#but it Is important/funny to me since the whole thing there is Cloak Related and there will be significant manta rays later

[chiropteracupola]

Nuestra señora.

[grailfinders]

Fate and Phantasms #40: Hassan of the Cursed Arm

Today on Fate and Phantasms, we’re building one of the old men of the mountain and king of “he’s a really nice guy despite every aspect of his appearance”, Hassan of the Cursed Arm. Surprisingly, Hassan is not a rogue, but a monk/warlock mix thanks to the titular arm. 

Originally, this build gave you a weapon with reach to act as your cursed arm, but that puts a lot of strain on a character that already needs multiple stats to work properly. I still think slapping someone from across the room is funny though, so I’m including both the original and variant build in the spreadsheet. I’ll also bring up the differences in the level-by-level breakdown below the cut when they come up.

(EDIT: This one required a bit of fixing up, but I’m too lazy to completely rewrite everything. This has less to do with Tasha’s and more to do with me suddenly remembering whips exist and don’t have the Special tag. Just focus on dexterity, and you’re good.)

Race and Background

Despite his looks, Hassan is a Human, giving him +1 to all abilities. He’s also an Acolyte, a much nicer and less accurate title than his real one “Cult Leader”. This gives him proficiency with Insight and Religion. He also gets the Shelter of the Faithful feature, meaning he can perform religious rites and receive free healing and care at temples related to his god. This makes sense, considering you’re the second highest rank in the cult, and the first highest only shows up to kill you.

Stats

Your Dexterity is your best stat, you’re nimble and really good with throwing daggers. Everyone you’ve met generally agrees you’re a pretty nice guy, probably because of your high Charisma. You’re a major religious figure, so your Wisdom is pretty high. You also lead a bunch of assassins, and if you couldn’t tell when they show up to meet with you that would be pretty embarrassing. We’re not dumping Constitution, because we’re not masochists, which means our last stat is Intelligence. You learned enough to summon and forcibly amputate a demon, and that’s all the schooling you needed. Finally, dump Strength. You’re pretty wiry, but we just don’t need it for this build.

Class Levels

1. Monk 1: As a monk, you get proficiency in Acrobatics, Stealth, and Strength and Dexterity Saves. For a religious figure, you lead a pretty active lifestyle.

First level monks get Unarmored Defense, meaning your AC is equal to 10 plus your dex mod plus your wis mod. You also learn Martial Arts, letting you use your martial arts die in place of your normal damage for unarmed attacks and attacks with monk weapons, as well as use dexterity for those attacks. You can also use your bonus action to make an unarmed attack if you use your action to attack with a monk weapon.

Also important to note, your monk weapons can scale their damage with your Martial Arts, which will improve your throwing knives and cursed arm a bit.

2. Monk 2: At second level, you get a number of Ki points equal to your monk level. You regain spent ki points on short rests, and can use them to add options to your bonus action. Flurry of Blows lets you attack twice, Patient Defense lets you dodge, and Step of the Wind doubles your jump distance and lets you disengage or dash. You also get Unarmored Movement, adding 10′ to your movement when you aren’t wearing armor.

You can also make a Dedicated Weapon at the end of a short rest, turning any one weapon you choose into a monk weapon pretty much indefinitely. Spend a little quality time with your arm, get to know it.

3. Monk 3: At this level you can Deflect Missiles, reacting to reduce ranged attack damage. If the damage is reduce to 0, you can also spend 1 ki point to throw it back at an enemy. 

At this level, you also become a Way of the Shadow monk. At this level you can spend 2 ki points to cast Darkness, Darkvision, Pass without Trace, or Silence without material components. You also gain Minor Illusion as a cantrip. Smashing out the lights with some throwing daggers also works, but a lot of creatures have darkvision naturally, so you’ll need something to fall back on.

4. Warlock 1: We’ve got the Hassan, but no Cursed Arm. It’s time we fixed that. We’re not sure why the demon you tore an arm from rewarded you with supernatural powers, but we’re not complaining. At first level, fiend warlocks get the Dark One’s Blessing, meaning you gain temporary hit points equal to your charisma modifier plus your warlock level when a hostile creature is reduced to 0 HP. You also learn some Pact Magic, limited spell slots you regain on short rests. You use charisma to cast spells. At this level that includes Mage Hand because you couldn’t reach far enough as is, Eldritch Blast as a magical stand-in for all those throwing knives, Hex to curse your enemies, and Expeditious Retreat to bolster your already impressive movement skills.

5: Warlock 2: Second level warlocks learn Eldritch Invocations, little ways your patron shows you they care. You get Devil’s Sight and Agonizing Blast, which grants you darkvision even in magical darkness and extra damage for your “throwing knives”. You can also cast Sense Emotion; assassination requires manipulation as much as murder.

6. Warlock 3: At third level you get your pact boon, specifically your Pact Weapon, any melee weapon that you want, though since this is supposed to be your arm you should keep it consistent. Whips are good, use that. You can unwrap your arm as an action, and counts as magical for resistance and immunity’s sake. You can also turn other magical weapons into your pact weapon if you really want, but again, this is supposed to be your arm. I know you’re already playing fast and loose with limb ownership, but there needs to be limits.

You also learn how to make a Shadow Blade, a finesse weapon that gives you advantage in the shade.

7. Warlock 4: Use your first ASI to become a Martial Adept, giving you one d6 to use two maneuvers from the battle master list. You regain the die on short rests. Your maneuvers are Evasive Footwork, which adds 1d6 to your AC while you’re moving, and Lunging Attack, which adds 1d6 and 5′ of reach to a single attack. Congrats, you can now slap someone from fifteen feet away.

At this level you learn the spell Cloud of Daggers, letting you set up very painful traps. You also learn how to cast the cantrip Poison Spray. Poison isn’t your gimmick, but it’s important to be flexible. Being flexible also isn’t your gimmick, but... you know what I mean.

8. Warlock 5: Fifth level warlocks don’t get any more features, but they do get another invocation: Improved Pact Weapon. When attacking with your pact weapon, add 1 to the attack and damage rolls. You can also use the weapon as a spellcasting focus. Honestly this invocation is so useful you may want to swap out an invocation for it at third level.

You can also cast the spell Gaseous Form, turning a willing creature into a cloud of smoke for up to an hour. The spell’s great for infiltration and is the closest thing you’ll have to a spirit form. You aren’t truly incorporeal, though: you only resist nonmagical damage.

9. Warlock 6: You have the Dark One’s Own Luck, and can add 1d10 to an ability check or save you make once per short rest. You can also cast Spider Climb at this level so you can sneak into a building without having to become a cloud.

10. Warlock 7: You get another invocation, Ghostly Gaze. This allows you to concentrate like you would a spell and see through objects up to 30′ away. This is especially powerful given a number of spells require line of sight to be used.

Shadow of Moil is not one of those spells, though. With this spell, you don a cloak of shadows, heavily obscuring yourself and dimming the light around you. You also retaliate to being attacked with tendrils of darkness.

11. Warlock 8: Use your next ASI to round out your Wisdom and Charisma for better spell saves and AC. If you’re using the variant build, round out your Constitution and Charisma instead.

Regardless, you also learn how to Summon Greater Demon. They’re still a bit miffed about the whole “ripping off their arm” thing, so you’ll have to convince it to work for you, otherwise it will turn on your party. You’ll need someone’s blood to do it, but that’s still much better than ripping off your own arm.

12. Monk 4: There’s still a couple things we want from the monk class, so lets take a break from demon summoning for a bit. At this level, you can Slow Fall, reducing falling damage by five times your monk level. Given the amount of climbing and flying you’ve been doing, you’ll definitely want this.

You also get another ASI. Bump up your Dexterity to improve the damage you can do with your pact weapon.

13. Monk 5: Fifth level monks get an Extra Attack, letting you make two attacks in a single attack action. You also have the ability to perform a Stunning Strike, spending 1 ki point to ruin your DM’s attempts at balancing encounters. Your martial arts die also become a d6, slightly increasing your power when you’re caught without a weapon. Which is never, so it’s not that useful.

14. Monk 6: Sixth level monks get Ki-empowered Strikes, making your unarmed strikes magical, just like your arm already is. You can also move an extra 5′ per round, and learn how to Shadow Step, spending an action to teleport from one area of dim or darker light to another, so long as it’s within 60′ and you can see it. (This is one of those things that’s a lot better with Ghostly Gaze.) After teleporting, you have advantage on your next melee attack, meaning you can pop into your target’s inner sanctum, snap their neck, and then pop out with any guards none the wiser.

15. Warlock 9: Your next invocation, Otherworldly Leap, lets you cast Jump at will for free. This is another good mobility option, as well as being a vital component to Posing Dramatically In The Moonlight, a mandatory part of being an assassin.

You can also cast Infernal Calling, which is kind of like Summon Greater Demon, but you don’t have to worry about the demon betraying you if you have its talisman. I’m pretty sure its arm counts for this purpose, but that’s up to your DM.

16. Warlock 10: Tenth level fiendlocks get Fiendish Resilience, giving you resistance to damage of one type from weapons that aren’t silvered or magical. You can swap your resistance types at the end of short rests. I’d recommend bludgeoning for a proper Protection from Wind.

17. Warlock 11: At eleventh level, warlocks get their first Mystic Arcanum. Your spell slots stay at fifth level, but you get a sixth level spell you can cast once per long rest.

This level, pick up Psychic Crush from Unearthed Arcana. There isn’t a spell that lets us grab a person’s heart, so we’ll have to settle for grabbing their brain.

18. Warlock 12: At this level you get your last ASI and last invocation. Bump up your Strength (or Charisma if you’re doing the variant build) and pick up the Eldritch Spear invocation to have a lot more range on your throwing knives.

19. Warlock 13: For your seventh level Mystic Arcanum, grab Finger of Death. You should have five of these already, but this lets you deal a lot of guaranteed damage to a creature. Just try not to get the final blow with this-explaining the zombie it makes would be a headache.

20. Warlock 14: Your final level gives you the ability to Hurl (creatures) Through Hell. After hitting a creature with an attack, you can send them on a guided tour through the lower planes until the end of your next turn. When they come back, they take 10d10 psychic damage if they’re not a native of those planes. You can only use this feature once per long rest. This and Psychic Crush are about as close to your Delusional Heartbeat as we can get. Neither can cause instant death, but let’s be honest it’s not like your NP does it that often either.

Pros: You’re very good at infiltration missions. You’re very fast, and have a bevy of mobility options available to you, from flight to climbing walls to straight up teleportation. You’re also tough to hit, with multiple ways of obscuring yourself from ranged fighters. You’re also able to perform hit and run tactics without using your bonus action thanks to your arm’s range, saving your disengaging actions for something else.

Cons: You have a low constitution, meaning that the rest of your build being melee focused isn’t the best idea. This also means you have bad concentration saves, which is bad if you’ve got a buff spell on you to escape, and worse if your concentration is keeping a demon in check. Like all warlocks, you also have the issue of limited spell slots, so most of the time you’ll be relying on just your throwing knives and invocations, without much of a safety net if things go wrong. 

Your best abilities don’t have saves though, so if you stick to the shadows and avoid that guy whose arm you stole you should be fine.

Next up: MGS 3: Snake Eater

[queerofthedagger]

27 or 42 for Jegulus?

Hi nonne, thanks for the Prompt! I went with 42: “ I’m going to save you from the terrible date you’re having.” I hope you like it

On The Edge

Summary: James just wants one night to forget about running and fighting. Saving Regulus from a boring date wasn’t exactly on the list, but it turns out to be one of his better ideas, all things considered. 

Pairing: James Potter/Regulus Black; Wc: 3919;

No Warnings; AO3

James pulls the door to the Leaky Cauldron open, nodding at someone who's passing him without really taking notice. The pub is dimly lit, smoke wafting through the thick air, and his eyes need a moment to adjust to the change from the bright lights of London while he weaves his way through scattered groups of people.

It's not as crowded as it could be, and he once again mourns that all his friends already deserted him. Honestly, he expects as much from Remus, and recently it's rare to catch Peter at all, but Sirius, leaving him for an 'early night'? Unacceptable.

He's not even close to being drunk yet, tipsy at most, and he's planning to take advantage of the whole three days without work, or Order missions, or any other responsibilities in what feels like forever. Friends or no friends.

It doesn't take long for a Firewhiskey to land in his hands and after thanking the barkeeper, he turns to face the room, propping one elbow behind himself onto the bar and crossing his ankles.

He pulls a grimace at the first sip, the burning a stark difference to the cheap Muggle beer they had, but he relishes how he can feel it running down his throat.

Letting his gaze wander through the room, searching if he can’t find someone he knows and who might be more willing to forget the bloody world with him for a night, he startles when he thinks he just found Sirius.

On the second glance it's rather obvious that his friend didn’t abandon him for this – not that encountering Regulus Black here is any less strange, with a date of all things if his eyesight isn't failing him even more than usual.

She looks exactly like James would Regulus' date expect to look - pretty but not exceptionally so, long, brown hair and pristine, obviously expensive robes. Everything about her practically screams Pureblood and James snorts softly at the predictability, ignoring the thought that Regulus could do much better.

They're sitting next to each other, but it seems like she does most of the talking while Regulus merely nods along. James can only make out his profile from where he's standing, but the way Regulus’ eyes keep straying to the door and over the people around them is telling enough.

Shaking his head he turns away, noting with surprise that his glass is already empty and ordering a new one. He exchanges a few words with the barkeeper, how the business is getting worse with every day, how people barely linger anymore and, basically, how the whole war is just shit.

James agrees, wholeheartedly, but he doesn't want to think about it, wants just one night to forget about fighting and being scared and always looking over his shoulder. He thinks he should probably have stayed in Muggle London, but the whiskey is good and he doesn't feel inclined to move again. And his eyes keep straying to that one table despite his best efforts.

He downs his glass in one go and orders another, earning himself an amused look from the barkeeper – Benny, if he remembers correctly – but it’s not like he cares, like he has to justify himself to anyone, and he just wants more of that fuzziness spreading through his whole body, of the way his thinking is getting slower, of how when he moves his head quickly, the colours and faces blur together and everything is becoming more abstract, inconsequential, like there’s only him and whatever he sets his mind to – like he’s 14 again and the whole world is only waiting for him to grasp it, to form it like he wants it to be.

His eyes are drawn to Regulus once again and he wonders if it might be the same for him, if he also just wants to forget for one night, a few hours, ignoring what is happening around them. No matter which side you’re on, war is war, horrible and draining, and they’re both too young for this constant threat of death, of seeing people getting murdered, the fear of losing everyone they love; for fighting, killing, being scared.

Regulus doesn’t look like he’s enjoying himself though, quite the opposite. His shoulders are tense, fingers drumming a rhythm against the table James can’t hear over the low chatter, and even from where he stands, he can make out his expression, as if he has just bitten into a lemon. It’s the same as when they pulled pranks in Hogwarts, just lacking the amusement Regulus tried to hide back then.

Maybe it’s because James is bored, or drunk, or because of a sudden burst of sympathy or just because he always rather liked Regulus – maybe it’s a bit of everything, but it’s not like he’s still in the state of mind to question his impulses. If anyone is going to ask, he’s simply going to blame his friends for abandoning him, he thinks, before ordering two whiskeys and slowly walking over to the table.

They don’t notice him until he’s coming to a halt right in front of them and James doesn’t have a plan, just that he’s going to save Regulus from the obviously terrible date he’s having and so he grins brightly, plopping into the chair next to Regulus and throws an arm around his shoulders.

“Regulus, Merlin it’s been ages since I’ve seen you,” he says cheerfully, ignoring the way Regulus stares at him like he lost his mind. He waits for another beat before turning to the girl, who looks at him like he’s dirt under her shoe, and dims his smile down a bit. “Sorry to interrupt, didn’t look like anything important was going on here.”

They’re both still staring silently but it’s not like he expected anything else. He pointedly slides one glass over to Regulus. “Here, you looked like you could need it, cheers!” he says mirthfully, clinking his own glass against it before taking a sip and leaning back.

“Are you just going to let him treat me like that?!” the girl demands, finding her voice at last.

Regulus is looking from her to him and he pulls up his most innocent expression, the one he used for his mother and McGonagall, but before Regulus can say anything she’s already getting up.

Grabbing her cloak, she sneers at both of them and says, “Don’t bother contacting me again. You were boring anyway,” and within seconds, she’s gone.

James relishes in the way Regulus’ shoulders relax ever so slightly and watches as he takes a sip from the whiskey, the way his throat moves as he swallows, long fingers curled around the glass.

“So,” Regulus says after downing half of the glass, and James has to shake himself a bit to focus on the words. “Care to tell me what you think you’re doing?”

One of his eyebrows is raised in that slightly condescending manner James thinks has to be a family trait, but the corner of his mouth twitches and there’s some amusement dancing in his eyes, so he thinks he might not be as annoyed as he claims to be.

“Saving you, obviously,” he grins, tilting his head a bit. “You didn’t look like you were having fun and I thought you might need some, for a change.”

“Ruining a perfectly good date, that’s what you did – at least as far as my parents will be concerned,” Regulus says, but he doesn’t look too concerned.

“Yes well, your parents are many things, but fun is not one of them,” he shoots back, gesturing for the barkeeper to send them another round. “Though, I’m sorry if they bother you about it. Blame me, they should be used to that.”

Regulus laughs, and James is a bit surprised by how… nice it sounds. It’s not as barking as Sirius’, but it’s an open and carefree sound that makes him smile and feel rather accomplished.

Then Regulus smirks and says, “True enough. Or I might try telling them a joke, the urge to laugh might shock them enough that they forget about the whole thing.”

It takes a moment to process that Regulus is actually joking with him, but then he’s laughing as well, grinning brightly. He’s not sure if it’s really that funny or if he’s just drunk by now, but it doesn’t really matter. “See, that’s already more fun than you had over the last hour.”

“Watched me for a long time, did you?” Regulus asks, eyes gleaming in the flickering light from the candle, and James is most definitely not blushing. “Anyway, what’s your great plan, then?”

He takes the change of subject gratefully, gesturing to the two new glasses that just arrived. “Getting drunk is a good start, don’t you think?”  

Regulus tips his glass towards him, but then his expression sobers visibly and he looks at him with narrowed eyes. “How do I know that this is not some twisted scheme to get me drunk and question me, or some sort of ambush?”

James gapes for a second, his brain having difficulties with the sudden shift of topic before he sighs, running a hand through his hair. “First of all, I wouldn’t do this, I’m not that shrewd. And then, I honestly just want to forget the whole bloody war for one night, I want to… just not talk, not even think about it, alright?”

The time it takes until Regulus slowly nods feels way too long, but the small smile makes it worth it. “Fair enough, no talking about the war or anything related to it. We should probably get out of here though,” he muses, eyes taking in the people around them.

It’s only now that James thinks about how this might look to anyone who has an idea who they are – neither of their allegiances is a secret, and it probably wouldn’t do either of them any good to be seen with the other.

It hits him how weird this situation actually is, spending a night drinking with the enemy, with someone he might be very well fighting for life or death tomorrow, but it’s impossible to see Regulus, to see this boy he watched growing up, watched small and nervous at 11, watched him fighting with Sirius, coming back to school looking haggard and miserable – it’s impossible to hate him, fear him, to see him as a threat.

“I’m not going to the Hogshead,” he says, shoving all those thoughts as far away as possible but intent on making sure that that’s not an option.

“Don’t be stupid,” Regulus laughs, “That would be the equivalent to handing in a defection letter for me. I meant Muggle London, you dimwit.”

He’s gaping again, he knows, but honestly, that’s probably the last statement he expected to hear.

Regulus rolls his eyes but is obviously not inclined to explain himself, just getting up and nudging his shoulder.

“You can’t go into Muggle London in robes,” he says when he decides to just go with it, already pulling his wand to solve that last obstacle.

He didn’t expect the hand on his wrist, pushing it away. “There’s no way I’m letting you transfigure my clothes Potter, you’re way too drunk. Not to mention that it’s unnecessary.”

“I’m not – “ his protest dies on his tongue when Regulus shrugs off his robes, revealing a perfectly acceptable suit underneath. It looks better than should be allowed, the first two buttons of his white shirt unbuttoned and the dark blue waistcoat only showing off how… well, bloody gorgeous he is.

“That should work,” he mutters, mainly to say something and justify his staring, and then quickly turns around and grabs his cloak. He stops at the bar to pay for their drinks and, after a look at his watch, buys a still closed bottle just to be safe. If he remembers correctly, the bars in Muggle London close ridiculously early and he’s not losing his plan of getting so wasted that he can’t remember his own name to some stupid Muggle laws.

He stops Regulus with a hand on his arm, a moment before they step through the door. “This might be a… stupid question, but – did you ever go out drinking in Muggle London? Just, I don’t want to end up with some incident in the end.”

Regulus stares at him before he laughs, opening the door. “Yes, I’ve been to Muggle London before. If you must know, I actually go out for a drink there quite regularly. The pleasure of anonymity and all that.”

Well, it’s unexpected, but he’s slowly coming to accept that this might happen some more times in the course of the night.

It’s cold and raining lightly, the bright colours of signs and streetlamps reflecting on the wet asphalt but there are still people walking around, young students laughing and gathering in loud groups, blissfully oblivious to the threat looming over all their heads.

“You’re not boring, by the way,” he breaks the silence after some time, not knowing why he says it but feeling like it’s important. It’s true, for what it’s worth, he always found him rather intriguing, no matter how many times Sirius insisted that his brother is just like the rest of his family.

To James, it was always kind of obvious that he isn’t – for starters, he’s a brilliant seeker, the only one to actually give him a challenge on the pitch, and in the year he was Head Boy he got to know him, a little bit, got to see that he actually cared. There was no doubt that the loss of Sirius was hard on him, but they’re both stubborn beyond belief and never managed to sort it out.

“Err, thanks, I suppose? Whatever did I do to receive the honour from Mr. Trouble himself?” Regulus asks, and it’s biting but he’s grinning, and James rather enjoys the banter.

“It’s a high honour, let me tell you! No, but I meant because that girl said that. I mean, what kind of flimsy insult is that even, it’s not like she gave you much opportunity to say something.”

Regulus eyes him for a moment, smirking faintly. “You really did watch me for some time, huh? Anyway, I think being persuaded by her parents to date a guy that has no interest in girls whatsoever can be rather boring.”

James stumbles, nearly pushing over a bike leaning against a pillar, and Regulus laughs at him, head thrown back and one hand on James’ shoulder – to steady whom of them, he doesn’t know, but he doesn’t care, either.

“Well, didn’t expect that one,” he grins when Regulus calmed down again, adding, “the advantage of not having a care for gender.”

Regulus raises a brow and tilts his head to the side. “I thought you and – what was her name, Evans? Wasn’t that your ‘happily ever after’?”

He waves a hand, shaking his head but regretting the action when it messes with his balance. “Not really, I mean don’t get me wrong, she’s brilliant and I chased after her for a ridiculously long time, but that’s what it was, mostly. An interesting chase and we quickly realised that we work better as friends.”

Regulus hums, and their arrival at a small pub in the basement of a house lets the conversation end there. They find a table in the corner, the room cosy with coloured lights hanging along the walls and some small groups of people of different ages chatting amongst themselves. There’s some music playing in the background, the kind of stuff Sirius likes to blast through their flat at an obnoxious volume, and James doesn’t hesitate to get them each a beer and some rounds of shots.

It’s surprisingly easy, talking with Regulus. He asks after some of their pranks which James is glad to share, they exchange stories about teachers and former students they knew, about Quidditch and stories of Sirius making an idiot of himself. Not once do they come close to the war or that it really, really shouldn’t be this comfortable and funny, but they’re both drunk and it’s easy to forget how things should be.

It feels like barely any time passed when the tired barkeeper kicks them out, and they’re both swaying slightly on their feet and leaning onto each other.

“Pity they close so early, I mean it’s Saturday,” Regulus whines, a pout gracing his lips and James laughs at the open, nearly childish expression, all sense of poise and composure obviously long forgotten.

It’s even more fun to him, because he can pull out the bottle of whiskey he bought earlier with a self-satisfied grin and dangle it in front of Regulus’ face, watching as his eyes light up and he looks at James like he just promised him that he’s never going to suffer through another horrible date.

“Come on, I know a good spot,” he says, tugging a bit at Regulus’ arm who follows willingly.

“You’re not so bad, Potter,” Regulus grins after taking a sip, holding the bottle out to him.

He holds a hand to his chest and tilts his head back, sighing theatrically. “You only like me for the alcohol! I knew it!”

Regulus snorts and shoves him, but then smiles, softer than he has any right to. “It’s a bonus, but it wouldn’t be enough to win me over. Don’t let it go to your head.”

“Too late,” he grins, throwing an arm around Regulus' shoulders and pulling him into a narrow side street, revelling in the way Regulus sneaks an arm around his waist without any hesitation.

After a quick glance to make sure that they’re alone, he pulls his wand and spells the grey door open, a finger on his lips to tell Regulus to be silent. To his credit, he only looks amused.

Reaching the fifth floor takes a while in their intoxicated state and he suspects that they’re far less silent than they should be, but they eventually make it onto the roof and he spreads his arms in a wide gesture, ignoring the pang of loss over letting go of Regulus’ warm body against his.

It’s a spot he often visited with Sirius, shortly after they finished school and spent many nights roaming the streets of London, trying to find some escape from the worsening war, from being thrown into adulthood and discovering that it’s not as bright and exciting as they always hoped it would be.

Regulus slowly walks around, smiling to himself and then tips his head back, staring into the dark-grey sky above them, a wistful look on his face. James watches for a while but has to avert his eyes soon. The way he can see a bit of his collarbone and the hollow of his throat, the contrast of black hair and pale skin make him want to reach out, run his fingers over it, make him want to kiss him so badly that it nearly hurts.

There’s only little light up here and the shadows let everything appear softer, a bit unreal as if everything that happens up here has no consequence as soon as he leaves.

He shakes his head to dispel the thoughts and carefully walks over to the edge of the roof to sit down, letting his legs hang over the edge and watching little dots of lights move underneath him.

When Regulus sits down next to him it’s close, their legs pressing together and arms brushing.

“It’s nice up here,” he says quietly, and when James looks at him he’s relaxed with a soft smile that suits him worlds better than the tension and annoyance he witnessed at the beginning of the night.

He hums in agreement and takes another sip of whiskey before he lies down, crossing his arms behind his head and looking up to the sky. The clouds disappeared over the last few hours, but there are only a few stars visible, not enough to make out a single constellation.

“It’s a pity that London is so bright,” he sighs, mostly to himself.

Regulus lies down next to him, taking the bottle. “It really is. When we were children, we had a room at Grimmauld Place with an enchanted ceiling like the Great Hall in Hogwarts. Mind you, it was only for the endless Astronomy lessons every Black has to endure, but I liked to sneak in there and pretend it’s real.”

He turns his head to look at him, only inches apart from each other. Regulus is gazing up with a rueful, almost sad expression but he’s still beautiful like this and James thinks that he would like to take him somewhere where they could lie under the stars in peace, how unfair it is that neither of them ever had the chance, might never get the chance, and then he nearly laughs at how sappy and melodramatic he’s becoming. Sirius always says he’s an emotional drunk.

Regulus turns his head and looks at him, and James realises that he has been staring but he still can’t tear his eyes away. There are a few, faint freckles scattered over Regulus’ nose, his long lashes paint lines over his cheeks and he can’t help the way his eyes flicker to his lips.

He couldn’t say who’s leaning in first, their lips brushing together tentatively before the kiss becomes firmer. Regulus smells like soap and something spicy, like firewhiskey and smoke, and James’ head is spinning, he feels like bursting and curls his hands into Regulus’ collar, pulling him closer so that he’s lying half on top of him.

He spares a fleeting thought for the fact that they’re very close to the edge, a few hundred feet above the unforgiving concrete street but it only adds to the feeling of exhilaration before he promptly forgets it again.

Regulus buries his hands in his hair, his tongue brushing against his bottom lip after biting it softly and James thinks that he doesn’t want this to stop, doesn’t want to ever let go. He unclenches his fingers from the soft material of Regulus’ shirt, hands roaming over his shoulders and chest until he can lock his arms around his waist, pulling him as close as possible.

He loses all sense of time, the world narrowing down to warm, soft lips and hands mapping out lines and edges, of soft hair between his fingers and sharp cheekbones under his palms, but inevitably, dawn is breaking and they’re both freezing, shivering in the cold morning air.

When they finally break apart, James pulls him into a hug, burying his face in his hair and closing his eyes against the sudden wave of sadness that washes over him. There are a million things he wants to say, like “Stay,” – “Don’t keep fighting for them,” – or “run away with me,” but he knows he can’t, that it’s not the right moment and that they’re both in too deep.

“Thanks,” Regulus murmurs, close to his ear and he swallows at the heaviness of his voice.

“For what?” he asks, thinking that he knows but needing to be sure.

“For making me forget.”  

And it’s not a promise, it’s not anything really, but, clinging to him just a bit more to make sure that he knows, there’s a sliver of hope burning inside him that they’ll both make it out of the whole mess, that this is not the end of it.

*

I hope you liked it! You can send me prompts for this ship, James/Sirius or Tom/Harry (or something else, and I see what I can do.)

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #262

WoW will probably start to take over my life again tomorrow oof so expect surveys to slow down some.

What do you wish people wouldn't call you? The only one I don't really like is Girt calling me "kid." He doesn't mean it in a derogatory way or anything like that; he's just always called me that since I was a high school freshman and he was a senior. Now as an adult that's been through things I don't believe anyone deserves, it's kinda weird but more so frustrating as, regardless of his intentions, I somewhat feel belittled. I've never said anything directly about my discomfort, though, so it's my own fault. I just don't want to make him feel bad for doing it for years lmao. What do people say about your name upon learning it for the first time? They don't say anything; my name is very ordinary. Why did you choose the hair length you have? I have a few reasons. The biggest is because I was just bored of average, long hair, and the fact I was at the time having a very hard time with self-care. My hair would get incredibly knotted to where it was hard to even brush it sometimes. Makes me shiver thinking back on it. For my own sanity and ease, it needed to be gone. Also, with how STUPID hot I get, cutting it all off helped with the weight of my hair (it's v thick) but more importantly how hot it made me it the warm months. Zero regrets chopping it all off, omg. If your hair could be ANY color, what would you pick? At this very moment, I really want silver hair. Do you wish your hair was longer or shorter than it is now? It needs a trim. Do you think you're attractive? (It's okay to say yes =P) No; I think I wouldn't look ALL to bad if I lost some more weight (I've literally been on a weight loss plateau for two fuckin years). When I was perfectly healthy, I didn't think I was very pretty even back then, but now that I look back, I feel I was decently pretty. Not gorgeous, but. What is your favorite band? Ozzy Osbourne. :') What is your favorite movie? The Lion King. The second one is like directly behind it. Finding Nemo is also very precious to me. What is your favorite book or magazine? The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton and Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo. What is your favorite song? Ugh, this is impossible. I love way way too many. I suppose maybe... "Death Inc." by Motionless In White? Idk. What is your favorite color to wear? Black, duh. If you could visit anywhere in the world, where would you go and why? South Africa because I want to spend time with and take pictures at the Kalahari Meerkat Project and especially pet a Whiskers meerkat. I WILL cry. Meerkats literally changed my life. So many people I wouldn't know... If you got the chance and wouldn't get caught, would you cheat on a lover? NOOOOO the guilt though. Someone drops a fifty dollar bill and doesn't notice. Will you tell them? Definitely. I'd feel awful otherwise. Would you ever pierce something on your face? I already have my lip and tongue pierced, and I did have my nostril pierced, too. I want more, particularly an undereye microdermal if I can switch to contacts... which I don't like. I think it'd look pretty dumb with glasses. Are you selfish? EVERYONE should be to a degree depending on the occasion. Doing what is best for you is not a bad thing. Are you mean to people who are different from you? Wow no. I find people "different" from me interesting. Do you make fun of obese people? By the BMI definition, I am one of those people. So take a guess? Do you eat when you're upset? I have to fight that extremely hard, because I usually do experience the impulse to comfort eat when I'm very depressed. I've gotten way better at it, though. What if you had to choose between feeding yourself or feeding your pets? I honestly don't know for sure what I'd do... but I think I would prioritize my pets, honestly. It would break me to watch them suffer and lose weight. What if you saw someone being beaten on the street? YOOOO I READ THIS AS "EATEN" FIRST. But anyway I'd call the cops ASAP. There's a possibility I'd intervene if I felt myself capable of taking on the assailant. What if it was you being beaten? According to the night terrors I've had beyond count, curse like a motherfucker and fight back while calling for help. Who's the most important person to you (related)? Mom. Who's the most important person to you (non-related)? Sara. What's more important to you, happiness or success? Happiness. What's more important to you, your happiness or someone else's? Depends on the person. List the ten most important things to you: Oh, yikes. No order: 1.) My peace of mind, health, and happiness; 2.) my family; 3.) my pets; 4.) my career future; 5.) my friends; 6.) a YouTuber I've never met lmao; 7.) my pebble from my partial hospitalization program; 8.) Teddy's ashes; 9.) the Mark mug Sara gave me sobs; 10.) and the RP site I'm on. Like if it disappeared tomorrow with all the profiles and history and stuff I would break the earth in half oof. Have you ever lived in a mobile home? No. Have you ever had your bedroom in a basement? No. How many times in the past week have you eaten fast food? Hm. I don't think once. In the house - shoes, socks, slippers or bare feet? Bare feet.\ Do you consider dogs inside or outside pets? Usually indoor, depending on the breed and the time of year. What’s your favourite piece of furniture in your house? ig my bed? Have you ever had a crush on a friend’s parent? Yikes no. Do you prefer carbonated or uncarbonated drinks? Sucker for carbonated over here. Favorite thing that you can see up in the sky? A full moon. Would you rather eat at the table or in your room? I'm so used to eating in my room. Do you like the sound of birds singing when you wake up, or is it annoying? I love it. If someone gave you a kitten, would you keep it? I'd love to, but it'd really be my mom's choice. What’s your ideal activity for a rainy day? Nap oh lawd. Favorite type of cracker? Cheez-Its. Banana sandwich... yum or yuck? Only yum with peanut butter. Animal you like to watch but sort of creeps you out: Spiders. Bagels or English Muffins? Bagels. Do you like to daydream about sex? I do it sometimes. Which of your parents do you laugh more with? My dad is really funny. Have you ever been to an open casket wake or funeral? Wake, yes. Who mows the lawn at your house? A family friend. Have you ever written a story from beginning to end? When I was little and was writing that meerkat story, yes. I started on the sequel but didn't get far. What’s a big turn on for you? Being genuinely interested in what makes me me. Actually wanting to know the littlest things about me. Just show sincere interest. Are you doing anything tomorrow? I do know I'm fuckin finally getting my laptop home. Does your car have a name? N/A Do you own clothes from any celebrity clothing lines? No, but a bitch is getting a Cloak shirt or hoodie at some point. Who was the last person you ranted about? My bitch of a cousin for being a disrespectful fuck when all my dying grandmother wants is to talk as a group with the whole family. I ranted to Mom though, not in the group chat because I'm actually mature enough to not talk shit when, again, all our grandma wants is peace and love between us at the end of her life. I was SEETHING. Know any magic tricks? I don't remember any. I LOOOOOVED those magic kits as a kid, though. Is there music in your head right now? Right now "Dirty Pretty" by In This Moment is on, so does that count as "in my head?" Would you like to become a dancer? It'd be very cool, most certainly, and due to taking dance classes so long, I tend to think of potential dances in my head when I hear like... any song, lol. I'd love to be one if I had the grace and endurance + no hyperhydrosis. Name one person of the same sex as you you wouldn't mind doing: Hunny I'm bisexual, there's a lot, lmao. Dream woman? Uhhhh. Maybe my friend Alon. She was like one of my first hints I wasn't straight, lmao. But idk, I find soooo many women to be attractive. What is the most gory film you've seen? One of the Saw movies. What a surprise, ik. Ever fallen down a hole? ZOINKS no. Do you work better in a clean or messy environment? Clean, durr. Do you know any vegans? Only online. Do you like bananas? I am VERY picky with bananas. They have to be perfect. My preferred ripeness lasts only like, two days. .-. What's a film you've seen that confused you? Oh boy, idk. I don't watch many films... especially if I'm confused and the plot isn't great, I'll stop watching. WAIT!!!!!! NO!!!!!!!! I went to see Warcraft when it came out and I was so fuckin lost just because the orcs' voices are so goddamn deep that I just sat there like "uhhhh sir come again????" I didn't play Classic, and I'm not great at remembering every aspect of the plot, so. I'm to this day p confused lmao. Do you ever wear black lipstick? I really only ever wear black. What is next to your bed? I have a white shelf to my left where I put my meds, a drink, the fan... that kind of stuff. My cat's food bowl is to the right of it on the floor. Are your fingernails dirty? Nope. Have you ever fell for someone believing you could "fix" them? Not for that reason, no. Describe a picture of yourself that you hate: LASKJDLKFJAOWJE my friend took a picture of me eating a hot dog once and joked she was putting that shit on Facebook and it was funny as shit but thank Christ she was in fact joking. Would you rather play a good or an evil character in a play? While I'd love to be the evil one, I'd probably make it too cheesy because I am a BAD actress. Has anybody ever lied to you just to impress you? Story of one of my "best" friendships. What's your favourite shade of blue? Baby blue, probs. Can you remember a world before iPods? I do indeed. On rides to school when I sat in the back, I would bring one of those portable CD players with me to play discs. Where did you go on your last date? I can't remember the place's name... Lume's? Something like that? Breakfast place in Illinois. Do people find you "cute"? It happens sometimes. Who does the best remixes? Oh idk, I don't pay much attention to this. Where do you get your news? Facebook, lmao. What social stigma does society need to get over? What DOESN'T it need to get over???? What was the last photo you took? Probably something funny on Facebook to send to Sara lmao. I will get memes to her some way. What mythical creature do you wish actually existed? As badly as I want to say dragons, I don't think it'd be a great idea, heh... Maybe dryads. What are you interested in that most people aren't? As of recently, TARANTULAS. I've fallen in LOVE with them. What's the most ridiculous thing you have bought? No clue. What sounds hit you with major nostalgia every time you hear them? The gem collecting sound from Spyro. It was my text ringtone on my last phone! I need to move it over to my current one. What was the biggest realization you have had about yourself? I was possibly the bigger villain than Jason in the breakup. But idk. What topic could you spend forever talking about? Gay rights. Which way should toilet paper hang, over or under? In the original patent, it was designed as going over. GMM knowledge. Therefore I find over as correct, BUT I ultimately don't care like... at all. I don't even really notice when I go in the bathroom. Are you usually early or late? Usually slightly early. What do you wish you knew more about? Politics so I could be a more helpful member of society alksdjfka;lw What is the most annoying question you've been asked? It's not really like, annoying I guess, but the closest would be just how frequently people see my lip ring and ask if it hurt. It's incredibly sensitive skin, and even if it wasn't, a needle went all the way through it. Like... guess. News flash: being stabbed hurts, lmao. Like I always explain that it's not awful, but duh, there is pain. What is your favorite milkshake flavor? Yummm chocolate. What was the worst phase in your life? 2020 thinks it's a bad guy, but lemme tell ya, shit's got nothing on 2016. Do you like sprinkles on your ice cream? I hate sprinkles on anything. Just an annoying texture with negligible flavor. The last time you went out to eat - what did you order? It was just a milkshake. Do you have all 32 teeth? I'm missing two wisdom teeth that just never grew in. Do you know how to do the moon walk? Never tried. What is one of your favorite comedy movies? White Chicks. Has anybody ever told you that you have a good singing voice? Yeah. I don't think I do. Onion rings or french fries? Fries. Not an onion ring fan. Who is the best cook that you know? Sara's mom is great, omgggg. She's cooked things I generally don't like yet I wound up enjoying. Can you name 3 different dinosaurs? Let's see: Spinosaurus, stegosaurus, velociraptor. I was a dino kid, man, just gettin' started. *finger guns* What's the largest amount that you can juggle at one time? I can’t juggle. What was your favorite thing to go on at the playground as a kid? I'd daaaash for the swingset. Do you know how much you weighed at birth? How much? Ummm I think 6-something pounds? 7? Where do you spend most of your time at? At home. In my bed. Exciting stuff, y'know. What noise does your favorite animal make? If my memory serves me right, they have over 40 vocalizations, but I'd say barking and chirping are the most ordinary/basic. Have you ever fallen in the toilet when you were little? lol I don't think so. What is the best kind of mac & cheese? I'm a basic-ass Velveeta bitch lmao. Who is your favorite oldies band? Boy oh BOY, you're asking a classic rock/metal addict. Of course it's Ozzy tho. But I love soooo many!! What is your favorite farm animal? Pigs! Do you like to play Monopoly? I'm not a big fan, no. What is the most fun restaurant you have ever been to? I like the vibe of Buffalo Wild Wings. Or I just have good memories there. What size bra do you wear? I'm actually not sure. I haven't bought new ones in a while and I don't think the ones I currently have are the right size anyway. Do you have a ceiling fan in your room? No. Who was your favorite Sesame Street character? I don't remember too well, but I think Cookie Monster? What about Muppet? Idr. What was going through your mind during the presidential campaign? I am sadly paying no attention. What do you think of the Duggar family ( 17+ kids )? Could you handle taking care of that many children? Ew, hell no. I don't believe the number of children warranted in a family should be legally monitored, it's much more difficult than that, BUT RATHER I'm very firm about knowing when it's more than enough. Population control is a thing. NOBODY needs that many kids imo, not even close to that. So far, what is the number one, best decision you have ever made? How has it affected your life? Letting go of Jason/accepting life without him. It has made my life much, much brighter and healthier. Have you reunited with any old friends recently? Was it awkward, or just like old times? No. When was the last time you talked to your first ex? February of 2017. Wow... been a long time. How different is your online personality from your offline personality? I am MUCH more outgoing and talkative online. What are your favorite holiday-themed movies? Jim Carrey's How The Grinch Stole Christmas, Hocus Pocus, The Nightmare Before Christmas, etc... Do you listen to Christmas/winter-themed music when the season comes around? No. Is there anything that you do that’s potentially controversial? Yes. What is your most recent obsession? Most recent, whew, tarantulas. I'm really gonna try talking Mom into letting me get one when/if we move. Do you say “merry Christmas” or “happy holidays”? To you, does it really matter which one is said/you say? Do you do your best to remain politically correct? Instinctually, I say "merry Christmas;" that's what has always been said around me. I personally see zero problem in calling it whatever... Like just appreciate someone wishing you well. You get the concept, and that's all you really need imo. As for political correctness, I'm kinda... down the middle? Like I feel it's been taken way, way too far, but I see some caution in wording as wise. If you could relive one week of your life, which would it be, and why? Would you do anything differently, or keep it all the same? Ugh, my first visit at Sara's. I just loved it so, so much. I think I wouldn't change a thing. It felt perfect. Is there a part of your life you wish you could remember, but can’t? Sometimes when I take these surveys and they ask "how old were you when...", ha ha. Frustrates me. What was the last thing/event to trigger a painful memory? It was last night, actually. The Final Fantasy VII remake is out, and I started watching a YouTuber I like play it. Jason got me to play the original, playing it a lot when we spent time together, but I only got a bit beyond half-way through before my PS3 broke. Cherished memories, so it was decently triggering indeed. I loved the game though and ABSOLUTELY want to see it played out in its entirety, so I shoved past the pain and am glad I did. Now I'm anxiously awaiting the next video aljkdsjfawe Y'ALL I wanna play more FF. What do you think of people that choose not to vote? I can't say anything, seeing as I never have voted before... Are you keeping anything from the people you love? Nothing important, no. Have you ever written a suicide note, whether joking or not? Yes, and that stupid novel is one of my biggest regrets. Who the FUCK would joke about that, though. When was the last time you let something ‘go to your head’? Not even like an hour ago. This happens allllll the time. When are you most likely to show off? Maaan Guitar Hero used to be good for that shit, ha ha. I was an expert at that back in its day. I haven't played it in forever, and on the rare occasion I do, I am suuuper rusty. Which would you prefer: spectacular view of the ocean, or of the mountains? MOUNTAINS!!!!!! Do you follow any dating rules/play any dating games? No. When was the last time you felt extremely confident about something? ME????????? CONFIDENT???????????? WHAT A CONCEPT!!!!!!!!!! When was the last time you blew the seeds off of a dandelion? Wow, not a clue. Probably not since we lived at my old house and I would go on walks down the path. What was the last thing that happened that you couldn’t explain? Oh I dunno. What do you do with all of your spare change? I just keep it in my wallet. Where did you hear about your all-time favorite band? He was and still is one of my mom's favorites! How many cans of soda do you drink in a day? AHHHHHH soda is my biggest nutritional weakness. I refuse to let myself drink more than one a day now though. It's funny and disgusting, when I was HEALTHY AND SKINNY I could on a rare occasion start a fourth can in a single day. Nowadays the thought almost makes me shiver. What is the oldest thing that you own? and the newest? The oldest thing, ummm. Not sure. Probably a stuffed animal in the attic. I just got two new books today! Is there anything you wish you had never found out about? Yep. A number of things. What is something that you refuse to believe in? Astrology. What is something you wish more people believed in? Gay rights. What food is your ultimate comfort food? Ice cream. Have you ever put anything inside a time capsule? What? OMGGGG I remember doing this in elementary school as a class! I don't recall what was in it, though. Is there too much violence on tv, or are people to sensitive? Too sensitive, but also negligent. It's got a lot to do with raising, imo. Don't show kids wild shit at too young of an age, and when they are shown this kind of stuff, you make it obvious that the behavior/content is unacceptable irl. Entertainment is not responsible for someone's shitty actions made with their own volition. What is something you used to fear, but no longer do? My first huge fear was thunderstorms. Now I enjoy them lol. Do you think it’s important to know a 2nd language? Not mandatory, no. Especially depends on if you're going anywhere. Do you know anyone that’s just naturally good at almost everything? My old friend Hannia IMMEDIATELY came to mind. She was the best in class GPA-wise, first chair for flute in band, and just in general STUPID talented. Do you know anyone that’s just bad at everything? BITCH ME What is one emoticon you use often? A sarcastic :^) or <3 What is one emoticon you almost never use? A lot, particularly ones with equal signs for eyes.

[elanska]

Miss Not So Sidekick - chapter 87

our chapter opened with the head librarian (his name kinda long, so we'll call him important reminder) said he's waiting for someone from the magic tower to do maintenance for the recently bought CCTV orb today. Arwin, smiling briliantly, speaks out that it will be him. Latte reconfirms, and important reminder - upon seeing that brilliant sparkles of beauty and grace, quickly prostrate himself while having nosebleed.

Latte, already used to her hubby's forbidden charms capturing the hearts of everyone (and their grandma, and probably their little dog too) just smile and comment the obvious "I think he's your fan' (no duh! detective!Latte). Arwin just, "ah, the usual" (we want to say he's arrogant, but damn he's pretty!)

(also, uh, I can't picture the jealousy!are you cheating on me-drama once they get married. Pretty girls will be like, take one glance at her hubby, prostrating themselves upon this unearthly beauty and Latte goes, 'yeah, familiar sight'; and Arwin goes 'indeed') ***ABSOLUTELY NOBODY DARES TO APPROACH LATTE TO FLIRT IF THEY STILL VALUE THEIR LIVES***)

important reminder dashed to get the CCTV orb but Arwin is not the Lord of magician's tower just for the pretty face, he directly summoned the orb and grin like, veereee sadistically about what awaits the true culprit. Apawn and inside jobs like 'oh god! we're screwed!!' (serve you right! you bitches! how dare you to try to entrap our cute latte! and you inside jobs! how dare you besmirch our image of librarian being the keeper of multiple dimension within books and being secretly master assassin, you know, like crossover between doctor strange and john wick....but this girl dared to sully that reputation just because threatened/bribed by some silly noble girl??? GRAAAAAA!!!). Latte, the good girl she is feeling bad for those two (wut? butbutbut Latte, girl...), so she try to appeal to her hubby....

hmm? it's not? eh, Latte pointing out that since Arwin is came to the library to CCTV's maintenance, shouldn't he, like, can skip the hassle and just pointed out the culprit? (eh, like, in original novel? so tower's finance going down isn't because Latte getting bishot for free?) (I would also pointed out that in original novel, Arwin is, like, flinging the culprit all over the library, while in Latte's route, he's pretty calm. Well, he's playing around with Latte....maybe he's like big dog who have much playing/exercising to be not aggressive? or maybe he'll just playing with Latte first and then proceed to wreck the culprit afterwards? I meant, Ibelin with her goody-goody girl act should goes 'oh noes, please spare the culprit live, my good sir' or something like that right?)

oops, getting distracted. anyway, Latte pointed out that Arwin can instantly known the culprit (thanks to the CCTV. Or probably in original Ibelin's route, Arwin probably just stalking her around from the start so he can tell immediately about the culprit. am still doesn't give up about relation about Latte and tower's finance, guys....though, if this fantasy setting, the magicians should just do a guild quest or something, seriously, are you magicians or shopkeeper?). Where was I? oh yeah, Arwin should know immediately how to recognize the culprit, yet he goes 'are you the culprit, dear customer?' and goofing around with the investigation. Arwin just laughed and admitted that he's just standby and enjoying the whole show because he thought it was 1. funny and 2. he's curious about Latte's reaction, and kinda surprised that Latte is like, very calm, and not getting flustered.

Latte is like, getting flustered? over a stupid, shoddy plot? (ooof burnt ya there Peridot). If there's recording, Latte's alibi will be quickly proven, and she can also have her household provide testimony for her. Apawn quickly crumbled and start to confess that she's threatened to do so (really? you seem having no conscience at all when framing Latte, what's with the finger pointing and smug face?! GRAAAA!!) and that she would be killed if she didn't complied.

People asked who ordering her, and Apawn said she didn't know, they're wearing cloak and the carriage is covered in black fabric........but! she can see Garnet emblem between the fabric gap! People are shocketh! and Kenneth (oh he's still here, hey don't be rude to mah friend Kenneth, okay, but he's so quiet that we tended to forget he's still here, also quite strange he didn't fussed over Ibelin and keep standing in front of Latte. that's because mah friend is still accused just like, 15 second ago, you know? Fine, fine). okay, so Kenneth said, are you trying to lie again? Apawn crying and swearing it's the truth. People are fussing over about this shocking revelation (meanwhile, I'm questioning myself why the hell you are hellbent on following instruction from someone you didn't even know . If it's the powerful Garnett family that threatened you, then sure, you might get afraid of crossing them and then just do the task. But someone you didn't know just strolled at you and then ordered you to do something and you just do it? I meant, if my boss asking me to lent him money to buy lunch because he forgot his wallet, sure, I'll do that. but if a stranger come to me in restaurant and say 'hey you, your boss and I just eating together and we forgot our wallet. foot our bill.' - I'll at least called my boss first to ensure this is not a scam. Or is the Garnet family reputation so tarnished that people just go 'oh yeah, totally a Garnet style' and just done it anyway? (but the mob on the library fussing on how 'are you sure?' 'need to investigate blahblah'). Wait, they don’t outrightly said IMPOSSIBRU! what's wrong with the Garnet? do they frequently do this kind of thing often?)

On the other side, Latte start monologuing how Peridot's true objective isn't framing Latte nor offing Ibelin-by-falling-bookshelves, but by open investigation for her involvement so Peridot can play victim and aggressively try to prove her innocence. AND I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY SHE WOULD DO THAT???? I meant, why? why do you need to entrap yourself so you can be crying 'I've been framed! I've been framed!' (perhaps so if she trying to hurt Ibelin again in the future, she will use this case as reference? Like? 'ehhh, somebody trying to frame me /again/?' this is the scary girl that like, trying to get 3 birds with one stone (Latte getting framed and became her follower out of fear, Ibelin getting hurt, and Peridot getting suspicion immunity on the future). Her plot for ensnare Latte quickly unravels tho since it's so messy and Latte has quite an alibi (though it was because of CCTV orbs. Hmmmmm, the Ectrie household might be not much of alibi since they could accused of defending her impartially, but the /rumor/ will drag Latte down regardless (ooooh, so this is rumor attack from noble lady fights)

Arwin (again, asserting his closeness to Latte by whispering close to her. Ha! take take that ma friend Kenneth!) asking how does Latte feels to suddenly got revelation that her case is actually part of bigger conspiracy with ominous shadow looming *DUNDUNDUN* Latte plays it cool, bro. Arwin asks aren't you scared? she shrugged that she doesn't have reason to be scared because she's not the actual target anyway. HUH WHAT

oh yeah, forgot that in Peridot's eyes, Ibelin is still the female lead *snicker snicker* ****Wait, don't laugh, us, it's better for Peridot thinking that way**** so her trying to frame Latte maybe just as an afterthought. The most important thing is to make Ibelin having accident and then Peridot will play victim? (no, sorry, Latte, we're still confused, but we'll trust your word on this). Excited Arwin is cute tho.

Arwin listening to Latte's explanation about how Peridot will likely denying her involvement by making the trap (her crest) very obvious in the first place (she can making various excuse how somebody borrowing her carriage or some criminal plagiarized the crest to implicate her, Important thing is that she's being framed! framed! I tell you! - eh does she meant that she wanted the 'some criminal plagiarize my family crest so whatever vile doing done in the future by some criminal plagiarize my family crest is unrelated to me?' Ohhhh???? OHHHHHHHHH!!!! ss...so that's why she want to get 'caught' on this first offense! de....detective Latte! *worship*).

Arwin makes a comment how he's surprised that Latte is sharper than he thought. Latte is haha, how stupid have you been seeing me till now then?

and Arwin, responded. *we facepalmed*

[artificialqueens]

In Orbit Around the Same Star (Biadore) - doctor bitchcraftt

Anonymous prompt - Adore finally realizes she wants Bianca and stops sleeping around; Bianca accepts what she’s been trying to run from, that she’s always loved Adore.

A/N: This one took more out of me than I thought it would when I sat down to write it; it stays just inside the boundary of my canon-compliant writing rules. Quote cited is from an actual interview with Bianca.  Serious introspection, feelings, and a whole lot of love. Xoxoxoxo, bitchcraftt

Read on AO3

********

She’s going to be thirty this year.  

It’s…very that.

She used to think that her life began with Idol, but really, it started at twenty three when she walked into the workroom, and skyrocketed at twenty four when Adore Delano eclipsed Danny Noriega.

Her twenties were filled with partying hard, thrilled by running reckless.  Sometimes too hard and too wild, because she couldn’t stop to think about that or why and what she was running from.  

She thinks about Michelle holding her together by the thinnest threads in Europe, when her own mother would have been horrified by her behavior.  Some of it’s hazy, and some of it she can’t remember at all.  She tries not to think about how badly it could have ended.

Adore knows how incredibly lucky she is to not have caused any permanent damage (she’s carefree but never careless when someone else is intimately involved).  

She also knows that it’s due in a large part to having people who reeled her in, anchored her when she started to (or did) go too far.  

She thinks about her sisters, the closest members of her drag family (and honestly, real family now).  Considers the three people constantly speaking across thousands of miles, texting good morning from wherever they are in the world that day.  Three people who have her back even when she’s in the wrong - and oh, do they let her know it privately - and who she can count on to rescue her from herself.

********

Bianca is, if nothing else, exceedingly self-aware.  Painfully so, even, about things like her need to be in control, to grasp onto order instead of chaos.    

“I like work because that’s the only thing I have control of," she told an interviewer back in 2015, answering a question about what she valued most in life.  "I can’t be in control of anything else.  I can’t control if I’m in a relationship, I can’t control when someone dies, but I can control my work ethic and keep plowing and going through it."  

She (aside from a few notable exceptions) has always lived life carefully, weighing outcomes and consequences and never risking more than she thought she could lose.  Always kept faithfully to her commitments, even at the cost of too little sleep and no time for anything besides work.  Always been the steady, reliable one that her friends know they can turn to when their own lives are in disarray for a sarcastic comment followed by deep compassion.

********

Adore is beyond grateful for being able to lean on Bianca’s strength when she doesn’t trust her own.  

Bianca, so grounded in who she (and he) is that she has no problem helping others.  Giving and kind to strangers and acquaintances alike, the first to lend her makeup and earrings to other queens, to fix a wig or a torn seam, greeting fans with a smile and always willing to take a photo.

Honest and sharp, but never cruel or unnecessary with her criticism.

Bianca, who doesn’t think twice about offering to pay for things her friends need (Adore’s hair, Jiggly’s teeth), not to flaunt her wealth but because her bank account isn’t as important as her friends’ health and happiness.

Bianca, whose door is always open no matter the time of night or day or the space beyond midnight but before dawn.  Who lets Adore wake her up with a phone call or drunken knocking, lets her cling to her unshakable steadiness, listens no matter how ridiculous or cringe worthy the subject.  

Bianca, the brilliant comic who laughs at all of her jokes, even when they’re not actually funny.  Her surprisingly high-pitched giggles and wicked cackle are wonderful, and earning a full body, head thrown back laugh always feels like an accomplishment.

She’s never demanded anything in return, not for her corset and not for her time.  Doesn’t even seem comfortable with being thanked, as if she feels like the things she does are a matter of course and she’s just paying it forward.

(The corset is still in Adore’s closet, together with her black sequined finale dress.)

Bianca, who would give and give of herself until she’s exhausted because she can’t not help.  Who would drop everything if Adore or Courtney or so many other of their sisters was in need.  

Her capacity to love is deeper than anyone else Adore has ever met, even if it’s cloaked in pithy comments and exasperated eyerolls.

********

Bianca has said time and again that winning Drag Race at thirty eight meant something completely different than if she had been twenty.  Some days even thirty five feels ridiculously far away, when so much has changed since.  She’s gone from trying to keep a crowd’s attention in nightclubs to sold out stages worldwide with fans who only speak a little bit of English wildly chanting her name, unable to even go to Starbucks without someone recognizing her face.

More than anything else, Drag Race taught her that even she still had room to grow and learn.  

Before the workroom, she would have laughed outright if anyone had told her she would become the closest of friends with someone almost a decade and a half younger.  She’s watched Adore live her life intensely, sometimes recklessly, sometimes without considering what could happen.  Has helped pick up the pieces when it went wrong.  Learned that the hardest thing sometimes is to let her, because it’s not fair to take the experiences or decisions away.

The most striking thing is that despite being at very different stages of life, despite the occasionally naive and overconfident blunders, Adore fits neatly into all of the places that were empty before, including the things she didn’t even realize were missing.  She’s a juxtaposition of mercurial mood and rebellious nature with a very old soul whose depth sometimes leaves Bianca speechless.  Fearless and fun, and busy dragging everyone else in along with her.

Before Adore, she thinks she almost forgot what it was like to live in the moment, too busy staying busy to ever slow down.

********

Adore thinks about how they gravitate towards each other when they’re both in the same place.  Looks at photos of them holding hands or hugging on stage, and realizes that it feels so natural she doesn’t even notice .  She thinks about how they constantly stay in physical contact, never any concept of personal space between them and never aware of its absence.

Bianca gives the best hugs because she uses her whole body.  Hugs that remind and constantly surprise Adore with how much strength is in her deceptively slim build.  

If she closes her eyes when Bianca’s arms are around her, she can feel the energy of a contained tidal wave, a force of nature that, once its path is clear, stops for nothing.  And in the face of that power, she never feels anything but safe.

********

Bianca is tactile herself (even if she denies it on stage) and understands the need for touch.  She doesn’t shy away from reaching for a fan’s hand or giving hugs, because she’s still a little in awe that all of that energy and excitement is for her.

Physical affection for her friends is so much a part of her that she doesn’t even register it half the time, sharing seats in clubs or lounging together on a hotel bed to read texts.  It’s even more pronounced with Adore, always seeking out the other’s warmth and stability, two planets in orbit around the same star.

********

Adore loves Bianca’s sharp tongue and intelligence, how she can look at a piece of fabric and already know exactly what she’ll make out of it.  

Loves how she carries herself in a gown, how her makeup is over the top and the skill it takes to paint that way.  

Loves her work ethic and dedication to the craft.

Loves how she can command a stage and the rapt attention of thousands.

Loves her self-deprecation while insisting that Bianca Del Rio isn’t meant to be beautiful or sexy, when she manages to do both.

********

Bianca has loved Adore for years.  

It’s neither unexpected nor something she’s ashamed of; Adore is ridiculously easy to love.

People the world over have fallen for her expressive eyes and unceasing energy, her relatable manner of speaking liberally sprinkled with expletives, her wide smile and captivating voice.  Listening to her sing, wrapping her voice around each word, is hypnotic and even Bianca catches herself caught under her spell.

She probably (definitely) loves Adore a little more than the rest of her sisters, a fact that isn’t lost on their friends (or legions of fans, apparently).  

********

Adore has always been a little in love with Bianca.

She’s referred to her more than once as the love of her life, in complete seriousness no matter how many hashtags follow the statement.

She thinks a lot about how Bianca looks out for her, calls her “my angel” and “my love”.  Is afraid to believe that it’s any different than the way Bianca loves and touches her other friends.  Worse, she worries that her jokes about their age difference and playing up their quasi mother-daughter relationship means Bianca will only ever think of Adore as a (her) child.

********

She’s always going to try to take care of Adore, the same as with any of her friends.  There’s definitely the slightly maternal aspect of watching her grow as both a queen and a person.  But she’s also always going to see her as more than just an adopted drag daughter.    

It’s complicated.

She worries that Adore is serious when she tells fans, "Bianca is like my second mom."  Worries that she’ll always be only the protective shoulder to cry on and give advice, the friend to go out to the club with, a beloved older sibling but never to love.

Watching Adore asleep beside her, and Courtney and Darienne across the way on the other bed in her London hotel room, she isn’t sure why that thought bothers her so much.  Not when the peaceful sense of stillness is lulling her into slumber.

She thinks about the age difference, how sometimes it’s painfully obvious that Adore isn’t settled into who she is and where she’s going yet.  Thinks about how it took most of her thirties before she met a twenty three year old queen with three wigs, clearance special dresses, and a passion for life that reminded her how much she’d walled herself off.

Adore is turning thirty this year, and Bianca is on the wrong side of forty.    

********

Adore isn’t sure how to manage love on its own, not this kind.  In her world, love beyond family has always been connected to sex - passionate, out of this world hot or intensely sweet or comfortably intimate.  And sex by itself is easy, is fun, no feelings other than a mutual interest in wringing as much pleasure as possible from the encounter, sharing the thrill and comfort of touch.

Loving someone so deeply without an intimate physical relationship is completely different, never mind that it’s tangled up in what’s probably one of the most profound relationships of her life.

Adore hasn’t done commitment lately because she doesn’t want even the slightest urge to be unfaithful if her attention wanders. It’s not that she wouldn’t give up her bed-hopping; it’s just that everyone is so unique, so many beautiful opportunities to discover someone new, that it would be unfair to promise something she can’t keep.  She doesn’t want to burn down relationships, has tried the long distance thing, but being on separate continents was too difficult even with FaceTime and Skype and phone calls.

********

Bianca thinks about Adore casually kissing fans, kissing Courtney thank you for fixing a stray bobby pin, pouting together at the camera with their faces pressed close.  Thinks about how in all of the years, Adore has never kissed her on the mouth even as a joke no matter how much her inhibitions have been lowered.

She wonders if Adore knows what it does to her stomach sometimes when she climbs into her bed for drunken snuggles, handsy and loose-limbed.  Hates the twinge of guilt when she enjoys holding her after she passes out draped over her whole body.  

********

The thing is, Adore knows she would give up casual sex for Bianca.  At least she thinks she could, would try harder than for anyone else.  

Although it’s possible that they wouldn’t be compatible sexually, Adore dismisses that idea immediately.  Dick jokes aside, all of that focused attention would be overwhelming in the best possible way regardless of the activity.  If she’s amazing as a friend, Adore is positive that Bianca would be (is) a generous and dedicated lover, committed to her (his) partner’s satisfaction.  

The problem is, it could never ever be uncomplicated for them.  

It’s not as simple as taking each other to bed when they’ve shared the covers on multiple occasions for years.  Often enough to fit their limbs together easily, Adore’s head on her shoulder, long enough that she knows exactly what Bianca sounds like when she snores.  

There’s no way that they could write it off as just a fuck between friends.  Adore falls hard and fast when she lets herself, and with Bianca who’s already seen her at her worst and still loves her…

Bianca calls her fearless.  In ninety-nine percent of situations, that’s definitely the case, even when it’s unwise.  This though?  Adore won’t risk losing what they have now to take a chance on something that could very well destroy them both.

It’s not the thought of asking for a relationship that scares her.  It’s the possibility that Bianca isn’t, wouldn’t, couldn’t be interested in her that way.  Or most devastatingly, the possibility that it would work for a while but ultimately fail.  

She doesn’t want to think about no longer being able to casually hold hands, of bringing awkwardness to the space between them.  Can’t imagine Bianca not letting her cuddle close or the easy afternoons spent together in comfortable silence.  Feels her stomach clench considering what it would be like to lose the open invitation to share Bianca’s space.

More than any danger to herself, she’s absolutely terrified of what she could do to Bianca. Bianca, who commits to the things she deems worthy with intensity and complete seriousness.  Who pours her entire heart into loving someone (she’s seen it).  Adore is acutely aware of how easy it would be to hurt her (hurt him). And Bianca would let her, might even forgive her, but Adore would never forgive herself.

She’s never wanted to cause pain to past boyfriends, but that’s nothing in comparison.  

Adore doesn’t ever want their relationship to become something she has to write songs about, trying to excise the pain of loss.

Bianca always says she’s gotten serious relationships out of her system, but what Adore knows she means is that she doesn’t have the time and energy to learn someone new, not with her work commitments.  

She thinks about how Bianca is constantly in motion, always working, ready to move onto the next project.  Thinks that maybe it means she’s running away from something too, but can’t imagine what she could ever be afraid of.

********

Bianca has been in a little bit in love with Adore for years, even if she was barely willing to admit it in the privacy of her own thoughts.  

They’re not the type of friends who could add sex as just another benefit, because all of the other aspects of the relationship so far outweigh getting off together that sex doesn’t even feel like it’s missing.  As far as Bianca can tell, the two of them are closer than most couples she knows precisely because there isn’t fucking involved.

She’s told interviewers that she doesn’t have time for a boyfriend, that no one would put up with her constant traveling.

She’s also made red-eye flight detours to see Adore when their engagements have taken them to different parts of the world.  

Bianca is very conscious of her focus on things she commits to.  If she’s going to do something, anything, she (he) is going to do it right.  

Paying careful attention to every small detail of her drag from hairline to padding and cinching and deliberate costume design, even as she’s creating an exaggerated female presence.  

Organizing her supplies the same way every time so that she’s never the queen who forgets something.

Spoiling and surprising her friends, because they matter.

Loving Adore.

********

Adore isn’t ready to tell Bianca, not yet.  Their friendship is more than enough. And really, she thinks Bianca probably already knows, the same way she knows everything else about her.

[paintingraves]

Crimes of Grindelwald info dump

CAREFUL : SPOILERS ! There’s no structure to this I’m sorry 

the humor is still very present. from newt’s awkward flirting skills to Jacob’s tell-tale high-pitched screams, it’s all here and guaranteed to bring a smile to your face.

seeing Hogwarts again was a great plus as well. Dumbledore as a teacher is a great thing.

Speaking of which Jude Law makes a perfect young Dumbledore. His performance is great, and I wish he’d had more screentime. I’m looking forward to seeing his role grow in further movies.

Credence is GROWING and that’s GREAT even if he MAKES MISTAKES

the baby nifflers - and as a matter of fact, all creatures - are delightful. the CGI is very well-done, and the creativity behind each of them is palatable. I love those guys so much.

Newt and Tina are actually adorable as fuck

Dan Fogler is great. Scratch that, he steals the show. He’s brilliant.

The cinematography, costumes, etc - all that is great as well. it’s believable.

in terms of acting… none of the actors get much screentime. Queenie & Jacob do get some emotional scenes. Credence is very busy making angry murder faces at the camera. I liked Tina as well, but again - not enough screentime.

there’s a lot of new characters being introduced, some who get no more than perhaps ten minutes of screentime as a whole (looking at you Nagini.) We get this whole building plot about Credence being Leta’s long-lost brother, thought dead, only to have it crumble in the last minutes - the same as it was with Credence’s sister Modesty in the first movie who we thought was the Obscurus. Now that worked actually well in FB1 but here it feels… kind of anticlimactic? Leaving you to wonder the whys and the hows because nothing led up to it.

I’d like to know how Credence came to know Nagini and how he found himself working in a circus, as well as how he survived. How?!

Nagini and Credence seem to be close friends, nothing more. Which is good - he could use some good friends, especially given the direction he’s taking. Just wish Nagini had more screentime to really show up the mechanics of their relationship and how close they are, because it really isn’t clear. We’re just supposed to take at face value that they know each other and that’s it.

How did Credence even find his adoption papers? Isn’t he being wanted by every government in the world? How does his status work?

They’re literally sending assassins after him because he’s supposedly Grindelwald’s greatest weapon, which like… chill a bit guys maybe. Rethink this through???

Oh, Grindelwald. Grindelwald is grooming Credence like hell, calling him “my boy” again and again and hugging him and touching him and making promises and Credence is falling for it hook, line and sinker. Someone help him holy shit.

One of the characters that actually does make sense is actually Abernathy. His role is minimal but he does help Grindelwald escape and seems to be given tasks of importance - which seems to be a great deal for a man who, like him, appeared to be no one before. It’s easy to see how he could have been seduced to Grindelwald’s side.

We don’t know much about Rosier yet. She’s just here. Looking pretty and threatening and hinting at her ‘close relationship’ with Grindelwald, whatever that means (I don’t want to think about it.) She seems to be his second-in-command.

I liked the fact that at the end Grindelwald and Queenie are like bros. Bitch bros. That’s wonderful and terrifying.

I didn’t say it enough, but the grooming

There were so many times. So many times where they could have mentioned Percival Graves and what happened to him in passing but not only once. NoT OnLy oNcE

but that’s a whole other headache SO. moving on

Hmmm Leta. What to say about Leta? She’s great. She seems like a good person, and Zoé did a great job portraying her. She’s the one who gets the most emotional scenes, next to Jacob and Queenie. There’s a whole family drama unfolding here (which oooh boi is it complicated) and it’s kind of easy to see how she became the woman she is?

She and Theseus seem to love each other very much. I’m wishing they had had more screentime, the two of them.

Nicolas Flamel is here for comic value.

I loved the relationship between Theseus and Newt. There’s some real brotherly love and character growth in there, and it felt good to see it depicted well.

I’m wondering how powerful that assassin sent by the british minister needed to be to resist the full-blown assault of a grown obscurus. even Grindelwald had trouble doing that. where’s the logic ???

also how did they obliviate the entire city of Paris following that little trick with the dark cloaks inviting people to Grindelwald’s little rendez-vous? Unless it was visible only to wizards, but since they show us an old intrigued man looking out the window I don’t think it was the case. So?

Same thing with the blue fires and red fires in the cemetery - how’re they gonna explain that to the muggle police and fire brigade should they come running?

Bunty is here for comic value.

Newt literally isn’t aware of his own appeal. I’m afraid oblivious!Newt from the fics is sorta canon now.

TINA DOESN’T GET ENOUGH SCREENTIME. She’s one of the characters who, along with Jacob, seems to have her shit together and seems eager to get shit done but we don’t see her progress. The movie prefers to focus on her relationship with Newt - which, don’t get me wrong, they’re adorable as fuck - instead of the much more interesting investigation plot line she has got going on. She’s an Auror; let her be an Auror ! Show us that side of her !

Queenie was certainly… something in this movie. I get the feeling she’s suffering a lot and Grindelwald is the only one, unfortunately, who listens.

Jacob the poor guy goes through a lot in this one too. I don’t know how he’s expected to survive in a world he really shouldn’t be in, and I think he’s starting to realize that. At the end of the movie he looks to be on the verge of a breakdown.

Leta dies sacrificing herself so the others can escape. Which is very noble but… I don’t know how I feel about that one just yet.

Grindelwald and Dumbledore… Hmm. Dumbledore shows us his suffering intimately. It’s a short but intense scene that goes one with him in front of that mirror and it’s a great piece of acting. Seeing Johnny Depp in front of him stiiiiill doesn’t cut it but oH WELL

Seeing Jamie morph into JD was about as bad as seeing Colin Farrell morph into him tbh. It’s unbelievable.

Now Grindelwald… Grindelwald is… He is Grindelwald. He is busy being Grindelwald. He’s not particularly striking but he gets the job done. That’s it.

Sometimes he looks terrifying and sometimes he looks ridiculous. The character design is still a hard pill to swallow.

I got the feeling at some points that Grindelwald worked well when he was doing some Johnny Depp. Like when he asks Queenie if Credence trusts him or when he says “I hate Paris” after killing a dozen people at the end of his rally - that was funny. Unexpected. And it worked well.

For someone who claims they are the non-violent ones he does seems very prone to like, drowning people, killing children and burning people with fire lol - but all that away from the public eye, which is clever. I’d say in Grindelwald’s and his followers’ opinion that rally worked very well. It did what it was meant to - give them an insight into his hopes and beliefs and then scare them into joining his side.

They introduced World War II which, oh boi. Wonder how they’re gonna weave the muggle history and wizarding world plotline together.

Credence joining him also makes sense for his character. He wants to know who he is and Grindelwald offers him that. But Grindelwald plays him so well it’s also very sad to watch it unfold.

Credence is gonna be so powerful growing under his tutelage though.

The actors playing young Newt and Leta were awesome! Very good casting, very believable. Young Newt’s got Eddie Redmayne’s trademark Newt mannerisms down to a point - congrats to them both!

Newt the adult… well he is busy being Newt. He’s quite cute and clumsy, but he still has some growth to do as a protagonist. I like him being the main character though. He’s caring.

Yusuf Kama doesn’t get much screentime either. He’s part of the whole Lestrange family drama plotline. We don’t have time to get attached to the character.

We don’t relate much to any character, actually. Not to Credence, not to Dumbledore, not to any minor new character either. We might relate slightly to Newt’s rivalry with his brother or his difficulties in approaching the woman he likes as well as the difficulties Jacob and Queenie are facing as a couple buuuut that’s pretty much it.

There’s a scene at the beginning when we’re in the carriage and Grindelwald gets illuminated by lightning - he looks properly terrifying. My heart skipped a beat.

Newt and Leta’s relationship is really touching. It’s easy to see how they could have become close friends.

The Ministry trying to recruit Newt into the auror department like you seriously thought that was gonna work ? lmao

Jacob being charmed by Queenie is problematic…. but it’s interesting to see how Queenie evolves, how she could be driven to such desperations. In my opinion Jacob is a bit too quick to forgive something like this lol but yK

Newt just wants to get to Tina and that’s cute

God these two are just terribly awkward

I genuinely thought they were gonna kiss at one point though.

I felt bad for Credence seeing the servant who was a link to his family (or maybe not ahaa SPOILER) die like minutes after he met her. the poor dude.

So Credence is a Dumbledore uh. Wonder how that one skipped past Rita Skeeter’s sharp quill.

Credence blasting that hole in the mountain like YEAH BABY THERE YOU GO !!!!!

The niffler steals the blood pact Grindelwald keeps on him at all times and im like YES BABY THERE YOU GO TOO !!! GOOD BOY !

and idk there’s probably more to say but here you go

Now I’m saying all this but personally I have a really hard time caring about anything I’m saying or any of the characters. But that’s personal. 

[nautiscarader]

Kim Possible season 3 recap

And here is part 3 of my KP marathon notes. Obligatory thanks to @fereality-indy for encouraging me to watch this awesome show. 

So, what will happen this this time? Will Kim Possible save another kitten from a tree? Will Ron discover something better than nachos? Will Doctor Drakken release the Krakken? Will Shego puncture her ego? Will Lord Monkeyfist buy Club Banana just because he is bonkers? Will Duff Killigan finally score?

So, let’s see what’s the first big problem KP has to deal with!

Kim being alone on a Friday evening. Okay.

Also, amusingly, everyone is doing something on a Friday evening, including the villians. 

Motorhead turns out to be Drakken’s cousin. okay.

And people know the address of Draken’s lair bc of mailing list

See, it’s the little touches like those that make this show a very accurate portrayal of superheroes and villians. 

KP gets jealous of Ron’s friend in wheelchair because they spend too much time together playing video games, so she has to find a way to “fit in”.

Okay, so they can approach it in a sensible and subtle, or so-cringe-worthy-and-painful-the-skip-button-presses-itself way.

So, which did they choose?

painful it is

Few stupid scenes later, Draken STEALs THE WHEELCHAIR FROM A DISABLED KID

shego: what’s next, stealing lolipop from a baby?

and there is a brilliant running joke about it

is it ableist to say that a joke about disabled person is “running”? Well, this is tumblr you gotta be carfeul

Anyway, turns out that Drakken and Jake the Dog make an actual competent combo, even though they end up in prison. And momma Lipski is still clueless about her son’s profession

Next ep: KIM CHANGED HER HAIR! and she looks cute

Ron is a pickle, but that’s normal

Draken and shego steal moodulators (get it?) from random scientist #464

Shego: if you are so smart why do you always steal instead of inventing things yourself

Draken: it’s called outsourcing, shego

God d amit, that is a smart show. 

And of course moodultaors accidentally fall on KP and SHego, so they act random throughout the day. And boy it is weird when it’s set to loveskick

Shego: steals lolipop from a baby for Drakken because she luvs him

KP turns into  a proper stalker mode for her Ronnie

And Monique is completely fine with it. 

and then kim KISSED him!!!

OMG NOSEBLEED

And then poor Ron has no idea what to do with dating KP so suddenly, and the whole scene where he debates what to do is absolute gold with a punchline that defies expectations. 

Draken and Shego go on a date and boy it is weird. SHE CATWALKS TO HIM

I can already see Disney censors thinking when it’s going to be too much for The Mouse

and kim’s dad threatens to send ron to a black hole when he takes her on a date

Also the random professor wants to sell his no-longer-existent moodulaTors on auction and he thinks about blaming it on the mail. You know, i’ve seen some approaches how to handle a world where superheroes/villians/geniuses live in our society (like in BNHA, for example), but KP so far makes it the best approach, because it makes them so relatable. 

And boy the finale is satisfying because everything completely backfires

Shego and KP got stuck in an anGry mode, and chase their boys. Ron tries to hide in the same place as drakken

Drakken: Dibs!

Ron: Double dibs!

Drakken: all right, you won with your superior dib-calling (ACTUAL QUOTE)

And the day is saved thanks to the power of friendship and not that Kp and ron are definitely in love with each other

KP, Ron, Drakken and Shego somehow manage to get into Tv, where they visit parodies of famous shows

Honestly, meh. I remember a similar episode of Teen Titans, that one was funny as heck.

and then we find out who’s the real villian of the middleton high: THE SCARY LIBRARIAN!

And turns out Ron accidentally put a book Kim rented in his backpack, causing her to get into trouble doing library duties. 

So he goes on a mission to revisit all of the bad guys they fought to see where he might have left it

Okay: calling it now, it’s still in his backpack

Shego: Where’s Possible?

Ron: She’s not my girlfriend!

Shego: Never said she was. 

And Ron accidentally saves the world on that book hunt

Lord Monkey:Ron Stoppable!

Ron: You’re the only one, who remembers my name, I respect that

Okay, so Wade can make stuff invisible. Like, how?

And there we go: the book it was in his backpack all the time. 

Oh, and Ron takes a book from Lord Monkeymonkey contaning a spirit of a monkey demon.

And he returns to the library, saving Kim from being bored to death by retunring the book. 

GUESS WHICH ONE HE RETURNED.

Oh, it was another half-episode. Weird. 

And the next one is about giant bugs. Interesting how Kim tells Ron not to be afraid of bugs, and next moment she’s all squirmish while Ron befriends a giant roach and calls him Roachie. 

KP: Ron, did you start working on the project? it was supposed to be autobiographical

ron: No, I’m waiting for it to write itself.

WE MIGHT GET RUFUS’ BACKSTORY!

Oh, and Drakken tried to take over the world with shampoo. Honestly, it’s funny as heck

he tries smarty mart to sell it

he even makes loreal-style ad, but it doesn’t sell

so he tries product placement in a hip hop song, and the artists is like “Aw, hell no”

And then 

and then

turns out that Shego and Drakken are having karaoke night every friday.

God dammit, i don’t know why but that is beyond funny

and turns out that Drakken can sing. 

and shego points out that he could sing about the shampoo

so he goes to an american idol

And I think I realise what really makes it funny: Kp is barely in this episode, helping ron with homework. No evil-doing is actually done, we only get to see, for the most part what goes behind the scenes of an evil plan that is so insanely and unnecessary convoluted it is beyond belief. 

OH, AND kp GETS TO RIVAL HIM ON STAGE, OF COURSE.

people hypnotised by the shampoo so far: one (1) random henchman

one (1) old TV producer in a sauna 

one (1) Simon Cowell

And...holy shit, his song is actually good. 

And instead of KP, who is busy fighting the mean lean green machine, Ron sings about Rufus. The song is titled “Naked Mole Rap”. And it is FREAKING PHENOMENAL.

Oh, add one (1) Shego to the list. 

Okay, so far that is the most crazy episode. Like, seriously, the quality was through the roof.

SCRATCH THAT NEXT EP is EVEN WEIRDER

So, the Team Impossible, which we have learned about in the movie, is angry at KP for saving the world for free, whereas they actually charge people for it. 

And they try to cut Kim from all of her world-traveling assets and knock her out of competition.

THAT IS FUCKING V ILE

And they hack Wade

AND TURNS OUT YOU DON’T FUCK WITH WADE

YOU DON’T CUT THEIR INTERNET CABLES OF A NERD

SINCE THIS IS ONE WAY TO MAKE AN OBESE SUPER GENIOUS  WALK OUT OF THEIR ROOM

AND HE LOOKS SO FREAKING BAD-ASS WHEN HE STORMS INTO THEIR HEADQUATERS

aaand TI is defeated the same way they would have been defeated had they answered the call. 

Pretty funny, and it does go into the details of how on Earth superheroes work in this world. 

And we have another episode about the secret ninja high school Ron was sent to 

And Yori travels to US for Ron 

And Kim is super jelaus

Wade: Kim, you are jelly

Kim: So not

Monique: You are jelly 

Kim: So not

Kim: *is jelly*

So she pretty much stalks Ron all the way to the school, and nearly fails the mission of trying to save the levitating magical jedi principal. Seriously, he’s OP as fuck.

And he’s escaping from a huge monkey. turns out it’s crazy dna lady who turned herself  into monkey for Lord Britishmonkey. 

Next episode is bascially one huge satire on the movie industry, down to the title (”and The mole rat will be CGI”). KIm and Ron accidentally crash a movie set, after Senior Senior Junior crashes it first since he accidentally applied for a role of a henchman in said movie. 

It was supposed to be set in Britian, but the movie set was in New Zealand, since “it was cheaper”

And I was like 

Is that a “Lord of The rings” joke? Someone tell me if I’m right.

Oh, and we have another long episode WHAT DO YOU MEAN THERE IS ANOTHER MOVIE?

And it looks like it’s a three-part episode again, I wonder if the formula’s gonna work again. 

The beginning feels like a short promo scene for people who might not know what KP is about, and I’m not gonna lie, this sums it up perfectly. Action, drama, explosions, more drama, goofy ron, naked mole rat kicking ass and more drama. By the way, what;s the title? 

I guess the intro is an homage to the James Bond ones, with lots of colourful, surreal visuals floating in the background to the soothing, slow music. Love it, too bad it’s short, but again, it had to fit an episode’s running time.

 wait so the Nakasumi president CAN speak English? Even the movie calls him wacky for whispering all the time as if he couldn’t. 

Okay, now the movie just fucks with us. 

mr and mrs possible almost switch their cloaks with important documents, but she switches them back just at the last moment

mr posible ALMOST deletes his work file worth three billion dollars but undos it at the last moment.

it’s like the plot TRIES to start itself

And I bet the key is under the doormat

So the dating drama IS going to be the theme of the movie, huh. 

Wade: Drakken has been spotted in the Bermuda triangle

Bermuda triangle: *turns out to be a hotel*

And Ron just happened to have his suit under the scuba diving gear.

Shego proves to be once again, way more competent than Drakken.

and we have obligatory fight between two kickass ladies in dresses and high heels. This IS a James Bond movie. 

So, the prom drama continues, and it is sadly kinda goes into the cringe territory, with some new dude falling in love with Kim and Kim falling for him, Ron feeling sad, they both being conflicted, yep, seen it. 

But for once Drakken helps the cause and moves the plot forward, stealing some super project from dr Possible.

he deletes the file like he did in the opening, but GASP drakken has some mind reading machine

I do wonder if the coat switcheroo is going to be part of the plot. 

Holy shit

Drakken’s plan is so crazy that it actually makes sense. Take over the buneo nachos and put kiddy meals in it with robot toys that take over the world. And neither kim nor Shego could have forseen it. 

And more prom drama. Ugh. 

I always like when Possible family work together to stop the evil-doers.

So Drakken’s plan was brilliant, minus the part when the entire army of robots shuts down when the signal goes off-line. Kinda a major fuck-up. 

And they kindapped Kim’s boyfriend to lure her.  

OH, SO HE WAS A SYNTH ROBOT

I genuinely didn’t see that coming. 

Drakken learns Ron’s name, yeah! And it’s shot like Drakken’s yelling a curse to the skies, love it. 

Also, HOLY SHIT, Kim kicks Shego into the tower so hard it looks like she was about to kill her. Like, that was genuinely chilling moment, especially with an ominous, lightning-filled close-up onto her later.

Spoiler: she didn’t die. 

Okay, colour me confused: I didn’t think that Kim and Ron were going to kiss and start dating now, I thought this movie was going to be one huge prequel to a movie by the end of S4. Or more precisely, it feels weird NOW, knowing that there is a whole season ahead of me. Cos that felt like a pretty good end of a series, something akin to the Last Airbender one, so I’m slightly concerned how it’s going to be played into season 4, cos this can go haywire pretty easily. 

Uh, not going to lie, I’ve got mixed feelings about the movie. On one hand, it gave us a proper evil plan from Drakken, one that attacks Kim psychologically, showing that for once, he DID his homework and actually studied Kim’s behaviour. On the other, the prom/dating drama is kinda painful to watch, but fortunately gets resolved in the end. Maybe it’s just me, but I had the same expression as Rufus when he and Ron said that guys don’t talk about feelings. It felt kinda clumsy and not subtle at all, and what’s worse, the show itself did way better job of portraying romance in previous episodes, most notably the moodulator one. But as I said, those last few scenes with Ron and Kim fighting together does make up for it. 

also, Rufus once again is the unspoken hero. He did so freaking much, including, but not limited to: saving ron from the tentacle monster, freeing kim and ron, defeating the synth boyfriend, pushing Kim and Ron together... He really is a badass.    

So, not a bad one, though I preferred the first movie. Also, on the whole Season 3 was significantly shorter than second. Wonder what’s gonna happen in the next season.  

[petrichorblue94]

1)I'm sorry if the mention of Guinevere's story had brought up bad memories, I think that I can understand on some level, my biological father never wanted to see me because he was about to marry another woman when I was born, but I kind of relate to Lancelot because my adoptive father was a real bastard (violent and very manipolative) so I really want to see his story and his trauma being written well, because I know that some things can't be dealt with in a week or a month or even ten years.-

2) This is why I would prefer an "if you fall I'm strong enough to hold us both up" person instead of an "I understand because I lived something similar" kind of person with him because that shit is really helpful. Maybe Merlin is my main problem with Nimue because every fantasy or urban fantasy story lately is just special teenager and their special father (in either positive or negative way the narrative is always the same)

3)idk I'm definitely not a soft person so maybe this is the reason why I prefer Red Spear, like you said most girls base their OTP on the character they identify the most with. The whole Merlin-Nimue-Lancelot stuff could be anything, bridge to Nimulot or random parallels just to keep it interesting because they could make Lancelot and Gawain a couple (they actually had interactions and they have a connection, murderous but it's still there)

4)or maybe (I think that you wrote it in a post) Pym is Elaine (it could be because almost every important character has a "name revelation" and Pym seems like one of the important ones at least in one part of the season so there must be a reason) and the nature of Nimue and Lancelot bond won't be romantic but brotherly (and this thing could be just as deep as a romantic relationship, I know that some people think that Nimue will come back not death or alive but as a spirit-

5)or guardian of the lake and it would make sense, her "death" will bring consequences) but hopefully they will actually write something good and not turn the show in Medieval Riverdale (but I must admit that a musical episode would be funny, imagine the Weeping Monk singing and dancing with his cloak flying around like the wings of a giant bat, the MEMES) (Again I'm writing too much, the character limit in the ask section is my worst enemy)

I think I can understand your perspective as well. It’s so interesting to explore how our rl experiences make us make different choices and like different things, even when it comes to something as separated from reality as fandom life. 

I’m glad I seem to be correct about my ‘what makes us ship stuff’ theory! I really love psychology even though I never studied it beyond high school (we had an elective introductory class in 10th grade I think and it was very interesting). 

I’m not sure how I would feel about Pym being Elaine. The weird thing is that I wasn’t very invested in Nimulot when watching the show (about as invested in making theories about it as I was invested in watching Merlin x Lenore and Pym x Doff and the two Arthur x Guinevere scenes).

 I mean, it makes sense since my actual favourite of the show was Merlin (even though the actor’s 14 years older than me and looks even older than that) but I couldn’t actively ship him with anyone cause Lenore was dead before we even knew they were a ship and anyway, she was too old for me to identify with. Hopefully we’ll see him with some new character in s2 but I doubt that. T.T

But yeah, it was tumblr and Youtube edits that made me really invested and I have to confess that I’d be pissed if Nimulot doesn’t happen in a way that kids would be pissed if they don’t get their favourite candy. :D 

Special teenager and special father does seem to be a thing, right? It sucks that they don’t have more special teenage girl and special mother because all my life it’s been my grandma, my mum and me - it’s like we’re the actual representation of the Crone, the Mother and the Maiden - and I really love stories about supernatural female relatives. Sorta like Charmed and the Witches of East End (I think that’s what it was called?) . Like, if we need a special parent, what’s wrong with mums, why does it always have to be dads, am I right? 

Lancelot and Gawaine or Lancelot and Pym could definitely happen, what I like about this show is that the writer’s are not afraid of writing gay or bisexual characters. If Nimue and Lancelot do have a relationship, I don’t think it’s gonna be brotherly however because I’m not sure the writers know how to write proper friendships - like all the non-familial relationships in the show have some sexual undertones. That’s why people ship Gawaine with Lancelot AND Arthur, and Nimue x Morgana. 

(5) Honestly, I won’t be surprised if Nimue comes back as a spirit or is fully dead. I’m scared that the show writers want to pull a Ned Stark on us. In the book, she is rescued by the Leper King’s people and taken to him, so maybe that’s what will happen. Personally, I want her to find Avalon somehow. Maybe it’s gonna be beyond the lake, or an island inside the lake, or a different dimension that’s inside the lake or whatever. 

A Cursed musical is going to be so cringy and funny because we all know that the show sucks more or less, like I haven’t heard of many people who haven’t skipped the boring scenes. I think we all watch it for the pretty people. So anyway, if you add music, it’s gonna be even tackier. xD 

[longestnight64448]

My Love For You *George Weasley X Reader*

The fire in the Gryffindor common room burned quietly in its hearth, providing ample light for George to read by. The hour was late, and all the other students had retired for the night. Even Fred had pleaded exhaustion and left his brother not too long ago.

George wanted to remain up a bit longer so that he could finish reading over some plans that he and Fred were formulating for the shop that would soon be theirs. George had so many plans for their joke shop: so many wonderful, fantastical plans. Why sleep when reality already promised a dream?

Suddenly the portrait entrance to the common room swung open and George turned in surprise to see one of his friends, Ave Cade, coming through.

"Have you been out this whole time?" he asked her in amusement.

"Yep!" Ave replied brightly.

"How did you manage to evade Umbridge the Usurper?" he asked curiously.

"I have my ways," she responded vaguely, sticking her tongue out in a friendly way as she plopped down beside him on the couch.

"So you're lookin' good, oh sweet purple flower of my heart," flirted George as he lightly flicked her bright purple hair.

"Don't you know it, orangey," Ave responded sassily, ruffling his hair in return.

"Ave, I meant to ask you," said George, "are you and Tonks related?" Ave gave a look of pretend shock.

"George Weasley!" she cried. "Are you implying that because Tonks and I are both Metamorphmagi, we must be related? Now that sounds rather racist to me. What if I asked if you and Fred are twins just because you happen to look alike?"

George grinned at the spunky girl.

"Well, I might say that you were right."

"Well there is that," conceded Ave, smiling. "But no, Tonks and I aren't related. She's like an older sister to me though; I love her so much. So tell me, what are you working on?"

"Bit of this and that," he answered vaguely. Looking into her expectant eyes, George laughed and grinned.

"I have these ideas," he continued eagerly, "for so many different things! Like... invisibility cloaks. What if we applied that principle but found a way to extend the magic outside of the enchanted object? Or, for those of us students who like Fred and me are not the most diligent in our classes, what if we could literally create a daydream for them? Not just a hazy vision, but actually put them in a place that feels real. Or fashion sprites, or pygmy puffs- there's just so much we can do!"

"I love it when you talk that way," teased Ave.

"Trust me love, I could keep going for hours," George teased back. "But perhaps not now, it has gotten pretty late after all. Do you have plans for tomorrow?"

"Oh absolutely," she responded very seriously. "My plans consist of not studying for Umbridge's test on Monday."

"What a coincidence!" exclaimed George with a grin. "Those were my plans for tomorrow as well. How would you like to not study together?"

"That could be fun," she returned. "I'll see you tomorrow then!" George watched Ave skip up the steps to the dormitory as he collected his papers. Feeling excited and light-hearted, George went to bed eager for the date he had long been wanting.

~

"George, wait!" shouted Ave desperately. George's eyes solemnly locked with hers as he and Fred stopped in midair. Without another word, the eye contact was broken; Fred and George gave huge grins to the crowd as they zoomed off into the sky, much to the students' delight.

Ave felt heartbroken as she watched George fly away. While they had never made their relationship official, Ave and George had been seeing each other every so often for a couple months now. Although he wasn't technically her boyfriend, Ave loved him very much and she couldn't understand how he could just leave her like that. He hadn't even warned her first.

George grinned at his equally thrilled twin brother, but his smile faltered when he thought of Ave calling out to him. More than anything he wished that she could have come with them, but he hadn't dared ask. She needed to finish her education, even if it wasn't where he belonged. Besides, she was probably better off without him. Times were becoming dangerous, and George didn't want her to be endangered because of him. That was a feeble reason however. Although he didn't care to admit it, George found himself afraid to commit; afraid to devote himself to anyone in such dark times. He was too afraid that something might happen to her, and he would be torn apart. The thought was simply too terrifying. It was better simply to leave, and not to see Ave anymore.

Inside of Hogwarts, a tribute to the twins remained in the form of a swamp throughout a massive section of the corridors. Despite her hurt, Ave couldn't help but to be both amused and impressed at her love's prowess in charms. Even the teachers were admiring his work. When Umbridge forced Flitwick to set it all right (being too incompetent to do it herself), the teacher left a small portion of the swamp intact as a sort of memorial.

For the rest of her seventh year, Ave found that she liked to come back to the swampy area, just to think- mostly to reminisce about her time with George. They had been friends since their very first year of school, and in that time they'd become incredibly close. Ave was close with Fred as well, but it was never quite the same. George had all those funny, charming quirks, but there was something softer, more caring about him that she loved.

Ave could remember all the pranks Fred and George had pulled on her, and all the pranks they'd performed together. Her favorites were the jokes they played on Professor Snape, like slicking his floor before class and watching him slide around everywhere, or the time they went so far as to intentionally mess up a potion, so that when he came around to check it exploded in purple dust all over his face. Detention had been so worth it.

Ave missed all of the cute little habits that George had, like tweaking her nose, or loping his arm around her, or scaring her into accidentally changing hair colors. A part of her wished that someone would act that way towards her again, but deep down she knew that it wouldn't be the same if it wasn't George. No one else was like George. No one was as sweet, as funny, or as clever. Not like her George.

~

The atmosphere was light and joyful, and the crowd was ridiculously large. It was hard to even get up close to the shelves- that's how popular the shop was. Ave smiled proudly at all that the twins had accomplished.

Straining her neck to look for those two familiar faces, Ave finally spotted a head of bright orange hair. Unsure which of them it was, Ave rushed forward, knowing she'd be delighted to see either one.

As it turned out, it was Fred.

"Ave!" he exclaimed, picking her up in a hug as she laughed jovially.

"Fred m'boy, I've missed you!" she replied. "I haven't gotten the chance to come to The Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes until now and you two buffoons never visit."

"Ah, please pardon me darling," he pouted teasingly. "You know I would fly to your side every day if but I could! Truthfully Ave, things have been crazy 'round this joint. In a good way though, you know? The business is doing really well and it's just amazing. It's everything we ever wanted."

"I'm glad you got what you wanted Fred," she said sincerely. "I can see how well you're doing. And really, it's just incredible! Listen though, is George around?"

"Actually Ave, really bad luck but he's not here today," said Fred. "Visiting Bill and Fleur. We always need someone to watch the shop so we try to take turns with that sort of thing."

"Even so..." he added, "it might not be such a good idea for you to try to see him."

"Why not?" she asked with a pain in her chest as she recalled the man that even now held her heart.

"He's bein' a bit odd," admitted Fred, "about you at least. He's convinced that just moving on is the right path. I've tried to talk to him about it but he won't listen. Well... I suppose you can't really blame him. After all, I did get the more attractive and more intelligent genes." Ave gently shoved her friend, a reluctant smile coming to her face.

"That's fine then," she forced herself to say. "I understand how he feels. I'll just... keep browsing the merchandise. Good luck Fred. Love ya!"

"Love you too Ave."

~

For only her second time ever, Ave Cade walked into The Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. This time was different however. There was no one in the shop, not surprisingly. Most people were still caring for the deceased or wounded in the aftermath of the Battle of Hogwarts.

Tears trickled softly down Ave's cheeks as the shop reminded her of the amazing man that had been taken from them in the fight. The decorations and merchandise alone screamed of Fred. Who else but Fred and his brother could have come up with some fun and fantastical creations?

His brother... that's who I'm here to see, Ave reminded herself. It was only three days after the final battle had ended, but Ave had heard that after being his family the entire first day afterwards, George had returned to their flat above the shop and had not come out since.

Ave's heart was thumping a mile a minute. After all, she hadn't actually seen George for over two years. A few times during the battle she had spotted him from afar, but she hadn't truly gotten the chance to talk to him or be with him.

Would he even want to see her? What if he wanted nothing to do with her? Especially after he had lost the most important person in his life.

I have to try to help, thought Ave stubbornly.

Knocking loudly on George's door, Ave heard no response. Taking a deep breath she pushed open the door authoritatively.

George was sleeping. Ave smiled gently. What a goofball. It was 2:30 in the afternoon, and there he was, sprawled out on his bed, bedsheets falling onto the floor.

There was a hole where his left ear should have been. Ave had heard that it had happened, but she wasn't prepared to see it so close. Ave bit her lip to keep from crying as she seated herself next to George and softly began to stroke his soft, orange hair.

Soon, George began to stir and his eyes blinked open.

"Ave?" was his strangled whisper.

"Hey Georgey," she whispered back.

"Your hair is blue," he commented. Surprised, Ave grabbed a lock of her hair and looked at it. Chuckling slightly, she nodded.

"Yes indeed it is."

"If I were a Metamorphmagi," said George, beginning to sit up, "I think my hair would be blue too."

Ave attempted a soft smile and she stroked his cheek softly, wishing she could vanish his sad expression. Now awake, George lightly grabbed her hand and held it there against his cheek.

"I've missed you," he said, his eyes locked on hers.

"You left me."

"I'm so sorry," he whispered painfully. "I just... I'm sorry. I didn't want to watch you get hurt."

"I can't forgive you for it," Ave told him. "You shouldn't have run away from it."

"I know."

Leaning forward, George rested his forehead against her own.

"Ave... he's gone. My other half, he's gone. How can I... what should I..." Though her eyes, like his, were closed, Ave could hear the tears in his voice.

"Day by day," she said strongly, pulling away from him and forcing his watering eyes to stare into hers. "Let me get through it with you. No matter what, you know that Fred wouldn't want you to stay depressed forever. A waste of talent, he'd say."

"If Fred could talk to me right now, he'd say what a shame it was that the more attractive one was the one that died," said George with a chuckle. "Jokingly, of course. Fred would have died for me, just like I wish I could have died for him."

"Please don't say that," commanded Ave. "I can barely deal with Fred's death. If it had happened to you... I don't know if I could handle myself."

Gently George reached out and wrapped his arms around Ave's waist, scooting her closer.

"Do you really still love me, after all this time?"

"Well... once you go ginger, you never really go back," she said with a teasing smile. George smiled back at her and pulled her in for a kiss.

~

Ave shrieked as a pair of arms wrapped around her waist from behind and hoisted her from the ground. As she was placed back on the ground, she smacked the smirking George with her spatula, despite the incontrollable grin on her face. George gave her a mockingly shocked expression.

"What was that for my love?"

"Can't you ever be serious?" she asked. "I have to finish the breakfast for the kids you know." George clicked his tongue in distaste and took a seat next to his son at the table.

"Well now, if I'd known that having kids meant I had to be serious I never woulda done it!" he exclaimed brightly. Ave's mouth dropped and she reached over to smack her husband with the spatula once more.

"Don't say that around your kids!" she scolded.

"Aw now," said George, ruffling his son's hair affectionately. "Freddo knows I don't mean it, don't cha?"

"Yeah!" exclaimed little Fred gleefully as he high-fived his dad. Ave rolled her eyes but George gave her a wink. Rising from his seat, George once more wrapped his arms around his wife's waist, but more tenderly, and without lifting her from the ground.

"Mmm I think it's sexy when you spank me with the spatula," he murmured tauntingly in her ear. Drawing back he gave her another wink as she just smirked at him.

"Is that so Mr. Weasley?" she asked, grabbing him by the tie and pulling him closer.

"Not in front of the children Mrs. Weasley," he scolded teasingly. Ave reached up and kissed her husband passionately.

"If they can handle your abuse, they can handle my love for you," she murmured in return. George gave her another quick peck before whirling around to face his oldest son.

"So Fred, since you'll be heading off to Hogwarts soon, how would you like to hear some tricks your dad picked up along the way?"

"You mean like, dirt on the teachers and all those secret passages you found?" asked Fred in awed excitement.

"All that and more," replied George just as enthusiastically.

"Cool!" shouted Fred, jumping up from his chair. Both Fred and George turned to Ave, gauging her reaction to what George was offering his son. Ave looked at them with a dead serious expression, and watched in amusement as George's excited face turned to a pleading puppy-dog look. Sometimes Ave felt that George was still a boy himself. At other times... he was the most mature man she knew. Now was one of the former times.

Unable to contain her true feelings, Ave grinned brightly.

"Have fun you two," she wished them. Fred and George both grinned happily. With a roar, George picked up his son, playing with him a bit before tossing him over his shoulder. Being used to his dad's behavior, Fred merely beamed and waved at his mother as George walked out of the room with him.

Ave smiled softly. So much time had passed since the Battle of Hogwarts, and it never stopped amazing Ave how much George had improved. Though Fred was still a present memory, together Ave and George had healed from the pain that the terrible battle had inflicted. And now they had a family of their own. Life wasn't perfect, but it was all that Ave had ever hoped and prayed for. Ave and George were happy. Most importantly, they were still as in love as they ever had been.

[spontaneoushiccups-blog]

Indulgent Divulgence?

*Language Warning*

This whole experience has been such an interesting human experiment. Aside from the obvious emotional roller coaster we have personally been through as a family- it’s been fascinating to watch other people react. This is the first, or I guess I should say the most, really serious life and death thing that has happened to me, to us. I have always been an extreme extrovert, shocking people with my language and opinions since basically I learned how to speak. As I have aged and the sometimes unobviously rigid parameters of propriety have burned me- I have learned when it’s better to just keep my mouth shut- though it often requires special occasion. (I’m certain some people who know me and read that have already balked. “When might that be?”) It took being 29 weeks pregnant to write my first blog post about what’s been happening, but I think a lot of that delay was the moving of the goal posts. It took a long time for us to really understand clearly what was happening. When it first became clear to us that something was really wrong and that we were looking at major health complications for the baby, my step-mom warned me that people would be weird. My twin half sisters were super preemies, so she had been through the NICU nightmare and saw firsthand how people twitched at the thought of a baby tangled up in tubes.

Babies are like these beacons of hope, these beautiful physical representations of the future, of promise, health, fertility, love, sex, procreation, LIFE. Anything else and it’s like a records being dragged backwards against the needle. It just seems unnatural. It ruins the music. And yet- anyone who has been down the road of miscarriage, infertility, poor prenatal diagnosis, and even regular old healthy pregnancy and childbirth and the debilitating fear that tends to go with it, knows that biology can be cruel, and she often is. It’s a darkness that once you’re privy to, you can’t unsee. I recently watched Boss Baby with my 4 year old and I thought of the cartoon mom, “that kid is 7 and they are just having their second? Ugh she probably had some kind of fertility issues. Poor thing.” Or now that I am the size of a large gestating mammalian creature, as I waddle unsubtly down the street, I notice sometimes women avert their gaze, cast their eyes downward like they don’t want to look directly at me and I think, “Oh no. I hope my giant belly isn’t bringing up awful feelings of some post traumatic pregnancy issue- maybe I should tell them it’s not perfect.” But I don’t.

I remember after going through a miscarriage last year being stunned at how painful it was compared to how painful I thought it would be (because every pregnant woman imagines in the long 12-14 weeks before you’re out of the “safe zone” what it might be like to lose the baby.) Based on movies and the general shushed untruth that tends to go hand in hand with all things intimately related to reproduction in general, I didn’t understand how primally shattering that would feel. Though maybe no one does until they do. Everyone would say “it’s just the loss of promise” but it was more than that. It was the first time my body, my inner voice, my sense of confidence in the nature of things- my BIOLOGY completely betrayed me. I remember someone said to me on the phone “this isn’t a tragedy.” I hung up on them. It took months for me to even think about getting pregnant again, and even then I had to plan it six months out to be sure I was ready. I made it a conscious, extroverted effort to not be ashamed of my pain or my experience. To talk as openly as I could about it, no matter how uncomfortable it seemed to make people feel. (You know, in relevant context- I didn’t exactly wear a “ask me about my miscarriage” t-shirt- but...it’s not TOTALLY out of the realm of possibility that I might. Also I live in Portland so.)

1 in 3 women will have a miscarriage. The more I talked about it- the more those stories floated to the surface, and every woman who told me theirs still had that saddness in their eyes, no matter how long it had been, or how far along they were. They call it “suffering a miscarriage” for a reason. In many ways I am grateful for having already learned, and not that long ago, that my sense of what nature should be could be wrong, that the floor can fall out. It's been helpful to know that before we started on this current path with Iris. Somehow, while all this has been obviously painful- it wasn’t as surprising.

Social Media is a funny thing for hyper-extroverts like myself because the self doubt and fear of scrutiny or thought of people I love being embarrassed on my behalf generally doesn’t sink in ‘til a few days after the post. Wait- I am brave for sharing? Does that imply that I am brave for telling people and putting it out there despite what everyone thinks? Oh god, what does everyone think? Oh no- am I exploiting this awful situation for the brief feel-good of a "like"? Or So-and-so didn’t “like” the post, or say anything to me about it. Are they ashamed of my post? Too intimate? Too far?

We had another echocardiogram last week and it was really the first time we got to leave that awful poorly-lit clinic not deflated, in tears. They told us her A/V Valves and Pulmonary arteries are looking strong and healthy, we got to see her sweet face up close, so clear now with her little turned up nose and plump lips, and weighing in at nearly 5lbs it’s looking like she should rival or beat her sisters 8+ lb birth weight. All. Excellent. Things. A huge part of this challenge has been this subconscious inability to picture the future. I think any pregnant woman feels that way to a certain extent, but with this I can barely think past March, much less to preschool, teendom, adulthood? The end of pregnancy is so physically challenging that I feel like the excitement of the promise of your baby that’s just-around-the-corner helps to cushion the blow of the wait and the discomfort. When you aren’t exactly thrilled about the scary impending chapter, you’re just left with sore hips, insomnia, and a baby sea otter lodging its skull into your pelvis at the same time it wiggles it’s little toes up underneath your ribs. The high of the positive doctors visit quickly gave way to it’s sharper edge. Now that it was so easy to picture our big fat beautiful baby, it was also easier to picture them taking her from me; prodding and poking her, opening her chest, sedating her, all of the violent details sinking in leaving me feeling gutted.

I am the head of marketing for Portland Gay Men’s Chorus and we are embarking on a huge year for the company. Beijing Queer Chorus is coming to Portland for their first public performance in the U.S. and PGMC is headed to China in September as the first LGBTQ Chorus to tour there, ever. It’s a big deal because China isn’t exactly up to speed on equal rights when it comes to the gay community, (many members of the BQC still perform wearing masks to protect their identities) and the parallels of where they are today, and where the U.S. was in its early years of the company in the 1980’s are glaring. We are making a video to highlight those parallels and the historic significance of this year for the chorus. So I woke up last Saturday morning and had to go into work downtown to meet with the filmmaker and do the first batch of interviews, despite feeling cloaked with sadness. I knew it would be good to take my mind off things and get out of the house.

Gary was the first up in the interview chair and immediately launched into the raw realities of what it was like to be a gay man in the 70’s and 80’s in America. The unflinching history of being threatened constantly with violence, taught by his mother to walk less gay, losing scores of friends-that-had-become-family to AIDS (in the midst of being blamed for the epidemic) and the constant fight against all odds, just to live authentically. Harvey Milk told them to come out- come out to everyone you know despite what consequences it may bare because to live authentically is the only way to be free. Then they shot and killed him. The founding members made the conscious decision to put “Gay” in the organization name, despite how uncomfortable it made so many feel, because that’s who they were, that was the message they were spreading, and it required that for them, in the name of authenticity, to be acknowledged for who and what they really were. After a lifetime, and generations of suffering from being locked in a closet- so many had to learn by society widdling them down- to just say fuck it, and be their true selves at whatever cost. Anything else is prison.

I am so lucky that I love my job. A huge part of that I think is that I so deeply appreciate an environment with little to no bullshit. I found myself watching Gary’s interview feeling relieved and affirmed. Doing something bigger than yourself is always important for perspective, but doing something in the name of authenticity is imperative to human growth. While I completely understand not everyone is as extroverted as I am, I am confident in the ways I have chosen to handle this. To not be scared to talk about it.To be upfront with my experience and my feelings, despite trepidation of what others might think. If only for the hope that someone else out there- living with their own raw and real life situations, feeling trapped in their own closets, wearing their own kinds of masks to shield themselves from what society might think or do, that they might take comfort in knowing they’re not alone, either.

5 weeks til she is born.

ps- I would be remiss not to link to this concert. I will be in UT in the hospital with Iris- but if you're in Portland you should really go. March 17 & 18, Kaul Auditorium at Reed College. https://www.pdxgmc.org/concerts-tickets/

[justanothercinemaniac]

Epic Movie (Re)Watch #180 - Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed

Spoilers below.

Have I seen it before: Yes

Did I like it then: Yes.

Do I remember it: Yes.

Did I see it in theaters: Yes.

Was it a movie I saw since August 22nd, 2009: No.

Format: DVD

1) So with the first film writer James Gunn had written a darker script meant to poke fun at the original series and gain a PG-13 rating, but after the cast signed on this was changed into a family friendly film. With the sequel, writer Gunn returns and this time everyone knew what kind of movie they were going to make from the beginning (which relates to some more solid structure in this film than the last).

2) Scooby-Doo Theory holds that whoever the protagonists talks to first is the person who did it. The first person they talk to in this film is Alicia Silverstone’s Heather Jasper Howe who ends up being the bad guy.

3) Okay, Coolsville opens up a museum exhibit about Mystery Inc. and their past foes. It is said that the gang, “donated,” the costumes. But…why are the costumes their’s to donate? Aren’t they police evidence? Do they steal the costumes from every crime as some sort of weird trophy and stash them all in a storage locker somewhere? Am I overthinking this? Let’s move on.

4) What the heck!? Seth Green is in this movie!?

5) Linda Cardellini continues to be absolutely excellent as Velma Dinkley, but one side we get to see in this film that we didn’t in the first is lovesick puppy Velma. Her crush on Seth Green’s Patrick is portrayed as cute, sweet, honest, and is just enjoyable to watch. I think Cardellini is great in both of these films and gets an even greater chance to shine in this one.

6) I always liked The Evil Masked Figure in this film.

I think it’s purely a taste of aesthetics. I like the metallic head, the hair, the cloak. He’s not really a character so much as a plot device and he does pale in comparison to the classic monsters which populate the film, but I just dig the design.

7) I think the early action set piece of Shaggy and Scooby getting pulled around the museum by the Pterodactyl Ghost is a little stagey. It FEELS like they’re on a film set as opposed to even the fun of the cartoon chases. But that just may be me.

8) What the fanboy in me loves about this film is the way it brings in all the classic monsters from the old cartoons. James Gunn is a fan himself and it shows because - much like he is able to fill up Guardians of the Galaxy with notable characters, references, and alien species - he brings in a lot of A-list villains from the show. The Black Knight Ghost and the 10,000 Volt Ghost in particular were always favorites of mine and it is REMARKABLY fun to see them, the Tar Monster, the Zombie, Captain Cutler’s Ghost, and The Miner 49-er brought to live action (among others).

9) Okay, so Heather Jasper Howe’s reporting is 100% slander and illegal. She is taking everything Mystery Inc. says out of context to make them appear bad in the public light. Yes, she’s the villain, this is part of the plan. But unless you’re working for an obviously biased news source like Fox News you would not be allowed to get away with this. Still, when I start to question the realism of a Scooby-Doo movies the whole thing falls apart.

10) The primary conflict for Scooby and Shaggy in this film is them questioning their worth/value to the team. This makes for surprisingly interesting character conflict and an equally surprising emotional arc for the film. I like it!

11) According to IMDb:

The original Scooby-Doo episode dealing with the pterodactyl ghost featured a villain and motive that were quite different. The pterodactyl/hang glider costume was used to smuggle pirated music, with the small-town mayor behind the whole scheme.

12) I cannot begin to express how funny my tiny eight year old self found this joke.

Shaggy [after the gang goes through all their notes, which Scooby has been jotting down]: “Scooby-Doo, what’s your conclusion?”

Scooby: “Bunny!”

13) I have a feeling this film had a product placement agreement with Burger King. Scooby was drinking from a Burger King cup earlier and then this:

14) I may have watched The Mummy too many times.

Fred: “What could possibly happen by ringing a doorbell?”

15) So Shaggy messes with a record player and “Baby Got Back” starts playing. Which begs the question: WHO ON EARTH HAS A VINYL OF “Baby Got Back”!?

16) According to IMDb:

At one point in the film, Scooby and Shaggy are pretending to sing into a toilet brush "microphone". The song they are actually singing is Strangers in the Night - Frank Sinatra's version featured the improvised scat lyrics, "Scoo-bee-doo-bee-doo", lyrics which then-CBS executive Fred Silverman chose as the name of the new cartoon series. The original name for the dog was "Too Much", a popular catchphrase of the era.

17) The entire Black Knight Ghost chase through the mansion is very cartoonish, which I mean as a compliment. It feels like it is ripped straight out of an old episode of the cartoon, speaking again to the great way James Gunn handles the source material.

18) Why is Daphne wearing a shirt with her own face on it?

19) Again: this made me laugh so hard as an eight year old.

Black Knight [after Velma kicks him in the nuts]: “Right in the round tables!”

20) This film was released in 2004, can you tell?

Fred: “…this mystery goes down like a dot com and Coolsville digs us again!”

21) I ship Velma and Daphne. I have a feeling so does James Gunn.

(Screenshot taken of a GIF originally posted by @ezekiels)

22) Linda Cardellini gets to be exceptionally funny in this film for one BIG reason:

Patrick: “Do you have to go to the bathroom?”

Velma: “No, I can’t in this outfit.”

23) The Faux Ghost.

This is a wonderful concept featured in the film which once again shows off just how deeply familiar writer James Gunn is with the source material. Just the idea that a bar for all the people Mystery Inc caught exists is wonderfully fun. The art design and characters all stand out in a wonderfully fun scene.

24) Whoa, this is pretty deep for Scooby-Doo 2.

Old Man Wickles [about being a masked villain]: “We needed people to believe we were different than we were. Maybe because we believed there was something wrong with who were in the first place.”

This also means the song which plays in the club - “Thank You For Letting Me By Myself” - has much more meaning than one might initially expect.

25) This line was improvised.

Velma [after she lets out a squeak]: “That was my outfit, I swear.”

26) It’s kinda fun seeing Seth Green go into psychotic badass mode on this goon. My primary experience with him is through “Buffy” where he mostly plays his character as emotionally controlled. This is a fun change from that. Also, Shaggy gets in a sick burn because of it.

Shaggy [after seeing Patrick act a little crazy]: “But we gotta make like your personality and split!”

27) What even is this movie!?

Old Man Wickles [after Scooby gives away his position hiding in a bush]: “Darn bushes toweling at me again.”

AGAIN!?

28) Ah, the potion gag.

So there was a lot of work trying to figure out exactly what gags to use. At one point, Scooby was going to turn into his hand drawn counterpart as a replacement to a much less favored gag of Scooby turning into George W. Bush. The filmmakers didn’t want to compare 3D Scooby with 2D Scooby so they had him turn into the Tasmanian Devil instead. It’s kinda random and pointless, but not unenjoyable. It’s kinda fun to watch, it just has nothing to do with the rest of the plot.

29) In this moment, I am Shaggy.

Shaggy: “We’re gonna die!”

Daphne: “Think positive!”

Shaggy: “We’re gonna die quickly!”

30) Okay hold on a second: the monsters share the same hatred of Mystery Inc. that their portrayers had? But why? They’re not the same people are they? Do they have the memories of their human counterparts? Are they the vision of the criminals who portrayed them fully realized?

31) The old high school clubhouse scene is a surprisingly poignant moment of vulnerability and character interaction for Mystery Inc. The flashback - even though it’s a little cringe worthy seeing the young Mystery Inc (with their awkward imitations of the main cast and weirdly dubbed over voices from the main actors) - allows for us to understand the core of their relationship. In a lot of ways, this is the beating heart of the film. Mystery Inc and the friendship they have with each other.

32) Again: I am Shaggy.

Shaggy [while being chased]: “This is tied for the most terrifying day of my life!”

Velma: “Tied with what?”

Shaggy: “EVERY OTHER FREAKING DAY OF MY LIFE!”

33) HOW DID THE BLACK KNIGHT GET A GHOST HORSE!? Wouldn’t they need a horse costume to do that?

34) Ah, Buffy speak used by a “Buffy” actor.

Daphne: “Taste the pain Mr. Glowy Ugly Thing!”

35) I love this.

Velma [after Shaggy and Scooby say they’re trying to be more like the gang]: “That’s funny. I always wanted to be like you guys.”

This speaks greatly to just how freaking important Shaggy and Scooby are to the group. They’re the beating heart, it’s called Scooby-Doo for a reason. And the fact that Velma is able to so honestly and believably say she wants to be like Shaggy and Scooby is a surprisingly touching moment in the film.

36) It only took Velma 45 years to admit this.

Velma [after her glasses fall off]: “I’ve got to consider contact lenses.”

37) According to IMDb:

The Cotton Candy Glob is a tribute to the Cotton Candy Monsters who appeared in the story "Goop on the Loose" in the Scooby-Doo comics published by DC Comics, where the culprits were a child and two henchmen trying to get revenge from being fired from a carnival. The Cotton Candy Monsters were mentioned in A Pup Named Scooby-Doo: Terror, Thy Name Is Zombo (1989).

38) I JUST got that the game of keep away they play with the monster making control panel reflects the game of frisbee we saw them playing in the flashback.

(GIF originally posted by @leaveatraill)

39) Tar Monster seems like he has a ridiculous amount of power. Like he can single handedly nearly kill ALL of Mystery Inc. Why not just release the Tar Monster on the world? I feel like THAT’D be a better plan!

40) The Evil Masked Figure is unmasked and revealed to be Heather Jasper Howe. But her hair and makeup are perfect. Shouldn’t she have - like - helmet hair or something?

41) Scooby running to Shaggy like they haven’t seen each other in ages is totally unearned. Shaggy just put on a mask and took it off and Scooby acts all excited! But, it’s still kinda nice.

42) What the heck? This film has a secret mini movie!?

A commercial!?

Much like the first Scooby Doo film, Monsters Unleashed is hardly a cinematic masterpiece but the kid in my absolutely loves it. The characterization is continually strong (as is the acting), it’s a lot of fun to see the old monsters in a live action format, and it’s just an enjoyable 90ish minutes. There are movies which have aged worse so if you have fond memories of this or are a fan of the Scooby-Doo franchise, give it a watch.

[eddiebrock]

harry potter!!!!

YOU ARE THE BEST, THANK U

Top 5 favourite characters: Ginny Weasley, Hermione Granger, Lily (Evans) Potter, Sirius Black, Harry Potter, Minerva McGonagall (that’s six but fuck it)Other characters you like: Dorcas freaking Meadowes (who is actually a favorite but since she’s literally only mentioned once I felt weird putting her in the Top 5 but I want all of u to know that I would die for Doe), James FREAKING Potter, Hagrid, Luna Lovegood, Remus Lupin, Newt Scamander, Tina Goldstein, Narcissa Malfoy, Alice Longbottom, Kingsley Shacklebolt, and the Weasley TwinsLeast favourite characters: Umbridge, Snape, fucking Vernon & Petunia, Dudley, Otps: JILY, Hinny, Tedromeda!!!!!!!, Newt/Tina, Dorcas/Reginald (the rarest of all rarepairs lmao), Fralice, Jacob/QueenieNotps: please don’t send me any anon hate for this lmao i can’t deal, Dra*mione, Dra*rry, Wolf*star (I HAVE MY REASONS), SNILY, apparently snamione and snarry are a thing???? so that’s fucking gross, Regulus/Sirius, CarrowcestFavourite friendships: Ron and Harry, Harry and Hermione, Ginny and Hermione!!!!!!!!!!, Luna and Ginny, James and Sirius, Lily and Remus, Newt and Jacob, Dorcas and Mary, Dorcas and Alice, Ginny and Neville, Neville and Luna, Kingsley and Remus, and like way 2 many more

Favourite family: The Potters and the Weasleys!!!Favourite episodes moment: ‘Humph,’ snorted Professor McGonagall. ‘It’s high time your grandmother learned to be proud of the grandson she’s got, rather than the one she thinks she ought to have – particularly after what happened at the Ministry.’Favourite season/book/movie: I think the third book was probably my favorite book, but Deathly Hallows Pt. 2 my favorite movie (despite some stupid shit that happened)Favourite quotes: i have way, way, WAY too many favorite quotes to list them all, so i’m just gonna put down my favorite under-appreciated quote because i’ve never seen anyone talk about it, but in the cursed child when draco is like “mY sOn Is MiSsInG” and ginny fucking potter gets up in his face and screams “SO IS MINE” and i just???? ugh, man. S O    I S    M I N E. ginny is the bestBest musical moment: Dumbledore’s Farewell & S T A T U E S are two of the most powerful music moments in the entire franchise, sue me, and the only reason i say statues and not Courtyard Apocalypse is because of the absolute masterful cinematography that went along with the song Statues and how the sound was really MADE for that moment, i will fight everyone on thisMoment that made you fangirl/boy the hardest: returning back to statues scene because honestly, ‘Hogwarts is threatened!’ shouted Professor McGonagall. ‘Man the boundaries, protect us, do your duty to our school!’ gets me EVERY TIMEWhen it really disappointed you: not a single canonical bisexual Saddest moment: “Does it hurt?“ The childish question had escaped Harry’s lips before he could stop it. “Dying? Not at all,” said Sirius. “Quicker and easier than falling asleep.” / harry listening to his own parents die during the cursed child Most well done character death: fuck dude, definitely fred’s because till my dying fucking day i will never forget the phrase “the ghost of his last laugh still etched upon his face”Favourite guest star: Dorcas Meadowes counts as a guest star because she’s only mentioned one (1) time and I literally named my dog after herFavourite cast member: Emma Watson (but also Daniel Radcliffe)Character you wish was still alive: Sirius Black One thing you hope really happens: I want Seraphina Piquery to get 100000x more screentime, she is a badass bitch and I could really use some woc American presidentst in my life, also make her BISEXUALMost shocking twist: honestly, snape killing dumbledore. like i know that’s a big joke now like SNAPE KILLS DUMBLEDORE, but man, i remember reading it and just about shitting myself because i could not fucking believe it. also the whole “the elder wanda ctually belonged to draco but then i disarmed draco so it belonged to me but voldemort thought it belonged to snape so,” was WILDWhen did you start watching/reading?: a little over 10 yrs ago or somethingBest animal/creature: B O W T R U C K L E SFavourite location: godric’s hollow, and it’s because of the way it was staged for the cursed child (i talk more about it later on in this massive meme answer lol)Trope you wish they would stop using: it’s not a trope but i’m gonna harp on this again, there is not a single canon bisexual One thing this show/book/film does better than others: fucks up my entire world in less than a second. but in all seriousness, this whole franchise has such a way of touching that piece of nostalgia, and family and love and all these wonderful things that make me and many others feel so warm and safe. it has such an important and underlying positive message to it and i really just don’t think anything else in the world has touched so many people in such a massive and important way like harry potter has. plus, according to an actual scientific study, people who have read harry potter tend to be better human beings, so there’s that, tooFunniest moments: “There’s no need to call me sir, professor.” / “Have a biscuit, Potter.”Couple you would like to see: Newt and Tina!!! Seraphina and another woman!!!!!!Actor/Actress you want to join the cast: Imogen Poots!!!!!!!!!! but that has a 0% chance of happening, so Maisie Williams and Natalie DormerFavourite outfit: seraphina’s crazy cool outfits and hermione’s sweater in the woods in deathly hallows pt. 1 (but in the books, hermione’s perriwinkle yule ball gown)Favourite item: the invisibility cloak for sure, but also harry’s glassesDo you own anything related to this show/book/film?: the sheer audacity of this question…….. the ability to even list it all is……….. unfathomableWhat house/team/group/friendship group/family/race etc would you be in?: GRYFFINDORMost boring plotline: the entire lavender/ron stint Most laughably bad moment: voldemort trying to hug draco lolBest flashback/flashfoward if any: it’s not really a flashback, but in the cursed child, when they go back in time to the night james and lily died, i can’t remember if the script talked about this but on stage, lily (WHO WAS APPROPRIATELY AGED) took baby harry in a stroller out of the house and there were pumpkins and all sorts of cute halloween decorations all around, and it was peaceful and quiet and when they got out the door she was cooing and talking to harry and making all these cute funny faces at him, and i literally could not keep it together. shortly thereafter, when harry’s gone back in time too, on stage they’re all standing there as voldemort walks off the stage and harry’s forced to listen to his parents die. i’ve never wept so much in my entire life. it was so good. Most layered character: i think narcissa malfoy, probably, if not albus dumbledore, who isn’t the most popular character around but face it, the guy’s got layersMost one dimensional character: umbridge, her only dimension is Evil and i’m ok with it staying that wayScariest moment: fucking basiliskGrossest moment: fucking aragogBest looking male: percival graves probably lmao colin farrell is fine as fuckBest looking female: obviously hermione grangerWho you’re crushing on (if any): i always have a crush on ginny and hermioneFavourite cast moment: that time when they’re wrapping up the final movie, and they’re watching this memories video while they were all still in costume, and emma started crying and daniel hugged her and it was just the cutest thing i’ve ever seen and i still cry, also all of them crying and hugging jk rowling at the premiere of dhp2Favourite transportation: definitely broomsticksMost beautiful scene (scenery/shot wise): deathly hallows part 2 where they’re putting up the protective spells over hogwarts, and it’s got all the colours in that enormous shield and it just brings tears to my eyesUnanswered question/continuity issue/plot error that bugs you: WHY ARE JAMES AND LILY PORTRAYED BY REASONABLY PARENTAL-AGED PEOPLE??? THEY DIED WHEN THEY WERE 21 AND EVERYONE DESERVESTO KNOW HOW FUCKING SAD THAT IS, also what the fuck happened to the real percival graves??? is he dead??? do i get to see colin farrell come back as a good guy at any point????Best promo: i will never forget the day that the audio from the SDCC trailer for deathly hallows part 1 came out, and all you could hear was kingsley shacklebolt saying “the ministry has fallen. the minister of magic is dead. they are coming.” and i just remember sitting at my old desk and whispering “oh my god!!!!! oh my god!!!!!!” and playing the audio over and over again and that was like. magicalAt what point did you fall in love with this show/book: “Mr and Mrs Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.”

[everyonesomething]

Session Nineteen B

Malkas: "God, this hand."

Edith Runekill: "Maybe cards was a mistake."

Malkas: "Do I need to eat the card now?"

"Like a hyena?"

Edith Runekill: "I... I don't think so." She makes a show of pretending to read the rules.

"Doesn't say anything about eating a card."

Malkas: "Okay, so that was a house rule back home."

Grim: "Only if you cheat."

---

Pepper: "You should be glad I can't fit a piano in my lap."

Grim: "Better you than Sydney."

Pepper: "I hope they sent that beautiful instrument off with full honors."

Pepper holds a non-existent hat over her heart.

Grim: "Only fittin' for a casualty of war."

Pepper chuckles. "Hope it didn't leave behind any unfinished symphonies."

Grim doesn't get it, but that's fine.

In this session we've got a lot to talk about.

The set-up: A bunch of side RP got done because of our surprisingly eventful fight.

The Game: We've set up camp for the night and are settling in for a well-deserved meal.

Syd takes a moment while the dinner's cooking to have a chat with Pepper who's been moping in the car like someone died or something. Though it doesn't seem like that's what's bothering her.

Pepper reluctantly tells Syd the healing at the end of the fight was from her, but it's not something she can reliably do. Syd doesn't understand and asks if maybe it's painful for Pepper to do, to which Pepper angsts that it was just random luck. It's not anything she can control.

Syd tries to reassure her that it's nothing to be ashamed of and that what happened must be perfectly natural. Good, kind Syd is trying, but Pepper's not hearing it.

Sydney Gaydos: "So you can't control it?" Sydney smiles. "That's nothing to be ashamed of Pepper! It's perfectly natural!" That was a lie. She has no idea.

Pepper: "Natural does not mean good. It doesn't mean invited, it doesn't mean pleasant, it doesn't mean anything except when a bolt of electricity goes off in someone's face, there's a name for what happened."

"If you don't get it, don't try and say you do, okay?" she says and rolls away from Syd.

Sydney Gaydos hecks up so bad. She lets Pepper finish her rant first before saying anything. "You are correct. Gayd--I, don't know anything about it." Ohhh Serious Tone now. "But I want to. It seems to be troubling you and you are my friend and I want to help with that." Pause. "Even if that means electricity to my face."

Pepper turns her head slightly, then turns back. "I thought that accent sounded phony." She groans. "This wasn't supposed to happen. It HADN'T happened for so long." She buries her face in her elbow.

Sydney Gaydos: "It's not phony!" she huffs, but lets it go. Slowly she reaches out a hand to put on Pepper reassuringly. "You were under a lot of stress. It was a fight after all!"

Pepper doesn't flinch away, she doesn't react at all. "Yeah? You wouldn't be saying that if it'd been anything other than a heal. It's just gonna get worse, and someone's gonna get hurt."

Pepper still has her head buried. "When Grim shot Cap she did it on purpose and everyone still jumped on her for it. Wait until I accidentally. Teleport someone out of the car or something."

Sydney Gaydos is going to HUG this out gosh dang-it.

Syd tells Pepper anything that happens would be an accident and the group would stand by her. Even if they didn't she would, for sure. But she's optimistic, we're all friends after all!

Still, Pepper makes it sound like it might be better if she just left but Syd won't hear it. Syd tells her she's just as important to the group as anyone else—Pepper helps to keep the mood light and spirits high.

Pepper mopes a bit more about how ill-suited she thinks she is to adventuring, but she seems to be feeling better. She thanks Syd for taking the time to talk to her the camper and promises she'll see her in the morning.

Syd's so good, y'all.

It's Mal, Edith, and Grim on first watch and they're all on high alert.

Edith Runekill leans on Leomund's Tiny Hut. She's wearing her Goggles of Night and has has wrapped herself in the blink cloak. What a maverick fashion icon!

Grim sits nearby, smoking under a tree and idly working on her rifle carving while she listens to the Wilderness Night Sounds

Edith Runekill peers out into the woods, not entirely convinced some more bullettes won't come bounding out.

Malkas is scooping the remaining stew into a tupperware.

Well, Edith is on high alert.

The trio talk about the monster attack earlier in the day with Mal and Edith agreeing they'd almost rather be back fighting mummies than more bullettes. They understood mummies, at least. The discussion turns to life and (un)death in general and how a lot of mummies are probably more of a security system to chase off grave robbers. Edith would rather respect a being's remains, rather than turn it into some kind of guard for a bunch of relics, but it's a moot point for her—everyone in Plaguewrought is cremated after death.

Edith Runekill shrugs. "We cremate our dead, anyway. If I die somewhere where I can get the proper rites done, it's back into the air and the earth and the sky and water. If not... well, that still happens, just slower."

Grim nods and works away on her carving.

Malkas: "... You know, I don't know what the tiefling burial rights are. Not like we're religious. And also the only tiefling funeral I've been to was my Great Great Aunt Pazuzu and we didn't have a body for her on account of her getting eaten by a hydra."

Edith Runekill: "Hey. Um."

"If... if I die out here, on this trip. And in a way where you know I can't be brought back... since I know that's a possibility, depending on how things unfold. But... but if I'm really gone for good..."

"You--”

"You'll... you'll burn my body, right?"

Malkas: "... Yeah."

Grim says nothing and keeps carving like she didn't hear

Edith Runekill: "Sorry. Not anybody's idea of a fun conversation. But... well. This is dangerous stuff we're doing."

Malkas: "Mhm."

Edith Runekill: "And I... I just wanted to make sure."

"You know?"

Malkas: "I know."

"Will you promise to embalm me and hang me up like a halloween decoration in your home to scare off all other potential suitors?"

Malkas has a pathological need to lighten a mood.

Edith Runekill lights a cigarette, but she's smiling a bit now.

Malkas: "Get a good taxidermist. Not Eddie at the museum."

"That dire wolf is a fuckin' hatchet job."

Edith Runekill opens her mouth for a follow-up joke, but it dies on her tongue; she can't really find this funny.

Malkas lights a cigarette.

Malkas: "We're gonna be fine."

Grim is tuned out. She's not into this conversation.

Cheerful!

Mal finally turns the conversation to less troubling talk and pulls out a deck of cards to help pass the time. Edith would love to play and Grim joins in with Mal winning the first two rounds. They play a few more rounds with Edith pulling out ahead and Grim quickly losing interest in the game.

It was a fine distraction, but Edith's mind turns back to the fight and how close she came to dying. She'd never had such a close shave before.

Malkas: "Trust me, being dead and then coming back is ... really hard to get your head around the first time it happens."

"I prefer almost dying."

Grim: "It's s'posed to be that way."

"You get comfy with all that magical shit, that's how you end up like Tam."

"We all got limits for a good reason."

Malkas: "Well that was the issue with Thay... No limits on anything. Total mageocracy."

Grim: "Limits don't just come from the outside, though. You got to know in yourself when it gets to be wrong."

"I don't believe it's a bad thing to be shook up over comin' back like that."

Edith Runekill looks troubled; that isn't QUITE what she meant.

Edith Runekill: "No, it's more like... like a sort of whiplash. Less about the magic in particular and more just... the gut feeling of having your body all bent and broken and twisted up and torn how its not supposed and then just--" She snaps a finger. "Suddenly you're whole again. And it's like none of that trauma's real? Except it happened. But..."

"And I didn't get it half so bad as poor Syd..."

Grim listens quietly, but doesn't seem to know what to make of it

Grim: "For the most part, I ain't accustomed to travel with a cleric. Spent most've my life way out where the best healin's a needle 'n thread and a bullet to bite on. Time you get on back to somewhere with a temple, or a clinic, it ain't a problem to recall what's been done."

"Don't know that takin' the knocks is easy to swallow either way."

Malkas: "Neither are we, really."

Edith Runekill: "I'm glad we are, obviously. Otherwise we'd be... y'know, dead. But it's still new."

Malkas: "Dad's a cleric but he didn't usually have to do much day to day healing. A couple of ... Big Fergus-related mishaps sure."

Malkas eyes drift to the car where Pepper is sleeping.

Grim flicks the end of her cigarette into the embers of the fire and folds her arms across her knees.

Mal flips through a guidebook for the Sword Coast, looking for some interesting sights or events we might be passing by. Grim mentions that she's known on the fighting circuit further east if we need to earn some money, and Thay's the closest thing to home turf for her. Mal roughly plots out having Grim help with the navigation around Thay, but before then we'll be passing through Edith's home country.

On the topic of Edith's home, Grim asks her what her folks are like. She hesitates at first before speaking.

Edith Runekill: "They're decent enough sorts? But... but the life I led isn't really what they pictured for their little girl. The job I got, how far away I live... the people I associate with... how much danger I'm putting myself in."

Edith Runekill puts a hand on Mal's shoulder.

Edith Runekill: "They came to visit me in Neverwinter. They made it clear-- in that icy polite understated calm Plaguewrought Land way-- that they didn't really approve of what I was up to. And... and especially not Mal." Edith looks miserable about this.

Grim lights another cigarette, studying Edith as she sits back

Malkas puts his hand over Edith's.

Grim: "So what makes 'em decent?"

Edith Runekill: "I... I guess they want the best for me?" She looks unsure about this. "And... and it's just that I got a different idea about what's really best?" She casts her eyes down, looking uncomfortable.

"I don't wanna sound ungrateful? They gave me a roof over my head and food in my belly and an education."

Edith Runekill lapses into an uncomfortable silence

Grim just smokes thoughtfully

Grim: "How long d'you reckon on paying the debt?"

Edith Runekill: "I... hm."

Edith Runekill takes another long drag on her cigarette

Edith Runekill: "My brothers have done so much more for the family than I ever have. But... but they wanted all that. The farm. Putting down roots of their own out there. A farmhouse and a big family all their own. You know."

"While I was chasing the sunset and dreaming of adventures out west."

They sound nice.

At any rate, Grim tells Edith it's best to live life for yourself and not for family, gods, priests, or whoever else. Though she freely admits she doesn't have much experience with families. Edith never second-guessed her own family before she met Mal's—the Steeles are a very caring, welcoming bunch. Grim reassures Edith that whatever happens in the future, she has people in the group looking out for her.

Of course, no talk about Plaguewrought Land is complete without mention of corn.

Malkas: "You know what we should get at the next stop?"

"Popcorn."

Edith Runekill snorts.

Edith Runekill: "I think we should just appreciate non-corn foods all we can 'til we get past the Cloven Mountains and enter the Corn Kingdom."

Malkas: "True..."

Grim: "What's wrong with corn?"

Edith Runekill: "Nothing inherently. it's just... well, I grew up on a corn farm. It gets a little... monotonous."

Grim: "Cornfield's a real huntin' ground. You got field mice, snakes 'n snake eggs, all kinds of birds, even besides deer around the right time've day."

Malkas: "And Corncob head."

Grim: "What now?"

Edith Runekill: "Corncob Head..."

Malkas: "The mysterious being with a cob of corn for a head that haunts you if you should ever leave and then return to the Plaguewrought Land."

"It's not real, I'm just teasing Edith."

Edith Runekill: "Yeah, it's just a story we tell. But you can tell a lot about a people from the stories they tell..."

Malkas: "In this case, it's a guy with corn for a face."

Grim: "My experience, always worth keepin' them kind of tales in mind. Often they come out of something not so far from truth."

Edith Runekill: "It's less about a guy with corn for a face and more about coming home after you been gone."

"Which. Well. You know."

Malkas: "Or, like... some kinda spell at some point. With corn."

Edith Runekill: "If Corncob Head turns out to be real, I quit the adventure."

"I'm not sure I can deal with my mixed feelings of fear and dread about going back there being embodied so literally."

Grim: "I don't know, fixin' it up into something to shoot sounds as good a way to face up as any."

Edith Runekill grins. "Good point."

Malkas: "I think if it's real enough to shoot, some other adventurer has gone home to plaguewrought and to shoot it."

Grim: "Perhaps each local that leaves creates one anew."

Edith Runekill: "There's a whole colony of 'em."

"You're driving by endless rolling fields of corn. And then you see a couple cobs bigger than the others. And then they stand up."

Malkas: "More metaphors should be edible."

Edith Runekill: "Corncob Heads."

Malkas: "We can make a melted butter golem."

Grim takes a swig from her flask, eyeing the treeline

Grim: "Don't go givin' Pepper ideas, now."

Edith Runekill actually laughs, for the first time in a while.

Edith then wonders if she shouldn't try talking to Pepper about the wild surge she had during the fight. Grim's not versed in magic so Mal and Edith explain it's a sorcerer thing—Mal's brother has them, too. Basically, a sorcerer's magic can go off in unpredictable ways, though in Grim's opinion magic is never very predictable.

And speaking of Pepper, it's time for her to take watch. Grim sends Mal and Edith off to bed, she'll wait up for her.

Grim finally glances up at Pepper, then back at her rifle. She nudges her flask out and nods towards one of the empty seats in invitation.

Grim: "Don't mind the company a while, do you? Ain't so much settled to sleep yet."

Pepper: "It's fine," she says, taking a seat but leaving the flask. "Probably shouldn't drink if I'm supposed to keep a look out, though."

Grim shrugs

Grim: "Keeps the cold out pretty good."

Pepper: "I usually just warm my clothes up or something," she says, faintly gesturing to Grim's shirt sleeve. It starts to feel warmer by a few degrees before she gestures again, causing the heat to dissipate in the cool night air.

Grim glances down at the sleeve and her brow furrows a little, but she nods and goes back to work.

Grim: "That'll do for cold on the outside, sure enough."

Pepper glances at her, chin propped in her hand. "Mm. If you want me to drink my cares away, I'm still gonna have to pass."

Grim snorts softly

Grim: "Fine by me."

Grim asks her where the name Pepper came from. She tells her it's just a translation of her nickname from when she was a kid. She would have gone by her full name—Adralei—but it turns out non-Elvish speakers are bad at pronouncing Elvish names.

Grim: "What's it mean in elfish?"

Pepper picks at a spot on the table. "It's hard to translate. It's like. Good fortune gained through hardship, I guess. But it's also like, an appeal? Asking for good fortune despite hardship in the future. It's a real old, traditional name."

Grim considers this, glancing at Pepper thoughtfully

Grim: "...Ilmater teaches hardship's a part of life. There's always gotta be some certain amount of it in the world. So there's virtue in goin' through it, takin' it off the backs of folks around you. Enduring the worst to make for better fortunes all around."

Pepper just gives Grim the most rotten look.

Pepper doesn't seem very comforted by this line of thought—her parents went through a lot just to end up with her. Grim asks what's so bad about ending up with her to which Pepper responds that even she should have a few ideas why. Grim thinks, she concedes that Pepper runs her mouth and she's a smartass but she's been around worse. But Pepper also healed Syd and helped out big during the fight.

Pepper tells her, too, that the heal wasn't any of her doing—it was just some kind of luck or fate.

Grim: "Fate don't just happen by itself. Takes you showin' up."

Pepper: "Yeah? Well, after awhile fate's the only thing that even wants me showing up anywhere anymore. It sucks and I don't have any control over it."

Grim: "You got control over bein' here, ain't you? Don't know a soul among us that don't appreciate every body we got on the tail of that lich."

Pepper: "I meant control like something else takes over and--ugh," she starts, her face in her hands again. Then, quieter, muffled by her palms. "I thought maybe you felt the same. Like when you got mad today."

Pepper looks away. "Never mind, I'm probably just overthinking things again. What was it, 'cooked up in my own head'?" She has a sour smile on her face.

Grim studies Pepper for a minute, then tosses the end of her cigarette into the fire and looks back over at the owl.

Grim: "I know what you're talkin' about," she says, more quietly. "You ain't wrong."

Pepper noticed when Grim raged out during the fight—though it would have been hard to miss her repeatedly stabbing a bullette seeing as they were in the same car. Pepper asks if it happens a lot, Grim says it's been more frequent lately and that right fighting used to help keep it under control.

Pepper says she's not sure if anyone else would have noticed, there was a lot going on. She's pretty sure Edith was too excited about her fireball to see anything out of the ordinary. A fireball Pepper's still a little peeved about.

Pepper: "And I'm not sure she gets that knowing what evocation can do is a little different experience than being stuck in the middle of it. But what am I telling you for, you were there--" She glances up and catches the look on Grim's face.

Pepper lowers her voice into an almost conspiratorial tone, but looks at the carving instead. "Didn't you say something once about a fire?"

Grim hasn't moved much, but every muscle in her body is tense suddenly. She runs her fingers absently over the carving, brow furrowed.

Grim: "...my hometown burned. I don't remember it."

"Only sometimes, somethin' in me does."

Grim doesn't know why she's telling Pepper this. She lets go of her rifle and takes a slug from her flask instead.

Pepper nods. "My surges were worse when I was younger. I didn't know what I'd done unless someone told me. I think there's still stuff my mom hasn't told me about, she doesn't want me to worry."

Pepper: "But then it's like. You just end up with different stuff to worry about." She lapses into silence, studying the carving instead.

Grim: "There's things that live in your bones, once you been through 'em. Even if you don't recall."

Grim follows Pepper's gaze to the rifle. She's been painstakingly carving out a coyote against a desert plain

Grim: "There's worse places to be, when you're dangerous, than standing in between regular folks and evil."

"Least, that's how I tell it to myself."

Pepper: "Mm. I'll take your word for it, this is a little new to me." She points at the carving. "Is that like. For good luck or something?"

Grim eyes the carving and then smiles a little

Grim: "Naw. Just reckon it looks nice."

Pepper: "Yeah. 's neat."

Grim tells Pepper she heard her talking with Edith the other night at the hotel, after Candlekeep—the walls really were that thin. She's glad Pepper's treating her better to which Pepper admits she had a lot of things wrong about both Edith and Grim. Well, it's almost an apology. Pepper laughs at how backwards she had the situation and double-checks that Grim had no idea about Edith's crush. She didn't—she's used to more direct talk from people.

Grim spots an owl up in a tree, it's actually been watching the two of them for most of their conversation. She IDs it as a celestial owl, a kind of spirit and a good omen.

Grim leans down and rummages around for one of Mal's tupperwares, cigarette clamped in her mouth while she fishes out a chunk of leftover rabbit and tosses it across the way towards the owl.

Grim: "S'a kinda spirit. Good kind."

The owl swoops down and picks up the hunk of rabbit. It does one of those real gross owl moves to swallow it.

Pepper: "Oh. Maybe things are looking up, then. Or. They're going to get so bad it showed up so it'll only be mostly bad."

Grim: "You sure got an eye for a downside."

"And that's comin' from a gal named Grim."

Pepper: "We can trade names, if it bugs you that much," she grins, a bit.

Grim smirks and exhales smoke, watching the owl

Grim: "Suits you better bein' Pep."

With that, Grim goes off to sleep, closing out the scene and the night.

Everyone’s such good friends!

[geraldinesnell]

'Crawling hand in hand out of the window’ / ‘Maybe it’s just me’

This is just a few thoughts - after seeing Michaela Cullen’s ‘Crawling hand in hand out of the window’ at Assembly House in Leeds  last night and what I perceive to be the premise of ‘Maybe it’s just me’ at Embassy in Edinburgh - converging with some general thoughts. Maybe that is not worth stating, because that’s what all writing is. Anyway. I didn’t take any pics and in any case my phone’s shite but here’s one of ‘Lost sheep in wolves clothing’ (Hessian cloaks, galvanised chain) from Michaela’s show:

The title resonated with my impulse to quite literally crawl out of the window at art openings. They’re marmite things for me, depending on how ‘life of the party’ I’m feeling at that particular time, and the type of space (artist-run, ‘proper’ gallery, commercial space etc). Artist-run space openings, such as this - and serf where I first met Michaela - are friendly, supportive things. It can sometimes feel a little cliquey as an ‘outsider’ but then you remember that everyone is as scared as you as you are of them (something JDA Winslow told me when I said I was scared to talk to people who already seemed like they were all friends when I was just wandering lone) .

Speaking for myself but in 2nd person… you see people you’ve met before, meet new people and try to converse in a non-mumbly way, try to talk as little about yourself and what you’re up to as possible cos it’s tedious and you don’t like talking about yourself as exhibitionisty and solipsistic as you are. You have a few bevvies, hide in the toilet when you’re feeling anxious, have a fag to break it up a bit. Also I think this is some of the thinking behind Embassy’s current ‘Maybe it’s just me’ show and talks (I think the premise sort of being that art and art openings and these cliques/bubbles/pockets aren’t ENOUGH? given the political clime, thus the decision to have loads of talks / reading seshes in addition to the show. 

ANYWAY, I only hark on about openings because it relates to Michaela’s work and the schpeel on the facebook event page as I understand it? Which I will clumsily paraphrase (and for argument’s sake inevitably reduce/eradicate the nuance of as is the case when you write about anything with your own agenda) as: addressing how artists put on a sort of ‘uniform’ or make work a certain way or go about things a certain way (the way they think is the right way) in order to progress and ‘succeed’ but it’s often to their detriment. And then of course that made me think of Beagles’ essay (which I keep coming back to) and the way artists ‘deconstruct and present dry critiques of mediums they privately enjoy but for professional purposes would never admit it’, adhering to this whole art pedigree thang, this ‘inculcated sense of artistic propriety’. And it’s to the detriment of the work and we need to be mongrels, not pedigree, and not empty all the oomph and va va voom and woof woof LFHGSLFJGHSFIAKHGNL PLEASURE… 4 REAL, PLEASURE, enjoyment from the work.

There’s so many goddam rules in art! Again, because of its self-professed status as somehow ‘high’ culture, because of its pedigree, because it has to tell itself it’s somehow better than the rest of culture, mass culture, and it has to be critical and can’t be kitsch. 

Anyway, back to the show. lost sheep in wolves’ clothing, pictured above, illustrated this tendency well for me. In a really ominous but also quite comical way. In a visually / sensually arresting way, dementor/grim-reaper-like hanging cloaks. The way that something sucks the soul out of stuff. This is the connection I made anyway. ‘Hey man… it’s harvest time’, featuring a retail display bench kind of thing with embroidered trackie bottoms and unbranded trainers, reinforced this. And the rune-like ‘wisdom wrath wonder woe want’ signatures on the wall. When confronted with this invitation to don the uniform, or the concept of wearing a uniform at all, most of us artisteeees would claim nahhh I’m doing me own thinggg, though. 

Again, alluded to in Michaela’s text, there’s this paradox about doing art and being part of an art community; everyone wants to make their work and have it seen, often as an autonomous, named author, so everyone is kind of competing. But simultaneously, people are supporting each other, bandying together, going to each other’s shows. I feel like I want a show but it’s kind of like, why? I wanna show work, sure, but really it’s just for pictures, for the social and cultural capital, for the few… and… there’s this sense that you just do shows and promote yourself and try to get ahead in some way, when that’s really not how our politics are. Molly Palmer  sorta suggestsed - in a facey b post, don’t really know what the crack is with referencing them! - changing the word for artist, and suggested ‘CONDUIT FOR MUTUAL EMPOWERMENT’. I like that. But even now, writing this, isn’t it really just about my own spin and my two cents, rather than the work itself? We don’t often acknowledge this, but that’s what individual artistic practice is, right? You read and engage and research to the extent that it feeds into your own work somehow, your own thinking?

Even with the whole Dana Schutz Emmet Till painting controversy  (I think that Coco Fusco article and the comments below it is the most balanced thing I’ve seen) you can’t shake the feeling that as much as Hannah Black and Parker Bright standing before it (which was totally cool and in no was suggested cenorship in my eyes, although Black’s letter did) did truly object and protest and were truly offended, which they have every right to be and every right to express, there’s a degree of self-promo in the letter, even if unconsciously, not that it’s virtue-signalling but the claim to speak for a community in a very public forum... but this is good anyway, sometimes things require maybe a little more nuance or time to digest? 

Anyway, I digress again…

And like ‘Maybe it’s just me’ - ‘ a project by Embassy gallery which started with an open ended invitation to Caspar Heinemann, Jake Kent and Daisy Lafarge that exists somewhere at a point in time between desperately holding onto things we think are important and a point where we are also searching for something more affective for our futures’ - and yes, that is AFFECTIVE*, as opposed to effective, (but maybe more effective as well) there’s this sense that in the current clime, individual artistic practice is just like… not all it was cracked up to be. Or that realisation that contemporary art was only ever for the few but that’s not why we went down this route; that ole struggle between wanting a better world and the fact that contemporary art and artists have no real power, and maybe never did, even if lots of the ideas filtered into pop culture and advertising. Idk

Just some thoughts. I didn’t want to ‘crawl… out of the window’ at Michaela’s show, or I did when it got late but that wasn’t cos of the art or the place’s variety of opening mingling, but because I had to get back to Oakworth for that wretched dog, and because I felt kinda anxious about talking.

But anyway.

I wonder, as maybe it’s just me searches for something MORE AFFECTIVE, as Michaela sort of institutionally critiques** art-stuff, as lots of people in culture and theory try to imagine alternative ways and futures, after Mark Fisher’s suicide directly before the start of his Postcapitalist Desire module, when the right are ascending and shit’s hitting the fan, WHAT another way could look like. And in the case of art and art practice and the whole notion of practicing as an autonomous individual - an author - how can we kind of work together whilst we reinforce individualism though our pursuit of individual artistic success, or distinction from peers? Even as we bandy together and have mutually supportive artist-run spaces. 

Or, if the world is fucked anywayz, and if art only ever imagined better ways in the world, MAYBE we should carry on as we were, making work, indulging in ideas. Or maybe we should just act as well, and maybe art and individual artists shouldn’t feel this responsibility to like, change the world! I mean, other disciplines/sectors don’t! They just make the money, they just go with the tide. Really, technology changes the world more than art ever could. Paradigm shifts occur through technological innovation. Say, if the internet changed the way people communicate and perceive more than art EVER COULD, art can kind of forfeit that duty, and carry on as it was. Or try to communicate rather than confuse. Or, like that guy on medium who deleted the article called cryptography trumps art, which I will quote from memory thus: ‘I am suggesting that artists turn away from their concern with leftist politics and prepare for life in a world much more hostile than this one’

WHO KNOWSy-woahsy?

carry onnnnnsy wonnsyyy

never mindsy windsyyy

things’ll be fine —sy winessyy

maybe it’s just cos…

*Affective - of affect, feelings, senses etc. Let us be affected not aloof, let things transmit AFFECT.  Also Sian and I were talking in Edinburgh about how funny it is, and she’s noticed this more since working in tech, that art just has its own language COMPLETELY. I’m only saying this here because affect in cultural theory / art terms is kind of maybe an example of this. Well it’s not really. but you know what i mean see INTERNATIONAL ART ENGLISH and see below footnote:

 **I’ve been thinking a lot about institutional critique, and can you ever critique something in the language of the thing? and the word ironism. How we all need to get goddam ironism. like: ‘ Noun ironism (uncountable)(philosophy) A state of doubt regarding one’s own “vocabulary” (set of communicative beliefs) that cannot be removed by making arguments in that vocabulary.’ Also with regards to Calvino’s Invisible Cities: “The inferno of the living is not something that will be; if there is one, it is what is already here, the inferno where we live every day, that we form by being together. There are two ways to escape suffering it. The first is easy for many: accept the inferno and become such a part of it that you can no longer see it. The second is risky and demands constant vigilance and apprehension; seek and learn to recognize who and what, in the midst of the inferno, are not inferno, then make them endure, give them space.” like, this is the way I see Michaela’s uniform analogy kind of like, the uniform or set way is like accepting the inferno. and art language. and pedigree. BRIDGE THE GAP, close the distance, MAYBE IT’S JUST ME? or maybe people just do stuff the way it’s been done and then everyone feels like maybe it’s just me… anyway, yeah the show was affective and effective and it’s triggered all these thoughts so sick

[cindyerbacher]

Phantom of the Opera Thoughts/Review -New York City-March 16, 2017 evening

Cast:      James Barbour as Phantom, Ali Ewoldt as Christine, Kyle Barisich as Raoul, Michelle McConnell as Carlotta, Laird Mackintosh as Monsieur Andre, Craig Bennett as Monsieur Firmin, Linda Balgord as Madame Giry, John Easterlin as Piangi, and Kara Klein as Meg.

Great job by entire cast!

While waiting to get into the theater, a man asked me if the line was for Phantom. As I talk to everyone nowadays (my 20 year old self would find that very hard to believe), I asked him if he had seen show before.  He said it was his first time and then asked me if he had a good seat.  (Like I would know? Ha!) Told him he in fact did as it was an aisle seat not far from stage and I sat in the same general location the first time I saw the show.

This performance was my planned event and marked my 32nd time seeing the show overall in the span of 20 years. (I am old. Ha!) It had been 15 years since I was last at the Majestic Theatre and 7 years since I last saw the original version. (Although, I did make a very last minute decision, within a few hours of show time, and saw the matinee earlier in the day as well.) I secured myself a front row center orchestra seat. Figured for a difference of $20, I would take the front row location instead of third row side. Surprised I could not contain my excitement because I have sat front row before for the current tour and 3NT tour, but this is NYC!  I have seen folks say that the first row at the Majestic is too close but not true.  I like being able to see the actors’ expressions and the little nuances that you can’t get from being far away. One can still see the candles rising during the lair scenes and the boat.  The only thing that you can’t really see is the Phantom at the top of the proscenium during Il Muto.

In the past few years, I have been making at least one trip a year to NYC to see shows.  When I do, I generally like to see shows I have not seen since my time is limited. My friend asked me if I was going to see Phantom not long after Mr. Barbour took over the role. My response then was that while I would like to see him in the role, I didn’t know if I actually wanted to see Phantom.  (Insert gasp….Ha!) Fast forward to now.  I inadvertently found something on Youtube with Mr. Barbour (not Phantom related) and decided I definitely needed to see him in the role.  One of two main reasons for my theater trip and I saved it for my last show.  By following him on social media, I knew he would be out of town the following day.  So, I was fully expecting he would not be on for the evening show. While I was disappointed I would not see him, I told my friend that I would enjoy the show nonetheless and I would be pleasantly surprised if in fact he was on for the performance.  Welcome pleasant surprise! 

Prior to the start of the show, I was sitting next to two young gals who were on a bus/school trip.  It was their first time seeing the show.  They asked me a lot of questions. I so enjoyed their reactions. Some which gave me a nice chuckle.

Prologue/Auction:

The rising of the chandelier was awesome, even for this seasoned “phan.” It did not disappoint. It is so much closer than any other venue I have sat front row.  I was a bit surprised that there were some cheers and clapping at the beginning of its rise.

Hannibal/Think of Me:

From the first entrance of Michelle McConnell’s Carlotta, knew I would like her performance.  She has a lovely voice. I didn’t much care for the look Piangi but that is a personal preference.  He had a fine voice. I really liked seeing the elephant and the “struggle” Piangi has getting to the top before removing his knife/sword at end of the music.  A bit surprised there was no laughter when the elephant gets turned around to see the drinking and eating stagehands in it. Remember it always did but it didn’t at either show I was at. I have always liked the Monsieur Reyer character and surprised to see it was Jim Weitzer, who I had seen as Raoul on tour. Once again I was really surprised at how little laughter there was when Carlotta storms out.  Always recall this getting some. There was just a bit more when Piangi says “amateurs” before exiting but nothing like what I remember. Ali Ewoldt was an awesome Christine. Such a beautiful voice and has that perfect young Christine look.

 Little Lotte/The Mirror:

The interaction between Christine and Raoul was good but why do people think his name is Ralph?  I never hear that.  The girls next me felt for certain they heard Ralph throughout the show.  Since I know what is going to happen, I was able to see the shadow/outline of the Phantom prior to him becoming “visible” through the mirror at both shows.  I don’t think a first time person to the show would have picked up on that.  There are two things early on that really sell me on the actor in the Phantom role and one of those is when the audience first hears his voice during the mirror scene.  The other would be Music of the Night (MOTN).  James Barbour’s voice was deep, powerful, and forceful here.  It captivates you.  Knew I was in for a treat when “ignorant FOOL” was sung. 

Journey to Phantom’s Lair/Title Song:

While it was great to see the original staging of this I really like the “big walls” of the current tour better because the principal actors are on stage for the entire scene to the Phantom’s lair. However, I like the boat and candles of the original more.  I like the toss of the Phantom’s hat, the swing of the cloak after it is removed, and the pleasure he gets from hearing Christine sing by moving his hand over his head.

 MOTN:

This was very good. The long note of “be” was just a little bit short. Loved seeing the original way of the Phantom putting his arm around Christine and singing “touch me, trust me” which gives a much better connection between the characters.  After Christine faints, I like how the Phantom puts the cloak over her and folds it down just a bit. Don’t recall ever seeing the cloak getting folded down a bit.

 Stranger Than You Dreamt It:

Have nothing of importance to note here except a very tender moment when Christine hands back the Phantom’s mask.

 Notes/Prima Donna:

I really like the interaction of the managers here. Once again not much laughter when the manager corrects “wrote” with “written,” when they step to the side before saying “far too many notes for my taste,” or when one says “we need you too.”

 Il Muto:

I really liked seeing the original version of this scene. Once again, no laughter when the manager says, “the old audience.” This always got laughter in the past but think maybe the audience as a whole is younger so probably wouldn’t find it funny. This might be a change that has occurred at some point but the “observe her” with the “her” being a long held note that always got laughter is not done.  I miss that because they don’t do it on tour anymore either. I didn’t even catch that Ted Keegan was in this scene until my friend pointed his name out when I sent her a photo of the cast list. We both had seen him as the Phantom years ago.  I really like how Carlotta has a pronounced pause between “your part is silent” and “little toad.” Don’t recall seeing it done like that before.  I also pointed out to the gal next me the Phantom at the top of the proscenium which one would not realize from the front row.

All I Ask of You:

This song was done wonderfully by both Christine and Raoul.  The Phantom sounded great with the reprise here.  I know the chandelier crash is coming, not going to look up at it but could feel the air as it went over our heads.  The funniest thing is that the gal next to me squealed quite loudly because she thought it was going to hit her.  I had to laugh.  

 Intermission:

The big question the gals asked me was who Christine is going to pick to be with. Told them there are folks that like Christine/Raoul and those that like Christine/Phantom but have to think which one is most realistic. Told them they would have to wait and see what happens at end of second act.  

 Masquerade:

The gal next to me had the same reaction I did the very first time I saw this scene open. I didn’t realize how much I missed seeing the grand staircase and the original costumes. So happy to see two of my favorites again, the blue fairy like one and half man/half woman, which is my mom’s favorite.  Always like the choreography for “hide your face so the world will never find you.”

 Notes/Twisted Every Way:

This scene was good and I have nothing to add specifically.

 Don Juan Rehearsal:

I really like the man in the scene that kept laughing when Piangi kept getting “tangle” wrong. Don’t ever remember seeing it like that before.

 Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again/Wandering Child:

Christine sang this beautifully and was wonderfully expressive.  This scene also has my favorite Christine costume. The trio singing was really good too. One thing that I do think is a bit dated are the flames coming out of the Phantom’s staff.  Just don’t find them as visually effective anymore, even when I sat in the front mezzanine. Even though I know the big flames are coming up at the end of the scene and I close my eyes beforehand, still never really ready for them.  Ha!

 The Point of No Return (PONR):

Over the years, this has become one of my favorite songs/scenes. The Phantom and Christine sung this really well.  They had a great interaction. There was minor flub here because Christine is supposed to remove the Phantom’s hood in one movement but it took her twice to have it go all the way down.

 Final Lair:

My favorite lines in this scene are “this face which earned a mother’s fear and loathing.  A mask my first unfeeling scrap of clothing.” It sums up the Phantom’s sad existence.  I also really like  how softly he says “wait…I think we have a guest” and not in a booming angry voice. It only changes when he throws the dummy off the chair and puts all the emotion in “you truly made my NIGHT.”  I also like how he sits in the chair bouncing his leg like he is impatient with the whole situation.  It is great how he gets into Christine’s face before saying “you try my patience.”  He says the line somewhat softly and with some underlying anger for the first three words but all the anger is placed loudly on PATIENCE.  Then he turns his back to her and says quickly, very softly, and almost painfully “make your choice.”  I had seen a clip of this scene on Youtube and wasn’t certain if I really liked it done like that or not, but seeing it live made a world of difference.  If one wants to feel sorry or sympathetic for the Phantom, this would be the very place.  The girl next to me whispered what is Christine doing and absolutely squirmed in her seat when she kisses the Phantom. Happy to see there was applause after the Phantom’s final line.  

How I missed seeing the original version! When can I return? Ha!