#and also for Arthur to experience true parental support

[maddybthorne]

I want a BBC Merlin fanfic where Hunith visits Camelot as a surprise. Merlin doesn't know she's coming, only Gaius knows that she plans to visit. This is set in a time period where all the knights are alive (I'm looking at you Lancelot.) and Arthur is Prince, but running the Kingdom as Uther is unwell.

Hunith pulls up to Camelot and is walking towards the Castle through the citadel, burdened by her bags, when a cheerful voice rings out. "Do you need any help, miss?" It's one of the many Castle servants.

Hunith explains that she is heading to the Castle to visit her son who works there, the servant then offers to carry her bags.

"Oh I don't want to be a bother." Hunith replies

"It's no bother at all! Really, I was heading that way already." The servant insists and they both make their way to the castle, "What's your son's name by the way, I might know him if he works here."

"His name is Merlin." Hunith responds with a smile. The servant stops walking and looks at her. It's not only him that stops at this announcement.

"Y-you're Merlin's Mother?!?" A nearby servant who had been close enough to hear the conversation says in awe.

The courtyard that they're walking through gradually fills with hushed whispers as the news spreads. Everyone knows of Merlin. The Prince's manservant who had managed to not quit in the first week of serving him. Merlin, who changed the Prince from a spoiled brat into a good man whom the Kingdom was proud of and eagerly awaited the day he would be crowned King. Merlin, who had followed the Prince into battle time and time again to save Camelot.

I want a fanfiction where The Entire Of Camelot loves Merlin and is thankful for his role in making Arthur a good person. Where not only the Knights, but the Castle staff meet his mother and collectively decide that she is That Woman and treat her with Respect. Where they treat her like Royalty.

Ofc Gwaine loves her. That's his best friend's mom. Hunith looks at all the knights and adopts them on the Spot.

And Merlin is either really confused by this behavior or knows and just lets it happen.

Arthur has no idea what's going on or why but he treats her with reverence and love because that's his future Mother in Law and he's very much starved for parental affection which she gives him (and the knights) in spades.

But yes, I just want a fic of people meeting Hunith and being like "Thank you for giving birth to your son. I'd die for you both" and her being like "...please don't."

(Bonus if Leon meets her and is just like. "How did you survive being around that little shit (Merlin) for so long?" And she just laughs and gives him advice, which makes him cry because he's just so tired. #LetLeonRest2024 I will push this agenda till I die)

[sinofwriting]

Out Loud - Charles Leclerc

Words: 1,807 Summary: She hasn’t been herself and she knows it’s worrying people, Charles. She just can’t get the words out. Note(s)/Warning(s): Reader is Jules Bianchi’s daughter and Charles’ goddaughter. Reader has longish hair. Coming Out (as Bisexual), Some Self Harm, Not Eating, Mentions of Throwing Up, Religious Trauma. Honestly this fic is kind of me just dumping my feelings out after being reminded of my less than great coming out experience as bisexual to my parents. I’m okay, just needed to write this and uh get back into therapy. If I missed a warning, let me know and if anyone reading this needs to talk, I’m here for you. (also, I promise that Dark Max fic is coming, Charles winning Monaco just threw a spanner into my plans and then this fic happened as well)

Masterlist | Support Me! 

She’s never said the words out loud. Never spoke them to herself or others. And she isn’t sure why. It can’t because it will make them true. They already are.

And she knows why. It’s not because it will make them true. They already are. It’s because she knows that as soon as she says them once, she’ll never stop.

The idea of saying them has her shaking, has her stomach twisted in knots, has her throwing up, headaches that won’t leave from all her crying. It’s all self-inflicted because she can’t say the words. And it’s only two words, three if she’s going for proper grammar and yet they won’t leave her. They refuse to spill from her tongue and past her lips. They settle in her throat and strangle her. Leave her gasping for breath, clawing at her throat in hopes that their grip will loosen. But it never works out that way.

Charles is concerned. She sees it every time he looks at her. She’s lost weight, because even though she’s stress eating, when she’s not doing that she’s throwing it all back up, and she cries while doing both. Her face is starting to lean towards gaunt and the circles under her eyes are growing larger. She can only hope that he doesn’t see the bruises on the inner sides of her wrists, on her inner thighs, where she pinches and squeezes, barely even noticing the pain that it causes because it’s something for her fingers to do.

He’s concerned and she knows because Arthur is concerned too. And suddenly Pierre is going to be staying with them for a while, ditching Kika because she apparently has a family trip, no boyfriends allowed, even though she knows from a friend of a friend that Kika and Pierre had plans together in Greece and Bora Bora. Plans that Kika was apparently happy to reschedule.

She’s so lost in her head, in her thoughts, in her wishes that she could just speak that she doesn’t hear the light knock of knuckles on her bedroom door before it opens.

“Pierre is going to be here soon. You should get up, come greet him.” Charles’ voice is gentle, always gentle with her, even when she doesn’t deserve it.

“I’m tired.” She breathes and it’s not a lie. She is tired. Tired of being a coward, tired of pretending like she will ever say when she needs to and really she should just get over herself at this point. But it’s more frightening, the idea of never saying the words at all then what could happen if she does say them.

“You can go back to bed after seeing him for a moment, I promise.”

Her eyes flutter shut at his last two words and she nods. “Okay. I need to shower.”

As she climbs out of bed, she wobbles and she can feel his eyes on her. “Do you need help?”

She tries to smile at him, but she knows that it doesn’t work with the way the worry grows on his face. “I think I’m too old for my godfather to help me shower.”

Something crosses his face as if he’s only now remembering she isn’t a little girl anymore, she’s eighteen, no longer the nine-year-old he got stuck with. “I guess so.” He gives her a smile. “I’ll be in the living room, I’ll do your hair for you.”

She wants to protest, but he closes the door before she can and she knows that it’s on purpose.

Charles loved doing her hair and when she had turned twelve for a while it had been the only time she would talk to him about anything, even what she ate for dinner the previous night. As she washes her hair, she tries to think of the last time he had done it. Even just giving it a small brush before they left for dinner somewhere or him braiding it or him trying to turn her hair into some sort of flower before going back to just making it look like a rose. When was the last time he had done that? When was the last time she let him do that for her?

It had been before the season started, just before he left for the first race. She remembers now because his hands were anxious to do something. Worried that it’d be a repeat of 2022 where it would start off good and then end in disappointment. She winces as she thinks of how long it’s been and the reminder of what 2023 has been like for him.

Drying off and slipping into an old shirt of Charles from karting and a pair of Lorenzo’s shorts, she nearly goes back to bed. It’s tempting, the blankets comfy and her sheets soft, but she walks past it and out of her bedroom.

Charles is already sitting on the couch, legs spread with a pillow on the ground between them. A host of hair things sit beside him on the couch cushions. The detangler she’s used all her life that Pascale always gives her, the special made f1 car clips from Max, pearl clips from her grandma and grandpa, the bands from her aunt, the different brushes Sebastian bought her that first year Charles was at Ferrari that only get used when Charles and her are going to be doing this for a while.

Seeing them makes her pause. “I thought Pierre was going to be here soon.”

He smiles at her, fond and happy, but still worried and concerned. “Within the hour. But he has a key, he’ll let himself in.”

She nods, slowly moving closer until she finally sinks onto the floor, sitting on the pillow.

Instantly, Charles’ hands are in her hair, tutting at the barely damp locks. “I will have to take you to grandmère soon. It’s been too long.”

“I went not that long ago.”

“You went just after the season started. We are in August now.”

She makes a humming sound, eyes focusing on the tv that’s turned off.

It’s soothing the feeling of her godfather’s fingers in her hair, running through it, quietly hissing each time he comes across a knot, no matter how small. The quiet apologies that spill from his lips each time he tugs what he deems to harsh, when it is barely a tug at all.

“Y’know.” He begins. “When you were born you had no hair. It was amusing to all of us because your father had been promising grandmère that she’d have a grandbaby’s hair to play with. And my father,” Charles takes a breath and she leans into his right leg a little. “He had told him the whole time not to promise that. Jules was beside himself when you didn’t get any hair until you were six months.”

“I was a bald baby.”

Charles laughs. “The baldest baby.”

“I’m sorry.” She murmurs after a few moments.

“For what?” She can see from the corner of her eye him picking up a brush.

“For how your season is going. Ferrari is not doing well.”

“Ferrari is managing. There is lots of changes and this is not the car that Fred wanted for us, but it is the one we have.”

“You think 2024 will be better?”

“I don’t know what to think other than I can not think about that. I don’t want more disappointment or broken promises.”

“You deserve a good car, the best car.”

“Perhaps I’ll get it someday.”

As he starts to brush her hair, her eyes wander, looking at all the pictures she can see and has seen countless times before. There’s many, most of family, some of friends, and some of Charles’ time with Ferrari, in racing. As her eyes wander further, they stop on the small cross hanging on by the window. It makes her breathing stutter and she rips her eyes away from it, forcing them to look back at the blank tv.

But seeing just for a few seconds was enough.

“Charles.”

He makes a humming noise, his movements not stilling.

“If I had to tell you something,” she swallows, thinking of her backpack by the front door that’s got two spare sets of clothes, her wallet, all her identification, and more importantly a spare phone. “Something that would change things, how would you react?”

“That is very vague.” He tells her, fingers starting to twist her hair. “It would depend on how it changes things.”

“It would change how you saw me.”

That makes him pause and she catches his eyes, so expressive in the tv reflection. “Nothing could change how I feel about you. You are my goddaughter, I love you. I’ve raised you since you were nine. Nothing could ever change the love I have for you.”

Tears that had started to build in her eyes when he first started to talk, fall. “I’m,” she takes a shaky breath. “I’m bisexual.”

Silence fills the room and she can’t breathe, can’t take a breath, can’t break the silence, as she waits for him to say something, anything. She doesn’t even realize, but she’s started to move a little away from him, ready to bolt, ready to slip on her shoes by the door, grab her backpack and make a run for it. Because she’s ready. She’s ready for him to tell her to leave, to get out of his house. She’s ready for him to drag her to church, to make her pray like she hasn’t already for wanting not just men, but also women. She’s ready.

She is so unbelievably unready for what he actually says.

“Are you still who I raised you to be?”

“Yes.” She nods, not even having to think. Because she is, she promises that she is. She is still the girl that Charles taught to be kind, to be nice, to make sure she is always heard. She is still the little girl that Charles became a godfather to. She’s still the girl that Charles became a father to as well. “I am.” She sobs.

“Oh, mon bébé.” He sighs and he’s turning her around before pulling her up into his lap, making her curl up against him as she sobs into his shirt.

“I love you so much. You being bisexual doesn’t change a thing. And I’m sorry if I ever made you think that it would.”

“Papa.” She cries and his lips are pressing to her forehead as he somehow manages to rock her.

“Thank you for trusting me with this, with you.” He tells her when her sobs have died down and she’s able to look at him with not blurry vision.

“I’m sorry I took so long.”

“No.” He shakes his head, wiping her tears. “You took as much time as you needed.”

[onlyonetifosi]

Congrats little sis

It was a beautiful day in Baku, Azerbaijan, and the excitement in the air was palpable. The Formula 2 race was about to start, and I was getting ready to compete for my team, Prema. As I sat in my car, my mind was racing with thoughts of the race ahead. I was nervous, but also excited to show what I could do on the track.

Suddenly, I heard a knock on my door. I turned to see my older brother, Pierre Gasly, standing there with a huge smile on his face. He had flown all the way from France just to see me race, and I couldn't have been happier to see him.

"Hey, sis," he said, ruffling my hair. "Ready to show everyone what you're made of?"

I grinned back at him. "You bet!"

Pierre and I had always been close, despite the eight-year age gap between us. He had been my biggest supporter since I started karting at the age of five, and had helped me get to where I was today - a driver for the Red Bull Academy. I've always had a fascination for racing. I grew up watching him compete and win, and I knew from a young age that I wanted to follow in his footsteps. So, as soon as I was old enough, I began training to become a racing driver.

As the race began, I felt my heart pounding in my chest. The adrenaline rush was unlike anything I had ever experienced before, and I was determined to do my best.

As the lights went out, I hit the throttle and felt the surge of power as I hurtled down the straight, the wind whipping through my helmet. The track in Baku was a challenging one, with sharp corners and narrow straights, but I felt confident in my abilities. I had trained hard for this moment, and I was determined to make the most of it.

The first few laps were intense, with several drivers jostling for position. But I managed to stay focused and keep my eye on the prize. Soon, I found myself in the lead, with no one else in sight.

As the laps ticked by, I battled fiercely with the other drivers, jostling for position and trying to outmaneuver them at every turn. But I knew that my true competition was myself, and I had to stay focused and keep my head in the game if I wanted to succeed.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, I crossed the finish line in first place, the checkered flag waving in the breeze.

As I crossed the finish line, I felt a surge of pride and excitement wash over me. I had done it - I had won my first Formula 2 race! And to top it all off, my big brother was there to see it all.

As I stepped out of my car, I was met with congratulations from my fellow drivers, including Arthur, who had finished in second place. We hugged each other tightly, both of us grinning from ear to ear.

I run trough parc fermé to Pierre who started congratulate me, and we shared a tight embrace. "I'm so proud of you, sis," he said, his eyes shining with emotion. "You were amazing out there, I'm so proud, you drove like a true champion out there."

I grinned up at him. "Thanks, Pierre. You're the best big brother anyone could ask for."

We celebrated together for a while, but soon it was time for me to head back to the pit lane and debrief with my team. Unfortunately, our parents couldn't make it to Azerbaijan to see me race, but I knew they were watching from home in Ruan, glued to the TV screen. But knowing that Pierre was there to support me made all the difference.

As I made my way to the winner's podium, I caught sight of Charles Leclerc, who was also there to support his brother Arthur, who had come in second place. I had become close friends with Arthur over the years, we had grown up together, since Pierre and Charles had been karting rivals in their younger days, and we had become close friends as well so I was thrilled to see that he had done so well.

After the race, Pierre, the Leclerc brothers, and I decided to celebrate our victories together, and I had a great time sharing stories and laughing together. We went out for a nice dinner, enjoying each other's company and swapping stories about our experiences on the track. I felt incredibly lucky to be surrounded by such talented and supportive individuals.

Later that night, we decided to FaceTime our parents to share the good news. Although they couldn't be there in person, they were overjoyed to see us all together and hear about our successes. They congratulated us on our victories and praised us for our hard work and dedication. They were so proud of us all, and promised to celebrate with us when we returned.

As we hung up the call, I turned to Pierre and the Leclerc brothers and said, "This is just the beginning, guys. We're going to go far in this sport, together." And with that, we raised our glasses and toasted to a bright future, filled with even more victories and moments of triumph.

[mr-squidgy-jr]

headcannons for alfred, Romano, and a little bit about Toris

y’all like these so… yeah Brain time anywho-

Alfred is very clingy and affectionate but tries his best to respect any set boundaries placed by Freinds on affection, especially since he knows his strength can potentially hurt people-

- However, he does not know these boundaries unless they are clearly stated because either he does ent realize because the adhd and differences in processing, or because he notices something but overthinks it to the point where he just thinks he’s being irrational.

that’s one of the reasons he became so close to Mano so quickly, romano takes no shit from anyone because he’s done doing so. He’s sets his boundaries very quickly and directly and doesn’t try to sugarcoat the fact that someone has made him uncomfortable. Some people perceive this as him being anisocial or pushing people away, but if you respect the set boundaries and just get to know him you see the true Romano and eventually some of those boundaries begin to dissolve a little bit.

romano dissent like affection from anyone he’s not super close to. He makes that clear. Alfred respected that as much as an over affectionate person could, by finding different ways to express affection. Offering fistbumps and high fives as opposed to hugs. Not taking up too much space on the couch so Romano can have his personal space. Eventually as they became closer while living together Romano started being more open to affection, leaning on people, offering hugs, ruffling Alfred’s hair, though most affection initiated by him it was still a change. Romank also showed affection in different ways, checking on alfred so he didn’t iverwork himself, helping Tori’s cook in the kitchen, showing his art to the others, opening up about his past, giving occasional compliments, hanging up in Poland when he tried to call Toris because damn that bastardo is so annoying.

though Romano is also bad seeing other peoples emotions sometime. For alfred he processes differently and grew up with rather non-expressive, yet dramatic people. He was raised to be a weapon and a recourse who could handle public relations, and to Arthur that didn’t involve teaching him how to read emotikn… thank god Gilbert came around. Anyways, Romano had the exact opposite. He grew up with hyper expressive Antonio and Lovino. he was raised to express his opinion as opposed to repressing emotion. However that mean he’s used to just easily being able to read people and so when he can’t he tenses up( one of the reasons he doesnt like Ludwig). Because of all of this, Toris is usually the one to help them read people, giving them a look to convey a negative or positive emotion. He tries to communicate effectively and express when he has the energy.

Though, that’s not to say that alfred and Romano are bad at emotions or that Toris is amazing at them. Toris feels that he needs to resolve every conflict and miscommunication because of his history with Russia who could be slightly temperamental if accidentally spurred. Because of this he get involved in exhausting unnecessary drama and is rumored to be dramatic himself by the other countries. Alfred overtime notices many small details about people like their stims, hyperfixtations, sounds, ect. This helps him figure out what they’re feeling and what he can do to help form his personal experience and patterns in their behavior. Some find it off-putting but it can be endearing. Romano will talk to people the cares about when he thinks they’re upset and gives them a chance to vent. He gives the vibe of a someone who’s done with life, but really cares about people, and those things combine into what Toris and alfred call parental Romano. He tells them their feelings are valid, gives them a game plan, offers emotional support or to just stay with them or get someone else who may be better equipped to handle the situation. His pep talks are a little bit blunt but that can make them funny at points.

nowadays, the three of them are all very comfortable with eachother. So comfortable that some countries suspect they are together. after all, how could anyone ever tolerate Alfred’s forehead kisses, and hugs, and overly-friendly personality if they weren’t dating him. Or tolerate romanos smart ads comments that get barks of laughter out of the other two. Or Tori’s’s frequent well being checks all the time?! I mean really it’s a wonder. Though the rumor of them dating began to spread quickly when they were found late to a meeting, all in a cuddle pile on the pullout couch bed in alfreds hotel room I. Front on the tv, alfred “sleep hugger” jones holding Romano closely to his side which Romano is comfortably slumped into, while toris is lying down , head laying on Alfred’s thighs, wrapped In a blanket, with Alfred’s hand on his head as though stroking his hair.

francis of course was the one to find them. Of course, he also started the rumor. However to everyone else who personally knows the three like Kiku and mathew, they all know this is normal for the them. ( or is it more…) idk , ships it if you want and don’t ship it if you don’t. I personally think it’s a really cute shop though I just see this as really good friends. ( though that’s mainly because in my hetalia storyline that’s in my head I gave alfred and oc bf so….yeah) just dudes being bros, living together, cuddling, being all cute to impress eachother…

[rockislandadultreads]

LGBTQIA+ Pride Month: More Fiction Recommendations

My Government Means to Kill Me by Rasheed Newson

Earl "Trey" Singleton III arrives in New York City with only a few dollars in his pocket. Born into a wealthy Black Indianapolis family, at 17, he is ready to leave his overbearing parents and their expectations behind.

In the city, Trey meets up with a cast of characters that changes his life forever. He volunteers at a renegade home hospice for AIDS patients, and after being put to the test by gay rights activists, becomes a member of the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP). Along the way Trey attempts to navigate past traumas and searches for ways to maintain familial relationships—all while seeking the meaning of life amid so much death.

Less is Lost by Andrew Sean Greer

"Go get lost somewhere, it always does you good."

For Arthur Less, life is going surprisingly well: he is a moderately accomplished novelist in a steady relationship with his partner, Freddy Pelu. But nothing lasts: the death of an old lover and a sudden financial crisis has Less running away from his problems yet again as he accepts a series of literary gigs that send him on a zigzagging adventure across the US.

Less roves across the "Mild Mild West," through the South and to his mid-Atlantic birthplace, with an ever-changing posse of writerly characters and his trusty duo - a human-like black pug, Dolly, and a rusty camper van nicknamed Rosina. He grows a handlebar mustache, ditches his signature gray suit, and disguises himself in the bolero-and-cowboy-hat costume of a true "Unitedstatesian"... with varying levels of success, as he continues to be mistaken for either a Dutchman, the wrong writer, or, worst of all, a "bad gay."

We cannot, however, escape ourselves--even across deserts, bayous, and coastlines. From his estranged father and strained relationship with Freddy, to the reckoning he experiences in confronting his privilege, Arthur Less must eventually face his personal demons.

This is the second volume in the “Arthur Less” series. 

Rosewater by Liv Little

Elsie is a sexy, funny, and fiercely independent woman in south London. But several things in her life have gone terribly wrong. She's estranged from her family; is failing to make it as a poet; and has just been evicted from her social housing. As fierce and independent as she is, even Elsie must admit that being a carefree 28-year-old is proving difficult--and that she's running out of options.

Juliet, her best friend since childhood, has always been Elsie's lifeline. So even though they haven't spoken in months, Elsie is soon snuggled up on Juliet's couch, back at home among the mismatched cushions and knit blankets.

Between their reruns of Drag Race and nights smoking on the balcony, something surprising begins to glimmer in Elsie's heart. And as the days turn into weeks and then months, this feeling quickly becomes too fierce to ignore. Will Elsie be brave enough to open herself up to love?

The Fake by Zoe Whittall

After the death of her wife, Shelby is suffering from prolonged grief. She’s increasingly isolated, irritated by her family’s stoicism and her friends’ reliance on the toxic positivity of self-help culture. Then, in a grief support group, she meets Cammie, who gives her permission to express her most hopeless, hideous feelings. Cammie is charismatic and unlike anyone Shelby has ever met. She’s also recovering from cancer and going through several other calamities. Shelby puts all her energy into helping Cammie thrive—until her intuition tells her that something isn’t right.

Gibson is fresh from divorce, almost forty, and deeply depressed. Then he falls in love with Cammie. Not only is he having the best sex of his life with a woman so attractive he’s stunned she even glanced his way, he feels truly known for the first time in his life. But Gibson’s friends are wary of Cammie, and eventually he, too, has to admit that all the drama in Cammie’s life can feel a bit over the top.

When Gibson and Shelby meet, they realize Cammie’s stories don’t always add up. In fact, they’re far from the truth. But what kind of a person would lie about having cancer? And what does it say about Shelby and Gibson that they fell for it?

[mirrorofliterature]

Do you think Percy moved back into the Burrow, or did he while reconciling with his family, still decide to live in his flat? Like maybe to try and find his own self. As I feel like everything that happened in order of the phoenix to Deathly Hallows needed to happen for him to grow. I mean if Voldy never came back and he never had a conflict with his family he wouldn't of changed for the better.

No, I don't think Percy moved back to the Burrow (because he's already happy living with his fiancé Oliver Wood). In all seriousness, I don't think he would because his family stifled his ambition by dismissing his accomplishments. Overall, his parents did not facilitate a supportive environment for Percy. If the Grangers had treated Hermione the way the Weasleys did Percy, actively belittling her academic ambition and achievements, the fandom would have rioted, but that's neither here or there. Yeah, siblings tease each other, but not to that extent. It's much more normal to congratulate them, not tear them down. Source: does have a sibling. And other life experiences: friends with siblings.

And I agree that Percy did need to leave the Burrow and have his absolutely disastrous experience with Fudge to grow, but not in the same way that you (or others) might think. I think that the Burrow was an unhealthy environment for Percy - for the majority of the Weasley children, actually. Charlie and Bill and Fred and George all left the second they could, and if that's not telling, I don't know what is. My thoughts on the Weasley parents' less than stellar parenting techniques can be found in a more than two thousand word discussion between Ginny and Percy in my novella-length story, a study of cracked gold. But in short: Arthur was absent and treated Muggles not as real people but a spectacle with very rigid views (yes, he was prejudiced against muggles: look up implicit bias and how harmful the objectificiation of minorities is, even if it is in a positive skew). And Molly was incredibly prejudiced with severe internalised misogyny (thanks, Queen TERF) and treated her children favourably and yelled at them, frequently.

My dad is one of six, and my mum is one of four, so I know what large families are like. I know what healthy families are like. They are not like the Weasleys: it is just in contrast to the Dursleys, they shine. They meet the material needs of their children, mostly (Ron's wand aside), but their emotional needs are clearly suffering. Children are not there to fit parents' neat little picture, but as people who need nourishing and space to flourish. Molly and Arthur don't allow their children true individuality and it is harmful, incredibly so.

Anyway, getting back to the actual point of your question, I think Percy did change for the better because he was no longer under the influence of his family. Yes, I think realising the extent of corruption in the Ministry probably made him more cynical/pessimistic/activist, but I don’t think he was unaware that Fudge wasn’t a perfect specimen (see: this meta here). But I think that Percy not being constantly belittled for being himself and being different [autistic, likely, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he also had anxiety], allowed him to grow comfortable with himself and perhaps not so dependent on external validation and more able to rely on other people. In my personal headcanon, along with Oliver being a great support system, he also becomes close with Sirius and Remus, who, despite being lowkey disasters, are good examples of healthy adults/mentors and support that Percy desperately lacked. I also see Andromeda Tonks being a good mentor to the Weasley family (as Tonks is Charlie's best friend) for healthy intergenerational relationships are snazzy.

Percy leaving his family and 'siding' with the Ministry was good for him. He would have gained a lot of valuable (if mildly traumatic) experience as an assistant to the Minister of Magic and would have been in an incredibly valuable position during the war to help vulnerable people such as muggleborns. But the real reason, I think, he was allowed to flourish and make mistakes, was because he was not being constantly negatively scrutinised by his family and instead surrounded himself with a positive support network.

So yeah, you can say that by leaving home, Percy became his better self. Consequent to this growth, I don't think he would have gone back.

[the-kingshound]

Hi! Since you said MC has siblings, will you make a post telling us stuff about them. Like, their personality, how they view MC, their relationship with mc. And, if possible, their spouses? You see, I just adore family dynamic is IFs even if they are not a huge thing!

Thank you for the question, I too love family dynamics in IFs and I shall gladly provide more informations.

So, here I explained a bit about MC's family, here you have MC's siblings' ages and and here you can see a brief appearance of MC's oldest sister and MC's closest brother, Saraah.

I'll put all further information under the cut so that you'd prefer to experience things in game without further info, you can skip this part.

//

The Venegard's Heirs

A bit of context is necessary, please bear with me while I dive deeper into Camelot's and the Houses' lore.

The Empire that had dominated the lands overseas from Albion fell after a long decline when MC's parents were 29 (their father) and 32 (their mother). Both of them were respected generals under the Emperor and one of the most important Houses the Emperor themselves reigned on. Their beliefs and mentality was forged during this period of time, hardened by a pragmatism they made sure all their children inherited. Some ended up aligning with their beliefs more than others, particularly their firstborn daughter. On the other side of the spectrum stands MC's closest brother, Saraah, the most cunning and also rebellious between his siblings.

I will list all of MC's siblings and briefly expand on them individually, but keep in mind that some of them are fleshed much more than others.

(The ages indicated are true at the start of the story when MC is 23)

Adrei

34. The firstborn and Heir to the Venegard House. She is a strong, sober and unflinching woman that would to anything for her House. Despite her hardened heart, she bears a malinchonic sort of affection for her little sibling.

Ghaven

30. Ghaven is very patient and strong-willed person, not quite the charmer but their actions speak for themselves. They married five years prior to a very influent Lady (a former knight retired after sustaining a permanent injury during Uther's reign) in Camelot. Ghaven, along with their wife, will attend MC's marriage.

Emyr

29. Emyr is an aloof and, at first glance, reserved man wich got married at 21 with the heir of another very powerful House. The marriage had a rocky first few years, Emyr struggled to feel comfortable for a long time. Now the situation is marginally better to bear for him, because he is simply resigned.

He never had a strong bond with MC, he wishes they can find somewhere to call home, though.

Osia

27. Osia is a confident silver-tongued dyplomat married to the secondborn of a House of warriors. Her bold nature, together with her rigid views did not contribute at all to a close relationship with MC. She strongly believes one has to swallow their own discomfort for the greater plan and because of this she was never very supportive as a sister.

Saraah

26. Saraah is MC's closest sibling, he always made sure to provide them affection and gifts. He is quite protective and his greatest desire is to see their little sibling happy.

He is married to a very open-minded Lord that rules a province under Arthur's concession. It's a happy marriage and the first same-sex one after Arthur declared them legal. With his husband, Saraah will be attending MC's marriage with Arthur.

Radel

24. Radel is a very subdued person until one manages to rub him the wrong way. Then, his anger is cold and heartless but, in his opinion, completely deserved. He often made sure to look after MC when they needed it, but after their marriage they had fewer and fewer contacts. Still, despite what MC and many other might think, Radel cherishes their sibling to this day.

[masterofdeath]

We know based on their behavior that most of the staff read Harry’s Quibbler article and try their best to show him their support but have you ever wonder what that must have been like READING it?

For one, Cedric was a beloved student and I imagine they, especially Sprout, are mourning his death and the injustice behind it. But additionally, just imagine reading an article about one of your students describing being tortured and forced to duel for his life, watching another classmate die, all while grown man stand by and LAUGH and then not being able to just run up to them and hug them. Reading about your student being tortured on your lunch break then try to teach him in your OWL class next period……I have a theory McGonagall favors Harry a bit (in the least favoritism way possible) and just the mental image of her reading that is kind of horrific.

Or the Order, reading about it. Obviously they KNOW but Mrs. Weasley, Mr. Weasley, reading how Harry describes it? Or Remus?

I've always been interested to see what a perspective on the initial Daily Prophet / Ministry cover-up must have felt like for friend's of Cedric. In my experience with any sudden, tragic death there is already a scramble to grasp at some sense of what went wrong. Freak accidents are rarely sufficient explanations as to why someone so vibrant, with such a presence in your life, is suddenly not there anymore. ( I think that's what we see in Cho. I would have liked to see that explored more. )

Tack on a political agenda by which it is necessary to stress how random, how senseless his loss was. People love a conspiracy, and I think that alone would have been fodder for a host of them.

There is a growing sense within the Hogwarts population throughout the year that there is some truth the adults are afraid to name, Dumbledore's Army offers a glimpse of that -- but Harry can't provide context, he can't provide reason to why everything is happening. ( He's just trying to keep his own head above water. )

So with the release of the Quibbler article, I would guess there's a lot of buzz. That certainly bleeds into the ramped up interest in Harry that carries on through the next year, but also there are students and professors and adults who bought into the story they were fed who have to come to terms with the true horror of Voldemort and his followers performing 1. magic that hadn't been seen at least in some time and 2. the graphic depiction of a child being tortured and another one murdered.

Minerva "Potter is mine" McGonagall had her reaction the night Harry told his story, she believed him. She also was going through it at the end of OOTP so I wouldn't blame her for sitting out a trip down memory lane, settling on quiet pride ( and overwhelming sadness ) for Harry's debut into adulthood. Molly also probably purposefully avoids reading it. She sat with Harry in the infirmary, she had seen how broken he was after the final task, that was all she ever needed to know to understand the scope of what was to come.

Arthur certainly poured over every detail. Harry's perspective saved him, kept his family ( mostly ) whole that year. His support, as ever, is probably like a paternal pride. As hard as it is for him to comprehend and stomach, there might even be a small part of him which revels in watching the powers that be get knocked down a few pegs.

Remus is a tricky one, his style with Harry is very hot and cold. I think he probably read it, I think he probably started writing a letter to Harry telling him how proud of him he was -- how proud his parents would be, I think he talked himself out of sending it.

Harry's story really is about him trying to honor Cedric's death in a way that is fitting of someone who deserved better. So quickly, fittingly, I think it takes on a movement that's much bigger than him. ( And honestly, he definitely wouldn't be able to handle any pity leveled his way. )

[chocolatte-and-despair]

Hi hello, I'm a bit new to the hetalia fandom. And I was wondering can you do platonic Yandere Allies and Axis that just discovered a new colony ( I watched Kolkol's video, about how countries are born as babies ). So what are the counties going to do when the find the new baby ( their a tiny newborn btw ) countr peacefully sleeping in a pretty flower field. Now the countries has a new baby sister.

Aph North Italy -  Feliciano Vargas

If I’m being honest, Feliciano would be scared. He barely can take care of himself, let alone another being. A baby for that matter! He was not made to become an older brother! He was the baby brother! The one that was supposed to be babied! No! With this new baby, all of the attention would be taken away from him.. He.. He didn’t want that! You are in bad luck because if Feliciano is the one that would come across the baby, chances are that he would try to kill it. He was always the baby of the family and he isn’t going to let some baby take that role away from him. Not again!

Aph Germany -  Ludwig Beilschmidt

Ludwig would probably be very parental. He is the younger brother in his family, but he is the most adult-like. He also has been taking care of Feliciano and helping out Kiku, so, he has experience with taking care of younger people. He would want to raise his new baby sibling as a strong and independent person and would make people tremble before their presence. And everything will start from the moment that they can walk and talk. Ludwig is a strict caretaker, and he will not allow his sibling to stay soft. As cute as it is, the world is too cruel, and he wants to teach them how to kill and conquer as soon as possible. Unless they want to become a useless micronation. Then, he can’t help them. 

Aph Japan - Kiku Honda

Kiku would be very confused about the finding but would take it upon himself to raise this baby with the most care and understanding. One that he hasn’t gotten before in his life. He will let them grow however they want. If they want to become strong, then he will lead them onto the path of strength, and if they want to be a fragile flower, then he will protect them until the day his country dies.  Kiku is a very loving sibling, and he puts his sibling’s happiness before his own. He also tries to make all of your dreams come true, seeing as he wants to give you everything he could never. Though, he would be heartbroken if you ever tried to leave him. 

Aph America -   Alfred F. Jones

Alfred would be completely shocked and if he’s honest, he would probably leave the baby alone, trying to forget about the find. Listen, as cool as it is to have more territory, he ain’t going to take care of a baby! No way dude! He’s too cool and busy for that. Besides, what if he needs to change their diaper? Or actually, remember to feed them!? All his pets died from negligence and this baby wouldn’t be any different if they were left in his care. Even if he doesn’t want to take care of the baby, he isn’t completely cruel. He would call his brother and tell him about the baby. If his brother wants the baby, then cool! If not? Well, Alfred tried! The baby is all on its own now!

Aph England -  Arthur Kirkland

Arthur would probably be ecstatic to get a new sibling. Though, don’t misunderstand. It’s not because he wants to love them. It’s because he finally can get a new colony. How absolutely wonderful. He has been itching for that and it was as if the gods above heard his pleas. Now, all he had to do was train the country to be whatever Arthur wants. He will train the country to become as manipulative and cruel as him, but loyal to him too, so he would never need to worry about them leaving. Arthur is not a good sibling. There is a reason why everyone wanted to leave him. But at least, you will be put to good use and will be taught how to manipulate people with the act of being an innocent and good person, when in reality, you wouldn’t be. 

Aph France - Francis Bonnefoy

Francis is probably one of those people who would take good care of you and wouldn’t really try to manipulate your way of life. He will always be very supportive of you and always will be by your side when you need him. He is a very good parent and an even better sibling. Just he sometimes might come off as creepy because of his tendencies but don’t worry, he means you no harm! Sadly, Francis won’t be willing to let you get your independence. He raised you and took good care of you. So, why would he ever want to let you go? That would mean that he wasted all his time and effort on you!

Aph China -  Yao Wang

As shown in Taiwan, Yao would raise you to be cute but deadly. He also would demand complete and utter loyalty from you and wouldn’t shy away from hurting you to get the results he wants. You must be perfect at martial arts, your studies, and everything that you try. There is no place for mistakes in such a world and you will learn that early on. Yao might seem like a nice, wise old man but he is very strict when it comes to raising children, and just because you are cute or his new adoptive little sibling, it doesn’t mean that he will go any easier on you. 

Aph Russia -  Ivan Braginsky

Ivan is someone that would probably happily take you! Yay! New land! Now, he wouldn’t raise you himself. He would probably leave the job to one of the Baltics or one of his sisters. As seen in the anime, he loves his sisters, but he isn’t all that close to them, and the same would be with you! He really does love you, that’s why he is going to use all of your resources for himself and not care about you or your people! But he is your older brother, so you can’t say anything! Ivan is a cruel man, and his ways of raising countries are cruel too. You are very unlucky with him. There was a reason why so many of the other countries were running away and Ukraine wanted to become independent. 

Aph Canada -  Matthew Williams

Matthew would try to be a kind older brother all the time. He was the same with Alfred, but if he would start noticing that you are becoming loud, or cheerful or anything reminding him of Alfred, he would start showing a more nasty side of his, showing outright hate towards you. Just because you are his new baby sibling, it doesn’t mean he is going to let you push him around. He also would probably push most of his anger onto you, using you like a toy whenever he is angry. Matthew is a nice brother on the surface, but with his anger issues? Things don’t always end up all that well, especially if you start to grow into something that isn’t like him. 

[romancemedia]

Christmas Prince Movies

Ever since I first saw both these movies and in light of news of an upcoming sequel, I can’t get over the strong similarities and differences between the Christmas with a Prince and A Christmas Prince film series. It’s amazing how these films are so much alike in so many ways, but are yet still so different. They have both amazing characters, chemistry, stories and of course the spirit of Christmas and the romances make it all the more beautiful.

Characters

Tasha Miller (Christmas with a Prince) and Amber Moore (A Christmas Prince) are the main female protagonists who fall in love with the princes of their respective movies.

Alex (Christmas with a Prince) and Richard (A Christmas Prince) are the male protagonists and titular princes. They are both claimed to be party boys and womanizers, but they are actually more caring and down-to-earth as they struggle with assuming the throne while finding themselves falling in love with Tasha and Amber.

Princess Miranda (Christmas with a Prince) and Count Simon (A Christmas Prince) are the main antagonists. Miranda is a spoiled princess from a neighbouring country who is trying to steal Alex away from Tasha while Simon is Richard’s cousin who is trying to steal the crown from him. The difference between them is Simon reforms by the sequel while Miranda does not.

King Edward (Christmas with a Prince) and Queen Helena (A Christmas Prince) are the rulers of their countries, San Savvare and Aldovia and parents to Princes Alex and Richard respectively. Following the deaths of beloved family members, King Edward and Queen Helena urge their sons to take on their royal responsibilities. They also have a slightly bumpy start with their future daughters-in-law which eventually improve and then happily welcome the girls into their Royal Families.

Jeff & Bella (Christmas with a Prince) and Andy & Melissa (A Christmas Prince) are supporting characters who are close to the protagonists. Jeff is a nurse/Tasha’s older half-brother and Bella is Alex’s personal assistant/bodyguard while Andy and Melissa are two of Amber’s best friends. The friend groups are aware of the couples blossoming romances and happily support and encourage them to follow their hearts and even find true love themselves along the way.

Similarities

First the obvious similarity is both of these are Christmas movies revolving around a prince and common girl falling in love and as the films progress it focuses on the growth and development of their love stories as they must find a balance between their love and royal duties and not let it affect their relationships.

All their films storylines are almost exactly alike. The first is where the couples meet and fall in love, the sequel is about them preparing for their Royal Weddings and the final film focuses on them preparing for the birth of their children.

In the second films, both couples are preparing to get married, but there are people who are causing problems, whether they are trying to tear the couple apart or taking control over planning the royal weddings.

Both Tasha and Amber were close to their deceased mothers and are sad they won’t be there for their weddings.

Both Alex and Richard are still mourning the loss of their beloved family members who recently died prior to the first film and are reluctant and unsure when they become next in line to assume the throne.

The main antagonists, Simon and Miranda have somewhat similar goals. Simon is trying to steal the crown away from Richard and Miranda is trying to steal Alex away from Tasha.

The sequels take place one year after the events of the first films.

Aside from the main romances, the films also have secondary couples. Jeff and Bella (Christmas with a Prince) and Simon and Melissa (A Christmas Prince). Jeff and Bella become a couple by the end of the first film while Simon and Melissa begin a relationship in the sequel and get engaged in the final.

San Savarre and Aldovia are trying to negotiate peace with a fellow neighbouring country, but both the treaties are threatened. In the final A Christmas Prince film, the treaty is stolen while in the sequel to Christmas with a Prince, San Savarre’s treaty is troubled by Miranda’s meddling in her attempts to blackmail Alex to marry her instead of Tasha.

Tasha and Richard both have siblings and are very close with them. Tasha has an older half brother, Jeff who is close friends with Prince Alex and Richard is the older adoptive brother to his younger sister, Princess Emily who becomes close with Amber when she becomes her tutor.

Both Tasha and Amber almost called off their engagements to Alex and Richard, but for different reasons. Tasha knew that Alex was being pressured by Miranda’s meddling that also effected his royal duties and decided to put his well being and his countries ahead of their relationship. Amber was upset that Richard began neglecting her whilst feeling immense pressure from the royal family, forcing her change everything about the wedding and herself.

Differences

A Christmas Prince are Netflix original movies released on the streaming site while Christmas with a Prince are television movies released on UPTV, a channel in the United States.

Tasha and Alex already know each other when they went to boarding school together while Amber and Richard met each other for the first time in the first movie.

Alex and Richard both have very different situations with their royal families. Alex lost his older brother, Arthur a year before the events of the first film, his mother is deceased and he had a strained relationship with his father until they reconciled. Richard was unaware he is adopted, has a younger sister and is close with his mother while his father recently died in the first film.

Tasha is a doctor and Amber is a writer/journalist.

Tasha and Alex got engaged at the start of the sequel while Amber and Richard got engaged by the end of the first film.

Tasha has an older half-brother and Amber is an only child.

A Christmas Prince released their films every year on Netflix from 2017-2019 while Christmas with a Prince released their films from 2018-2019 and took a 2 year a break until returning with their final film in 2021.

Simon is the main antagonist of the first film until he reforms and is replaced with a new villain by the sequel while Miranda is a minor villain in the first film and doesn’t take on a more antagonistic role until the second.

A Christmas Prince went through a few casting changes (Amber’s father, Rudy) by the time of the sequel while Christmas with a Prince didn’t replace any of the cast members whatsoever.

In the Royal Wedding sequels, Tasha and Amber have different experiences planning their weddings. Tasha’s plans go very smoothly from picking her dress to selecting the cake with Alex by her side while Amber hardly has any control in the planning and is almost forced to have an extravagant/traditional wedding while Richard doesn’t support or help her in the preparation.

The public had very different opinions about the royal couples. The people of Aldovia were happy and accepted Amber and Richard’s relationship while the people of San Savarre were unsure of Tasha and Alex’s love until the end of the sequel.

Tasha and Amber had different engagement rings. Tasha’s was ruby red and Amber’s was a blue sapphire.

[morbethgames]

A tiny glimpse into the final scene of Chapter 2 + What’s to come

                            I smile back and rub my neck a little. "The only instrument I have is my voice. I practice by myself at home a lot, but I was also in choir at school." I let out an amused chuckle, "Man, they used to make us sing the [i]worst[/i] stuff. We had this song we had to sing for the Holiday concert, and the entire thing was about getting socks as a present."

                           ${eli} lets out a small laugh, "Really? That bad?"

                           "Oh yeah, it definitely was. Although we did get to sing some good ones too, one of which was 'Footloose'. I still sing that song to myself in the shower sometimes." I faintly laugh in return, remembering the days back in elementary school when things were just so much more carefree.

                           "In fact," I continued, "I strictly remember one girl in the front row of the chorus, Rhonda Simmons. On the very last line of the song, on the big finisher, she sung it so loud that it cracked every window in the auditorium."

                           ${eli}'s eyes widened with a smile. "Surely not."

                           I chuckled a little, "It's true, it's true. Her mutation had to do with her voice being amplified." My smile starts to fade a little, "She had a, uh… a great voice."

                           ${eli}'s smile starts to falter as well when ${NPCGender1} sees my expression shift. "Is something the matter?"

                           "Sorry, I just remembered…" I pause for a moment, recalling the events that took place afterward. "When chorus started the next year, I noticed she wasn't there. Turns out her mutation was one that affected her larynx and made it produce sound by amplifying its vibrations. During winter break, on Christmas, her parents got her this cheap karaoke machine." A sad smile forms on my lips for a couple of seconds and I shake my head, but the smile fades just as fast and my features turn mournful. "When she saw what they got her she screamed out in joy… Her vocal chords tore themselves apart."

                           ${eli} gazed at me with a stoic sympathy, simply sitting there and waiting until I was done. When ${NPCGender1} was sure that I was, ${NPCGender1} spoke in a soft, almost monotonous tone. "That's also part of our job, you know."

                           I stare up at ${NPCGender27}, confused.

                           "It's not all just catching killers and bringing justice to them. There's an entire subsection of the Mutation Control Team that focuses on rehabilitation and guidance. If someone is possibly able to control their mutation, we offer to help with that. That's why our job is so important, because sometimes the people we track down don't need justice… they simply need a little help."

                           I look back at ${NPCGender27} with a thankful smile and nod. "Thanks."

                           ${NPCGender2} simply nods back in return.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It’s going to be a little while longer until the chapter is finally out, so I figured why not post a little snippet of it to hold people off? To put it in perspective how massive this scene is, you will have an option to choose whether or not your MC plays a musical instrument. There are a total of 9 options (including not playing one at all) and every single one of them have completely unique responses. This is the response if you chose that your voice is your instrument. 

So please, put those save files to good use, and try out different options! You may learn more about the world, get extra little information about the MCT, or unique dialogues that come up later in the game! A current live example of this that is in the demo is that Elizabeth/Arthur have two entirely separate scenes on the train. If you have >= 15 intelligence when playing chess with them, you play a full game. If you have < 15 intelligence when playing chess with them, the game end very quickly and it takes you to a different scene with unique dialogue. 

Something similar also happens with Kris/Kristina on the train. There’s a specific dialogue option where if you noticed Sarah/Samuel’s panic attack in Chapter 1 (which in the current build is only possible if you have >15 Insightful) it makes a unique choice appear with them on the train. I’m hoping that by the end of the game, even regardless of stats, players will have the ability to have a unique experience in many playthroughs and see a new side of their favorite MCT member every time!

I also wanted to take this opportunity to say that soon, Extra Scenes will be added to the Stats Screen. These scenes will unlock as you make choices in the game and act as short scenes you can go back and reread at any time! For instance, if you get a dialogue option where Sarah/Samuel tells you briefly how they met Kate, you might unlock an Extra Scene in the stats menu where you can actually read through the entire scene of them meeting for the first time.

These are meant to not only add to the replayability, but to also give you scenes that expand the characters, world, and understanding of mutations, all without disrupting the flow of the main story. They will not have stats attached to them, even if they are scenes with the MC that allow you to make choices. I really liked the idea of this and I haven’t heard of it being done in a ChoiceScript game before (I could be extremely wrong about that and if I am then I profusely apologize) so I’m going to try to add these in as I go along.

This was a very lengthy update, and I do apologize, but just know that I am working very hard to make this the best IF I possibly can! Thank you all so much for following the game, and for supporting and believing in me. From the bottom of my heart, it genuinely means a lot, and I hope I don’t disappoint you all and that the book can live up to all the positive reception it’s gotten so far. Thank you all again.

[earthingoddity]

so you know how y’all are constantly like: “what’s there to like about season five???”. i decided to make a list *-*

1. the discussion of disability in a teenage show. how many teenage shows can you name featuring disabled characters? and how many of those feature a character becoming disabled in the course of the show and having to adapt to that? i was very surprised when i realized this was the route they were going to take this season and i think it was very well done.

so let’s break that down:

1.1 they actually made sure to talk about other disabilities. i know some people will say they were just doing the bare minimum, but i disagree. that is such a complex theme, they could’ve easily said representing other disabilities respectfully would be a lot of work for only ten episodes, but they did their best with the limited amount of time they had.

1.2 the representation of the deaf community wasn’t limited to their disability. it actually pisses me off hearing people say “wow, for a while there, i even forgot arthur was deaf!” as if he *has* to let you know everytime he’s on screen. disabled people are more than their disabilities, thank you very much.

1.3 overall, it was a positive representation. they could’ve spent so much time going through all the things that would be too hard for arthur, but they actually had an entire episode where arthur was completely deaf - he took his hearing aids off - and it was a very happy and positive episode. he was having fun, clubbing, dancing, laughing with others, and i think we took a lot of that for granted in the midst of everything that was going on, but that was a really positive representation that didn’t limit itself to stereotypes around deaf/disabled people. i actually expected that they’d drag a lot longer the feeling of loneliness and discomfort of the first couple of episodes, but they quickly changed that rhythm, so that instead of focusing on what arthur was “losing”, they focused on everything that arthur was gaining - new friends, a new love interest and a new way to see the world. also, in relation to the whole implants thing, they delivered very in depth opposite perspectives on the matter and never felt like they were shaming one group or the other.

2. SyMbOLisM! skam france is very good at it and they nailed this aspect in season three. but there was a lot of it in season five as well. like the 7am clips in episode 2, that were used to show the lack of progression in arthur’s hearing and his growing frustration and how those clips were incredibly dark, to match his mood. episode 7 also had such an interesting meaning. with arthur taking the chance to explore the world without his hearing aids, he got to explore a whole *new* world, and not a lacking one, which ties very well with what i just said about being a positive rep, but also shows that the entire episode wasn’t about arthur finding a new layer of himself, but rather him just uncovering one that was already there.

3. use of music/sound effects. it can be hard to represent deafness in a media like a tv show, but skam france did it so well. the use of music is always very conscious in this remake; while others really go hard in the soundtrack, skam france hardly ever has background music, unless it means something. another small thing but that i loved was whenever arthur was taking off/putting on his hearing aids, if he was to put the left one first for example, the sound on the left side of your headphone would start first. it was such a small thing but made the experience a lot more immersive imo, as well as the use of muffled sounds, pitching, etc.

4. Arthur. i am always surprised whenever i hear people say that they liked arthur better when they were not in his pov. i completely disagree, but then again, i feel like this fandom has very unhealthy expectations on their mains, as if they haven’t watched already 4 seasons of the main making mistakes over and over again, lol. i loved getting to know more of arthur - he’s loyal AF and protective of the people he loves. he struggles in letting people in, though, and never wants to be a burden or worry others. he’s perceptive and quick to notice when his friends need help. he is also short-tempered and when he gets mad, it is explosive, but he doesn’t hold grudges for long. he was a much more complexed character than i imagined and he totally made this season for me.

5. le gang. this boysquad is the best, sorry. they’ve always been the funniest and warmest, but it was really nice how s5 explored all the sides of that relationship, including the not so pretty ones. they were the relationship i wanted the most angst from, and i am so happy i got it. i loved seeing how chaotic, but supportive they were of arthur though and they brought so many laughs this season.

5.1 the lack of toxic masculinity. i think this ties well with arthur, because it is amazing to me that even though we were following a straight white boy as a main this season, we had no moments of unhealthy masculine competition; le gang could actually talk about other things rather than just porn stars and jerking off (other boysquads Wish!); and arthur would literally flirt with anyone without a care in the world, because he’s certain of his sexuality like that. it was *refreshing* for once not to be confronted with these tropes that have become so common in teenage shows.

7. alexia. i have to talk about alexia separately here, because that’s the most we’ve ever seen from a chris character (not counting eskam cris, ofc), and i loved her so much. she wants to be a videogame designer and she’s creative and adorable. she always knew how to make arthur laugh, but also knew when he needed words of affirmation and she was never shy in telling him how much she loved him. it was also amazing seeing her open up about some of her insecurities, and that her confidence is something she had to work on as well. she was such a great friend & girlfriend and just ugh the best.

7.1 the female characters are badass and unapologetic. i am aware that the love triangle was unnecessary and a mess. but i am not mad about the way both characters were represented, because they were both great characters. i liked alexia more simply because i was already attached to her from previous seasons, but noée was badass as well and teaches arthur so much, and not only about her experience as a deaf person, but about life/love in general.

8. arthur’s relationship with his mom. we LOVE and STAN parents in the skamverse. arthur and his mom had the best relationship ever; i loved how they truly became a team by the end of the season. but since the moment she showed up, it meant so much that arthur could have at least one supportive and loving parent, no matter how much he screwed up or felt lost. his mom was really trying her best and i adored her.

9. *actual* adult advice. i understand why all the adults in the skamverse are a bit cringey and weird, but i feel like this results in these characters relying on each other’s poor advice throughout an entire season before they realize what they actually should do. and the talk with the school’s nurse and his doctor by the end of the season was meaningful AF and i wish something the remakes would explore more often, because it could resolve so many of their issues just talking to someone who knows better, lol.

10. the relationships with the girlsquad. i know this is actually very intentional of skam france - to build a specific kind of dynamic between the main and all the side characters. we saw that in season 3, and i think it’s a lot more evident here, but it still made a lot of sense and warmed my heart so much. arthur and imane were the purest - she was the first one to notice that something was wrong with him and also reached out to give him advice on how medical school could still be a possibility even with his disability when she absolutely didn’t have to, but she’s just a sweetheart like that. arthur and daphné had a lot more tension, which is understandable, because both are protective of their own best friends (bas and alexia) and would defend them to the ends of the earth. i think they honestly have a lot more in common than they think. but my favorite dynamic was arthur and emma. i totally did not expect for emma to have such a part in this season, but every single one of their interactions was Gold. emma could see a lot of herself in arthur and i think that’s why she was so quick to notice that he wasn’t interested in becoming a surgeon at all. that scene when she says it would’ve been nice to have arthur as a brother was the sweetest thing Ever.

11. i’ll finish with the acting. y’all, the guy who plays arthur literally CARRIED this season and i hope his back is doing fine. he was So powerful - he made me cry, and laugh, and feel frustrated. he delivered every single emotion perfectly. i also think that the fact these actors are friends irl (i assume? lol but i think i’ve seen them in each other’s personal IG stories) really helps their chemistry on camera. le gang feels like a group of brothers/best friends and they were always so natural and effortless in their interactions. the new actors also Rocked and delivered so much emotion even if they were using a completely different language and it was awesome.

(also, this just literally applies to *me*, a lucas lallemant HOE, but it was so nice seeing lucas up close from a different perspective. the fact we could still see so many layers of him: his emotional self, his bratty self, his supportive self, even a touch on his abandonment issues and everything made me so happy. i think sometimes i forget the lucas character was real and not something i made up because he feels too good to be true, and it was really interesting seeing him from arthur’s POV).

i’m not here defending the mistakes they made in s5, i don’t think it’s a perfect season either, but tbh i have yet to find what i consider to be a perfect season in the skamverse, so here’s just some things i liked about this season that i feel like y’all should take into consideration as well. thx

[undertheinfluencerd]

https://ift.tt/2X2MXow #

After making her screen debut in 1989, Sandra Oh has enjoyed a remarkable career in both film and television. Although the versatile talent and 12-time Emmy nominated actress is best known for her iconic roles as Cristina Yang on Grey’s Anatomy and Eve Polastri on Killing Eve, Oh has also worked with some of the finest movie directors, including Alexander Payne, Steven Soderbergh, Mina Shum, John Cameron Mitchell, and more.

RELATED: Killing Eve – 10 Best Quotes From The Show

As fans continue to enjoy Oh’s new hit Netflix sitcom The Chair, it’s worth recollecting her best movie moments for those who want to see more of the talented actress on the big screen.

10 Defendor (2009): 6.8

Peter Stebbings’ dark offbeat superhero comedy Defendor stars Oh as Dr. Ellen Park, a psychiatrist who gives hilarious facial and verbal reactions to the outlandish story relayed to her by Arthur Poppington (Woody Harrelson), an ordinary man moonlighting as a vigilante crime fighter.

Cut from the same genre-bucking, irreverent cloth as James Gunn’s Super, once Arthur confesses his secret life to Dr. Park, she convinces the judge to go easy on him and allow him to continue his heroic activity. When tragedy strikes, Oh shows how much heartfelt pathos she can portray by attending a touching ceremony for her patient.

9 Under The Tuscan Sun (2003): 6.8

Written and directed by the late Audrey Wells, Under the Tuscan Sun is a delightfully uplifting rom-com about Frances (Diane Lane), a writer who ups and leaves her life in San Francisco to live in Tuscany after discovering her husband’s infidelity. Oh plays Patti, Frances’ best friend who encourages her to travel to Italy.

RELATED: Sandra Oh – 10 Best Roles, Ranked (According To Rotten Tomatoes)

In addition to the gorgeous locations, breezy tone, and rich cinematography, Oh adds complexity to the story as Patti, a lesbian expecting a child even after her lover Grace (Kate Walsh) has left her. It’s Patti’s visit to Tuscany when she’s nine months pregnant that helps Frances find the courage to pursue true love despite the painful past.

8 Double Happiness (1994): 7.0

Oh made her feature film debut in Mina Shum’s must-see coming-of-age tale Double Happiness, in which she plays the lead role of Chinese-Canadian Jade Li. The intensely personal semiautobiographical drama shows how divided Jade is between her traditional Chinese upbringing and her modern Canadian lifestyle.

With a natural performance by Oh matched with the authentic, well-observed writing of Shum, the movie is a universally relatable tale of a person grappling with their own identity while trying to appease the expectations of loved ones. In her first film performance, Oh won the Genie Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, proving what a titanic talent she has been from the start.

7 Rabbit Hole (2010): 7.0

John Cameron Mitchell’s Rabbit Hole is a bruising account of a family dealing with the death of a young child at the hands of a teenage driver. Nicole Kidman gives a memorable and towering performance as Becca, a mournful mother who begins to find solace by interacting with Jason (Miles Teller), the driver who accidentally took her son’s life.

Although she has a smaller supporting role, Oh plays Gabby, a fellow grieving parent who helps Howie (Aaron Eckhart) deal with his loss at the group therapy sessions he and Becca attend. With profound empathy for Howie, she becomes instrumental in his healing process.

6 Meditation Park (2017): 7.1

Twenty-three years after working with Mina Shum for the first time, Oh reunited with the filmmaker for the sweet-natured drama Meditation Park in 2017. The story concerns Maria Wang (Pei-Pei Cheng), an aging woman in the throes of an existential crisis upon suspecting her husband’s infidelity. Oh plays Maria’s daughter Ava, a mother of two who encourages Maria to reconcile with her estranged brother ahead of his wedding and break free from her husband’s hold.

RELATED: Asian-American Movies to Watch If You Loved Crazy Rich Asians

As another trenchant glimpse at the immigrant experience and a statement about the importance of women finding their own voice, Shum’s film is tender, touching, and triumphant.

5 Hard Candy (2005): 7.1

David Slade’s Hard Candy is a deeply unnerving glimpse at a predatory pedophile (Patrick Wilson) getting his just deserts when a teenager (Elliot Page) tricks, traps, and tortures him in his apartment. Oh plays the man’s neighbor, Judy Tokuda, admitting she only took the role due to her working relationship with Page, a fellow Canadian she worked with on Wilby Wonderful the year prior.

With most of the action set inside the inescapable apartment, the visceral terror of the violence that Hayley (Page) exacts on Jeff (Wilson) is met by the suffocating sense of claustrophobia, making for a really upsetting experience. However, the hugely satisfying conclusion helps atone for the squeamish and uncomfortable moments of carnage.

4 Last Night (1998): 7.2

The most unheralded of Oh’s top films happens to be Last Night, a mordant pitch-black comedy about the impending apocalypse and the rag-tag band of Canadians with differing views on how to react. With the end of the world set to strike at midnight, Sandra (Oh) tries to make it out of her stranded position in Toronto and reunite with her husband, Duncan (David Cronenberg). One bad thing after another ensues.

Weird, wild, and ultimately winning, Last Night boasts writer/director Don McKellar’s signature brand of dark humor and anarchic energy. As such, the film has become an unforgettable cult classic among those who’ve seen it.

3 Raya And The Last Dragon (2021): 7.4

With great respect and honor for the rich historical traditions of Southeast Asia, Raya and the Last Dragon is one of Disney’s most beloved recent animated movies. Sandra Oh lends her voice to the commanding role of Virana, the Fang chieftess and mother of Raya’s main rival, Namaari (Gemma Chan).

RELATED: Raya And The Last Dragon – What The Voice Actors Look Like In Real Life

With a moving story, spellbinding animation, and characters never before seen, Raya and the Last Dragon continue to soar in the hearts and minds of viewers.

2 Sideways (2004): 7.5

Directed by her then-husband Alexander Payne, Oh demonstrated her hilarious comedic chops in the indie darling Sideways, a character study of a failing writer at an existential crossroads. The boozy road trip follows Miles (Paul Giamatti), an uptight novelist, and his lecherous pal Jack (Thomas Hayden Church), as they hit Santa Barbara wine country on a tasting tour.

Praised for its excellent performances and light tonal touch between comedy and drama, Oh gives a standout turn as Stephanie, a cool sommelier who has a steamy love affair with Jack (whom she does not know has a fiancee). When she finds out, she goes absolutely ballistic in one of the movie’s funniest moments. The story is so sharply penned that it won an Oscar for Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay.

1 The Red Violin (1998): 7.6

Despite playing a bit role as Madame Ming in the fifth and final chapter of The Red Violin, the ambitious epic ranks among Sandra Oh’s most well-received movie to date. The film traces a famed 17th-century Violin from its creation in Italy to its auction in modern-day Montreal, and all that the instrument endured in creating some of the most beautiful music the world has ever heard.

Praised for its sumptuous set decorations and costume designs, Oscar-winning original music, intelligent story, and a throwback style of filmmaking that calls to mind the grand epics of the past, the resonance of The Red Violin is still felt today.

NEXT: Steven Spielberg’s 10 Best Historical Epics

#marvel #avengers #marvelcomics #spiderman #mcu #ironman #comics #captainamerica #thor #avengersendgame #marvelstudios #xmen #dc #marveluniverse #art #cosplay #tomholland #hulk #disney #comicbooks #dccomics #peterparker #tonystark #blackwidow #marvellegends #endgame #deadpool #marvelcinematicuniverse #loki #bhfyp

The post Sandra Oh’s 10 Best Movies, Ranked (According To IMDb) appeared first on undertheinfluencerd.net.

#entertainment, screenrant #tumblr #aesthetic #like #love #tumblrgirl #follow #instagram #photography #instagood #likeforlikes #s #likes #art #cute #o #girl #followforfollowback #a #tumblrboy #grunge #fashion #photooftheday #tiktok #l #photo #sad #k #frases #f #bhfyp

[chuchiotaku]

The Root of It

So many Ron bashers I’ve had the displeasure of encountering always point out how unlikable and immature Ron is based of his insecurities, his “petty” jealousy and his “oafish and lazy” nature.  Never mind the fact that as the series goes on, he learns to accept and overcome these flaws, one of the best evidence being his “It’s me.  I’m extremely famous,” line at the end of Book 7.

But those insecurities and flaws did not come out of nowhere.

This ties in with my previous post on how Rowling tells one thing, yet shows another, in that I can understand how Ron can think so little of himself, the least loved, when Rowling claims that his family loves him very much.  

Insecurities, I think, is the same as arrogance: they are products of someone’s environment.  If someone grew up being told that they are above others, that their whims are more important than the needs of the many, that they are the elite compared to a certain race or class, they grow up thinking and believing that.  Draco Malfoy is a primary example of this, and is the product of not only his parents spoiling him but also of the Pureblood supremacy ideology he is surrounded by.

Ron Weasley and Harry Potter, on the other hand, can be said to be the product of the opposite: an environment where they are not told that they are special and that they are loved.

In Harry’s case, it’s blatantly out there.  The Dursleys have made their disdain for him very clear, leading Harry to be abused physically, mentally and emotionally in varying degrees.  This, I think, is why he has difficulty managing anger healthily, because he has had to repress it for most of his life. It’s also why he’s kind of a pessimist and tends to see authority figures in a black-or-white view until near end of seventh year.

Ron’s case, however, is not as obvious, but the signs are present for those who bother to look.  Bashers will say that Ron complains too much and does not appreciate what he has (a loving family, roof over his head, the like), and to some level, I agree.  However, while basic needs are important, they do not fill the hole created by the lack of what fulfills the need for love, belonging and acceptance.

Parents with many children can claim that they love all their children equally, and all things considered, that might be true.  But from my experience with big families, there will always be that one (or a select few) who is the obvious favorite because they are more compatible with either the father or mother in terms of personality and/or interests.  There’s also the fact that time and attention are finite resources, and with seven kids and only two parents, it’s a (very) huge stretch to adequately spend both on all of them equally.  

(This doesn’t even take into account how much of a terror the twins may have been growing up)

This is not to bash Arthur and Molly, mind you.  I do think they loved all their children, and did do their best considering what they’ve got.  But again, insecurities don’t come out of nowhere, and the fact that Ron has plenty means that something went wrong somewhere down the road.   Something that was not addressed and let fester.  

As I have once said, it is the culmination of all the little things: never remembering what Ron likes, the borderline cruel pranks, that embarrassing Howler in second year (I never found it funny, because if that happened to me, I would be downright traumatized), those fugly dress robes, the disbelief over Ron being made Prefect, rubbing in the fact that Ron had never snogged anybody (which is a strike below the belt, IMO).

In addition to the fact that his best friends just happen to be the Boy-Who-Lived and the Smartest Witch of her Generation.

The fact that Ron puts up with a lot of thigns that can batter anyone’s self esteem to the ground yet still be the cheerful, friendly, boy next door bloke that he is?  It amazes me, honestly.

It amazes me that he doesn’t have an outward showing of bitterness and resentment towards his family, and obviously loves them very deeply.  It amazes me that he still tries his best to be a good friend to Harry and Hermione despite the fact that they don’t often appreciate him as much as they should (at least, outright.  Readers, who are privy to Harry’s thoughts, know that he values Ron a whole lot).

And it irritates and saddens me how there are Harry Potter fans out there who can think of Malfoy and Snape, who have been petty, angry bullies throughout most of the books, as misunderstood and redeemable, yet see Ron, who has been a loyal, caring and supportive friend all throughout the same books, as immature and selfish oaf, to the point of being the worst character in the series.

If anything, the fact that readers were shown Ron’s flaws, him facing the consequences of having said flaws, and him eventually overcoming them makes him the one of the most developed characters in the series, the one who benefited the most out of the whole journey among the Golden Trio.  It made him feel real.

No matter what the haters and the naysayers claim.

Weasley is my King!

[silent-era-of-cinema]

John Gilbert (born John Cecil Pringle; July 10, 1897 – January 9, 1936) was an American actor, screenwriter and director. He rose to fame during the silent film era and became a popular leading man known as "The Great Lover". His legendary breakthrough came in 1925 with his starring roles in The Merry Widow and The Big Parade. At the height of his career, Gilbert rivaled Rudolph Valentino as a box office draw.

Gilbert's career declined precipitously when silent pictures gave way to talkies. Though Gilbert was often cited as one of the high-profile examples of an actor who was unsuccessful in making the transition to sound films, his decline as a star had far more to do with studio politics and money than with the sound of his screen voice, which was rich and distinctive.

Born John Cecil Pringle in Logan, Utah, to stock-company actor parents, John Pringle (1865–1929) and Ida Apperly Gilbert (1877–1913), he struggled through a childhood of abuse and neglect, with his family moving frequently and young "Jack" having to attend assorted schools throughout the United States. When his family finally settled in California, he attended Hitchcock Military Academy in San Rafael. After he left school, Gilbert worked as a rubber goods salesman in San Francisco, then performed with the Baker Stock Company in Portland, Oregon, in 1914. He subsequently found work the following year as a stage manager in another stock company in Spokane, Washington, but he soon lost that job when the company went out of business.

After losing his stage job in 1915, Gilbert decided to try screen acting, and he quickly gained work as a film extra through Herschell Mayall. Gilbert first appeared in The Mother Instinct (1915), a short directed by Wilfred Lucas. He then found work as an extra with the Thomas Ince Studios in productions such as The Coward (1915), Aloha Oe (1915), Civilization (1915), The Last Act (1916), and William Hart's Hell's Hinges (1916).

During his initial years in films, Gilbert also performed in releases by Kay-Bee Company such as Matrimony (1915), The Corner (1915), Eye of the Night (1916), and Bullets and Brown Eyes (1916). His first major costarring role was as Willie Hudson in The Apostle of Vengeance, also with William S. Hart.[6] Viewed by studio executives as a promising but still "juvenile" actor at this stage of his career, Gilbert's contract salary was $40 a week ($940 today), fairly ample pay for most American workers in the early 1900s.[7] Gilbert continued to get more substantial parts at Kay-Bee, which billed him as "Jack Gilbert" in The Aryan (1916), The Phantom (1916), Shell 43 (1916), The Sin Ye Do (1917), The Weaker Sex (1917), and The Bride of Hate (1917). His first true leading role was in Princess of the Dark (1917) with Enid Bennett, but the film was not a big success and he went back to supporting roles in The Dark Road (1917), Happiness (1917), The Millionaire Vagrant (1917), and The Hater of Men (1917).

Gilbert went over to Triangle Films where he was in The Mother Instinct (1917), Golden Rule Kate (1917), The Devil Dodger (1917) (second billed), Up or Down? (1917), and Nancy Comes Home (1918). For Paralta Plays, Gilbert did Shackled (1918), One Dollar Bid (1918), and Wedlock (1918) and More Trouble (1918) for Anderson, but the company went bankrupt.[7] He also was cast in Doing Their Bit (1918) at Fox and then returned to Triangle for The Mask (1918). Gilbert also did Three X Gordon (1918) for Jesse Hampton, The Dawn of Understanding (1918), The White Heather (1919) for Maurice Tourneur, The Busher (1919) for Thomas Ince, The Man Beneath for Haworth, A Little Brother of the Rich (1919) for Universal, The Red Viper (1919) for Tyrad, For a Woman's Honor (1919) for Jess Hampton, Widow by Proxy (1919) for Paramount, Heart o' the Hills (1919) for Mary Pickford, and Should a Woman Tell? (1919) for Screen Classics.

Maurice Tourneur signed him to a contract to both write and act in films. Gilbert performed in and co-wrote The White Circle (1920), The Great Redeemer (1921), and Deep Waters (1921). As a writer only, he worked on The Bait (1921), which starred and was produced by Hope Hampton. For Hampton, Gilbert wrote and directed as well, but he did not appear in Love's Penalty (1921).

In 1921, Gilbert signed a three-year contract with Fox Film Corporation, which subsequently cast him in romantic leading roles and promoted him now as "John Gilbert". The actor's first starring part for the studio was in Shame (1921).[10] He followed it with leading roles in Arabian Love (1922), Gleam O'Dawn (1922), The Yellow Stain (1922), Honor First (1922), Monte Cristo (1922), Calvert's Valley (1922), The Love Gambler (1922), and A California Romance (1922). Many of the scenarios for these films were written by Jules Furthman.

Gilbert returned temporarily to Tourneur to costar with Lon Chaney in While Paris Sleeps (1923). Back at Fox, he starred in Truxton King (1923), Madness of Youth (1923), St. Elmo (1923), and The Exiles (1923). The same year he starred in Cameo Kirby (1923), directed by John Ford, co starring Jean Arthur. He went into The Wolf Man (1923) with Norma Shearer, not a horror film, but the story of a man who believes he murdered his fiancée's brother while drunk. Gilbert also performed in his last films for Fox in 1924, including Just Off Broadway, A Man's Mate, The Lone Chance, and Romance Ranch.

Under the auspices of movie producer Irving Thalberg, Gilbert obtained a release from his Fox contract and moved to MGM, where he became a full-fledged star cast in major productions. First starring in His Hour (1924) directed by King Vidor and written by Elinor Glyn his film career entered its ascendancy. He followed this success with He Who Gets Slapped (1924) co-starring Chaney and Shearer and directed by Victor Sjöström; The Snob (1924) with Shearer; The Wife of the Centaur (1924) for Vidor.

The next year, Gilbert would star in two of MGM's most critically acclaimed and popular film productions of the silent era: Erich von Stroheim's The Merry Widow and King Vidor's The Big Parade.

Gilbert was assigned to star in Erich von Stroheim's The Merry Widow by Irving Thalberg, over the objections of the Austrian-American director. Von Stroheim expressed his displeasure bluntly to his leading man: "Gilbert, I am forced to use you in my picture. I do not want you, but the decision was not in my hands. I assure you I will do everything in my power to make you comfortable." Gilbert, mortified, soon stalked off the set in a rage, tearing off his costume. Von Stroheim followed him to his dressing room and apologized. The two agreed to share a drink. Then Gilbert apologized and they had another drink. The tempest subsided and was resolved amicably. According to Gilbert, the contretemps served to "cement a relationship which for my part will never end."

The public adulation that Gilbert experienced with his growing celebrity astounded him: "Everywhere I hear whispers and gasps in acknowledgment of my presence... he whole thing became too fantastic for me to comprehend. Acting, the very thing I had been fighting and ridiculing for seven years, had brought me success, riches and renown. I was a great motion picture artist. Well, I’ll be damned!"

Gilbert was next cast by Thalberg to star in the King Vidor's war-romance The Big Parade (1925), which became the second-highest grossing silent film and the most profitable film of the silent era. Gilbert's "inspired performance" as an American doughboy in France during World War I was the high point of his acting career. He fully immersed himself in the role of Jim Apperson, a Southern gentleman who, with two working class comrades, experiences the horrors of trench warfare. Gilbert declared: "No love has ever enthralled me as did the making of this picture...All that has followed is balderdash."

The following year, Vidor reunited Gilbert with two of his co-stars from that picture, Renée Adorée and Karl Dane, for the film La Bohème (1926) which also starred Lillian Gish. He then did another with Vidor, Bardelys the Magnificent (1926).

In 1926, Gilbert made Flesh and the Devil (1926), his first film with Greta Garbo. Gilbert first encountered Garbo on the set during filming of the railway station scene, and the chemistry between the two was evidently instantaneous. Director Clarence Brown remarked approvingly that he "had a love affair going for me that you couldn’t beat, any way you tried." Garbo and Gilbert soon began a highly publicized romance, much to the delight of their fans and to MGM.

He made The Show (1927) with Adoree for Tod Browning then did Twelve Miles Out (1927) with Joan Crawford and Man, Woman and Sin (1927) with Jeanne Eagels.

Gilbert was reunited with Garbo in a modern adaptation of Tolstoy's 19th-century novel, Anna Karenina. The title was changed to Love (1927) to capitalize on the real life love affair of the stars and advertised by MGM as "Garbo and Gilbert in Love."

Gilbert made The Cossacks (1928) with Adoree; Four Walls (1928) with Crawford; Show People (1928) with Marion Davies for Vidor, in which Gilbert only had a cameo; and The Masks of the Devil (1928) for Victor Sjöström.

Though officially directed by Edmund Goulding, Gilbert, though uncredited, was responsible for directing the love scenes involving Garbo. He was perhaps the only person in the industry whose "artistic judgment" she fully respected. As such, MGM approved of this arrangement.

Gilbert and Garbo were teamed for a third time in A Woman of Affairs (1928). His last silent film was Desert Nights (1929).

With the coming of sound, Gilbert's vocal talents made a good first impression, though the studio had failed to conduct a voice test. The conventional wisdom of the day dictated that actors in the new talkies should emulate "correct stage diction". Gilbert's strict adherence to this method produced an affected delivery that made audiences giggle, and not due to any particularity in Gilbert's natural speech. Indeed, the "quality of his voice compared well with that of co-star Conrad Nagel, regarded as having one of the best voices for sound."

Gilbert signed an immensely lucrative multi-picture contract with MGM in 1928 that totaled $1,500,000. The terms of the agreement positioned MGM executives Irving Thalberg and Nicholas Schenck, both sympathetic to the star, to supervise his career. Gilbert, however, frequently clashed with studio head Louis B. Mayer over creative, social and financial matters. A confrontation between the two men, one that became physical, occurred at the planned double-wedding of Garbo and Gilbert and director King Vidor and actress Eleanor Boardman. Mayer reportedly made a crude remark to Gilbert about Garbo, and Gilbert reacted by knocking Mayer to the floor with his fist.[24] While this story has been disputed or dismissed as hearsay by some historians, Vidor's bride Eleanor Boardman insisted that she actually witnessed the altercation.

In the all-star musical comedy The Hollywood Revue of 1929 (1929), Gilbert and Norma Shearer played the balcony scene from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, first as written, then followed with a slang rendition of the scene. The comic effect served to "dispell the bad impression" produced by Gilbert's original "mincing" delivery.

Audiences awaited further romantic roles from Gilbert on the talking screen. The next vehicle was the Ruritanian romance His Glorious Night (1929), directed by Lionel Barrymore. According to reviewers, audiences laughed nervously at Gilbert's performance. The offense was not Gilbert's voice, but the awkward scenario along with the overly ardent love scenes. In one, Gilbert keeps kissing his leading lady, (Catherine Dale Owen), while saying "I love you" over and over again. (The scene was parodied in the MGM musical Singin' in the Rain (1952) in which a preview of the fictional The Dueling Cavalier flops disastrously.)

Director King Vidor speculated that the late Rudolph Valentino, Gilbert's main rival for romantic leads in the silent era, probably would have suffered the same fate in the talkie era had he lived. Gilbert's inept phrasing, his "dreadful enunciation" and the "inane" script as the genuine sources of his poor performance, that drew "titters" from audiences.

The persistent myth that John Gilbert had a "squeaky voice" that doomed his career in sound films first emerged from his performance in 1929 with His Glorious Night. It was even rumored that Louis B. Mayer ordered Gilbert's voice to be gelded by manipulating the sound track to give it a higher, less masculine pitch. Later, after analyzing the film's sound track, British film historian Kevin Brownlow found that the timbre and frequency of Gilbert's speaking scenes in His Glorious Night were no different than in his subsequent talkies. Brownlow also reported from that analysis that Gilbert's voice, overall, was "quite low". With regard to the alleged manipulation of Gilbert's footage by Mayer or by anyone else, television technicians in the 1960s determined that the actor's voice was consistent with those of other performers on the same print, casting doubt that any targeted "sabotaging" of Gilbert's voice occurred.

Film critic John Baxter described Gilbert as having "a light speaking voice", a minor defect that both MGM and the star "magnified into an obsession." Despite any conflicting opinions or myths surrounding the actor's voice, Mayer's lingering resentment and hostility toward Gilbert remained apparent, especially after MGM's star signed a new contract for six pictures at $250,000 each. Those ill feelings fueled additional speculation that Mayer deliberately assigned Gilbert bad scripts and ineffective directors in an effort to void the contract.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cast Gilbert in a film adaption of The Living Corpse by Tolstoy re-titled as Redemption (1929). The bleak atmosphere and maudlin dialogue presaged the disaster looming in the stars’ personal life and career. Gilbert's confident screen presence had vanished, while his use of the exaggerated stage diction that elicited laughs from the audience persisted. In one scene Gilbert declares ominously "I’m going to kill myself to let the whole world know what it has lost."[34]

MGM put him in a more rugged film, Way for a Sailor (1930) with Wallace Beery. He followed it with Gentleman's Fate (1931). Gilbert became increasingly depressed by progressively inferior films and idle stretches between productions. Despite efforts by studio executives at MGM to cancel his contract, Gilbert resolved to thwart Louis B. Mayer and see the six-picture ordeal through to the end.

Gilbert's fortunes were temporarily restored when MGM's production chief Irving Thalberg gave him two projects that were character studies, giving Gilbert an excellent showcase for his versatility. The Phantom of Paris (1931), originally intended for Lon Chaney (who died from cancer in 1930), cast Gilbert as a debonair magician and showman who is falsely accused of murder and uses his mastery of disguise to unmask the real killer.

Downstairs (1932) was based on Gilbert's original story, with the actor playing against type as a scheming, blackmailing chauffeur. The films were well received by critics and fans but failed to revive his career. In between, he appeared in West of Broadway (1931). Shortly after making Downstairs, he married co-star Virginia Bruce; the couple divorced in 1934.

Gilbert fulfilled his contract with MGM with a perfunctory "B" picture – Fast Workers (1933) directed by Browning. He left the studio in 1933, terminating his $10,000 a week contract.

Exhausted and demoralized by his humiliations at MGM and his declining success at the box office, Gilbert began to drink heavily, contributing to his declining physical and mental health.

Gilbert announced his retirement from acting and was working at Fox as an "honorary" director when, in August 1933, Gilbert announced he had signed a seven-year contract with MGM at $75–100,000 a picture. The reason was Greta Garbo insisted that Gilbert return to MGM to play her leading man in Queen Christina (1933), directed by Rouben Mamoulian. Garbo was top-billed, with Gilbert's name beneath the title. Queen Christina, though a critical success, did not revive Gilbert's poor self-image or his career. Garbo was reported to have dropped the young Laurence Olivier scheduled to play the part, but director Rouben Mamoulian recalled that Olivier's screen tests had already eliminated him from consideration.

Columbia Pictures gave Gilbert what would be his final chance for a comeback in The Captain Hates the Sea (1934) in which he gave a capable performance as "a dissipated, bitter [and] cynical" playwright. But the off-screen cast of heavy drinkers encouraged his alcoholism. It was his last film.

Biographer Kevin Brownlow's eulogy to John Gilbert considers the destruction of both the man and his career:

"The career of John Gilbert indicates that the star, and the person playing the star, were regarded by producers as separate entities, subject to totally different attitudes. Gilbert, as an ordinary human being, had no legal right to the stardom that was the sole property of the studio. When Gilbert, as an employee, tried to seize control of the future of Gilbert the star, the studios decided to save their investment from falling into the hands of rivals, [so] they had to wreck their property. Other properties – books, films, sets – could be destroyed with impunity. But the destruction of a star carried with it the destruction of a person…it seems somewhat abhorrent that it took such tragedies as that of John Gilbert to bring us our entertainment."

Gilbert was married four times. His first marriage, on August 26, 1918, was to Olivia Burwell, a native of Mississippi whom Gilbert had met after her family moved to California. They separated the following year and Burwell returned to Mississippi for a while. She filed for divorce in Los Angeles in 1921.

In February 1921, Gilbert announced his engagement to actress Leatrice Joy. They married in Tijuana in November 1921.[44] As Gilbert had failed to secure a divorce from his first wife and the legality of Gilbert and Joy's Mexican marriage was questionable, the couple separated and had the marriage annulled to avoid a scandal. They remarried on March 3, 1922. The marriage was tumultuous and, in June 1923, Joy filed for legal separation after she claimed that Gilbert slapped her face after a night of heavy drinking. They reconciled several months later. In August 1924, Joy, who was pregnant with the couple's daughter, filed for divorce. Joy later said she left Gilbert after discovering he was having an affair with actress Laurette Taylor.[47] Joy also claimed that Gilbert had conducted affairs with Barbara La Marr (with whom he had a romance before his marriage to Joy), Lila Lee and Bebe Daniels. Gilbert and Joy had a daughter, Leatrice Gilbert (later Fountain; 4 September 1924 – 20 January 2015). Joy was granted a divorce in May 1925.

In 1929, Gilbert eloped with actress Ina Claire to Las Vegas. They separated in February 1931 and divorced six months later. Gilbert's fourth and final marriage was on August 10, 1932, to actress Virginia Bruce, who had recently costarred with him on the MGM film Downstairs. The entertainment trade paper The Film Daily reported that their "quick" wedding was held in Gilbert's dressing room on the MGM lot while Bruce was working on another studio production, Kongo. Among the people attending the small ceremony were the head of MGM production Irving Thalberg, who served as Gilbert's best man; screenwriter Donald Ogden Stewart, whose wife Beatrice acted as Bruce's matron of honor; MGM art director and set designer Cedric Gibbons; and his wife, actress Dolores del Río. Bruce retired briefly from acting following the birth of their daughter Susan Ann; however, she resumed her career after her divorce from Gilbert in May 1934.

Before his death, Gilbert dated actress Marlene Dietrich as well as Greta Garbo. When he died, he had recently been slated to play a prominent supporting role in Dietrich's film Desire.

By 1934, alcoholism had severely damaged Gilbert's health. He suffered a serious heart attack in December 1935, which left him in poor health. Gilbert suffered a second heart attack at his Bel Air home on January 9, 1936, which was fatal.

A private funeral was held on January 11 at the B.E. Mortuary in Beverly Hills. Among the mourners were Gilbert's two ex-wives, Leatrice Joy and Virginia Bruce, his two daughters, and stars Marlene Dietrich, Gary Cooper, Myrna Loy, and Raquel Torres.

Gilbert was cremated and his ashes were interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale in Glendale, California.

Gilbert left the bulk of his estate, valued at $363,494 (equivalent to $6.7 million in 2019), to his last ex-wife Virginia Bruce and their daughter, Susan Ann. He left $10,000 to his eldest daughter Leatrice, and other amounts to friends, relatives and his servants.

For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Gilbert has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1755 Vine Street. In 1994, he was honored with his image on a United States postage stamp designed by caricaturist Al Hirschfeld.

[hecohansen31]

Godamn, Man Child

First Part of The ‘Madge & Jade’ Series

Arthur Shelby x Madge Lionkel (OC) 

Prologue: Your Head In Your Hands

(A/N): Hello there, lovelies!

I know that I said I wouldn’t ever post series on there, but on my new blog I felt like this might not have had the exposure it would have had on this (even more because this is a first chapter) so I decided to post it on here.

This is my first ever work for this fandom, so if you could give off some encouragement to me, I'd love it and it'd certainly make me want more of this series (it is my for ever OC insert instead of Reader so I am a bit unsure about this).

So, please, if you want more, don’t forget to leave some kind of feedback I truly apprecciate it from the bottom of my heart and it’ll truly make my heart beat stronger and my fingers write faster!

Have a lovely reading!

SUMMARY: The return from the war wasn't difficult solely for soldiers.

But also for who they had left behind.

And who stayed.

Madge is a daughter to a soldier and a sister to a dead brother, left wiht nothing more than her intellect.

The one thing that might get her involved with everything she had sworn to avoid.

And even worse... she might just learn to like that new world.

WORDS: 5,3 K

WARNINGS: Poverty, Famine, Mentions of Death-War, Violence, Non-Following Canon.

Madge walked with a few things in her hand, in the new apartment she had found, after she had been evicted in the house she had inhabited her whole life.

She had chosen to move there, after she had sold every piece of furniture she owned previously in the house she had grown into, since they were all her latest properties, after her family had slowly disappeared through famine, sickness and war.

Three of the four horsemen of Apocalypse, Death herself being the sole one she hadn’t meant yet, although she saw it on the face of her beloved parents and brother, consummating themselves through a slow agony that had brought them underground too early.

And had left her alone.

Without a penny to her name.

She hadn’t grown up with all the money in the world.

Living in Small Heath after all had never been synonym of richness, but her father had had some business trades in London and it had been enough to give him some kind of respect and fame among people and between his children.

But when the war had stopped the trades and her father had been sent to war, they hadn’t much and meanwhile her mother gave her children all the food she owned, she had starved herself in a slow death and when the Spanish flu had started being a guest in their house, Madge had been the only one that had been able to see her departure.

She cursed Luck each time she looked at herself in the mirror.

The new house or better apartment, since it was in a smelly complex in a part of town that wasn’t either trafficked or at ‘big’ risk (as if small or medium risk weren’t still dangerous), hadn’t a big price monthly because was actually managed by a religious association, which meant that the owner tended to be more lenient, having immediately noticed that the trembling girl in front of her didn’t have much hope in her eyes anymore.

But she hadn’t certainly been truthful when she had explained that she would have the apartment all to herself, because as she moved in the small place, it looked half-filled with different things that belonged to somebody that wasn’t hers.

She thought that it might have been something that the previous owners had left behind.

And then as Madge had walked in what would have been her room, she found a girl on one of the two mattresses laid on the floor.

A green-eyed elegant girl, dressed in a nurse uniform, lacking solely of the thighs and of the hat.

Madge had seen quite the number of nurses when her father had come back from war, his wounds making him unable to do anything and eventually smothering him with a pillow had been a mercy that still weighted to Madge’s name.

The only good thing in her whole life that kept here on that side was Gabriel, her fiancé, who had promised to support her through thick and thin, choosing to try out going to London to a relative that might have him put in some kind of business he didn’t want to talk with her, since jobs for a person like him were scares.

‘When I’ll have the money for an house, we’ll be together again, my love’ he had said when they had last spoke after he had kissed her hands, a promise in his light eyes, of a beauty that had always made the shy and small Madge wonder why he had chosen her.

But, back then, she had just nodded.

And she had soon thought that she could have found some kind of job for herself, at Small Heath, to help Gabriel reach their goal faster, not wanting to weight on his family, although he himself had suggest that she just moved in his old house.

But Madge knew that to his family she would have been nothing more than another mouth to feed.

So, she had sold everything and now she was in her new apartment.

Or so she had thought.

‘… I am sorry… I must have been… I must have walked in the wrong apartment…’ the girl raised her beautiful green eyes at her, the shade was much more mellow than normal, having a darker tone that seemed the bottom of a broken bottle.

They were laced with apathy, as if the woman truly didn’t care about what would have happened and Madge thought for a moment that this woman, dressed as a nurse might as well be some kind of criminal or some crazed woman, who the war had destroyed in every conceivable way.

‘I don’t think so’ commented the woman, as she moved in a sat position, meanwhile Madge stood painfully uncomfortable in the small entrance of what was supposed to be her own room, but now seemed almost a small laugh at her face ‘… you must be Madge, my roommate’.

Roommate?

No, she had rented the apartment for her own.

The owner of the complex hadn’t talked about that in he slightest and she had barely mentioned any other person interested in the apartment since it reeked of piss and it looked as stable as the small stack of book in her box.

The few ones she hadn’t throw in her chimney to warm up her and her family when wood had been too expensive.

‘… ahem… I do think that there was some kind of… mistake’ Madge tried to do her best to appear calm and polite, not knowing who this woman truly was and wondering whether she was in some kind of danger, the hair on her arms standing tall, which was something that she always thought as an omen.

She never knew whether it was good or bad.

She just knew that the last time it had happened, her brother had died, meanwhile she sold some of her family jewels for food.

‘No mistake, sweetheart’ although her eyes spoke of apathy, there was a tint of sarcasm in the nickname the woman gave her, but it wasn’t mean-spirited ‘… Mrs. Carlin actually chose to rent the apartment to two ladies, since it’ll make her double the gain’.

Which was quite smart, since the woman had to donate half of the income from the complex to the Church, and had she been able to make two girls spit the room, she would have doubled her income, which came in quite handy in these hard times.

But had Madge known about it, she would have tried to get her to lower the price, mostly because it wasn’t fair for her to pay for a full apartment whereas she would have used half of it, making her space even smaller than it already was.

And most importantly she would have to share it with a stranger.

Whoever this woman was, certainly didn’t seem the worst company she had ever been in, but having grown up in a distinct neighborhood, constantly tutored in literature and ‘good manners’ she couldn’t help but feel somehow uncomfortable at the thought of not having any other choice.

She hadn’t paid Mrs. Carlin her own share, yet, so she could have turned around and kept on living in Gabriel’s house with raised eyes every time she ate and stayed at home, searching desperately for a job she couldn’t find.

But at the same time, she knew that staying in the past wasn’t a choice.

‘… she screwed us both, if it helps’ commented the beautiful woman, as she moved to finally raise up, coming close to her and towering over her since Madge was barely able to reach a normal height, meanwhile this woman looked like quite the giant for her ‘… I am Jade, by the way, roommate’.

And she offered her an hand, calloused and slightly scratched, but her fingers were elegant and nimble in Madge’s small ones, cursed and yet so thin that you could see the profile of the bones, her own chest and torso looking like that, in a way that was an omen in itself.

That’s why she needed this apartment.

This way she would have had the set up to start searching for a job on her own, to make her own money and be able to eat up properly, alongside supporting her own small growing family.

So, she accepted Jade’s hand.

A month had passed, and her first rent was due in a few days.

She had the money, but had she used it to pay for her rent she wouldn’t have the money for anything else.

And she would have either been forced to go back in Gabriel’s house or starve.

Either solutions seemed quite horrid in her mind.

She had learned through her whole experience, meanwhile she was in search for a job, that she was as proud as her mother had been back then, begging her father to bring them with him to London, to have a nicer life than the one they had in Birmingham.

But Madge’s father had always been a sentimental man and he had grown in Small Heath, although he had wanted his children to move as far away as possible, wanting them to reach out for success, something which he had ensured, through expensive tutors and even more importantly his own suggestions, he had raised them in the same city he had been born.

He kept on repeating that to them after he had come back from the war, in an horrible way that seemed more a taunting that a true suggestion and now, with each day closer to her demise, she found herself hearing his voice again in an horrid lullaby that left her eyes open each night.

At first, she had refused any jobs as a maid or as a normal cleaner, since she had quite the ‘important’ skills, but the truth was that she had never raised an arm for any cleaning.

Although she knew the theory of it, she was afraid of not being of much help as a maid.

But now, when she was thoroughly desperate, she had tried reaching out to any job that was legal, just to hear ‘we aren’t interested’ or ‘we don’t need anyone like you’, which sounded almost as insult and she was growing damnably frustrated.

Before the war she had been studying to become a teacher, but she had never been able to go to a private school to get her own license or such, so she couldn’t even try to send some kind of applications to private ladies schools, something that would have implied her finally moving away from Small Heath.

And as her father had been a stubborn emotional bull, she knew that this city held the last memory of them.

Gabriel had suggested that she came with him to London, although he had also insisted that she’d have to have her own means to survive since his relative wouldn’t help and provide for them both, and she had denied, maybe postponing to when she got a few pounds saved for the occasion…

… but the truth was that no matter how grimey the entire place was she thoroughly was part of this.

And she couldn’t deny it.

Jobs seemed as scarce as the food she could grab for herself.

There were other means to gain money, which weren’t properly legal, something that she had always been prohibited to herself, before.

But now she didn’t have much choice.

She had watched the newspaper and heard rumors about horse races.

Betting seemed the only way she would have gotten some money.

But it’d have meant selling her own last founds for something that might turn out to be a true failure, and meanwhile she did all of this, Jade had caught alongside her thoughts.

She had grown close enough to the tall nurse, although she doubted that anything would have changed from the stranger status they both had started this journey in, since Madge had her own reason not to want a deeper relationship with her, and Jade seemed a mystery that didn’t have any solution.

She didn’t speak a lot and most of the time she wasn’t at home, since she had long turns at the ambulatory, but Madge had also noticed that she also had some kind of secondary job, mostly at night, which made her come home with a bloodied uniform and money that reeked of dirt.

But as she had learned to satisfy herself with jobs that she had always though as ‘lower’, she knew not to ask Jade questions she didn’t want to hear the answer to.

Had she had a chance she would have done the same.

She could have started selling her body, it would have made her gain a steady income, but not only she would have been under somebody’s control, but the sole thought of the act in itself filled her body with a terrible feeling, not for the fact that she had always been taught how horrible and desperate such an act was, but the act itself, it just… it just made her feel violated.

But horse races were equally dangerous.

Her father had warned about them, telling her that the only people who won were the ones behind it, not the one who did the bets.

Poor people could only become poorer.

And yet, she wasn’t solely poor, but she was truly desperate.

When Jade had seen and probably noticed her decision about this, she had talked through it with her, something that she had to admit the nurse had handled quite well, since had it been everyone apart from her, it would have made Madge reply annoyedly, because she might have perceived it as an invasion of her own privacy.

She had definitely inherited the stubbornness from her father and the proudness from her mother.

Which made a lethal mix.

‘Are you considering betting something at the horse races in the Shelby’s shop?’ she had seemed completely disinterested about it all, as if she had just asked about the weather outside, meanwhile she ate a small toast she had filled with butter and marmalade, something that had made Madge’s mouth water immediately.

She didn’t remember the last time she had eaten marmalade.

And although she knew that she only needed to ask for Jade for one for herself, since the nurse had many times offered her some food, she felt like not only it would have meant stepping on some kind of unwritten boundary, but she was also damnably too proud to beg others for food.

She swore pride would be her downfall.

‘.. maybe’ she had bitten on her own mouth to calm her hunger.

To keep it inside.

‘… it is a quick way to make money’.

Her words tasted of foolishness and she knew it.

Even more under Jade’s emotionless stare.

She was barely a few years older than her, but her eyes spoke of being much older.

An old soul, Madge would have dubbed her this way, for sure.

Some kind of ancient poet, she loved reading about, and yet nothing about Jade was poetic, she was analytical and logical and although her roommate knew that she was able to random acts of kindness, Madge wouldn’t have been sure about her having truly a soul.

She just seemed so at lack of taste for life.

‘If you need a job, I might ask out for you’ her proposal was dangerously lined with interest ‘… I saw that you had a few books about ‘teaching’ and ‘children’, maybe I could ask around to the clients at the ambulatory if they have a need of a maid for their children…’.

Which would have been downright impossible, since in hard times the last thing people thought about was for sure the education of their children.

‘… I am not picky with jobs’ Madge said calmly ‘… still I have to admit that I wouldn’t make a proper nurse…’.

A calm smile appeared on Jade’s face, almost as if she was having her own fun.

‘… not many that work with me are proper nurses’ there was almost bitterness to her tone, mixed with sarcasm ‘… but I do imagine that you don’t like working with blood’.

Madge nodded vigorously.

She had seen too much blood, in the latest years.

‘If it doesn’t bother you…’ muttered softly Madge, not knowing truly what it might have brought her in, but Jade nodded her head as if Madge hadn’t just pushed her last hopes on her,

As if she had simply asked her a favor.

As if they were friends.

The war had taken many of her fellow friends and many didn’t associate with her anymore after her family’s downfall, leaving her alone when she needed it the most and still now she felt like it was the greatest of betrayals.

But at the same time, it hadn’t been all their fault.

She had been too damnably stubborn to ask out for their help.

So, it tasted bittersweet to rely on Jade.

The woman shot a quick look at her wrist-watch a small thing in leather that she always checked, as if it rhythmically marched her day down to the ‘t’.

‘… I’ll go, now, gotta open the ambulatory today’ she commented, as she stuffed the rest of the toast in her mouth, leaving one that was buttered and full of marmalade in her plate, something which was the only kindness that Jade did to the prideful Madge that she accepted.

She left behind her a toast she knew she wouldn’t eat, so that Madge would eat something that was more than tea for breakfast, as a secret agreement between each other, because Jade had soon learned that any word might offend Madge’s frail pride.

So, she would always cook a toast that she wouldn’t eat and leave it to her roommate.

Madge ate it in a few bites, as if it helped lessen the shame she felt for that charity.

When Jade had told her that she had found her a job as a tutor for a private household, she had rejoiced.

But now faced with the Shelby’s shops backside entry, she couldn’t help but feel nauseous at the thought of what Jade might have found for her, even scared about what ‘job’ might be hiding under the pretense of tutoring.

Had Jade seriously thought that she was truly that desperate?

And how the heck had Jade managed to find her a job at the Shelby’s betting shop?

Although it now made sense why Jade would come back at such terrible hours with blood on her hands.

If she worked on the side for the Shelby’s when she didn’t have turns at the ambulatory, she undoubtedly gained quite the money, doing something that was unbearably dangerous and for a moment Madge was terribly worried of getting involved in their own’s business.

She didn’t know them personally, and neither she had ever had the occasion to.

Her father’s business trades mostly involved London, hence they didn’t ask him his monthly fee for protection and her mother had made sure to put both her and her brother through private tutoring to avoid them mingling with the ‘wrong crowd’ in public school.

But she knew what they did.

They were some kind of gangsters.

After they had returned from war, they had set up their own true mission and now they were escalating powers through the various gangs of Birmingham, certainly having quite the control over Small Heath.

But to them poor and invisible people like Madge, didn’t matter.

And she had done her good amount of work to avoid being noticed.

And now she was walking straight through in the lion’s den.

And before she could rethink all of this, the door was opened, probably since she had been noticed through the window, standing in front of the house like a complete idiot, and then a beautiful woman came face to face with her.

She must have had the same age of her mother, but whereas her mother showed her age gracefully, in the body of this woman there was no time for aging, in an elegant assemble of clothes that made her appear younger, but not in any way vulgar.

Her clothes were classical, maybe a bit old-fashioned but in no way outdated, giving the woman an immediate aura of control and leadership, even before she ushered in Madge, with a quick look and a gesture of her hand.

And then uttered:

‘Oh, sweet girl, don’t stand outside of the door! Come inside! Come on!”.

Well, at least these criminals had manners.

‘You must be Mary’ commented the woman and Madge almost felt an horrible feeling at correcting her with a quick “It’s actually Madge” ‘… oh please do excuse me, lovely, you just had the face of a Mary’.

Everybody would have looked crazed saying that, but the woman said it with such a self-assurance that made her almost stand on her feet, as the woman quickly dragged Madge inside, and she kept her head low, almost something to use as an excuse if she ever was questioned about not seeing something.

‘I am Polly’ the woman said, as Madge’s eyes sent her an immediate confused look, which she deciphered quickly ‘… no need for any Mrs. or such, Madge, or you’ll make me feel old’.

That was the last thing Madge wanted, for sure.

They came to a halt to a room that might have looked like any common dining room she might have ever been in.

The flowery wallpaper looked old, in some part coming undone, as if also the most-well known gangsters of Small Heath had their own financial problems, something that made Madge smirk lightly as she sat down next to the woman, after she had been invited to.

‘Might I offer you a cup of tea, little one…’ she looked almost as if she was trying to busy herself, feeling too active to sat herself down, something which she looked quite used to, making Madge smirk at the memory of her own mother, being a little fretting beastie ‘… or you might prefer whiskey?’.

‘Just water would be perfect’ she didn’t want to sound needy or even talking out of place, but her tongue stuck painfully to the upper part of her palate, something that made her talk numbly.

‘You aren’t one for expensive tastes’ commented the woman, a serious smirk over her face, although it kept itself to a sarcastic amusement, that made Madge gulp loudly once she turned to bring her a glass of water, pouring herself one of an amber liquid she didn’t question ‘… or maybe you are too afraid to speak up’.

The last part cut her deep and she raised her face with cheeks burning of rage, but she held her tongue, knowing that she wasn’t risking solely a nice job, but also her life.

Thankfully, the woman moved quickly to push herself away from that topic, almost as if she hadn’t said it.

‘… the job is easy: my nephew, the youngest, Finn has been slacking off more and more at school, something that I won’t allow, because as much as his brothers were allowed to leave school early for war, he isn’t and I’d like to see one my boys with an instruction at least’.

She adjusted elegantly her dress, since the quick words she had spit out had somehow compromised the way she looked, although she seemed as collected as she had been before.

She had been through a cyclone and she had come back from it, winning.

Hadn’t Madge feared her already, she would have admired her, truly.

‘… you’ll be required to help him through math, literature, geometry and any other subjects that might be difficult for him’ explained the woman, as she knocked back in a sole gulp the whole glass of amber liquid, as the glass water laid untouched in front of Madge ‘… Jade told me that you were studying to become a teacher so it’ll be easy for you, although I do have to warn you…’.

And before she could finish the phrase, which had been almost a bad omen in itself, a fury of black and as tall as her (which meant pretty short) appeared in the room, another man in his tail, his elegant suit, identifying him as another of the Blinders and again Madge’s eyes were pasted to the table and the full glass of water.

But soon all her attention was caught by the little child that had walked in, decked in a full suit with a Blinder’s hat, making her half smirk at the irony of the situation, meanwhile the child looked at you with annoyed eyes, definitely not looking forward to her being his teacher.

‘… my nephew can be quite… active’ commented annoyedly the woman, as she moved to deck the boy in the back of his head, sending another to the other male that had accompanied him, making him yelp and Madge, caught by that anguished sound, raised her eyes for the first time, meeting the ones of the man.

They were small and yet so open that she found herself completely immersed in them, of a light grey tinted with green, in a way that made them shadowed and yet offering themselves to Madge, making her shiver as they answered her gaze, before they fell down.

Almost shy.

She wouldn’t have ever thought that a Peaky Blinders would have been shy of a woman.

But she had been told that although her eyes were common they reeked of something powerful and old and many times her younger brother would call her Athena, since she resembled her and one time she had even played her in a family play.

‘Arthur don’t you have some business to run?!’ Polly looked definitely looking forward to have him away and Madge couldn’t help but agree, as much as he had been intimidated by her staring competition, she certainly didn’t feel at ease with the knowledge of having a killer like that near her.

His hands were as dirty as the mud under her shoes.

But hadn’t she also killed?

Although it had been a merciful act…

… but did it seriously matter?

‘Yeah yeah, Pol’ he commented, but Madge felt him push last a gaze onto her as he left the room, and she had to will herself to avoid looking at those beautiful and slightly hooded eyes, pushing her nails in her palms almost as a punishment ‘… Finn, fucking behave’.

Another slap was heard and Madge wasn’t able to stop herself from smirking lightly.

‘… Finn this is Miss Lionkel, your teacher’ commented softly the woman, trying to usher the child closer, although he looked like he had planted his soles on the ground and she couldn’t help but smirk softly ‘… I do hope that you’ll get along and learn something from her’.

‘I don’t fucking want to’.

She had to admit that in that family they were all used to curse.

And as soon as he had uttered those words, Pol pushed a small slap on the boy’s face, who much to his courage didn’t flinch but looked like he could relatively cry at any time and Madge couldn’t help but remember a similar scene.

Her own brother had never liked in the slightest learning and her mother had always had to plead desperately with him.

‘… Finn, right?’ she called out to him, only gaining a disdainful reply ‘… well, we aren’t going to learn nothing today, but we’ll count money…’.

And she slowly grabbed her small pouch with he few money she needed for a her daily errands around the city, Pol looking at her carefully, almost as Finn did, ready to be tricked, but as she started naming the numbers, making willing mistakes, the child exasperatedly, took them away from her, starting to count them on his own.

She softly corrected him each time he chose a wrong number, but quickly Finn seemed to have relaxed himself something that was quite helpful for when she moved onto teaching him some new math, under Pol’s attentive glance, the woman eventually leaving to start what looked like dinner, but Madge felt her eyes glued to her.

Eventually Finn didn’t seem that annoyed with her anymore and although he certainly lacked some basilar knowledges, he was smart and fast and she didn’t have to anger herself much more, knowing quite the trick to make the boy learn.

At the end of the turn, before it could become truly dark outside, Polly stopped their lesson and moved to accompany her outside, keeping the same route, which meant that she wanted t keep this separate from ‘the business’ she had talked with Arthut, and at the door, before Madge could mumble a ‘hello’, Pol cornered quickly.

‘… I do think that you know what goes on in this house’ it seemed almost a threat in itself ’… Jade trusts you and she is the one that recommended you so I do trust her, and you haven’t given me any chance to think otherwise. You are smart and you do seem to make Finn study, but in this house, we don’t appreciate people sticking their noses where it isn’t proper, do remember this’.

This was instead a straight up threat.

‘… I won’t’ Madge commented, wondering what the heck she had put herself in.

When she was finally back at home, Jade joined her a few minutes after, and she could tell that she had just been back from the ambulatory.

Whenever she came back from the ambulatory there was always some kind of tension in her shoulder, a cold anger in her eyes, and Madge had soon learned to recognize it and strangely she was mirroring her stance that night.

She hadn’t been able to calm herself since she had come back from the Shelby’s shop, and she had been going up and down in the small dining area the apartment had.

The money Pol had given her were enough to cover the rent and some more but they hang heavily in her pockets, burning an hole in them.

And she hadn’t taken them out.

For a moment, when she had been on the road she had thought of turning back and give them back to Pol, assuring that she’d never visit the house and wouldn’t say anything in the whole world of what she had seen.

But then some kind of survival instinct had gotten to her and she had thought that she deserved those money for simply having moved herself in that house.

Her mother would have frowned upon it.

But she was poor.

And she didn’t have a mother, anymore.

But still her words were bitter towards Jade, when they came face to face.

“… what is your business with the Shelby?” her voice was inevitably screeching “… they are damnably dangerous!”.

And much to her advantage, Jade didn’t appear surprised in the slightest by Madge’s insulting affirmation as if Madge had just asked the weather outside, again.

And Madge honestly thought that nothing could surprise the trained nurse.

“… they aren’t anymore dangerous than some men that wear uniforms, believe me” and she pushed down her bag onto the small coat hanger Madge had brought, where her scratched and patched up coat was set up already.

She might have bought another one with the money in her pockets.

“… but I am sorry if the job wasn’t what you expected” Jade’s voice was like the calm water that dug a hole in a rock “… feel free to reject it, Pol won’t say anything to the brothers, don’t worry, there won’t be any repercussions”.

That’s all Madge had been thinking since she had come back.

Give back the money, refuse the job and try another.

It would have been the way she would have gone before the war.

But now the loss she had suffered hanged heavily on her had and made her greedy and desperate.

“I just…” ‘I just don’t want people to think I am some kind of horrible woman’ “… don’t want my fucking brains to be blown off”.

And strangely both she and Jade found themselves laughing at that affirmation, an evident smirk on both their faces, as they took each other’s faces in.

But she knew that there was much more behind their laughs.

Their destinies were now intertwined.

---

Liked What You Read? Want To Support Me? Buy Me A Ko-Fi!

---

Everything Taglist:

(if you want to be added to any other taglist just send me an ask or a DM, telling me for which character you want to be tagged in and if you prefer fic or asks, or both!).

@guiltyfiend​