#am��lie lacroix

[halfbakedspuds]

Thanks to @orion-lacroix for the tag!

OC voice tag

Rules: take the prompt given by the tagger and paraphrase it to show how each of your characters would say it.

My line: Do you hate me?

Your line: We gotta get out of here

I'll do all three of my active WIPs cause why not?

Children of the Stars

Adrian: You hate me too, don't you? Oh, come now darling, it's not like you were trying to hide it, just join the line and keep a space for the next one to join.

Wilhelm: With all due respect, I amount to nothing more than a mass-produced tool. You wouldn't hide dksdain for fear of hurting a wrench, would you? Therefore, if you abhor my presence to any extent, there is no need to hide it on the behalf of something without a soul.

Lyanni: Stop, stop. Just... we need to talk. Do you... Hestavi mäkhszar jé, this is hard to ask, do you... dislike me? Hate me, even? It's just so... godsdamn difficult to read humans sometimes, I don't... I don't know anymore. Please, just tell me.

Echoes of Shadows

Johan: Go on, say it. I fucked up big time, and now you and everyone from here to fucking Belagorod hates my guts. Just admit it, damnit!

Anastasia: You of... dislike me, yes? Or do I 'holding cat by tail' as Rietlanders say?

Hans: Hmm. Do they... Nein, some questions are not worth asking.

Maire: Dirre, if A 'ad a rats arse tae give, t'would nae be o'er somethin' as childish as whe'er A'm 'ated or nae.

Sasha: There you go: cats out of the bag. I'm a right fuckin' freak of nature, a true Legion-damned monster. Go ahead. Hate me if you want... I need a nap.

The Tempest Prince

Jason: No! To hell with all this 'chosen one' and 'destiny' bullcrap! To hell with all this preconceived 'it is as it was ordained' crap that gets thrown out whenever my morality is put into question. Tell me just this once, am I worth following? Am I worth hating...? Do you hate me?

Helga: I know what I am in your eyes- your people, that is. Just another wolf in sheep's clothing... A beast in the shape of a huntress... People are so quick to hate my kind for the sin of daring to exist, for daring to outlive the greatest violation of the enemy... tell me, friend, do you hate me too?

Alex: I guess it's a given that you're afraid of me because of my power. But tell me- and please, don't lie to me- do you hate me for it?

No pressure tag for @illarian-rambling, @pb-dot and anyone else who wants it

[yessoupy]

here is what goes through my head on a daily basis, ok:

wake up, check insta, see which of my kids have viewed my story. send 🍉 or 🇵🇸 or ♥️ to Mohammed in whatsapp.

eat something, get a lacroix, sit at my desk and turn on something on streaming (chicago fire, sister wives, some doc about a cult) to keep my brain empty as I make something (crochet, make bracelets, etc)

check insta for my kids

scroll tumblr, like and reblog, send a post to a fandom friend with !!! or something, à little hit of joy before it's back to

scrolling Instagram. view stories, check Twitter. feel weird seeing some rando write about plestia like they know her.

thank a god I don't believe in that she was able to get out.

receive a ♥️ on my message to Mohammed. breathe a sigh of relief. see that Taleed has viewed my story. so has Kareem. I check in with him and aziz. Shadi hasn't responded in awhile, I send him a 🇵🇸 and wait.

I unpause the TV and find a new craft project. I scroll tumblr. eat something. think about going to the store but I have oatmeal. 🤷🏼‍♀️

I think about Dina and Hani and Maha and Rola, all teachers who have students who've been murdered. I check insta, and Ahmad was active 20min ago. I breathe a sigh of relief. how will I feel when one of my kids is murdered? am I pre-grieving?

it's 530pm and getting dark outside. I may as well get in bed. I take my lexapro (fucking hell, where would I be without that) and lie down in the dark. comfortable and safe. I check Instagram. it's just after midnight in Gaza. there are airstrikes still happening. I know the whistle that precedes an explosion. my kids have known that sound all their lives.

I find a fic to read. maybe a couple. I put on a podcast to lull me asleep. I wake up at 2am and check Instagram. I fall asleep. I wake up and get ready for work. before I leave the house I drape a keffiyeh around my neck.

at work it's the same except I'm not doing crafts, I'm building spreadsheets. people ask me 'how are you?' and how do you say 'just waiting for my students to be murdered.' because that's what this is.

I complete an Arabic lesson on duolingo. I want to learn enough to be able to read my students' names in Arabic. Just in case.

Shadi hasn't checked in. he could have lost charge. maybe his eSIM ran out. maybe I'm at the bottom of his list for communication. maybe he's been murdered. how will I know? I'll just need to wait. maybe I'll breathe another sigh of relief.

[natliyy]

Charles Cuevas: is anyone surprised. he is so awesome. him not being able to look at bodies yet still clutching the trial was Great. childhood amnesia and the way he’s processing it is driving me INSANEE everything abt him interests me. his hidden quote, his talk of memories in chapter 1, his growth, “I’ve got both parents and no siblings,” his dynamic with anyone he talks to is SPLENDID. what an amazing support

Teruko Tawaki: my GOAT. best protagonist she is so fun. her inner dialogue is a treat, her personality the way she perceives things the absolute TRAGEDY that is her life. I was surprised she was courteous at all in chapter 1 after finding out about her backstory. like hello how do you have the capacity to be kind even after everything?? the regression and growth of teruko tawaki is something for the history books she is AMAZING

Eden Tobisa: if you hate eden I hate you. she’s wonderful. Her speech to Teruko? Changed my life. the fork scene? You can’t go back, no matter how hard you try? How she’s been repeatedly put through the wringer and still moves on, because grief is what will bring us together? Yes ma’am!!!

Hu Jing: SHE IS SO INTERESTING AND ANNOYING AT THE SAME TIME. dissecting her like a frog. her secret made me collapse. “I still want to live” being in her hidden quote. The story about the lake and the name “Julia.” she is so weird and nuanced I can’t wait for the astronomical tweak out that comes from everything she’s been doing this entire game

Rose Lacroix: my goat part 3. “I feel like my brain’s falling apart” my girl i am so worried about you.? i hate that she has to have another body weighing on her memory. she is slowly LOSING IT

Whit Young: every thought I have about him is unwillingly why is he weird

Arei Nageishi: my girl u were ROBBED. her breakdown made me lose it. Speech to David? she was so calm. so gorgeous. so amazing

Arturo Giles: dude why r you like this. his secret made me suuuuper interested in him. love how pressured he is with having the most medical expertise it’s very fun

Ace Markey: what a sad guy. I honestly can’t say anything about him without parroting someone else so I’ll just leave this here. Great guy, great character, made me sad.

Levi Fontana: he’s Interesting. i honestly didnt gaf beforehand and would’ve ranked him lower but his low empathy/lack of it reveal in ep 13 really hooked me so i like him more now

J Moreno: love her for putting people in their place and holding them accountable. waiting for more development because I don’t fw her as much as I want to

Xander Matthews: this is weird because he used to be my all time fav. stopped watching drdt for a year when he died but when I rewatched the prologue I was like. Yo dude you kind of Suck Ass. love his anti-authoritarian stuff and the thing with chariton tho you go king

Min Jeung: im ngl i only got interested in her when she was breaking down right before her death and also her bonus episode. sorry queen. You are Here I Guess

David Chiem: I can’t lie i loved him a lot more pre-crashout. every single thing he did as Starboy Persona had me sideyeing him bcs of that ONE THING. In the prologue and also his description being rumoured as pessimistic and lazy. what a wonderful setup to a character I would’ve originally written off as boring. sure his real personality being on full display is fun to watch I Guess but . Hm. It doesn’t entice me as much as he did before

Nico Hakobyan: okay listen they just annoy me a lot. I dont enjoy their snarks the way I do other characters. I feel like if they get alienated in chapter 3 I’d get a lot more invested in them. Otherwise? Eh. also you CANNOT treat rose right GET AWAY

Veronika Grebenshchikova: She’s Annoying. I used to think she was cute and malicious but now she’s. I can’tfDO IT I DONT LIKE HER. fun that she skateboards tho

Whit Young (again): I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE Y

Ranking characters based off of how much I like them

1. Teruko Tawaki

2. Charles Cuevas

3. Arei Nageishi

4. Whit Young

5. Hu Jing

6. David Chiem

7. Veronika Grebenschikova

8. J Moreno

9. Ace Markey

10. Rose Lacroix

11. Min Jeung

12. Eden Tobisa

13. Levi Fontana

14. Nico Hakobyan

15. Xander Matthews

16. Arturo Giles

What are y'alls rankings lowkey

[marjaystuff]

Interview with Renee Ryan and The Paris Housekeeper

Love Inspired Pub Dec 26th, 2023

The Paris Housekeeper by Renee Ryan is very relevant today.  After the October 7th Hamas massacre of Israeli civilians that included the raping of women and children, burning babies alive, and brutal torture, readers will understand why people have dubbed this the Holocaust of the 21st Century.  Ms. Ryan has a knack for getting into the minds and hearts of her readers. 

In this story there are three main characters who become connected through the world-famous Hotel Ritz after the Nazis occupied Paris in 1940. It is a multi-narrative story where readers can see events from several different views. Three women from different socio-economic backgrounds are thrust together. Vivian Miller, a glamorous American socialite widow is chosen by the SS officer Gunther Von Bauer to be his mistress. Both she and he are residing at the Ritz. She appears to be a Nazi sympathizer but is working behind the scenes to help French Jews escape.  Camille Lacroix, a chambermaid at the Ritz, becomes his household maid to support her family back home in Brittany, especially her sister Jacqueline who has emotional issues. Rachel Berman is Camille’s Jewish co-worker and needs her help to survive. Knowing that Vivian can help, Camille turns to her to help save Rachel and her mother. 

The plot is very powerful and moving.  There is suspense and tension as readers take the journeys with the characters.  Some of them are brave, resilient, courageous, while others are self-absorbed and cruel.  The twists and turns enhance this very captivating read.

Elise Cooper: Just as with the characters in this book many people, after October 7th, feel helpless, scared, and angry.  They can find solace in some of the characters’ quotes.  The first quote by the Jewish character, Rachel, “This enemy, these new Germans are hardened, angrier, and more ruthless. Hate lives in their heart.  Hate for people like us.”  Her father says, “We are French citizens.” Rachel responds “No papa. We are Jews.”

Renee Ryan: For me, that quote summed up the Holocaust with the evil of how people looked the other way and rationalized and pretended that nothing was happening. I thought when I wrote that quote about the 1940s, ‘what is wrong with these people. How are you missing this.’  Even though I am not Jewish I wondered why did so many just look away. Today it is happening all over again, where people just turn and look the other way. History is repeating itself.  People are saying it is a two-sided conversation and this is so untrue. It is a one-sided conversation. Everyone should be supporting our Jewish allies and our Jewish people in this country. We should not allow genocide to happen again. We should not be looking away.  It is about people who are our friends, colleagues, and I wonder why we are not standing next to them shoulder to shoulder.

EC:  Can you explain the other quote, people are “clinging to a lie and calling it hope.”?

RR:  I wanted to show in the book how people thought it will not happen to me.  It will only happen to those who are not French born, or it will only happen to the poor, not the wealthy, or it will only happen to people without connections, not us. The goalpost kept moving. Laws in France kept changing during the occupation. It was not the Germans, but the French that were doing the roundups of the Jews and passed the harsh laws towards them. 

EC:  Do you also agree that these quotes are very relevant today?

RR:  Yes.  I wrote this book a year ago. I thought I was writing these quotes about what happened fifty, sixty, seventy, eighty years ago during the Nazi reign. I cannot comprehend that these quotes can be applied to October 7th. It is so heartbreaking. Have we not learned anything. It is very similar to what happened. It is the same rhetoric, the exact same things said in the 1930s, 1940s.  It led to all the antisemitism and for people to look away. People do not want to educate themselves. They only listen to the propaganda about the Jews. I have a quote in the book, “Good people should stop looking the other way and stand up to evil.”  People should stand up with Israel.  Nothing can be justified.

EC:  Where did you get the idea for this story?

RR: There was a news article about Irene Gut.  She had a tragic life. She became a housekeeper for a Nazi official in Poland.  She hid nine Jews in his basement, and they all survived two years of hiding. This was the jumping off point. What would it be like for someone working in a home and hiding Jews right under the nose of someone trying to wipe them out. 

EC: How would you describe Camille?

RR:  Trustworthy, loyal, decent, guilty, and courageous.  She was relieved to be in Paris away from the stress of her family. She felt guilty of being relieved that she was not guilty. She struggled with it. She was conflicted and eventually decided to take a stand.

EC:  What was the role of Jacqueline, Camille’s sister?

RR: She represented the mentally ill. There is a scene in the book where Camille discovers the German euthanasia program with the mentally ill. It was refined and then applied to the Jews.  The sister represented that part of the German history.

EC:  How would you describe the Jewish character, Rachel?

RR:  Innocent, helpless, sweet, not a complainer, has a sense of powerlessness because she is scared and bitter. She also feels humiliated, angry, and is being persecuted. Her anger is her saving grace because without it she would not have survived.  The anger is what drove her. While she was fearful and felt helpless, she was also very angry that had her trying to figure out how to escape.

EC:  Was Vivian a complex character?

RR: She is responsible, direct, lonely, and at an earlier age suffered mental and physical abuse. She was also confident and passionate yet could be very selfish and self-centered. In some ways she was the villain yet at the same time she was an anti-hero.  I would not call her a hero. She represents those people today who say if I do a little bit then I am still good. She justifies rotten behavior by a few good acts. She wanted to believe ‘if I do a few good things that erases all the bad.’  Although deep down she knows that is not true.  She also makes a really bad decision.  

EC: How would describe Nazi SS officer Von Bauer?

RR: He is controlling, an opportunist, ambitious, driven, and possessive.  Regarding Vivian he is obsessed with her, likes to steal her dignity, cruel, and demanding.  He represents the abusers of woman. He was to Vivian the ‘devil you know.’ At times she saw in him comfort and familiarity. He was bad because he was a Nazi.

EC:  Why did Vivian get the nickname The Snow Queen versus Von Bauer’s the Raven?

RR:  It comes from the Nordic folklore fairy tale.  They were always in battle.  I think it was a perfect metaphor for their relationship.  They were going to battle until one survived.  Both characters in the fairy tale are evil. Their relationship was based on a tug of war, like a weird chess game. 

EC:  Did the American government really freeze accounts of Americans overseas?

RR:  Yes. Laura Mae Corrigan was a real person they did it to.  It was very much justified. She was very much a Vivian type character, an ex-Patriot living in the Ritz. She left the Ritz because they took her money.  But Vivian stayed at the Ritz because she had a plan.  The Ritz was not shut down because they remained neutral. 

EC:  Was there an interconnection between the relationship of Vivian, Rachel, and Camille?

RR: The Ritz brought them together as three people trying to survive the war.  They are not really friends.  Rachel and Camille are more friendly. They need each other. Camille and Rachel see their families as number one, while Vivian has no family. Vivian is number one to herself. They help each other but always will consider their family first.

EC:  Next book?

RR: It is titled The Last Fashion House in Paris and will be out this time next year. The setting is occupied Paris.  The character from my first book, The Widows of Champagne, Paulette, has her story on what happened to her during the banishment to Paris, the final two years of WWII.  She must redeem herself.

THANK YOU!!

[refinedstorage]

Congrats on finishing VTMB! Your thoughts, opinion?

Short version: a mess of a game with more personality in its little pinky than anything I’ve played in the last 5 years

Long version: It took me about 5 sessions before I got into the groove, but once it clicked-- loved loved loved the setting-- early oughts grimy, seedy, greedy LA, just perfection. I feel like there’s so much left undiscovered, loved the vamp politics, actually whish it would have gone harder in that department. I'm a sucker for stories that incorporate the fantastical or supernatural into a straight and realistic setting, and the game dwelled in 2000s video-gamey monster/demon territory a little too often for my taste. Voice cast pretty much amazing all round, loved the approach to writing and characterization. Female characters, not so much. Really missed proper character appearance customization, default player models absolute eyesore to look at and made rp experience a bit thin. I ended up using console cheats on more than one occasion because there is hand holding and then there's getting tossed into the dark with just no way of telling how to build your character, and combat is absolutely awful. Honestly seeing is believing in terms of how janky and broken this game must have been on release. Pacing issues and drop in overall quality towards end is notorious, and knowing the backstory to the game's development sort of makes playing it feel like a history lesson. Final verdict: it belongs in a museum, would recommend for being the weird little outing that it is. 

Vtmb2 looks a bit sanitized from what I've seen, but I'm still excited for it 👀👀👀

[kokoro--attack]

Me, playing Widowmaker: Misses all of my shots. No headshots.

Me, playing Hanzo: Might get one or two headshots but misses 90% of my arrows.

Me, playing Ashe: Misses every shot and barely burns anyone with my dynamite.

Me, playing Ana: Can't heal for shit because I keep missing. Don't ask me to nano boost you because I will miss.

Me, playing Torbjörn: Somehow headshots a hiding Widowmaker, a jumping Hanzo, a lone Ana, and a mean Ashe without my turret.

[flakytartart]

I think that they’d be really close friends.

[irondad-not-ironsad]

A Floral Detour

Summary: Gilbert stops to pick flowers. A series of near misses ensue. An alternate ending to the season 3 finale

A/N: This is my first ever fic about a romantic pairing, and I admittedly have very little experience with such things so my inspiration is drawn solely from fiction, so my apologies if it doesn't feel realistic. Full disclosure, this is basically a rough draft so if there are any mistakes or flaws please let me know so I an fix them. Also big shoutout to @rai-knightshade for helping me figure out the logistics of travelling from Charlottetown to Toronto, and for giving me the motivation I needed to say "this is close enough" and post this.

"Diana, what letter?"

Diana was momentarily silent as her mind started piecing together what happened. She had spent the past weeks listening to Anne ramble about Gilbert's splendid chin and expressive eyebrows. Currently, those eyebrows were making it very clear to Diana that this was the first her bosom friend's not-so-unrequited love was hearing of said letter. What could have happened to that letter?

As Diana was silently contemplating this, Gilberts mind was going a mile a minute. Anne loves me? And she wrote me a letter saying as much? Why didn't I receive this letter? Did she even receive my letter? Could Anne Shirley-Cuthbert really love him back?

Realizing that there was a girl sitting across from him who could possibly answer some of these questions, Gilbert snapped out of his daze.

"Diana!" This time, Gilbert raised his voice enough to alert the girl that he was still awaiting an answer. She began with a brief apology for zoning out, then began to explain as best she could.

"Well, first you must know my loyalties lie with Anne, and I dare not betray her confidence. However, I will reveal what she already believes you to know. The same morning you came to my home to inform my father of your plans to propose, Anne went to your house to tell you she was in love with you." Diana paused as she noticed the dopey grin which erupted on Gilbert's face at those last few lines, but she was polite enough not to comment.

"When Ms. Lacroix informed her that you weren't home, she decided to leave a note. I don't know what she precisely wrote, but I do know she said she wrote 'plainly and unromantically' to ensure there could be no misunderstanding her meaning."

At this point Gilbert finally spoke. "Diana, I swear I never received that note. Had I received it…"

"I believe you Gilbert, but that still does not explain why you would cruelly write Anne a letter to tell you that you DON'T love-"

"What? I'll admit, I may have spoken somewhat metaphorically in the letter, but I was certain it made my intentions clear."

At this, Diana could not help but smirk.

"Gilbert, do you mean to say you waxed poetic in this letter? Please, do tell precisely what this love letter said?" Gilbert blushed at her teasing tone, but he could not defend himself as she wasn't wrong. Checking his watch, he realized they were nearing Charlottetown.

"Diana, I promise I will write and explain everything if you only tell me where I can find Anne? I won't have long before I need to board the train to Toronto, but I simply cannot go until I am sure se knows the truth of my feelings." Diana only seems to smile wider at this, showing more of her teasing side which he had never seen before today.

"Oh, planning to frantically dash through the city to profess your love, are you? Anne would find that so romantical, the two of you are truly meant to be!"

The boy reckons he should be embarrassed, however the notion of Ms. Shirley-Cuthbert being his soulmate was to amazing to care about whether his classmate was making fun of him.

************************************************************************

"Tell me what?"

In this moment Winifred was certain that Gilbert Blythe would be the death of her. It is not the first time she had the thought, however once he had ended things with her she believed she had escaped that fate. As if she wasn't humiliated enough by the abrupt end to their courtship, she has now found herself in the rather bizarre position of explaining to the object of her ex-beau's affection that he had left Winifred for her. As tempting as it was to simply let Anne continue on suffering, Winnifred could not help but feel, even though she only met Anne once, that in another life they would have been good friends.

At this thought. Winnie could not help but recall the time Gilbert described someone, she thinks it may have been his teacher, as a kindred spirit. When she had asked why he used that term, he seemed to blush as he confessed it was something he had picked up from Anne. The look on his face when he somewhat absentmindedly added that he often wondered if Anne considered him a kindred spirit as he did she ought to have made Winnie realize that while he was courting her, she would never be the one his heart belonged to.

While Winifred found herself lost in thought, Anne found herself hyper-focused on the blonde girl, trying to discern just what Gilbert hadn't told her. Despite her raging curiosity, she did not dare repeat herself. Fortunately, Winifred seemed to remember she was in the midst of a conversation after a few minutes of awkward silence and began to explain.

"Gilbert will not be coming to Paris with me, as he ended our courtship on account of an 'unrequited love'. I am sure you can draw your own conclusions as to who he was referring to." With this, Winifred found her goodwill just about depleted, so she nodded in farewell and walked away from the redhead, not needing to look back to know she was frozen in place with shock. Feeling brief flash of warmth towards the girl, Winifred faces her once more and calls out to her.

"For what it's worth, I am now quite certain that for Gilbert, it has only ever been you." after a brief sigh, she adds "I hope you have a wonderful life as well, Anne."

At this, Anne's face turns into a delighted grin, which she tries and fails to temper into a polite smile.

"Thank you, Winni-Winifred. I, uh, I should… well I think I need to, but where is-"

Resigned to her fate of playing cupid for the woman she has been jilted for, Winifred interrupts.

"I would assume he's back in Avonlea." Begrudgingly, she adds "best of luck."

************************************************************************

Part of Gilbert was hoping he'd run into Anne in town, thus giving them more time together before he had to board the ferry. But, as he ran down the path through the park that lead to her boarding house, he saw a cluster of wildflowers of a hue that perfectly matched the shade of her hair and was suddenly no longer worried about the time.

Kneeling to carefully pluck the flowers worthy of this bouquet, he spared a thought for the dirt that was surely staining his pants only to be reminded of the time he stumbled in on a certain redhead covered in flour while baking with Mary.

Distracted by the cheerful memory, he failed to notice said redhead charging down the path he had just abandoned, suitcase in hand. Anne, on the other hand, was far to focused on her quest to confess her love to notice the object of said quest picking flowers less then five feet away from her.

What Anne couldn't ignore, however, was the voice of her adoptive-mother calling her name from across the street once she entered the town. Crossing the road to meet her parents, she is met with confused looks as they both notice her suitcase.

"Heavens, Anne. We left you at the boarding house not even twenty four hours ago and already you've packed your things?" questioned Marilla.

"Well I, Winifred told me… and well I think he…well, I simply must find Gil-"

"Compose yourself, dear. We've found something we believe you'd like to see."

************************************************************************

After his brief detour, Gilbert resumed his journey to find Anne. Standing on the front porch of her boarding house, he found himself oddly nervous. While he thinks she will appreciate the gesture of flowers, he realizes they shall only have a brief moment together if he is to make it to Toronto today. Supposing it should not take to long to say three words, he knocks at the door.

He probably should have realized Anne would not have been the one to answer the door.

"Sorry, sir, but suitors are only allowed on Saturdays between two and four. Furthermore, I shall not have you entering our parlor covered in dirt"

Gilbert briefly looks at his feet, having the decency to look ashamed at his state of disarray.

"I truly am sorry ma'am, but I don't have much time and I simply must speak to Anne-"

At this, he hears a familiar voice call out from inside the house.

"Gilbert!" Moments later, she appears behind the older woman in the doorway. "It's alright ma'am, Gilbert is our classmate from back in Avonlea"

The woman still seemed unwillingly to let him in, so the blonde girl simply slipped past her to the porch.

"Ms. Gillis!"

"Mrs. Blackmore, please. I'll only be a moment." Ruby then smiled innocently at the woman Gilbert assumed was the owner of the house, who then huffed slightly, before nodding and shutting the door.

"Ruby, hello. I'm-"

"Looking for Anne? Yes, I gathered as much." the girl said with a grin. If he weren't focused on finding Anne, he may have spared a moment to be embarrassed about all the teasing he seemed to be receiving today. "She mentioned that she had spoken to Winifred, and was in a rush to pack her things and head back to Avonlea, presumably to see you."

At the same moment Gilbert walked down the stairs, Dian and her father arrived at the boarding house in their carriage.

"Gilbert! We brought your cases. If you take this carriage, you can still make the ferry to Halifax."

"Thank you, but would it be quite alright if I simply rode with you back to the train station? I must return to Avonlea at once."

At this, Diana, who had been gleefully reuniting with Ruby turned back, perplexed.

"Why? Did you speak with Anne?"

When Ruby informed Diana that Anne had gone to find him and the girls began giggling at how "tragically romantical" it all was, Gilbert promptly decided he was better off walking to the station.

************************************************************************Upon finishing there examination of the book, all three Cuthberts had tears in their eyes.

"Now, lets get you back to Blackmore House, you do have class tomorrow"

"Oh Marilla! I was so delighted by this book that I completely forgot of my quest. I simply must return to Avonlea!" Her mother looked concerned at this.

"Anne, is something wrong?"

"In town this morning I ran into Winifred"

"Winifred Rose? Gilbert's fiancée."

"No, Winifred Rose, the woman Gilbert ended is courtship with do to what he thought to be an unrequited love." both women smiled at this, while Matthew stared at his feet and wished they were back at Green Gable so he could take refuge in the barn.

************************************************************************

Later on, Gilbert and Anne would look back and laugh at how many times they narrowly missed eachother that day.

The Cuthberts arrived at the station moments after Gilbert boarded the train, thus not realizing the boy Anne was searching for was on the very train they were buying tickets for.

Gilbert, in all his intelligence, never thought to ask what time Anne had left and assumed she must have taken the earlier train. Because of this, he spent the train ride lost in thought instead of searching the cars for a glimpse of red.

Anne, on the other hand, was sure Gilbert was still in Avonlea and thus brushed it off as her overly active imagination at work when she thought she caught a glimpse of the back of his head.

Anxious to run to Green Gables, Gilbert stood before the train came to a halt, but then the jolt caused him to drop the flowers he'd picked, forcing him to stop to collect them. By the time he got off the train, Anne had already rushed the Cuthberts to their carriage and convinced them to take her directly to the Blythe-Lacroix household.

Gilbert briefly considered stopping at home himself to freshen up, before deciding he simply could not spare another moment before finding Anne.

************************************************************************"Ms. Lacroix! How lovely to see you again! Did you enjoy the flowers I brought?"

"Hazel is fine. Yes they were lovely. What brings you here?"

"I was hoping to see Gilbert?"

At this, Hazel smiled sympathetically.

"He left for Toronto a little while ago, he's going to be attending the University there. I know my son plans to write him soon, is there a message you'd like passed on?"

She could tell this broke the young girls heart, and she was beginning to think the redhead saw her son's partner as more than a "family friend."

"I… well thank you anyways." As tempting as it was to simply bid the girl farewell, Hazel truly did intend to try and become part of the community

"Why don't you join us for dinner? I'm sure Delly would love to see you, and perhaps Bash could shed some light on Gilbert's situation?"

"I appreciate the offer, but I think I need to clear my head." With this, the girl turned and began walking to the place she always went to reflect.

************************************************************************Upon finding an empty Green Gables, Gilbert resigned himself to heading home for supper and then resuming his search in the morning. On his way, he supposed he could spare a few minutes to watch the sun set over the sea. Walking to the cliff he knew had the best view, Gilbert recalled a day two weeks ago when he stood in that very spot and came to the conclusion that he could not propose to another girl, regardless of whether Anne loved him the way he did her. He was so lost in though, he almost did not notice that someone else had beat him to that spot. The first thing he noticed was the red curls cascading down her back which perfectly matched the slightly crumpled flowers in his hands. Then, his attention was caught by the blue dress which, even though he couldn't see them, he knew brought out the blue in her eyes. Combined with the sunset over the water which she gazed at, he was certain he would never see a more beauteous scene. That was, until he worked up the courage to call out her name and she turned to face him.

He could not seem to tear his eyes from hers as he walked towards her. Once they were standing a mere foot apart, he held out the flowers.

"Anne…" He paused as he struggled to find words.

"Did you forget what you wanted to say?" Gilbert let out a small grin at the memory of their encounter months ago at the school house, while an recognized the same romance in her eyes which she had been distracted by that day.

Remembering a day from even further in the past, Anne decided she need not wait for a response. Instead of taking the flowers he offered, she reached to cup his face with her hands. Pausing for a moment search his face for approval, she was met with his smile growing.

At this, she pulled his lips down to meet hers, and suddenly all was right in Anne Shirley-Cuthbert and Gilbert Blythe's worlds. Sure, tomorrow Anne would have to take the earliest train in order to make her first class, and Gilbert would miss his meeting with Miss Stacey's friend in Toronto, but in that moment neither could bring themselves to care.

************************************************************************

Years later, once Anne had been a teacher for a few years and Gilbert had finally finished medical schools, they would sneak way from their wedding reception to come to this very spot, recalling every moment of their past which brought them together, and giddy at the thought of many more sunsets spent in each other's embrace.

[badass-at-fandoming]

Just Little Malkavian Things ~

Malkavians these days can do nothing but de-conceptualize, Dement, eat hot chip, and lie.

Since people seemed to enjoy the #JustLittleVentrueThings VTMB adventure, here's a matching Malkavian one. Though I'm gonna be real with ya here, I had less fun D:

I finally figured out why I have such trouble wrapping my head around depictions of Malkavians in VTM media. Books, Storytellers, and fans say it's like having a mental illness and being linked to a massive group chat. But, listen, I've lived around and with mental illness all my life. I've been in massive group chats. Being Malkavian ain't like that.

It IS like being an early-twenties English major in the midst of an existential crisis, over-worked and cross-faded outta your skull and watching horror movies to Cope(TM)

So it's like drugs. It's like you had too much weed and too much wine and are let loose on Los Angeles. Which. My friends and I have and we, coincidentally, also "fought" a stop sign. The Malkavian PC never really seemed like a character to me: she's like a collection of cliches and dude-bros doing blunts while watching slasher movies. I named her Liotta after the Psychic Shop owner, and I'm sad Liotta didn't really get to be a person.

I wasn't surprised by any of the dialog. It's a pattern. Alliteration, allusion, animal joke. Alliteration, allusion, animal joke. It lost its charm.

Often, I didn't know what the FUCK I was saying. Which is the Malkavian Experience(TM), according to Rosa.

Anyway

Nonsense time

Most characters have an extra paragraph of dialog to Acknowledge That You Are A Malkavian. Some get an extra conversation branch. For example, there's lots of new Bertie dialog and he was all impressed Liotta knows about Gehenna and Thin-bloods <3. The Anarchs characters, especially Skelter, get a lot more. Skelter, Ash, and Liotta totally vibe.

If you sneak around the Santa Monica drug house, they talk about Mercurio?? Hello?? Mercurio, you bent Masquerade by not getting beat up real good.

Zero pretense about Voerman. Yes, I have DID; yes, I am making it your problem.

When Liotta talked to Beckett, he said the DID was "something to look forward to." Goddamnit, Beckett. That's not how the Bane or mental illness works! >:-(

I've never sneaked before!!! Did you know that the Tong AND the American gang downtown have fakes in their suitcases??? Like, Full On, "it's just stuffed with newspapers, brah." They were going to kill each other over newspapers. For some reason the Tong brought the REAL suitcase along too, but I'm so past having VTM make any sort of sense. It's fine.

Accidentally pissed off Nines. I meant farmer (affectionate) and Nines thought I meant farmer (derogatory). :(

The Dementation powers are (a) pretty purple loop-de-loops, (b) not as effective as Dominate (reaaaallyyy missed a good AOE attack), and (c) oddly enough, gave more compassionate dialog choices. I mean. In the pen-and-paper version, Dementation isn't conflict-focused, so the devs had to jigger it to use as attacks. But I was touched when Liotta made Hannah believe she was Paul, so Hannah got to say goodbye. Making Samantha believe Liotta was a pet turtle was funny and spared her the pain of her friend vanishing a second time. Heather thinks her entire experience was a dream and returns to her life, more or less unscathed.

Boris?? Asked Liotta to kill Venus for him???? DUDE, WHAT. I didn't know he could counter-offer!! What happens if you take up his offer? Who controls Confession? Does it close down??

Pro Tip: don't trust the pale woman in a cowboy stripper outfit who comes out of your vent and tells you everything's fine.

I went through an ENTIRE Ventrue playthrough without puking and Liotta ate one (1) unhoused person and blew chunks. I didn't realize Diseased Blood was a threat. What happens if you skip the Plague-bearer quest? Should you just never chomp on the Downtown unhoused community?

Strauss called Liotta "young one" and I was like, sir. You're not Beckett, you can't trick me.

A rat dances in the Downtown sewers and tells Liotta that the grass is greener in someone else's asshole.

And also will take you places.

Do you know what it's like for a Capri Sun to suddenly start speaking and offer taxi services.

LaCroix: how did Bach find me??? also LaCroix: [names his company after himself] [lives in Ventrue Tower]

Liotta told Beckett that Kindred are a joke and I got extra EXP for being so sneaky.

DMP produced snuff films even before Andrei???!!!! I thought all the blood was from the lil geo-dudes.

Liotta agreed with Andrei that Caine is here and boot-scooting around in his lil Angst Mobile. :D

As bad as Liotta was in group fights, she repeatedly made bosses cower and stand quietly while she beat them to death. Andrei had a full on lay-on-the-floor temper tantrum in his war form and Liotta just. Smacked him until he exploded. She didn't even take damage!

Imalia's computer password is ALSO "cleopatra." Just like Tawni's! Dual reference to the Embrace type

IDK why I never asked this before, but, um, who does Mitnick share the bunk bed with? Barabus..?

I went back to the Empire Hotel Penthouse suite to fetch the educational book and the Russian mob dudes were still there?? Hello, sirs, your leader is dead. You can leave now.

Liotta heard the real thoughts of the Red Dragon hostess...and also some debate about the Dark Father's presence in LA, heehee.

I thought it was fun that one of the "take me away, Cabbie!" taxi replies mentioned riding in a car like father and child. :D

"Why is the Mandarin giggling at me" is a sentence that came out of my face.

With the different dialog options, sometimes it's impossible to be polite to NPCs. For example: Liotta could only call VV "dolly/doll/toy doll" instead of her preferred names; the Chinatown gun seller felt frightened, thinking we were Police or Immigration.

Some great fourth wall breaks in the dialog: "I don't want to get involved either, but tell that to whoever is playing me!" to Beckett after the Giovanni Mansion.

"You can't spell success without whatever the hell my name is."

"If I cannot win with effort, I will cheat my way to victory. I am gone." Funnily enough, this was my first run where I didn't hack in to boost stats.

"I just want it to end. I feel like I've been playing forever."

Some nice wider lore references: "I devour knowledge like the great worm devours the corpse of society" could refer to how Salout, in tapeworm form, is devouring Tremere's body and destabilizing the Clan and/or Kindred night society.

"They should have a channel devoted to you in my head" to Beckett. In his Diary, Beckett witnesses Malkavians devouring Malkav and may or may not join the Cobweb (PS check out this great fanfic where he does).

This made me stare into space for a minute and question my life choices. During the Sabbat massacre, Liotta didn't snack on any of the blood doll ghouls (ya know, the ones with the eyes gouged out). She had such high Inspection + Finance that she had $4k in her wallet and could buy blood. I wanted to test a rumor that if you don't feed on the blood dolls, you get extra EXP. You do. BUT anywAY, right before the Tremere miniboss, Liotta was sword-fighting some goons and the blood doll...attacked him for her? Like. He moved on his own. When the goon was dead, the blood doll asked if Liotta was all right. This might have been a glitch but...the horrific implications that those men are still conscious, still willful, still feeling. ACK. I hope they got out the next morning.

RIP Ming Xiao. Flamethrower right to the tiddies.

I stole @ryttu3k's idea and noclipped through the werewolf section. Liotta still killed the Garou, but I didn't want the stress.

Caine is very Caine. "Don't you get it? We've already been judged!"

Liotta went Anarch because what little backstory I came up for her was she considered Smiling Jack her sire. Nines complimented her ability to murder.

Sheriff got sooooo dizzy that he fell over right onto Liotta's sword 27 times.

Dancing werewolf ending! Seemed fitting. :D

[woosome]

“I almost felt alive...”

A picture of widowmaker I drew a while ago~ Her hair was the most fun part to draw~

[deepdeepjoyandpain]

Friday night.

I had an easy outpatient surgical procedure this week. I was at the hospital for four hours, came home and took a two-hour nap, and then was lazy until bedtime. I am totally fine now. But it made for a weird week where it was like one day didn’t even happen. Hardest part of all was spending the six hours with my mother. Fully recognizing that I can say that while also being grateful that she was able to support me.

Spring softball is rolling! We had a blast at her first game tonight. Lou had a great hit and was so proud of herself. It’s another team of really sweet girls. Good Covid precautions, families all seem in line too. 

Then I discovered wrappers and trash in her bed. Ugh. Treats are allowed in this house! I thought that last batch of cookies we made disappeared fast. The sneaking and lying about is it the hardest part. She tells me that she was taught how to sneak and lie and it’s just who she is, she can’t help it. We are rewriting this darling. I don’t want to yank all sweets out of the house. She’ll just go to the next most snacky option, which meant almonds this time. If she could relay correctly when she does this or if I knew it I think that would help.

So she’s in bed and I have an amazing limoncello lacroix and some greasy salty ruffles which is all I want right now.

[thequeenb]

A Deal With The Devil (part 4)

Pairings Kamilah x MC

I felt paralyzed. Every nerve on my body screams for me to move but my back is against the cold wall, with no way to escape. Priya was approaching dangerously close and thats when i could see clearly two fangs ready to attack

I closed my eyes hoping i see things but i didn't. She reached and grabbed my arm and that's when my instincts kicked in

"Kamilah!!" I scream with all my will but the music consumed my cry for help

"You silly human" Priya said, her grip on my hand became tighter and before she could move a muscle her pointy teeth dig deep into my flesh. It wasn't like the movies, all the novels and stories about girls enjoying being bitten was a lie. But wait a minute.. vampires are real??!! I can feel her sucking my blood in such hunger, such delight

My senses give up on me as i open my eyes one last time. I want to call for help but i feel fresh blood drip down my body and thats when i see a figure approaching. I cant make out the features, my vision is blurry, my eyelids are fighting to stay open

How can a beautiful night turn around like that? I fall to the ground, my body feels cold. Am i dying? Where is Kamilah? Why Priya Lacroix is a vampire? Do they really exist? So many questions flood my mind but i have no time to comprehend anything.

A man kneels beside me holding me in his arms. I try to reach out but my body feels like it's slowly giving up.

"Amy?? Amy stay with me, can you hear me??" The man says carefully lifting me like i am feather

How does he knows my name? I must be hallucinating. Blood still runs down my neck. My dress is covered in it, my hands feel sticky, wet. What a way to go right?

We exit the building and i can now hear a second voice in the distance. I could recognise this beautiful voice anywhere, its Kamilah

He slowly lay my body on the back of a car. Beside me i feel a body so warm and welcoming

"Drive fast!!" Kamilah's voice could be heard and i try my best not to lose my senses completely

With all my strength i open my mouth "K-Kamilah?" I whisper and thats when i feel a strong hand holding my body close

"Damn it!! I am here Amy try and stay awake for me" why does she sounds so concerned? She is always so cold and distant but right now her voice is shaky, scared

I want to reach out for her hand but i cant. Just like she could read my mind she gives me a pat, a promise that everything will be just fine

"I..i am cold" i manage to say coughing

"Faster Adrian!!" Kamilah's hoarse voice fills the car and thats when my eyelids start closing. The darkness consumes me, i can hear voices but i cant fight it anymore i am tired, so i give in into the darkness, unsure if i will ever wake up again

___

"This is all your fault Kamilah!!" Adrian says running his hands through his hair "What if i didn't find her the moment i did? I know Priya and God damn it you know her too!!"

Kamilah just stared at him, regret was written all over her face "I had work Adrian and she is an adult--"

"An adult who didn't knew that vampires were all around her" He finishes her sentence as he sat back on his chair

Kamilah crossed her arms skeptical. Why did she felt so drawn to Amy? She had several workers what made her different?

"She didn't gave you her consent to turn her" Adrian finally said breaking the silence

And he was right she didn't. But Amy died on her arms before she could do anything. The guilt was too much for her to bare so she had no choice but to give her another chance to live.

"I know but it was all my fault" she says sitting down on a chair next to Adrian.

If she wakes up she will have so many questions. She will hate Kamilah, being a vampire will never be easy, she just has to get used to it. Sighing Kamilah sat back rethinking her choices

"If Priya didn't attack her none of this would happen" she says angrily. Priya would pay for this, all of them would

"If you kept an eye on her she wouldn't be inside of a Sarcophagus now" Adrian added. He was tired, tired of all this mess. He had to deal with the council, the consequences.

"I will leave you to it, i hope you can at least keep an eye on her now" he says leaving the basement.

___

It was dark, cold, distant. I could barely feel my body, i wasn't in control of it. The darkness is worse when no light is around, no senses. It feels like i am falling to an endless void all by myself. Was this my punishment? Was this hell? I couldn't tell.

It finally stopped, and i could now hear a voice in the distance. Where am i? Where is Lil? Where is Kamilah? I am alone. I let the emptiness settle inside me as i start walking towards the voice uneasy and when i approach memories consume me

My father is sitting on his chair watching me walk with my suitcases in hand. He is angry at me, because he wont be able to control me anymore, he wont be able to get under my skin, this is freedom.

I smile to myself a little proud but then he stands up from his chair, his steps heavy.

"Where do you think you are going?" His deep voice echoes through my mind

I swallow hard knowing i play with fire. But i couldn't stay here anymore "I told you i am going to New York father"

Without a warning he grabs both of my cheeks with his one arm squeezing hard. He pushes me up against the wall, my blood boiling. I can hear my heartbeat ringing through my skull, he is having no mercy.

"Listen here and listen well, you are not going to leave this house until i tell you so!!"

He then kicks hard my suitcases as i watch them shatter to the floor. And then with the corner of my eye i see my mother standing hidden behind the kitchen door, her eyes filled with tears.

"So quit this rebellion because i wont hesitate to end it myself" he spat out coldly finally letting me go

I caresses my cheeks knowing well he left red marks all over my face. I ran up my room and lock my door. And just like a hurricane destroy a village, i collapse to the floor, voices of the argument downstairs fills my ears as i sink deep into my own sadness

That's what i saw in Kamilah's eyes at first. The same look of disapproval, the same irony that followed in every sentence. I saw his face on hers, i couldn't escape him. But unlike him she changed the way she looked at me, i could sense a softness beneath it all, a ruined woman behind closed doors.

I let the memories consume me as my anger rises. Revenge runs cold through my veins, my desperation turns into something dark, evil and all i can now see is red.

Tag list: @justastranger-passing @nydeiri @la-guera-69 @scarlet-letter-a0114 @kamilah-the-bloodqueen @samgtt700 @blackphenix9527 @onyxgaytrash @lovestruck-sapphic-choices @vonda-b-real @sergeant-pepper-loves-choices @justanother-lesbo @origmansello @justyourlocaldyke

[ecampbellsoup]

outlander | 5x6 | intitial thoughts

okkkkkkkkkk. i always write these after only one viewing and i don’t want to break tradition, so here goes nothing. i did not love the episode. i didn’t hate it either, but it is maybe my least favorite of the season so far. yet, i really do need to watch it again before claiming that fully.

full disclosure: i skipped immediately to the stable scene; yep, i sure did! as most of you lovely people know, i am not a true canon reader. i have basic plot overview and i’d like to think a pretty decent grasp on the characters, but i haven’t read the books and therefore don’t know the nuance of the scenes *although i have read all the famous love scenes hehehe*

i mention that to establish that i willfully admit i came into this episode with high expectations of this iconic scene; and i didn’t realize how high they actually were until i felt them crashing to the floor. excuse my flair for the dramatics, but that’s how it felt. honorable mention though to jamie’s strands of hair flying on either side of his face and claire dropping her shawl like it was a bad habit; that was unbelievably sexy.

so i skipped to the scene, watched...all two minutes of it *lol*...and if i’m being honest: i was disappointed. i was. i liked the scene, and it was hot, but i wish it was longer. i wish they had really drawn it out. but, it is what it is. i loved the post-coital scene though. it was precious.

however, i do think that even if i wasn’t aware of canon context, i still would’ve liked for the scene to linger a bit. maybe it’s just me, but i think part of the bliss of a love scene is how you allow the tension to build and build and build until when the cresando finally hits, it’s like the breaking of a dam.

all that to say, i acknowledge that after that letdown, i watched the rest of the episode slightly grumpy, and so i really do need to rewatch to better acknowledge the other 58 minutes of 5x6.

i never ever wish to be overtly negative or unfair, but i also don’t want to lie and say i was blown away when i wasn’t. i’m sure i will share more later, but that’s all for now!

one more tiny note: i reallllllllly struggle with the way the ring scene is handled in the script. the acting was great, but the entire concept strikes me as severe and i wrestled with claire greatly in that moment.

before signing off on my initial thoughts, i will say: i felt that maria doyle kennedy, who plays jocasta, was absolutely sublime in this episode. she stole the show and knocked it out of the park with duncan lacroix right alongside her. they were exquisitely painful and did such a lovely job.

*just putting this out there: i have watched the scene four or five times now #noshame and i like it more each viewing. my expectations now adjusted, i’m able to enjoy it for what it is*

[bruadarxch]

Wonderstruck (1/4)

Delphine Lacroix raves about Miss Shirley and her crazy lessons. Her uncle Gilbert thinks his niece surely has an overactive imagination, but one day he has to pick her up from school and a certain redhead covered in paint from head to toe crashes into him.

OR: Gilbert Blythe puts his foot in it when he meets Anne in every universe. Luckily for him, she didn't have any heavy objects around in this one. (AO3 link)

***

“Blythe.”

A voice makes Gilbert stir in his sleep. He lets out a whimper and rolls over, refusing to wake up.

“Blythe. Gilbert,” the voice insists, and he feels a hand shaking his arm.

Bash?

“Wake up you moke!”

Yup. Definitely Bash.

Gilbert finally manages to slightly open his eyes and the afternoon light blinds him. Bash is standing over him, looking slightly exasperated.

“What?” Gilbert asks, voice muffled with sleep. “What time is it?”

“It’s almost one in the afternoon,” Bash replies. “I know you had a long shift at the hospital last night but this is an emergency.”

At this Gilbert bolts up in his bed, his doctor brain taking over any trace of sleepiness. “What happened? Are you okay? Is Delly okay?”

“Everyone’s fine!” Bash quickly says, wincing. “Sorry, not that kind of emergency.”

“Bash!”

“I’m sorry! But it is an emergency,” Bash insists. “I wouldn’t wake you up if it wasn’t.”

“Okay, okay,” Gilbert says, rubbing his eyes. “What is it?”

“You need to pick up Delphine from school.”

“That’s it? Don’t you usually call a babysitter for that?” he asks, slightly confused.

“Yes, Blythe, but Mr Barry just called about a last minute situation with the exports team and Mrs Lynde couldn’t come on such short notice,” Bash explains, visibly frustrated with his adoptive brother’s refusal to just get up already. “So can you please do your uncle duty and go pick Delly up?”

“When does she get out?”

“In half an hour, ” Bash says pointedly.

“Oh shit!” Gilbert finally gets out of bed and hastily starts getting dressed. “Okay, I’m coming.”

“Thank you!” Bash calls out, already rushing out the front door. “I’ll text you the address. Don’t be late!”

*

Gilbert is late.

It’s not completely his fault, traffic in the afternoon is always a nightmare even in their relatively small city. That, and he had never been to little Delphine’s school so he accidentally gets lost. He’s not extremely late though, so he’s sure he’ll be able to persuade his 7-year-old niece into forgiving him with a quick trip to her favorite ice cream shop. He just hopes Bash thought ahead and called the school so her teacher doesn’t think he’s trying to kidnap Delly or something.

He vaguely recalls Delly talking about her teacher during dinner. Gilbert never took his niece’s stories about Miss Shirley too seriously, knowing how wild Delly’s imagination is. It’s just impossible that a teacher would do things like take her students on a field trip to the middle of the forest so they could “whisper secrets to the trees, the best listeners nature had to offer”. It simply sounded ridiculous, but Delly did complete a very nice project on the different varieties of trees in Prince Edward Island.

When Gilbert finally arrives to the school building—and only about ten minutes late, to his infinite relief—he feels uneasy. Like there’s something momentous about to happen to him but he doesn’t know exactly what. Weird. He’s walking up the steps to the front door when someone pulls it open from the inside and a red-headed figure barrels into him.

“Whoa!” he exclaims taking the young woman by the arms before they both fall down the stairs. “Are you okay?”

Then she looks at him with big blue eyes and his heart picks up speed. His mind goes blank as they both take each other in. She’s short, barely coming up to his shoulders. Her long red hair is cascading down her back and she’s looking at him with parted lips and a faint blush on her freckle-covered cheeks. Cute, his unhelpful mind supplies. He swears the world slows down around them, and he almost forgets where he is. Then it’s like the woman in front of him suddenly shakes herself off the weird spell between them.

“Sorry,” she sputters. “Oh god! I’m so sorry!”

“It’s okay, no worries,” he smiles at her.

“This is mortifying,” she continues, avoiding his gaze. “Utterly mortifying! I wish this was the first time my overactive brain makes me lose sight of my surroundings but I can promise it’s not, probably not the last either...”

“It’s fine, really!”

“...which is why the principal will have a field day with this,” the redhead rattles on, “she was just reminding me about the perils of being distracted in the school environment and not even an hour later here I am. Harming people!”

“You just bumped into me,” Gilbert quips, amused.

“Oh but only because you’re an adult, and my tiny constitution couldn’t possibly make a big impact, but imagine the catastrophic consequences of such an accident if I were to crash into one of our tiny students!”

“Well, I won’t tell if you don’t,” he gives her a teasing grin. “This... accident can stay between us.”

The woman rolls her eyes but seems grateful. He takes a proper look at her this time and that’s when he notices that she’s covered in paint of different colors from head to toe. There’s a big splotch of green on her right cheek and multicolored droplets all over the tips of her red hair. She’s wearing an apron that maybe someday was white, but now is anything but. She looks like she’s just come back from a paintball battle instead of a classroom. She notices him staring and crosses her arms in front of her, self consciously.

“Can I help you with anything?”

“Uh...” Shit. Gilbert had almost forgotten why he was in the school in the first place. Luckily for him, this is the moment his niece finds him.

“Uncle Gilby!” Delphine squeals, throwing herself at his legs. He smiles and picks her up, almost forgetting the weird encounter with the woman still in front of him.

“Hello Princess Delphine,” he says warmly. “Daddy couldn’t come pick you up, wanna have a date with your favorite uncle?”

“You’re late!” she chastises him, crossing her little arms.

“I know,” he says, apologetically. “Will you forgive me if I buy you ice cream?”

“Three whole balls?” she asks excitedly. Gilbert laughs.

“Okay, but don’t tell your dad,” he whispers conspiratorially. Delly giggles and he puts her down, taking her little hand in his. Then he turns to the woman still standing in front of them. “Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Gilbert Blythe, Delphine’s uncle. Her father couldn’t pick her up today, he had a last minute situation at work.”

The redhead begins to introduce herself but the little girl in Gilbert’s arms interrupts her.

“Uncle Gil this is Miss Shirley! She’s super smart like you,” Delly says excitedly. “Isn’t she the prettiest girl in the whole world?”

At this both adults blush a deep red. They both avoid the other’s eyes and Gilbert clears his throat wishing his niece hadn’t inherited Bash’s gift for embarrassing him in public.

“That’s impossible, Princess Delphine,” he answers, very pointedly not looking at the indeed very pretty woman in front of him. “You are the prettiest girl in the world. Now go pick up your stuff, we should get going.”

Delly giggles in delight and runs back into the school building, leaving the two adults alone in an awkward silence. Gilbert looks back at the teacher and tries to clear the tension.

“So you’re the famous Miss Shirley?” he asks, flashing her a smile.

“I guess I am. Most adults just call me Anne, though,” she replies, offering her hand. He shakes it and he does an okay job of ignoring the strange tingling sensation the handshake gives him. Anne clears her throat this time—looking similarly affected, might he add—and tries to stir the conversation into a safe topic. “Delphine is a very bright girl, you must be proud.”

“Oh yeah, I am,” he smiles warmly. He never thought he’d be the type of person to get sappy about kids, but watching Delly grow up has been one of the greatest joys of his life. She’s brought so much joy to their home, and she continues to amaze him every day with the things she learns and the adventures she get herself into at just seven years old. He can’t quite contain the expression of pure love that takes over his face, and Anne must pick up on it because she smiles back at him. He looks back at her... colorful current state of being and chuckles. “I’ve heard a lot about you, actually. I thought Delly was making your crazy lessons up, but I guess I was wrong.”

He didn’t mean it as a bad thing, but the icy glare she gives him tells him his choice of words was definitely a mistake.

“Excuse me?!” she whispers, anger clear in her voice. Gilbert gulps.

“Oh I didn’t mean...!”

“I’ll have you know that my methods are calculated and highly efficient,” she hisses. “It’s enough that the old fashioned people at this school question me even though I’ve proven myself time and time again. I won’t tolerate it from someone who’s only known me for fifteen minutes and hasn’t even set foot in this school once!”

Gilbert is at a loss of words. He obviously didn’t mean to offend Anne, but the fire in her eyes suggests she is very much offended—even tempted to hit him with something given the opportunity. He hates himself for it, but underneath all the embarrassment he thinks Anne Shirley is a passionate individual alright. He can’t lie to himself and say she doesn’t look beautiful all riled up, because she does—hands resting on her hips, eyes bright, flushed cheeks, looking ready to take on the world.

Before he can say something even more idiotic and give her an opportunity to actually slap him, his very opportune niece bursts through the door again demanding the ice cream he promised.

He lets sweet, unaware Delly drag him away as he casts an apologetic look at the still furious teacher. She merely crosses her arms in front of her.

“Good afternoon, Mr Blythe,” Anne says coldly. With that she turns and disappears inside the building.

Gilbert is left with the strongest shame clouding his thoughts and a heart doing somersaults inside his chest. Fuck.

[shirbertshitposts]

Considering that this season is pretty consistently going down the path of adolescence is so embarrassing and it’s hard to not constantly be at odds with your parental figures...i could see this potential sequence of events taking place:

Gilbert wants to learn more about how nature can be used as medicine from the Mi’kmaq medicine woman. However he doesn’t know where their village is so he asks Anne to take him there. She agrees because she wants to go there anyway to see if Ka’kwet is back. But she makes one condition, don’t tell Marilla about it because she still doesn’t like when Anne goes over there and she’ll likely get in trouble if Marilla finds out.

Anne lies to Marilla that she is going over to the Blythe/Lacroix house to help look after Delphine that day. Then when she gets there her and Gilbert head out into the woods to visit the Mi’kmaq village. Gilbert is not as good of a liar as Anne so he tells Bash they are going for a walk and Bash is like um okay but he doesn’t tell Bash explicitly where they are going because they are worried Bash would accidentally tell Marilla since they talk all the time now. Anyway they go to the village have a great time learning all sorts of medicines and stuff but they also lose track of time a bit. And the sun is going to set soon and Anne is like uh oh i was supposed to be back at Green Gables before dark Marilla is gonna be upset. So then her and Gilbert try and get back as quickly as possible, like even running the few minutes back.

Meanwhile at some point in the late afternoon Marilla had decided to go over there to see how Anne was fairing watching Delphine and bring by some extra baked goods she made. When she arrives she finds Bash alone watching Delphine and she is like where is Anne she said she would be here watching Delphine and Bash is like uh her and Gilbert went on a walk or something. And Marilla is like that’s strange well how long ago did they leave will they be back soon and Bash is like idk they left a couple of hours ago and Marilla is like HOURS AGO and enters concerned mom mode. She ends up sitting down at the kitchen table/pacing around for a while waiting for them to get back. Bash is just calm this whole time like ahhh they’re probably fine they’re smart kids but this does not soothe Marilla.

When the sun sets, Marilla is very concerned she is like do we need to go look for them and as she is considering this she opens the front door to look out and then she sees them rushing up to the house and hears Anne say to Gilbert “I don’t know what i’m going to tell Marilla”

And they haven’t noticed Marilla in the doorway yet so Marilla calls out to Anne in a stern tone “how about the truth, Anne!” which causes Anne to look up with shock and go “MARILLA”

Marilla is just so mad that she immediately starts lecturing them like “where have you been?” “why did you lie to me?” “don’t you know it improper for two people your age to be out together alone, especially after nightfall?”

Anne tries to explain it away like “oh were were just trying to find the spot Miss Stacy took us for a nature lesson recently but we got lost” and Gilbert tries to take some of the blame off of Anne being like “it’s my fault we got lost. I didn’t think we would be away so long....” But because they are still not telling the truth it comes off really suspicious and Marilla isn’t convinced.

Eventually Marilla is just like “Anne make sure you have all your things. It’s time we got home. Don’t think we are done talking about this though.” Also while they are heading out she says to Gilbert “I’m not your mother, so I have no right to lecture you, but I am slightly disappointed in you today and I should hope I’ll not have reason to lose my trust in you.”

Then Marilla and Anne leave and as they’re heading home Marilla says to Anne solemnly “Anne when we get home we need to have a talk. The same talk my mother had with me the first time she caught me sneaking off with a handsome young Blythe”

And Anne immediately responds “WE WEREN’T SNEAKING OFF--” and considers just telling Marilla the truth right then and there that they had actually visited the village she was banned from going to but then decides against it because she would probably only get in even more trouble. Then after another moment passes Anne fully processes what Marilla says and goes “wait...did you used to sneak off with Gilbert’s dad?”

Anyway that’s all to say that this is how Marilla eventually decides to give Anne the birds and the bees talk.

Bonus: I think Anne would then come into school Monday morning and Diana would ask her how her weekend was and Anne would dramatically respond “Well I learned you can’t die from mortification”

[sunjaesol]

a possible shirbert s3 ending

Look, Anne Shirley-Cuthbert wasn't heartbroken. She was, for like a day, but then she had mustered all the power a Marilla glare could contain and got over it. Did she still love Gilbert? Sure. But she knew it was for the best; their paths simply didn't coinside. She was a summer storm, and he a winter sun. Her warm and wild, him collected and cheeky. Her grande adventure awaited her, yet he had already been through them. It was her turn to see Trinidad (or wherever the wind would take her).

Even if they shared the same intellect and wit and had a hunger for real connection and the worldly truth - it wasn’t meant to be. Perhaps it was fated. Perhaps she was destined for her heart to break, so that she'd find someone better in the future. She'd been hung up on Gilbert for far too long. Maybe at Queen's she'll finally find that dark, brooding character she has been writing about for years: no boyish smiles and winks and tinkling grins - a real man. (The thought made her shiver uncomfortably, but she ignored it.)

After a night of crying, she was ready to face the world again, to be diplomatic towards Gilbert ("Congratulations on the engagement! I really want that pen back though.") and focus on her goals. Being the best at Queen's and aiming to travel. She had always smelled the same scent, but she wondered how other counties smelled. Sweeter, or more bitter. Maybe the same as Canada. Maybe it smelled like nothing. Maybe it smelled like the future: metal and gas. Anne smiled, placing the last fork on the dinner table.

'What will you be doing today, Anne? Something eventful I presume?', Marilla asked, placing the porridge on the table. Right on time, Matthew came home, a sack of Blythe-Lacroix apples in his hand.

'Sebastian and Gilbert said hello,' he said, nodding.

‘I think I will visit Diana. We have ever so few days left before she departs to Paris,’ the word left a bitter taste in her mouth. Paris where Gilbert would be residing alongside Winifred, a place Anne hadn’t been able to offer. ‘Maybe I should make scones? What do you think, Matthew?’

He stared at her, surprised. ‘Uh, I think that would be nice.’

Anne clapped her hands. ‘It’s settled then, a dozen scones before noon. Should be fine. I’m fine, did I mention that? It’s an exquisite summer day and I will enjoy it to the fullest.’

Marilla threw her a concerned look. ‘Are you sure?’

‘Absolutely!’, Anne all but yelled.    

‘I will be off,’ Matthew interrupted, an awkward cough coming from his lips. ‘Tending to the foul and-’, he shrugged, leaving the kitchen and making haste towards the stable. Marilla rolled her eyes. The woman’s gaze fell back on her daughter who was busy assembling the ingredients.

‘Anne?’

‘Yes?’

‘Are you sure?’

‘Yes, Marilla,’ Anne sighed, exasperated, ‘I am . Gilbert made a decision and I will stand behind that. Now I only want to focus on my future. Have the results from the exams come in yet?’

Marilla stared at her for a moment, helpless. Only yesterday had she filled the girl with hope, to go after what she wanted and tell the Blythe boy about her feelings once and for all; to get that happily ever after she deserved. And yet. She was not one to think vile thoughts about another person, especially the lovely miss Winifred Rose, but in that moment she wished the lady didn’t exist.

‘No,’ she replied.

Anne puffed. ‘That’s alright. It must be tomorrow then, or later this evening.’

‘You mustn’t worry, Anne,’ Marilla reassured, ‘you’ll be fine.’

‘What about “perfect”?’, he girl retorted, beginning to mix the flour with the butter.

‘Again, it will be-’

‘Anne !’ The familiar, deep voice thundered across the Green Gables property, making both Cuthbert women jump in surprise. Anne’s heart rattled in her chest as she realised who it was. Despite the volume, he didn’t sound angry but rather excited.

‘Anne!’, he repeated, now closer.

‘Go,’ Marila ushered gently, taking Anne’s place at the mxing bowl. A promising smile adorned her thin lips. Perhaps…

Anne cautiously wiped her hands off on her apron, fear evident in her eyes. Was he going to cheerfully announce he was an engaged man? (If the situation ha dbeen different, she would’ve scoffed. “Man”, as if Gilbert Blythe wasn’t idiotic enough to be seen as a boy.) That the wedding was in two months across the pond so none of his family could celebrate? That he loved Winifred?

Or, she tried to calm her nerves, was it something else? Like Dellie saying her first word, or how great the schoolhouse was starting to look, or the results-

Anne’s eyes widened with glee, rushing out of the kitchen door onto the field where she nearly crashed into a sprinting Gilbert. His eyes were blown with esctasy, a crumpled piece of paper in his hand. For a second she thought it was her note, but upon taking a better look and realising it wasn’t the same, she relaxed.

‘The results! They’re in!’, Gilbert bellowed before she could say anything. Anne gasped, grabbing his forearm in a flurry of excitement. He didn’t seem to notice.

‘So?’, Anne shrieked, trying to snatch the paper from his hands. Gilbert smirked at that, keeping the paper above his head. Anne huffed, not even trying to get it as she knew she’d be fruitless. She has matured, thank you very much.

‘Guess?’

‘Guess what?’

‘Your ranking?’

‘Of the class? First, obviously ,’ she glared at Gilbert at the latter word, making his grin widen. It was then she realised the weight of the situation. He was here, in front of her, bathing in the bautiful morning sunshine. His hazel eyes glittered, hair deliciously fluffy (she’d lie if she said she hadn’t dreamed of it before), face right out of a romance novel.      

You’re over him.

Anne blinked, hoping he hadn’t noticed the staring. If she took a closer look, she’d see the blush on his cheeks as well. ‘And of the island?’ She bit her lip. ‘Tenth?’ Gilbert gave her a look. ‘Fine. Twentieth?’

Gilbert chuckled in disbelief, lowering his arm and giving her the paper. She grabbed it with shaky fingers. ‘Congratulations,’ he whispered.

Slowly, she unfolded the paper.

First. First of Avonlea. And third! Third in all of PEI! Her eyes skimmed past hers to look at the others. Gilbert right underneath her, but-

‘We’re tied,’ she whispered, horror on her face. After all these years of trying to one up him, they were tied . It only made the heartbreak more ironic, a bitter knife like a thorn in her eye. But then acceptance settled in her body. Sorbonne would accept him with these resuts, he’d be able to make his dreams come true, make his father proud. She should be happy for him.

Anne mustered a smile, ‘We’re tied.’

Gilbert’s gaze intensified as well. ‘Fair and square.’

‘Winifred,’ she perked up, noticing the frown marring his forehead, ‘must be over the moon. The Sorbonne will accept you with open arms.’

His eyes roved her face for a second. It unnnerved her, as if he could see right through her, straight to her soul where his name was etched in gold. ‘I’m not going.’

It felt as though she was struck by lightening. ‘You’re not?’ Her voice was frail.

Gilbert shook his head. ‘I went to Charlottetown yesterday to cancel everything. The courting, the engagement, Sorbonne, …’

‘But… your dream!’

‘Sorbonne is not my dream,’ he interjected, ‘I think I fell in love with the idea, rather than the place itself.’

Anne couldn’t focus on anything he said, his words buzzing in her brain without context. ‘And Winifred! How did- I- I thought-’

‘I don’t…,’ he gulped, ‘you know. I couldn’t see a future with her where I would be happy.’

Anne exhaled deeply, trying to take it all in. Why was he doing this, right as she started to heal her heart?! He lookd troubled too, the frown stuck on his face. If she had been his, she would’ve caressed the skin with her thumb.

‘So…,’ she murmered, staring, ‘now what?’

‘I’m going to Toronto, to the school miss Stacey suggested. And… I’ll wait. For the right person. I’ll know when I see her.’ She didn’t miss the notion that he was staring directly in her eyes, hazel glued to blue. A blush rose on her cheeks.

‘Anne! The scones!’, Marilla yelled from inside. The girl snapped out of it, giving Gilbert his paper back. Their fingers touched.

‘I have to get back,’ she whispered. Without awaiting his goodbye, she turned her back to him and walked back. Just as she reached the front steps, his voice beckoned her to turn around.

‘You know it’s you right?! It’s always been you!’ He stood there, helpless, desperation in his tone. Her jaw fell slack. The kitchen fell quiet too.

Gilbert loved her?

‘But it’s… it’s fine. I’ll wait,’ he raised his arms, ‘because I know I messed up.’      

Anne was speechless, staring at the boy ten meters away. Had he felt it too? All the moments in between where they didn’t do anything but be themselves and smile as if they knew something the other didn’t. All the nonsensical conversations and the deep ones, about politics and poetry. All the glares and locked gazes. Everything. It’s always been him.

Without realising her feet has rushed down the steps back to him, heart pounding in her throat as if trying to escape and place it in his hands.

‘Idiot,’ she breathed, ‘you don’t have to wait.’ And with that, she grabbed his neck and kissed him square on the lips, the way she always wanted to.

And there, on a summery morning at Green Gables - between scones and young fouls, between youth and adulthood, between a redheaded dreamer and a brunette charmer - the story of Anne and Gilbert continued.   

 “I love the ground under his feet, and the air over his head, and everything he touches and every word he says. I love all his looks, and all his actions and him entirely and all together.” - Emily Bronte