#and alison is more of a daughter to her than the one she probably had

[shebeafancyflapjack]

When Robin said he had thirty kids and Fanny said "sounds awful" after Julian called him a busy bunny, she wasn't talking about the sex, she was talking about the kids.

[vampirebloodie]

Adam Stanheight x reader? Like how Lawrence describes his daughter & wife, have Adam describe his relationship with the reader.

Hope you like it, anon! <3

Best Thing In My Life | Adam Faulkner-Stanheight x Reader

Summary: You carry Adam's baby and the position of the best thing in his life

The time in that bathroom seemed like it would never end, Lawrence and Adam were still trying to understand what they should do to get out of that trap without physical harm. They had already understood that they needed to cut off their own leg that was trapped in chains, but where would they get the courage to do something like that? Lawrence looked at the photo of his family tied up there, helpless, not knowing what he could do to help Alison and their daughter.

“I feel horrible that i can’t help them. Alison and Diana are everything to me. I know i made a mistake cheating on Alison, but i love her since we met years ago. She is the woman of my life.”

The doctor lamented, he didn't even have enough water in his body to shed tears.

“I wonder if they did something to Y/n like they did to them.”

Adam said leaning against the wall, inside he was in pure despair, but he tried to hide it as much as possible, he didn't want to appear weak, no matter how weak he was.

“Y/n? Your relative?”

He asked.

“Something more than that. She is the best thing in my life. Is my girlfriend. I don’t think they would have the courage to do anything to her.”

“If they did something to a child like mine, why wouldn’t they do it to your girlfriend?”

Lawrence asked and Adam ignored his rude question.

“She is not alone. She's pregnant, carrying my baby. I was dedicating myself so much to photography to support both of us and him or her.”

Adam ran his hand over his face, starting to cry. Lawrence was silent for a few seconds before sighing, he was a little shocked now, Adam is gonna be a dad, just like him. If they were close to each other, they would definitely have hugged each other at that moment.

"I'm so sorry."

“I... She was the best thing that ever happened to me. I was bullied a lot in high school for being introverted, she was a new student, in the first week without even knowing me she helped me and stopped them from hitting me. She started hanging out with me and even though she was teased for being pretty and hanging out with a "weirdo" like me, she never stopped. After that i started to look at her like the wonder woman of my dreams, we've been together for 7 years and counting, in fact i was planning to surprise her and ask her to marry me, until i ended up here. She probably came home and saw everything set up, but she didn't saw me there. ”

He explained with a sad face.

"Don't worry. We’re going to get out of here and you’re going to see her again. I want to see my family too. Alison and i are not what we used to be, but i know she still loves me as much as i love her, the feeling may have cooled, but our love for Diana can overcome everything. My little girl is such a miracle in our life, she is so smart and curious. Just like her mother when was a teenager. I'm so proud of my baby”

Gordon said smiling, Adam started running his hands through his jeans looking for something, until he took a photo out of one of the pockets and showed it to Lawrence.

“Look look, at least he didn’t take that from me.”

Lawrence couldn't deny it, she really was very beautiful and had a magical smile that could easily charm anyone who passed by her. The photo showed her and Adam together holding a pregnancy test in one hand and a photograph of an ultrasound in the other hand, smiling extremely happily as a couple in love should be.

“She’s beautiful, isn’t she? She is the love of my life, she is everything to me, she is the thing i am most grateful for having in my life. My family never supported me in being a photographer, unlike her who always helped me despite all the judgments. Being with her every day makes me happier and warms my heart, it's like im in paradise and she's my goddess. ”

Adam said smiling silly caressing the photo, the blonde laughed.

"Do not laugh. Lawrence, im really scared i'll never leave here and i won’t be able to see her again.” He admitted, frustrated.

"Ok ok, we going to get out of here, we’re going to find a way to do this, you’re going to find your wife, even if i leave first and come back for you.”

"You promise?"

“I promise you, Adam.”

Final note: please, reblog if you liked! 💖

[weclassybouquetfun]

Parting is such sweet sorrow and it's true in this particular instance of saying goodbye to the Hargreeves, Sparrow! Ben and Lila.

Final season: fewer episodes, more timelines.

This was THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY series four. More SPOILERS than timelines.

Luther /Number 1 / Spaceboy: I think of all the Brellies, Luther is in a much better place than after the event of last season, despite losing Sloane. It helps that he's a tad thick and can be often oblivious. Even dubbing himself an aging stripper living in a condemned building didn't aspire the hurt it would normally stir up in him when faced with his perceived  inadequacies.

Loved that Luther got his Captain America elevator fight moment (albeit offscreen).

Brothers sharing two brain cells.

Diego / Number 2/The Kraken and Lila: In a show about aliens, a talking chimp and time traveling, I loved the simple story of Diego and Lila's relationship revolving around the complex realities of trying to remain your individual self while having to be so much for your partner and kids. Two lions, caging themselves because of responsibility.

Though it could just be Diego flailing, I think he went into parent mood and tried to shield Five from hitting the dash.

I love that Diego has consistently been about family so I melted when we realize he named his daughter Grace after their mom.

Diego being the one to shut her down and falling back into his childhood stutter as he's doing so remains one of the top heartbreaking moments on the show.

Alison/Number Three/The Rumor: Love that she got a power upgrade. Their leveling up or shifting powers reminds me of Robert Sheehan's old series MISFITS where they all sold their powers, tried to buy them back and ended up with different ones after theirs were sold.

Alison did so much running in the past - from her dark side, trying to run back to her daughter, running away from the family, that I don't think she thought of the realities of what happens when you have (relative) peace and now just have to deal with life. She doesn't have the level of career she had before, she doesn't have Ray anymore. She can't just live in the drama that her family peddles in, but live her life and she, Diego and Lila all wear that weight differently, but they do wear it.

I loved when she said she was done apologizing. She and Viktor have done shitty stuff to each other and things that affect the family. That is just the dance the Hargreeves do. Just dead it and push on because they know it wasn't the first time, nor would it be the last....thought it is the last as it's over.

Klaus / Number Four/The Séance: I've always loved Klaus and Alison's relationship and especially now seeing him in the role of uncle to Claire and I understand why he raged at Alison after she brought him back and not the others who were urging her on. When someone knows you so well, you expect more of them. Alison said he wouldn't want to come back. Klaus' addiction was borne out of needing a distraction from the literal ghosts that are always around him. Then when he gets sober, he is now haunted by fear of losing his sobriety and dealing with mortality. It hurts to be alive and Alison -while not wanting him to die - knew that he would be at peace, but she could not let him go. She could have shoved the marigold in Viktor or Lila's hands and have them give him it, but I think she knew it had to be her.

And what she probably feared would happen, happened - he fell back into his old habits, but with a twist: trying to do Death By Drug Dealer. He wanted his dealer to kill him, but instead ends up trafficked and buried alive, but with a ghostly good boy dog with him. But Klaus needed that experience to appreciate life.

Five/Number Five / The Boy: Every season Aidan Gallagher delivers 150%. It's very easy to look at S1 and S2 and look at the comedic prowess he displayed playing the cantankerous Five, but this season showed how adept he is at a quieter performance. I bet this was how Five in his first decade or two of wandering the apocalypse was. He's not downtrodden per se, but there is a weight; a disquiet about him. He wants to find a way to his timeline, but seems to be hesitant to get too enthused about it because therein lies disappointment.

Which is why I Ioved the Five /Lila situationship.

Five knows what it means to be stuck and he nor Lila knew how long they would be stuck trying to find their timeline. It makes sense they grow close and become a comfort to each other. It makes sense that in their fear and uncertainty that they would want to find a modicum of happiness and they found it with each other. It's lovely. And her returning to their timeline for her family doesn't erase what she and Five meant for each other. I loved that they never had her answer Diego's question of whether she loved Five and in their finally moments she reached for his hand, as well.

Sparrow Ben: Glad to have finally gotten the answer to the events of "The Jennifer Incident", horrified that Reginald Hargreeves was an even worse person than I already thought. I think I would have been more gutted if this was OG Ben, but unlike the Hargreeves, I have not accepted Sparrow Ben into my heart as readily. I mean, glad that Sparrow Ben got some action, but I don't know him like that.

I did love the body horror aspect of The Cleanse, though.

Love that the end of S3 was Sparrow Ben preparing to learn the tricks of the trade so he could commit mega crypto fraud.

Viktor / Number Seven / The White Violin: Like Luther, Viktor settled into their new timeline just fine and ended up with the most important payoff - a semblance of closure with Sparrow Reginald as a stand-in for their Reginald. Getting the validation that he was more than good enough to be in the Umbrella Academy and a vital one of that. S tiered ability!

MISC: Loved seeing the past characters at the end: Grace, Kate Walsh's The Handler, Herb, the blond assassins, Agnes and Hazel!

And yes, Steve Blackman wanted Mary J. Blige to cameo, but she was touring and John Magaro who played Vanya's love interest in S3 had a scheduling conflict.

Other things Blackman couldn't address in the final season/series: He was all for a Luther/Alison romance (YES!), but as people viewed them as you would bio-siblings, there wasn't much movement he could do with them. He also wanted room to explore Sloane and Luther, but couldn't due to the reduced episode order. He also wanted Sissy (Viktor's love interest) to return but Marin Ireland was unavailable.

Though they don't exist, we still get a tip of the hat to our Brellies who sacrificed themselves for the greater good.

It's true.

[spacerangersam]

an extensive list of hcs i have about labour mp!fanny button because if i can't draw her, I'm gonna talk about her:

Died in 1992 from a heart attack, moments after catching George in the act with two other men at a party (while she was fully dressed, he was not, and that got almost more buzz than her actual death, much to her chagrin)

She never lived in Button Manor, just attended a few parties and meetings there, and has no familial ties to Alison

Her father was a Tory MP so she was raised conservative and taught to be the perfect politician’s daughter, quiet and prim, and to never make a scene lest she damage her father’s image

But then he went and ruined it himself in a drunken stupor, making their family a laughing stock

She later went into politics herself but turned to Labour, determined to fix what her father had ruined

(it’d probably make more sense for her to also be a Tory but shhh, let me have this. Also, yes, this backstory is very rachel fawcett inspired)

She became known as ‘that very scary labour lady who will catch you out in a lie and who has made at least one reporter cry'

She married George just for the sake of appearances, and while she didn’t care that he went around with men behind her back, she did care that he was sloppy about it and kept almost getting caught (again, because it’d look bad on her, the hapless idiot wife who married a man who doesn’t even like women)

They had one son, Roger. Fany didn’t like him, and the feeling was mutual. She saved her affection for her pets.

She smoked heavily out of stress, and does the same in death, having died with a cigarette on hand

Unfortunately, she also died with heels. When they get too much, she takes them off and just carries them around, walking around in her tights (though it takes her a good few years to be comfortable doing such a thing). I also think she should be allowed to throw them at the other ghosts when they’re being especially annoying 

I like to imagine that she’s slightly less uptight and concerned with being ladylike in this au - she still has hangups about what one should and shouldn’t do, and certain hiccups from growing up in a Tory household, but like, she’s not living in the Edwardian era anymore, she’s a mildly more modern woman. And she was only supposed to behave to keep up her image, and that doesn’t really matter now that she’s dead. 

She still thinks Alison’s tattoos are ugly though.

Post death, she likes to keep up with the news, both through the telly and newspapers, and always bugs Mike (the one who can see ghosts in this au) to go vote every year

Has personal beef with Thatcher. She will never explain what happened, but something definitely did.

Idk if she’d have Julian’s powers, but she could do. She’d deserved it.

She still has an interest in maths and from about sixteen took a vested interest in the family finances, trying to make sure her father didn’t completely bleed them dry. In death, she sometimes talks bank with Pat and I like to imagine them both getting very frustrated over the Cooper’s financial situation and trying to help in their own annoying way.

[littlequeenies]

💬 Mike Bobis: “I wonder what Dem would be like now. Probably still trying to talk me into doing things I know I shouldn’t but would, simply cause it’d be easier than dealing with her giving me shit for not doing them. I do miss them [Demri and Layne]. They’d be the best hippie parents ever. We could barely get Dem to wear a shirt sometimes. Oh Dem, the wild child.”

💬 Amber Ferrano: “Demri was just a girl who wanted to follow her dreams... She wanted to marry a man she loved, have kids, and live on a block with all her friends so we could watch each other’s kids, garden together and borrow sugar". 💬 Fabiola Gonzalez: “She always said, ‘What’s the big deal? I have a boy’s chest!’. Best parents ever. I miss that they weren’t here to share in it. When Kurt [Cobain] passed I came to Seattle and saw Dem, and she put her ear to my pregnant belly and said, ‘Isn’t it wild? Two boys!’. When the boys were less than a year old, I went to Mad Season with Layne’s stepdad. After the show, I showed him pictures, and Layne saw my son’s photo and grinned, ‘He’s got big ears!’. They always wanted children. I met Dem’s baby sister [Christa Dougherty] and Layne held her close. They wanted, but they knew their ‘condition’. The last time we saw her was at Wedgewood, she made sure to come out to our car and give my sons lovins’ in their car seats, they were barely two years old. I saw it in her eyes and felt it in her soul. How I wish and hoped Demri would be around here for a while and have her own, and share in the joy of babies. She would have been a beautiful mom. Besides my boys, they were the loves of my life. They were so full of life! That’s what they left us – live life love. Never take it for granted, never abandon children!”

💬: “I knew Demri before she was with Layne, she was a good friend. I always thought she was going to be famous, but not like this. She should have been a photographer or in the theater. We talked a lot about leaving our little school and doing cool things. Looking for words here, I am so sad. I seen her one more time when she got back from art school, then it was my time to leave. I always thought we would see each other again and would share some great stories, not this. It wasn’t neat or cool, it’s heartbreaking.”

💬 Amber Ferrano: "More than anything, I am so sad that Layne and Demri were good people and had to go through such sorrow; life could be so different and wonderful for them now... I remember when Demri died people were using the phrase, “What a waste”. Kathleen was hurt by that and would say, “My daughter’s life wasn’t a waste”. I felt “It was a “waste” in that Demri did not get all the great things she deserved back in life. I think we all would have loved to see that happen for her..."  

💬 Fabiola H Gonzalez: “I just know that Layne and Demri dreamed of having kids. The dream was marriage, kids and the white picket fence, and part of the dream was a lot of art, expression and unconditional love.”

💬 Carolyn Hart Gutierrez: "I always imagined that she grew up and became a happy little momma who would teach her children to believe in magic and that if you wish on a star your wish will come true, and to dance in the rain. That's what I believe. Demri may be gone, but she is never forgotten."

From Memories of Demri, very special thanks to Ana <3

Photos 1 & 2 by Alison Dyer, 3 & 4 by Krista Kay.

[waldorfhistoria]

Man, this wonderful Jenny meta I reblogged has me thinking SO many thoughts, especially about the Dan-Jenny dynamic and this line in particular:

“one scene that stands out to me is when jenny steals the dress in season one and dan goes into talk to her and it’s so clear he’s had to take on somewhat of a parental role with her since their mom has been gone? and i’m sure that’s frustrating for both jenny and for dan. but despite taking on this role of care, he doesn’t treat her condescendingly or with any ire, he tries to be understanding and careful and thoughtful where rufus couldn’t be.” - @buffyspeak

And one of the things that’s so fascinating to me about the relationship dynamic between Dan and Jenny is that they essentially have about four different styles of sibling relationships, all nestled into their one.

At times, especially towards the beginning of the show, Dan and Jenny have a fairly “typical” big brother/little sister dynamic - Jenny is teasing and affectionately annoying towards Dan, Dan is teasing and affectionately exasperated towards Jenny, but they ultimately look out for and try to protect/take care of one another the way that siblings do. But there’s a shift, I think, when Alison leaves - Rufus is suddenly acting as a single father, and Dan is put in the position where he not only needs to look out for Jenny as her big brother, but as a pseudo-mother of sorts - he’s the one who ends up playing mediator between Rufus and Jenny’s growing conflicts, who tries to give her the advice and guidance that she’s not getting from either of her actual parents, and is even the one who Rufus, at times, turns to to talk out the parenting decisions he makes in relation to Jenny. Which brings up another facet of their dynamic that only grows as the show goes on and Jenny starts to struggle more and more - the golden child and the “problem” child.

One thing I’ve noticed is that a lot of the Rufus discourse really hinges on whether a fan is paying more attention to Dan as a character or to Jenny, because the Rufus in Dan’s story is often a very different figure than the Rufus in Jenny’s. Dan’s Rufus is a compassionate, loving, fair-minded dad, who affords Dan a level of respect and independence while also upholding strong moral values he expects his son to live up to. Jenny’s Rufus, on the other hand, is a far more controlling and at times almost immature figure, sometimes fighting with Jenny like a peer rather than a parent - a father who fails to offer his daughter the same respect and understanding he affords his son. And while none of this is Dan’s fault, how can Jenny not be a little resentful of it, of him - that Dan is treated like a person while Jenny is often made to feel like more of a project.

And yet, in spite of that, I would argue there’s another dimension of their relationship that probably plays a key role in keeping them close as the series wears on - Dan and Jenny as childhood friends. This is something that I feel doesn’t come up in the show enough but is still interesting in light of the way their dynamic evolves - based on what we know of their upbringing, it doesn’t seem like Dan and Jenny had a lot of other friends coming into the Upper East Side. I mean, we’re told that pretty explicitly with Dan, given that Vanessa seems to be the only other person he’s really close to outside of his family, prior to dating Serena. But it seems like Jenny didn’t really have any other close friends herself - at least no one close enough to stay in touch with after she moves from public school to private. It seems like - especially in the space of time that Vanessa was living in Vermont - Dan and Jenny were likely each other’s two closest friends, and I think considering how enmeshed their later social circles become, that adds an interesting nuance as well. Dan isn’t just Jenny’s big brother, he’s also her sister and sometimes her mother and kind of her rival and always her longtime friend.

[2ducks-agoose]

So I just watched all of season 5 and here are my thoughts

MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED (I will also tag with spoilers)

•I loved how Robin and Sophie had such a connection without even meeting each other. I have a relationship like that with someone I care about how Robin was acted really broke my heart. It’s was so good. I was at the verge of tears (to be honest I was on the verge of tears so many times)

•MORE HUMPHREY!!! He’s one of my favorites so I’m glad we finally got more of him this season. ALSO Sophie backstory, glad to see it.

•Different relationships were shown, like Thomas and Pat, Thomas and Fanny, more Pat and Captain (finally), Julian and Pat, Julian and Alison, Robin and Sophie (I LOVED THIS SO MUCH), Robin and Annie, and long expected Captain and Havers. This all made my heart swell to see how much they all care for each other.

•Kittys death. Her death was probably very painful, with possible muscle cramps, and lots of nausea, and so much pain. I feel so so empathetic towards her. I just love her

•Thomas fucking came out as Scottish. I was texted my friends about that one, ngl

•my mixed emotions about Captains death. To start off with I 100% live for his backstory. I love how to just wanted to see Havers one last time, and just how they showed so much affection in some small hand touches. How the Captain died looking at the man he loved. That just broke my heart. My only complaint is that he didn’t get the much screen time. Like his story was so hyped up for about 5 years about we got about a whole 10 minutes or less of his backstory throughout the whole series. And backstory episode didn’t really revolve around his backstory like the others had. I would have loved to see him pining over Havers and getting clues to try to find Havers. We could have seen more of just Havers and why he was so important to Captain. This would have just made so much of a more impact to the story with giving them more backstory. I just want to see more of them. I am begging that we get more in the Christmas episode but it’s highly unlikely. Makes me sad.

•Captains and Havers names I think fit pretty well, but the fandom’s names will forever live in my heart. I headcanoned their fandom names to be middle names because I can’t let go of them. But seriously I really like the new names but still are going to be the Captain and Havers.

•Robin being very smart and picking up on stuff/ listening very well was something I wanted to see forever. Finally got it

•I love that Mike and Alison are finally having a child, but holy shit they are not ready at all. I adore both of them both so much but they are seriously at the moment very unprepared. I don’t know how it’s going to go at first but I think when they eventually get the hand of it they’ll be great parents. This might take a while

•Julian finally letting his feeling out. You can really tell he sees Alison as a daughter. I hate him but damn that speech was good

•ANNIE-VERSEY, all these Robin moments are hurting my heart.❤️

•Humphrey pranking the Ghosts with Alison was so amazing. YOU GO!!!

•Kitty admiring Alison but also understanding and caring for her boundaries the best she could.

•The Captain finally being more open about his sexuality and opening showing his attraction to the news reporter.

•When the Captain thought he was going to move on, HE WAS CLENCHING HIS STICK BECAUSE HE WAS PRACTICALLY HOLDING HAVERS!!!!! AHHHHHHHHH

•Fanny being good at poetry was something I didn’t know I wanted but what I now know I need

•The Captain is even more desperate than Thomas.

•Robins not only learned French but Russian as well

•More of Alison/Mike in the series. Absolutely love them

This isn’t season 5 (yet) but for the Christmas Special I’m hoping to get:

1. More Captain and Havers

2. Captain’s Last name

3. More Humphrey and Kitty friendship

4. Baby

[capraffe]

If bbc ghosts ever had a dramatic ending

the ghosts will have alternate flashbacks,

After every ghosts has moved on, alison stood on button house Looking around, nothing feels empty than the first she got there, no more bickering fanny, or a captain that barks orders everywhere, or a scary caveman but yet she feels sad and empty because those people eventually ended up becoming her found family

Then a mellow piano tune (probably the one in episode 1 in the first series) plays as an alternative flashback of the ghosts flashes across the screen as alison narrates something about life being so short and you must cherish every single moment yada yada you get the idea

Its either an alternative flashback of what couldve happened if things happened differently for them

Captain confessing his feelings to havers before he left and running away together

Fanny running from the altar and the church after she realized there is another way out of their misery and that she had a choice

Humphrey being able to survive beheading and starting his life over again , one that he actually signed up for

Thomas not being too vulnerable by his cousins betrayal and lies and ending up with the girl he sparked with

Pat growing old with his wife and kid as a happy family, spending more Christmas together , him never pushing away his wife to commit adultery

Julian stopping his adultery and bad habits and becoming a father for his daughter

Annie being able to escape the hell she was put into and living on another place where she could live freely as a woman

Kitty having to venture outside the world and being able to attend a proper ball and finding her one true love

Mary growing old with her husband and having kids and having one simple life ,one that she wanted and leaving her hometown for a better life

Robin finally moving on from the afterlife

I know its impossible to give all of them a happy ending so why not show the ending they deserve to get but never did

Or after moving on they get reincarnated as a modern day person , with the same facial features but they got to do what they couldnt before

And by the time alison is old enough, they are now fully functional adults ready for their next chapter in life as alison passes on

Welcome to my overthinking world

[ailendolin]

Grace - Chapter 6/10

Title: Grace [AO3]

Characters: Thomas, Alison, Mike, Baby Cooper, the Ghosts, the Plague Ghosts

Summary: “Mike and I are going to have a baby.”

Baby Cooper’s arrival at Button Houses changes many things, and all for the better - at least at first. Or as Mary once said: babies can see ghosts sometimes but usually only up until they can walk.

Chapters: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6

————

Grace

Chapter 6: The Change

The next morning, Alison trudges bleary-eyed after Mike into the kitchen. Her head is pounding from lack of sleep and the small breakdown she had in the hallway the night before, so when Mike hands her glass of cool water and gently pushes a painkiller in her direction she gives him a grateful smile. “Thanks.”

It’s Saturday and they have a ton of things to do around the house, like finally putting up the Christmas decorations, but all Alison wants to do is crawl back into bed, pull the blanket over her head and pretend her life doesn’t feel so horribly wrong right now. On any other day, she would probably welcome the lack of ghosts in the kitchen that causes the silence around her. Today, she misses the chaotic morning chatter she so often tries to ignore with every fibre of her being.

Mike lightly touches her arm. “Are you okay?”

“No,” Alison chokes out but before she can say more, Pat and Julian phase through the wall.

Her face lights up immediately and Mike follows her gaze to where to him is nothing but empty air. “They here?”

Alison nods, still smiling. “Yes. Well, two of them are. The rest is–”

“–still with Thomas,” Pat finishes with a glance at his shoes.

“Yeah,” Alison sighs.

She tells Mike as much and doesn’t think about what she’s saying until Grace’s eyes grow wide with hope at the mention of Thomas’s name.

“Oh no,” Alison whispers, feeling awful. “Thomas – Thomas is not here, sweetheart. Pat and Julian are.”

She expects Grace’s eyes to well up with tears as they always seem to do these days when she is reminded of who she’s missing but to her surprise her daughter eagerly looks around the room. “Where?”

Alison thought her heart couldn’t break any more than it already had but in that moment she feels it shatter completely. She’d been so worried about Thomas that she somehow forgot – or perhaps pushed away – the fact that he isn’t the only one Grace has lost nor the only one who has lost her. This grief is felt by all of them, and nowhere is it more obvious than right here, right now as she looks at Pat and Julian and sees their eyes cloud with pain when Grace’s gaze passes through them without any recognition whatsoever. Pat’s shoulders drop and Julian’s fingers twitch as if he’s itching to reach out to Grace and make contact in the only way he can now.

Wait a minute, Alison thinks.

“Touch her.” Julian stares at her as if she’s lost her mind but Alison doesn’t let that deter her. “Boop her on the nose. Show her you’re here.”

“Alison,” Julian begins with a painful grimace. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

Perhaps not, Allison concedes. Perhaps it’s an awful idea that will make this terrible situation even worse. But they have to try, don’t they? For Grace, and for the off-chance that it’ll help them all regain a semblance of normalcy.

“Please, Julian,” she begs.

“Go on, mate,” Pat encourages him quietly. “Make her laugh like you did before.”

Julian still looks torn and Alison’s beginning to think he’s not going to do it. But then Grace holds out her little arms to the empty air in front of her and calls his name, and Julian’s resolve crumbles. He slowly steps up to the high seat and reaches out with one shaking finger. Alison holds her breath as he touches Grace’s nose. There’s a brief moment of confusion before her daughter’s face lights up in the most beautiful way and she breaks out into a huge, happy grin. For the first time in days, her laughter fills the house as she claps her hands excitedly and babbles Julian’s name.

“Oh,” Mike whispers, enraptured by the sight. He looks up at the air next to Grace. “Do it again.”

Julian complies, causing Grace to shriek in delight. His face melts and he has to clear his throat before he says softly, “There’s that beautiful smile, little one.”

Something eases in Alison’s chest, then, because not everything is lost, not completely. Grace may no longer be able to see the ghosts but she can still feel Julian’s touch, can still smell the smoke Mary leaves in her wake and see the lights flicker when Robin messes with them. It’s not the same, and not nearly enough, but it’s something and Alison is beyond grateful for that.

“Well done, mate,” Pat says quietly, a note of wistfulness colouring his words as he smiles at Grace.

Julian freezes, and when he glances over his shoulder at Pat he looks stricken.

“It’s not fair though, is it?” he asks, staring down at his hands. “That I can still interact with her while you can’t. While Thomas can’t. It’s not fair.”

He pulls away from Grace, blinking harshly. Pat offers him a sad smile. “Nothing in life has ever been fair, Julian, or in death, for that matter. I obviously can’t speak for the others but I for one am glad Grace has still got you.”

Alison nods softly. “Yeah, me too. I mean, look at her! This is the first time she’s smiled since she stopped seeing you all.” She briefly looks over at her daughter who is trying to boop Mike’s nose with her own fingers now before she meet Julian’s eyes once more. “Thank you for that, Julian. Thank you so much.”

Julian is quiet for a very long moment. He watches Grace giggle when her fingers finally meet their target and then laugh when Mike pretends to steal her nose. His lips are twitching with the beginning of a smile that doesn’t reach his eyes.

“I … I think I’ll go sit with Thomas for a while,” he says softly and leaves the room without another word.

Alison’s face falls. She turns to Pat, suddenly worried. “Was I wrong to ask him to do that?”

Pat shakes his head. “No. Thomas just isn’t the only one who needs time.”

“Yeah,” Alison sighs. “How is he, by the way?”

Pat shrugs, a helpless, defeated gesture. “Quiet. Hasn’t said a word at all since – well, you know. Robin’s with him right now, keeping him company.” He takes off his glasses and wipes a tired hand over his eyes. Then, without warning, his face crumbles. “I find myself wishing he would launch into one of his terrible poems, you know? Or just start screaming or raging or – or crying. Anything but this blasted silence! I hate seeing him like this, Alison.”

He hangs his head and Alison makes an aborted movement towards him before she remembers she can’t touch him.

“We need to be patient and give him time,” she says, remembering what Robin told her. “Is there anything I can do for you and the others in the meantime?”

Pat sniffs and puts his glasses back on his nose. “Maybe put on some Friends? I don’t think we have the stomach for Food Club today.”

Alison smiles at him. “I’ll be up after breakfast.”

“Thank you, Alison.”

He leaves through the nearest wall and Alison turns back to her family to find Grace’s breakfast bowl almost half empty. Mike is doing the plane move with the spoon and she keeps giggling between bites like she hasn’t done in days but not even her laughter can fill the unnatural silence that has settled over the rest of the house once more.

————

Grace is noticeably happier for the rest of the day. It’s almost as if her interaction with Julian that morning has opened her eyes and made her realise that the ghosts haven’t actually gone away and left her. At least that’s what Mike’s saying when they eat lunch.

“She’s not even one, Mike,” Alison feels the need to point out.

Mike shrugs. “So? She will be in two days.”

Alison takes a deep, calming breath before she mutters, “So not the point I was making.”

The point in question is that Grace is still a toddler. She may be able to connect the nose booping that morning to Julian but there’s no way she can understand the concept of ghosts – or so Alison thinks. It only takes Grace a few hours to proof her wrong.

They’re in the living room, sitting on the floor and playing with a set of brightly coloured blocks when the Captain walks in with a serious look on his face.

“Alison,” he addresses her formally, standing to attention. “If you would please be so kind as to change the disc for us.”

Alison looks up at him and gives him a smile. “Sure Cap, one sec.”

She means to help Grace finish her little tower first but Grace isn’t looking at the blocks anymore. Instead, she’s staring at the empty air, just a little to the left of where the Captain is standing and cocks her head to the side, the gears in her young head quite obviously turning.

“What’s she doing?” Mike whispers.

Alison shakes her head. “I have no idea.”

The Captain clears his throat and shifts on the spot when suddenly, Grace covers her eyes with her hands, waits a second and then removes her hands with a giggly, “Boo!”

“Good lord,” the Captain chokes out just as Mike breathes, “Is she playing peek-a-boo? With … the Captain?”

Completely stunned, Alison nods. “Yeah, I … I think so.”

Grace does it again, only this time she points a finger at the spot where she thinks the Captain is standing and says his name. She is telling them, in her own toddler way, that she knows the Captain is there even if she can’t see him. To her, he’s simply hiding.

Alison has to admit she has seriously misjudged her daughter. She shares a meaningful look with Mike before she smiles at Grace and says, “That’s right, Grace! The Captain is invisible!”

She makes it sound like the most incredible thing in the world and it works because a moment later Grace’s face lights up and she starts nodding in-between her giggles.

“Isn’t that cool?” Mike asks with a huge grin on his face. Grace claps her hands and he and Alison join in at once, trying to make this moment as positive as possible for her.

The Captain, however, stands frozen to the spot. His fingers are so tightly wrapped around his swagger stick that his knuckles are beginning to turn white. “What … what is going on?”

Alison looks up at him, still smiling. “She’s happy you’re here, Cap.”

“But – she can’t see me,” he says.

“No,” Alison agrees and looks down at Grace who’s once again pointing a finger in the vague direction of the Captain. “But I can and Grace knows that. She just saw me talking to you and for her that means you must be here, even if she can’t see you. And that’s enough.”

The Captain hums in understanding. He crouches down in front of Grace, winces as his knees crack and says, “We will never abandon you, Grace Cooper. You have my word on that.”

Alison’s heart warms and she gently taps Grace’s shoulder to get her attention. “Cap wants you to know that he’ll always be here for you. Isn’t that great?”

Grace’s face breaks out into a smile and she starts babbling happily, her unintelligible attempts at speech intersected with the Captain’s title. There’s a look of pure adoration on the Captain’s face as he stares at her, mingled with what Alison can only describe as peacefulness. She has no illusions that this little moment will fix everything but it’s clear it has fixed something, for both Grace and the Captain, just like this morning has made a difference for Julian. It’s a first glimpse into what their new normalcy could be like, and even though Alison knows it will never make up for what they’ve all lost, it still gives her hope for the future.

————

It’s that thought Alison clings to later when it’s time for Storytime again and Grace refuses to let herself be consoled. She struggles first in Alison’s arms and then in Mike’s when they try to get her to settle down, using all the force her tiny body can muster to push them away. Alison tries to tell her Thomas is still there by doing peek-a-boo, but hearing Thomas’s name only makes Grace cry harder.

In the end, Alison and Mike admit defeat and simply hold her as she cries.

“I thought this would go better tonight,” Alison murmurs once Grace has finally hiccupped herself to sleep. “She was doing so well earlier.”

Mike nudges her with his shoulder, careful not to wake up their sleeping daughter in the process.

“She was,” he says, “but Thomas is different. We’ve always known that.”

“Yeah,” Alison sighs. “I just wish–“

“Hey,” Mike says softly. “It will get better. She just needs a little more time.”

Alison nods even though she’s tired of hearing that. She leans her head against his shoulder and closes her eyes. “I know.”

“Is he still in his room?” Mike asks after a moment.

“As far as I know,” Alison says. “You should have seen them yesterday, Mike. They were all there, watching over him while he slept. I think they took turns today as well so he wouldn’t be alone.”

She feels his lips against her hair. “Do you want to go check up on him?”

Alison hesitates. She wants to, so badly, but at the same time she doesn’t want to intrude. If Thomas is not ready to see her yet …

“Robin said I should wait until Thomas comes to me.”

Mike ponders that. “You want to see him, though?”

“Yes,” Alison whispers, almost shamefully. “I do.”

“Then go,” Mike encourages her. “It’s late. He’s probably asleep and won’t even know you’re there. No harm done.”

Alison considers it. On the one hand, she really doesn’t want to invade Thomas’s privacy but on the other she knows she won’t get any rest until she’s at least seen him and reassured herself he hasn’t disappeared again. And Mike’s right: he probably won’t even notice her.

“I’ll be right back,” she murmurs and carefully extracts herself from Mike’s arm. Grace, bless her, sniffs in her sleep but doesn’t wake up.

As quietly as she can, Alison makes her way to Thomas’s room. The house is silent around her – it usually is this time of night but it still feels different, almost as if its very foundations are holding their breath. When she reaches Thomas’s room, she’s not surprised to find him not alone. Julian is leaning against the headboard, sitting in the same place Fanny had the night before. His eyes are closed and his chest rises and falls in an even rhythm. Thomas is lying next to him with his fingers entangled in Julian’s shirt tails, every now and then twitching in his sleep. When one of the floorboards quietly creaks under Alison’s feet, Robin pokes up his head from behind him.

“Sorry,” Alison whispers guiltily.

Thomas, thank god, remains asleep – perhaps because one of Robin’s hands is once again gently covering his ear. Robin squints at him in the darkness and only relaxes once he’s sure Thomas’s sleep remains untroubled. He looks up at Alison. “Can’t sleep?”

Alison bites her lip and shrugs. “Just needed to see him.”

Robin nods. “Is okay. I get it.”

He glances back down at Thomas and so does Alison. Lying there between Robin and Julian, he looks awfully small, and Alison has to resist the urge to walk into the room and pull the blanket over his thin frame even though she knows how useless that would be. His face is smoothed out in sleep, making him look younger than he truly is but not even his ghostly powers can hide the spots of colour high on his cheeks or the redness around his eyes.

He’s cried himself to sleep, Alison thinks. Just like Grace.

And just like her, he’s not alone.

It’s that thought that allows Alison to take a deep, steadying breath and offer Robin a small smile. “Thank you.”

She sees his eyes soften in the dark. “He in good hands.”

“Yeah,” Alison whispers. “The very best.”

Robin lowers his head and shifts around a little to get comfortable. Alison takes that as her cue to go and make her way back to Mike and Grace. Not long after she leaves, Thomas starts to frown in his sleep. When soft sounds of distress begin to fill the nightly quiet, Julian places one of his hands on his head and gently pets the dark curls until Thomas settles down again.

“Good,” Robin mumbles without opening his eyes.

Julian scoffs fondly. “Just don’t tell the others.”

He keeps up the gentle touches well into the night, and a few doors away, Alison finally manages to get some rest. 

[deadcityhq]

**CHARACTER NAME:** Erica Reyes - usually uses the alias Erica Rivera

**CHARACTER FACECLAIM:** Adria Arjona 

**CHARACTER AGE/DOB:** August 16, 2003; 20 (but age is a little fucky bc she was dead for abt a year)

**CHARACTER PRONOUNS/GENDER IDENTITY/SEXUALITY ETC:** she/her/hers; cis female; pan probably.

**CHARACTER FANDOM:** Teen Wolf

**OC OR CANON:** Canon

**CHARACTER TYPE:** Werewolf (it’s complicated, but not in the selkie way, unfortunately)

**HOW LONG HAVE THEY BEEN IN NEW YORK/WHY ARE THEY THERE ETC:** Three years; after she dug herself outta her own grave she said “fuck this place and the horse you road in on” and fled Beacon Hills. 

**IMPORTANT CHARACTER INFORMATION TO NOTE AND SHARE:**

Erica’s part in the Teen Wolf show is canon. Erica grew up with epilepsy and was bullied and mistreated because of it. Derek Hale gave her the bite - something that drastically changed her in more ways than one. Eventually she was captured by the Alpha’s, along with her packmate Boyd. Erica fought her freedom, but was ultimately killed by Kali. Eventually, Derek, Scott, and Alison found her body and buried her in the woods.

She died bro. 

A year of Full Moon’s later, with the moon shining on Erica’s unmarked grave, Erica awoke inhaling dirt. 

Insert Jason Todd-esque digging herself outta her grave 

Erica’s assessment of Beacon Hills was “ABSOLUTELY NOT.” She didn’t think it was fair to put her parents through the pain of her daughter returning, and honestly, they seemed happy.

And… well, as for the rest of Beacon Hills? She hightailed her ass out of there. Sorry not sorry, Beacon Hills is cursed and she already died once. 

She fucked off to NYC to mind her own business and try to restart her life.

She contacted some seedy people in NYC to give her a new identity and a new life.

The moon healed her, but she didn’t come back the same. 

Her werewolf powers have changed considerably. She goes full dog and not by choice - no half transformations. Her eyes go silver, and she generally doesn’t have access to her mind/humanity, making it a necessity for her to lock herself up every month.

She also…. Sees things. Shadows. Spirits. Fragments of people who have long since passed. They scare her, especially when a living person has something wrong with their shadow – as if something else has attached itself to it. These people almost always die within 24 hours.

Erica’s epilepsy is no longer “locked away” as it had been after Derek gave her the bite. She has resumed treatment at an NYC hospital and it is considered stable. She carries a medical identity bracelet.

**THREE AESTHETICS THAT REMIND YOU OF YOUR CHARACTER:** the smell of dirt waking you up after a long rest. the moon hanging low in the sky, its glow wrapping around you like a soft blanket. spirits wandering through a field of the living.

[shebeafancyflapjack]

Always get a bit frustrated whenever I see a comment on a kitty-edit that's like "Oh Kitty had such a sad childhood, but at least she has the Captain now."

Don't get me wrong, I love their relationship, it's adorable, he is definitely her dad as evident by how she views him as such in flashbacks the same way Alison is her sister.

But I feel like people forget that their relationship is actually fairly new? She outright says in the first series that she does not like him and that he's only got worse since Alison arrived. It's not until S3 they start to warm to each other and what makes it work so beautifully is how it coincides with Cap becoming more true to his (fabulous) self, rather than trying to be the bossy soldier. Basically he fits the mould of her real father, both good and bad, but the more he subconsciously reminds her of how cold and strict her father could be, rather than his sweeter moments, the less she wants to be around him. When he starts to let his real self show and become more the man she wishes her dad had been is when that bond starts to form. That's what I find interesting about them.

However the suggestion that Cap is the only one to care for her or even the one who cares the most I feel does a real disservice to the other ghosts. They all absolutely adore her in their own way.

Her friendship with Mary was adorable and I love how protective Mary was of her even before Kitty died, insulting her father for ruining her fun, then standing up for her when she stood up for Cap, them gushing over things together like the rice krispies and the snow globe, making up their inventory song, Mary comforting Kitty at the party and putting her to bed. How heartbroken Kitty was at losing her and desperate to believe she would come back.

Every scene she and Pat have together, him being her dance partner but also him being the one to take on trying to explain death to her and doing as a parent would, how he probably did the first time Daley had to deal with death, it's just so relatable how he didn't want to be harsh but needing to be honest.

Julian calling her a "dear, sweet thing", him being the only one to attempt to explain to her how baby's are made (graphic and disturbing as it was), how he's ready to tell her the truth about Santa but as soon as he's sees the look on her face it's enough to melt his Tory heart is the peak Christmassy scene of that episode for me.

Thomas hugging her at the panto (one of only two hugs we get in this show!) and being so grateful for having her as his manager, how gentle he is when he asks to inspect her hands for the spider bite.

Robin knowing her pregnancy shtick is nonsense but going along with it like a brother being roped into his kid sister's make believe, rubbing her feet for her and sitting with her most of the day, him leaving a party that he loves to take moment to encourage her to cry her feelings out and then helping Mary put her to bed, how she only has to call his name and he's jumping in to scare off the plaguers.

Everything with her and Humphey! How she's the one who is the most concerned about where he is and making sure he's in one piece so he's not left behind, these two have the most adorable Uncle and Niece vibes.

Fanny is the only one I feel the show let slide on having her bond with, I think the most progression they have is Fanny praising Kitty's speaking in S4. Kinda miffed about this one because without Mary and with Alison gone, they're the only girls left and it would have been nice if they'd developed a mother-daughter bond.

Last but not least her and Alison! Their relationship is so important to S3 and how it contrasts to Alison's storyline with Lucy. Even though Lucy turns out to be a fake, it's still a good show of the importance of found family as much as blood family, how Kitty is jealous at first but then becomes the catalyst for figuring out who Lucy really is and protecting Alison from being scammed. It's such an important arc for her character that gets sadly forgotten, how she's not smug with joy that Lucy is gone at the end but just expresses sympathy for Alison losing the sister she never had. "You're the sister I never had" was the line that I first choked up at in this show. Also props to Kitty for literally annoying someone into being a true. best friend, she gives the rest of us losers hope!

Overall just how lucky Kitty is at the end of the day, that yes she had this privileged but ultimately toxic upbringing and died very young - but now she's surrounded by these people who absolutely adore her and might not always cope with it the right way but they just want to protect her because she is so sweet and endearing. If I could add any scene to the finale I feel like Alison should have got to have one talk with Kitty where she assures her that yeah they'll be apart but she's always at the end of the phone and will visit often, but also assuring her that she still has SEVEN people who love her to bits which is more than a lot of us get.

[bitchwork]

lucky me, lucky mud

It came on suddenly on Wednesday afternoon, and by the evening my fever was 103°. Feeling just truly awful, I called my mom to complain and was told by both her and our longtime family friend Alison that I should go to urgent care, and then once we realized urgent care was closed, the emergency room. Alison – tall, uncompromising, fiercely loving, stubborn as hell -- had spent the last two years being treated for metastatic lung cancer, but was calling the fight. My mom was spending a few nights with her in the lead up to her “final exit” on Saturday when she would end her life via a fatal dose of prescribed medication thanks to Washington's Death with Dignity Act.

My mom, Alison, and her beloved daughter Alyssia making frittata in our old house (2010)

Despite being a nurse and therefore a person who had spent her life ministering to the needs of strangers, Alison had refused to hire a caregiver. She hated the idea of a stranger in her house messing things up, and much preferred the idea of her friends and family doing the messing. And her loved ones had stepped up, caring for her in shifts all the way to the end, despite the fact that all along there had been the means to hire help. Many people wouldn’t have the guts to test their friends like this, especially at the end, but Alison was brave like that.

Sometimes my dad and I challenge each other to imagine what it might be like to be dead forever, and there’s this vertiginous drop and then a feeling of waking up and I know I have failed. We move on to other topics. My dad has told me that even though he has terminal cancer he can’t really fathom the fact that he will die much more than I can. It’s basically impossible to understand the concept of being dead forever. As Joseph Campbell said, “Eternity isn’t some later time. Eternity isn’t even a long time. Eternity has nothing to do with time.” It would be like a fetus trying to understand what it is to be born. 

Something else that’s non-linear is fever. 103° is uncomfortably hot. It’s the point that you start putting towels dipped in ice water on your body even though this too feels awful because you’re achy and somehow also freezing. It’s only three degrees hotter than 100° but that’s a lot if you consider there’s only like seven degrees between fine and dead. 

I didn’t know which hospitals in the city took my extremely “boutique” kinda-Cigna-kinda-not PPO plan and attempts to log in to my “provider finder” kept coming back with a wrong username or password message. I was feeling bad enough that I knew if I didn’t do this right now, I would just lie down and hope for the best, so I picked the nearest ER and called an Uber. 

It was an unseasonably warm night, and the waiting room was crowded but hushed. The ED experience itself was truly not bad, and I spent most of the four hours I was there in my own watching Nightmare on Elm Street. Everyone was extremely friendly. The doctor even made me feel like I wasn’t an idiot for coming in, saying she’d had several strong women, ER nurses even, felled similarly by what turned out to be the virus that causes the common cold. Our immune systems over-reacting after several years of coddling. By midnight my temperature was down to 99°, and I was ready to go. Hours later, it had climbed back to 103°. It cycled like that for the next 36 hours.

On Friday, my mom told me that Alison had looked at her and said in awe and not quite belief, “This is my last day on Earth,” which rocked me more than learning the news of her death the next day would. Probably I could comprehend the concept of her last day on Earth, but not her actually dying. You think when it happens you will understand it to be true, but then it’s just like everything else: not what you hoped for or despaired over and in fact something else entirely. 

Speaking of courage in the face of extreme adversity, I mustered the strength to call my insurance and find out if the hospital I went to was in network. The call is answered by Christopher, who refers to himself as a concierge. He assures me that no, the hospital I went to is not covered. When I sputter that other hospitals in the same hospital chain are covered, he explains that just because two hospitals are part of the same organization does not mean they take the same insurance since each individual site apparently contracts with insurance based on its own personal preferences. You can be sure this is the case because if it’s asinine, opaque, and cruel it’s the American healthcare system. 

I started to cry imagining how many thousands of dollars my little sojourn had cost me and for what? Nothing had really been done (there was also not really anything to be done). I hadn’t needed medical care so much as medical assurance that I wasn’t going to die. But at 9 o’clock at night, the ER must serve both functions (and many more). It hadn’t turned out to be an emergency but that’s the thing about emergencies: if you wait too long to find out if it is one, it will end one way or another, and you might not like “another” and you might like “one way” even less. 

As soon as I started crying something changed in Christopher and he went from being a haughty mansplainer to just a man, ie terrified of women’s tears. “No no no no no no you don’t need to cry. Oh please don’t cry…” he said. I blubbered that it was “just so complicated,” by which I meant the American Healthcare System, but he thought I meant Life. 

And again Christopher cycled, becoming not just a man but the saddest man on Earth. “Ramona it’s going to be ok. I understand that life is really hard. Believe me. I cry every day. My friends are like, ‘Christopher, are you ok?’ And I tell them, ‘Every morning I wake up is a win.’ The thing is, it could be over likethat, and I’d rather have a hard life than a short one.” 

He went on like this for 10 minutes, and although he clearly knew he was on a recorded line, at one point saying, “We’re your health insurance company. We want you to get the most out of your benefits,” I actually did feel better when the call was over. This might have had something to do with learning I “only” had to pay 30% on out of network ER visits (after the $1000 deductible), but it was also his earnest reminder that these days, no matter how dumb and twisted, are in no way guaranteed. It could and one day will be otherwise. 

He ended the call by giving me his extension and telling me to call when I got the bill and also if I needed anything in general, “If you just need to cry that’s fine. I’ve helped members order pizza, find a lawyer. As long as it isn’t illegal, unethical or immoral I will do what I can to help you.” At this point, it was clear that Christopher was not a man terrified by women’s tears, but a man who loved tears of all kinds, and in fact required them as payment for his services. 

On Saturday morning I was feeling well enough to get out, and took a long walk north into Fishtown. At some point Cathy called and we chatted while I stood on the sunny sidewalk eating a free cupcake. We talked about Alison, who at that point had an hour and 15 minutes left until she was dead forever, and the Phillies, and whether we would get brunch next weekend. It’s psychotic that anyone could speak of such things – could speak period – when someone they know is about to die, but then you do it and you see how it can happen. Does happen. Everyday. How we keep living even while people die forever. 

Cathy had just come back from a trip to Seattle where she had stayed with my dad while my mom came to visit me in Philadelphia. She said it was a highlight of her year. Spending time with my dad has always been good for that, but more generally being in the company of people who are seriously ill is often a surprisingly life-giving experience. You trip back over the threshold, relieved. The sun is out. A store that sells $40 candles is opening down the block. 

Eternity unreels, but not yet for me. 

[fideidefenswhore]

Were Mary Tudor and Jane Seymour close like on Tudors? Do you think they would have remained close if Jane lived?

Well, I think this speaks to a bigger-picture tradition (reinforced by The Tudors, et al) that Henry's marriage to Jane Seymour presaged a Norman Rockwell-esque merry little (step)family, idyll of sorts.

To wit:

She had achieved nearly everything she set out to do: she had given the King the son he so desperately needed, she had helped to restore the Lady Mary to the succession and her father’s affections, and she had used her influence to bring about the advancement of her family. She had provided the King with a family life for the first time in years, and had meddled hardly at all in matters of religion or politics. His grief at her death is testimony of his love for her. It was, in every respect, the most successful of his six marriages, and it was the only one to result in a surviving male heir. Alison Weir 

"A family life for the first time in years"... meaning? Henry Fitzroy was not his family? Margaret Douglas was not his family (Margaret, who was placed under arrest in the Tower soon after his marriage to Jane and, there being some debate amongst historians whether she was released during Jane's queenship or after, makes this an especially interesting assertion)? Margaret Tudor was not his family (they had not seen each other for some years, but that was hardly Anne's doing, whom Margaret referred to as her “dearest sister”)? Elizabeth was not his family?

True enough that the marriage with Anne Boleyn led to a rift between Henry and his younger sister, and brother-in-law, and indeed one with his eldest daughter. They were not the only family members Henry had, but were, apparently, the only ones that mattered.

“It was the realisation of one of [Jane’s] dearest hopes to have Mary with her at court, and she kept her stepdaughter often in her company, walking with her hand in hand. Jane and Mary developed a deep and lasting friendship and Jane always ensured that Mary was treated with respect.” —  Elizabeth Norton “Jane Seymour, Henry VIII’s True Love”

To speak more specifically to the ask, we have this. Now, I don't want to sound c*nty, which means I probably will, but...we don't really know if Jane and Mary would have had a deep and lasting friendship, in the circumstances of Jane's son effectively disbarring Mary further, reifying the Act of Parliament that had with his very existence, etc. Their 'friendship', if one can term a step-familial relationship within a very restrictive and hierarchically stratified power structure, that, was all of one year, for the very simple reason that Jane died in late 1537. Any prediction for what it would have shaped out to be had Jane been Henry VIII's last queen remains counterfactual.

The source for them walking 'hand in hand' is the Spanish Chronicle, an account written during Edward VI's reign that is rife with errors (refers to George Boleyn as the Duke of Somerset, records that Catherine Howard was Henry's fourth wife, and Anne of Cleves his fifth) as well as several sensationalistic, otherwise uncorroborated, stories (it is the tome from whence comes the tale of Anne Boleyn calling for 'marmalade', and an old woman [?] knowing that 'marmalade' was the code for Mark Smeaton, taking him from the cupboard and putting him in her bed).

At first I thought this very unlikely, not because of anything we know of Jane's personality (since we really don't know very much), but because it would be against court protocol, suggest they were equal in status soon after an Act of Parliament had diminished Mary's, and Jane seems to have followed court protocol to the letter. But then, I remembered Anne Boleyn's offer to Mary in 1536-- that if she came to court and honored her as Queen, she could walk alongside her, rather than behind her, and not have to carry her train (nothing about walking hand-in-hand, obviously, but it suggests that the offer of walking side-by-side was not so unprecedented as to render it impossible).

As to friendship, we have some gifts exchanged between them, but not much more evidence than that. Something that might be pertinent to note is that the Spanish Chronicle, while it is the main source that really speaks to ‘friendship’ between Mary and Jane, also records that Jane denigrated her youngest stepdaughter and her predecessor, very publically. I’m of the opinion that if you find this a credible source (which I do not, fwiw), you kind of have to take 1 + 1. 

My own personal theory is that, being that there are so many errors, I don’t think it was written by a Tudor courtier, but rather someone that had a relationship with someone that was. That it was written during the reign of Edward VI leads me to believe that there was a potential motive here to nudge Edward towards leaving Mary his heir or at least treating her well, by perhaps exaggerating the intimacy and tenderness of her relationship with his natural mother. Since for much of his reign he was giving preferment to Elizabeth (this would also explain the story of his mother disparaging her, to an extent)...although he never did, I think this left some with the impression that he might make her heir instead of Mary (when as we know, he bypassed them both).

So, there’s the extent of what I’ll say about the Spanish Chronicle. I’m going to say also, that the letters written by Mary, and about Mary, during Jane’s queenship suggest a lot of insecurity on Mary’s part, and an amount of deference towards Jane that suggests fear > affection (not fear of Jane, persay, but fear of not stepping a foot wrong and remaining high in her father’s estimation).

I have received your letters, "no less full of motherly joy for my towardness of reconciliation than of most prudent counsel for my further proceeding therein," which of your goodness you promise to travel to bring to a perfection. Cannot express the comfort this has given her. Promises that from this day she shall neither be lacking in duty to her father, who has the whole disposition of her heart in his noble hand, nor in humble and obedient service to her Grace. Begs her, "with such acceleration as shall stand with your pleasure," to have in remembrance her desire to attain the King's presence.

Lady Mary is a most obedient child. (Cromwell)

"Promises to continue in obedience according to her promises, both spoken and written, made to the King. I beseech our Lord to preserve your Grace in health with my very natural mother the Queen, and to send you shortly issue; which I shall as gladly and willingly serve with my hands under their feet as ever did poor subject their most gracious sovereign."

First of many references to humility & obedience (and promises of servility and utmost deference to not only her stepmother and father, but their future issue), and the turn of phrase here in Mary’s letter is...interesting. ‘Most natural mother the Queen’, especially. This is particularly odd, because ‘natural mother’ in this time very specifically meant, well... ‘natal mother’, essentially. This term speaks to how she was so fearful of being associated with Catherine of Aragon and all she stood for that she’s effectively erased her from memory, rhetoric, existence. 

& I don’t think how painful that must have been for Mary can be overstated, because she clearly did not genuinely feel that-- look what she reverses about that legacy via Parliament once she has the power.

And further:

The King gave her licence some time to send a servant to know of his health and prosperity. Has now sent her old servant Randal Dod with these letters as a token, and begs the King, if she is "over hasty in sending so soon," to pardon her, and believe that she would rather be a chamberer, having the fruition of the King's presence, than an Empress away from him. My sister Elizabeth is well, "and such a child toward, as I doubt not but your Highness shall have cause to rejoice of in time coming.

This speaks to something else, not only the absolute abject humility of the rhetoric (a chamberer in her father’s presence, than an Empress away), that far from Mary being ‘reinstated at court’ as popular tradition suggests, and ‘reconciled with Henry’, after Jane became Queen, Mary really only saw him a few times (a summer visit, and then not until she was recalled to court because of the rebellions, and then for the holidays in December) and remained, for the most part, in a joint household with Elizabeth. The ‘reconciliation’ thus seems nominal at best. The desperation of these letters speak to that, that maybe it was promised otherwise (an invitation to court, frequent correspondence and word from them) and then she was still sidelined & ignored to a certain extent.

"After my most hearty commendations," it is so long since I heard from the King my father that I am bold to send my servant, the bearer, with letters to the King and Queen to know how they do. If I have sent too soon "molesting his Grace with my rude letters," please make my excuse. Till he shall licence me to come to his presence my comfort is to hear often of his health.

Thanks for his daily goodness and fatherly pity. Hopes by faithful obedience to "redubbe" that she has offended.

The King has already shown her more goodness than she deserves, and she desires nothing so much as his presence.

That you have never refused to further my continual suits makes me the bolder in writing to you at this time. The King my father has sent me every quarter of this year 40l., as you best know who were a mean for it. And as this quarter of Christmas must be more chargeable than the rest, especially considering the house I am in, I would desire you to be a suitor to the King to increase the sum. "My lord," I am ashamed to be always a beggar to you, but cannot choose. Houndson

(Worth note that both Jane’s sister and step-daughter ask for Cromwell’s intercession when they need something, not the Queen’s)

Also, "considering the house I am in” (Hundson, with Elizabeth, iirc) seemed to  perhaps have the desired effect, because after this is when Mary is invited to court for Christmas. 

The visit to Mary the summer of 1536 included a gift of a diamond ring from her stepmother, along with a, perhaps, less nice gift:

“on one side was a relief of Henry and Jane, on the other a picture of Mary. The Latin inscription read: ‘Obedience leads to unity, unity to constancy and a quiet mind, and these are treasures of inestimable worth. For God so valued humility that he gave his only son, a perfect exemplar of modesty, who in his obedience to his divine father, taught lessons of obedience and devotion’ “...

Again, this gift from Henry&Jane that features them, stresses the importance of Mary’s ‘obedience’ not once, but thrice, and it seems she took that to heart and strove to emulate what was being asked of her. 

As far as the visits and temporary residence at court of Mary and Elizabeth, the most likely explanation would be that this was due to the rebellion at the time-- the record of the irregularity does not indicate that it was at Jane Seymour’s behest at all:

To soften the temper of the people, he caused his two daughters Mesdames Marie and Isabeau (Elizabeth) to come thither, but the bad opinion conceived by the people of his intentions was so fixed that it seems they think of nothing but liberty)

[finiffy]

479 words of "Charles is a bad dad"

Just dropping this here quickly

I wrote this under an hour so what would you expect of the quality but whatever. Atleast i learned that Charles' ex-wife's name is "Leanne". -lemonadeanon

They didn't need him. They really didn't.

He thought his wife agreed with him about children learning their responsibilities. People weren't taking their children serious enough, treating them like fragile immature things incapable of doing anything. It was strange.

Children could take care of themselves for 2 days. It was normal. It really was, so why argue about needing to find a babysitter when both of them had to be abroad at the same time? Only a short period of time, Alison could handle that.

"Are you out of your mind, Charles?!"

Not that he hated babysitters, of course, he was only thinking about his wife's wellbeing.

She didn't trust babysitters, so she resigned from her job when their daughter was born. Could Leanne handle knowing that Alison is in the hands of a stranger for 2 days?

She hired the babysitter herself, refusing to talk with him while doing so, or saying goodbye to Alison, or going to the airport.

At another evening he brought work to home, Alison talked about her classmate's dad always helping her homework during dinner.

The little girl's mother remarked that this will do nothing but get her friend lazier and make her incapable of doing her own work, and continued as she turned to Charles -but actually still talking to Alison- that their daughter probably shouldn't be close friends with a lazy person.

Charles wasn't against parents helping their kids with their work, but he was so busy for it, and even if he wasn't, Alison was a smart girl. So instead of joining his wife's condemnation, he turned to his daughter and said he's a lucky dad because Alison is a smart girl who doesn't need his help.

The little girl didn't talk for the rest of the dinner.

Alison was smart and old enough to handle herself, nearly 9, and his wife Leanne had always been an independent woman. She didn't even have any trouble when he wasn't there for their daughter's birth because of his work. She said "It's fine." and didn't mention it again, she even looked stern despite just giving birth.

So, as the years went on and both his wife and daughter matured even more, they clearly didn't need him anymore.

When he realized he can't keep being a father and be a good member of the foundation, he knew what had to be done.

And he was sure Alison would understand him one day. "She is a bright young woman", he reminded himself.

Not just that, but if he and the others failed to keep normalcy, would his daughter have a good life?

He was doing this for them. His duty wasn't protecting them as a father anymore, but as a member of the Foundation, for the greater good.

So, of course they didn't need him. They didn't. And he was sure they understood this too.

Wow, this is so good for an hour of writing. This feels like such a good parallel to O5-10's writing of Founder with raising Gears, but it is Gears raising Alison this time

Questionable fathers who prioritizes the Foundation and their work more than their family

[richmond-rex]

maybe it's just me, but it's always so strange that wrt Elizabeth of York, there's so much emphasis put on Richard III (and Anne Neville by extension) in terms of how they affected her life and her worldview and her figure queenship. It's obviously understandable to an extent, as those few years of Richard III's reign were obviously a huge turning point in her life. But I rarely see that same emphasis put on Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville, who were literally her parents, raised her for 17 years (17+ in EW's case) and were by all accounts deeply close and nurturing towards her and all their other children. And it's especially weird considering E4's reign was far longer and just if not more dramatic than R3's. I dont know if the reason is shipping or R3 worship or something else, but whatever it is, it's just frustrating, because her parents' reign seems to have been so important and cherished to EoY. Your blog is probably one of the only I've seen that explored how EW's queenship deeply inspired her daughters, and it was lovely to read. Or maybe there is more research done on this and I haven't seen it, idk

Hi, anon! Sorry, this ask got buried in my inbox. I completely agree with you, it bothers me as well to see that the ways Elizabeth of York's parents would have shaped so much of her life go uncommented. Instead there's some weird emphasis on Elizabeth's (really short) time at Richard III's court. If I remember correctly it was Kendall who said Elizabeth had never known real kindness until she was welcomed at Richard III's court...... then you remember he also called Elizabeth Woodville mean, stupid and cruel. Sometimes it's not even about shipping, it's simply about putting Elizabeth Woodville and even Edward IV down.

Equally problematic I think is when people make Elizabeth of York's relationship with her parents all about her paternal ancestry, in a weird genetic way: 'Elizabeth's father was sensual and loved food, so Elizabeth must have been sensual and have loved food as well (Alison Weir actually said something along those lines), after all it was in her pLaNtAgEnEt blood'. Please, stop talking about her Plantagenet blood, why do people need to turn into blood purists to speculate about minor things. Why do they put so much emphasis on her 'red-gold pLaNtAgEnEt hair' (we don't know her hair colour for sure) and need to make this about Edward IV being a 'golden prince in a golden crown', instead of simply allowing him to have his brown hair (there's an actual extant lock of hair!) which in any case, was the ideal of masculine beauty at his time.

I'm also really tired of seeing Elizabeth's love of the arts ascribed to her father only and never to her mother or her Woodville relatives who loved literature and were involved with the printing press, for example, not to mention were also real tournament stars and responsible for the first 'disguisings' in England. Thankfully, some historians have pointed out Elizabeth Woodville's and her family's influence on Elizabeth of York: Arlene Okerlund, Joanna Laynesmith, and Michelle Beer are some big names that come to mind. I'm currently reading a MA thesis that discusses mother and daughter's queenship, I'm excited to see what I'll find. We are big fans of that concept in this blog too, of course, as you've seen ;)

[arctimon]

The Beta Team That Never Was - Fanfiction Corner (BH6 Edition)

So all of this Peni Parker comic talk actually got me thinking about the process of her being included in my fanfiction.

I wish I could tell you it was a long and arduous process, but...

OK, maybe some of it was hard.  But when you have a virtually endless supply of Marvel characters that you can use for possible teammates for Big Hero 6, you have to go with your gut.

We all know that the team will be Robbie, Aspen, Peni, Doreen (eventually), and Kate.  But there were six other candidates that could have been in the mix as well.

And five of them have their emblems here:

These were made before I actually knew how to make hero emblems properly.

Some of them you might recognize.  Some you may not.  But we’re going to go through them all, from left to right.

And to start...it’s really hard to draw tiny hearts.

1.) Riri Williams/Ironheart - Ironically enough, it was around the time that Hiro started chasing Sirque around the town in “Portal Enemy” that I started brainstorming her.  A teenage genius, stuck as to what to make, sees “Captain Cutie” and the chase on the news and gets brainstorming.

Thus, the Power Armor is born.

And she gets so excited that she bolts off to San Fransokyo to show her idol what she’s created.

And then, as per the Big Hero 6 Fanfiction Clause states...shenanigans ensue.

It was an interesting possibility, but the thought of Ironheart was really late into me doing the backstories of the people that I had chosen, so she was pushed aside.  I don’t personally see me revisiting her in the future, but who knows?

2.) Nadia Van Dyne/The Wasp - Back when Karmi had first been pulled out of SFIT, there was a young woman who wanted to recruit her into a special organization.  It was one that brought together the greatest female minds in their fields, and Karmi was on said recruitment list.

The organization?

Genius In action Research Labs, or G.I.R.L. for short.  And it was led by the Wasp’s daughter, Nadia Pym (later changed to Nadia Van Dyne).

Plot-wise, this was probably the person that I got the farthest with, since the story would’ve been more of a focus on Karmi than anyone else.  Also, the idea of writing someone with Bipolar Disorder (which Nadia was confirmed to have in her latest solo run) was intriguing if nothing else.

Unfortunately, it sort of dried up from there.  A lack of a central conflict, uncertainty as to how many of the other girls (Taina, Priya, Shay, and Ying) to have, and how to handle her actual powers stopped it cold.

But seriously, how do you write in the ability to shrink to microscopic size?  That’s not really a thing, even in a world as futuristic as San Fransokyo.

3.) America Chavez/Ms. America - The mere idea of a Superman-esque Latina teenager was enticing, especially because America, in her relatively short comic history, was with the Ultimates and the West Coast Avengers (meaning there was a possible Kate/Hawkeye angle).  Making start-shaped portals was the Silent Sparrow angle, and the all-around badass, headstrong attitude would be the counter to Honey Lemon’s more nurturing personality.

But being from an alternate universe (which has very recently been retconned in the comics in part because she will be appearing in the MCU and Doctor Strange 2), no real villain to play off of, and becoming possibly way too overpowered for the BH6 universe, she was scrapped.

It’s quite a shame.  I really like her in the comics that she’s in.  Perhaps there will be an opportunity for her somewhere down the line...

4.) Alison Blaire/Dazzler - A pop star with light-based powers?

Or better yet, a struggling artist with acoustikinesis?

Her power to convert sound into light was what originally drew me to her.  Something that could be made into a technological ability, unique enough to put a (pardon the pun) spotlight on it.

An actual blonde instead of whatever HL’s hair color is.

Heck, she even has a half-sister named Lois that could have been the antagonist (death tough, destruction waves, and the like).

But she quickly got lost in the fold.  Better ideas (like Kate and Doreen) got more of my brainstorming, and she was eventually given up on.

But funnily enough...

It’s almost like she’s already in the show.

(See, for the people who may be new, one of the many Marvel theories that I’ve touched upon is that High Voltage is actually this universe’s version of Dazzler.  Juniper is Alison and Barb is...well...Barbara London, Alison’s mom).

Hey, @baymaksu​ totally agrees with me kinda sort of.

5.) Cindy Moon/Silk - I knew right from the get-go that I wanted a Spider-person on the beta team.  I also knew that I didn’t want Peter.

No offense to Peter Parker.  He’s fine.  But there’s a billion other Spiders out there, and I wanted someone out of the normal vein of Peter, as well as even Miles and Gwen.

And in came Cindy.

Locked away in The Bunker because of her spider powers manifesting, she was eventually released by Peter and thus began her entrance into the main Marvel world.

Her “unique ability” is her improved Spider-Sense, which Peter has said is even better than his own.  That, plus her other powers, brought her the closest out of anyone to being a member of the Big Hero 6 Beta Team.

As we all know, however, Peni ended up getting the spot over Cindy (for the family angle with Hiro and the giant robot that she pilots).  On the other hand, Cindy would later make her debut in the stinger of the last chapter of Along Came The S.P.I.D.E.R., along with Miles, Anya, and Joey.

Unlike Riri, Nadia, America, and Alison, Cindy and the rest of Peni’s little Spider Society are going to be showing up in future stories.  And if I can get everything in order, they will be starring in their own story set in the Big Hero 6 universe.

Finally, I have no emblem for them, but the honorable mention goes to...

6.) Lunella Lafayette/Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur - Yes, there was a point in time where I was seriously considering putting a nine-year-old super genius and a giant red T-rex into my stories.

Ignoring the giant...”red flag” here, the reason why Luna never made it is the same reason why I haven’t put Rishi in anything yet.  It’s because I don’t really know what to do with supergeniuses that young.  Hiro is at least a teenager and thus has teenager-y problems to fall back on (like puberty and Karmi and all that jazz), but a nine-year-old?  That’s a little too extreme for me.

When I was nine, I was busy playing with sticks in my backyard with my brother, not solving unsolvable puzzles from Bruce Banner.

...All that, and the giant dinosaur.

But hey, at least Disney is jumping on the MG/DD train.  That’s good to see.

Crossover potential, perhaps?

P.S. - As I was finishing putting this post together, it occurred to me that I may get this possible question in the comments, so I’m going to head it off at the pass.

“You know that all of your possible superheroes are girls, right?”

First of all...sexist.

Second of all...true.

That was about 90% on accident.  The actual team (Robbie, Aspen, Peni, Doreen, and Kate) has only one guy on it (two if you count Eli, three if you count Tippy-Toe).

I don’t really have a good explanation for that.  I like all superheroes, but I think that the girl and woman superheroes need some spotlight, you know?  I could have pulled people like Namor or Miles or the male Hawkeye into the mix, but to be honest, I find the characters I chose more interesting than a lot of the guy characters I was contemplating.

Of course, nothing is stopping any of you from using those characters in your stories.  Be my guest, not that you really need my permission or anything.

But you can’t take Aspen.  Aspen is mine. (Spoiler: Aspen is not mine.)