#but my family was in scotland for thousands of years

[yorktaylor]

i’ve always felt weirdly connected to britain despite having never been there. it’s like there’s something in my soul that still recognizes it as home

[coline7373]

hi, so I kinda fell out of the codywan fandom for a while but I really like your taste based on your fic rec lists I've found. Is there any chance you'd share a couple of fics you liked from last year? Maybe ones that aren't so obvious (like the ones with thousands of kudos are pretty easy to find). If not sorry for bothering you it's not a must of course!

Missile Toes and White Banthas by Ace Raven of Clan Chaos (Music_is_life_2788) (1K)

Lifeday comes once a year, but the trauma of family gatherings is eternal.

A holiday gift exchange written for a holiday gift exchange - it's exchange inception XD

Light-hearted lifeday gift exchange. Rex is out of ideas. Codywan is around the corner and at the end. Sweet and fun!

You be my detonator by Saerus2665 (1K)

“I see they’re just letting anyone on rescue missions these days.” Ben says this as if he’s not currently lying crumpled on his side in a pool of blood in a cold, damp basement. Cody rolls his eyes and does one last quick scan of the room, before stepping around the two bodies on the floor. Or: Agent Ben Kenobi winds up in a sticky situation after a mission gone wrong. Luckily, Cody's there for the rescue.

Spies Modern AU Codywan!!! Not Mr & Mr SMith, they are working for the same side ;) Funny, witty and filled with action. The author makes the most of those 1K

Father War by prouvairablehulk (2K)

We’re damned, after all, through fortune and flame we fall - and if you can stay, then I’ll show you the way (In which 2224 is Cody is Kote is Kote, but more emphatically; or, the Cody-is-Mithras fic that came from being obsessed with my Masters Thesis and Clone Wars at the same time)

Funny. Lovely. And a companion in my mind of that fic in reverse, where it happens to Obi-Wan. But here, it is Kote who gets a little godhood. As a treat.

most things may never happen: this one will by jaigeye (2K)

Cody looks at the bombs bursting overhead. It's friendly fire, and he's beneath it. The heat spewing from it is swift and lacks remorse. It'll melt metal through your hands. Meat doesn't mean anything to light. It goes right through. 

This one isn’t codywan but, by God, if I’m recc-ing any fic, then I’m putting down this one as well. Cody-centric. Fantastic. And I do mean fantastic. About the clones and the droids in Star Wars, and the war and Cody and…

It made me crazy. Crazy.

Must . Read.

half-octopus stewjoni biology no-longer-WIP-now-published-HERE-on-AO3! by passeridae (4.9K)

"Say that again?" Cody pauses, halfway to armouring himself after his checkup, and looks over at Helix. Surely he'd misheard. Helix, eyes rolled towards the off-white ceiling of the medbay as if praying for patience, repeats, "I said, unless you've been having some exceptionally weird sex I don't know about, you've got a prostate tumour." "Weird sex," Cody parrots, his mind helpfully replaying the most debauched trysts he'd had with his General in the past few months. 

The fandom’s usual take for Stewjon is that it’s a hybrid of space!Scotland-Japan and its people are dualsex (even though it’s more often wrongly tagged intersex, which is not the same thing). Not here. Here, stewjoni are half-octopi. They aren’t(?) were-octopi, but half-octopi. Read to find out how. I promise it works. Don’t be frightened by the tags.

What I really liked (other than this little pearl of worldbuilding), is the change to the usual mpreg trope. It’s not Obi-Wan, it’s Cody who carries. It’s not a secret, the main parties involved know about it straight away. Cody is not having A Crisis, the idea makes him happy. Just very refreshing all around.

Medical practices done right. “Normal” pregnancy happening off-screen for a value of normal. “Normal” birth. Started as crack taken seriously then somehow veers sharply off course toward the last part as it becomes bittersweet and happy and joyful and philosophical. Reflection on attachment, the circle of life and all that. Future unknown but ends on a positive note. Loved it.

Dawn by Serie11 (7K)

Obi-Wan had thought of many possibilities, of what his and Cody's life after the war would look like. A child hadn't been among them.

Trans Obi-Wan. Unplanned Pregnancy. Tatooine AU. Heartbreaking. Good ending, though. You don’t stay heartbroken, even if you keep on crying.

Your Smile In Stone by ecarian (8k)

Wooley: can we arrest people for yelling this early? There were two figures standing at the foot of General Kenobi's statue with their backs to Wooley, an adult with a hood, and a child with light hair. The child was pointing at a puddle of Temple tookas who were curled up in General Kenobi’s lap, lounging in the stone folds of his robes, the bend of his knee. Wooley: belay that. Child nuisance.

Clones overthrow the Empire and then… Well.

New Republic and all that.  Sure. They are free, which is nothing to scoff at. But the Senate still voted for the end of the Republic and the jedi are still dead. Aren’t they?

The end… My heart, oh, my heart. Prepare handkerchiefs. By the buckload.

bell tower by smoosey (smooseys) (12K)

In gesture and word and deed, Obi-Wan had made it clear that he saw, in Cody, the same inpollutable, infinite thing that lit the stars. The same Force that had Obi-Wan supplicant his whole life long, luminous under daylight, luminous in the dark, luminous candle-lit, kneeling into the song of the Light. And Cody thinks a part of him has spent the long years since, too, on his knees – in grief, in penance, in duty, in love, and in his memory. But Obi-Wan is alive.

WIP, just once chapter, but what a chapter.

Between hallucinations and dreams, a real communication through the stars with the ghost of his former general or what the spirit of Cody, the purge soldier, concocted to protect himself, a poem, a delirium, a mea cupla screamed at the stars, a fantasy dreamed by a soldier eaten away by the horrors committed by his hands, the State he represents and the atrocities we undertake by ourselves, reality or imagination, metaphor of guilt and forgiveness or real and visceral torture.

PT-2224 made a mistake. Vader makes him pay. Cody is there and not there at the same time. An escape and a voluntary march of his executioner's body towards the final destination.

Incredible. Fantastic. A trip like no other.

Facile Felicity by br1ghtmouth (14K)

Primary functions are supposed to be useful: survive against all odds; shield one’s battalion; fight until the very last breath. Cody would prefer anything besides the bleeding heart he’s been dealt. Or: the General makes plans. Cody follows.

Very fun concept! Lovely characterisation! And, of course, my favorite No-O 66 AU!

True Plain Hearts do in the Faces Rest

by SpaceWall (21.9K)

“We won’t enforce whatever they put forward,” Adi said, “In fact, we won’t fight at all unless they guarantee the clones the right to pursue and refuse soulmate bonds as every citizen of the Republic may. (...)” “You could lose us the war.” “Or we could win it,” Obi-Wan pointed out, “and win it by deserving to, rather than by giving in to that which this order stands against.” Adi’s proposal to offer the senate a bald refusal passed unanimously.

I really liked this one and it’s partly because the codywan is not necessarily romantic. It’s not tagged as such and the connection only happens at the end so I think it’s up to the reader whether they imagine it happening later on or not. It wasn’t necessary for me. 

Cody and Obi-Wan connected on the level of their souls. Nothing, not even romance, can be more meaningful than that.

It was heart wrenching at times and it made me reflect a lot. Not everyone get their happy ending. It’s also a great new take on the soulmate trope and what The Sign is (colorblind vs colored vision, tattooed first/last words, dream/pain/sexual fantasy sharing, ect. And now, A True Smile!!! Because you smile with your eyes, which are the window to the soul. Get it?)

Turn it on to a new kind of bright by rolo_rulu, Saerus2665 (41K)

Someone rolls him over onto his back. “Hnnngh…” Ben blinks his eyes open. There’s a man looking down at him, haloed in the bright light of the sun. (...) “Are—are you an angel?” Ben finds himself saying. He doesn't know if it's the heat or his poor instinctive attempt at flirting that makes him say it. The man squints at him, brow furrowing, clearly caught off guard. “Uh—are you a banana?” OR: The one in which Cody is a hot surfer and Ben’s a biologist who just so happens to be filling in for his brother at his summer job at a perfectly normal, definitely not shady, beachside banana-stand.

Some levity in this recc list!!!! There is no great plot with the Fate of the Universe at stake. This is one of these delightful type of fic that are just… fanfic-y. I don’t know how else to describe it XD

The premise is crackish. The execution is hilarious. The author and artist who work on this (check their accounts out!) were obviously having a hell of a time on this LSD trip together. It also has its sweet moments, its aching moments, moments serious or sad.

Fox is there and amazing. Vos too, stealthily. Obi-Wan is A Nerd and so loveable for it. Cody is so freaking cool. The story keeps throwing you off and making you laugh. The art blows. Uncomplicated and yet rich and varied. Have a grand old time, without becoming anxious about the Meaning of Life Itself.

Just… a cute, funny love story. Happening in a Modern Setting. This is the king of stuff I’m on ao3 for. Gold stars.

Six Months In A Leaky Boat by passeridae (47K)

The year is 1998. Australia is fucked to hell and back, but its neighbour New Zealand is doing surprisingly alright. Well, if it wasn't for the supply shortages, persistent earthquakes, and the government's increasing heavy handed attempts at censorship. Cody, a presenter at Radio Hauraki, is particularly pissed about that last thing. And he knows just what to do about it, too — all they need is a boat. Radio Hauraki started life as pirate radio back in the sixties, what's stopping them from going back on the waves? Also, if his coworker, Obi-Wan, could stop making his life a living hell that'd be great, but Cody is pretty sure the world will end for real before that happens.

Modern Dystopia happening in a 90’s Alternative Universe. Activism. Civil disobedience. The author must be from NZ itself because how else would they have so much knowledge about the slang, the culture, the places? Historical accuracy used like a punch to punctuate the story’s point. Fail gay men. Gay love.

I love the idea of a couple uniting while they are constructing something. This story, though, is less about the boat itself, but the journey they take toward that point. It’s mostly from Cody’s POV while the world, society and democracy is slowly imploding around him. 

At first, he tries to obey the law because he doesn’t want to suffer from discrimination. But as the story goes on, he just can’t follow it anymore because to do so would be to let people die when he could have helped save them. And so he fights.

Various characters take this journey too, along-side him, in the background.

In an extremely vivid New-Zealand setting, with an original format (written, audio, pictures, links to songs…), a story all the more impactful by what we’re currently all living through, two men falling in love and many people rallying for Fairness and Justice.

Amazing.

|vidur viduvasario| by littlekaracan (76K)

There, peeking out from between the grasses, was the glittering and unmistakable head of a grass snake. Cody blinked. Twice. “I – “ he began, and realized he didn’t quite know what to say. “Forgive me, are you – the grass snake, there?” The grass snake’s head twitched – as if reacting to his voice. He saw a flash of its forked tongue, and – “That would be me, yes.”

Between fairytale, folks tale Shakespearean-flavored, and TCW medieval AU. Obi-Wan is not a were-snake or cursed or about to give Cody an apple. He’s just… a snake. And not. I cannot explain too much away without spoiling the story but it was great.

No big, galactic stakes. Just Cody living in a village with his many, many brothers and meeting a snake. That’s it.

Done so well I kept thinking about it for weeks afterwards. Lovely.

|slâfst du, friedel ziere| by littlekaracan (64K)

“Help me,” he whispered, desperate for something he could not understand, and could feel the dirt slowly trickling into the emptiness of his eyes.

A moment of silence, and the voice relented.

“Come to me,” it whispered, and he wanted nothing more. “Come to me, darling, and I will do my best.”

That author decided to slay their readers without mercy and I am here for it. Willing head on the chopping block. Chopchopchop.

2224 is starting to reach the end of his shelf life. Amidst a fevered dream (or a vision?), he embarks on a final mission. That he fails, of course, just like he failed at dying.

Past the reunion of two battered traumatized men, between a journey toward self-forgiveness and the acceptance of the horror of their past and present, a healing of the minds, while Cody’s body is hurling toward death.

Happy ending, of course. I couldn’t stand it otherwise. But boy, there was a knot in my throat the whole while. And that passage where Obi-Wan [insert spolier]... I had to stop to straight up cry.

|keep the wolves away| by littlekaracan (59K, so far)

They saw her around Mos Eisley, sometimes, lingering by the repair shop where her father worked or sitting atop the crates strewn about the street. She had strange eyes - aged and watchful and inquisitive, even more so perhaps than the other children around her, although all of them had grown up too early all the same. (...) There was something important that Reva Sevander had learned throughout the last hours she spent in what once had been a safe haven, lying atop her murdered clanmates and trying not to make a sound as the stench of their deaths grew more and more oppressive - nothing, least of all tomorrow, was ensured.

I have recc-ed this author and I will recc them again! This one is a WIP and it is announced codywan, which is why I gave myself permission to cheat by putting it there since where it stopped, it hasn’t happened yet. But, if it ever becomes finished, I know it will be as brilliant as the rest. 

For someone who had many, many, many, many critics about the Kenobi Show, how they created the character of Reva (who, by all right, should have been awesome) and that hasn’t found a fic where I was able to enjoy her, I was absolutely bowled over by how much it made me root for her.

Yoda and Obi-Wan go to the Temple, before they decide to split to fight Sidious and Anakin respectively. They find Reva. They pick her up. And then, of course, someone has to take her with them when they decide to hide. Spoiler alert: it’s not Yoda.

It’s told from the POV of Reva and Obi-Wan broke my heart as well as made me want to shake him until his teeth rattle. I would be hard pressed to find a child in a fanfic described and characterized so authentically. Obi-Wan goes straight on the Depression Train, like in the show, but he can’t just lie down and let himself starve and stew in his nightmares, because there’s a child who depends on him. Two jedi in a post-jedi world. One who should be starting their journey, but didn’t, and one who should be passing the flame to the next generation, but can’t. Jfc.

The End!

That’s it folks.

When I received the ask for a codywan recc list, I was in a waning enthusiasm period for codywan fics (not the ship itself!).

Because I’m very picky and I have dozens upon dozens of criterias for codywan “fics I loved so much I bookmark them and recommend them to everyone”. I could read literally all week sometimes and not find one fic that meet all these (very subjective and personal, mind you!) criterias.

It’s not ungratefulness for people writing fics (are you kidding?), it’s a matter of taste. Without new canon being produced, fandom/ship tend to stagnate a bit in terms of narrative after a while. It happens to literally every fandom I have been a part of and is no critic of anyone or anything. That’s just the nature of things.

But, well. Then, the number of fics that scratch all my itches and that I haven’t read yet start to get smaller and smaller until, to find new gems, I have to plow through hundreds of fics first.

But I considered it a challenge to myself and my habits and accepted it gladly! To shake things up and find actual new stuff, I put the restriction on myself to look only for fics last updated between 2023 and 2024.

Because I already made a recc list in 2022 and I wanted to give what I hadn’t seen yet a chance.

As you can see, some truly amazing stuff came out of this! If with this list I manage to make you discover new fics, I will consider it worth it!

At the time I am writing this, there’s still plenty of fics downloaded and waiting to be read on my e-reader. But we’re reaching the end of the year so I’m stopping it there so that people can enjoy the fics over the holidays.

If I find new things, I will edit it ;) As always, suggestions are always welcome too!

Meanwhile, enjoy, leave kudos for the authors, and happy reading!!!!

[sgiandubh]

idk if you’ve watched it yet but in the 10th celebration video, the part where Sam says “we dnt even know when we’ll be released” and Caitríona’s reaction to it had me👀….like the rest of us it seems they too can’t wait for it all to end so they can finally “released” and free from St*rz clutches. But i thought that was interesting thing to take notice of

Dear Reaction Anon,

Of course I watched it. Friday, even. But I have a dinner to plan for Wednesday, my car to sell (plot thickens...), dinners in town and various people to see.... So, sorry for the delayed answer and so incredibly sorry for being also late to the Shipper Feast.

Almost everything has been dissected to death, as it always happens, but I might still throw in my two cents, after all. So, I'll simply relisten to that video as I answer you and hit stop every time something interesting that has not been mentioned in here yet, made me go hmmm, ok?

At the 01:35 mark, S: 'yeah, it was such a whirlwind, you know, I mean, going straight into screentests and then looking for THE Claire, and it took quite a while, and then this one landed in Scotland, you know, weeks before we just started'

Here is her reaction - definitely fed up with this peasant, right?

Also, as a side note, did you notice how emotional S gets every single time babies and domestic scenes are mentioned? For a man who supposedly has no family of his own, that is surely strange.

And then you are so, so right, Anon, this is how she reacted to his 'being in a bubble for ten years and we don't even know when we'll be released what the world looks like' comment:

Did I notice an impish smile? Well, I surely did, Anon - and so did you.

It was a smart move to watch them watch OL. I found it very interesting, lots of clues about their joint dynamic:

She, as always, is leading the pack. He is more reserved and usually takes his cues from her, constantly seeks her approval. Gradually relaxes as she seems to imply the context is 'safe enough' to loosen up a bit. And yes, this is all instinctive, by now. If I knew absolutely nothing about These Two and saw them act and react like this IRL, I would definitely have questions.

And yes, I think he could listen to her talking about WWII medical pamphlets and bandages for days and still never get bored. This guy still lives to make her laugh:

Psst, Anon - see how they hate each other, here? Which really makes me think the 'just promo/fan service' argument is borderline schizophrenic, really - and why is S wooden and clumsy when promoting anything else with ANY OTHER WOMAN in our galaxy, by the way? Also, S and McTavish pretending they were still friends at that MIK event in London was 'just fan service' - this? This is not really that.

And then, oh dear me darling, that photo. I can almost hear two different kinds of 'shiiiiit' reactions, here:

He knows he mustn't slip - as he usually does, she is more like 'shiiiiit, hehehe, see what we've done here'. Logically, then, he brings about that sorry modicum of an excuse 'I've been so jetlagged' (jetlag was actually the least problematic thing, in that pic, ROFL; also, there are two people in that pic, bless your 💖🤣). Followed by the only diversion he could think of: bringing in the 'thousands of people, that was incredible, blah blah' - and then she dutifully chimes in: ' I think we did Hall H...? the big one...?' (strange comments for a pic where one can see two very cozy and scantily dressed people, LOL). Dilute, dilute, dilute. But it's Horowitz reply that interested me the most: ' it's too bad you guys aren't photogenic, even after a long flight, like what a mess you guys look like, there':

He threw a bait, C took it: 'weeelllll...' and then Josh ended it with a simple, smiling 'please' that, in my mind, is on par with KDS' 'believe what you want'.

I also found very telling one of the last remarks by Horowitz, too: ' it's ok, they can't fire you now, it's too late, it's way too late'. Granted, it was about the trivia and allegedly in jest, but really?

And there you have it, Anon. Perhaps it's not much, but as always, I tried to take the road less traveled by. Thanks for giving me the opportunity.

[thatscarletflycatcher]

Thinking again about the darknesses that lurk underneath the surface of Sense and Sensibility (I have talked before about how Edward despite being the eldest is subjected to what we can argue is emotional and financial abuse by his family for years, and how the Dashwood women are disinherited on a whim of their great uncle), and this time specifically about the Brandons.

We get so little about them, and what we do get about them is all bad:

This lady was one of my nearest relations, an orphan from her infancy, and under the guardianship of my father... At seventeen she was lost to me for ever. She was married—married against her inclination to my brother. Her fortune was large, and our family estate much encumbered. And this, I fear, is all that can be said for the conduct of one, who was at once her uncle and guardian. My brother did not deserve her; he did not even love her... I have never told you how this was brought on. We were within a few hours of eloping together for Scotland. The treachery, or the folly, of my cousin’s maid betrayed us. I was banished to the house of a relation far distant, and she was allowed no liberty, no society, no amusement, till my father’s point was gained... My brother had no regard for her; his pleasures were not what they ought to have been, and from the first he treated her unkindly.

Mr Brandon Sr is shown to us as being a greedy man, a bad administrator of his estate, and a cruel father. His first son seems cut of the same cloth, and his pleasures were not what they ought to have been is one of the most, if not the most sinister line between all the Austen novels. But there's more about him!:

Her legal allowance was not adequate to her fortune, nor sufficient for her comfortable maintenance, and I learnt from my brother that the power of receiving it had been made over some months before to another person. He imagined, and calmly could he imagine it, that her extravagance, and consequent distress, had obliged her to dispose of it for some immediate relief.

The Brandons were married for two years; the colonel returns to England and starts looking for her 3 years later. Young Eliza was then a 3 year old toddler. We are obliquely told that Brandon cut all ties with his brother:

It was a valued, a precious trust to me; and gladly would I have discharged it in the strictest sense, by watching over her education myself, had the nature of our situations allowed it; but I had no family, no home; and my little Eliza was therefore placed at school. I saw her there whenever I could, and after the death of my brother, (which happened about five years ago, and which left to me the possession of the family property,) she visited me at Delaford.

Eliza is now 17, so the eldest brother died when she was 14, which is 16 years after his marriage with the older Eliza. In that period of time, he managed to squander the whole of her fortune, and put the estate in debt again, as we are told earlier on by Mrs Jennings:

Poor man! I am afraid his circumstances may be bad. The estate at Delaford was never reckoned more than two thousand a year, and his brother left everything sadly involved. I do think he must have been sent for about money matters, for what else can it be? I wonder whether it is so. I would give anything to know the truth of it. Perhaps it is about Miss Williams and, by the bye, I dare say it is, because he looked so conscious when I mentioned her. May be she is ill in town; nothing in the world more likely, for I have a notion she is always rather sickly. I would lay any wager it is about Miss Williams. It is not so very likely he should be distressed in his circumstances now, for he is a very prudent man, and to be sure must have cleared the estate by this time. I wonder what it can be! May be his sister is worse at Avignon, and has sent for him over. His setting off in such a hurry seems very like it. Well, I wish him out of all his trouble with all my heart, and a good wife into the bargain.”

We know the Bennets, with five daughters, and without a saving mindset, still manage to live very comfortably with 2000 a year, and if they had had any mind to save money, they could have provided all five of them with decent dowries/money enough to keep them out of poverty when their father died if they were single. It is clearly not that the money isn't enough, or that Delaford is an unproductive estate; in fact, it is described to us as almost paradisiac:

Delaford is a nice place, I can tell you; exactly what I call a nice old fashioned place, full of comforts and conveniences; quite shut in with great garden walls that are covered with the best fruit-trees in the country; and such a mulberry tree in one corner! Lord! how Charlotte and I did stuff the only time we were there! Then, there is a dove-cote, some delightful stew-ponds, and a very pretty canal; and every thing, in short, that one could wish for; and, moreover, it is close to the church, and only a quarter of a mile from the turnpike-road, so ’tis never dull, for if you only go and sit up in an old yew arbour behind the house, you may see all the carriages that pass along. Oh! ’tis a nice place! A butcher hard by in the village, and the parsonage-house within a stone’s throw. To my fancy, a thousand times prettier than Barton Park, where they are forced to send three miles for their meat, and have not a neighbour nearer than your mother.

One interesting character, though forgotten because only mentioned in passing, is the Brandon sister. On one of the quotes above we get that she's in Avignon for her health, and we know her husband is wealthy (and probably abroad with her) because it is his estate that the planned picnic is for:

A party was formed this evening for going on the following day to see a very fine place about twelve miles from Barton, belonging to a brother-in-law of Colonel Brandon, without whose interest it could not be seen, as the proprietor, who was then abroad, had left strict orders on that head. The grounds were declared to be highly beautiful, and Sir John, who was particularly warm in their praise, might be allowed to be a tolerable judge, for he had formed parties to visit them, at least, twice every summer for the last ten years. They contained a noble piece of water; a sail on which was to form a great part of the morning’s amusement; cold provisions were to be taken, open carriages only to be employed, and every thing conducted in the usual style of a complete party of pleasure.

It is implied that Brandon and his BIL are in very good terms (and we know he's not afraid of cutting ties with bad relatives), and one can safely guess that at the very least he cares enough about his wife as to have her travel for her health. Another guess can be made about her getting married about 10 years before the events of the book. Whether she lived at home before that, or was at school or somewhere else, it isn't said.

But this way you can feel there's a parallel in a way, between the Brandons and the Tilneys: a greedy, cruel father, a son that follows on his steps, and a younger brother and sister managing the toxicity as best they can. Talking about this with @bad-at-names-and-faces, she brought up the idea that in that scheme, Cathy would be Eliza (if it wasn't her not being an orphan, or a rich heiress, and how that connects with Austen's line about Cathy not being born to be a heroine at the beginning of Northanger Abbey). Certainly part of it is the romantic gothicness of the Brandon backstory, united with NA's commentary on Gothic tropes, but to me it drove home with even greater force how such a situation would break a man; losing Cathy that way would have definitely broken Tilney, and if we had met him 14 years down the line, would he have appeared to the unacquainted much different than Brandon appeared to the Dashwood sisters?

[therealvinelle]

I love the Agatha Christie question!

Who are your HP/Twilight faves in the Christie universe? (Who’s the opportunist who knows too much and dies for it? Who’s the conman killer who courts the girl to avoid suspicion? Who’s just trying to take a holiday and gets caught-up in a murder? Who are the dynamic mystery-solving duo who realize they are in love by the end of the novel? etc.).

I mean, that is kind of what The Man Who Would Be King (and secret fic) (both cowritten with @theoriginalcarnivorousmuffin) have already become. We have our murder victim, Alphard, a very rich man with a colorful family, and possibly his sister, we have our unlikely detectives in Voldemort, Lily Potter, and Alphard himself. It may not be the center of the story but it's a large part of it.

In other words my answer for Harry Potter would somehow spoil all my present and future fics so I won't.

As for the Twilight version...

I vote we do it wealthy dysfunctional family style, it's most natural.

A patriarch is poisoned

Carlisle Cullen, a very wealthy man with powerful enemies, nonetheless dear to those around him and blessed with more friends than most, is found dead in his office one morning. Cause of death? Murder.

The police, caught on the detail that Dr. Cullen was a vampire and vampires are real, what the fuck is this on the doctor's autopsy table and is he going to wake up again and drink all our blood?, are little use in the investigation. Scotland Yard is soon brought in, and using Chief Swan's connections with the family they get a better picture of Dr. Cullen's life.

His family wasn't looking to inherit him anytime soon, as he was immortal. None of them were having money troubles however, all were independently wealthy.

He had made enemies of a thousand-year-old clan of powerful vampires, who on hearing that his murder is being investigated like this get very upset. Supposedly the victim lived with them in his youth (and inspector Craddock cries when he learns the timeline for this murder goes back to the 1600s. Are they going to have to bring historians in on this murder??), he might have known something

Oh what's that? The victim had a whole network of friends across the globe, who are all killers, and he knew everyone's secrets? ... do we have the budget to investigate this?

The victim was also living next to a tribe of magical shapeshifting wolves evolved specifically to kill his kind. They liked him best and had a line in their treaty that "he dies last". Not sure what to do with this information

Rosalie Hale missing person case from 1933 solved: Carlisle Cullen adopted her. Was she recognised, did someone piece it together, and was Carlisle killed in retribution?

The victim lived a fake life of fake papers. Could be important, except it's the most normal thing about this case.

The police wonder how this man didn't get murdered sooner, and are stretched so thin the investigation is going slowly.

So, Renesmee gets to be our plucky detective du jour, as she decides to see if she can help. Surely there is no harm in her poking around, and she's well liked around the vampire world so there might be answers she can get that human police can't, partly because policemen keep getting eaten.

She slowly narrows it down to the horrible realization that it was someone in the family, and she learns terrible things.

Jasper Hale wasn't Jasper Hale at all! He was a friend of Jasper's in the newborn army who wanted a new life, and who in the wake of Jasper's suden and unexpected death assumed his identity. He had Peter bite his entire face so he'd be scarred like Jasper had been, and vouch for this blond vampire most definitely being Jasper Hale. Peter later had to die because he Knew Too Much, and so did Charlotte, regrettably. Fake Jasper did however not kill Carlisle.

Edward seems a prime suspect, he is an angry and resentful young man who acts out. Everyone thinks he did it, and that Bella should certainly marry Jacob, the safer option. Much upheaval is had, however, once Renesmee is able to clear Edward's name and he meaningfully links arms with Bella. They sail off into the sunset with their inheritance.

Rosalie is a beautiful, cold, intimidating woman, the femme fatale sort who's surely conniving. It's a bit of a mystery why she married that poor fool Emmett, but it's clear to all she doesn't love him. No clear motive from her, other than the money she would inherit, but she's just so suspicious. Her alibi is ambiguous, she claims she was with Esme and Emmett but what if Esme and Emmett are lying to protect their daughter and wife? Superintendent Battle wonders about that.

Renesmee is at a loss.

And then she realizes that it's not Rosalie who acts like she doesn't love Emmett, it's Emmett who acts like he doesn't love her! And Esme's grieving widow act is just that, it's an act!

Renesmee realizes that Emmett and Esme are lovers, and killed Carlisle together. Esme committed it while Emmett tricked Rosalie into giving her an alibi. Renesmee realizes this once she has a "But Rosalie couldn't have seen Esme from that angle!" moment.

The plan was too pin Rosalie for the murder, see her hanged, and then in due time the mourning widowers would marry, happily entitled to all the money they couldn't have touched if they'd divorced. Also Rosalie was Catholic so she wouldn't have agreed to a divorce.

The two lovers are confronted, and Esme pulls out a tiny pearl-studded gun from her shoe, says "We tried, my love. I regret nothing" before shooting first Emmett, then herself.

[mshalfemptygirl]

The Prince Agent (S.R)

Plot: Reader is called to help Spencer with a case and things get too cute.

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Dr!Fem!Reader

Contents: Really quicky mention to kidnapping and lots of fuffy

A/N: guys it’s my first fic, so let me know if you guys liked it, if you need a part 2. There are some translations at the end for you to understand the fic. Just give support and love. Thank you very much. Enjoy! 

I never knew exactly where linguistics was going to take me, but this is too much. I was at the police station, dressed an updated version of what it was meant to be Mary Stuart all because I helped my teacher with an Scotch Language Class this afternoon. You know, I'm in the postdoctoral program and sometimes we need to help our teacher and that's mean look ridiculous when they ask you to do a "favor" to them. So, I'm here, next to the door, feeling lost and angry for not have time to change my outfit. They said that just need to find an Agent called Dr. Spencer Reid to translate a little girl who was saved by the team. It gonna be easy, but no.

I notice that there is a man looking at me, he’s next to bullpens with some paper in his right hand. He is tall and very handsome by the way. In fact, he's wearing a tie that makes him look really HOT but I can't think about those things at such a delicate moment like this, I need to focus. I walked towards him, looking at the floor because in addition to the long dress, I was wearing high heels and I didn't want to embarrass myself in the middle of the police station. When I stopped in front of him, he put the papers on the table and gave me a small smile.

“Excuse me, where can I find Dr. Spencer Reid?” I returned the smile, wishing it was him.

“Well, right here. I’m Dr Spencer Reid, nice to meet you. You should be Dr. Y/N L/N. Or maybe Princess Y/N L/N?” he give me a big smile. “Can you follow me?” I felt my face burn, he was making fun of me and it made me a thousand times more nervous. I start follow him to the hallway with many rooms, the walls were white and light blue, there is a clock on the wall.

“Sorry, I didn’t have time for change. And It supposed to be Mary Stuart. So it’s Queen Y/N L/N”. He nodded while he run his hand over his hair. He stopped to think about something. Even nervous, I can't take my eyes off him. “Did you know that Mary became Queen of Scots at only six days of age and Mary’s last night was spent drafting an elaborate will in which all her servants were remembered. On the day of her execution, she appeared in her customary black cloak and with a white veil over her head and she then dropped the cloak to reveal a crimson red dress?” he ask me, I can see the excited in his face. I couldn't help but smile big, he's so endearing, so cute. I think he's trying to make me more comfortable.

“Yes!!! And she also was the first woman to practice golf in Scotland. She even caused a scandal when she was seen playing the game at St Andrews within days of her husband Darnley's murder. She was a such badass, I like her” I said. Then I remember about the little girl, they must have been in a hurry to help her. “But Dr. Reid, changing the subject, can we talk about the little girl? What you want me to do?” the expression on his face changed from a happy face to a worried one.

He explained to me that she was only 6 years old, she is physically fine and she was rescued from a kidnapping a few hours ago, they couldn't find her family and they couldn't ask her questions because she only speaks Portuguese. That's why they called me. It looks like his team has been looking into this possible unsub for months. Well, now I'm more relieved to be dressed like this, she deserves a good time in the middle of this chaos, I hope she likes princesses. Doctor Reid will walk me into the room so I can be the bridge between him and Mila.

I was the first to enter the room, there were some children's things on a table in the corner of the room. In the center of the room was a shaggy green rug and a table. Mila was drawing on the table, she had her back to me, focused on drawing and there is another blonde woman in the room with her, it must be another agent. She got up and wished him good luck. I looked at him and he nodded for me to start.

"Oi Mila, me falaram que tinha uma princesa por aqui” ¹ she looked at me and took to give me a hug. She got really excited saying several things at the same time, I sat with her on the floor and she played with my hair. That's when she realized that Dr. Reid was in the room and her face was etched with fear. “Mila, ele não vai te fazer mal, ele é muito legal! Sabe, o nome dele é Spencer e ele é meu principe. Ele é meu cavaleiro que me protege de coisas ruins e ele protege princesas como você também. Então ele não vai te fazer mal. Okay?” ²

She waved at me and I gave her a smile. I called Spencer over and he sat on the other side of the table. I translated for him what I said to her and it was like that for 40 minutes. Mila was no longer afraid of him, she gave as much information as possible about the man who took her and she also talked about her family. When she was scared, she squeezed my hand really tight and I told her that everything was going to be alright. Now, she going to draw two drawings for us. “Y/N, I will pass the information for Agent Garcia so she can start the search. You helped a lot. Thank you. Can you stay with her?" I nodded to him. “Mila, diz “Bye, Spencer”, ele precisa ir agora” ³.

“NÃO! Ele tem que dar um presente para você. Ele é seu principe, não é? Vocês tem que casar e viver felizes para sempre” ⁴ At that moment my heart beat faster. Holy shit, how was I going to translate this to him?! I can feel the presure. If I was avoiding embarrassing myself, now is the time. She was looking for something in the toy box, she walked to Spencer and gave him a plastic ring. She just pointed at the ring and then at me. We looked at each other not knowing what to do. I was in PANIC. “Spencer, I think she wants us to get married. You don’t have to. Sorry, I can explain to her that...”.  

“Oh, don't worry, I can give you the ring. Give me your left hand" I held out my hand to him and when he touched me I feel a good feeling. His hand are so soft. Looking right into Mila's face who seemed very happy with our misfortune. "Right, we are married. I’m married to a queen. I have to go now but can we talk after this, my lady?" he said after kissing the ring on my hand. Damn, he obviously has a hold on me."Yes, we can, Prince Agent Reid". Then I give him a smirk and he left the room. I show Mila my hand, she was happy for the first time in days and I was thinking how lucky I would be if this fairytale were true.

1 Hi Mila, someone told me there was a princess around here.

2 Mila, he won't hurt you, he's really nice! You know, his name is Spencer and he's my prince. He is my knight who protects me from bad things and he protects princesses like you too. So he won't hurt you. OK?.

3 Mila, say “Bye Spencer”, he needs to go.

4 NO! He has to give you a gift. He's your prince, isn't he? You have to get married and live happily ever after.

[hasannaqlah23]

it ❤️

We are reaching out to you with an urgent plea to help Hassan Al Naqleh and his

family

Hello, I am Hassan from Gaza and I am 20 years old and I am the breadwinner for my family. Unfortunately, because my father is not here, I had a supermarket and I was also studying at the university fine arts and graphic design, but this difficult war came upon me and my family of 6 members, my older brother Muhammad, and he is suffering from psychological pressures. The difficulty that has increased in the war has increased, and he needs treatment, but there is none here in Gaza. His condition is worsening and becoming worse every day that passes without treatment, and my sister Hanin, who works as a nurse in Al-Aqsa Hospital and teaches French language training at the university, and my sister Afaf, who studies physical education at the university, and my brother Tariq. Who finished high school last year and who helps me at work. My mother, Israa, is 46 years old and used to help me in the supermarket.

Please stand with us and spread my story everywhere. We need your humanity. Maybe your humanity will bring us to safety and rebuild my family’s beautiful life again.

6 individuals. Each individual needs to pay, in coordination with the Egyptian company Ya Hala, approximately 7 thousand euros for our exit to Egypt. We need 42 thousand euros for my exit. I and my family will remain temporarily in Egypt until the Turkish visa is issued for me and my family, which my relatives presented to me, namely Nadia Majid Al-Naqla, the wife of the President of Scotland, and we will begin. By building our new life there, we will need housing, transportation, travel costs, and papers, approximately 18 thousand euros

Thank you for standing with me and spreading my story to your friends and relatives

❤️❤️❤️ Big love to you who helped, contributed and spread our story so we can get out of here ❤️

my instagram@ hassan__nqlah

WhatsApp number +972597140017

Contact me if you would like to know more about my story

@timetravelingkitty @meaganfoster @briarhips @dirhwangdaseul @mahoushojoe

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[scotianostra]

6th December 1593 saw a Clan battle at Dryfe's Sands in Dumfries-shire.

The Maxwell and Johnstone clans had for a long time waged a bitter feud for the supremacy of the Scottish West March. This feud culminated in a battle at Dryfe Sands close to Lockerbie.

Lord Maxwell, with 2000 horsemen approached the Johnstone town of Lockerbie being constantly harassed by small detachments of Johnstones and their allies.

The Johnstones attacked the vanguard of the Maxwells and then retreated, provoking them to pursue them.

The Maxwells obliged. The main body of the Johnstones, which had been kept out of sight of the enemy, then suddenly charged and caught the enemy off guard. Their disordered vanguard was sent reeling into their main force and in the resulting confusion, the Johnstones pressed home their attack.

The fleeing Maxwells were pursued through the streets of Lockerbie and beyond. At Dryfe Sands the slaughter was completed.

Wiki put the caasualties at around 700 Maxwells killed, the Johnstone's dead is marked as "Heavy" with a figure of on 160 surviving Some years later, in 1608, a meeting of reconciliation was arranged between Sir James Johnstone and Lord Maxwell, son of the chief who was killed at Dryfe Sands. The meeting was carefully supervised. Each party could bring only one attendant. Then during the meeting. Lord Maxwell suddenly drew a pistol and shot the Johnstone chief in the back, killing him instantly. Lord Maxwell was initially captured and held at Edinburgh Castle, but he escaped and made his way to France

On his return to Scotland in 1612 he was arrested, and attempted to make peace with the Johnstones by proposing a marriage between the two families. This was unsuccessful and he was beheaded at Edinburgh on 21 May 1613

The Border ballad "Lord Maxwell's Last Goodnight" is based on his actions.

“Good, my lord, will you stay then about my father’s house And walk into these gardens green? In my arms I’ll thee embrace. Ten thousand times I’ll kiss your mouth, make sport and let’s be merry.” “I thank you, lady, for your kindness, trust me, I may not stay with thee.

For I have killed the Laird Johnstone, I care not for the feud. My loyal heart did still incline, he was my father’s death. By day and night I did pursue and all on him revenged to be; Now I have gotten what I long sought, trust me, I may not stay with thee.

Adieu Dumfries, my proper place, adieu, adieu Caerlaverock fair; Adieu my castle of the Threave, and all my buildings there. Adieu Lochmaben’s gates so fair and the Langholm shank where the birk bops bonny; Adieu my lady and my only joy, trust me, I may not stay with thee.”

Now he has taken a good gold ring whereat hang signets three, Says, “Take you this, my own dear love, and aye, have mind of me. But if you wed another lord while I am on the sea, His life is but a three day’s lease, though I may not stay with thee.”

The wind was fair, the ship was clear, the good Lord went away; The most part of his friends were there to give him fair convoy. They ate the meat, they drank the wine, presenting in that good Lord’s sight. Now he is over the floods so grey, Lord Maxwell’s taken his last goodnight.

[starfata]

When I went to see the Galloway Hoard exhibit in person, I copied the links from the three QR codes and sent them to my family. The general information was on the placards, but 3D models are cool on their own.

The Galloway hoard is a huge find, these items among others were deliberately buried in order to protect them- and then no one went back for them. For over a thousand years, the hoard lay undisturbed until it was discovered by a metal detectorist in 2014.

[skyler10fic]

Passed Down Like Folk Songs

Summary: Daisy bumps into Carol at a pumpkin patch and they both feel like they know each other from somewhere...

Notes: For @ficwip All Ships Ship Week, prompts "Do I know you?" and memories/dreams. Also for @isolus-girl who is having a rough week+. Love you!

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

The local pumpkin patch and apple orchard farm was full of people the weekend before Halloween. It was no surprise then when two single sapphic women bumped into each other by accident.  

“Oh, hey, you dropped this.” Daisy Johnson tapped the shoulder of a blonde in a red flannel and handed her a carabiner of keys. Daisy noted the pink, white, and orange striped cat keychain. 

“Oh! Thanks.” The woman took the keys and hooked them to the belt loop of her jeans. She met Daisy’s eyes and paused. “Do I know you?” 

Daisy almost responded no but something made her look deeper. “You seem familiar too. And you have a Kamala Kat. I have the bi one, the kittens.” 

This earned a bright smile. “Aw, that one is adorable. Yeah, Kamala is a family friend. Do you know her too?” 

“No, just through mutual friends. I swear I know you from somewhere, though.” Daisy laughed at how odd the feeling was.

“I’m Carol Danvers.” The woman extended a hand and Daisy shook it. She noted no one had stopped to wait as Carol spoke with her.

“Daisy Johnson. I was just about to meet up with some friends at the cider sampling. Would you want to come too and we can figure out how we know each other?”  

A little girl, dragging her mother, called back to Carol, “We’re going to the petting zoo!”

“Okay, I’ll see you later!” Carol called in reply. “You know what, Daisy Johnson? I’m suddenly available. Why not.” 

Daisy introduced Carol to Jemma and Fitz, her cider sampling friends who were saving a wood picnic table for them all. 

When they had their tasting glasses in front of them, Daisy explained, “When I moved here in middle school, Jemma and Fitz were the only other new kids that year, so we hung out a lot, even though we were all from different places.” 

Carol sipped on her cider, enjoying the stories. “I can guess England and Scotland, but where did you move from?”  

“The LA area, which felt just as far away at that age.” 

“Wow, I am from LA! Well, not really. Pasadena.” 

Daisy squinted as she asked, “Wait. Did you go to Margaret Carter Elementary?” 

Carol slammed down her glass in excitement that Fitz’s Scottish kin would have been proud of. “Oh my god. It’s you! You’re the girl.” 

Daisy giggled. “I can’t believe I forgot your name. I can’t believe you forgot MY name!” 

Carol simply stared at Daisy in awed surprise. “How on earth am I sitting at a table thousands of miles away with my first kiss?” 

Jemma and Fitz gasped, and Carol and Daisy realized they had been following this exchange with rapt attention. 

“Yep,” Daisy confirmed. “That’s me. After school out by the science garden. My mom was out of town for work and my dad was late to pick me up.” 

“And my parents had no idea where I was after school and didn’t care as long as I was home for dinner.” 

Daisy leaned in flirtatiously. “So the lesbian cat keychain… Our experiment worked? Still kissing girls?” 

Carol shrugged. “You were very persuasive. And you said you have the bi one?” 

Daisy held up her bag with the keys clipped to the side, showing a kitten with blue, purple, and pink yarn balls. “Girls are definitely at the top of my preferences list, but I haven’t had anyone to 'practice' with lately. Is that woman you were with, who had the little girl, your…?

Carol followed Daisy’s glance to where Maria and Monica were walking their way and finished the sentence: “Friend, housemate, sister. By choice, obviously.” 

She laughed in acknowledgment that biological sisterhood was genetically unlikely. They might be opposites on the melanin color wheel, but they were family in all the ways that mattered. 

“Maria, Monica, I want to introduce you to my friends!” Carol called them over. A waiter brought by another cider sampler for Maria and some apple juice for Monica. 

When Carol explained how she knew Daisy and their history, Monica squealed. “It’s so romantic. Are you her girlfriend?” 

Daisy smiled as Carol apologized. She jumped in, “Well, we could always try a date first.” 

Carol unlocked her phone and slid it over to Daisy with the texting app open to a blank message. “If you text me from my phone, I’ll have your number and you’ll have mine, and we can plan something.” 

Jemma grew serious. “I hope you mean it. I’ve trying to get her back out there for ages.” 

“I tried,” Daisy protested weakly. “I just wasn’t interested in anyone from the apps. Those things are terrible.” 

Carol laughed in understanding. “And here you were all this time I was swiping through photos of couples looking for a third or married women looking to experiment without their husbands knowing.” 

“Here I am,” Daisy confirmed. It felt like more than that. She hadn’t simply kissed Carol as a preteen. She may not have remembered her name, but she remembered enough to wonder about her, to dream about her sometimes, to wish her well wherever she was in the world. 

Little did Daisy know, Carol had done the same. And with the power of a perfect autumn day, they found each other again.

[ingravinoveritas]

I’m excited for the renewal of GO3 but I’m also kind of a little worried for David because he’s been performing McBeth for 6 six weeks now and rehearsals are also killer and now their set to film GO? Just thinking about this exhausts me so I can’t imagine how he would feel (and Michael also for that matter since he’s been rehearsing for his own show). Also, please please PLEASE don’t let GT and AL be in GO PLEASE

Hear, hear, and three cheers to the renewal of GO 3!

All I can say is, it's about damn time we finally got this announcement. I am ineffably thrilled as well to know that we will have our boys back together in Scotland to bring us the resolution to Aziraphale and Crowley's story.

In terms of filming, I did see the press release that said GO 3 filming would begin "soon," but I think "soon" is a relative term here. David's run in Macbeth goes until early February, and then Michael is in Nye at the National Theatre from the end of February until May 11th. So "soon" likely means a good six months from now at the earliest (i.e., mid 2024). Hopefully that means both David and Michael will have time to rest up and prepare for the start of filming GO 3, but I would imagine them both feeling a sense of excitement and anxiety at their forthcoming schedules.

What I think Michael and David likely do not feel anxiety about, however, is the prospect of getting to spend more time with each other. And we know they are already seeing each other at least somewhat regularly right now, what with Michael being in London at the moment, so it stands to reason that Michael and David are going to be frequent fixtures in each other's lives and worlds for a very good portion of the next year. Lovely.

In terms of Georgia and Anna possibly being in S3, I will echo what @thereallovebug previously excellently said, which is that it is very tiring to think that we haven't even had the GO 3 announcement for a day, and already people are calling for them to be cast in the show, and it's just...can we not even fully process/absorb this news before jumping to yelling at Neil to cast people? Or maybe just skip the "yelling at Neil to cast people" part completely? I'm just confused as to why there has to be an immediate call to have them in the show when there may not even be a place for them in it.

I also keep thinking of the discussion that took place when the news about GO 2 first came out, which was that having any family member of Michael's or David's would be distracting, and we saw what ended up happening with Peter Davison and Ty. I thought Peter did very well as Job, but Ty just seemed out of place the entire time and it was like you could "see" him acting instead of just...being, and as a result, his performance did not quite gel with the rest of the scene.

The takeaway point here is that the role of Ennon could have gone to any number of aspiring young actors, talented actors looking for a shot at the big time, but who did not get to have that opportunity due to nepotism. It only makes sense, then, that the same would hold true for GT and AL. And to me, it's disrespectful to the show, to Neil, and to Michael and David at this point to act as if GO 3 is somehow "not good enough" unless GT and AL are in it. As if the thousands of other talented actors in the UK aren't good enough simply because they're not Georgia and Anna. I've been accused on multiple occasions of only disliking Georgia and AL because of who their partners are, but the fact that so many people are only fans of theirs for the same reason is apparently not a problem.

(I will not go into detail here about the myriad of reasons why people are fans of Georgia and AL's because of who their partners are, but I suggest reading this post from @artificial-indulgence, who has perfectly enumerated my own thoughts on the subject.)

It is for the reasons that are mentioned in the post I just linked to that I feel many fans are unwilling to see the reality of things, which is that Georgia is a passable actor, but Anna is not, and any halfway decent casting director is not going to overlook that. I'm thinking back to an Ask I answered yesterday about her being edited out of the photo used for the I Talk Telly Awards and (more significantly) that no one actually seemed to notice that she was missing.

Given that, it's highly unlikely that someone whose performances are so unmemorable would be cast in the third installment of a major global TV show--at least purely based on merit. And knowing how important this third season is, how it's meant to resolve Aziraphale and Crowley's story and give us what Neil and Terry envisioned so many years ago, it would be truly unfortunate to see all of that overshadowed by other things.

But yes, today was very much a day filled with good news (and which I wholeheartedly appreciated, given that I am dealing with some difficult personal issues at the moment). More thoughts to come in a follow up post, so stay tuned...

[ankles-be-bitten]

i can't get over how royally the ineffable husbands managed to fuck things up but it literally couldn't have gone any other way.

so many spoilers for good omens 2 ahead <3

i know it's been done to death but i've got so many thoughts about their dynamic. like what the hell. but at the same time, i personally believe this was the only way it could've gone. obviously, if the metatron hadn't been involved, it would've gone much smoother, but our boys can't control him. he may as well be the weather.

crowley is an optimist. you can see that clearly in how he's certain how aziraphale will respond to his confession. he's sure he'll get his thoughts out, all will be well, they'll go out for an extremely alcoholic brunch at the ritz. he knows aziraphale loves him, he's barely even worried about it until the time actually comes.

which is why it's so utterly heartbreaking that aziraphale interrupted him, but as frustrating as it is, it's SO in character. it's especially evident in season 2 that it's almost always crowley listening to aziraphale, humoring him and his interests. hell, he even says it himself in the coffee shop: aziraphale frequently calls on him just to tell him about good things he's done or accomplishments he's proud of. and that's great! it's wonderful that crowley cares about aziraphale's interests and accomplishments, as much as he might feign indifference or even disapproval (as with the magic tricks). but the inverse is literally unheard of. to be fair, crowley and aziraphale are very different people with different emotional needs, but crowley acknowledges in Every Day as he's preparing to confess that he's not much of a talker, he needs to say what needs to be said right now, or it's never gonna happen. he has a need and that need is not being met, which in isolation feels INSANE for aziraphale. he's so aware of the wants and needs of those around him, highly empathetic, and receptive to others' emotions--but i noticed a bit of a pattern.

consider his behavior in scotland with elspeth and dalrymple. he readily condemns elspeth to hell, ignores the absurdity of his statements about poverty and purity, and if i remember correctly he harbored much of the same sentiment towards mr. dalrymple, that is, until he realized why they were doing what they were doing. it wasn't until the boy with the tumor was humanized to him that he realized exactly why the cadavers were needed, which created the pathway needed for him to empathize with elspeth. he's kind and generous towards maggie because he's known her all her life, she's a real person to him. aziraphale doesn't naturally empathize with people he doesn't really connect with, which i'm guessing is a byproduct of his time in heaven. the only real outlier i can name is job and his family, which can pretty easily be chalked up to aziraphale having a deep respect for the man and his devotion to the god he, too devoutly served.

so then why isn't he as receptive towards crowley's needs? they've known each other for thousands if not millions if not billions of years, a far cry longer than aziraphale knew maggie or elspeth--not to mention the fact that he never knew the boy with the tumor at all. they've seen everything together; aziraphale has undoubtedly seen crowley at his very lowest, so why does it seem like he doesn't care at all about what crowley has to say in Every Day?

my guess is that it boils down to crowley being closed off emotionally, hidden behind his veil of sarcasm and dry humor. aziraphale saw elspeth, wee morag, maggie, job, and even technically the boy with the tumor at their most vulnerable. he saw them at their most human.

but he just doesn't see crowley that way. in his mind, crowley is an entirely separate entity. he doesn't cry to aziraphale about having to live in his car or his plants having brown spots. he's often incredibly indirect, sometimes painfully so, to the point where aziraphale frequently doesn't get the point until it's much too late, like with elspeth and wee morag. aziraphale is a creature of habit, and he just isn't used to what crowley has to say being urgent or time sensitive, it all unravels itself eventually, why should this be different? yes, crowley did say outright that it needed to happen now, but aziraphale had just been given what he saw as the opportunity of eternity for both of them. no more would it be "too late," they would have all the time in the world--more, even. whatever crowley had to say in that moment couldn't possibly be more important than eternity together.

and so he did what he's always done. he went straight to crowley to tell him about the Good Thing that's happened, this time for both of them, and the offer really hit a nerve, perfectly illustrating the way crowley was not being fulfilled in the relationship with a finality that honestly just made him snap. why on earth would he want to become an angel again? he'd never expressed an interest in that, often being vocal about the opposite, albeit in his vague manner; yet another example of aziraphale learning his lesson all too late. aziraphale didn't hear or really see crowley at all, and maybe he never had. maybe he didn't know he needed to.

that kiss was crowley's last ditch attempt to get aziraphale to see him, really see him, as a person with emotional wants and needs. one fabulous kiss and we're good, right?

maybe not. but i think so. much like the story behind the tumor in dalrymple's office was the catalyst aziraphale needed to see elspeth, i think the kiss was the catalyst aziraphale needed to see crowley. that level of emotional vulnerability we had only seen from crowley when he thought aziraphale was gone forever in s1, and aziraphale didn't even realize that was about him.

but he knows now, and i think he'll do better going forward. he is capable of learning from his mistakes, i think we've more than proven that by now, and it's almost always crowley that enables that change. you can see in his eyes after the kiss how incredibly conflicted he is, and i'll be damned if a good portion of that isn't kicking himself for not really being there for crowley, even if he doesn't consciously realize that's what the issue is at that point. there is almost definitely guilt in those eyes; michael sheen knows what he's doing. for once in his life crowley was clear and direct about what he meant and what he wanted and aziraphale was so absorbed in what he wanted, not just in that moment but throughout their entire friendship, that he maybe genuinely had no clue about that facet of crowley's character.

i really don't know what's going on with him in the elevator at the end and i'm not too keen on speculating about that at this time, but whatever it is i'm sure it'll reveal itself in due time. to be honest i don't know that it's anything to do with crowley at all, and therefore may not even be relevant to this post, which is already very long and rambly.

i would absolutely love to discuss this further and to hear insight from others. i'm new to tumblr so i don't expect much visibility, but if you get this far and have thoughts about this do please share!

[weirdestbooks]

Alba agus A Mac (Wattpad | Ao3)

Scotland and Orcadians, requested by NewJerseySHlol

Alba enjoyed spending time with Arcach, his eldest son, who had been a constant for much of Alba’s life. Arcach had been with him for a long time, and while their father-son bond remained strong, sometimes it felt as if they weren’t just that but also dear friends.

Even if he was also Nirribhidh’s son, but Nirribhidh hadn’t been involved in Arcach’s life in a long time.

It was also nice to have someone to speak Scots with. Much of the time, people would mock Alba for it, calling it a crude form of English, and that only made him cling harder to the language. Arcach preferred it to English, even though he still spoke Norn frequently at home, as it was his first language, and he always had an easier time expressing himself with it.

“I don’t know how you deal with all this modern stuff. I hate it,” Arcach said as they watched the cars go by. Alba laughed.

“At this rate, you’ll be an older man than I if you keep complaining the way you do,” Alba joked. Arcach rolled his eyes. 

“You know what I mean, Athair,” Arcach began, “This is the era of globalization, and that’s really good for you, but us little guys, the ones who are people and not governments, this weakens us. I like some of it, I really do, but…it’s hard not to feel nostalgic when the simple fact of the matter is that this could all be helping lead to my death. Scottish Highland Travellers and I have talked about that a lot.”

Alba couldn’t help but wince. If Arach and Ceàrdannan were talking, that couldn’t mean anything good.

“I’m not going to try to destroy your culture,” Alba said, “I don’t want you to die.”

“I’ve already lost Norn, and sometimes it feels as if I am losing Scots. I know you aren’t trying to kill me, but I fear I might die all the same,” Arcach said before shaking his head and standing up. “But I am over a thousand years old, in the end. I think I have lived a good life.”

Alba frowned, standing up and following his son down the side of the road.

“I’m sorry if I have done anything to make you think—”

“You haven’t. I have just had a lot of time to think recently. And…” Arcach trailed off, shrugging. Alba pulled an arm over his son’s shoulder, tail curling around his leg.

“Tha gaol agam ort,” he muttered. Arcach leaned into his side before sighing.

“I know. And I know I’m not going anywhere. I just can’t help but worry,” he said. “I think that’s why some of my people want me to have my own government or something.”

“I can’t make that happen. I…I only recently stopped being governmentless. And…you know how Britain is,” Alba began, prompting a laugh from Arcach.

“Yeah, the man who sends me daily letters asking me to move into his home so we look more like a unified family, like I’m related to him. No offense, Father,” Arcach said with an apologetic smile.

“None taken. I disowned him the minute he started beating his kids,” Alba deadpanned as the two came to a stop.

“Then why are you so insistent on trying to change him?” Arcach asked. Alba sighed.

“I want to show him…I want to give him a chance to be better and grow. He’s not leaving anytime soon, so he deserves to grow as a person, like we both have over the years,” he answered. 

“You have too much faith in people.”

“And you’re too distrusting. It’s why we balance each other out so well,” Alba said, releasing his son, who laughed.

“Maybe you’re right about that,” he said, “But I still think it is a bit futile to try and save Britain.”

“Well, we’ll have to see. In the meantime, I’ll stop him from sending letters to you.” Alba offered. Arcach nodded.

“That sounds great.”

[conductorswife]

welcome to my blog!!! :D

hi! my name is Karissa/Krissy! i'm an autistic young adult whose main special interest is A Hat in Time!!! this blog will be dedicated to my love for my fictional husband/agedre caregiver, Conductor, and my A Hat in Time AU/fanfic, Flawed Perfection!

art i drew on Clip Studio of our wedding!

Conductor's significance to me

i've been an A Hat in Time fan since 2017, and a Conductor fan since then too! i've made thousands of drawings of Conductor in various art mediums, traditional and digital. i have AHiT on both Steam and Nintendo Switch, and i've played Conductor's levels in Battle of the Birds and the Arctic Cruise enough times to memorize nearly all of his voice lines. i also own a Peck Neck shirt from The Yetee, an official Conductor plush from IndieBox, and a few custom deco pacifiers. i even celebrate my "anniversary" of the day i saw Conductor for the first time, December 6th, every year! the ship name i've created for me and Conductor is "kariductor", a simple combination of our names!

fun fact: my nickname "Krissy" originated as something for only him to call me because i thought "Karissa" would sound strange in his accent, but i liked the name so much that i now use it everywhere online!

my official Conductor plush and a paci i decorated myself with the phrase "Conducty's Lil Lass" in letter beads!

Flawed Perfection

my AHiT AU/fanfic is about Conductor's backstory and how he became that angry, over-demanding, foul-mouthed Scottish bird we know today. i strongly believe he wasn't always that way, and that a variety of factors contributed to this behavior developing, main ones being perfectionism, depression, and stress.

in my story, he starts off as a passionate filmmaker. he takes tons of inspiration from his family's history in his work, especially after the death of his father, who passed the Owl Express down to him. his first film is a huge success and he wins a first place award. however, as he continues his career, he slowly devolves into prioritizing audience scores and profits. the passing of his father and older brothers, combined with having to juggle two jobs, greatly affects his mental health and he slowly grows further and further away from his remaining family.

losing the 2027 awards (yes, this timeline goes into the future!), the subsequent mass resignation at the studio, and being on the verge of bankruptcy also sent him further into depression, and he became desperate for anything that could get him back to where he was. that's when he meets an american woman (me!) visiting Scotland. pleased by some art she drew for him, he hires her as a storyboard artist on the spot, though the two have sharply contrasting personalities and styles. as the two develop an unlikely friendship, Conductor starts to realize the error of his ways, but he'll need her help in order to find his true self again.

the title "Flawed Perfection" is an oxymoron, coming from how Conductor has such a strong focus on perfection, but the way he goes about achieving it is greatly flawed.

Thanks for reading!

i tried super hard not to dump the WHOLE story into this single post, but yeah!!! if you find Flawed Perfection an interesting idea maybe consider giving my blog a follow :3 so ummm that's about it for now! 🫶 feel free to ask questions and give feedback and stuff byebye!!!!

oh yeah also i have a carrd if you want more info about me + links to my other socials :3

[richmond-rex]

We know that Henry VII spent a lot of money on jewelry, (a few thousand pounds at a time?), and that Elizabeth was also fond of jewelry. Is there any example of him gifting Elizabeth some jewels? Or some example of Elizabeth spending huge sums of money to buy jewelry?

Hi! It's true that Henry VII spent a lot of money on jewellery and plate, apparently even more than his predecessor, Edward IV. When he bought vast sums of jewellery, though, those items were intended for more than just himself. For one, they were also intended for his family — we know that the plate Henry VII purchased, branded with the king and queen's H&E monogram, also supplied the queen's household. But Henry's expenses were most of all institutional purchases. Those jewels the king acquired were also given to selected courtiers and even foreign ambassadors and rulers.

For example, Henry VII once gifted the queen's half-brother, Thomas Grey Marquess of Dorset, a ruby ring. In 1500 Henry VII paid £14,000 ‘for diverse & many Juells brought oute of Fraunce agenst the marage of my lorde prince [Arthur]’. We know that Catherine of Aragon and her ladies received part of those jewels during the festivities, as did other Spanish officials. Likewise, on the occasion of his daughter Margaret's marriage to the King of Scotland, ‘sertain juells, plate, and other stuff’ were bought for Margaret, her entourage and James IV at a cost of £16,000. Not only were the jewels and plate Henry VII bought meant to be gifted to multiple people and displayed in multiple palaces but they were also used as prizes and rewards at tournaments.

Those costly purchases are not very detailed, though smaller purchases usually were. We don't know for example how much a single ring cost Henry in those big purchases of 1500 and 1502 for the occasion of his children's marriages, but we know that in 1505 he paid Bartholomew Rede £8 for gold ‘made in Ryng[es] for the Just[es] at Riche[mount]’ (£5,327 in today's money). We also know for example that Henry VII spent £66 (£44,209 in today's money) buying gold for his wife in 1495, and on another occasion, in 1497, he deployed £31 (£20,764) ‘for juels’ for Elizabeth of York's use. These are rarer instances though, because usually what was written down was costly but undetailed purchases that he ordered in regular batches.

In contrast with the king's bigger purchases, Elizabeth of York's were intended for a more selected audience such as herself and her sons. Still, Nicola Tallis has noted that Elizabeth's sums spent on jewels in 1502-1503, at a total of £166 (£110,548 in today's money), were 'still lightly higher than those of Margaret of Anjou', and more than the evidence that we have for her mother's surviving expenses with jewels. Elizabeth of York employed several goldsmiths, including a gentleman named Lybart, a certain Henry Wurley, John Vandelf and Alexander Hove. Tallis noted that 'the employment of numerous goldsmiths by [Elizabeth of York] indicates that they played an integral role in their lives, thereby confirming that queens employed the services of goldsmiths on a regular basis. In a further sign of great favour, on one occasion Elizabeth of York made a gift of a buck to two of her goldsmiths, John Vandelf and Lybart'.

There are no gifts of jewels bought by Elizabeth to her husband in the entries from her only surviving financial accounts (1502-1503), but we know she bought gold to embroider the king's garter mantle in that same year, and we know that in 1497 Elizabeth of York garnished her husband's helmet with jewels, probably intending him to display them during his campaign in Scotland. Since her expenses from that year did not survive, we only know that Elizabeth garnished his helmet because Henry VII felt grateful enough to compensate her partially for her expenses. It is a true pity that her accounts from other years have not survived.

[atotaltaitaitale]

.

Xmas23/NY24

It’s the time of the year, yet again when we reflect on the past 365 days.

As we are winding down to the end of the year, we are reminded by all the technology that helps us or distract us, depending how you see them, how much time we’ve spent on them or how much we’ve accomplished during the past year. From how much music/podcasts we’ve listened to kilometers/miles we’ve traveled either by plane, by train or even the numbers of steps we took (steps numbers are more impressive than if it was simply measured by km/mi). We are also presented with a medley of our best pictures or more accurately the ones that were best liked or commented on social media (not always the same).

While all those numbers can summarize a year it doesn’t take into account all the moments in between, the little snippets that cannot really be captured by a photo or a number because it’s more a feeling. For me it was the excitement of catching a musical in English in London or the stress of getting to a planned trip to Madrid to see our daughter in the middle of a French strike while we were in aforementioned London. Finally visiting Warsaw because we ran out of time the last time we were living in Europe and didn’t make it then. It was about reconnecting with friends living, briefly passing through or visiting Paris but also the joy of seeing a friend from many expat postings ago on the other side of the globe. It’s the surprising blissful hours spent in a car on a road trip across the vast north USA, followed by spending a month in Montreal. Celebrating our 25th anniversary in Venice, Italy where we spent our honeymoon, or being so close to so many wonderful places in Europe; discovering Dubrovnik, Croatia or going back to old grounds like Glasgow, Scotland. But it’s also about reconnecting with different corners of France; this year was a trip down memory lane in Pau, 17 years after briefly living there or exploring the Christmas markets in France this time with a visit to Colmar and Strasbourg. The home town in the French alps for summer vacation is still on the must-do list. Yet, one of the best part of this past year was the awe of walking the streets of Paris, days after days, and still finding things that fascinate me as well as all the cultural activities at our doorsteps.

After more than 20 years of Christmas/New Year letters, sent to friends and family around the world this year I didn’t feel like “spamming” everyone. Not that it was a not great year because it was. As I was recollecting our past year memories, I decided to just write it for myself and file it with the previous ones as a keepsake. My first full calendar year back in Paris since we left on expat. If I look up my personal collected stats (because I cannot keep track of everyone on top of my own) I spent almost 27,000 km in the air, I rode trains for nearly 7,000 km and walked more than 3.5 million steps while listening to thousands of hours of music/podcasts and took most likely over 10,000 photos on my iPhone all over the city, the one I live in and the ones I’ve visited; which translate to 543 posts on my blog and yet I didn’t posted on any of my social media platforms, most likely overwhelmed by too many choices and a bit of procrastination.

As for the other members of the family; dear husband spent almost as much time in the air than me, slightly less time on the train and I’m fairly certain he didn’t walk as much, but he beat me for sure on the metro rides contest. Since we are empty nesters, oh wait I read somewhere that we shouldn’t say “empty nesters” but “bird launchers” and I like that; Fly my babies, the world awaits. So as birds launchers, I have no accurate stats on our little birds but I can tell you that dear son is into his second year of Business/Economics at the University of Tilburg in the Netherlands and still enjoying his independence while having a hotline to us for critical daily tasks. Dear daughter has started her second year of Master degree at ESCP and finally decided it was time to live in one of her passport countries. Her nest is just over the Seine on the left bank of Paris, while we kept our nest in the center of Paris right next to the great monuments that make Paris such an enjoyable city to walk and gives a direct metro ride to work for dear husband .