#i would love to see curie and rowan get along | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

rikachureadsbooks · 2 years ago

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I'd love to share! So oddly enough, I had all my annotations on post it notes instead of written on my books and I ended up typing them all out. I'll share them below :)

They are in order of book and page number. They'll be pretty slapdash and many will be missing context but I suppose I thought the page number as reference would be good enough 😅

(I would make this read more but I'm currently on mobile >.<)

Book 1: Scythe

53 - Anarchy?

53 - Technological Singularity

54 - How was it [creation of the scythedom] decided? Sounds like it was by the people. Democratically perhaps? [In hindsight, nar. The decision to leave the power of death to the humans was by a small group. In dissent, no less.]

54 - Conscience + consciousness, mortality. -> Thunderhead = science, logic, systems.’

57 - “Is anything really necessary?” Citra responded. {LOL}

58 - ‘The more troublesome offenders were tweaked with shock nanties in their blood, just powerful enough to deter any scoffing of the law.’ Citra’s uncle married his peace officer. Bruh. Bruhh.

59 - Scythe Faraday telling that unsavory he’d see him in 366 days. Gold. Heh.

64 - What a guy.

68 - All great questions. As a scythe you witness and enact perhaps the hardest part of post mortality life. If you have empathy that is? Or compassion at least. It could open a greater appreciation of life, ie through art, but as a scythe you still operate mostly outside of it. Solitary. Pensive, no worldly, familial, friendly attachments. What a role, truly.

70 - ‘...had been eliminated along with other unpleasant things, like disease and government.’ Heh. Nice. Same difference am I right?

71 - entire flight selected for gleaning me: -_- O.O

74 - uh oh. consequences of commandment 10 rearing its ugly head

101 - scythes being the sole purveyors of fear....hrm. too much power for humans.

110 - mortality being essential to humanity

114 - the sanctity of the law... and the wisdom to know when it must be broken

119 - I often wonder if the bright benefit of belief outweighed the darkness its abuse

could bring. I often wonder too...

137 - Oldest trick in the book to anon accuse yourself of misdeeds so anyone moving forward who attacks him will be painted the cowardly anon accuser. no one will try in that case

138 - ‘power politics might have been a thing of the past elsewhere, but it was alive and seething in the Scythedom’ how very human

141 - THE WEAPONSMASTER JUST GLEANED THAT SALESWOMAN ON THE SPOT. BRUH. SAVAGE. BRUTAL.

144 - ‘Will we all be renaissance children, skilled at every art and science, because we’ve had the time to master them? Or will boredom and slavish routine plague us even more than it does today, giving us less of a reason to live limitless lives? I dream of the former, but suspect the latter.’ damn Curie. I think I agree. So many safety nets. I would like the bare minimum in our world, but the TH really does coddle em

155 - The TH is perhaps their god in some ways. ‘which is worse-to be despised, or to be ignored?’

158 - damn. I mean yeah, but OOF

159 - ‘perhaps everything will change again’ this guy....

169 - a lovely conscience. a heavy burden.

184 - Huh... I like the cut of her gib.

190 - ‘it may not being you redemption, it might not even bring you peace, but it will keep you from despising yourself.’

192 - ‘Immortality has turned us all into cartoons’ Iconic line tbh

202 - Goddard...Egomaniac

211 - Any? All?

229 - ‘in time you’ll come to appreciate the silence and self-reliance that comes from its [TH] absence’

244 - ‘without the threat of suffering, we can’t experience true joy. the best we get is pleasantness

255 - even if rowan could make himself heard, he would never be understood

262 - journal of H.S. Prometheus.... a way to escape the system embedded.

270 - ‘Goddard promised his disciples anything a human heart could desire, in exchange for the complete abdication of one’s conscience.’ remniscient of capitalist era trade offs. Bezos.

294 - her thoughts, ponderings, philosophy. beautiful and intriguing. would the TH grieve them? as a child losing a parent or a parent who could not save a petulant child from its own poor choices?

295 - WHO DAT.

303 - Tyger a ward of the TH. They can do that? :o

306 - OH SHIT. Goddard was Xenocrates’ apprentice

334 - TH says what it sees concerns it.

340 - ‘to this day i still can’t understand why’ by choosing not to glean a woman who wanted it...and eventually thanked her for not. perhaps it simply felt wrong to hold such power in your hands. power that what people once called gods had. or nature. unnatural to become nature in that way.

345 - HOLY SHIT. Faraday took Curie on as an apprentice.

347 - ‘I think all woman are cursed with a streak of unrelenting foolishness, and all young men are cursed with a streak of absolute stupidity.’

368 - YOU. FARADAY. HE ALIVE.

372 - T~T reunited and it feels so good

372 - ‘I love the way it rains here. It reminds me that some forces of nature can never be entirely subdued. They are eternal, which is a far better thing to be than immortal.’ beautiful, ugh, the distinction

373 - ‘The stagnation that I so fervently glean on a daily basis seems an epidemic that only grows. There are times I feel I am fighting a losing battle against an old-fashioned apocalypse of the living dead.’ what a raw line.

387 - RIP T~T

388 - ‘My greatest joy for humanity is not for peace of comfort or joy. It is that we all still die a little inside every time we witness the death of another. For only the pain of empathy will keep us human. There’s no version of God that can help us if we ever lose that. - H.S. Faraday’

Book 2 - Thunderhead

3 - Foreshadowing? in hindsight, yeh lol

14 - that’s so cute tbh

15 - TH can’t directly intervene. but can choose not to

23 - lol. loophole bitches. sassy lil TH. ‘that is not the TH’s problem.’

27 - enough time for bucket lists + goodbyes. closure. true closure on your own terms.... beautiful. if only they all could have gleaned this way.

29 - Gottem! Anastasia saying for some, death was NOT instantaneous

31 - I’m inclined to agree about the indignity of having your death chosen for you

35 - ‘This is what the scythedom was incapable of understanding. They were so focused on the act of killing, they couldn’t comprehend what went into the act of dying.’ beautifully put, truly.

37 - TH is such a cool character

51 - stagnant, in your own way.

56 - that makes a lot of sense. and is so sad holy shit. the isolation of new traumatizing experiences that old friends just can’t understand. like war, or scythedom.

56 - ‘Tyger might have thought of himself as a free spirit, but he wasn’t at all. He just defined the dimensions of his own cage.’ damn. what a line

62 - WHAT. how?

65 - ...for now...?

66 - serial parents, love the idea of having families, but loathed raising them. YEESH.

76 - damn dude... it is sad to live and die without knowing the truth of one’s existence...only sad to us however.

87 - what is normal will often be taken for granted.

100 - compassion even in this. unsavories.

115 - ‘the illusion of purpose is critical to a well-adjusted population.’

123 - omfg. smort.

158 - ‘therefore, although I do not require devotion, am I not deserving of it?’

163 - :o ... D: they gleaned the people she was going to glean later!! rude!! unfair!!!

169 - omfg. posers. ‘They conformed so closely to their culture of non-conformity that there was a uniformity to them, defeating the whole purpose.’

176 - ‘Permission is the bloated corpse of freedom’ damn dude. RAW line.

188 - scaring a near omnipotent A.I.....

191 - ‘The simple pleasure of being good at what you do is very different from finding joy in the taking of life. ... Guard your conscience, Anastasia, and never let it wilt. It is a scythe’s most valuable possession.’

203 - hehe Rowan said Xenocrates deserves a spanking. it true.

209 - sadge. but fascinating

212 - WHAT. PLOT TWIST. AGENT TRAXLER NOOOOO.

213 - you had a point but damn. ‘Were I to begin doling out death, I would be the very monster that mortal man feared A.I. would become. To choose those who live and those who die would leave me both feared and adored, like emperor-gods of old. No, I decided. Let humankind be the saviors and the silencers. Let them be the heroes. Let them be the monsters. And so, I have no one but myself to blame when the scythedom befouls the things I have worked for.’

222 - wow. sadge. the TH uses rain for tears.

227 - :(

231 - bro the TH is so cute tho.

255 - ‘Man creates God, who then creates man. Is that not the perfect circle of life? But then, if that turns out to be the case, who is created in whose image?’

259 - scythes having no natural predators.... scary

288 - two perfect acts. creation of life and life’s taking.

300 - i have no mouth but I must scream

303 - obeying law is not always just. breaking law is not always wrong.

309 - ‘vast difference between things TH can do and things it chooses to do

346 - um. uh oh. ‘all I can do is watch unblinkingly as my beloved humankind slowly weaves the rope it will use to hang itself.’

352 - Curie’s high blade speech!!

355 - ‘The truth of that hit home for all of them just as thoroughly as a raven at the chamber door.’

364 - she finally sees herself as Scythe Anastasia! yayy

365 - ‘am I not superior to nature?’ dear me TH

382 - Goddard the bastard! Gleaning engineers that would behoove space travel!!

393 - ‘Yes, the mindless can be pleasant.’ lmfaoooo

395 - TH gave Greyson a sign!! but his eyes were closed!!!! widestpeepoestsaddest

418 - ‘We are forever impaled upon our own wisdom’ love that line

488 - o shit bye Xenocrates. You were not great but not the worst.

489 - o shit TH is done with humanity. oop

Book 3 - The Toll

28 - INTRO OF JERICO, MY BELOVED <3 A woman beneath the sun and the stars. A man under the cover of clouds.

102 - Big sadge! “where are you my dear Marie?’ T-T

147 - Greyson can’t take advantage of his position. Doesn’t want to be a hypocrite. what a little paragon of goodness. pats head

164 - A whole industry for designing near impenetrable sanctums! cool. wish I could do that...oddly enough

166 - A construct does not make new memories. Ayn and her tortured actions and regrets... o u miss him do ya? maybe u should have thought about that before u repurposed his body!!

169 - Ayn made a mistake and regrets it. poop head.

171 - iteration who? TH iteration for sure but hmm

182 - ‘One could say that he has cast himself as Atlas. Which means the slightest shrug can shake the world.’

183 - change of definition bias. uh oh.

184 - isn’t attractiveness a factor of genetics? u can probably get surgery but like still??? idk

186 - ‘Greatness is overrated.’ u tell em TH

201 - Scythe trading cards...sounds about right.

211 - people started staying away from theaters and clubs.... killing culture and social gatherings... and generating isolation. Well that's paralleled in the most horrifying way. ....USA.USA. T-T

218 - ‘No one’s memories are true.’

237 - Mary Pickford beat the fuck down. fallen in but tired and ...given up

245 - When?? not if?? when?? mobilize the tonists??

258 - TH silene speaking volumes!! can’t talk about scythe stuff! oho!!

269 - Greyson legit said work for me to the assassin sent after him. bad. ass.

306 - ROWAN SAYING THANKS I LOVE YOU TOO. PLZ. baby boy this aint the time

369 - most ppl not taking a position and disappearing into the pleasantries of their lives.... too reeeallllll

406 - scythe Da Vinci say what? ahem?

414 - primal, predatory lust for the crushing of life.... dear me

417 - he’d need to lead them into the darkness before he could lead them into the light..... hrm

425 - ‘Perhaps it was vanity on her part, but the last thing she wanted was to be immortalized by an artist who was ‘less mediocre than most.’ LMAOOO same girl

429 - TH ‘Correction must be about lifting one up from one’s poor choices and prior deeds. As long as remorse is sincere, and one is willing to make recompense, there is no purpose to suffering.’

439 - ‘People are vessels,’ Jeri, ‘They hold whatever’s poured into them.’

460 - GODDARD COMMANDED THE SPACE GLEANING AAAA

501 - TH believes in a sort of reincarnation. Energy/spirit wise. damn

502 - ‘I’m frightened.’ ‘That is not a bad thing. It is the nature of life to fear its own end. This is how we know that we are truly alive.’

506 - MENDOZA ARMED THE SIBILANTS IN SUBSAHARA. FUCKO.

508 - the iteration needs to connect to biologic experience!!

524 - ‘If we gleaned every asshole, there’d be virtually no one left.’ rip Scythe Volta

539 - T~T Reunited againnnnn noooo my feeeeeels SCYTHE FARADAYYYYY AND ANASTASIAAAA at last!!! omfg he called her Citra. I am emOTIONAL

543 - Cirrus! the cloud that rises above the storm! sick

548 - we could have had it allllll

550 - Cirrus was the child of Greyson, Jeri, and the TH. woooow.

565 - ‘I am unwavering, with so many things in flux, there’s got to be someone who stands firm.’ damn ok Astrid.

568 - Rowan and Citra!!! REUNITED AND IT FEELS SO GOOOOD. ;~;

569 - Citra is back! Casting off Anastasia! WOO!

578 - :O Greyson has feelings for Jeriiiiii AAAAA MY SHIP. my captain!!

580 - ‘Old habits die hard.’ ....old man please. good pun though

585 - he found another wild heart, i’m sobbing don’t mind meeee

586 - damn. ol’ Sykora is finally useful

590 - CRIES. HE DIDN’T GET A FINAL GOODBYE. it hurts o it hurts.

615 - 77% chance to live to 100. 60% to 200. 46% to 300. p good i think. at that point you could get quite weary of life

617 - sobbing againnn Greyson saying TH is unsavory to him. warranted and oh so sadddd.

618 - TH and Greyson both made the right choice. sob sob sob

620 - she brought that bitch back ohymgod. Rand you ho. now he has Goddard’s face. ...but Tyger’s body and mind so I guess. Hm. At least that stupid bish is gone.

625 - A CENTURY TO DEAL WITH HIS CRIMES AND MISTAKES AND RECKON WITH THEM AND FIND PEACE IN HIMSELF AND THAT MEANS HE CAN BE HEALED WHEN THEY FINALLY GET TO BE TOGETHER OKAY OKAY I'M SOBBING FR NOW.

Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman ~ annotation tour

mostly ones near the start to avoid giving spoilers

i got it signed when i met him last year so obviously i have to show that off

#aoas #arc of a scythe

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cristinablackthornkingson · 5 years ago

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Arc of a Scythe Short Story #1.

It is a warm spring day in the year of the Lynx, a few months since Scythe Michael Faraday and Scythe Marie Curie ‘retired’ to a beach house in Amazonia They have recently rekindled their relationship, and are often visited by Citra and Rowan, who are two of the only people who know that Marie and Michael are still alive, and did not self-glean, as the rest of the world believes.

When Xenocrates stepped down as High Blade years ago, Marie was voted in as the new High Blade. She, Rowan and Citra barely made it off Endura before it sunk thanks to Goddard. The sinking of Endura caused war to break out among The Scythedom, and everything was a mess for almost a year, until out of nowhere, Scythe Rand turned on Goddard and quiet literally stabbed him in the back, ending him and thus ending the war. Rand mostly keeps to herself now, and though nobody on either side has forgiven her, she doesn’t bother anybody so they don’t bother her.

Marie did not accept the position of High Blade of MidMerica, she did not feel it necessary once Scythe Goddard was no longer a threat.

She and Anastasia returned to their normal lives for about 2 years, before Marie decided that it was time to put Scythe Marie Curie to rest, and simply be Susan Goldie, once again.

She told only Anastasia and Rowan of her plans. (Rowan was punished for the crimes he committed as Scythe Lucifer by being rendered deadish 13 times, once for each Scythe he ended. He was then made unsavory by The Thunderhead for 13 years, but 13 years is nothing to an immortal, and he is just glad he can still see Citra, they may not be able to be together, but they can be friends.) Anastasia was more than understanding and promised to visit as often as she could, she would miss Marie as she missed Faraday, but ultimately she wanted them both to be happy, and would support however they went about getting that happiness.

Citra and Rowan aren’t the only ones Michael and Marie keep in touch with, form their old life. Michael still keeps in touch with Munira, who is still working in the library of Alexandria. They mostly keep in touch online, though they have visited in person once or twice.

Marie and Michael are not known or recognized at all here in Amazonia, and have chosen not to revert to their birth names, it would feel unnatural after all these years, and after all they did not fall in love as Susan and Gerald (though Marie did fall in love with him as Susan) they fell in love as Marie and Michael, and feel it is only fitting that they should be together now, as Marie and Michael. They have both adopted the surname Wilson. Here in Amazonia, everyone knows them as a married couple, even though they are not legally married.

They have settled in well here over the past few months. They haven’t done anything grand or interesting, they are simply finally enjoying domestic life.

They have just finished dinner and are clearing up, when Marie brings up the first serious topic they’ve discussed.

“You know.” Marie says to Michael, as they clear the dishes from the table. “I’ve been thinking a lot, about all the things we said we would do together if we weren’t Scythes and didn’t have the 9th Commandment to think about.��

“Oh?” Michael asks, wondering where Marie is going with this.

“One thing we always talked about was... well we always talked about having a baby.” Marie shyly says in a quiet tone, trying not to get her hopes up. Michael almost drops the plate he is holding. He had not been expecting that.

“I... did we?” he asks in a breathless tone of shock.

“Yes, quiet a lot, but you might have changed your mind.” Marie quietly says, not meeting Michael’s gaze.

“I... I haven’t, have you?” He softly asks, setting the plate down and taking her hand in his. Hope swells in Marie’s chest and her breath catches in her throat as she shakes her head.

“No, I haven’t. We could do it now, we could have a baby.”

“I... could we?” Marie shrugs and rests her head on Michael’s shoulder.

“I don’t see why not, no one knows who we are expect for Citra, Munira and Rowan, all it would take is for me to turn a corner and I’d be able to get pregnant, or we could adopt.” Marie softly says, looking up at Michael to try and gauge his reaction by the look on his face.

“Why not both? We could have a biological baby now and then adopt in a few years.” Michael suggests, slipping an arm around Marie’s waist. He has always liked the idea of being a father, especially since taking Citra and Rowan in and having them become like children to him, it would be an amazing experience to be able to love and raise a child from birth, to teach them how to be a good, loving and open person, and to be able to see part of him and part of Marie in another person, a person they made together, well that would be the most amazing thing in the world.

“So you want to do it? You want to have a baby?” Marie hopefully asks, looking up at Michael. He grins and leans down to kiss her.

“Yes, yes I do.”

“Okay then, I’ll go to the turning center tomorrow. You know I don’t think I’ll keep my silver hair this time, silver was Scythe Curie’s style, not so much Marie Wilson’s.” Marie says in a light tone, when she pulls back from her embrace with Michael, glancing at her long silver hair lying free around her shoulders.

“I like the silver.” Michael says, running his hand through her hair.

“You liked the brown too, you fell in love with me when I had brown hair.” Marie points out with a grin.

“That I did, your brown hair always makes me think of you as Susan, my apprentice, who tried to climb into bed with me in the middle of the night.” Michael teases in an amused tone, as Marie flushes red.

“I did not try and climb into bed with you, you stopped me before I could.” She admits with a shy smile. Michael laughs lightly and leans in to kiss her forehead.

“I love you.” he softly says, holding Marie close to him, cupping her cheek in one hand. Marie squeezes his hand and leans into him.

“I love you too.” She tells him.

Two months later, when Michael returns home from on early morning walk along the beach, he is surprised when he finds that Marie isn’t still in bed, like she was when he left. Ever since retiring, Marie has enjoyed sleeping in and not having to be up and out at the crack of dawn everyday, she likes to stay in bed for an hour or two after waking up.

“Marie?” Michael calls, looking around the room for any sign of her.

“In here, come in!” Her familiar voice calls from the en suite bathroom. Michael furrows his brow in confusion, not understanding why she is calling him into the bathroom, they’re a close couple but not that close.

“Is everything alright?” He asks, standing by the cracked door of the en suite.

“Yes yes everything’s fine, I want to show you something.” Marie appears in the doorway, her lavender bath robe wrapped around her. She reaches out and grabs Michael’s wrist before pulling him into the bathroom and over to the sink. “Look!” She exclaims, pointing into the sink. It takes Michael a moment to realize that the object Marie is pointing to, is a pregnancy test, one with the word ‘Pregnant’ clearly displayed in the window in the middle of the test.

“Oh my god.” Michael quietly says, shock washing over him. “Marie... you’re pregnant?” He adds in a soft tone, tearing up as he turns to look at Marie, who is glowing with joy as she grins and nods.

“Yes! Yes I am, I told you it wouldn’t take long.” She says in an excited tone, linking her arms around the back of his neck and leaning to kiss his cheek. Michael tentatively reaches out and carefully lays his hand across Marie’s flat stomach, trying to wrap his mind around the fact that his child is growing right beneath his hand, and in a few months he’ll be able to feel them move and kick, and a few months after that, he will actually be holding his baby, his and Marie’s baby.

“Is... is it a boy or a girl?” Michael quietly asks, too shocked and overwhelmed to come up with anything else to ask.

“I don’t know, I haven’t had a scan yet, and even if I had, it’s too early to tell just yet, but my bets are on a boy.” Marie confidently says, certain that she and Michael are going to have a son.

“A boy? No, it’s a girl, I always pictured us having a girl first.” Michael says, coming down from the shock and disbelief.

“Well I guess we will just have to wait until they can tell on the scan, then you’ll see you’re wrong.” Marie says in a teasing tone. Really thought, she could not care less about her baby’s sex, she is just so excited to finally have the life she has always wanted since she fell in love with Michael, as his apprentice.

When Marie is 3 months along, Citra and Rowan arrive for a visit. They don’t know about the baby yet, so Marie and Michael plan to tell them today, it took everything Marie had, not to tell them the second they were through the door.

“How is everything back home? Is there anything we should know about?” Michael asks, hoping nothing will happen that will call for he and Marie to come out of retirement, not now they finally have the life they’ve always wanted together.

“No nothing really, everything is quiet and normal thankfully. Is there anything special going on here?” Citra asks, not realizing she just created the perfect segway into a pregnancy announcement.

“Actually there is something we want to tell you.” Marie says, sharing a grin with Michael as she slips her hand into his.

“What is it?” Rowan curiously asks.

“I’m pregnant.” Marie softly says, resting a hand across her stomach. Citra’s hand flies up to cover her mouth and Rowan’s jaw drops in disbelief, clearly they were not expecting this.

“Oh my god.” Citra quietly says. “I-I didn’t even know you wanted kids.”

“Michael and I both let go of the idea of having children when we became Scythes, it was something we often talked about when we were together and would imagine what life would be like if we weren’t Scythes, but like I said we never thought it would be possible, until we retired to here. Once we had settled into life here, I realized we could have baby like we always talked about. That’s why I turned a corner, so we would be able to have a biological child.” Marie calmly explains.

“I am going to be the coolest uncle ever.” Rowan says in a proud tone, thinking of all the fun things he’ll be able to do with the baby, he intends to be the kind of Uncle who lets the kid stay up way past their bedtime and eat all the sugar they want, then send them back to their parents cranky and coming down from a sugar rush. Citra will probably be the responsible Aunt who makes the kid eat their vegetables and do their homework, so Rowan will probably be the favorite.

“When is the baby due? Do you know if it’s a boy or a girl?” Citra eagerly asks, leaning forward in her seat.

“The baby’s due in October, the middle of October, and we don’t know the sex, we’re going to wait until the baby is born to find out.” Marie says. They had decided not to find out the sex of the baby, despite having opposing opinions on what the sex is. It was Marie who suggested they leave it as a surprise, so few things in life are a surprise these days, much less good ones, she feels it will be exciting and nice to have this small surprise. It will also make choosing a name more exciting and fun, since they have agreed they’d like to have a name picked out by the time the baby arrives.

“Oh this is so exciting!” Citra exclaims. She is thrilled for Marie and Michael, they will be amazing parents and deserve to have a family of their own, after all they’ve been through since they fell in love.

After they told Citra and Rowan about the baby, Michael told Munira over online chat. At first she was quiet weirded out by the idea of it, since to her Michael and Marie were still Honorable Scythe Curie and Honorable Scythe Faraday, and she definitely never pictured them as parents, especially not Faraday. She was and is happy for them, however, and promises to send lots of gifts for the baby and come visit when they are born.

Over the next few months, Marie and Michael start to prepare for the baby, stocking up on diapers and formula, buying clothes and toys and furniture for the nursery.

At approximately 5 months, things to start to feel a lot more real for Michael, when he feels the baby kick for the first time.

It is a warm evening in June when the baby kicks for the first time. Both Michael and Marie are sitting on the sofa, Michael reading through his old Scythe journals on the Ipad, and Marie making out a list of names with pen and paper. Michael is engrossed in his reading when he hears Marie give a faint gasp and looks up to see her sitting completely still, her hand on her stomach and a look of both shock and delight on her face.

“Marie? Is everything alright?” He hesitantly asks, afraid that perhaps something is wrong with Marie or the baby.

“Give me your hand.” Marie says, reaching out with the hand that isn’t on her stomach.

“What? Why?” Michael asks in a confused tone.

“You’ll see, just give me your hand!” Still confused, Michael places his hand in Marie’s, becoming even more confused when she lays his hand on top of her stomach, holding it there with her own.

“Marie I don’t_” Michael begins, but is cut off by the feeling of a small and gentle nudge against his palm.

“There!” Marie exclaims in delight. “Did you feel it?”

“I-I did, what was it?” Michael softly asks.

“I think it was a kick, it’s the first one I’ve felt.” Marie says. Michael places his other hand on her stomach, trying to feel another kick. It was the most amazing thing he had ever felt and witnessed, and it made it all so much more real for him. Over the last few months he had almost felt as if he were not part of this pregnancy, since Marie is carrying the baby and feels all the symptoms of pregnancy almost everyday, he had not been able to feel the baby kick until now, or do anything much besides care for Marie and help prepare for the baby.

“That... that is amazing.” Michael says in a tone of awe, for once in his life lost for words. “It all feels so real now, I cannot believe in less than 5 months, we’re going to be parents. I have to admit, I am quiet nervous.” He adds with a nervous laugh. Michael has very little experience with children, he had nieces and nephews he would occasionally watch, before he became a Scythe, but that was when they were older, he had been around and helped out a bit when they were babies and toddlers, but nothing significant. He has never changed a diaper or fed a baby, he hardly knows a thing about children and has no idea how to be a good father.

“Michael.” Marie softly says, running a hand through his hair. “You are going to be a wonderful father, I know you’re afraid because you don’t know much about children, but neither do I.

The only experience I have with them is from when my brother was born, and I was only a child myself then, so I don’t remember much about it. I’ve always loved children, yes, but I don’t know how to be a mother or anything about children, but we will learn, we have all we need to start out with, we have money, we have a home, each other for support, and endless amounts of love to give to this little one, I promise everything will be alright.”

“Yes... Yes I suppose you’re right, as usual. Show me your list of names, we should narrow it down soon.” Michael says, reaching for the notepad by Marie’s side, hoping choosing a name for the baby will also help solidify them and make them more real to him.

“I haven’t come up with many, naming a baby is harder than I thought it would be.” Marie says, as Michael reads through the short list of names. They’re all old-fashioned classical names, ones that have no big significance, given their pasts as Scythes and how they took on meaningful names from history, Michael and Marie decided not to give their child a historically meaningful name, simply a name they both like.

“I like Mia for a girl.” Michael says. “I can picture us with a daughter named Mia, and no one will be able to give her a ridiculous nick name, you can’t shorten Mia, though I’m sure Rowan will try.” Michael says with a grin and a sigh.

“I like Mia too, but I also like Willow, though Willow Wilson sounds a bit much.” Marie lightly says, her hand resting on her stomach.

“How about Mia Willow then? Mia Willow Wilson?” Michael suggests.

“Mia, Mia Willow.” Marie says in a thoughtful tone, looking at her stomach as she runs a hand across it. “I like it, although we’re not going to need to use it since we’re definitely having a boy.”

“You don’t seem to have many boy’s names here, for someone who is so adamant we’re having a son.” Michael teases, turning his attention back to the list.

“I know, all the names I liked before I became a Scythe and thought about having a family, have been ruined by New Order Scythes, I use to love the name Robert, but there’s no way I’m naming my son that, now.” Marie says, shifting to a more comfortable position on the sofa.

“Out of the few that you have here, I like Alexander the most.” Michael says. If they name the baby Alexander, he’ll probably be called Alex a lot, but it’s not the worst nickname, as long as nobody makes up something ridiculous for him, Alexander will work well.

“I prefer Andrew, though people will probably call him Andy or Drew.” Marie says in an amused tone, knowing how much Michael hates nicknames. Some Scythes would try to call him Mike or Mikey, years ago, but he always insisted they call him by his full name. Apparently he also use to get ‘Gerry’ a lot, when he was Gerald, which he hated even more than Mike and Mikey.

“I will glean them if they do.” Michael flatly says, irritation building up in him at the memory of people trying to call him Mike and Mikey, and his family trying to call him Gerry, before he was ordained. Marie doesn’t mind nicknames as much, she had plenty as a child, usually Susie or Sue, but Michael simply can’t stand them, though he had called her Susie once or twice, when she was his apprentice, it was a term of endearment for him and always made Marie (Susan, back then) blush like hell, it was adorable.

“Oh, what about Henry? You can’t really shorten Henry or make a nickname for Henry.” Marie asks in a eager tone. “We could name him Henry Alexander.” Michael takes a moment to ponder this, before nodding apporvingly.

“Henry Alexander Wilson, I think it works, though we won’t need it, I know we’re having a girl.” Marie grins and rolls her eyes.

“I know you’re wrong, but we’ll just have to wait until they’re born to find out.”

4 months later, on a stormy October night, Marie is pulled from her sleep by an unfamiliar tightening pain in her lower abdomen. She waits for a few seconds, to see if her naniets will dull the pain, but after a minute or two, the pain doesn’t fade. Slowly, Marie pushes herself up in the bed, unable to hold back a gasp as another intense pain washes over her. She has been through a lot in her life, she died seven deaths for Michael, some of which were extremely painful and brutal, but nothing compares to the pain she is experiencing right now.

As she contemplates whether or not to wake Michael, one of the bedside lamps flicks on and Michael sits up next to her.

“Marie, are you alright?” He softly asks, placing a hand on her back.

“I think... I think I’m having contractions.” Marie says in a breathy tone, her hands clutching her stomach. She can’t imagine what else these pains could be, it’s a week past her due date, so she has been prepared to go into labor at any minute over the last week or so.

“Are you sure, how many pains have you had?” Michael asks.

“Only 1 or 2, but I can’t imagine it’s anything else.”

Over the next 20 minutes, Marie has a few more pains, all feeling pretty much the same, confirming to her that this is labor. Both she and Michael know there is no point in calling their midwife yet, these early stages of labor can be very, very long,and the pain is not so intense yet that Marie feels she needs her nanites adjusted, so for the next two hours or so, she deals with the pains by pacing around the room, talking to Michael about what the baby will look like, who they’ll look like, what their personality will be like, etc.

About two hours later, though the pains are still bearable, they are getting more strong and intense, which is a sign that things are moving along, so Marie and Michael decide to call the midwife. Shortly after they found out about the baby, they agreed that hiring a private midwife to deliver the baby here at home, would be the best choice for them, they didn’t want to risk anybody in the hospital recognizing them, even though they have both turned a corner and look much younger than they have in years, it is possible that someone who knew them in their youth, will be at the hospital and recognize them.

Nothing much changes when the midwife arrives, she asks a few questions about the labor so far, and then stays back and out of the way, while Michael continues to support Marie.

After 8 total hours of labor, at 9:23 a.m. on the 20th of October, the year of The Lynx, the baby is born. Their cries pierce the silence of the room, and Marie and Michael both find themselves tearing up with joy.

“It’s a girl!” The midwife announces, placing a blanket on Marie’s chest before placing the baby on the blanket. Marie’s arms instantly come up to encircle her daughter and bring her closer to her.

“Hi baby.” Marie quietly says, kissing Mia’s forehead as she squirms and wriggles around.

Michael puts his arms around Marie and Mia, at loss for words. Mia is so perfect, and even at moments old, is a perfect mixture of them both, with a thatch of brown hair that could come from either of them, and big grey eyes like Marie.

“She... she’s perfect.” Michael quietly says, gazing down at his daughter in awe, as little Mia wraps her tiny hand around his finger. He still can’t believe he is a father and that he has a daughter, just like he and Marie always talked about.

Marie nods her agreement, as little Mia settles and her cries ebb off.

“She looks like you, Michael.” Marie quietly says, her voice hoarse from exhaustion, stroking Mia’s soft little cheek.

“No, she looks like you, my hair is darker than that, and she has your eyes and nose.” Michael insists. Marie laughs softly and says

“We’re both biased, I want her to look like you, you want her to look like me, she probably doesn’t like us at all.”

“Don’t worry, Rowan or Munira won’t hesitate to be honest about who she looks like, when they see her.” Michael says in an amused tone. If there’s anyone you can trust to be honest, it’s Munira and Rowan.

That night, at around 4:00 A.M., Michael and Marie are awoken to Mia’s sharp, loud wails.

“I’ll get her, you rest.” Michael quietly says, laying a hand on Marie’s arm as she begins to sit up in bed.

“Are you sure?” She asks, her voice thick with sleep.

“Absolutely, you’ve done all the hard work the past 9 months, now it’s my turn.” Michael softly kisses her forehead before crossing the room to Mia’s bassinet, where she lies, her face red and scrunched up, her mouth open in a wail. He scoops her up into his arms and pads out into the living room, so her crying won’t keep Marie awake.

Half an hour later, once Mia has had her bottle, her cries have stopped and she has calmed down, but she is still awake. Even at only a few hours old, she is clearly a curious little thing, her wide grey eyes open and taking in everything around her.

Michael is standing by the window with Mia in his arms, looking out onto the beach, where he will take Mia on walks, where she’ll learn to swim, and play with her Aunts Citra and Munira and her Uncle Rowan.

After a few minutes, he looks down at Mia in his arms, his heart swelling with love for this tiny, sweet little girl, someone he and Marie made together, out of their love for each other. He never realized how amazing having a child can be, getting to see glimpses of himself and Marie in his daughter is like nothing he’s never experienced in his 200 odd years of life.

“You’re a night owl like your mom, aren’t you little one?” Michael quietly says, stroking Mia’s cheek. He has always been someone to go to bed early, but Marie has always been a night owl, staying up until 1 or 2 every night, and it seems Mia will be the same.

Finding himself growing weary and tired, Michael settles onto the sofa and carefully lays Mia on his chest, her cheek resting against the soft fabric of his shirt. He places a hand on her back, holding her closely and tight, and soon they both drop off into a peaceful sleep.

When Marie wakes up a few hours later and finds the bed empty next to her, as well as Mia’s bassinet empty, she assumes Michael is already up with her. She could easily go back to sleep, Michael wouldn’t mind and he’s more than capable of handling Mia by himself for a few more hours, but she would much rather spend time with her husband and daughter, she can always sleep when Mia is asleep.

When Marie walks out into the living room, she stops in her tracks when she sees Michael, her usually neat, composed and put-together Michael, sitting on the sofa, his hair in disarray, his trousers stained with formula, his top creased and stained with baby spit-up, with Mia curled up on his chest, her little hand clutching his shirt and his hand resting on her back. It is possibly the sweetest thing she has ever seen.

Marie quickly snaps a picture, and just as she puts her phone away, Mia starts to stir and fuss. Carefully Marie moves Michael’s hand from Mia’s back and lifts her into her arms, gently bouncing her.

“It’s alright Mia, my love, I’ve got you. Let’s go get you some breakfast and let your daddy get some more sleep.” Marie quietly says.

A few minutes later, while Marie bounces Mia in her arms, waiting for her bottle to heat up, she feels a pair of hands land on her shoulders.

“Good morning.” Michael softly says, pressing a kiss to her cheek and stroking Mia’s hair. “Should you be up, Marie? Are you feeling well enough?” He adds in a worried tone. Marie laughs softly and lays a hand on his cheek.

“I’m more than fine, between a good nights sleep and my nanites I feel wonderful, did you sleep on the sofa with Mia, all night?” She asks, just realizing that Michael must not have come back to bed at all last night, after he got up with Mia at 4.

“I did, but I didn’t mind, she settled when I put her on my chest and I didn’t want to wake you by going back into the room, your rest is more important than mine, and Mia can sleep anywhere it seems.” Michael softly says, as Marie takes the bottle from the microwave and makes her way back to the sofa.

“You didn’t have to, I wouldn’t have been bothered if I woke up again, since we agreed to have a baby I’ve known that once the baby is here, we’ll be up multiple times through the night, it’s part of parenthood.” Marie explains, as Mia happily guzzles her milk.

“I know but it was important for you rest as much as possible last night, so you can heal as fast as possible, you went through a lot to bring Mia into the world, not just yesterday but over the last nine months, I just want you to be as healthy and happy as possible.” Michael quietly says.He doesn’t mind being the one to get up at night with Mia, as he said last night, Marie did all the hard work over the last nine months, now it’s his turn.

“I did, but it was more than worth it to get our Mia, and like I said I feel more than fine, you know people heal from childbirth much faster now, than they did in the mortal days. It’s not like it was back then when people were recovering for months and months.” Marie says, holding Mia against her shoulder and patting her little back.

“That’s true, I’ll try to stop fretting and worrying so much. We should let Citra, Rowan and Munira know that Mia is here, Citra and Rowan will probably want to come visit, and Munira is ready to book her flights.” Michael says with a grin. Over the last few months, Munira has grown use to the idea of he and Marie having a child, and has come to really like the idea of being an aunt to the baby, apparently she’s already bought her countless books, even though Mia can’t even see in color yet.

“We should, Citra tells me she’s already bought countless gifts for Mia, I don’t know where we’ll fit it all.” Marie laughs lightly, looking around her at the small house, which only has two bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and an open plan living room and kitchen. It’s nothing compared to Falling Water, but it’s absolutely perfect for her life now, her family.

Several hours later, while Marie rests in the bedroom, Michael receives a message from Munira, asking how he and Marie are, and if the baby has arrived yet. He texts back, asking her to video call him, wanting to surprise her with Mia, since no one but he and Marie know she’s here.

A few minutes after asking her to video call him, Michael answers Munira’s call. She is clearly sitting at a table or desk, her dark hair is swept up into a messy ponytail with strands hanging down around her face, and her glasses making her inquisitive brown eyes appear even bigger and more inquisitive.

“What’s going on Michael? You never want to video chat.” Munira asks by way of greeting, already suspicious of her friend’s behavior. Not only did he request a video chat when normally he detests them, he is also totally unkempt, she hasn’t seem in almost a year, but she knows Michael and knows that he is always a very neat, and well put together man, but now his hair is disheveled, he has let his goatee grow out a bit, and his top is creased and stained.

“Hello Munira, good to see you Munira, I’m fine thank you for asking.” Michael teases. Munira rolls her eyes, but can’t help grinning.

“Yes yes, now tell me why you are acting so suspicious.” She says.

“Well I’ve been keeping a little secret, a very little secret in fact.” Michael grins and lifts Mia up, resting his cheek against hers, holding her so that Munira can clearly see her. “Munira, I’d like to introduce you to my daughter, Mia Willow Wilson.”

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thegoodceai · 6 years ago

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Y’all I found this amazing aesthetic builder from @lavellanpls so of course I had to like... procrastinate everything and do this for my Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery siblings cause I’ve been low key obsessed with the game ever since it came out and I’m getting tired of always waiting for updates so yeah.

Some more info on my Ravenclaw sibs under the cut. Also hmu if y’all play this so at least we can complain about it together!!

I have a lot to tell u lot about these little shits so buckle up, but first some family history:

their mother is a Greengrass who married an american muggle, no less, and half the family loves him while the other half definitely hates him

her name’s Angelica, and she has a twin sister named Magnolia (plants names are big in the family, hence Nat’s and Jay’s middle names - they both hate them, and their aunt refused to respond to anything but Maggy since before she went to Hogwarts)

Maggy is an auror and was a Gryffindor to her twin sis’s Slytherin

Angelica decided to offer a big fuck you to all the pureblood expectations everyone had of her and went to become a well known international herbologist

that’s how she met David Foxglove in America - he came to pick up his little sister from a wizarding event that Ange was a speaker at and sparks flew (David and his older brother, Marcus, are both muggles, while their two younger sisters, Joanna and Elisabeth, are both witches)

they dated a couple of years while Angelica was making waves in the herbology community and David was getting his masters in mechanics, and then got married and moved to the UK permanently

anyway the war caught up to them and it was very sad and they constantly lived with the fear that someone will come after their children, but alas they all survived only for Jacob to fuck things up

Anyway so, Jacob:

is 7 and a half years older than Natalia

went ahead and got expelled from Hogwarts in February of his 7th year (good job bud u couldn’t hold on for like a few more months huh?)

only has two settings: not interested and utterly obsessed (which is why he ended up where ever he is now)

intelligent and resourceful, but has absolutely no idea how to explain what he’s thinking to people

introverted, never bothered to approach people first, but if he finds you’re worth his time he’s immediately ride and/or die

being sorted into Ravenclaw meant a lot to him because he always felt like he wasn’t as smart as his parents when it came to both muggle and wizarding stuff

got into a duel once because he stood up for a younger student, and punched his adversary in the face in the middle of it (unbeknownst to him, his sister pulled the same move too in her Hogwarts years)

loves his little sister fiercely, and sneakily taught her as much about Hogwarts as he could without their mum finding out

during the war, when there were long periods of silence from his parents, he always felt the safest in the Hogwarts library - something about the place always made him feel welcome and not alone

seems mild-mannered, even shy, but the moment he starts talking about something that interests him he becomes unstoppable

case in point - he had a 4 days long argument with his fellow prefect in 5th year about a specific method of transfiguration (they were both wrong, as professor McGonagall pointed out)

he can successfully cast a corporeal patronus (a gray wolf) - his happiest memory is of the Christmas after the war was officially over, when he got home and saw his little sister again (Natalia later uses the same memory for her maned wolf patronus - it was the last time she saw her brother happy, and not consumed with the cursed vaults)

saw his aunt Elisabeth wear a beanie once and fell in love with them; owns at least 20 of them, wears them with any opportunity, and even learned a spell to transfigure them from almost any fabric

absolutely loves spring and warm weather, but will wear thick sweaters at any give time and will charm them to keep cool so he doesn’t die of heatstroke when there are 25 degrees outside and he’s wearing wool

introduced his sister to american comic books and literature

has an owl named Albert Thomas Curie, because he loves to torment his father and his love of science

calls his little sister Natty, knows she absolutely hates it, yet won’t stop

Natalia:

hates when her brother calls her Natty, ends up calling him JayJay - they were at an impasse at the moment of Jacob’s disappearance when both of them hated their nicknames yet none were willing to back down

both her and her brother pretend their middle names do not exist - their mother loved to torment them both by calling them by their full names when calling them to dinner

if she gets good feelings about someone, she is also immediately ride and/or die (case in point: everything she does for her friends ever)

hates condescending people more than anything, along with bullies

absolutely adores Rowan, would kill and get killed for her (she sneaked into the library once at 1 am because Rowan was researching something and the common room library didn’t have the book she needed; got detention for 3 days for being caught out past curfew but managed to get the book to her best friend)

loves all of her friends fiercely, and always tries her best to encourage them to become better versions of themselves

also loves that she managed to befriend such interesting people and is always down to do whatever makes her friends happy as long as she’s with them

hates the fact that she had to involve them with the cursed vaults, does her very best to keep them out of trouble, and is always trying to make up for it

ever since she got detention in the kitchens all her friends got used to her appearing at random times with muffins or cupcakes or small sweets for them

low key hates flying, cause she’s terrified of heights, but is actually decent on a broom

likes quidditch well enough, but doesn’t see the appeal in playing it

has a good memory, and is plenty smart, just doesn’t bother studying stuff that doesn’t interest her (tries, though)

when she became an animagus at 14, Rowan laughed for a good five minutes when she saw the maned wolf form Natalia took - her best friend kept saying that the long legs were because she was always running to or from trouble

loves winter, and loves to ice skate

loves Hogwarts and considers it a second home, she’s more happy here than in any of the places she lived until she got her letter

was almost a hatstall, and if she wouldn’t have thought of her brother, the hat might’ve put her in Slytherin instead

is incredibly good with animals, and will try to pet each and every one of them she encounters, no matter how dangerous

she writes with a quill in class, but everything else is written with either pencils or fountain pens - she managed to charm a set of pens so that she always has one in the pocket of her clothes if she needs it

loves working in their home garage with her father (who owns an auto repair shop) and never really got her mother’s green thumb

is very good with the practical application of magic, but struggles to grasp the theory - she works best if she doesn’t have to think too much about it, which works in charms and transfiguration, but homework always evades her and often times Rowan ends up explaining stuff to her

has a black cat named Bucky who hates any kinds of dogs or dog-related animals, but doesn’t mind cuddling with Natalia in her animagus form

always carries extra quills and parchment in class because somehow one of her friends always needs it

I’m sure there’s more but this is what i can think about atm, anyways come yell with me about hogwarts mystery and tell me about your ocs and headcanons!!!!

#hphm #harry potter hogwarts mystery #hogwarts mystery #my ocs #my stuff #personal #hp #hogwarts mystery jacob #hogwarts mystery mc

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