#i just realised a guy my sister introduced me to said “are you the ancient rome sister? ancient greek? i forgot which one”

[knbposting]

kagami has red hair he's so cute he has fun little eyebrows never change king

[amiti-art]

Cyrene, Apollo and Ares (and how it was actually only Cyrene and Apollo and Wikipedia is not always a reliable source)

Some of you might know the myth in which Apollo's lover - Cyrene met Ares and had a son named Diomedes (NOT the same guy as Diomedes from Iliad) with him.

Except... she didn't.

When I was researching Cyrene some time ago I realised that her article on Theoi (great source btw) doesn't mention Ares at all. I didn't pay that much attention to this back then, after all, most of the myths have many versions so I assumed that the one with Ares is just less popular one.

I was more preoccupied with the fact that Idmon who I always thought to be Apollo and Cyrene's son was not actually always listed as theirs and had like 5 different variants of parentage.

Let's start with Cyrene's children and why Wikipedia should not be used as a primary source.

Her Personal Information Section on Wikipedia lists 3 children: Aristaeus, Autuchus and Idmon. Later in the Family section it's said that she also had Diomedes with Ares.

For the life of me I could not find anything about Autuchus in the ancient sources BUT I found that Anthocus (which is kinda similar) was the title of Aristaeus and was sometimes mistaken for another son of the pair.

So likely it is the same mistake.

Aristaeus is also the one who is almost always said to be son of Apollo and Cyrene and both of his parents appear in his myths.

Idmon like I said had many different sets of parents: Apollo and Cyrene, Abas and Cyrene, Apollo and Asteria (NOT the sister of Leto), Apollo and Antianeira, Apollo and Abas (one is bio father, the other is foster father, I think????). He also doesn't have an article on Theoi so reserch on him is going to be a nightmer. 🙃

And now Diomedes

Wikipedia says this

But does not link any source for this story

What's more: there are sources describing Apollo changing Cyrene into a Nymph and they also don't mention Ares AT ALL. They are also written in a way that suggest that changing her into a Nymph was one of the first things Apollo did after meeting her.

This doesn't add up with this Ares thing at all.

So where did the Wikipedia article got this Cyrene-fighting-Ares story from? Well, I decided to look into edits history and this section was actually deleted a few months ago with this comment.

My honest reaction to this information: 😐

And then the section was revived for some reason.

But you know when it was first added? 2 years ago.

When did Rick's book about Greek heroes came out? 8 years ago.

So right now Cyrene's Wikipedia article is misleading and contains information from a RETELLING stated as facts.

The only thing I could find that was linking Cyrene with Ares was this:

and it doesn't even say if this is the same Cyrene. It could be, but we have to remember that in the myths there were like 14 dudes named Abas (and 5 named Idmon while we're at it.)

+this is a very late source compared to all the other Cyrene's myths.

Other source claims that Diomedes' mother was Asterie

I personaly think those are two different Cyrenes and here's why:

• Cyrene (Apollo's lover) when introduced in the myth is usually accompanied either by her parentage or by some other characteristic like "sheparderss" "huntress" "archeress" "lion slayer" and so on. Cyrene from Ares' myth has nothing to her name which makes me think she was just some random women.

• Non of Cyrene's own myths ever mention Ares (or I couldn't find any), while Apollo is mentioned often.

• Apollo's Cyrene was Thessalian and Diomedes (and therefor his mother likely as well) was Thracian

• There is literally nothing I could find that would suggest that Apollo's Cyrene and Cyrene from Ares myth are the same and since there are many characters in the mythology with the same names (again 14 Abas') labeling these two as one is irrational (Diomedes himself shares the name with one of the Iliad's characters).

Anyway, lesson for today: be careful while reading Wikipedia and always check the sources.

This kinda scares me tbh because how many more of those articles treat retellings as actual sources and were added by fans of the said retellings?

I hope somebody will fix this article because wtf

[feuilly-cakes]

Breaking Dawn - 3* review

Oh boy was this a long one. Okay, I really don't know how to feel about this book, because on one hand I had lots of fun revisiting my old favourite and picking it apart but on the other hand I had a very big issue with a major part of the plot. If I were rating based on each book within this book, I would give book one 4*and book two and three 3*. It starts out strong, then gets progressively harder to keep track of, but then maybe my short attention span is the problem here. I learned many interesting facts and character traits in this book, and I also figured out something important to do with imprinting that's been vaguely introduced in the previous book but is explored in-depth here. Stick around if you want to see what that discovery is. As usual, I'll be putting interesting and relevant facts and things I found particularly offensive under sub-headings, but I'll be saying a lot about each book as if it's separate before then, because Breaking Dawn as a whole is too long to talk about with any coherency. So without further ado: There are only spoilers ahead. Book 1: Bella First let me just say that these books have such amazing prologues/prefaces that immediately grab your attention. If you didn't know she was going to get pregnant, it would probably seem like she's talking about Edward being the one killing her. Anyway, this book was shorter than I expected, but far more enjoyable. This one seems to be more family oriented in the language used than previous in the series; while before any of the Cullens would be described as 'Edward's adopted -' , in this they are simply his mother, his brothers, his sisters. Even Jasper, who always seemed to me to be the outsider of the bunch, uses the term "We Cullens" and it just feels more like a family than a vampire coven pretending to be a family. This is helped along by Bella suddenly knowing so much more about the history of the Cullens and their extended family the Denalis. She's ready to fit right on in there. This book deals with the wedding and the honeymoon. Bella reflects on how she told her parents, freaks out about getting married, has her wedding, abruptly changes her stance on said wedding, then they shoot off to the honeymoon and things occur. Basically, she gets pregnant. It's a huge commotion. Backtracking, both Charlie and Renee were weirdly supportive about the engagement and handled it super well, with Renee and Bella having such a lovely conversation I nearly teared up. She's a great mother even when she's not physically there for Bella. Bella, on the other hand, is doing that thing again where she's selfish and a bit mean without realising she's being that way. Poor Edward is stressed to his eyeballs about the honeymoon and the very real possibility of hurting and even killing Bella, and she just brushes him right off. More on that later, but that's not the responsible way to do things, Bella. Fast forward to the honeymoon, and Edward is now the one being dramatic, refusing to sleep with her again because he bruised her and not listening to her when she says she's perfectly fine. The way it happens is very funny. Then we get to see random things happening that oh so subtly turn out to be pregnancy symptoms, like strange dreams about vampire babies who look human, oversleeping, mood swings, strange eating habits, and last but not least, morning sickness. It wasn't subtle. When they figure it out Edward loses it and says he's going to arrange for her to have an abortion. Bella asks Rosalie for help, and screen fades to black. The big theme here is that Bella changes her mind. She doesn't want to be married until she suddenly does at her wedding, she doesn't want to stay human until she decides she can afford a few extra years, and she doesn't want kids until she's already pregnant. Even with Rosalie, their slowly evolving relationship wasn't going to be proper friendship until Bella asks her for help. She's changing so quickly it's like getting whiplash, but it's not unrealistic. That's how I make most of my big decisions too, like it simmers away unnoticed until it's ready to be addressed. Relatable, really. Book 2: Jacob Book 2 takes us through Bella's pregnancy from Jacob's perspective, as he goes from planning to kill the Cullens to becoming their biggest protector and an Alpha of his own pack. As much as I love multiple POVs in books this is one I couldn't get behind, and here's why. One of the main themes in this book is imprinting. I don't like it. While I adore soulmates as a concept, and even more so platonic soulmates, it's made clear that this isn't what that is, and it's icky. We get 4 pages of Quil interacting with his imprint Claire, who is 3. The whole time Jacob has a running commentary on how Quil is more devoted than a parent would ever be, how he wants to make her so very happy, how it's so very different from that of a parent, and how Quil has to wait like a "monk" for "a good fourteen years" until Claire was his age. This was never platonic, it was a waiting game. It's also grooming. This was also around the time it became apparent just why Quil imprinted on Claire in the first place: it was all a set up for Jacob's eventual imprint. It had to be a part of the story before it happened so people wouldn't question it, and for the most part it worked. Both Quil's story and Jacob's interactions with a pregnant Bella prove this: "the hold she had on me only got harder to break. Almost like it was related to her expanding belly" and "It feels... complete when you're here, Jacob. Like all my family is together." I hated reading that. He should've imprinted on that nice girl Lizzie, from the park. Surely Stephenie Meyer could've come up with something else to keep Nessie alive? Onto similarly disturbing things but less revolting in the long run, Bella's story here seems to be an attempt at pro-life propaganda that backfired. The reason? Bella makes a choice about her body, and though most of them don't like it, they don't force her to do otherwise. People seem to forget that being pro-choice also means the choice to stay pregnant even when it's best not to. Bella makes that decision and she's absolutely sure of it, at the expense of her life and health, but it's hers to make. She is pitted against Edward, who would absolutely force her to have an abortion if he had backup, and who is also losing his damn mind. He insists to Jacob that Carlisle would help him if not for Esme, and that Rosalie doesn't care about Bella's life, only the baby's. Carlisle himself tells Jacob he would never take the choice away from Bella, and context shows that Rosalie is protecting Bella's choices and bodily autonomy, and carrying out her last wishes to ensure the baby is brought into the world healthy. Remember that Rosalie had all her choices taken from her, and all she wanted for Bella was for her to make the right ones. Edward doesn't change his stance until he discovers the baby has thoughts that can be read, and loves Bella. Once again, this seems to have been an attempt at showing that babies have thoughts and feelings in the womb, but it does almost the opposite as Bella is a day away from full term and not once has anything been picked up by either him or Jasper before that point. It's safe to assume there was nothing to pick up on. The pregnancy ends with a truly horrifying birth scene that made my hands go numb and my ears ring from the violence of it all. Bella dies, Jacob imprints on a minutes-old baby and begins his journey as a child groomer, and then Bella comes back and begins her transformation. Book 3: Bella. Or as I like to call it: It all goes downhill from here. Bella has the most unrealistic yet brutal experience ever, and is now a super sexy, super perfect, super powerful, super smart vampire. She has a perfect baby, perfect control of her bloodlust, and somehow the perfect life. But oh no! The Volturi are threatening that peace! Who could have predicted that the last remaining villains would appear in the last book? Now Bella and the rest of the Cullens have to find their friends to stop the Volturi in their track, but peacefully of course, because they are the good guys really! Just a misunderstanding! I'm so glad that was addressed in story, because I would not have been able to deal with a pro-police/pro-dictator story in this political climate. The most unrealistic part of this is when the Volturi don't simply assert their vampire dominance over them by killing them all without taking their own witnesses. I didn't like how Bella suddenly became perfect and good at everything in this book. It's so unrealistic. Less than a month to become the strongest shield ever and be able to scare the ancient Volturi? Perfect control on her first hunt? I think not thank you. There was also a missed opportunity to have Bella be a psychic of some kind since she dreamt of the future accurately many times. Renesmee was very sweet though, and that's all I'll say on that. Now onto my lists! Differences between book and film This was mostly pretty accurate in terms of plot. - Edward's backstory that we see pre-wedding isn't a thing in the book. It actually isn't a thing in any of the main books, but I can't speak for the others. - Bella knows about the immortal children before the book even starts, and she's the one to realise that Irina thought Renesmee was one herself. - The wedding is inside. The film had it outside I'm pretty sure. - The whole part where Jacob freaks out and borrows a very fancy sports car to go and try to find his imprint was never in the films, and I think that's a tragedy. Vampires - The appearance of the nicknames Em and Jazz for Emmett and Jasper. It's not at all important I just thought it was cute. - Half vampire babies use their teeth to escape the womb. Also, Renesmee was trying to be careful to not hurt Bella while she was still inside her. She started reading when she was under 3 months. If I saw a baby read aloud in full sentences I'd never sleep again. - Edward called Jacob "Jake" in book 3. It's weird how their relationship changes throughout the book. - Poor Renesmee knows it's because of her that the Volturi are coming, and says "This is my fault." She's just a few months old at this point, and she's already going through a whole lot. - The volturi look like someone threw baby powder on them because they sat still for so long they started "petrifying". - There are 32 Volturi members, considering they took the whole coven with them to Forks. - Fun Bella fact: she was going to let Charlie assume what was up with her because she thinks he will never decide on vampire. Red Flags Most of these have been discussed in depth so I'll just mention them briefly. - Edward, pre wedding, is described as having a "panic attack" by Bella at the thought of hurting her, and instead of reassuring him she brushes him off and thinks "He wasn't getting out of this deal. Not after insisting I marry him first." This is beyond selfish and even cruel, because he has a point and genuine concerns that should have been discussed properly. - "We're going to get that thing out before it can hurt any part of you." Edward has decided this for himself, without Bella's input. - Jacob contemplates suicide over the thought of having to see Leah. This is absolutely not something that should be talked about like it's nothing. - The imprinting of Quil and Claire. - Every bit of foreshadowing about Jacob imprinting on Renesmee, and the act itself. - Rosalie calls the place in South America where the half vampire myths originated "a disease-infested swamp with a medicine man smearing sloth spit across your face" in relation to giving birth there, and it's more than a little racist. How would she even know what it's like? - "the Egyptians all looked so alike, with their midnight hair and olive-toned pallor, that they could have easily passed for a biological family" The white, blonde Denali sisters were never ever described this way, so why are the non-white people described as such? - Bella had "never met any vampires less civilized" than the Amazons. They have long black braids, so we can assume they aren't white. Why are only the non-white vampires being described these ways? - Bella describes the rough area where she met 1 person, who was working for J Jenks and happened to be Black, but was well dressed in rich clothes, as the "ghetto address". Upon googling, I learnt that this refers to low income areas of a city that are occupied by minorities. She met one person. How could she possibly know if it was the "ghetto"? It was described as the "downtown office" by Max, the man in question, so why wouldn't she just use that term? - Jacob gives Renesmee the Quileute equivalent of a promise ring. I want to throw up, because we all know what a promise ring symbolises. - Lastly but certainly not leastly, when learning Renesmee will be full grown at age 7, Bella feels a "shudder" from Jacob. I hate it, it's gross, it needs to burn. Disgusting. And that's that, sorry it's so long, I had a lot to say. If you have any opinions on this review, feel free to discuss with me!

[gumnut-logic]

Thoughts on the Tracy Boys - Scott

This popped into my head today while watching Penny and Virgil trying to pull TB4 out of some sea sludge. I’ve started here and no doubt it will go elsewhere. Where I know not, but I hope it will be fun along the way :D Theoretically each piece should be able to be read stand alone, but they will be a set eventually :D

No spoilers or warnings, other than I know nothing of the history of the Tracy and Creighton-Ward families and as usual, I’m just making stuff up :D Thank you to @scribbles97 for the read through and encouragement :D

-o-o-o-

Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward first met a Tracy at age thirteen. Her father had been called over to the United States on business and he had taken her with him with the idea that she needed exposure to different cultures and customs.

Not that she hadn’t been to a variety of places, but the United States was a different kettle of fish to Europe.

The first Tracy she encountered was a serious young man by the name of Scott. A little older than her and fraught with responsibility, she at first had no idea what to expect from him. A mess of brown hair and a smile that was rather charming, he introduced himself politely and shook her hand firmly.

Her father was meeting with Jeff Tracy regarding funding of one of their smaller aeronautical companies. It was obvious that Scott was the son of her father’s business associate, his appearance was a younger echo of the older man.

Left to themselves while their parents spoke money, Penny eyed him. Even at thirteen she knew her interests lay in people, in delving into who they were, what they were thinking. She had read books on body language and tells, cultural norms and human communication, but really it was just obvious that Scott Tracy was worried about something.

“A worry shared is a grey hair spared.”

“Er, what? Um, I’m sorry, pardon me?”

His eyes were such an alluring blue.

“You are worried about something. I was wondering if I could help.”

He eyed her, not with suspicion, but some wariness. This was a boy who had seen difficulties in life, that much she could tell. Otherwise why would he show such reluctance?

“I don’t bite.”

He arched an eyebrow at that. “I should hope not.” But then he let loose a ravishing smile enough to conquer a thirteen year old girls heart at the mere hint of it. “It’s nothing. One of my little brothers played a prank on me before I left this morning.” He pulled up a sleeve and her eyes widened as he revealed a smudged drawing of a fish on his forearm in permanent marker. “I don’t really care so much, but Dad didn’t take it well.”

“What sort of fish is it?”

He frowned at her. “Er, I don’t know? You’d have to ask my brother.”

“It looks very much like a marlin. A great sporting fish.”

Scott blinked at her. “Do you know much about fish?”

“I know a little.” She looked around the room. “However, my interests tend to lie elsewhere.”

Her chauffeur-slash-bodyguard stood in one corner, his eyes darting suspicious glares in Scott’s direction.

“Oh, what are you intending to specialise in?”

She frowned. This was not the typical teenager she was used to. He was ever so, well, thoughtful and introspective. Now, glancing at his attire, she could see he kept it immaculate, Every seam was neatly pressed and he wore the suit with ease. There was nothing gawky or unkempt about Scott Tracy.

“People. I intend to specialise in people.”

She would look back at the encounter later and realise that for one of the few times in her life, she had taken the young man as he was. She blamed youth for it, but honestly she suspected that smile altered her perception of him.

There were many meetings after that. Their parents were proposing big things. Jeff Tracy himself was like a man possessed, yet so kindly to all he met. Cut throat businessman if he had to be, but never unfair.

His eldest son was around for many of those meetings, being trained up to possibly follow in his father’s footsteps. The impressions she got off of him regarding the subject were highly volatile. He followed his father like the man was a messiah in the boardroom, yet he had his own mind and wasn’t afraid to use it. Jeff, for all his passion, listened and decided, weighing equally whatever his son had offered with everything else on the table.

There was one instance however that stuck in her mind for a long time and more clearly detailed how this father and son relationship worked.

It was late and this time it was in the Creighton-Ward residence. She was fifteen and Scott had been called into the meeting during some leave from the airforce. She could tell Scott was unhappy from the moment he arrived, but he kept his mouth shut and was all politeness until towards the end of the night. Her father offered them lodging and Jeff had kindly accepted when Scott drew him aside, taking him out through the main doors for privacy.

She doubted they had intended to raise their voices, but they were American and father and son and the whispers became words that could clearly be heard through the ancient doors of her home.

Scott was arguing that they needed to return home that night, something about an awards ceremony he wanted his father to attend.

Jeff claimed that negotiations hadn’t been completed and he needed to speak to the London board in the morning...which was true. The deal was yet to be finalised and a large amount of her father’s money and the Tracys’ money were tied up in this.

But Scott was vehement.

“This is very important to Gordon, Dad. He needs you to be there.”

“I know that Scott, but I can’t just leave. There will be other swimming titles. Gordon will go all the way to the Olympics, I’m sure of it.”

“Please, Dad. You’ve missed so many. He is counting on you being there. Please don’t make me have to tell him again.” His tone was pleading, yet underneath she could detect hurt and anger.

“Scott, I am truly sorry.” And Jeff was. She could feel his disappointment and regret through the doors.

But it wasn’t enough for the younger Tracy. “Then I guess I’ll be flying home alone tonight.”

“Scott-“

“No, Dad. Someone has to be there for him. Virgil is trying, John can’t, I’m grabbing Alan out of school on the way down.

“Alan? Are you sure that this is that important. He shouldn’t be missing his-“

“Yes, Dad, it is that important and you would know that if you had listened to a single word I’ve said.”

There was a silence after that

Penny looked at her father and found him frowning.

Jeff returned to the room, but Scott did not. His father made apologies for him.

Her father continued to frown.

The last few items on the agenda were addressed, but she could see Mr Tracy was distracted and his heart was no longer in it.

“Jeff, go.” Her father’s voice was soft. “I’ll take care of the meeting in the morning. Go.”

“No, no, this is far too important.” The man was shaking his head as it bowed towards the desktop.

“Jeff, from one father to another, go. Some things are far more important than anything else.”

The man looked up at her father, his grey eyes worried. “I know.”

“Then go.” Her father waved his hand impatiently. “Go on, get. Hunt your boy down before he bad mouths you to the airport staff.

Jeff’s raised eyebrow pretty much summed up what he thought the chances of that was and Penny couldn’t agree more. Scott would find a plane, fly it home, do what needed to be done and them silently fume.

She wondered if Scott was the type to take out a gym or one of those who buried themselves in work to abate their anger. Because there was plenty of anger in the young man. She had identified that much.

Years later she found out first hand exactly what Scott was capable of destroying when his father went missing. Her gym still had the gouges in the walls.

But that night of the meeting was when she discovered where Scott Tracy’s passion lay. He was all about flying and speed and just as gunghoe as any flyboy on the planet, but it mostly hid his true passion.

Family.

She got to know the Tracy boys well. Eventually her family and the Tracys practically merged as International Rescue was born. They worked together from opposite sides of the planet. Sometimes they played together as well.

But the eldest tracy always stayed the same. Ever passionate about his brothers and sister, Grandmother, Brains and even herself.

She had seen him turn from the kind and well mannered gentleman she knew him to be to a defensive lion of a man at the mere mention of a threat to those he loved. She witnessed it first hand in a night club. He blew her cover by throwing her assailant over the bar. It was an inconvenience and she noted to herself not to invite any of the Tracys undercover in the future, but it was terribly sweet.

He didn’t have to know that she later picked the guy off the floor and dragged him into a back room to interrogate him. Parker was most put out that he missed the argument because he had been home sick with the flu.

He did however look at the eldest Tracy with more respect from that point onwards.

So Scott Tracy was easy to read, easy to admire and honestly, that smile still made her insides all funny, though she would never admit it. Especially since she had long since fallen hopelessly in love with another smile.

But Scott was the first and first impressions were important.

And so was he.

-o-o-o-

End Part One

[drexodthegunslinger]

Why is it only Cayde you focus on? What about other destiny characters?

Okay, that’s a fair point. Let’s go shall we?

1: The Speaker.

Said literally three things in the entire franchise. He told you to fight but that we can’t win, he gave a speech nobody listened to because we were all thinking “is this it? Really?”, and then he told Ghaul to kill himself. Yeah the Speaker dies but who really gives a shit? We’re not given any reason to care are we?

2: Zavalla.

Apparently this boy does not understand promotions. “We killed all the Cabal leaders, why are they not gone?” Idk mate, maybe because that’s not how that works. “We stepped into a war with the cabal” yeah and you’re doing pretty shit mate. Sure he’s supposedly busy managing and planning shit, but really it doesn’t translate well in game. He might as well have two lines in the entire game where he alternates between “mah walls” and “we stepped into a war with the cabal” and he’d be the same.

3: Ikora.

Good in the crucible apparently? All she does these days is stand around looking stern and running an intelligence group that can be brought to a grinding halt by a fucking storm. Ikora, listen, if your satellites can’t withstand a storm they’re not much use are they?

4: Cayde.

TLDR, Bungie killed your fave.

5: Eris.

Creepy Hive lady. Very convenient for her to turn up in time for the Hive DLC’s and then disappear when they weren’t at the forefront. Will admit, I was mildly surprised she wasn’t brought back for the Warmind DLC because it has Hive. What did she really do though? She gave us some advice on Hive, had her shit stolen, and was looked down on by pretty much everyone. Only redeemable feature I can thing of is the rule 34 fan art of her which is great if you like generic rule 34 art where the woman’s chest and ass are exaggerated to shit.

Speaking of which, Bungie, I know the Destiny Franchise takes place in a period where food shortages are probably frequent, but mix it up with your fucking character designs. Not everyone is the same height and build you cowards.

6: At this point my mind went blank and I had to google “destiny characters”

7: Ghost.

Look at what the Speaker did. It took a multitool and gave it sentience.

The Ghost is really inconsistent, let’s be real. You want me to hack a lazer grid on earth, sure but that’s going to take precisely three waves of enemies and you’d better not miss one. You want me to access Cabal consoles on our very first time accessing the computer shit of an alien that likely has a numerical system that works off of base 3? Easy shit, no waiting involved.

Yeah, the “talk to your ghost” thing was great and honestly, I liked that. It was a moment for you to sit down ant talk to your Ghost, the one constant companion you have. It was a good moment.

And then they go right back to alternating between being a torch and a lockpick.

Bungie really fucked up with the Ghost-Guardian interaction in vanilla D2. The two of them nearly died, Light was lost, and the two don’t sit down and have a “talk to ghost” moment at any point? That’s theft of a possibly great emotional moment.

8: Crota

He is bad because he kills people

9: Oryx

He is also bad because he kills people and he’s mad you killed his son who he can bring back because We didn’t destroy Crota’s soul or something?

10: The EXO Stranger

In going to find the tweet I wanted I found something worse. Luke Smith had said he felt they had wrapped up her arc and quite frankly I haven’t heard a more objectively wrong thing come out of a human beings mouth with regards to games in a long time.

But it gets worse. Because 4 fucking years later, bungie dropped clues to who she might be if you paid enough attention to the shitshow of the Warmind DLC. According to lore from the dlc and the rasputin arg, there are hints that the EXO Stranger is Ana Bray’s sister who went back in time from the future as an exo to?

No, you know what. That’s bullshit. Bungie thought they finished the exo stranger arc, which was a shambling corpse of writing itself, then learnt actually they were wrong and tried to wrap it up.

Except none of it’s confirmed and explains nothing. Fuck the stranger, and fuck everyone involved in the creation of her character and her arc, learn how to write a story.

11: While we’re here, Ana bray.

Bungie’s first confirmed non-straight woman. I don’t know if it was confirmed if she’s a lesbian, bi, pan, or what so I’m using non-straight until I get confirmation otherwise. Had her girlfriend introduced on the fourth day of pride in a comic where she died. Great start.

But what about Ana herself?

Honestly, I couldn’t tell you. I tried to play Warminds but the Hive ruined it because Bungie is quite frankly not great at writing their own game are they?

12: Ghaul

Quite frankly, my favourite character. I dropped enough money on D2 to get the collectors edition cabal book which gave quite a lot of backstory to the campaign, however I’ll keep this to what Bungie actually make accessible in their game.

He’s an arsehole. He’s just the antagonist of the day, let’s be real. To understand that his behaviours and attitudes might somewhat stem from how he was shunned in mainstream cabal society and how this loneliness and bitterness from being an orphan as well as a runt was used to manipulate him into being how he is today, is completely lost on anyone who didn’t read his lore.

The game doesn’t put any significant thought into him on the actual disc that you play because, like Crota, like Oryx, like Skolas, he’s just an episodic villain.

13: Osiris.

Local Man Who Says He Doesn’t Need Help, Actually Needs Help.

How bad was this dlc? I mean, sure, we ran through the same area repeatedly, killed a Vex reskin of Oryx, and watched a Cabal jump on a vex. Twice. Once in a mission and again in a strike.

I can’t think of what Osiris did in this DLC except think he was able to do this himself, and then be the only reason we could damage Oryx- I mean, uh Panoptes.

Wait. Did they give a Vex guy that tries to simulate all the universes a name after an ancient Greek figure who was the source of the “eyes of Argus” stuff? I think they did.

14: Panoptes.

Bungie aren’t even trying at this point. He’s just Vex Oryx.

15: Amanda Holiday.

She has a robotic leg, an american(?) accent, and didn’t stop Cayde from doing his stupid bullshit plan that she knew was illegal. She also had a quest for an exotic shotgun that makes her different from other vendors. I get that as a vendor she doesn’t need an in depth backstory but Bungie, come on. If you’re going to make her important to parts of the story, give us reason to care about her.

16: Tess Eververse

Is there an actual ingame reason for her to be there? Is Silver explained? Is Bright Dust? As far as I can tell, no. Literally bolted on because Activision couldn’t let EA one-up them in microtransaction bullshittery.

17: Mara Sov

Cold, aloof, had fallen as pets. Was it confirmed how dead she is?

18: Uldren Sov

The only episodic villain I like aside from Ghaul. Uldren is great once you realise that he is how he is because of a bitterness towards Guardians. I mean, we turned up in his house demanding stuff, and the City on at least one occasion, let the Reef take a big loss for us with no acknowledgement. I can understand why he’d be pissed off in the first place and if he was somewhat possessed then sure that’s not going to help.

Most people are just pissed with him because he killed Cayde, but now he’s back as a Guardian that anger seems to have calmed. I’ve stopped playing the game since Warminds and I can’t say for anything that happened since, and while I hope Uldren as a Guardian grows as a character I won’t hold my breath.

19: Variks.

He stayed loyal to the reef and was helpful for a brief stint before we all shamed him for his mine dismantling kink.

20: Is that it?

I can’t think of anyone else. Sure, there are vendors and other side characters, but honestly, those are cardboard cutouts of a character with no depth of anything to them.

Sure, you could say “but drexmun, what about The Drifter, or the Spider, or Obb the Soulcarver?”

And I would say “yes, but two of those are from after I stopped playing the game and I can’t make an analysis on characters I know nothing about, and also you leave Obb out of this.”

[andystanberg]

Red Hair and Hand Me Downs: Chapter 4

Family Don’t End in Blood

Chapter 3 | Read on AO3 | Read on Wattpad | Chapter 5

Chapter Summary

Harry gets acquainted with the other Slytherins. He also receives a lesson in blood.

-

Harry was too relieved that he didn't end up as a hatstall and was with Draco and Pansy to notice the way only Slytherins cheered and clapped for him on his short walk over. It was only when he had sat down in between Draco and Pansy and had looked around did he realise that for all the other first-years, they had gotten a few polite claps from the other tables, despite being in different houses.

Instead, every other house, especially the Gryffindors and even most teachers, were staring at him in shock. Harry ducked his head to stare at the empty table in front of him when the whispers started up again.

“Harry Potter? A Slytherin? No way.”

“Potter’s a Slytherin! What does this mean?”

There were many others, all variations of the two. Harry couldn’t understand why this was.

“Harry,” someone whispered. He looked up at Draco’s still-composed face. “Ignore them. They’re just jealous. The other Slytherins are all proud, see?”

Harry couldn’t resist the temptation and sat up. What Draco had said about the Slytherins was mostly true, aside from one or two of the older students who were scowling at the redhead. Harry averted his gaze back towards the Sorting. Draco and Pansy slung an arm around his shoulders and out of the corner of his eye, he could see them glaring daggers at any student who dared to even look his way. He relaxed minutely, grateful for them.

“Weasley, Ronald.”

Harry watched intently as Ron walked up the stool. Like Draco, the hat had barely touched the boy’s head before declaring him a Gryffindor. Harry clapped enthusiastically, noting that Fred, George and Percy were doing the same. Ron seemed to sense his gaze, as a moment later, he looked over and waved cheerily.

Harry had been a little worried that Ron would snub him like the rest of the school had done, but in the end, he needn’t have. He waved back.

The last first-year to be sorted, Blaise Zabini, looked at him weirdly. The other Slytherins, aside from Pansy, Draco, Crabbe and Goyle (the last two too busy complaining about the lack of food), shared the same expression.

“What?” Harry asked.

“Potter, please tell me I didn’t see you just wave to a Gryffindor.” The scorn was evident in Blaise’s voice.

Harry suppressed a sigh. Maybe hating my friends is another one of those wizarding customs I’m unaware of, Harry thought sarcastically.

Draco, who appeared to be resigning himself to the exact same thought, cut in. “Look, Blaise. Gryffindors are okay. Harry, Pansy and I know three of them and they’ve all been… reasonably nice.” Seeing Blaise’s disapproving look, he added, “Well, one of them was a blubbering mess and the other was rude and bossy, but –“ he saw Zabini smiling smugly and scowled. “It’s not like you can talk, though.”

Blaise still didn’t look convinced.

“Zabini, stop being a close-minded prat. That Gryffindor is a friend of Harry Potter’s. Don’t you think that ought to mean something?” Pansy rolled her eyes. What she said must have had more effect on him, as a second later, he apologised.

“Sorry, Potter,” he muttered.

“No problem.” Harry waved him off. “It’s not like it hasn’t happened before.”

Draco and Pansy gave him guilty looks.

Everyone’s attentions were brought back to the front of the Hall as the eldest wizard of the teaching staff stood up. Harry recognised him as Albus Dumbledore from the Chocolate Frog card he had read on the train. He started trying to recall what the card had said – something about a dark wizard, dragon’s blood and a guy called Nick… No, that can’t be it. Nicolas, perhaps? Yes. Now what was his last name?

Harry was broken out of his thoughts at the sound of gasps filling the Hall. Apparently he was so distracted that he didn’t hear Dumbledore’s speech. He looked down and saw that the previously empty golden plates were now filled with every kind of food imaginable. His mouth watered. He saw the rest of the Slytherins serving themselves and quickly followed suit.

Harry had never seen so much food in his life. He piled his plate with some of everything – excluding a type of unappealing boiled sweet.

–

Harry had finished a quarter of what was on his plate – which, despite not sounding like much, was quite a feat,  considering how he wasn’t used to eating that much and the sheer amount of food he had hoarded – when a ghost captured his attention. Or, to put it more accurately, drifted through him.

The cold-shower-on-the-inside feeling gave Harry a nasty shock, but, believe it or not, that wasn’t what had made him lose his appetite. I hope ghosts don’t make going through me a habit, Harry thought, as the ghost finally noticed what it had done. It floated above the table in front of him instead. The redhead blanched as he took in the ghost’s bloodied robes, gaunt face, sunken eyes and pale complexion.

Draco didn’t look too happy with the ghost’s general appearance either.

“First-years,” the ghost greeted with a curt nod. “I am your house ghost. You may call me the Bloody Baron – only the Bloody Baron.” A few of the Slytherins around him, including Harry, gulped. “I expect you all to win us the House Championship for the seventh year in a row. I hope you will not disappoint me.”

This was all said very threateningly.

The Bloody Baron was called away by some older Slytherin. Harry sighed in relief, before pushing his almost completely full plate away. He glanced at Draco and saw the boy looking worried for a brief second, but then Harry blinked and the boy was already chatting to Blaise about something. Harry shrugged it off.

After a while, it became apparent that most of the first-year Slytherins knew each other from before Hogwarts, aside from two girls. One was very tall, towering over most of the Slytherin boys, with wild black hair. Harry thought he would not like to cross her at all. She introduced herself as Millicent Bulstrode.

The other was quite the opposite. She was on the small side of average for an eleven-year-old girl’s height, with tan skin and straight brown hair. This girl pushed up her glasses that, unlike Harry’s, suited her quite well, and announced, “Tracey Davis.”

Having finished long before everyone else, it gave Harry time to survey the staff table. Among them was Hagrid, who was drinking deeply from his goblet, Professor McGonagall, who was having a chat with Professor Dumbledore and a bunch of other teachers. The one that Harry was most interested in, however, was talking to Professor Quirrell.

The unknown teacher had raven-black hair, a hooked nose and unhealthily pale skin. He must have sensed Harry’s gaze, because suddenly he was looking straight at him. At the same time, an iron-hot pain flashed across the scar on Harry’s forehead.

“Ow!” he cried, pressing a hand to his scar, but the pain was already gone. In its place, an uncomfortable feeling settled in.

“What happened?” Draco asked immediately. His worry only worsened when he saw how Harry was rubbing his scar.

“Nothing.” Draco kept looking at him. Desperate to change the subject, Harry then asked, “Draco, who’s that teacher talking to Professor Quirrell?”

Draco turned around. Upon seeing who Harry meant, his face lit up. “Oh, that’s Professor Snape. He’s the head of Slytherin and our Potions teacher.”

Harry recalled Draco telling him that on the boats earlier. Dread filled his stomach. “Right,” he mumbled. Malfoy didn’t pursue it further.

“So, what did you all do on your holidays?” Daphne Greengrass asked out of nowhere. “My family went to Paris! Such a shame, really. My sister and I wanted to go someplace else for a change.” She pouted. Daphne was blonde, tall, fair and pretty – kind of like the female version of Draco, Harry mused.

“My mother decided we needed mother-daughter bonding time,” Pansy mocked, “so instead of going overseas like we usually do, we were stuck in our manor doing nothing aside from sitting and talking while my father was ‘away on business’ at the Ministry. I did find out some good gossip, however. Blaise, why don’t you tell us what your mother has been up to?” Heads swivelled to the Zabini boy, who was scowling.

“Bugger off, Parkinson. But if you must know, my dear mother has a new suitor in her sights,” he said casually.

“What happened to the old one?” Theodore Nott taunted, not seeming to expect a real answer. He didn’t get one. “I spent my holiday travelling across Europe. We got to meet the local wizards, though, more interestingly, I learnt about Ancient Rome. Did you know powerful wizards used to make muggles fight each other as a sport? I believe the muggles were called gladiators – something like that.”

“Don’t muggles do that now without wizards controlling them?” Blaise pointed out. “Anyway, what about you, Potter?”

Everyone turned to face him. Harry didn’t know what to say. ‘Oh, my relatives kept me locked in a cupboard while you were all off with your families and half-starved me after I accidentally set a snake on my cousin at the zoo. Also, I only found out I was a wizard after Hagrid knocked down the door to a hut on a rock surrounded by sea. It’s a funny story on how I got there, why don’t I tell you? Yeah, because that will go down well,’ he thought bitterly.

Instead, he said, “What about Millicent and Tracey? We haven’t heard from them yet.”

Tracey spoke first. “My father, the wizard in my family, taught me some spells. I mostly spent the summer practising wand movements. My muggle mother tried to teach me how to cook, but it didn’t go very well.” She grimaced.

Millicent was next. “My mother gave me fashion magazines. I used incendio on Witch Weekly until she got the hint.”

Harry wondered if he should point out that magic wasn’t allowed outside of school for underage wizards, but after seeing the others’ approving nods, he wasn’t sure.

“Now you, Potter. Surely the saviour of the wizarding world would’ve done something interesting over the holidays,” she demanded.

Harry gulped. There was no way he could pass it on to Crabbe or Goyle, as they were too busy stuffing their mouths with as much food as possible. Before he could think up a lie, however, Dumbledore stood up again.

“Ahem – just a few more words now we are all fed and watered,” the wizard called out. “I have a few start-of-term notices to give you. First-years should note the forest in the grounds is strictly forbidden to all pupils.” He droned on, telling them about the no-magic rule in corridors, Quidditch trials, and, most interestingly, about the third-floor corridor ban.

Harry must have spent too long wondering if he was serious about the whole “painful death” thing, as soon they were being called to the front of a tall Slytherin student. She had the same shiny badge with a ‘P’ on it that Percy had.

“First-years, over here please! My name is Gemma Farley and I’ll be leading you to your dormitories. Please remember that no one from other houses are allowed into our common room, so keep the password to yourselves. Follow me!”

As she led them away from the feast and down a staircase or two, the first-years all happily chatted amongst themselves.

“That was the most food I’ve ever seen – let alone had!” Harry laughed. Draco shot him a surprised look. It looked like he was about to say something when someone commented on the temperature drop. Harry shivered when he realised that it was pretty cold in what must have been the Hogwarts’ dungeons.

“You’ll get used to it!” Gemma called over her shoulder. They kept walking until they were in front of a blank stone wall.

Harry thought there must have been a mistake, or that maybe you had to tap the bricks in a pattern like Hagrid had done to get into Diagon Alley until Gemma said clearly, “Meracus.” This must have been the password they were expected to remember as a second later, the wall slid across to reveal a passageway. At the end was a well-lit room, with mostly green furnishings. All around were large windows that showed the murky water outside, giving the room a green tinge. Harry figured they were surrounded by the lake.

“The password changes every fortnight, so you need to keep checking the notices,” Gemma explained. “You see that stairway to your left that leads downwards? Those are the boy dormitories. The one on the right are the girls. A fair warning: boys cannot enter girl dormitories. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to come to me or any of the other Slytherin Prefects. Our Head of House is Professor Snape, who you can also come to. I think that’s all – I forget things easily – so off you go!”

With that, the first-years took it as their cue to race to the separate dormitories. The boys shoved their way into their new room and laughed as they sprinted to claim the best bed. Harry followed behind them at a more subdued pace, but he was just as excited as the rest of them.

The boys’ dormitories were luxurious. The first things Harry noticed as he entered were the six queen-sized, four-poster beds with thick green curtains hanging off them and the wall at the back of the room. As the boys around him fought over beds, Harry took in the glass wall that separated the dorm from what must have been the lake they travelled over an hour or so ago. As he watched, he saw lake creatures of all sizes dart around, too fast to identify. He swore he saw a human for a second, but then it was gone and all he could see was a large tail disappearing around the corner.

“Harry, hurry up and get over here!” Draco called, snapping Harry out of his thoughts.

The blond had saved him the bed next to him. It was one of the closest to the only fireplace in the room and it was near the breath-taking window. Harry smiled gratefully as he rushed over to flop onto it before Blaise – who had been eyeing it off – or anyone else could take it.

He shot an apologetic look at Zabini. The boy just grumbled under his breath and stalked over to one of the other beds. Blaise was the last one to drag his trunk out of the pile of their belongings that had been brought up and to his new bed.

There were three beds on each side of the room: three against the glass wall and three on the side they had entered through. Draco and Theo, on each side respectively, were the closest to the fireplace. Next to Draco was Harry, then Blaise, and next to Theo was Crabbe, then Goyle. The two latter were already asleep and snoring rather loudly. Harry almost pitied Nott, but then he got too swept up in the conversation happening around him to care.

“Which subject are you looking forward to the most?” Draco asked the dorm. “Personally, I reckon Potions will be the best!”

Theodore laughed. “You’ve only told us that about a thousand times! Charms will be the most useful, though I suppose they won’t start teaching us the interesting stuff until next year at least.”

“Defence Against the Dark Arts sounds fun,” Harry put in.

“Finally, someone who knows what he’s talking about!” Blaise agreed. “I can’t wait to learn about hexes and jinxes!”

The boys chatted merrily. Soon the topic steered back to families and Harry found he couldn’t say anything of use. Instead, he just listened.

“I feel sorry for Millicent and Tracey,” Draco said absentmindedly. “They don’t know anyone!”

“Why is that?” Harry asked. His assumption from earlier was right.

Theo and Blaise cleared their throats awkwardly. “Potter, you need to know something about the wizarding world,” Nott began.

“Shut up!” Draco glared at the boy, who held his hands up in mock-surrender.

“Look, Malfoy, someone’s got to tell him, and it’s obvious you’re not,” he reasoned.

“Fine,” Draco huffed. He sat back on his bed and folded his arms, turning his glare to the floor.

“As I was saying, there’s something you need to know about the wizarding world and how it works. Specifically, families. All wizarding families, like the Malfoys, Parkinsons, Notts, Crabbes, Goyles – essentially every Slytherin in our year aside from you, Davis and Bulstrode – are what we call ‘purebloods’. The Potters used to be a pureblood family, until your dad married your mum, who was a muggleborn. Muggleborns are magical children born in muggle families, by the way,” he added, seeing Harry’s scrunched up face.

“Anyway, since your dad didn’t marry another pureblood, that makes you a halfblood. Purebloods who have children with halfbloods, muggleborns or muggles mean that their children are halfbloods. Halfbloods who have children with other halfbloods, muggleborns or muggles make their children halfblood. Basically, if it’s not a person with two pureblood parents, or if they’re not a muggleborn, they’re halfblood,” Theodore explained.

Harry turned this information around in his mind. It was quite a lot to take in.

“And what exactly are blood traitors? Draco said something about –“

“He did, did he?” Theo shot Draco a glare.

“I didn’t mean – look, I was being stupid,” the boy in question rushed to explain. “When Harry and I first met, I mistook him for a Weasley and said some unpleasant things, and-“

“Draco, Theo, don’t worry about it. Draco might have been a right prat at first, but he apologised,” Harry cut in. Draco reached over the divide between their two beds to shove Harry playfully.

“To answer your question, Potter, ‘blood traitor’ is a term used by some pureblood families to describe other pureblood families that associate with muggles, or don’t follow the traditional pureblood ways,” Blaise explained quietly.

From the way everyone was looking at the floor, Harry wondered if that meant their families believed in that kind of thing. It seemed rather stupid to Harry – family wasn’t something you could change, so why care about it?

It was a while until conversation picked up again. Theo, Blaise and Draco avoided the subject of families. Harry was all too happy to do the same.

Soon, the boys fell asleep one by one, until it was only Harry who was left awake, mulling over everything that had happened in his mind.

In one day he had panicked over being left at a train station in London, met the Weasleys, ran at a wall with his trolley, found himself on Platform 9 and Three-Quarters, got onto the Hogwarts Express, became friends with Ron, met Hermione, Neville, Pansy, Crabbe and Goyle, sailed across a lake, entered a castle, conversed with a mind-reading hat, been sorted into Slytherin, been drifted through twice, met the rest of the Slytherins in his year, went into an actual dungeon, came across yet another sliding wall, learnt more about the wizarding world and now here he was, with his bed against a solid glass wall that they had to trust wouldn’t break and flood them with water from the lake outside.

It was a lot to wrap his head around, to say the least. Harry rolled over and stared at the long-diminished fireplace. Three months ago, if you had told Harry Potter that his life was extraordinary, he would have laughed himself into hysterics.

Harry rolled onto his back and closed his eyes, willing for sleep to come. When it finally did, it was to the thought of the promised magical lessons he’d have the next day.

[sserpente]

In a heartbeat (Chapter 2)

A/N: OMG, you guys, I am literally startled. Thank you all so much for your positive and numerous feedback, I never thought this new project would be so well received. Enjoy the next chapter! ♥

Find all chapters on my masterlist!

Several seconds passed until the play of warm colours ceased. You were standing in what resembled the stairwell of an ancient mansion, with valuable sculptures in the corners and artistic paintings on the walls. In front of you there was the man who had saved your life. His red cloak seemed to be moving and floating on its own when he stepped forward to properly introduce himself. Thor was even faster to speak.

“So Earth has wizards now, huh?”

“Something like that. My name is Doctor Stephen Strange.”

Frowning, you looked around you. Stephen Strange. You had heard of his name before. He used to be a famous neurosurgeon before… there had been this atrocious accident.

You let out a breath you didn’t realise you were holding, your limbs still shaking. The shock of what had happened sat deep—clinging to your heart like claws, stabbing you from the inside out.

“W-whatever just happened? Who was that? What does she want?” Why did she kill my best friend, you added silently, swallowing thickly to suppress a sob. Your heart was still pounding like a steam hammer—it almost hurt.

Strange nodded. “Yes, what does she want, Thor? You seemed familiar.”

“We are not. I know as much about her as you do but we need to stop her now. My hammer…”

“A shame,” the wizard said, pouting in approval before turning to you. “I’m sorry about your friend.” Fighting back your tears once more, you nodded.

“Look, sorcerer, we need to find my father.” Thor continued sternly. “He’ll know what to do, he is the Allfather, the protector of the nine realms.”

“What brought him this title, I wonder?” Strange remarked sarcastically. “I know who your father is, we met shortly before he disappeared.”

“Disappeared?”

“Yes,” Strange said. “He chose to remain in exile when your brother Loki…” —he put a suspicious emphasis on his name— “…banished him to Earth.”

“But why would he do that?”

Loki. Where was he? Your thoughts drifted away from the weirdly calm conversation Strange and Thor were having. You didn’t want to be here—you didn’t belong here. You had just missed your job interview and then, even worse, lost one of your best friends to a powerful black-haired witch. This wasn’t right. None of this was.

“You should probably stay the night.” Strange suggested when you turned back to them again reluctantly. “It will take me some time to locate your father and in this house, you will be safe from Hela. I will personally bring you to your rooms. Don’t enter any of the others without me, they’re—uh—out of order.”

“Stay the night?” You chirped, terrified. “What about me? I can’t stay the night, I need to go back this instant! I have… had a job interview! I demand to leave immediately!” Although you tried to sound intimidating, your words were weak and exhausted.

The past hour had taken its toll on you and with the realisation of your best friend being gone sinking in more with every minute that passed, it was getting harder to even stand upright without throwing up or fainting like a pathetic little school girl.

“You can’t leave… what’s your name?”

“(Y/N),” you choked out.

“(Y/N),” Strange repeated gently. “You can’t leave. I’m sorry. Hela knows who you are and what you look like, she saw you with Thor and Loki.”

“He’s right,” Thor added with a deep voice. “For all I know she will try and kill you once she gets the chance.”

Of course, he had a point there. Thanks to Karen and Susan, Hela might be thinking you were in on the game. The danger you were in was tangible. Perhaps you should stay the night. Only tonight and then tomorrow, you would make your leave, making sure to find Karen and mourn her sister together. Organising a beautiful funeral to honour her would be the least you could do after this terrible incident—it was, naturally, even more important than your spoiled chance to become a famous journalist one day.

“I will need my brother back.” Thor stated when you said nothing, clearing his throat audibly.

“Oh yeah, right,” With a flick of his fingers, there were eerie orange sparkles spreading on his fingertips again and then, having you flinch and jump aside, the wizard opened a portal on the ceiling through which a yelling Loki fell straight to the hard ground.

“I have been falling… for thirty minutes!” He complained crossly. Panting, he got up on his feet. The situation would have been funny, caused you to giggle even if you hadn’t just escaped death by only a heartbeat.

“Handle me…” He started, eyes narrowing as he fixated Strange. His voice was dangerously low, breathless even when out of thin air, he conjured two razor-sharp daggers. “Who are you? You think you are some kind of sorcerer. Don’t think for one minute you second-rate—“

Loki started at Strange before he had even finished his threat. Maybe it was the adrenaline that was still cursing through your veins and stopping you from collapsing; most of all, however, it made you brave.

“No! No, stop it!” You screamed, blocking his way. Your palms connected with his chest and despite of the nice feeling fabric of his black suit, it felt like trying to fight off a solid rock. The God of Mischief hesitated. Looking down at you in a confused manner, his blue eyes met yours. Whatever he saw in them—fear, exhaustion, desperation—it made him halt.

“No more fighting, I’m fed up with it! I just… I just want to go home!” Tears. Hot, salty and stinging, they worsened your sight. You quickly buried your face in your hands to hide your crying to keep at least some dignity. You should have all right to cry though. You were human, you were no supernatural witch…

“I don’t want anything to do with all of that spooky magic stuff! Life is exhausting enough! I just lost my best friend to a psychotic alien bitch for absolutely no reason!” You shouted out of breath, your words barely comprehensible in between frantic sobs.

“Okay, okay, (Y/N), you need to calm down, you’re having a panic attack.”

Strange was probably right with the amount of oxygen entering your windpipe. Trembling, you let him take a hold of your wrist—it wasn’t like you could have reacted in the first place—in the next moment, your environment once more changed within the twinkling of an eye.

In midst of an old-fashioned room with what looked like ancient furniture, the wizard switched on the lights and led you over to a surprisingly soft and comfortable bed.

“I know this is too much for you right now. It’s no less than what I felt when I first learned about magic and realms and… give yourself some time. Is there anyone you want me to contact for you? Your friend, maybe? She will have alerted the police by now.”

You decided to like the bearded man. His voice was relaxing and comforting and the way he kneeled down to look you in the eye all the while covering one of your hands with his, you felt safe.

It was only then you realised you had lost your bag during the explosion. Your phone, your wallet, your passport, even your car keys… everything was gone. If you did leave tomorrow, without your documents and any money, you wouldn’t even be able to leave the state.

“I… I don’t know Karen’s number by heart.”

“I will find a way to let her know you’re alive. Until then, you should rest. Are you hungry? There’s a bathroom opposite the room, it’s equipped with a first aid box so you can take care of the cut on your forehead. I will have some tea brought up, it will help you sleep.” As soon as he finished his proposal, a tray carrying a silver tea pot and a pretty porcelain mug appeared on your nightstand. It was steaming with a dark liquid, tempting you to taste it.

“Thank you.” You mumbled. For the tea or his comforting words, you did not know.

It must have been past midnight by now. The tea hadn’t helped. For hours on end, you had been thrashing around in bed, turning from side to side restlessly, for every time you closed your eyes to sleep, you saw Susan lying on the ground before you. She was reaching out, pleading you to save her instead of running away and stepping through that portal.

The smell of the fresh blood drowning her clothes was so vivid you gagged when your eyes flew open once again. Sweat was running down your back, your knees had turned to jelly and your heart… it seemed to be skipping so many beats you wondered how you were still alive.

You knew you wouldn’t be getting any rest tonight but at least, your tears had dried. You had no energy left to cry and relieve yourself from the grief rioting inside you. Maybe a short walk would take your mind off things and distract you from the gruesome picture that just wouldn’t go away.

Strange had told you not to explore the other rooms on your own and after what you had experienced today, you were fine with listening to his advice. Out of order probably meant hazard of any kind of magical origin. So you simply wandered through the empty hallways barefoot, inspecting the art in the house as you desperately tried not to think about Susan and the fact you would never see her again.

After a while, you came by another closed door, through this one, however, candle light shone to the wooden ground, illuminating a few feet in front of you. Either Doctor Strange, Thor or Loki would be inside the room, clearly not sleeping either, you assumed.

So you entered, making sure to knock quietly before opening the door to peek inside. It was the God of Mischief you spotted lying on the bed, reading a book whose title you couldn’t quite make out from the distance. He had replaced his clothes as well. Instead of the black suit, he was now wearing foreign garments made of green fabric which looked way more comfortable for reading in bed than his previous outfit.

He instantly noticed your presence before you even let the door fall shut behind you. Alarmed, he looked up to meet your tired gaze, his blue eyes sending pleasant shivers up and down your spine. There was something about his eyes… something intriguing.

“I can’t sleep,” you explained before he could open his mouth to dismiss you rudely. There wasn’t much you expected from him, after all. After what you had heard of he had done, you doubted he would show any sympathy for a human girl.

Loki tilted his head. He frowned, his lips parting ever so slightly. “Strange said the door was locked.” He stated wondrously.

Your eyes widened. “No, it was open, I mean, I just…” Grabbing the door knob in an irritated manner, you attempted to open it once more. It didn’t move. Not a smidge.

Oh no.

“It was open.” You corrected, turning around in an apologising manner all the while Loki rolled his eyes. Annoyance, so you figured, was safer than anger. Carefully, you approached his bed. “Why did he lock you in here?” You asked before you gave it a second thought. The answer was clear. Loki was a war criminal—unguarded… what would he do? You had just trapped yourself in this room with a very, very dangerous man. Of course your day was getting even better.

“Strange does not trust me. His sorcery is more advanced than I thought—sloppy but quite affective. I am yet to figure out how to break the spell, though I believe it is the house that blocks most of my magic.” He said, setting his book aside. Now, you had his full attention but whether that was a good or a bad thing, you could not tell.

“You can’t sleep?” He asked then, raising his eyebrows a little. For just a brief moment, you believed there was actual interest flaming up in his eyes, it was, however, quickly replaced by the most inconspicuous hint of mockery. It stung even though you tried not to let it get to you.

“Quite frankly, I will not be sleeping either now that you have so brilliantly locked us in here.”

“You could have told me the door was locked before I closed it, you vengeful idiot!” Dubiously, you usually ran out of cruel insults when you were angry and right now, Loki was provoking you. You were grieving, you were in pain and he… he was distracting you.

Nervously, you scratched the back of your hand, with the God of Mischief tilting his head once more upon seeing your skin turning all red. If you continued like this, you would be bleeding by tomorrow and yet, it felt good to do at least something with your hands.

Loki was staring at you in an almost scrutinising manner. It was like his intimidating glance went right through you.

What you didn’t understand was how you hadn’t just left after seeing Loki in this room. You could have bolted and returned to your own, searching for Strange or Thor instead but for some incomprehensible reason, you had stayed and entered. Again, you were reminded of how there was something about the God of Mischief that intrigued you. If only you knew what it was.

“Can I please just… lie down? I really am exhausted.” There was no point in standing at the edge of his bed any longer anyway. Given you would be locked in here for the rest of the night, you might as well make the best out of the situation. Perhaps now, you would even fall asleep.

Loki was dangerous and unpredictable, this much you were very well aware of, however, with him by your side… you felt oddly protected.

Watching him nod mutely and biting back another scornful remark to express his plain annoyance, you slid under the warm bed sheets all the while remembering how he had attempted to lunge at Strange today. What had induced him to listen to you? Was it compassion? Pity?

“Good night, Loki.” You whispered, sighing quietly before turning to face the wall. When he replied nothing in return, you simply forced your eyes shut. Despite the dim light in the room, it took you in fact only a couple of minutes to fall into a relatively peaceful slumber.

[maddzyohh-blog]

INTERVIEW WITH JAMES POLLITT FROM SOSEITY

What are your names and what do you do in the band?

Hi!! I'm James Pollitt and I, write, as well as being lead vocalist in Soseity, (and I'll probably a little bit of keyboard once I get good enough) Lucas Rigby is on drums, Cam Stephenson is on bass and Ben Moore is on guitar and they both do vocals too.

How did you meet each other?

Ahah it's actually quite a funny one how me and Cam met, he messaged me, maybe 18 months ago now, asking me where I got my penny board from. I started doing a bit of promotion for his band at the time, The Strays, and eventually I started Soseity with him and his best mate Tom Braithwaite. Together, we wrote ITILY and Lover That I Lost (mainly them though to be fair, I just wrote some lyrics over those beautiful instrumentals). I owe them a lot to be honest, Tom's left but without him and Cam I would never have had the confidence to do anything with my songs. Just before Tom left, we pulled in Lucas, who I knew through a mutual friend. And then we replaced Tom with Ben, who I'd met through Instagram. It's worked out quite well really to be honest like, me, Cam and Ben are all at the same uni so that's bare deece.  It's all just mad for me, being in a band and that. I just proper love these lads man.

How old are you and what are your birthdays?

I had to proper hit up the lads and ask them this not gonna lie to ya rkid. Cam's is in May, the 29th I think? Don't quote me on that though ahah. He's just started uni and he's 18. Me and Ben are a year older, in our second year at Uni, I'm born on the 18th June (expecting bday presents off people now that I've said that) and Ben is born on 5th August. Lucas is the baby of the group, he's just started college, he's only 16 the lil cutie and his bday is 10th July.

What are your favourite colours?

My personal favourite colour is sort of a turquoisey colour. I've always been a fan of blue (being a lifelong City fan, I feel like my dad would have killed me if it had been red aha) not too sure about the other lads, but that's the colour we're using a lot recently so I'm guessing they can't hate it too much.

Why did you decide to form a band?

Well I've been writing songs for a while now, maybe 5 or 6 years, and eventually I felt like I wanted to get something that I'd written out there. I felt like I had a lot to say, maybe some of its shite but hopefully there's some good in there. I didn't wanna put stuff out when I was 15/16, because I really struggled with my confidence and self-esteem a lot at school. I had really bad acne, I was really awkward and shy, to be honest, I just wasn't really happy with myself as a person, I think that's reflected in the early stuff I wrote. Not gonna lie, I kind of looked like a potato until maybe like I was 16, school really wasn't a good time for me. When I got my Instagram, at the start of college, I felt a bit more confident in myself generally, as well as in my songs, and my voice. But I wouldn't have said I was ready to put them out there. Cam and Tom gave me that final push to get my songs out there, or at least attempt to do something with it. Being in a band gives me a bit more confidence. I just hope people like it. I really hope they do...

How did you choose the name Soseity?

'Soseity'... Well this is where it gets a little pretentious, sorry, ah, erm so basically me and my sister were looking at starting a clothing company. She wanted to use the name Ipseity which is Latin for 'selfhood', I wanted Soseity. The clothing company never happened but I kept the name as I thought it was kinda cool...

'Seity', I think, is ancient Greek for individuality, and I feel like there's a lot of people who just wanna be sheep in the world, it's like, kind of a play on the fact that there's not much individuality in society. I hope that doesn't sound too cuntish? I feel like it does aha.

What genre of music do you make?

I mean yeah, I'm not really sure how I'd describe it. I wanna kinda break genres and do different things. Having done promotion for quite a while now, I feel like where a lot of bands go wrong is it's all a bit too similar, with their songs all being slightly 'samey' and also a bit too much like what's already out there, like I can't even tell you how much I've heard "these sound proper like Catfish, or the 1975 or the Smiths" when introducing the band's I've worked with to people, and like that's okay, but I don't really wanna be a tribute band. Is that too rude to say??? I don't know man I don't wanna upset anybody but I just wanna do something cool and a bit different...

I've taken influence from different bands (mainly bands like The Cure and The Smiths because they talk about things that matter and I fully love that) from 80's/00's pop, blues, from newer bands that to me, stand out, bands on the new indie-pop wave like HUNNY, Clay, Phoebe Green and King No-One, I love their lyricism, I love what they're doing man. Along with other bands like SWMRS, Bulletproof Bomb, Carnival Club and Field Medic (and a few others man, there's a few too many to mention) they, they're all a bit different and I love that man. Also like anybody who follows my twitter (painfully for them, sorry) kinda knows I love grime and 50's music as well. Basically I'm not sure what vibes we'll go with but I know there's a mix of heavy shit, indie, things about my mental health struggles, political stuff and a few norty little love ballads (who doesn't love a good ballad) aha.

What are the inspirations behind your songs?

I mean there's a lot of different inspirations, but basically I want to make music that matters, I feel like anybody can write a half-decent love song, but I kinda wanna say something important with my lyrics. Saying that, I've literally just been dumped after a very long-term relationship with a girl who I've been madly in love with for basically my entire teenage life, that's still a bit tender, my heart's a bit broken, so expect some stuff that's a bit lovey dovey and sad. It was one of those where I really did think we'd get married and it would last forever, maybe that's naïve, and I guess she didn't feel that way, as sad as it is. but yeah, like anyway all the songs I've written about her and us over the last 5 years or so, will hopefully be coming out soonish,  I just hope that's not too awkward for her, or for me (they are quite heartfelt ahhh)... A lot of my inspiration comes from my own life, my vulnerability, my struggles with mental health issues, and obviously I'm a History And Politics Degree student, there's a lot of politics and references to global events, as I said I wanna talk about important things like, otherwise, for me, there's no point...

If you guys gain like thousands of fans will you use your platform of fans to promote things that are important to you like politics and to promote stuff that needs to be shown awareness to such as; mental health; and sexual assault within the music and acting industry and outside of the industry in the real world?

Yeah man, that's proper important to me. I've been sexually harassed at so many gigs and assaulted on a few occasions, like I said before I've just got out of a long-term relationship, but I think, as it is with boys, there's a few horrible people who simply don't think the rules apply to them, I've never understood why people just assume that they can touch people up, or act like a dickhead, it's so grim. I wasn't ever gonna be about cheating and I certainly didn't want my dick grabbed when I was trying to start a pit or like just have some fun with my mates. When we start gigging, people who sexually assault will be blacklisted. They can fuck off I don't care. Obviously mental health issues are a huge part of who I am. Previous work with Yellow4Change and my yellow heart project, along with my own issues, really shape who I am and what I wanna talk about in my music, songs like The Bridge, which I posted an acapella snippet of on Twitter, are really like a little flood of my emotions. Music has really helped me through my problems and I hope my music can help people through theirs. Politics, although I'm worried about the engagement level and market for it, is a massive thing to me. I think people don't realise that the world around them is politics. It's not just a vote or a leader. From the doctor's appointment they moan about, the roads they drive on, to the price of gas and electric, politics is everything. I want to help people to see how important politics really it is, without sounding too much like a preachy prick.

When do you plan on releasing music?

Well I've got to apologise about that. The songs should have been out ages and ages ago and I really have fucked that and I'm sorry to anybody who cares and wants to listen. They'll be out soon and I'll keep putting previews on twitter and insta. Sorry everybody, love you...

Do you want to stay anything to the people who already support you?

Erm, I don't really think many people will care at this point. But just be kind, everybody you meet is fighting a hard battle man. Be there for people and just yeah, be kind.

Follow Soseity on:

Twitter

Instagram

Follow James On:

Twitter

Instagram

[amtopmthoughts]

BACKGROUND STORIES

Annie and Will met in Chicago in 2000? when Annie moved there from SAN FRANCISCO/

Names:

adults:

Elizabeth

Katherine

Claire

Oliver

Amelia

Naomi

Richard

James

Rose

Adrianna

Renn

Lilly

Kids: 

Samantha sam 

Sam

Dylan

William will

Benjamin Ben

Violet vi v

Natalie nat

Olivia liv

Isabella Bella 

Skylar sky

Scarlett

Carson

Naomi

Blake

Nathan Nate

aiden

Alexander Alex

Alexandra Alex lexie

Alexis

Tod:

Haley

Casey

Lilly

Jake

Dylan

Benjamin Ben

Last names: 

Ward

Avery

Williams

Roberts

Lewis

Carson

Carter

Clack

Wilder

Turner

Duncan

Wilson

Harper

Hansen

Tate

Stevens

VIOLET duncan

PARENTS 

Amelia & MATTHEW Duncan

WILLIAM "WILL" Avery 

PARENTS

ANNIE AND RICHARD Avery

FRIENDS

LEXIE STEVENS

LIAM HARPER

SAM TATE

BENJAMIN BEN JOHNSON?

she didn't seem to be from here, this town, this planet. she didn’t look or sound like she was from this time. I loved the way she could sometimes sound like she was ancient of how wise she was. mostly she didn’t even listen to music from this decade and not much from the decade before this one.

she always had a book in her hands, no matter what the genre. she read everything. she liked 80s music and 80s movies and 70s music and 70s movies. she loved musical theatre, surrealism and jazz and her dream was to have a guy throw her hundreds of parties every day in hopes of one day having her attend one and then one day be received by a room full of orchids, her favourite flowers. when she reads this, she’ll get mad at me for saying orchids are her favourite flowers, because “orchids are plants, not flowers”.

truthfully, she loves a lot of things. damn, i never even knew someone who knew so much about so many things. this world was too small for her. when i looked into her eyes I saw all the truths she held inside of her, how secure and sure she was about so many things. but inside, she was also very “doubtful”, like a troubled genius, with a troubled soul and a troubled mind, way ahead of her time. she had a lot of questions, about everything, questions nobody would ask. some because would never dare to do so, others because didn’t even imagine to ask such questions, let alone have them. she was the least ignorant, most aware person I had ever known. she seemed so polished yet so careless, unbothered, effortlessly beautiful. she was amazing. out of this world.

I remember so clearly the first time I ever saw her. I had just arrived in town. It was just like one of those “pictoresc” towns you only see in movies where there’s always “the new kid”, which in this case, was me, and you just know coming in your whole life’s about to change. I wasn’t really brought here against my will but I wasn’t that excited about the idea of moving here either. truth is I hadn’t been keen on felling much in a while. I had been feeling a little numb, to be honest with you. You know when you just feel like you’re getting by but not really living, you’re not able to feel excited about anything you do because you’re not actually doing anything you love. this may be too cliche to even say but she was the one who brought me back, to life.

It was the end of summer, the week before school started

we had just arrived along with the moving trucks’ guys and as soon as we parked the car our front neighbours were outside of what was to become our new home with a fresh baked pie to welcome us. like I said, just like in the movies. 

september had just came, summer was coming to an end and school was about to start, which meant having to make new friends or committing to be an outsider but I wasn’t intending on making an effort to do neither of those things. I was going to go with the flow. 

Hi! You must be the new neighbours. I’m “Claire” and this is my husband “Ethan”. We brought you pie! 

my mom “estendeu” her hand to receive the pie and said - Yes, yes we are. I’m “Annie” and this is “Richard”, my husband, this is will, our son and this is our daughter Olivia.

Hi, Olivia. Will, you must be our son’s age, Benjamin. You know, there’s a diner near by, all the kids in town go there. You should go too. It’s the best place to meet/make people your age/friends. 

Yeah, son, you should go. - my dad told me, patting (on) my shoulder. at the time I didnt ware he was “encouraging” me to go to the place where I’d meet you. I never thanked him, either. 

But, don’t you need me to help you with the moving?

No, no, sweetie. Today we’re only doing the kitchen so we can cook dinner tonight. We’ll take care of the rest later, there’s no rush. Go.

Okay, then…

So I went. My dad helped my mom start to settle in and Olivia played in the backyard. I sat in the car and I took a deep breath before I started the car and then, I drove. It wasn’t hard finding the diner. It was a small town. It was a very cool place, aesthetically pleasing and all. It really looked like the ones from the 50s. I came in and sat at the balcony. Took a look around. The place was really filled with teenagers. Most of them weren’t even seated. They all clearly knew each other but there wasn’t a big enough booth for everyone so they would switch places and be in between tables and engaging in multiple conversations. They all looked so happy and comfortable. I guess what they say about small towns, about everyone knowing each other and everything, really is true.

It didn’t took long until one of the “diners workers” came to me. - You’re new here. Guess you’re the son of the new neighbours.

I smiled. I actually liked how kind of invasive people were here. I preferred to think they were actually interest in being involved in the lives of the people around them rather than think they (are) were just nosy. Either way, I didn’t feel bothered or uncomfortable. I felt good so far. - Yes. Yes I am. How did you know? Besides the fact that it is a small town, there are not many houses for sale here. Only from time to time. And it’s never for long. 

I guess people really like living here, huh? 

Well, why wouldn’t they? This is paradise, honey, you’ll see. You’ll meet the love of your life here.

I wouldn’t go as far as to say that, but who knows… - I smiled again.

How about just a chocolate milkshake, for now? They’re the house specialty/specialty of the house. 

Sure. I’d love one, please. 

Right away. I’m Rose by the way.

Lovely to meet you, Rose, I’m will. - she smiled at me and she turned. She wore a typical pink 50s diner costume as well as all the other workers.

She brought my milkshake and I took another look around. As soon as I looked at the door the most stunning girl I had ever seen walked in. She didn’t look at me even though I was staring at her. (Thank god.) She had long brown hair, the most dazzling eyes, also brown, and was wearing a long white flowy dress with flowers on it. Looking so unbothered, careless and confident. She went in the direction of the other kids tables and greeted everyone.

I turned around, figuring one of them would eventually find creepy that I was staring but then, she came to the balcony.

Hi Rosie, can I have the usual, please?

Hello, violet! Of course. I’ll bring it to the table in a second.

No need, I’ll eat here next to…

I felt like spitting my milkshake all over the place and say “WHAT? ME?” but I didn’t want her first impression of me to be that I was a complete dork so I said “Will”.

Hey, will. You’re the new kid, right? 

Right.

So, what’s your story? 

I don’t really have a story…

Everyone has a story - she almost ran my sentence over with hers

I’d risk saying only in towns like this interest things happen but guess mine is that I lived in “Chicago” and my mom and dad suddenly felt like moving here, so now the 4 of us all live here.

4? 

Yes, I have a younger sister.

I’m sure she’s adorable.

Sometimes.

And why where? I don’t even think “…” is on the map.

she made me chuckle - well, on their honeymoon they had a road trip and they made a wrong turn and ended up here and loved it so much they stayed here the rest of the honeymoon and they’ve been wanted to come back here since then but never did… life I guess… was always in the way

Until now…

Until now.

But wait, a road trip on a honeymoon? That’s the coolest thing.

I chuckled again. - Yes, I think so too. 

By that time she had devoured all her food and somehow managed to look very cute while doing it and continuing to question me

they stayed at a inn by the lake.

the diamond lake inn.

I didn’t really remember the name even though my parents told me about it a million times.

It’s called diamond lake because when the sun reflects on the water, it shines, like diamonds.

this really is a storybook town, it even has 50s inspired diners and everything

In fact, this diner opened in the actual 50s. They were Rosie’s parents and then they died and she started running it. She always worked here helping her parents so she couldn’t sell it when they were gone, even though it hurt her very much. It reminds her (of them very much) very much of them. 

I guess everyone really has a story.

Indeed. That’s what makes us interesting. The things that happen to us, they make us who we are.

You’re very wise.

So I’ve been told. - we were both silent for a second, I guess “digesting” the moment that had just happened. - Well, I have to go now, but you should come on saturday. We’re all going to the lake tomorrow, we’re having a bonfire at night. we’ll eat s’mores and it will be fun. you should come, that way you’ll meet everyone. I’ll introduce you.

Okay, sure, I’ll come.

Great. See you saturday. If not sooner. (she left money on the table), grabbed her purse, said goodbye to everyone and left the diner. 

The sound of the bell on the top of the door that rang when she opened it as she left was stuck in my head and all I got caught up on that “If not sooner”, what did she mean by that? 

There was no way of denying that there was something about that Violet girl. Something very interesting.

On my way home I was thinking about her and I realised she spent an hour asking me all these questions and yet I knew nothing about her. It’s not that I wasn’t interested in finding about her but she didn’t really gave me the chance, she would either in a very subtle way change subject and making that or other question about me or asking question after question. Still somehow the conversation “flew” in such a natural way

Dylan! We’re in the kitchen. - my mother yelled as soon as I opened the front door

I knew where the kitchen was because of course my mom made us all visit the house before we bought it and a couple times after that so we could all give opinions and decide which room would be what and where we’d put things and so on… My mom was very into home decor. Me on the other hand, not so much. My dad was into furniture “handcrafting”, actually, my dad was into everything handmade. My dad built furniture and made ceramic. My mom painted and managed an art gallery back in Chicago where we lived. Olivia, was into every (cartoon) disney cartoon movie ever.

My mom was sold (on the house) because of the location, first of all. My mom wanted to move there ever since her and my dad spent her honeymoon here, but they had to go back because she had still to finish college. She was only in her second year. She was an art major. In the forth and last year of her degree she got offered an internship at a local art gallery while she took her masters degree and got offered a job to work there when she got it. She loved it so much she ended up accepting it. But over the years they just realised they really wanted to live in a calmer, sunnier, warmer place and somehow their minds always went back to that place, that small town they spent their honeymoon in. So one day, they decided it was time, and we came. And here we are.

Second of all, the front porch, the picket fence, the foyer with the skylight and the kitchen nook.

The house had a big foyer with a “clarabóia” which my mom obviously loved. A big (open) kitchen and living room open space. The big kitchen with the island (countertops) were a must so we could have our famous weekly sunday brunches as well as a big couch which would later host our traditional family game nights. It’s not that we spent little time together as a family, we actually spent a lot of time together. My parents were always very present and they worked hard to be the “cool parents”.

She also painted for fun. We always encouraged her to try and sell her paintings but she always said the intention wasn’t to make money out of them, she said their only purpose was to be a way of her expressing/to express herself. Dad never went to college but was one of the most intelligent/smart people I know. He always had the best fatherly advice. He was funny and could “steal” a laugh from my mom even when she was her angriest self . She says that’s why they’re still married after 20 years (and together after 25). My mom is the single most calm, most peaceful person I know. Except when she gets really mad, it doesn’t happen that often, but when it does… man.

Liv was probably the one who was most excited about moving here. She said her colleagues from her school in Chicago weren’t nearly as smart as her. She says she wants to meet people who can match her level. She was only in second grade. 

I got to the kitchen and my mom and dad were making dinner and Olivia was setting the table

So, honey, how was it? Did you make friends already?

I made… one friend… sort of…

Really, who?

A girl… her name is violet.

A girl… named violet… that sounds like trouble, kiddo.

Honey… - my mom said, touching my father’s shoulder

we sat down at the table - anyway, she invited me to go with her and her friends, which is basically every kid in town, to the lake on saturday, they’re having a bonfire and stuff.

Oh, baby, that’s so great! That lake is so beautiful. I’m so happy… You’re going to have so much fun. I feel like we’re going to be very happy here.

We better be, you never “shut” up about this town ever since we sat our buts down in the car when we left.

There was something about this place, don’t act like you didn’t felt it to.

Oh… I know… I had fun in that lake, too…

The next day I woke up to chocolate chip pancakes. Dad’s famous chocolate chip pancakes. Because my dad worked at home, he was the one that always cooked breakfast/he always cooked breakfast.

Special pancakes for a special day. First breakfast in/on our new home. - breakfasts were a big deal in the Avery household. My parents say it’s the most important meal of the day. We loved breakfast. We loved breakfast food. My mom always said breakfast was the most important meal of the day because it set the mood for the entire day, if you started the day eating good you’d have energy to carry you through your day. Also, she always said it was important to start the day with good, positive “vibes” and that’s what we’d get in our home. Rarely ever someone would wake up cranky. In fact, rarely ever someone would be cranky at all. I loved my family. I really did.

Sit down kids. - my mom said while she poured orange juice in our cups.

So, I invited the Johnson’s for dinner tonight. Claire, Ethan and their son, Benjamin. That way you can meet him too, Dylan.

Since you’ve only met that girl yet, that is - my dad intervened

Anyway - my mom resumed her speech - you do know what means, right? - we all looked at her - Come on, guys, you know what it means! The moving guys are coming again today to help us bring the rest of the heavy stuff and move around some of the stuff.

After breakfast we "arranged" the rest of the house and after that we cleaned it. By six, we were done and my mom started cooking. At seven, the Johnson's rang our doorbell. I answered the door.

we brought you another pie. You mother said you liked the one we brought you yesterday. - I actually really did like it.  

Thank you. - I said while I grabbed the pie. 

And this is Benjamin.

Hey... It's Ben.

Nice to meet you/hi, Ben. - I laughed and we shook hands. - come, my parents and my sister are in the kitchen.

My mom was still with her apron on and as she saw the johnson’s come in to the kitchen she "sacudiu" her hands on the (front part of the) apron and she greeted our guests. - hi! I'm sorry, I just finished cooking! .... and you must be Benjamin. - she said while she took her apron off

Hello, mrs. Avery

Dylan, sweetie, why won't you show Ben your room.

Sure.

We went to my room and although I didn't consider myself a shy person I was struggling to find how the hell would I start a conversation with Ben. Finally one of us broke the ice

We're having a sort of gathering on Saturday. We're going to the lake. You should come.

Yeah. I know.

Oh, my mom told you.

No. A girl-Violet- told me.

Violet?

Yes.

You've already met violet? 

Yes.

(She's some girl...)

What do you mean?

It's like, everybody knows her, but nobody really knows her.

Kind of mysterious, huh?

I guess. Guys like it. But I've known her since we were like two so I could never look at her like that.

Do you or did you have a girlfriend back where you’re from?

I was seeing someone, but it wasn't serious. Nothing worth keeping long distance, for sure. You?

Nope. Never had one. Don't intend to. I just want to live my life, enjoy the best years of my life. Girls are trouble. I only intend on getting in trouble with them, not for them to actually give me trouble.

I guess he had a point... thing is I wanted to

“So what are your plans, now?”

“I’m going to keep doing what I have always done. Built furniture. And I’ve been pushing my wife to open her own art gallery for a long time. Now that we’re here it’s a great opportunity for her to do that”

“Yes! You should (definitely) do that. We don’t have any around here. It’d be a great addition (to the town).”

“See?” My dad said looking at my mom.

“Yes, Dylan already told me you spent your honey moon here by mistake and that’s why you ended up moving here but I’d really like to know the whole story, if you don’t mind telling it.”

“Of course we don’t, dear”, my mom said with a smile

I interrupted her. “Of course she doesn’t, she loves telling this story”

My mom gave me a side eye and continued. “So, anyway… We got married really young. Actually, shortly after we met. I had just moved to Chicago for college. I was studying, I believe it was the second night at my dorm and I broke my lamp so, and because I had little to no money, I went to a second hand/antique shop to look for the cheapest one I could find. Will was working there. I don’t really believe in love at first sight so I don’t say it was it but it was pretty close. He was shy but couldn’t stop smiling at me. When I got to my dorm I saw what I quickly figured it was his phone number and called him. We set up to meet the next friday and one month or so later we were moving together to a shoe box apartment. He proposed in december and we were married in may. Neither of us consider ourselves to be religious per say so we went to the city hall and had a small party in Will’s parent’s backyard. In/on my summer break, because we didn’t have any money, didn’t have much time either and thought ourselves to be very adventurous, decided to go on a road trip. Our initial idea was to stop by a bunch of different places, staying at cosy inns, stop by beaches and have lunch and dinner in cute places but on the first day our broke down on the way to our first stop so we had to take it to a car shop to have it fixed. The town ended up being this beautiful place and we ended up loving it and staying until the rest of our honey moon. We stayed at the DIAMOND LAKE INN. Had long swims in the lake, jumped tirelessly from the tyre swig hanged in that big tree and watched every sunset in our bathing suits. It was magical, we wanted to stay forever, but I had to go back for college, obviously. We still back for a couple summers after that but then I was offered a job at the place I was doing this/an internship and I loved what I was doing so I stayed and become harder and harder to come back and when Will was born it got even harder and when we had Olivia it just became impossible so we never came back. Life just got in the way I guess… But then we just decided we didn’t want to push it anymore and just decided to come. We sold the house, (got a good price on it) bought one here and we just came. I wasn’t worried about Olivia, I was actually more afraid because of Will but I think he’ll do/he’s going to be just fine.”

“I told you she loved telling the story… It’s a big story…”

“It’s a beautiful story.”

“Thank you, honey, I think it is, too.” My mom smiled so big. I could tell she was so happy.

(...)

A violet in a field of flowers. (I don't know if that's redundant or just cliche

Maybe Both. - we smiled. - my parents say they named me violet because they fell in love here and violet was the flower my dad picked? and gave my mother when he asked her to marry him. I just think that's a better way of saying I was conceived here

Maybe both. - we smiled again

(...)

Rosie - I told you you'd find love here. - we both smiled

(...)

[itdisneymatter]

Day 01 - Magic Kingdom

Instead of a summary this time around, I'll try to sum up the day in a few words and sentences with a TLDR (too long; didnt read). Mostly to save me from repeating myself too much but also means you can skip on me droming on about nothing.

So the TLDR for today: Magic Kingdom. Custom t-shirts. Magic Bands. Really worth it. Got a good few rides in and hit 2 out of 3 of the mountains. Went for lunch at Belle's castle. Hot, hot, hot. Seen the 3pm parade. Missed out on a few rides but we'll get them in on a return. Everyone really enjoyed it and kicked the holiday off really well. Didnt hit dinner till late. Caught in a thunderstorm on the way home. Soaked.

And now...

First things first, or is that now second. Anyway,  I may have missed one or two details in my less than awake state which had an impact on todays events. We had planned, all going well, that we would head to Disney Springs (previously Downtown Disney) to get some Magic Bands - a watch-y thing that replaces your park ticket making it easier for Fast Passes and the like. With all the delays and the tiredness of yesterday it just wasnt a thing we were able to do. Ah well, best laid plans and all that. It meant however that we now had to try and pick them up when we hit the park today, pushing out our plans slightly. 

Some of us got personalised t-shirts made up (with our name and a specially selected Disney character), so today was a perfect opportunity to wear them.  We skipped on breakfast, and didnt have any bottled water to make a coffee (normally eek but ok for this morning, strangely). Not too hungry anyway so headed to my mum and dad's hotel to pick them up. They are in the same hotel as my sister, so its really convenient as a meet up point as my brother was picking them up in his car and its between both of our hotels. We were pretty spot on time for it being the first day so off we set for Magic Kingdom.

Parked up and within five minutes we stumbled upon a wee gift shop that sold Magic Bands - woohoo!  They have different colours and design so Ann picked up a nice wee 45th Anniversary Limited edition number. Patrick went for Sorcerers Apprentice (to match his tshirt.) Robert went for Up (to match his tshirt AAAND favourite Disney movie). Grace went for Orange Bird, who is a wee orange bird (funnily enough) who used to appear is old, Disney animations. We picked up a cup one time on the first visit to Disney (in 2013) and that cup had Orange Bird on it, and Grace has had an affinity with the character ever since. I went for Aladdin. Mum and Dad picked some funky coloured bands and we headed off to the park entrance. Spotted some of the other party (the ones in the second car) in their custom t-shirts so sped up to meet them just in time to board the ferry to the Magic Kingdom entrance. Tshirts already coming in handy with finding peeps, so colour matching tees in the way to go for future outings I think! Ferry was lovely and all of the kids were getting really excited.

So me trying to Facebook Live the Magic Kingdom entry was a complete and utter failure. I didnt even know how to start the thing - I should be as ashamed, calling myself a techie. Though I did get slightly reprimanded taking my phone out as they had a no selfie policy at security, prior to going in. He had a gun, so I pretty much did what he said and put my phone away. I fell back on my trusty Go-Pro (that I havent used since last time, but how hard can it be, right?). Video to follow as my laptop is ancient and I can barely run wordpad nevermind a full 1080p video clip. 

Full of smiles we headed in and once we stocked up on some water, a first visit badge for Emily and the others picked up their magic bands, we had 20 minutes to get to to our first fast pass - Splash Mountain in Frontier Land (good job I knew the way :P). Bypassed some rides as well as an opportunity to get Dole Whip (marked down on our initial plans), but we made the ride with 5 minutes to spare - phew!

Magic Kingdom Mountains 1 & 2... check!

Splash mountain. All of the family (save for my Mum, Alessio and Isabella) hit up the ride and it was AWESOME! Grace was quite panicky so was a little clingy (even though she'd been on it before) but Emily and Corrie both first timers absolutely loved it. And for our efforts, our first family ride photo! :D

Then we headed to Big Thunder straight after - ended up riding on my jack jones which was arite though as I go pro-ed the whole thing (our party's reactions, not the ride itself). We did also get a video for our memory maker which we have never had before but its a really fantasticly amazing this to have (even if the photographers does make you hold invisible fairies and set you up in a variety of cheesy poses).

On a role, we then hit Haunted Mansion, It's a Small World (GG's personal fave), Mickey's Philharmagic AND Peter Pan all before lunch. Not bad, for running an hour or so later off plan.

Be. Our. Guest!

Due to availability and a LOT of pre-planning, our wee family were the only ones booked in to Be Our Guest today. We said our goodbyes to the rest of the party and after arranging a meet up point and time we set off for a now, very much needed, lunch. We decided on some really nice menu choices, including a monster Grilled Cheese Sandwich and Barbequed Pulled Pork. The guys also got the infamous "Grey Stuff" for dessert, which seemed to be the kids favourite course of the day. However the star of the show for me was the French Onion Soup which was sublimely awesome (I'd eat this every day and I'm really really not a soup guy!).

We caught back up with the rest of the party after lunch just in time for the 3pm parade, which was only listed as a might-do due to time so really impressed we managed it. Time to get the zoom lens out! :D A side note on cameras - last time we were here I opted to take a reasonably good performing compact camera instead of my main SLR, for accessiblity purposes. While it was good, I always missed the feel and added control of my main camera, so this year its the exact opposite - Im gonna be a packhorse. Quality over comfort! The parade was really colourful and with the smaller kiddos were put up on shoulders so they had a perfect view (however I must add, its quite difficult to take quality photos through a 70-200mm lens mounted on a 5D with a flashgun, I'll have you know).

After cycling through most of the main Disney Princess movies in the Parade (except Frozen, which was kinda dissapointing, mainly as *I* wanted to see Elsa), Mickey and Mickey signed off the show to resounding cheers and waves and applause.

ROARRRRRRR!!!

A little time to go before our last listed Fast Pass of the Day - Seven Dwarves Mine Train, so we queued up for Enchanted Tales With Belle beforehand. The main premise is that kids (and some adults), volunteer to get chosen to reeact a little scene with Belle. For one of the main roles, The Beast, kids must roar their loudest and Grace got chosen! (though I shouldnt really be surposed by that). She was all chuffed and kept saying her and Robert had switched roles from last time with Robert now playing the part of the mighty steed Snaggleforp, or whatever the horses name is (its late and and I'm not going to google Belle's hor..., right fine... its Phillipe). Patrick, Robert, Corrie and Emily were also picked to be part of the show. Even Kevin was picked as a Knight in shining armor - which he played brilliantly (mostly it was about standing still, but still, brilliantly). They all got presented with a little bookmark as a small token, at the end for taking part.

By now, everyone was feeling a little drained so decided after Seven Dwarves that we would head for home and grab a bite to eat. We are going to be back at Magic Kingdom at least one other time when we can prioritize Tomorrowland, so everyone was on board. Seven Dwarves, I ended up on my own again after having lost my little sidekick Gracie (who opted out of the ride). I didn't mind though as I had my Gopro already to go again. I was slotted in on the first seat with a lady, who immediately asked my name and introduced herself (as Martha?... maybe, it was loud and after two attempts of saying 'what' you just need to go along with it). She just started chatting away all through the ride. In fact, just today loads of people just started up full blown convo's with me out of the blue - I mustve been rocking a approachable/chatterbox vibe in my backward facing hat and camera loadout. Those of you who know me, know me as anything but (listen I try, but I'm the first to admit I'm pretty terrible with words and interesting conversation at times). That being said, it was great to chat with so many different people around the world and just goes to show how friendly and amazing this place really is.

A wee cheeky ride on the Speedway for a few folk, a quick tee shirt pic in front of the castle and we headed home.

An absolutely amazing day with Splash mountain being the clear favourite for most of the kids. And although we missed out on a section or two, we still got loads of rides in and everyone was content with general flow how the day. With everyone on the same wavelength I think its gonna make this holiday a really magical one (sorry for the being soppy, Im getting tired, but we're nearly there).

Thunder and Lightning, very very frightening.

Michael & Sarah-Jane decided to grab some dinner and get an early night so we said our goodbyes for the day. We headed out to the shop after getting back to the hotel to grab so Beers and water (in order of priority obvs), as well as a few other bits and pieces. We then met up with my Mum, Dad, Kev, Pauline and Emily to go for a bite to eat (I just realised I havent formall introduced everyone in the party, Ill get around to that tomorrow, promise). With it being a Saturday most places were pretty packed and after checking out a few places (unsuccessfully), we ended up in Johnny Rockets (which Robert pointed out was where we went the second night the last time after failing to find a place - kids memorys are scary at times). We got seated but the service was SLOOOOOW! I can fault our waitress too much though, she brought me over a freee refill pretty much as soon as I finished my first drink. It instantly reminded me of Steve Buchemi's in that infamous Diner scene at the beginning of  Reservoir Dogs...

Mr. Pink: Look, I ordered coffee, alright? And we been here a long *bleeping* time and she's only filled my cup three times. When I order coffee I want it filled six times.

Ok, so it wasnt six times, it was one time, and it wasnt coffee (mmm coffee, I really shoulda went with coffee now that I think about it), but it was the single good thing about the service and one that warranted the tip even if it didnt meet Mr. Pink's stringent tipping criteria.

I actually haven't had an appetite since those prissy little sammiches on the plane. Even at Belle's castle and I wasnt particulary hungry even when we sat down at Johnny Rockets. But hey, do they mak a mean burger! Opted for a Smokehouse, which included some Bacon-y goodness and crispy onion rings - good stuff and nearly worth the wait, nearly... but then again it was a long wait. So the whole experience was fairly ok but then it took a big huge nose dive to round off the night...

When we left the restaurant,  its was bucketing it down. I know coming from Scotland we should be used to a little rain, but this was torrential, and we got huge flashes & bangs of thunder and lightening thrown in, in good measure. Big Rain as Grace so eloquently put it (shes just brilliant with words). Our hotel was right across the road, which was handy, but we had to leave the other guys to struggle to their hotel which was pretty much a mile away :( 

Ok, I'm delivering this really late and have no time to edit so apologies, I must try harder during the day in future. The images are also taking an age to download, so might not have all the ones I want in by the time this goes up, though Ill try to add more later in maybe a weekly slideshow or something. See you tomorrow for Day 02 - Epcot which will which will likely being unofficially subtitled - Battling The Storm!