#mentioned dorothea

[askhubertvonvestra]

Boops nose, how have you been?

...I see you missed these antics.

But I have been well. With the support of our allies, progress with the war has been both swift and decisive.

Although I suppose that doesn't quite answer your question. Dorothea and Petra have brought it to my attention that I rarely respond accordingly when questions involve me directly, so. I have been collaborating with Linhardt on his more engaging studies, and Bernadetta has been joining Ferdinand and I for tea as of late. Byleth has gladly roped me into their training sessions with Caspar, claiming that we will be good influences on one another. Begrudgingly, they were not incorrect on that front. Naturally, this has been encouraged by Her Majesty as we both pursue greater independence and free time outside of our duties.

Likewise, it would be excellent news to know that you are doing well. May only the best cross your path.

[diezmil10000]

A girl like you

versión original en español, Una chica como tú

[bastart13]

"Does that FE3H character have a bastard child?" tier list

One of the funniest things my sister and I have done with FE3H is create the Sylvain-Dimitri bastard tier list aka. on a scale from Sylvain to Dimitri, would that character have a bastard child?

Sylvain sleeps around and bitterly assumes every woman wants a child from him, so duh, while Dimitri would be so ashamed of holding hands with an unmarried partner, he would immediately marry them and claim all responsibility on the spot

The Gilbert tier is "they might if they weren't rizzless"

[b1oodmoonlit]

the way this still from the You Need To Calm Down music video lowkey confirms the Taylor-Is-James/The-Man theories

[vonehrenfest]

Together Forever

So it turns out that Danny is functionally immortal, his living and ghostly forms stabilizing each other every time he transforms. What this means for his human body is that he keeps reverting back to the age of his death- if he wants to grow up, to grow old, he will have to give up the other half of himself.

Danny could also stay a ghost instead, but it doesn’t feel right. It would be too much somehow in a way he can’t explain. (To be a ghost is to be tethered to your pain. He doesn’t notice it while he’s dead but the relief is real each time he comes back to life.)

Tucker reincarnates, like he has been for the past millennia. Each time he forgets his friends, and each time he’ll look into an ancient mirror and slowly start to remember.

It’s not just Tucker who comes back. His parents also return, again and again to each other. They never remember but it’s comforting nonetheless. On his third life after being Tucker Foley, it occurs to him that they might be soulmates; his continued existence not an unnatural blackmailing of the universe (like magic so often is) but just… skitching a ride.

Sam lives. She’s idealistic, a fighter, and ambitious. She dabbles in the dark arts just enough to help further her bright-eyed goals. Then, for a while she disappears. When her friends finally find her again, she has demons- both literal and metaphorical. She stops dabbling, and lets herself age. (She won’t stop fighting though, she never will.)

Sam dies. Danny protects her soul, and Tucker helps preserve her heart and mind. Her ghost is a fearsome and terrible thing, nearly a goddess in her own right. Death frees her from her living burdens, and for the first time in centuries she feels as light as she was in her youth.

Dani and Vlad are similar to Danny, but they are not perfect. They have to eat.

Vlad’s death was gradual. There is no single moment his biology returns to when he transforms, so he ages. He sustains his living body with his ghostly form, so like Spectra and Desiree he learns to draw energy from human emotions.

Dani was born half-dead. The condition Vlad discovered in himself as he begun to live longer and longer than any human has natural access to, she had from the very beginning. Dani doesn’t bother with vampirism though. She’s a Frankenstein and she’s ok with it; she gets her ecto-vitamins in the form an injection by Danny.

One day Dani will find out why she wanders, and why she traces the same paths over and over again. (Sam will tell her about ley lines, liminal spaces, and tears in the veil between worlds.) She’ll find places and events where the air itself sustains and strengthens her. Sun on a flower.

[mywingsareonwheels]

Ugh, that thing Russell Lewis does...

... of dropping in devastating or revealing character information in off-hand bits of dialogue or the info on a tombstone you see for one second or this this that and the other. Right up until the final episode.

Some of the things that are really blink-and-you’ll-miss-it the first time around if you’re not careful:-

Bright lost his daughter. While way posher than most of the characters he’s still not from quite as upper class a background as his wife (who cheated on him at least once, though they weathered it). Her nickname for him means “tiger”. He doesn’t seem to have fit in comfortably at any point with anyone, perhaps indeed until he starts to bond more closely with Fred and Morse in the last 2-3 series.

Win was stalwartly in London for at least part of the Blitz. She once met a guy with a foot fetish who flirted with her and she’s still tolerantly amused decades later.

Constance was less than 20 when she had Morse. (AAAAAAAH.) (Everything about her marriage to Cyril sounds horrifying frankly.)

Max is gay and has a lost love (“and one was fond of me” / ”the one that got away”)

Fred grew up without indoor plumbing and generally in fairly intense poverty, he and Charlie at least (presumably Billy and I suspect their mother too) were physically abused by their father (who was an alcoholic).

Also on Fred: he was already an anti-fascist in the 1930s including when it meant joining with one of his colleagues (Sgt Vimes, who Sam was probably named after) against the rest. (Frankly Fred is the king of the “devastating info that is easily missed”, and that last point regards some moderately obscure knowledge to decode but it’s solid once you have that.)

Jakes’s non-Blenheim Vale background was very poor too, given his familiarity with the “Never-Neverland” of the kind of housing estate that replaced the kind of slum that Fred grew up in.

Dorothea has had a fricking epic past doing war correspondence etc..

Sam was bullied at school and didn’t tell his father because he was worried about how he would react.

Jim was brought up by his apparently rather obnoxious and judgemental grandmother, which might explain the desperate need to fit in and get on at all costs, as well as the extremely skilled peacemaking at times. He might have been in the navy before the police, though that’s a bit more uncertain.

Trewlove went to a posh enough school to have serious chess-playing as a thing. (She’s definitely the only person at the station with a comparable class background to Bright’s.)

And so on; I know I’ve missed out plenty of things here and especially I know there’s some info about Win that’s on the tip of my brain and I can’t quite remember. (I think she’s from Blackpool originally, e.g. and misses the sea? And did some war work outside London?) I weirdly couldn’t think of anything significant that’s not already foregrounded about Joan, Box, Fancy, or Monica; help me out here lovelies. :-) 

This is on top of eveeeeerything about Morse, which is far more foregrounded but even he has things dropped in very casually sometimes.

Goodness they’re all so messy and I love them all so very very much. <3 (Though also: I so very much wish that Lewis gave just *more* to his women characters. I have the obvious reservations about Joan’s arc (I *like* Strange, but... hmmmmmmmmmm), and the obvious wishing that Monica and Trewlove especially had had far far more to do.)

[kaibutsushidousha]

Do you have any predictions on how Lorelei Barthomeloi's going to look like now that Dead Apostles Ancestors have gotten their buffs and Lord Trambelio has less than half of the od that Ciel has? How would you design the Aristocratic faction's big shot?

I don't have a direct answer to the question. I believe everything that was previously established about Lorelei's brand of magecraft is no longer applicable after the remake. So instead I'll use this convenient ask as a platform to write a post I've been meaning to write for a while. A commented translation of Lorelei's old profile focusing on what I believe still goes and what I believe no longer does.

Introduction: Barthomeloi Lorelei London's Clock Tower, a central institution of the Mage's Association, is the proud home of The Queen: the greatest mage in the present era. Clock Tower's assistant headmaster. The current Wizard Marshall, commanding a choir called Battalion of Clones. Her magecraft's element is wind.

This initial part I think is maintained in full. There is a huge asterisk on the Battalion of Clones, but I'll get to it when I reach the profile section that explains what the Battalion was.

She's also a vampire hunter who previously defeated 2 out of the 27 Dead Apostle Ancestors and handed them to the Church.

Her track record is confirmedly gone with the remake. Sorry, only Ciel is allowed to be cool now. But when Ciel is fighting Vlov, she mentions some madman who invades vampire lairs from the front door and challenges them to fair duels, and that's 100% Lorelei.

She's an orthodox mage with nothing unique about her magecraft, but since she has the highest value in every stat, she consistently produced excellent results in every situation. She believes simple is best. The archetype and perfect model of the idea that one who is strong enough doesn't need a special ability.

This part I can very confidently say is gone. I can even bring up two completely different reasons.

The point of Lorelei favoring high stats over gimmicks is to portray her as a mirror to nemesis Ortenrosse. And the point of pre-remake Ortenrosse thinking little of unique powers is that he was Brunestud's first follower and held too much respect for the moon man to devote himself to something beyond a vampire's basic kit. However, as of the remake, Principles are part of a vampire's basic kit. Having unique powers is now built into Brunestud's blueprint, so there's no reason for Ortenrosse to continue committing to being boring. Ortenrosse will have a power defined by his Idea Blood and the Barthomeloi will have a magecraft system suspiciously similar to Ortenrosse's Principle.

Nasu mentioned the Barthomeloi family once after establishing the remake lore. In Clock Tower 2015, the Barthomeloi are namedropped as the Lord family commanding the Department of Individual Fundamentals. Shortly after, Sanda established Individual Fundamentals is run by Solonea and Policies is run by Barthomeloi, with Nasu trying to clean up the retcon by saying in his blog that the Clock Tower 2015 line is just wrong. But it's very telling that at some point Lorelei was slated to Individual Fundamentals since studies to foster one's unique abilities are very much the opposite of what our beta version of the Barthomeloi family would be about (it does speak about Lorelei as an individual, but we'll get there).

In fact, her standard combat stance is to bring along 50 elite mages and slaughter the enemy by commanding and instructing them without a shred of disorder. She takes the form of a young empress conducting an orchestra. All troopers, unified by their unique lack of uniqueness, are first-class mages, with Lorelei herself being supposedly able to take on a Dead Apostle Ancestor in direct solo combat.

First, let's address the elephant in the room that with Ancestors being raised to the ballpark of gods, there's no way Lorelei can 1v1 them anymore. She could easily be stronger than McDonell and Karmaglyph, but the power gap can't be that big.

Now to the part that matters. The Battalion of Clones. I think the section above already makes my point clear enough. Lorelei taking Individual Fundamentals somewhere along her character retooling shows an abandonment of the "unique in their lack of uniqueness idea" angle.

What Lorelei ultimately got was Policies, whose most featured members are Goredolf and Hishiri. Both of them are mages who default to their unique abilities (Musik's metalized punches and Hishiri's Mystic Eyes), and Dolf is far from what anyone would call elite.

Of course, the answer could easily be that the Department is bigger than Lorelei's elite squad. You can be from Policies without being from the Battalion of Clones. In fact, you could say there's evidence for it, considering Goredolf from Policies first entered Chaldea with a group of exactly 50 mage followers. If he was part of the Battalion, it should be a group of 49 followers plus himself. Unrelated, the idea of Lorelei lending Dolf the Battalion still feels insane to me, even for an operation as big as entering another Lord's nest.

Anyways, the biggest argument against my ideas is that Fate/Labyrinth confirms that post-Remake, the Battalion of Clones still exists by this name despite the concept that names them, the idea that all 50 shared the same non-identity, being seemingly discarded. Much to think about.

Explanation: Assorted notes One of the Lords, the ruling class of London's Mage's Association. Her family has one of the oldest bloodlines in the association but their origin and style of choosing heirs is kept a secret.

This part touches the core of Lorelei's expected backstory in Tsuki 2, so I'm fully confident it stays. It's absolutely essential the Barthomeloi, this inexplicably ancient lineage of mages who carry this generational grudge against the oldest mage-turned-vampire while coincidentally sharing his core philosophies, does not want to reveal its origins. Haha, who could their originating ancestor possibly be?

They have some modicum of friendship with the fellow Lords of the Archibald family and only them.

This part says more about Kayneth than it says about Lorelei and her dad. There's not much I can say now, but I'll come back to this with a Kayneth appreciation tangent when I get to the line about Lorelei's personality so I can elaborate on the implications.

They left no written records of why their family is named Barthomeloi.

I'll say this stays as is. Nasu clearly has a really dumb wordplay 20 years in the making that connects the meaning of Barthomeloi to Ortenrosse and we know he wouldn't throw a stupid pun away.

The clan first appeared at the time of the Clock Tower's foundation, attained their Lord title through their powerful Blue Blood (noble Magic Circuits), and stood at the top for centuries since.

Changed. Case Files Material's timetable places the Clock Tower's foundation in the 500s and the introduction of the Barthomeloi in the 1000s.

Their current head sees the name Lorelei as nothing more than an appendage added to her name after she took over as the family head. They all only consider the sound "Barthomeloi" to be their name.

Lorelei growing up without her own name is a thing I'm 50/50 on. The bit seems to exist mainly as a thematic extension of the old Barthomeloi and Ortenrosse pursuit of a lack of individual identity. A Barthomeloi has to be the Barthomeloi ideal instead of their own person. Much like the instrumentalists in the Battalion of Clones were all clones of each other and therefore clones of nobody, the conductor is likewise raised to be a clone of previous conductors, tracing all the way back to the original, who in some major ways can't escape being a clone of Trhvmn Ortenrosse. And I already made clear that I consider this character trait to be dropped.

But. The purpose of the Department of Policies and the Clock Tower timetable establishing that the Barthomelois arrived laying the groundwork for the Clock Tower's aristocratic system shows that their unreasonably controlling aspects are still a core element of the Bartholomei character, meaning Lorelei being raised without a name is still a thing that can still happen even without the anti-individuality themes.

Perhaps due to the perfectionism beliefs on every generation's part, the Barthomeloi heads are raised exclusively within their manor, never appearing to others until they are fully accomplished mages. Nothing embarrasses them more the stepping into the big world without being ready for it. Consequently, at the moment they first step into the Mage's Association, they're already the commander of a department.

This part I feel like it stays at is. There's no need for it to be gone. This homeschooled ignorance can play into Lorelei's waifu side.

In a sense, they're more fervently aristocratic than the Dead Apostle Ancestors, and consider even their fellow Lords to owe obedience to a nobler, more capable blood. The only mages that the Barthomeloi heads see as their equals are the embodiers of First Magic.

This one is a bit that I absolutely need to stay as is because it's so much more interesting with newer context. The text says "embodier" rather than user, so it should refer to witches in general, and it's now established that (non-Meinster) witches in the modern era are regarded as living garbage by the world of magecraft at large. It's fascinating to me that the Bartholomei are defined by their dedication to their arbitrary social tier list and said list simply just

S: Barthomeloi, trash

D: Everyone else

F: Vampires REEEEEEEEEEE

She holds a peerless obsession for the king of the 27 Ancestors, the White-Winged Duke Ortenrosse, and is participating in an operation squad to thwart the Aylesbury Ritual that he has been arranging for the past few decades. She never engaged in early-stage sabotage for one reason: to lure out the White-Winged Duke and watch the mortified screams of the disgraced vampires as she thwarts the ritual mid-procedure.

Needless to say at this point, this is the part that needs to stay exactly as is. It's the conflict that gives her reason to be in Tsuki 2 and what the majority of her other character traits in this profile exist for.

Source: The Dark Six (title subject to change) She's the leader of the Mage's Association's Aylesbury Inspection League... except no other mages cooperate with her due to her excessively aristocratic principles, making our problem girl a solo leader. That's not how it works, dear. Due to her special upbringing, she has no interest or tolerance for domestic chores.

This is all purely Lorelei waifu points, so that will be kept intact.

Her personal principle was to measure someone's worth not by their personality, but by what makes them unique. Therefore, she's relatively interested in people with powerful talents.

I imagine this will stay, although it will be a lot less meaningful now, considering that Lorelei's innate interest in unique abilities will no longer be an antithesis to the anti-uniqueness tradition that was going to define the Barthomeloi and Ortenrosse.

This character is thoroughly aristocratic in her beliefs, however, because she believes her blood is the only noble one, she cares nothing about the other nobles. Lorelei sees no difference between the working class and the ruling class. What makes one from either category stand out is not their birth, but the individual abilities they learned.

Lorelei's most important waifu factor. Absolutely stays. But let's get to what really matters. Kayneth. The only guy who maintains a friendship with the Barthomeloi family. What does this say about him?

See, Kayneth is a genius who knows he's a genius and loves the feeling of that. He's prideful and loves boasting. He felt the need to replace a perpetual motion engine with a ball of mercury just so he could better brag about his aesthetics. His material profiles even cite his likes as "himself". His self-esteem is absolutely top-tier.

But as much as Kayneth loves praising himself, he always implies that he doesn't like being praised by others. The higher echelons of the world of magecraft are a field of equivalent exchange, where everyone only helps others for their own benefit and these kinds of deals that define Kayneth's upbringing are only worth trusting when both sides are on an even playing field. He 100% believes that he's special, but can't react positively to special treatment.

He's madly in love with Sola-Ui, a woman who treats him with cold indifference. He fails his relationship with Diarmuid because Diarmuid just wanted someone to deposit his loyalty on and Kayneth is unable to process an uneven relationship in good faith. So when Lorelei's profile tells us that Kayneth holds a major friendship with the guys who treat him the same way they treat the janitor, all I can think is "Yes!! This is so Kayneth!".

She is the typical archetype of the character who shoves away her human side as hard as she can... She is currently being considered for one of the main heroine slots, maybe...

With all the random mentions the Barthomeloi/Policies get, I feel like it's pretty much guaranteed at this point that Lorelei will be a main heroine in Tsuki 2. But with the remake being set in 2014 and Lorelei being defined as young and new at this, all the Barthomeloi mentions in Case Files and stuff should now be about her father (not that any of them said anything character-specific).

[bananabraiined]

Well? Like what you see?

[nemo-of-house-hamartia]

the brain is rotting so much dear gods.

And Gale reminds me SO MUCH of Mathias.

The two of them would get along SO WELL, and be the bestest of friends.

Having a heart-to-heart and calling each other out when they run in path of self-destruction.

And also lend each other the same after-shave and haircare products, because both my darlings have a neat beard and leonine hairstyles to maintain.

[dorkofclanlavellan]

Remember when Justinia had a Tranquil (his name was Pharamond) go to Adamant to see if there was a cure for the Rite of Tranquility and when he did as she asked and cured himself she punished him by ordering him be made Tranquil again while he cried and begged her to just kill him instead?

Remember a couple years before that when she had Leliana go to Kirkwall to warn Elthina to flee because she was planning to order an Exalted March on Kirkwall because more and more mages weren't taking their imprisonment, tortures, rapes and murders without resistance?

Yet we're supposed to see her death as sad and awful.

[sieglinde-freud]

potential inigo dorothea interactions are obvious with both of them being performers and i think you could argue for their interactions to take a dorothea/sylvain route or a laslow/azura route but i propose this secret third thing in that they both see right through eachother. “you flirt as a defense mechanism!” “wtf well SO DO YOU??” they put up the same persona but for completely different reasons, and i think they’d sympathize with eachother to an extent. inigos not a noble in fodlan, so dorothea would be more open to hearing what he has to say as opposed to someone like sylvain, and i think after knowing what his own mom went through as a performer in ferox, he’d lend an ear to dorotheas struggles climbing the ranks herself. like i just think they could be the bestest of friends ever and also this is how ferdinand finds out he is bisexual. and then they kill sylvain

[edelthea]

Dorothea: Yuletide Dancer (Fire Emblem Heroes)

[dimiclaudeblaigan]

One of the biggest reasons I try to recruit all the characters in Three Houses isn’t just because I don’t want to kill them, but because if I do, I still have to go back to the monastery afterward. I still have to pass by their dorm rooms full of their belongings and know that’s where they spent their alone time and where they slept. I still have to pass by the spots they frequented the most. It’s not just the sad dialogue of characters reacting to the deaths, but passing by the spots I vividly remembered them hanging out at.

I realized this most in my first playthrough when I didn’t have the chance to recruit everyone and I accidently killed Raphael at Gronder. I didn’t have the enemy attack range turned on so I didn’t realize he was in range of attacking.

During an exploration, I was looking for Ignatz who was, unfortunately, in his dorm room... and I walked into the wrong room and into Raphael’s after he was killed and man that fuckin’ sucked! Feels bad but like, multiplied with big numbers, u kno??? ???

YES, IT’S A VIDEO GAME. YES, I HAVE HUMAN BEING FEELINGS ABOUT IT.

[not-krys]

58. Father (Houki, Thea, Abby, Clara, Miri)

The one I got a little too exited to write, so I ended up writing it during most of last month instead of this month, whoops.

This one features Houki reminiscing about her past, Thea, Arthur and Theo welcoming their bundles of joy into the world, a quite spicy Vincent and Abby about sharing the news with him about becoming a father, a little Clara seeking out Mr. Akatsuki in her time of need, and Miri talking to Lucifer about Lilith.

Regular warnings apply: incomplete, raw writing, suddenly cuts in places; oc lore building; oc x canon children; pregnancy; polyam relationship with Thea, Arthur, and Theo; Abby and Vincent's does get spicy with him partially stripping her, heavy kisses, wandering hands, and mentions of past cock-warming (with a lil implied somnophilia from that? idk); Clara's includes talks of domestic abuse and her being left behind by her parents; and Miri talks a little bit about Lilith's death and the circumstances surrounding it it, so mentions of death and possibly spoilers for season 1 of obey me, I guess.

Check out my masterlist!

-----

Houki

The moon cast a silvery glow over the small garden, the quiet of the night bringing peace over Azuchi. Houki sat on the veranda in Hideyoshi's palace, hands folded neatly in her lap as she gazed up at the moon, the light reflecting off her glasses.

A bundle of grey fur pushed against her elbow, not deterred until she found a comfortable spot on Houki's lap, her loud purrs of satisfaction rumbling against her legs. Houki smiled and scratched her ears, making purrs somehow louder.

"Are you lonely too, Miss Kitty?" Houki giggled softly. "Mitsunari will be back soon. Don't worry."

Kitty flicked her tail, curling it back into herself. Houki went back to scratching the cat's ears.

"…You know, my father and I used to look up at the moon like this… back when I still lived in Jiyel."

Kitty chirped, as if she understood what Houki was talking about.

"He was… a quiet sort of man, my father. He loved books just as much as I do. We would always talk about what we had read recently over snacks and tea. And he would sneak me books whenever Mother wasn't looking."

Houki looked down.

"He… was the one most opposed to me going to Vale Isle after Jiya had ran away. I was ill-prepared. I was not ready to be married to a stranger for the sake of alliances. I just wanted to stay home and read my books in peace."

She sighed.

"But… Mother won out in the end. We couldn't lose our good standing in the family, and I was the only girl of marrying age that could do it."

Kitty raised her head, curious as to why Houki had stopped petting her.

"It wasn't so bad, my brief time at Vale Isle. I met all sorts of nobles and royalty from all the seven kingdoms. I met a pirate lord and a warrior princess that taught me how to get away from… stinky kidnappers, as she called them. I even got to rescue another princess from a brutish prince from Revaire. Me, rescuing a princess."

Houki looked down again, looking at the white scar on her finger.

"Then, by some twist of fate, I ended up here, rescuing another person from a horrible fate. A warlord at that. Lord Nobunaga."

"It's strange… how different your life can go based on a single decision. How if my father had succeeded in keeping me in Jiyel, none of this could have happened. I couldn't have met with pirate lords or rescued princesses and warlords in peril. I wouldn't have met Mitsunari…"

Kitty rubbed her head against Houki's hand, making her smile.

"Or you, dear Kitty. How different my life would be, if I had stayed in Jiyel, kept company by my books…"

She let out a gentle laugh.

"It sounds a little boring and lonely when I say it out loud, does it not?"

Kitty flicked her tail again, staring up at her with her big purple eyes.

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

Thea

Arthur couldn't stop the grin on his face even if he tried. Cradled carefully in his arms was a small pink bundle, little curls of teal hair peeking under the blanket. He could see marks of Thea all over this little one's face, her nose and her ears most notable, but this one, this one, she was a curious little bird, staring up at him with her baby blue eyes. His heart melted just looking at this little darling, his little darling.

Another soft cry caught his attention, taking his attention away for a brief moment, reminding that the sweet joy in his arms wasn't the only new happiness in his life.

Theo held a similarly swaddled bundle in a blue blanket, the man himself whispering soft, sweet things in Dutch, rocking the babe to soothe him.

Between the both of them was the love of his and Theo's life, Thea, new mother to a set of twins that, by some miracle, looked like himself and the younger Van Gogh. Twins weren't uncommon whenever he delivered babies in his doctor days, but this was the first time he'd seen two twins looking like their respective fathers. Maybe it was a vampire thing? Something to ask Comte and Leonardo about later.

For now, he leaned towards Thea, brushing back her sweat dampened bangs and kissed her forehead.

"They're perfect, luv." He said quietly with a smile.

Theo glowed with pride, his own grin not soon to leave his face.

"He's actually right. For once."

Thea gave a tired laughed.

"Save the arguing for when I'm not so tired and sore."

She glanced between the two of them, her exhausted smile warm and gentle.

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

Abby

Thunder boomed and rattled the windows of the apartment building, the only source of sound. It barely reached Abby's ears however. She stood at her front door, soaked to the bone and shivering. She knew she should go inside. She should take a hot shower and dry herself off, change into some warm pajamas. Eventually mop up the puddle she was leaving on the floor.

She could barely move, however. Not to enter her and Vincent's apartment. Not to face him when he would inevitably try and ask what was wrong.

She couldn't face him. She couldn't.

The rain dripping from her hair felt like tears running down her cheeks, though she knew she wasn't crying. Maybe. She wasn't completely sure.

She touched her stomach, her wet clothes clinging to her like a glove. Her breath shuddered as she touched herself.

It was too soon for any noticeable difference, far too soon. Yet resting her hand there, with her clothes clinging to her, she thought she felt a difference, a spark, something to make this real, to remind her that it was real.

Her breath shuddered again, her hands coming up to cover her face.

Suddenly, the door in front of her opened, the thud loud enough to mask the echoing thunder, filling the darkened hallway with light. Abby looked up, her eyes wide and shining.

Both stared at the other, struck to silence.

"Vin-" Abby's meek voice started to call to him, before she was lifted into the air and carried into the apartment, not stopping until her feet touched the fluffy yellow rug of their bathroom. Next thing she knew, his lips took hers, his fingers finding her shorts' fastener, almost ripping it from the denim cloth. He pulled her underwear down as well, his heated fingers pressing into her belly.

"Is it true, shatje?" he asked once he released her mouth, panting for breath.

She then saw the nearby trash can, five peculiar boxes filling it along with five little sticks. She froze. Vincent kissed her again, gentling his tone.

"That's where you went today, to make sure."

Abby nodded.

"Well? Are you?"

She closed her eyes, remembering seeing all those positive marks on all five of the tests. And the tests at the doctor's office.

"I-It makes sense, given the time frame." she said quietly. She could vividly remember the night she and Vincent had reunited, how he refused to leave her side, how waking the next morning he was still inside of her, rubbing her insides tenderly to not wake her. How very few nights after that rarely saw her alone in bed.

She then sneezed, reminding both of them that she was still in her wet clothes, chillier now thanks to Vincent removing her shorts and underwear. He gave a sheepish smile.

"First things first."

He reached behind her, to turn on the hot water in the shower. Abby took the opportunity to remove the rest of her wet clothes. She then looked at herself in the mirror, a full length one hanging on the back of the door reflecting her brown eyes back at her.

There was still no change, there couldn't be after only a few hours of confirming her suspicions with a doctor, she knew that in her heart of hearts. Yet she couldn't help but turn to the side, to see her curves and bumps in profile, and cup her hands under her belly as if there was a big change, something there for her to hold. She did the same as she turned forward, holding her hands over herself, holding what she assumed was the little life inside of her.

Hands larger than hers, rougher from years of painting and hard work, joined her petite ones, forming a little heart with his thumbs and forefingers. Vincent chuckled and kissed her cheek.

"You're still beautiful, you know."

He broke his little heart, one hand resting fully on her belly, warming her chilled skin. His other hand, however, had other ideas as it traveled south, tracing a line down to her inner thighs.

--------

Clara

Mr. Akatsuki, owner of a specialty book store in Rhodolite, was locking up for the night. A quiet day was ending just as quietly as it had began. He turned his sign around to closed and was about to lock the door when he heard a peculiar sound.

It sounded like crying. A young girl crying in fact.

The most peculiar thing was that it was coming from inside his shop. How strange.

After securing the door, he walked amongst his shelves and tomes from across the kingdoms. The sobs grew louder as he drew closer, finding a small girl with twin braids framing her head and an orange pinafore dress hiding her sobs. Mr. Akatsuki blinked.

"Miss Clara?" he asked.

He knew the little girl. She and her mother visited his shop frequently because of the young one's voracious reading habits. She had already gone through his selection of Jade fairy tales and children stories and had been looking to sink her little hands into some Benitoite pirate tales as of late.

But it was far too late in the day for a young child to be left unattended. Mr. Akatsuki knelt in front of her.

"What are you doing here so late, young one? Your mother is bound to be worried about you."

The little girl sniffed and wiped her nose on her sleeve.

"Mama's not home."

"She's not?"

"No…" Clara sniffed again, "she said she was going far away… and that she was taking Papa with her."

"Taking your Papa with her?"

Mr. Akatsuki rarely saw the father with the little girl before him. Before, he would always see the woman and child that came to his bookshop, eager to see his latest findings. He saw the man so infrequently that he wondered if her mother was widowed or separated for some reason from her husband.

The times he did see him however, Clara's mother always wore scarves and long sleeves, down over her wrists. She also walked with a limp sometimes, making him suspicious of something foul going on behind closed doors.

"Papa… said some things to Mama. Mean, hurtful things." The little girl shuddered, "then he… he hit her."

"He hit her?"

"Uh huh."

Mr. Akatsuki brought his light closer, seeing a dark red mark across the child's cheek. He could feel his blood starting to boil.

"Did he hit you too?"

Clara nodded, cradling her sore cheek.

"I wanted him to stop hitting Mama, so I pulled on his leg, trying to stop him and…" Her tears were starting to fall again.

"Did I do something wrong, Mr. Akatsuki? To make Papa so angry?"

He pulled his sleeve down to wipe her eyes.

"It matters not if you did any wrong-doing, Miss Clara." He pulled her to her feet, "Your papa shouldn't have struck you or your mother for that matter."

Clara sniffled.

"I want my mama back."

Mr. Akatsuki frowned, glancing at the shelves that contained countless tales of love and bravery behind the young girl.

"If you promise to stay with Mrs. Baker tonight, I can go look for your mama."

"It's really noisy at Mrs. Baker's place," Clara made a face. "She's got a lot of kids."

"You… could make some friends there?"

"They're loud and once tore the pages of my favorite book."

Mr. Akatsuki sighed. He hadn't been established in the little town for long, and the Bakers were the first people he thought of that wouldn't mind looking after a little one overnight, but it seemed little Miss Clara had some opinions about them.

"Just for one night? If it takes longer to find your mama, I'll ask someone else in town."

"Can't I just stay with you, Mr. Akatsuki?"

"Me?"

"I don't need much. I like reading so I'll be really quiet if you want me to be.. I can even clean up good if you want me too!"

"Miss Clara, I-!"

A little orange ball was soon clinging to his leg, her tiny arms surprisingly strong for someone of her size and age.

"Please, Mr. Akatsuki? I don't want you to leave me too."

-------

Miri

"I get it what you're saying." Miri clenched her hands, her fist trembling. "It's still not fair… that she had to lose her life because she wanted to help someone she loved."

"It was the rule, Miriam." Lucifer said with a stern tone. "it was what Father said, and his word was law."

"Lilith didn't have to die for it!"

"I know she didn't!"

He closed his eyes, his brows scrunching as if he was in pain. "She wasn't at fault for what she did out of her love for humans. But not everyone saw it that way. It was just…"

"How things were." Miri finished, looking down and sighing. "Sorry. It's a touchy subject. For everyone. And I was being insensitive."

"You're not at fault." Lucifer turned towards her. "She would have said the same thing. Love is a lot stronger than we give it credit for."

"And… neither of us would be here without her." Miri said gently. "You would still be in the Celestial Realm with everyone and I would- well, I wouldn-…"

Lucifer snorted derisively.

"Don't think too hard about it, little sheep." he smirked, "you are a light in all of our lives and I, for one, am thankful for your continued existence, regardless of the circumstances that brought you into existence."

[nancywheeeler]

List 10 songs with 10 names in the titles that I like, and then tag 10 people.

tagged by @lilalbatross, thank you this was a blast! i didn't realize how many of my favorite songs have names in the titles.

buddy holly {weezer}

emmylou {first aid kit}

evangeline {emmylou harris}

fare thee well, miss carousel {townes van zandt}

francesca {hozier}

for elise {saint motel}

jackie onassis {sammy rae & the friends}

me & magdalena {the monkees}

ophelia {the band}

so long, marianne {leonard cohen}

tagging @eugeniedanglars, @camgoloud, @goodwitchs, @skiptownlikea, @benoitblanc, and anyone else who wants to give it a go!

[mywingsareonwheels]

Time to hug two (2) "Endeavour" characters. :-)

Oh fellow Endeavour fans!

You have the opportunity to share a) some soup of your choice, and b) a hug, with both:-

E Morse

one other Endeavour character

For the purpose of this poll, please assume that both characters are entirely up for the hugging, and (given one of them is Morse...) can at least be gently persuaded into (and will be delighted by) the soup. :-)

(NB: you can use whatever criteria you like. Please feel free to share your soup choice. :-) You can if you wish choose whether you're having the soup-and-hug time with Morse and the other person on separate occasions or whether it's the same event and you're hoping they'll hug each other too. ;-) )