we needed to find healthy ways of dealing with our emotions, like talking about it with someone we trust. So, then I put both the father and son in the same room and allowed them to have a private conversation, to let it all out. By the time I came back, they were both crying, but in a good way.”

“Jessie! Are you coming?” Charlie and Ruby were standing in the entryway and were waiting very patiently for the two of us to finish our conversation.

“You go on,” said Lizzie, “I have things that I need to finish up here anyway.”

“Very well, Miss Stark.”

“Titles seem too formal for a place like this. Right here, we are Jessie and Lizzie.” She took both of my hands in hers. They were warm and soft, much like herself, and they were very clean. Each nail was around the same size and they looked like they had been trimmed recently. “You know, I didn’t have any sisters growing up, but I’m sure you and I are going to get along splendidly. Oh, speaking of sisters, a few family members are going to be coming over on Wednesday morning for breakfast. I thought you would like to know in advance.”

“You mean Auntie Ada is coming?” Charlie asked.

“And Uncle Arthur?” Ruby added.

“Yes, yes,” Lizzie smiled at them. “Auntie Polly is coming, too.”

“And all of our cousins!” Ruby was grinning from ear to ear, but then she looked over at Lizzie. “Does our Daddy know?”

“Yes. Your daddy already told me before you came. We have business to discuss as well, so you can play outside with your cousins.”

“Can we have another picnic with Jessie?”

“I think it’s up to her to decide,” she said and both of the children took my hands and tilted their chins up to try and win me over with puppy dog eyes. How could I possibly say ‘no’ when they were looking at me like that?

“Pleeeeease?” They said at the same time and I pretended to sigh.

“Alright, then, another picnic it is.” I chuckled, “Oh, but if I’m not mistaken, I believe you both asked me to play with you.”

“Race you to the top,” said Charlie and he and Ruby turned on their heels and went up the stairs faster than I ever could.

“No fair, you two are faster than me,” I said, going after them. When I got to the top of the stairs, I was out of breath and Charlie was trying his best to hold back a smile as I took a minute to regain some of the oxygen I had lost coming up.

“We win this time,” he said.

“Yeah, well, you started without me, so…”

This time, Ruby was laughing with him. But she quickly turned around, opened the door and she and Charlie stepped into the playroom. It was a little bit smaller than the one back at Arrow House, but was not lacking in toys and books.

“There’s certainly a lot of interesting things to do,” I mused, sitting cross-legged on the floor, looking around at the number of board games and stuffed animals and there were even two toy rocking horses. Good thing there were two. Not that I would expect them to argue over it, but you never know.

“Jessie, you try!” said Ruby, sliding off the horse and then gesturing toward it.

“Oh, I don’t know. I think I’m too tall to fit on it now.”

“Come on,” said Charlie, “what’s the worst that can happen?”

“First of all, I don’t want to break it. Second, I’m not properly dressed.”

“Alright, then. Ruby and I will race and then you can be the judge.”

“Yeah, you can be the one who shouts ‘Ready, Steady, Go!”

“Sounds much better,” I agreed, “but we’ll need an audience.”

The three of us set to work, putting both horses in a line, making a pretend mark with one of Ruby’s hair ribbons, and then assembling an audience with the stuffed animals and toy soldiers.

“We have to have some officers there in case a bad guy comes,” Charlie insisted.

“You’re right. We all know bad things can happen anywhere.”

“That’s what Daddy says,” Ruby nodded, frowning slightly.

“Don’t worry, there won’t be any bad guys,” Charlie assured her, putting a warm hand on her shoulder, “and if there are, we’ll take care of ‘em, right?”

“Right,” she said, grinning.

“That’s it, you two, chin up. The race is about to start.”

Ruby put up a hand. “Wait, we need money, too!”

“Money?” I exclaimed.

“Yeah. Daddy says people can win lots of money at races, too.”

“What else has your daddy told you?” I asked, folding my arms across my chest.

They both giggled and I couldn’t help but smile at them.

“Okay, well, we don’t have any real money, so we can use marbles.”

I reached into the toy chest and pulled out the marbles.

“Let’s see, we’ve got thirty marbles. That means whoever chose the winning horse will each get a marble which is worth a thousand pounds, right?”

Charlie put a hand to his head. “How am I supposed to know? Money is tricky.”

“It is, isn’t it?” I laughed.

“No, Teddy! No betting until it starts!” Ruby sternly pointed at her bear sitting innocently in the front row of the stadium. “You have to wait until we hand you the paper before you can place your bet. That’s the rule.”

“Now, are we ready?” I asked and both competitors got onto their horses.

“Ready,” they both said.

“Alright, then, Ready….. Steady…. Go!” I made a fake sound to let them know that the race had officially started and they took off.

Taglist: @runnning-outof-time @zablife @loverhymeswith @sherbitdibdab

[besidesitstoowarm]

"Partners in Crime" thoughts

bf decided wilf is the best. he is not wrong

the adipose are literally one of the creatures of all time. amongus babies + porg + autism creature. i love them sooooo so much i also kind of want to eat them. it's fine

donna and ten have i think the best chemistry of any doctor-companion pairing in all of new who, possibly ever? in new who at least the only other pairing that comes close is eleven and river and that's bc he wants her strap so bad it makes him sick. they are just so fucking funny and iconic "you're not mating with me sunshine" he is truly in his sad wet era

i don't care about the plot cause the plot's not important. i love how sylvia says donna is the only unemployed person "not like the 80s" what the fuck are you talking about. jesus christ i know jackie can be a bit grating but rose was also 19, of course jackie is protective. donna's like 30! sylvia can eat my shorts. wilf is so supportive and sweet tho, i love their convo by the telescope

do we ever fucking find out what the shadow proclamation is? does chibnall explain it cause it seems like a very chibnall era thing to do. it seems like space nato but idk how much power they could have given that ten basically said the loss of the time lords was the loss of a governing body for space law. maybe he just meant in relation to timey wimey? and the shadow proclamation handles everything else? the whole "breeding planet" stuff felt very futurama to me. popplers

i appreciate that ten acknowledged he "destroyed half of [martha's] life" now can you tell HER that. of course now that she's gone he's all sadboy ohhh i didn't appreciate her enough and i fucked her up. it feels like a retroactive apology from davies. davies i forgive you. ten you're on thin fucking ice.

and then we see the ghost of rose! kind of. not ghost. but her appearance and the music that plays (i think it might be "vale decem"?) echoes the end of the season. we get the hint at the ending right at the beginning. "it was always going to happen, she's been dead since the beginning" kinda vibe. obviously it's meant as just a little tease for the rest of the season but it really felt like a death omen, esp w peter capaldi in the next ep. you're on borrowed time!!

the last thing i want to call back to is when the doctor gives foster one chance to make it right or else he'll fuck her up. it very much echoed "no second chances" from "christmas invasion", i think the only one who ever gets a second chance from ten (not even rose, who gets her second chance with his clone) is the master, who basically never expends his chances. no second chances unless it's my gay best friend that i have a dubiously homoerotic/malicious situationship with. many such cases

[greymatthews]

⏤ 　　𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑖𝑛𝑔   . . .   𝐆𝐑𝐄𝐘𝐒𝐎𝐍 𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐖𝐒 　 .

(     ───      ) brenton thwaites.     he/him.     cis  man.      ›spotted   at   the   met   steps   ,  greyson   matthews   ,   most   likely   listening   to  outside   by   staind  with   their   airpods   pro   .   the   twenty-eight   gained   quite   a   reputation   ,   known   to   be   -despondent   yet   +loyal   to   anyone   who   knows   them   .   you'll   easily   spot   them   when   you   hear   about   the   sound   of   flipping   pages   ,   typing   on   a   typewriter   ,   crumbled   up   sheets   of   paper   ,   a   kind   but   sad   smile   and   the   scent   of   fresh   coffee   ,   followed   by   boss   selection   by   hugo   boss   .   latest   nepoupdates   article   talks   about   there   being   word   that   a   so - called   popular   book   is   actually   written   by   one   greyson   matthews   -   the   famous   screenwriter  ,   but   i   guess   any   reputation   is   good   reputation   .  

❛     ───      𝐛𝐢𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐡𝐲     »     𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭     »     𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭     .                                                                        (     biography  coming  soon  …     )

❛     𝐁𝐀𝐒𝐈𝐂  𝐈𝐍𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍     !

NAME   :   greyson  matthews  .   NICKNAMES   :   grey  .   BIRTHDAY  /  AGE   :   march  10th  ,  1994   &   twenty - eight  .   GENDER  /  PRONOUNS   :   cismale  &  he / him  .   HOMETOWN   :   portland  ,  oregon  .   CAREER   :   screenwriter   &    ghostwriter  for  novels  .   POSITIVE  TRAITS   :   loyal  ,  discreet  ,  disciplined  ,  pensive  &  persistent  .   NEUTRAL  TRAITS   :   realistic  ,  quiet  ,  stubborn  ,  anti - social  &  creative  .   NEGATIVE  TRAITS   :   self - deprecating  ,  closed  off  ,  pessimistic  ,  disconsolate  &  negative  .

𝐄𝐗𝐓𝐑𝐀   ,

𝑝ℎ𝑦𝑠𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙  𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑏𝑢𝑡𝑒𝑠   ;

HAIR  COLOR   :   brunette  .   EYE  COLOR  :   brown  .   HEIGHT  :   five  foot  ,  eleven  inches  .   TATTOOS  :   none  .   PIERCINGS   :   none   .   FACECLAIM  :   brenton thwaites  .

𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑐   ;

ARTISTS  STREAMED  :   alter  bridge  ,  staind  ,  red  hot  chili  peppers  ,  led  zeppelin  ,  guns  n'  roses  ,  boston  ,  creed  ,  audioslave  ,  soundgarden  ,  nirvana  ,  pearl  jam  ,  pink  floyd  ,  aerosmith  ,  the  beatles  ,  the  cars  ,  ac/dc  ,  foreigner  ,  the  who  ,  the  doors  ,  the  rolling  stones  ,  crossfade  ,  stone  temple  pilots  ,  hoobastank  ,  puddle  of  mudd  ,  rise  against  ,  3  doors  down  ,  incubus  ,  collective  soul  ,  seether  ,  trapt  ,  foo  fighters  .

❛     𝐁𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐓 𝐏𝐎𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐒   !

 　　QUICK  PERSONALITY  CHECK   . . .

just a bit of a personality check ;  greyson  is  a  very  introverted  person  .  he  doesn't  really  connect  to  people  all  that  much  on  a  deep  level  .  it  takes  a  lot  to  get  to  know  the  real  guy  underneath  everything  else  .  he  tries  his  best  to  be  as  friendly  and  outgoing  in  social  situations  but  he's  . . .  not  the  best  at  them  .  he's  more  of  a  quiet  type  of  person  ,  observant  .  but  he's  also  very  much  always  in  his  head  about  a  million  things  at  one  time  .  he  is  a  very  loyal  person  .  never  been  a  big  fan  of  any  kind  of  change  or  anything  like  that  .  that's  always  been  something  that  he  couldn't  deal  with  .  he's  a  pretty  closed  off  person  .  he's  one  of  those  classic  people  that  just  . . .  do  not  vibe  with  their  life  .  your  classic  doomed  writer  . 

　　TRIGGERS  : slight mentions of abandonment  and abuse .

greyson  grew  up  as  an  only  child  .  things  were  seemingly  normal  for  a  while  .  your  average every  day  type  of  family  .  they  weren't  really  poor  but  they  weren't  rich  either  .

it  wasn't  until  greyson's  mother  had  left  one  day  that  things  in  the  family  dynamic  obviously  started  to  change  .  from  the  way  his  father  drank  to  the  way  things  got  a  lot  more  rough  in  his  living  situation  .  there  wasn't  really  a  day  when  his  dad  wouldn't  look  at  him  and  envision  the  woman  that  left  them  .  

growing  up  ,  greyson  began  to  get  lost  in  stories  in  his  head  .  wanting  to  be  anywhere  but  where  he  was  .  there  was  nothing  about  his  life  that  he  liked  .  that  he  felt  was  worth  fighting  for  other  than  those  make  believe  stories  in  his  head  .  

although  ,  they  weren't  all  rainbows  and  butterflies  .  there  was  still  something  about  the  creative  process  that  distracted  greyson  .  an  escape  from  reality  ,  even  if  his  escape  went  into  the  lives  of  characters  in  his  head  that  felt  just  as  doomed  as  him  .  a  way  to  relate  to  something  . 

greyson  did  everything  he  could  growing  up  to  go  as  unnoticed  as  possible  .  he  didn't  like  the  attention  .  if  anything  ,  he  would  rather  be  invisible than  anything  else  .  not  wanting  anyone  to  really  dive  deep  into  who  he  was  or  what  he  was  about  .  it  had  always  felt  easier  for  greyson  to  hide  behind  things  ,  even  if  that  thing  was  a  version  of  himself  that  wasn't  at  all  real  .

there  was  still  this  hopeful  side  of  greyson  in  his  teen  years  .  this  part  of  him  that  despite  not  wanting  the  eyes  on  him  .  he  still  wanted  some  kind  of  human  connection  .  even  if  that  was  just  with  one  person  and  he  felt  as  though  he  found  that  in  his  high  school  sweetheart  ,  carmen  .

it  wasn't  until  the  end  of  high  school  that  they  ended  up  breaking  up  .  everything  that  could've  went  wrong  in  their  relationship  ,  going  wrong  .  causing  greyson  to  have  a  slightly  different  outlook  on  love  and  other  things  .

he  started  to  crawl  into  himself  even  more  than  he  already  had  and  although  ,  because  of  how  much  he  did  it  .  he  got  better  at  being  a  human  around  other  humans  . . .  he  still  had  his  moments  where  he  really  couldn't  connect  to  anything  in  front  of  him  .

when  greyson  was  able  to  leave  and  get  out  of  town  ,  he  did  .  wanting  to  get  as  far  away  from  everything  as  possible  .  

fast  forward  years  later  and  he's  actually  doing  pretty  well  from  himself  money  wise  .  he  started  screenwriting  .  although  ,  it  wasn't  really  the  passion  he  had  . . .  he  was  more  of  a  novel  writer  .  it  really  did  pay  the  bills  and  give  him  a  pretty  good  name  in  the  movie  and  television  field  .

[bluebird-appreciator]

Favorite shows tag game

Rules: List 5 favourite shows (in no particular order) and answer questions accordingly.

1. Doctor Who

2. Good Omens

3. Star Trek: The Next Generation

4. Over The Garden Wall

5. MLP:FIM

Kind of an odd list on my part, but I love all of them. Thank you @veraynes-blog for tagging me!

1. Who is your favourite character in 2?

Aziraphale. I’m like Crowley IRL, as interesting of a sentence as that might be, and I absolutely adore Azi. I love his character, I love his little actions and the details put into him, he’s such a sweet and wonderful person.

2. Who is your least favourite character in 1?

Opinion that’ll probably get at least one knife to my neck here, but if I am *fully* honest with myself, Rose or Jack. I just never liked Rose, I love series 1 of nuwho very much because of CE but some of those original scenes with Rose I just couldn’t watch. I’m not a fan of her at all. Give me any companion BUT Rose and I’m happy. 🫠

3. What’s your favourite episode of 4?

Ooh! Definitely into the unknown. when I first watched it so very long ago it really got to me. The real life aspect, showing the kids behind the metaphorical curtain, leading further into fan theories and canon lore, it’s fantastic. Runner up would probably be mad love, because who doesn’t love a talking horse in a mansion.

4. What is your favourite season of 5?

Hmm… probably season 2 or 3. I prefer the older seasons to the newer ones by a bit. But I am partial to newer seasons on account of Sunburst being there. x)

5. What’s your favourite relationship in 3?

Easiest answer of my life. Data and Geordi. No bias on my part, of course… but I adore them. The duality of human /android & the genuine love and care and emotion between them is fantastic. I love their adventures, who doesn’t, and of course I’m a massive fan of the sherlock one in specific.

6. Who is your anti relationship in 2?

I’m also going to steal an answer, Newton and Anathema. I loved Newt, I have a soft spot for, and I say this with love, pathetic loser men with glasses, but I didn’t like them together in the slightest. Blah blah blah, prophecies prophecies prophecies, I’m not for it. It’s just not a pairing I care for even if I love the two by themselves respectively.

7. How long have you watched 1?

Actually, only a little over a year, along with years of casual exposure. I’m just a smidge late to things, as I am to my appointments in real life. The only one in my personal life (IRL, at least) who watches it is my uncle, he’s a big old who (especially four) fan who had no real exposure to nuwho before we watched POTD and some older eleven episodes together, which he did enjoy. Soon he will join the rest of us, I’m sure

8. How did you become interested in 3?

I’ve had a casual interest forever, but got properly into ST as a franchise around when I was in middle school with watching TOS and TNG. My then best friend was a big warsie, and becoming a trekkie didn’t really put as at odds but it was a fun dynamic to have. We were both on the same robotics team for years, her dad having been the coach, and her whole family being big wars fans, so it was entertaining effectively being the sole trek fan in the team lol.

9. Who is your favourite actor in 4?

… actor? Uh, the beast, I suppose. Are they really actors, though? VA wise, Melanie Lynskey with Beatrice or Elijah Wood with Wirt.

10. Which show do you prefer 1, 2 or 5?

One. I love all of them, they’re all very dear to my heart, but nothing will touch DW when it comes to my favorite show. DW and GO are close but DW wins this series I’m afraid.

11. Which show have you seen more episodes of 1 or 3?

Both are “long”, but DW as a whole is just so much longer than one ST series so it’s a no brainer. DW.

12. If you could be anyone from 4, who would you be?

Mr. President, Jason Funderberker, Greg’s frog. I think it’d be fun to be a frog taken on adventures through the woods, even if those adventures are horrifying and scarring. I’d even get to sing a few songs along the way

13. How would you kill off your favourite character in 5?

Kill off Sunburst… uh, make antiquing illegal. Probably. Kill off Time Turner… make Derpy disappear. Kill off Perfect Pace… make pocket watches stop working. Boom

14. Would a 3/4 crossover work?

Anything is possible with the right attitude, but I have absolutely no idea how the Enterprise could enter the Unknown, so probably not.

15. Pair two characters in 1 that would make an unlikely, but strangely okay couple.

Stealing a second answer, odd variations of Doc/Mas. I’m fond of 11 and Spymaster, 10 and Spymaster, 13 and Missy, 11 and Simm Master, and I’m going to hold out a bit of copium for 14 somehow meeting Simm Master again. x(

16. Overall, which show has the better cast, 3 or 5?

I’m afraid it’s gotta be TNG, on account of levar burton.

Tagging a few cool people I’ve met here, but anyone is free to do this! @roxannepolice @magpiefrankie @fullofbones4444 @alexmey-does-an-arts

[erineverly]

“Happy Mother’s Day!” Sebastian announces, the moment he’s been waiting for— for his mom to finally make it to the kitchen where he and Eris made cinnamon rolls and dad decorated the entire kitchen in Erin’s favorite color with party supplies. A giant bouquet of roses sitting on each sides of the table and a beautifully decorated pink cake sat right in the middle for the cookout they’re going to have later, that dad also planned with him and Eris. For now it’s just him and mom. He gets up from the chair where he was drawing and painting, quickly hugging the brunette’s waist then the redhaired boy holds out a homemade card he gets off the table. With some writing on the inside and a big yellow heart and a dove on the outside. “I wrote you a poem.” The eleven year old widely smiles, shyly holding it out to her. The words inside: “A mother loves right from the start, no matter if her children are near or far apart. A mother gives never-ending love. She gives us comfort and peace like a beautiful dove. For us she will always do her best. Even when we put her patience to the test. She wipes our tears, chases away our fears, encourages us to follow our dreams, no matter how far fetched it may seem. Her name is Erin. I am so honored to call her my mother. She is incredibly caring, always sharing and doesn’t falter on taking care of us each. Looking back on another year, I was so lucky to have a mother so dear. So mom, on your special day, relax and enjoy and always know that no one can compete. Know I couldn’t have asked for any other incredible person to call my mother. My beautiful dove, that is my mother. -Sebastian Shiloh Rose”

It’s the smell of food, a familiar combination of sugar and cinnamon wafting through the air, that finally gets Erin to blink her heavy eyelids open. When she was younger, she often took a full night’s sleep for granted, but now that she’s a mother of two, she refuses to make the same mistake and lets herself sleep in from time to time. The only problem with that is the fact that her stomach rarely gets the memo and begins to grumble around nine in the morning. Every single morning. Guided by the mouth-watering aroma, Erin makes her way downstairs. It takes a moment for her eyes to adjust to the warm sunlight, but when they do, she takes in a sharp breath and immediately recalls what day it is. Mother’s Day. “Aww, Sebastian,” she breathes, clearly enthralled by the beauty of all the decorations surrounding the two of them. Balloons, confetti, banners, and all in her favorite color, too. Dainty hand coming up to absently rub any remnants of sleep away from her eyelids, she can’t help but wonder if she’s still dreaming — it does feel like a dream, a dream come true. She tries to take in the flowers and the cake, everything that her three favorite people had bought and made just for her, but she feels overwhelmed, her chest tightening with emotion as her eyes burn with the effort it takes to refrain from crying. She quickly wraps her arms around her son’s shoulders, returning the loving hug, holding him close as she kisses his head a number of times. “What’s all this? Is it all for me? This is so sweet, way too sweet, you guys didn’t have to go all out.” They really didn’t. She almost feels like she doesn’t deserve all these sweet and thoughtful gifts. 

“And you wrote a poem? A poem for me? Oh, my goodness! Am I the luckiest mommy in the world? I must be! I have an angel like you for a baby! Come here, let’s read this masterpiece together,” the curly-haired brunette squeals, her voice still groggy from sleep and brimming with emotion. Practically beaming at her sweet son, she reaches down to carefully take the precious piece of paper from his small hands before grabbing him under his arms and pulling him up, sitting him on top of the kitchen island as if he were still a little boy. She kisses his cheek, fingers carding through his strawberry locks as her chest continues to expand. “Oh, my —” She reads the poem quietly, taking her time and marveling at the cute handwriting, gushing over each word and sentence. It’s a wonder her heart doesn’t just explode. It does finally make her tear up, though. How could it not? It’s the sweetest thing anyone’s ever done for her. Holding the poem to her chest as tears of happiness roll down her cheeks, she sweetly praises, “Wow, thank you so much, baby. It’s so pretty, the prettiest poem ever written! Mommy will keep it forever. You’re really talented. My talented artist.” Smiling as she gazes at her son with admiration, she softly muses, “Thank you so much, Sebastian Shiloh Rose. Thank you for making me a mommy and for writing this beautiful poem for me, and for being the best son in the world. I love you so much, my baby bear.” And although she always tells him and his sister that they don’t have to do anything special for her, she’s glad they don’t listen to her. There’s a huge grin on her face as she looks at one of the three people she loves the most, doing her best to wipe her tears and prevent them from falling on this heart-melting poem. “I think I’ll put it in my wallet or on my nightstand so I can read it over and over and over again.” And she’ll show it to all of her friends, brag about how talented and sweet her son is.