#my mum has though so ill ask her

[3moe5me]

I want to do something for watanagashi this year.... hm...

[engie-ivy]

949 words

Sirius Black is known as the office Grinch, so what has suddenly gotten into him?

You Make It Feel Like Christmas

You Make It Feel Like Christmas - Gwen Stefani

“You're delusional.”

“I'm not!”

“You must be.”

“No, I swear,” Benjy hisses.

“Well, maybe you misheard,” Hestia offers.

Benjy huffs. “You think I would not recognize ‘Jingle Bells’?”

Emmeline shakes her head. “Anything is more likely than Mr Black humming that song.”

“He was in front of me at the coffee machine,” Benjy says. “And I swear I heard him do it!”

You see, the reason why the mere idea of Sirius Black walking around the office humming ‘Jingle Bells’ is so preposterous, is because Sirius Black is known as the office Grinch.

The man dislikes everything that's even remotely related to Christmas.

When Mary and Dorcas were hanging the Christmas lights, Mr Black commented on energy savings for the office and the necessity of cutting down on the electricity bill. In his opinion, Christmas was a huge waste of energy in its entirety. No one actually knew if he was still talking about electricity.

When the first Christmas song was played on the radio, Mr Black pointedly put on his noise canceling headphones. Plus, he actually has no idea who Mariah Carey is, which is shocking in its own right.

When Edgar came to work wearing his Christmas jumper, Mr Black reported him for inappropriate work attire (though luckily Lily from HR simply told him to get over it).

Moreover, Mr Black constantly complains that Christmas Day is an obligatory day off, instead of him being able to save his vacation hours for, in his words, ‘when he actually needs them’.

He has also called Christmas markets a trick to sell junk no one needs, he's known to think that a gift certificate makes for the best Christmas gift, and that black coffee tastes better than any hot chocolate ever could.

“Okay, I'm actually getting really worried,” Caradoc whispers as they convene at the coffee machine.

“Me too,” Edgar replies in a concerned voice. “Maybe he's come down with some sort of illness?”

“Did you guys hear what he said when he saw the little Christmas tree on my desk?” Mary hisses. “He said it looked ‘nice’. Nice! No eye roll, no sarcastic undertone. Just nice.”

“I almost had a heart attack when I saw his tie this morning,” Emmeline says faintly. “I mean, tiny snowmen?”

Dorcas bites her lip. “Could it be some sort of brain disease?”

“Or maybe he hit his head and he has a concussion?” Benjy offers.

“Should we like… take him to the hospital or something?” Fabian asks.

“Gosh,” Hestia says. “Why are you all so negative? Maybe he just finally caught the Christmas spirit!”

“Excuse me?”

Everyone pauses their work to look at the man who appeared in the doorway to their office. He's got floppy, honey-coloured hair, is wearing a rather tattered coat and is carrying a box with a bow tied around it.

“I'm looking for-”

“Remus!” Mr Black jumps to his feet. “What are you doing here?”

A light colouring appears on the man's cheeks as he looks at Mr Black and he smiles a little sheepishly. “I hope I'm not disturbing you?”

Mr Black closes his laptop without giving it a second look. “Not at all! I can always make time,” says the man who once almost made Gideon cry because he dared ask him a question while he was in the middle of an Excel sheet.

“Great,” the box-carrying man, Remus, grins, and despite the scars on his face, it makes him look strangely endearing. “My mum and I baked Christmas cookies, and we, of course, made way too much for just us, so I thought I'd drop by your office to bring some?”

“That's so sweet of you!” Mr Black happily takes over the box. “I absolutely love Christmas cookies,” says Mr Black, who has never even touched any of the cookies Caradoc baked for the office.

“I see you're wearing the tie I gave you,” Remus says.

“Of course,” Mr Black replies. “It's my favourite.”

“That's good,” Remus smiles softly.

They both just look at each other for a moment, while the rest of the office exchanges looks.

Then Remus averts his eyes and looks down at his shoes. “You know, I was wondering…” He begins. “Would you like to go and look at the Christmas lights together tonight? It may sound cheesy, but they're actually really pretty and it's one of my favourite Christmas activities to-”

“I would love to!” Mr Black replies a little breathless. “I've been really wanting to go and see the lights.”

Mary makes an indignant sound, but both men hardly seem to notice there's anyone else in the room.

“Great!” Remus looks up and beams at Mr Black. “And I was thinking that maybe we could visit the Christmas market and drink some hot chocolate together?”

“I love the Christmas market,” Sirius replies without skipping a beat. “And I'd love to drink hot chocolate with you.”

“Good. Great. Perfect,” Remus says. “So, it's… it's a date?” The colouring on his cheeks increases.

"It's a date,” Mr Black agrees.

Both men stare at each other for a long moment, having completely forgotten there's a room full of people looking at them, people who start shifting uncomfortably in their chairs.

Remus is first to snap out of it. “I… I

I should let you get back to work.”

“Work,” Mr Black repeats, like he's trying to remember what the word means. “Right. Work.”

“See you tonight?” Remus asks.

“Can't wait,” Mr Black replies.

As Remus leaves and Mr Black turns back to the room, everyone immediately turns to their computer, pretending to be working.

Hestia exchanges a look with Emmeline.

Sirius Black definitely caught something alright, but it ain't Christmas spirit.

[enwoso]

Ooh a bit of an angsty one!

Can we have something about when Alessia transferred from United to Arsenal and how grumpy reacted to the fans (not all fans but quite a lot of them) turning on Alessia?

Something about the transition period and how they adjusted to the new club please!

Love your writing so much!

for the better | alessia russo x child!reader

sorry to whoever requested this that it has taken me so long, i do apologise! this was supposed to be out last week but then i was ill and then life was busy so it’s been a bit delayed but hey better late than never eh?

ALSO thank you all for 400 followers i love and appreciate each and every one of you all<3🥹

grumpy universe masterlist

the past couple of weeks had been a whirlwind for alessia but even more so for you. you weren't used to change nor were you a big fan of change.

you'd had basically the same routine your entire life. same bedtime, same favourite teddy, same favourite colour, same amount of sweets you were allowed before bed.

it was all you had ever known and so was manchester.

so when you got home from being australia it was a little weird to you not be going back home with your auntie ella and the other united girls like you usually would after an england camp.

when leaving for the world cup you didn't realise that, that was going to be the last time you were going to be in that home in manchester, the last time you would wake up in that home.

instead, this time you were going back with lotte and the other girls who lived in london for some strange reason unknown to you.

"mummy! where auntie ella going?" you asked as sat on top of the trolley of suitcases as alessia had went to say goodbye to her best friend not knowing when she would next see her.

"back to manchester lovie" she smiled softly, her voice a little shaky. your eyebrows knitted together a litttle, "why we not go with her, we live dere too!" you pouted, your face struck with confusion.

"lovie, we had this talk before we went to australia" alessia had stopped in the airport, dismissing lotte who stood waiting for her. signalling that you'd catch them back up.

"talk?"

"about mummy,, moving to a new club" the blonde spoke calmly trying to re jog your little memory as your mouth opened to an 'o' shape. realisation hitting you that change was happening as the talk memory appeared back into your head.

"your here, i thought you were watching tv in my room" you jumped a little at the sound of your mummy's voice as she came into your room. you'd been playing a game with your dolls on your bedroom floor.

"you wan be this one?" you asked holding up a doll towards your mum as she smiled, nodding and joined you on your bedroom floor.

"before we play though, i actually need to talk to you" your mum sounded serious as a frown appeared on your face, mummy only ever wanted to 'talk' when you had done something you were not supposed to of.

"oh- your not in trouble lovie"

"so mummy has been asked to join a new football club, called arsenal" she explained to you as the doll in your hand dropped slightly. a slight silence filling the room.

"you still play here?" you asked as your mum shook her head, "no lovie it means we have to move down to london"

you paused for a minute, it processing in your head "oh, but who play tag with after training?" you sadly smiled, you would play tag with millie and ona after each training session.

"i'm sure many of the girls will love playing tag with you, beth and leah play there too" mummy said as you looked back up from the ground.

"from england?" you asked as mummy nodded. it took a little convincing from you but once alessia had assured you, after you were a bit hesitant you agreed and didn't feel as sad about leaving manchester.

since the day in the airport, you had settled into your new home in london. it had already been better than manchester as you already seeing your uncles and grandparents more in the past week than you had the entire time that you lived in manchester.

you had made friends at your new nursery, settling in quick — quicker than alessia expected. as well as decorating your room the colour you wanted as well as picking out a new bed, which mummy had described to you as being your first big girl bed.

alessia of course had already started training for preseason. however you hadn't had a chance to go to training with being at nursery so today would be the first time meeting your mummy's teammates.

you were scared.

you don't remember meeting the united girls, to you they had always been there. but mummy said that was because you were just a baby when you first met those girls.

walking hand in hand with your mummy, your other hand holding your elephant teddy, esme which you'd had since you were really little held close and tight to your chest.

your mummy leading you to where she would put her training bag away, along with your bag before leading you down the long corridors to where the team was having lunch.

the arsenal girls knew that you were coming today and had asked alessia what was the best way to introduce themselves to you, not wanting to make you feel overwhelmed by all the new faces.

alessia suggesting that it be one by one as you weren't the biggest fan of big crowds and being fussed over.

you tugged on your mums arm, asking to be picked up as she did placing you on her hip as she walked deeper into the room. there being a few faces which you recognised that being the three england girls but once you spotted some of the other girls you hid your face deep in your mum's neck.

"oh is that you tiny?" beth beamed as you kept your face hidden feeling the movement of alessia sitting down. her hand rubbing up and down your back to try and soothe you, hoping you would come out from your little shell you'd put yourself in.

"she's gone all shy" alessia shrugged as she tried to peel you from your hiding spot, only whines coming from you as you dug your face deeper into her chest.

"shy? if there's one thing tiny isn't and that's shy!" you heard leah say, as well as your mum hum as she nodded her head in agreement.

it was true when you had the chance you could easily talk for england and would most definitely come away with a gold medal in that type of competition. alessia had her brothers and ella to thank for your chattiness even though she loved to hear you ramble on about anything and everything.

“tiny! do you want to see these photos of myle?” beth tried this time, you had been obsessed with the little puppy that beth had just gotten. myle was so small and any time you were at beth’s you would sit and talk to myle — you considered myle to be one of your best friends since you’d moved to arsenal as she too was getting used to all the new faces just like you were.

this seemed to do the trick as you slowly peeled yourself from your mums chest, half your face turning to look at beth, as the other half was covered with your grey elephant teddy. beth who was on her phone more than likely looking for the photos.

you looked up to your mum still unsure as you could see out the corner of your eye the unknown faces of your mummy’s new teammates. your mummy smiling nodding her head enthusiastically as you slowly climbed down from her lap and over to beth who was sat in between leah and viv.

you fingers in your mouth, you other hand having esme the elephant in it as you walked nervously over to beth, standing next to her as she lifted you onto her lap.

her phone screen in front of you as she showed you an arrange of photos of myle, some with a little scarf wrapped around her collar, some of her just lying asleep around beth and viv’s apartment and the rest were myle with some of the girls who were sat in the room with you right now.

“who dat?” you pointed to one of the girls who was holding myle another one of the girls sat next to her as your face scrunched at the unknown people.

“that’s vic and steph, look their over there!” beth pointed the two girls out as they both noticed you looking at them sending you a small wave, as you returned it. alessia watching on as she talked with leah and viv a smile appearing on the blondes face as she watched you slowly come out of your shell.

beth carried on swiping through the photos as you had now learned who kyra, katie, caitlin and stina were sending them all a small shy wave as beth pointed them out in the canteen.

“who dis?” you pointed to the girl in the photo as beth has swiped to the next photo.

“and that’s lia” beth smiled as you looked at her confused, “no that not leah? le there” you frowned as you pointed to the blonde leah who was sat with your mum across the table from you.

beth chuckling lightly at your little misunderstanding, “no tiny, there’s another lia! look there” beth pointed to the other lia as you awh in realisation, sending the lia a little wave like you’d done with the other girls.

“there two leah’s?” you turn to look at beth, who nodded with a smile on her face.

beth carried on, pointing out each of the arsenal girls as you did your signature shy wave at them as beth felt a slight feeling of accomplishment that you’d began to come out your shell, yes you may have not actually met the girls properly but you’d been introduced to and anyway there was plenty of time for you to meet them, the arsenal girls would not only becoming your mummy’s new teammates but they in time would become part of your family.

alessia had now been at arsenal for a few months now and you both had fully settled in, your home in london had finally come together and your room was fully decorated and in your opinion a lot better than your room in manchester.

and now the league had started and you’d now become fully acquainted with all the girls and as your mum had expected once you’d come out your shell, you loved them all.

after beth sat you down and showed you all the girls, it took you a few days to learn all there faces but you had now learned all about them and they had learned all about you and your little habits too.

katie who you learned was irish and had an accent that you found funny as she would say some words funny like the word three always had you in stitches as it sounded like tree, she was cool too as she would let you get away with being a little naughty sometimes.

caitlin, steph and kyra were all australian, they all had a funny accent to you too but the three of them were all different. caitlin was quiet but she would always let you pass the ball to her and play tag with you once training was done.

steph would let you talk to her as she answered all your questions you had about australia especially after just spending the summer there. and kyra well she would help you cause trouble, she would always sit with you and colour as well as dance around the changing room with you when the music was on.

vic was someone who mummy would sometimes take to training, and who mummy would spent a lot of time with when at training. vic was dutch just like viv. and vic wasn’t a big fan of mummy’s driving and on a morning when you were going to training with the as you sat in the back vic would sometimes sit and complain about mummy’s driving as you would sit in the back in your car seat giggling.

and for lia it had taken you a few days to wrap your head around there being two leah’s as in your mind you had only met one leah and that was blonde leah. so you had decided to give them your own nicknames, leah one and lia two just so you didn’t get confused.

as for the rest of the girls they had all been very welcoming to you and your mummy, helping you both to fit in.

and now it was onto the second match of the season against manchester united, the first time alessia was going to be back since she left. to say she was a little nervous was an understatement but she was trying her best not to show it.

“you okay?” lotte asked knowing how much the blonde had been dreading this fixture to come, and it being so early on in the season was not helping. as she walked into the leigh sports village with alessia, you following suit next to her.

wearing your new arsenal shirt, russo printed on the back in big white capital letters over the top of your hoodie it being a cold october night down in manchester something alessia definitely wasn’t missing since moving back down south.

alessia didn’t say anything just nod as she looked over to her england teammate, her lip bottom lip between her teeth as her eyes making sure not to loose you as you three reached the changing room.

you sat on the bench quietly watching your ipad munching on a few snacks you’d been given as your mummy got changed and did her pre match routine.

“mummy?” you looked up from your ipad, your mum doing her hair as you watched her wrap her bobble around her bun. “yes lovie?” she smiled at you.

“we see auntie ella and mazza?” you asked, you knew that arsenal were playing manchester united as you had overheard mummy talking to auntie ella on the phone you then interrupting and talking to ella and how you were excited to see her after a few months not yet being totally used to not seeing her every single day of the week.

the excitement following through the entire week as it was all you had spoken about to anyone you’d seen, even the staff at your nurseries knew.

“after the game we can, i’m sure they are both just excited to see you” she smiled as you nodded excitedly, you little legs swinging from the bench as mummy kissed the top of your head before smoothing out her kit to change into, your attention going back to your ipad.

the match had now begun and was just nearing half time and you were sat with leah one who had come down on the bus with the team, but she still had a big ouchie on her knee meaning she couldn’t play.

you were wrapped in a blanket with your big thick puffer on which mummy had made sure to zip right up before she ran onto the pitch.

watching with a smile, but that smile quickly dropped as then you noticed.

the manchester united fans were booing your mummy. the same fans which would cheer and shout her name while asking her to sign and take photos with her just a few months ago. they were now booing.

the first time you thought maybe it was just a mistake, but then it happened again. every time your mummy touched the ball, they booed.

“why they booing?” you asked, as leah frowned not knowing how to exactly explain it to you but she could tell it was upsetting you.

“i’m not sure tiny” leah sighed as she pulled you onto her lap so you had a better view of the pitch. making sure your blanket was kept around you to keep you from the crisp cold air.

“me no like it” you huffed, a frown not replacing the smile that was on your face moments ago.

“it’s okay, look your mummy’s got the ball, she might score!” leah tried to turn your focus away from the sound of the booing but that’s all you could hear, it was ringing through your ears.

“stop! make it stop le!” you whined shoving your head into her chest as your fingers went into your ears. leah’s heart dropping as she watched you start to cry, deciding it was probably best to take you into back inside away from all the noise.

alessia watched each step that leah took, you in her arms. your face hidden, alessia knew straight away that the noise of the booing as well as the nasty chants were upsetting you. alessia had learned with time to block them out when she was playing but you were young and took things more sensitively.

leah had turned back to try and catch alessia’s eyes, quickly realising alessia was already watching leah. alessia mouthing a quick, ‘is she okay?’ knowing that was probably a silly thing to ask but she did always before running to get the ball from katie, still noticing the quick thumbs up that leah threw towards alessia.

the booing only spurred alessia on more, wanting to play that well that it would silence them. something the travelling arsenal fans had been good at, chanting louder than the many home fans.

leah took you back into the changing room just after half time has finished doing her best to calm you down and distract you — it taking a few laps around the inside of the stadium and a trip to the food van before the tears stopped.

back in the changing room, you sat down on the bench, your ipad propped up as you both began to watch a cartoon as you placed your blanket across your legs and leah knees being extra careful to not hurt her ouchie on her knee.

you both being very consumed by the bright light of the ipad screen you both didn’t even hear the sound of the changing room door go, the girls beginning to pile in at the end of the match.

“hey lovie” you mum cooed softly, placing a hand on your head slightly startling both you and leah. but you were quickly jumping into her arms as she twirled you around.

“you okay now?” she asked softly as you nodded, your arms wrapped around your mummy’s neck not wanting to let go. alessia rubbing her hand up and down your back as you placed a little kiss on your cheek, mouthing a thank you to leah who smiled nodding her head.

“good” alessia whispered, as you let go from hugging you mum as you sat on her hip. “why were they booing” you asked innocently, the same frown appearing from earlier, since you didn’t get a proper answer from leah, you might from mummy.

“there just upset i left that’s all lovie, there silly anyway and there nothing you-” your mummy began as your frown still stayed, “-need to worry about, okay” she finished booping your nose a small smile flashing on your lips.

“i know you love me and that’s all that matters” mummy told you with a smile as you nodded.

“now we need that smile to come back, cause i don’t think auntie ella and mazza will want to see you all grumpy!”

[scribblesofagoonerr]

𝑀𝑜𝓃𝓀𝑒𝓎 Our girl: Growing Up | 𝒲𝒽𝑒𝓃 𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝒩𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉 𝐻𝒶𝓈 𝒞𝑜𝓂𝑒

summary: all good things come to an end when it's decided that custody will go to monkey's dad

thank you to @lvnleah and @alotofpockets for the help with this one

our girl: growing up masterlist

The moment the social worker told Leah that you would be moving in with your dad, it felt like the ground had been ripped out from under her feet. She’d been sitting in her mum’s kitchen, hands gripping the table's edge as though that might stop her world from tilting.

“But her grandma wanted her to be with me,” Leah said, her voice tight, almost breaking, “She told me before she passed. She wanted me to be the one to take care of her.”

The social worker gave Leah a measured look, “Leah, you’re 18. Legally, you’re an adult, but you’re still also very young. Social services believe that her father can provide a more stable environment. He has a steady job, a home, and–”

“He’s been absent for most of his life. Jean told me he was dangerous! How can you let her go back to a man like that?” Leah snapped, her frustration boiling over. 

Amanda placed a calming hand on Leah’s arm, “Bubba, you need to calm down…”

“No, mum. They don’t get it,” Leah shook Amanda’s hand off, “You can’t just drop her off with someone like that, you don’t understand what he’s like. He’s got you completely fooled. How is it possible to allow that? I’ve been there for her every day since her grandma got ill. I’m the one who knows her routine, her favourite bedtime stories, and how she likes the crusts cut off her sandwiches otherwise she won’t eat them. He doesn’t even know her favourite colour!”

“Leah,” Amanda said softly, but Leah still wouldn’t hear it.

“No, this isn’t fair! None of this is fair! They’re not listening. You’re not listening!” Leah’s frustration was directed at the social worker, “I’ll fight for her. I’ll go to court. I’ll… I’ll do whatever it takes for her to be mine!”

The social worker sighed a hint of pity in her eyes, “I understand that this is hard, Leah, but I’m sorry, the decision has been made,” She paused, “Her father has been assessed, and we believe it’s in her best interest to live with him. He’s her biological parent.”

“Her best interest? You don’t know what that even means,” Leah’s fists clenched on the table, “What about what that little girl wants? She’s only nine, but she still deserves to have a voice. She doesn’t want to go with him. She… She doesn’t even know him! Doesn’t that count for something?”

“At her age, her wishes are considered but not decisive,” The social worker explained to Leah, “I’m sorry, Leah. It’s out of your hands. You have until the end of the month, and then she will be moving to her father’s house.”

“Le!” You sprinted across the playground, your plaits swinging behind you, and you threw yourself into her arms.

“Oo, there’s my little Monkey!” Leah’s face lit up as she wrapped you in a warm embrace, lifting your backpack off your shoulders, “Did you have a good day at school today?” She asked, her voice full of affection.

Leah never missed a chance to pick you up from school. It had become one of her favourite parts of the day, a small ritual that always made her smile.

You nodded enthusiastically, your plaits bouncing with movement, “Uh-huh! So fun! And I made a new friend. She likes football too!” You couldn’t contain your excitement, the words tumbling out faster than you could keep up.

“Wow, really?” Leah feigned shock, her eyes sparkling, “That’s great!”

Grinning from ear to ear, you kept walking beside her, your hand firmly clutching hers as you headed toward the car, “I told her I play for the academy and that I know players from the Arsenal team!” You gushed, “She definitely wanted to be my friend after that!”

“Oh, I bet she did,” Leah chuckled, unlocking the car door with a click.

You slid into the car, fastening your seatbelt with a tug, “When you have your game this weekend, can she come watch too? I already told her she could!” You asked eagerly.

Leah’s smile wavered for a moment as her mind drifted to a darker place, but she quickly masked it, her voice soft as she hummed in agreement, “Maybe, we’ll have to see…”

The drive home was filled with your chatter as you excitedly told Leah more about your new friend, but Leah’s thoughts were far from the conversation. She smiled, nodded, and kept the atmosphere light, but inside, the weight of what was coming hung heavy on her heart.

The clock was ticking, and soon, you would be taken from her life.

Despite it all, Leah held onto the promise that she made to make every moment count.

“Is Jordy coming around today? I want to see her!” You asked, looking at Leah with hopeful eyes.

“Yeah, she’s coming round later,” Leah answered, her voice betraying just a hint of exhaustion.

“Do you think she’ll build Lego with me?” You asked, bouncing slightly in your seat, your excitement undiminished.

“You’ll have to ask her, but I have a sneaky feeling she’ll love that,” Leah replied, a soft chuckle escaping her lips.

Even as you spoke with innocent joy, Leah’s heart ached. It was becoming harder to pretend everything was okay, harder to act as though there wasn’t an enormous weight bearing down on her – Knowing that, in just a short time, you would be gone, pulled away from her home and into a life she couldn’t bear for you.

“Remember, shoes off before you go racing through the house…” Leah’s words were left ignored as she unlocked the front door, in favour of you darting straight past her and grabbing the next Lego set you were itching to dive into.

“Ah, ah, not a chance, Monkey,” Leah called after you, her tone playful but firm, “No Lego until you’ve done your homework. You know the rules.”

“But homework is so boring, Le,” You complained, holding the Lego box like it was the most exciting thing in the world.

“It might be boring but it still needs to be done,” Leah smiled, unbothered, “You know this…”

“Le…” You whined, dragging out the sound like it was the most difficult thing in the world.

“The sooner you get it done, the sooner you can build your Lego,” Leah said, her voice reassuring.

“But it’s so boring though,” You muttered.

Leah raised an eyebrow, trying to hide a smile, “Why don’t you grab it out of your bag and we can take a look at it together?”

“It’s Maths,” You sighed, already dreading it.

“Ah, well, that just happens to be my favourite subject,” Leah replied, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

“Really?” You scrunched your face up in disbelief, “You are weird, Le!”

“Excuse me, little miss, I’ll have you know that Maths can be fun sometimes,” Leah teased, ruffling your hair.

“Nuh-uh. Maths is sooo boring,” You countered, sticking out your tongue, “And you’re weird for liking it!”

Leah laughed, shaking her head in amusement, but underneath, a wave of sadness washed over her. These moments – simple, ordinary, and filled with love – were becoming increasingly rare. She needed to cherish them.

“Tell you what,” Leah said, her voice softening, “We’ll run through your homework together, and then… my parents are out tonight, so it’ll just be me, you, J and Jord when she comes round for dinner. What do you say to pizza?”

“Cheese pizza?” You asked eagerly, already imagining the cheesy delight.

“Of course, it wouldn’t be anything else. So, why don’t you go grab your bag, and we’ll smash through this homework? And then we’ll have more time to build Lego, right?” Leah suggested, her words full of the kind of energy she desperately wanted to feel.

Leah was determined to fight for you over the coming weeks. She rallied her family, pleaded with her mum and dad to back her, and even roped in Jordan to help. Every connection she had was used to its full potential.

But the system was relentless, and every effort she made was met with the same cold response.

“You’re only 18. You’re too young. You don’t have the resources or experience to take on a child full-time.”

Thankfully Jean had left behind a written statement, ensuring that you would stay with Leah and her family until a formal decision was made.

The moments you spent with Leah and her family were some of the hardest, yet most meaningful moments of her life. You had both suffered through so much loss, and Leah poured every ounce of her heart into giving you the safety, comfort, and love you deserved.

Amanda and David both adored having you around. Amanda had become a maternal figure in your life, cooking your favourite meals and helping with your schoolwork. You loved the jokes David would tell you which would make you giggle controllably. Jacob, just a few years older than you, would happily sit and build Lego with you for hours. Jordan often came over, spending time with you, Leah and Jordan taking to you to the park or kicking a football in the garden.

Leah made sure you knew you weren’t ever alone. Together, you watched movies, played games, and built Lego creations that took days to complete, filled with laughter every step of the way.

Leah and Jordan had even been planning a trip to the zoo for your tenth birthday. They had saved up for weeks, wanting to make it special.

But then everything changed. Despite Leah’s best efforts, the court ruled in her dad’s favour, and you were sent to live with him just days before your birthday. The zoo tickets sat untouched on Leah’s bedside table, a painful reminder of what could have been.

The week leading up to the day you were set to move in with your dad had been filled with chaos, confusion and raw, vulnerable emotions.

It was clear that you were struggling with the impending change, and Leah could see it in your behaviour. You were no longer the calm, sweet little girl she knew but the complete opposite, a whirlwind of tantrums, resistance and anger.

At nine years old, you knew that something was happening. Something big and frightening, and you couldn't express the fear you felt any other way than lashing out.

Leah had tried to talk to you, tried to comfort you, but nothing seemed to work. Each day, you grew more defiant, more unwilling to cooperate, and more upset.

Here you were, sitting at the breakfast table, refusing to eat it with your arms crossed and glaring at the plate of toast in front of you, “I don’t want it!”

“Come on, Monkey,” Leah coaxed gently, “It’s your favourite. I made sure to cut the crusts off, just how you like it. Please try a bite.”

“No!” You shouted, pushing the plate off the table. The crash of the plate hitting the floor echoed through the kitchen, and everyone froze.

Leah stared at the mess, her frustration bubbling to the surface, “Monkey,” She said, her tone sharp, “That was unnecessary.”

You had never acted like this, not even on your worst days.

You slid off the chair and crossed your arms, tears forming in your eyes, "I don't want it. I don't! I'm not eating it. I'm not!"

“Le,” Amanda stepped in, her voice calm and soothing, “She’s scared. This isn’t about the toast.”

Leah pinched the bridge of her nose, exhaling slowly, “Alright,” She said, crouching to clear up the mess, “No breakfast then. Let’s go upstairs and get ready for school.”

“I don’t want to go to school!” You yelled, stomping your foot.

“You have to go, Monkey. You can’t stay here alone,” Leah replied, her patience wearing thin.

You shook your head in defiance, “No! I’m not going!” You continued to shout in protest.

Leah’s jaw tightened, and she stood, towering over you, “Enough. Upstairs. Now.”

The tantrum that followed was one of the worst Leah had ever faced. You kicked and screamed all the way upstairs, making Leah's job of getting you ready nearly impossible. By the time she was dressed and out of the door, you were ten minutes late to school, leaving Leah drained and dreading the rest of the day.

When you got home from school, your mood hadn’t improved at all.

“Monkey?” Amanda called gently, her tone light and inviting, “Do you want to help me set the table for dinner? I could do with my little helper.”

Normally, you’d love to help with this and be super helpful, but this time round, you completely ignored her in favour of focusing on your Lego.

“Monkey?” Amanda tried again, this time adding a playful note, hoping to coax you.

“WHAT?!” You snapped, your voice sharp and defensive.

Amanda blinked, taken aback by your tone, “Oh… I didn’t mean to upset you, sweetheart.”

Leah, who was busy with her own coursework, immediately looked up from her laptop, her brow furrowing, “Hey, excuse me, little madam. That’s not how we talk to people. I’d like you to apologise, please.”

You crossed your arms tightly, refusing to meet Leah’s eyes, “No, I don’t want to apologise to ‘Manda,” You muttered.

“Monkey, I understand you’re upset, but being upset doesn’t give you a free pass to be rude. Apologise now. Please,” Leah stood, her voice calm but firmer now.

“I don’t want to apologise, and I don’t want to set the stupid table!” You shouted, your frustration bubbling over as you slammed a Lego piece onto the table.

Leah crouched down beside you,  meeting your eyes with a steady gaze, “I know things feel really hard right now. And I know you have some big feelings inside, but throwing them at people like this isn’t fair. We’ve talked about finding ways to tell us what’s wrong, haven’t we?”

“I DON’T CARE!” You yelled, your hands gripping a Lego block tightly before you hurled it in Leah’s direction.

The block hit Leah’s arm with a soft thud. Her eyes widened in surprise, and for a moment, the room fell silent.

“Monkey,” Leah said after a deep breath, standing up slowly. Her voice had turned firmer now, though it remained steady, “We don’t throw things. That’s not okay,” She told you, “If you're not going to be nice then no more Lego tonight." She bent down to pick up the scattered blocks and placed them back in the box out of your reach.

"HEY. NO. GIVE IT BACK!" You screamed, launching yourself onto the floor, kicking your legs as tears streamed down your face.

Jordan walked into the room as your wail reached its loudest pitch, “Hey– Whoa. What’s going on in here?” She asked, her eyes flicking from you to Leah.

“Jordy! Le’s being mean!” You sobbed, pointing an accusing finger at Leah, “She took my Lego! Tell her to give it back– NOW!”

Jordan crouched down beside you, keeping her expression calm but concerned, “Hey, little one. That’s not how we ask for things, is it?” She said gently, brushing a hand over your hair, “If Le took the Lego away, I’m sure she had a reason. Do you want to tell me what happened?”

“No! She’s just super mean!” You wailed, your voice cracking as you buried your face in your hands.

“She threw a Lego brick at Leah,” Jacob piped up from the other side of the room, his tone matter-of-fact.

“Oh,” Jordan said, her brows lifting as she glanced at Leah, who gave a tired nod, “Well, you know that throwing things isn’t very nice, is it? I’m sure you wouldn’t like it if someone threw something at you, would you?”

“She deserved it!” You blurted, your voice muffled by your hands, “She’s being mean!”

“Hmm,” Jordan said thoughtfully, crouching lower to meet your tearful gaze, “It sounds like you’re feeling really upset right now, but throwing things or shouting doesn’t help anyone understand what’s wrong. Do you want to take some deep breaths and try telling us what’s going on?”

You shook your head stubbornly, curling up tighter on the floor.

Jordan sighed softly and looked up at Leah, who gave her a weary but understanding look, “Alright, little one,” She said, “When you’re ready to talk, we’re here. But for now, let’s take a break, okay?”

Your tantrum, however, carried well into bedtime where your defiance reached new heights.

“Alright, Monkey,” Leah said firmly as she stood by the sofa where you were curled up against Jordan, “It’s time for bed.”

“No! I’m not tired!” You argued, though your drooping eyes betrayed you, “I’m not going to bed! I’m staying up!”

“I don’t think so. It’s getting late, and that means it’s bedtime,” Leah replied, keeping her tone steady but firm.

“I don’t want to!” You yelled, your arms crossing tightly over your chest, “No!”

"Yes," Leah insisted.

You continued to stubbornly glare at Leah, "No!"

Leah took a deep breath, crouching to your level, "I'm not arguing with you about this, Monkey. Let's go –Upstairs to bed, please."

You kicked your legs out defiantly, "No!"

Jordan rubbed your back, trying a different approach, "Hey, come on. How about you go get changed into your pyjamas, and I can read you a bedtime story? We can pick your favourite one.”

"Nooo!” You wailed, “I don't want to go to bed!"

Leah pinched the bridge of her nose, exhaling slowly, "This is not up for decision, Monkey. It's bedtime, and that's final."

But instead of complying, you leaned forward, and in a burst of frustration, bit Leah’s arm.

“Ow, Monkey!” Leah gasped, pulling her arm back in shock, “No, we do not bite. That was very naughty. Why would you do that?”

Jordan winced as she watched you instantly cower in fear at Leah’s words. That is something that you have never done before, “Le, easy. I think she’s just scared with everything going on.”

“That still doesn’t make it acceptable for her to bite, Jord,” Leah retorted, “Monkey, I know you’re upset but we don’t bite. That is not okay to do.”

You froze, realising what you’d done, but the defiance in your eyes didn’t waver, “You’re being mean!” You shouted, even though guilt was beginning to creep in.

“Little one, biting hurts people,” Jordan reminded you, her expression softened but her voice remained calm, “That’s not how we show our feelings, even when we’re upset, it is?”

You shook your head stubbornly, tears welling in her eyes.

“I know things feel hard right now, Monkey,” Leah knelt beside you, her tone softer but still firm, “And I know you’re upset. But hurting people is never okay, no matter how big your feelings are. Do you want to try again and use your words instead?”

Tears began to spill down your cheeks as the weight of your emotions overwhelm you, “I… I don’t want to go, Le,” You finally admitted, your voice cracking as you buried your face in your hands, “I want to stay here with you, and Jordy, and… and ‘Manda, and J, and David.”

“Oh, Monkey,” Leah’s expression softened instantly, scooping you up into her arms and holding you close, “I know you want that, and I would love nothing more than for it to be possible, my girl, but it's… it’s complicated.”

“Then why can’t I?” You cried, your voice trembling with desperation, “Why does it have to be complicated? Why can’t I just stay here, Le?”

Leah sighed, her heart breaking at the rawness of your plea, “Well… Some people decided that it would be best for you to go and live with your biological dad, remember?”

“But I don’t want that!” You sobbed, clutching her tightly, “I want to stay here. I want to stay with you!”

“I know, my girl,” Leah whispered, pressing a kiss to the top of your head, “I know you don’t. And if it were my choice, I wouldn’t let you go. Not for a second.”

“I don’t like it,” You murmured, your voice barely audible as you hid your head in Leah’s chest.

Leah rocked you gently, letting you cry into her jumper while her own eyes glistened with unshed tears, “Sometimes… Sometimes grown-ups make decisions that seem really unfair, don’t they?” She continued softly, “And I wish I could change this for you. I really do. But unfortunately, it’s just… it’s just not possible this time round.”

The morning of the move, the weight of the day pressed down on both of you. You clung to Leah as though she were the only thing anchoring you in the world that suddenly felt too big, too scary.

“Don’t make me go, Le,” You sobbed, your small hands gripping at her hoodie like it was the only thing keeping you from floating away.

Leah’s heart cracked in two. She could feel your pain, your fear, and the helplessness that filled every inch of her. She wanted to shield you, protect you from the uncertainty that lay ahead, but she knew it wasn’t that simple.

Your social worker that had been assigned to you was here to pick you up. She was a stern woman with a clipboard tucked under her arm, standing there impatiently by the door, glancing at her watch every few seconds, “We need to get going, Leah. She’s not going to do well if we keep dragging this out.”

But none of that mattered to you. You were determined you weren’t going anywhere, clinging tighter to Leah, “Nooo! Don’t make me go!”

Leah felt her patience fraying, “I know exactly how my girl is feeling, okay?” She snapped, her voice sharp and raw, “You don’t need to tell me how to handle this.”

The social worker blinked, taken aback by Leah’s tone but unfazed, “It’s just… Well, this is difficult enough without making it worse.”

“I’m aware,” Leah growled, her grip tightening on your shoulder as she tried to stay calm, “But she’s my priority right now.”

You buried your face into Leah’s chest, your sobs shaking her to the core, “I don’t want to go, Le. Please, I don’t want to go!”

“I know, I’m sorry, Monkey,” Leah whispered, her voice cracking with the weight of her own emotions, “I’m so sorry. It’s just… It’s not up to me anymore. It’s… It’s out of my hands, my girl.”

You shook your head, tears soaking up her hoodie, “But I… I don’t want to go. Please don’t make me go.”

Leah tilted her head back, trying to blink away the tears burning her eyes, but they wouldn’t stop. She had to be strong for you, even if she didn’t feel strong at all, “I know, Monkey. I know,” She said softly, brushing your hair out of your face, “Remember how we talked about doing things we don’t want to do?”

“Uh uh,” You sniffed, nodding hesitantly, “Like grandma’s funeral? When I was scared?”

“Yeah, just like that,” Leah replied, her voice gentle but firm. She ran a hand through your hair, her fingers catching on the tangled strands - a reminder of how you’d refused to let her brush it this morning, “Well… This is one of those times, too. It’s hard, and it’s scary, but… it’s something we have to do.”

The social worker cleared her throat, stepping closer, trying to force the moment along, “Leah, we really can’t delay this any longer. It’s time.”

Leah spun around, her face contorting with frustration, tears still hanging heavy in her eyes, “Do you think I don’t know that?!” Her voice cracked under the weight of everything, the words coming out sharper than intended, “I don’t need you rushing me. This is my kid. My kid, okay? Flesh and blood don’t mean anything. And if you think you’re going to make this easier by standing there like you’re some clock-watcher, then you’ve got another thing coming.”

The social worker held up her hands in a gesture of surrender, “I’m just trying to help you both.”

“By hurrying me up?” Leah’s jaw tightened, “By forcing us into this goodbye before we’re ready? That’s not helping. So no, I’m not ‘just’ going to let you make this harder. You’re going to have to wait.”

You looked up at Leah, eyes red and tear-streaked, “I want to stay with you, Le. Please… Please don’t make me go!”

Leah knelt down, bringing your face to hers. She wiped away your tears with the pads of her thumbs, “I know, Monkey. I know… But we talked about this, remember? You have to be brave.”

“I… I don’t want to be brave,” You continued to sob, shaking your head as tears continued to spill down your cheeks, “I don’t want to, I want to stay here. I want to… I want to stay with you. Don’t make me go, Le!”

“Shh, I know, my girl, I know,” Leah cupped your face and pulled you closer to her, “You’re going to be okay, Monkey. You are… It’s going to be fine. You are going to be fine.”

The social worker shifted uneasily, glancing at the door, “Leah, I really think we need to–”

“No. Not yet,” Leah snapped, her patience completely gone, turning back to you, her arms wrapping around you tighter as if to keep the world at bay for just a little while longer, “You’re gone to be fine, you’re going to be okay, my girl. I love you so much.”

You sniffled against her shoulder, still reluctant to let go. The social worker took a step back, choosing silence instead of pushing further.

“I know it all seems big and scary right now that things are changing, but I need you to be brave, yeah?” Leah squeezed you a bit tighter, savouring the moment before she looked up at the social worker from where she knelt beside you, “I know it’s time but do you think I could just have a minute alone? Please.”

The social worker hesitated but nodded, stepping back into the hallway, and leaving Leah and you alone.

“I’m never going to stop fighting for you, Monkey,” Leah leaned in close, her voice barely above a whisper, “I’m never going to stop, okay? I love you, my girl.”

“I love you too, Le,” You whispered back.

Leah pulled you into one last tight hug, wishing for time to stop, wishing she could keep you forever. But the reality was unavoidable. 

“Be brave my girl,” Leah murmured with a final, heart-wrenching kiss on your forehead, she stood up, wiping away the last of her tears.

“I… I should’ve fought harder,” Leah muttered, her voice barely above a whisper, the exhaustion in her words heavy with self-doubt.

Leah sat on her mum’s sofa, her phone lying untouched in her lap. Her fingers gripped the cushion, her eyes unfocused as she stared at the black screen. Her mind replayed the last few hours – the goodbye, the sobs, the quiet ache of watching you leave – and the words she’d been trying to ignore crept up again, gnawing at her insides.

“Le, you did everything that you could,” Jordan said softly, sitting beside her on the sofa. She’d come round that night, knowing how difficult this was for Leah. She placed a hand on Leah’s knee, her touch grounding, “You couldn’t have done more.”

“It doesn’t feel like it,” Leah whispered, shaking her head, “She begged me, Jord. She begged me to not let her go, and I… I couldn’t stop it,” Her voice cracked, and she swallowed hard, trying to keep the tears at bay, “What kind of a person am I if I can’t even protect her?”

Jordan wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close, “You’re the kind of person who loves her enough to keep fighting, even when it feels impossible. That’s who you are, Le.”

Leah leaned into Jordan’s embrace, her chest tightening with the effort of holding back her emotions.

Before she could respond, the sound of hurried footsteps on the stairs caught both of their attention. Moments later, Jacob appeared, clutching a small, worn brown and white monkey.

“Mum?” Jacob’s expression was hesitant and unsure, glancing towards Amanda, “I found this on the stairs…” He held it out, the monkey’s arms ragged from years of being chewed on. 

Leah stared at the stuffed monkey, her breath catching in her throat, “That’s… That’s Monkeys,” She whispered, her voice breaking, “If she doesn’t have that then…” Her hands trembled as she reached out and took the stuffed monkey, clutching it tightly to her chest.

“She’s not going to be able to sleep without it,” Jacob said quietly, his tone filled with the kind of innocent wisdom that only children possess.

Leah couldn’t hold back anymore. A sob escaped her lips as she buried her face in the monkey’s soft fur, the familiar scent hitting her like a wave. All the emotions she’d been holding in – the guilt, the heartbreak, the helplessness – poured out in heavy, gut-wrenching sobs.

Jordan tightened her hold around Leah, whispering soothing words into her ear as Amanda came over, sitting on Leah’s other side, “She’s going to be okay, Bubba,” She said firmly, though her own eyes were glassy, “You’ve done everything you can, and she knows you love her.”

Leah shook her head, tears streaming down her face, “It’s not enough,” She choked out, “She needs me. I… I should’ve fought harder.”

“You fought as hard as you could,” Jordan reassured her, “And you’re not done fighting, Le. You’re not giving up on her.”

Leah’s jaw clenched, tears brimming in her eyes, “I’ll never give up on our girl. Never.”

Amanda reached over and squeezed her hand, “And that’s why, in the end, you’re going to be the one she turns to.”

© scribblesofagoonerr

[bat-gwuck]

Okay so this is my entry for @drizzledrawings competition!! Get ready for a whole ass fucking wall of text…whoopsie!!

anyway drizzle i love u and ur cowbians they me goofy-grin-on-my-face-kicking-my-feet happy — u and ur art are such an inspiration mwah!!

—

I present to you my entry: Adelaide Forsythe – a travelling scholar and astronomer who’s shifter form is a magpie!

So, starting off with the animal choice. I chose a magpie for two reasons: one, I’m a bird nerd and two, I felt like the symbolism attached to magpies really fit her character??

As a member of the Corvidae family, Magpies are known for being quite intelligent, as well as having a love for shiny objects (get it, get it, she’s a scholar and she loves stars which are SHINY…I’m so smart guys)

BUT BUT BUT there’s a lot of folklore attached to them which I thought was also fitting – my Mum is like *really* superstitious and growing up she always had me salute magpies and you had to ask how its “wife” was doing if it was on its own bc (apparently) if you didn’t you’d be inviting bad luck – there’s a little song/poem that goes “one for sorrow, two for joy, three for a girl, four for a boy, five for silver, six for gold, seven for a secret never to be told” so the idea is that if you see a lone magpie its an ill omen so you salute it n stuff to ward all that away bc you don’t have to salute a pair of magpies

Or maybe its just smth my Mum does idk BUT ANYWAY

I thought I could play with this a little bc in some cultures magpies are acc seen as signs of good luck and fortune, which brings me to Adelaide: she is an academic in an untamed land, an outsider among both frontier folk and the scholars who dismissed her, she longs for scientific recognition, yet finds freedom outside of its rigid institutions, she is a woman in a world that has no clear place for her—too independent for England’s high society and yet too refined for the lawless frontier. Like the magpie, she adapts, moving in a space that both welcomes and rejects her.

THEN, you have the “seven for a secret never to be told” which I felt was fitting for a shifter who doesn’t want to be found out AND THEN the “three for a girl, four for a boy” fit a bit as well, as she often poses as a man to further her academic pursuits (bit a stretch, maybe?? but idc im rolling with it)

In addition, magpies were almost hunted to extinction because people were so afraid of them, which I felt also fit with her place as not just a woman, but a woman in academia AND a shifter who’s trying her best not to get found out and skinned or smth. They’re ALSO associated with witchcraft, which fits too!!

Anyway enough about magpies, onto the actual character lmao.

—

Adelaide’s defining trait is her insatiable curiosity. She is a woman who cannot look at the night sky without wondering what lies beyond it, who cannot hear a folk tale without questioning its origins, who cannot witness an injustice without demanding to know why the world is the way it is. She does not simply observe the world—she dissects it. Whether it’s the trajectory of a comet or the migration of birds, she sees patterns and logic in everything. Even when confronted with superstition, she doesn’t scoff outright—she analyzes, compares, and tries to understand why people believe what they do.

She does not downplay her knowledge for the comfort of others. When a man tries to explain something she already knows, she listens politely for about ten seconds before cutting him off with a far more detailed explanation. Her sharp tongue has made her enemies in both academic circles and the rugged frontier. She is rather exacting in her speech, rarely mincing her words. She dislikes vague statements, preferring specificity in all things. When others say "a bright star," she responds with, "Do you mean Sirius, Betelgeuse, or Vega?" This can make her seem arrogant, though in truth, she simply values accuracy. Besides, if anyone has earnt the right to be a bit arrogant, Adelaide would say it’s her.

Yet, for all her logic, there is an undercurrent of childlike wonder beneath her nose-stuck-in-a-book personality. The moment she gazes through her telescope, or rides the wind bathed in starlight, all pretense falls away, and she becomes a child staring at the heavens for the first time again.

Adelaide has always been an outsider, whether in Oxford’s elite intellectual circles or the rugged towns of the West. She does not belong to any one world, and she has long since given up trying to fit in. While she values solitude, there is a quiet ache of loneliness beneath her independence. She spends many nights staring at the sky, comforted by its constancy, yet knowing that the stars cannot speak back to her. In Oxford, she was too bold, too opinionated, too unwilling to be a wife first and a scholar second. In the West, she is too refined, too intellectual, too ignorant of the ways of outlaws and bounty hunters. She is always “too much” or “not enough” for the world around her.

Adelaide does not easily trust others, not just because of her “little secret”. She has met too many people who have either underestimated her or tried to use her intelligence for their own gain. When she does form connections, she values them deeply, though she often struggles to express this in words. Instead, she shows her care through small, practical gestures. Yet, despite her walls, there are moments—rare but profound—when someone earns her trust, and the walls crack just enough for light to slip through.

She keeps meticulous journals filled with astronomical calculations, weather patterns, and folk stories she gathers from the people she meets. Her saddlebags are filled with star charts, old books, and curious trinkets.

Once she sets her mind to something, she will not be dissuaded. If someone tells her a mountain is impossible to climb, she will reach the peak just to prove them wrong. It is both her greatest strength and her biggest flaw.

She has little patience for those who exploit others, whether it be a professor stealing credit for a woman’s discovery or a wealthy rancher cheating his workers. She does not take kindly to men who assume they can buy her loyalty or silence.

Though she claims she prefers to stay out of trouble, she has a habit of stepping in when someone is being mistreated. She does not pick fights often, but when she does, her words cut deeper than bullets. Adelaide does not resort to violence unless absolutely necessary, but she will ruin a man’s reputation, expose a fraud, or leave damning evidence where the right people can find it. She believes in the long game – vengeance is best served cold, calculated, and with irrefutable proof. She did learn some things from her upper class upbringing, after all.

Beneath her sharp intellect and hardened exterior, Adelaide has a deeply buried, fragile softness – one she rarely allows herself to indulge. She denies being sentimental, yet she cannot help but stop to admire a field of wildflowers or the way the Milky Way stretches across the sky. She has a poetic way of describing the cosmos, though she would never call herself a poet. Though she claims she does not care for fame, a small part of her fears that when she is gone, her work will be erased, her name lost. She has spent her life chasing knowledge, but in the quietest moments, she often wonders if anyone will remember her.

—

Born in 1871 in Oxford, England, Adelaide Forsythe was the only child of Dr. Reginald Forsythe, a respected academic who specialised in mathematics and astronomy, and Margaret Forsythe, a woman of high social standing whose primary concern was ensuring her daughter’s successful integration into elite society. While Margaret sought to mold Adelaide into a proper young lady—one who would marry well and host extravagant dinner parties—Reginald saw his daughter’s keen mind and indulged her curiosity, albeit discreetly.

The Forsythe line carried old magic, ancient and restless, passed down in blood and bone. It was not the magic of spells or incantations, but of transformation—of slipping between forms, of becoming something other, something free.

Adelaide had been standing on the balcony of their estate, staring up at the night sky, when a sudden pull overtook her. Her skin burned, her bones ached, and before she could cry out, the world tilted. The next thing she knew, she was plummeting through the air — not falling, but flying. Tiny wings beat frantically as instinct overrode panic, and she soared above the rooftops, free in a way she had never known before.

And then she crashed, hard, into a chimney stack and tumbled ungracefully to the ground.

Her mother found her shivering in the garden at dawn. There were no screams, no hysteria — only a cold stare, a tight grip on Adelaide’s wrist, and a warning whispered with more force than any slap:

"You will never do that again. Do you understand me?"

Frightened by her parent’s stories of torture, death and other such things, Adelaide was keen to agree with her mother.

But nature does not forget so easily.

—

As a young girl, Adelaide would sneak into her father’s study late at night, pouring over his scientific texts by candlelight. The first time she glimpsed Saturn’s rings through a telescope at the age of ten, she was transfixed. The chaos and expectations of human society seemed so small compared to the great, unending vastness that was the universe. She devoured every book she could find, often pestering her father’s academic colleagues with endless questions during social gatherings.

Her precocious nature made her an outlier among other girls her age. She had no interest in embroidery, courtship, or fashionable gossip. When she was fifteen, her mother caught her sneaking into her father’s lectures disguised in her brother’s old coat and hat. Furious and humiliated, Margaret demanded her father put an end to her academic pursuits, fearing that no reputable man would ever marry a woman who thought herself equal to scholars. But Reginald, torn between duty to his wife and pride in his daughter’s intellect, found a compromise — he arranged private lessons with an old friend, Professor William Crenshaw, one of the foremost astronomers of the era.

By the age of twenty, Adelaide was unofficially assisting at a local observatory, analyzing star catalogs, observing planetary movements, and even drafting papers under her brother’s name (Adam, who had wholeheartedly agreed to the plan) to bypass gender restrictions in scientific publishing. She developed a reputation for being fiercely intelligent but also unyielding, unwilling to temper her opinions for the comfort of her male peers.

Her greatest challenge, however, was not the task of unravelling the mysteries of the universe but the narrow minds of her peers. While some admired her brilliance, others saw her presence as a scandalous threat. When a comet she helped chart was credited to a male assistant instead of her, Adelaide protested openly. “If a woman’s eyes can see as far as a man’s, then her name should reach just as far,” she argued. Her defiance earned her both admiration and ire.

In 1891, her growing reputation secured her an invitation to travel westward to Lemoyne to observe a rare solar eclipse. This would be her first real taste of life beyond the confines of academia and upper class English society.

Lemoyne was unlike anything Adelaide had ever known—rugged, lawless, and ungoverned by the rigid structures she was so used to back home. The journey was treacherous; the expedition was plagued by broken equipment, aggressive wildlife, and even an attempted robbery by outlaws. Adelaide, having never fired a gun in her life, was nearly helpless, relying on the protection of local guides and her quick wit to survive.

Despite the hardships, she made her way to the observation site and witnessed the total eclipse—a perfect black void swallowing the sun, a fleeting moment of cosmic wonder. As she gazed at the event through her telescope, surrounded by untamed wilderness instead of university halls, something within her shifted. The American West was a world of mystery and discovery in its own right, she thought.

When she returned to England, she found herself restless. The constraints of her life now felt suffocating.

It was misfortune that eventually spurred her onwards. During a risky midnight flight, Adelaide had injured her wing, and as such, was stuck in her form for a while. A colleague of hers had found her near the University and had taken it upon himself to care for her — much to her horror, and her gratitude. Adelaide had hoped to escape before he found out but it was not to be. Upon finding not a freshly healed magpie, but a grown woman in his kitchen, the man understandably freaked out. He threatened to expose her secret — stating that she was to step down from her post if she wanted to (quite literally) save her skin.

Stuck between a rock and a hard place, Adelaide set out for the Americas once again — this time alone. With nothing but a collapsible brass telescope, a collection of notebooks, and a revolver she barely knew how to use, she sailed westward, determined to document the night sky from places few had ever studied before.

She traveled from town to town, funding her journey by selling star charts, lecturing at any schools that would take her (which were few and far between), as well as a sizeable fund from her father, who had helped her flee. She often sought out high ground, camping alone in the mountains or vast plains, sketching the heavens by firelight.

But the frontier was dangerous, and a woman traveling alone is easy prey, especially one of “her kind”. She learned to navigate both the celestial sphere and the lawless lands beneath it. She bribed hunters to look the other way, outwitted charlatans who sought to take advantage of her, and, after a close brush with a gang of highwaymen in New Austin, reluctantly learned how to use her revolver. Though not a natural fighter, she became adept at using her intellect to survive, talking her way out of most trouble before bullets were needed.

By 1899, the world was changing. The frontier was vanishing, swallowed by railroads and industry. Scientific institutions back east were growing in prestige, but still refused to fully recognize women.

Eleanor found herself caught between multiple worlds — too independent for the constraints of academia, too refined for the lawless plains of the West and too wild, too different for all of them.

She had spent years mapping the stars, but her greatest challenge remained: carving out a place where she, and her work, could live and be remembered.

She would never be a wife waiting at home, nor a delicate lady confined to parlors and polite conversation. Nor would she be held down and restrained because of the blood that ran through her veins.

She was a scholar, an explorer, a collector of knowledge and forgotten stories. A woman with a revolver in one hand and a telescope in the other, chasing the stars and riding the wind before the West faded into memory.

Because the world will change, the frontier will disappear, and one day, even the names of its greatest outlaws will be forgotten.

But the stars will remain. And so will she.

Either way, Adelaide would continue to look skyward, seeking answers in the infinite dark.

—

Okay so that’s the end (so far)!! Hope you enjoyed!! I might expand on her and give her some friends (maybe even a girlfriend…heh) later but idk??

P.S. Adelaide would def be besties with that palaeontologist you meet who gives you that dino bone quest

[emeritusemeritus]

Wanna Bewitch you in the moonlight. Pt. 1

[F.W X Reader X G.W ]

Part 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Title: Just wanna bewitch you in the moonlight.

Pairing: Fred Weasley x reader x George Weasley

Timeline: Predominately set between GOF and OOTP (some canon has been altered to fit the story)

Summary: Both twins like Gryffindor!reader. Reader likes both twins. How will she decide who to chose in the end? Amortentia might be able to help, or not.

Warnings: Smut, mentions of sex, established relationships, threesomes, friends to lovers, all the good stuff. NO Twincest. Mentions of illness, Brief mentions of vomiting.

Tags will be updated along the way.

Part 1

"Oh, y/n dear, how wonderful to have you with us!" Mrs Weasley said wiping her hands on her apron before she threw her arms around you, embracing you in a warm and maternal manner as you stepped inside the Burrow.

"Mrs Weasley, thank you so much for having me," you smiled, wrapping your arms around her, smiling at the comforting feel and smell that encapsulated the entire Burrow and each Weasley inside.

"Oh Mrs Weasley," she laughed pulling apart, "how many times do I have to say, call me Molly!"

"Maybe just once more," you joked, smiling wide as she huffed out a laugh, rubbing your shoulder.

"We're back too you know," Fred said from behind you, leaning on the doorframe with George fixed to his side. She hurried over smiling, pausing briefly to hit Fred's shoulder at his tone, before wrapping her arms around both the boys at the same time. It was a sight to behold, seeing little Molly Weasley trying to reach up to give her two 6ft 3 sons a hug but it was completely heartwarming, seeing their smiles.

"Oh how lovely to have my boys back," she smiles, standing beside them. The entire scene was entirely endearing, particularly the hint of a blush that spread almost in perfect sync upon the twins' cheeks.

"Is Ginny not with you?" She suddenly asks, realising that two of her expected children were not present.

"No they're stopping by Hermione's to get some things before they come home," George replies absently, wandering over to the counter where a fresh batch of scones caught his attention, sat cooling on a wire rack. He reached for one and was immediately intercepted by Molly, earning a swift slap to his hand in a silent warning.

"Right, y/n dear," she says, turning to you with a smile. "I wasn't sure what the sleeping arrangements would be for you all so you can either share Ginny's room with her and Hermione or," Molly began to say, trying to do the mental arithmetic of sleeping arrangements until she was interrupted by George.

"She can stay with us mum, we'll move our beds together and pop up the old cot from Charlie's room," he says, sounding like he had already planned it out in great detail.

"Oh, yes I suppose that would work," she says, completely unaware of the relationship blooming between the three of you. You knew she'd never agree to you sleeping with either of the twins alone, but having the other one in the room seemed to ease her mind that nothing untoward would happen.

"You aren't making her sleep in that old thing!" She suddenly says, horrified at the thought of her guest having to sleep on the death contraption that had been in their family for decades.

"No mum, she can have my bed, I'll sleep on it," Fred says, moving forward to place his hand on your shoulder, doing his best to act innocent, though you could see straight through it.

"Wonderful," Molly says, clapping her hands together as she moves away and busies herself in the kitchen again. She shouts to the boys to help you with your bags, to which they both reply in perfect synchronisation that they already were.

They usher you up the stairs, each twin carrying one of your bags as you make your way to their bedroom. It's exactly as you remember, except it looks like it's been cleaned recently, no doubt by Molly.

"You're not really sleeping on the cot are you?" You ask, turning to Fred. He gives you a look of bewilderment before snorting out a laugh, reaching out for your hand to pull you into his chest, his right arm securing you to his body as it wraps around your waist.

"Not for a single second," he smirks, reaching up to play with a strand of hair that had fallen in front of your ear.

"But we are pushing the beds together," George says from behind you, moving closer to you both.

"And you are going to sleep right in the middle, between both of your handsome," Fred adds.

"Charming," George.

"Well endowed..."

"Boyfriends," they both say, sandwiching you between their bodies. You couldn't help but smile at their antics, realising that they had clearly had this planned for quite some time.

"So I get to sleep on the divide of the beds and fall between in the middle of the night? How romantic," you joked, reaching up to play with the collar of Fred's jacket.

"Ahh we've thought of that too," George says from behind you, reading down to place a kiss to the side of your neck.

Suddenly, both twins pull away and start organising the bedroom. Fred pulls away the small cabinet between the beds and places it next to you near the door, winking at you as he moves back to help George move the beds. They drag Fred's bed over from the right towards George's on the left and create one large bed in the middle of the room. George rushes off to get the cot from Charlie's room and unfolds it for decorative purposes in the space left behind where Fred's bed used to be.

Fred suddenly pulls back the sheets from both beds and then pulls out his wand and casts a charm you'd never heard of. The bed is immediately fixed together through magic, causing you to raise your eyebrows in amazement. He throws the covers haphazardly over the beds before doing the same to the sheets, making it one large duvet. He turns his head to you, seeing you look on in amazement and shoots a cocky smirk towards you.

"Your boyfriend's good right?" He smirks, causing you to roll your eyes slightly. George then moves the cabinet beside you towards the back of the room, sliding it under the space of the desk, kicking the little waste paper bin to the side.

"Fit for a Queen," George smiles, gesturing towards the large bed.

"Or for a fit Queen," Fred quips, gesturing towards you. "Crash test?"

You huff out a laugh at the terrible pun and move to throw yourself down onto the newly extended bed, instantly surprised by the lack of divide between the two and the fact that it was actually quite sturdy.

"You know we could test it out in different ways," George says smirking as he looks at you, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. You look up at him with a sultry look, liking the idea very much, before you turn to look at Fred with the same pointed look.

"Boys! Y/n! The others are here and lunch is ready!" Molly's voice radiates surprisingly well up the stairs of the burrow, effectively ending your next moves and the boys immediately huff and grunt in frustration. You offer them a sad smile before reaching your hand out to George for him to pull you up. He instantly reaches out for your hand in his large one and pulls you up towards him effortlessly.

"Later?" You ask with a small smile, reaching up and pouting so that he'd kiss you. His eyes light up just slightly as he silently nods enthusiastically before reaching down to give you a sweet kiss. You then turn to Fred who is not so patiently waiting his turn before he drags you out of his brothers arms and into his own. He also reaches down to give you a sweet kiss, though his is much more loaded than George's, his tongue licking along your bottom lip as he fights to deepen the kiss. You pull away with a chuckle, placing your hand on his chest. "Down boy," you joke and he grins down at you.

"Not me you need to be telling princess," he cheekily grins, wiggling his eyebrows and poignantly flicking his eyes down to his groin, which seems excited to say the least. You bite your lip and drag your hand down his chest towards his excited member, placing your hand gently over the bulge in his trousers. You flick your eyes up to his face as he stands with wide eyes and his lips parted in a little 'o' shape, following your movements very carefully.

"Down boy," you whisper, teasing as you suddenly pull your hands away and move to walk out of the bedroom door. You can hear George's laughter as you descend the stairs and then a little commotion and 'ow' from George, no doubt caused by Fred.

You greet Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny in the kitchen, followed by George only a minute later and then by Fred five minutes after that. You don't miss the little mock glare he shoots you as he takes a seat at the table, one twin either side of you. All you can do is give him a little innocent, doe-eyed smile before you focus your attention on the array of food that Molly had prepared.

"So, y/n, what are your plans whilst you're here?" Ginny asks you from across the table, pausing at the end to frown at Ron who had shovelled as much food as possible into his mouth and then asked, with a mouthful of food, for Harry to pass the bread rolls.

"I'm not really sure," you smiled with a little shrug, not really considering what was on the agenda.

"She's busy, whatever you've got planned," Fred says bluntly as he pokes at his food, already disliking the idea of you spending time with anyone else whilst you were away from school. You immediately elbow him roughly in the shoulder, earning a laugh from George who watches on silently.

"Never too busy for you Gin," you said, winking at her with a smile. She smiled back and began talking about you girls having a sleepover one night, which did sound fun. Fred muttered something under his breath but you gave him a swift kick to the shin under the table which George snickered at, keeping quiet himself as to not also feel your wrath.

As soon as Fred and George had finished eating they all but dragged you away from the table and up to their bedroom, pausing only briefly for you to shout out your thanks to Molly for a wonderful lunch.

As soon as you were back in their room, you threw yourself down onto the bed, rolling to lie on your stomach as you watched them pull out their trunk of tricks. You'd already agreed earlier on that morning on the train home that you would help them with their new idea for their business, some sort of new confectionary, no doubt with a sinister twist.

From your conversation and actions before lunch, you'd assumed the boys had dragged you upstairs for another reason entirely, but it seemed that their current developments had overshadowed their needs. You had to hold back a laugh at the pair, realising that they were the only two men you knew that would focus on their pranks over sex with their girlfriend.

They had assured you not long after that they had the afternoon and evening all planned out and they would only spend a little time doing this before you could do something more exciting, something you'd really enjoy.

"So they're like puking pastilles but not?" You asked from your position on the bed, bent legs swinging behind you as you watched them concentrate on their project. Fred simply nodded, eyes never once leaving the prototype, his tongue poking out the corner of his mouth as he tried to perfect the recipe.

"Kind of, angel," George explained, using his nickname for you, flicking his eyes up to yours as he spoke, "but they don't make the eater sick, just make them turn pale and sickly looking."

"Ahh make them turn into a Weasley then," you joked. George immediately threw a piece of whatever he had in his hand at you in retaliation and Fred simply snorted, still focusing on the task at hand.

It was the most you'd spoken since they began tinkering, their full attention and focus on their creation. It wasn't exactly the day you had in mind and you were quite frankly thoroughly bored, something you very rarely were in the presence of the Weasley twins. You couldn't blame them, they were in the development stage of their new product, which meant perfecting the recipe and then the antidote which took time and patience.

"Are you adding them to the skiving snack boxes?" You asked after a few more moments of silence, trying to occupy yourself as you sat bored in their room.

"No, they're more like an additional add on," George explained, reaching up to grab something beside you on the bed, briefly pausing to touch your leg as he leaned beside you.

"Ah a savvy business move," you replied cheekily.

When it fell silent again, you rolled over onto your back and stared up at the disjointed ceiling, watching how the wooden beams interlocked at awkward angles and looking at all the various memorabilia and stuff that littered the walls of their room. You briefly considered going to visit Ginny and the others before your eyes started to close on their own accord.

———————————

"Bugger bugger bugger!"

You frowned at the sudden burst of noise, your eyes struggling to open and then focus as you realised you'd fallen asleep on the bed. You sat up, squinting at the light from the windows around you and watched in confusion as George paced around the room in a tizzy.

"George?" You asked weakly, your voice not quite working yet. He turned around with such a speed it was almost alarming. His face looked panicked and nervous and you immediately sat further up in concern, your sleepy haze fading rapidly as worry took over you. "What's wrong? What happened?"

"Fred, I told him not to but you know what he's like when he gets something in his head and he wouldn't listen," George babbles, messing with his hair as he paces the room.

"Fred? What's wrong with Fred?" You asked, trying to figure out what George was saying.

"He ate the bloody thing!" He says, throwing himself down onto the rickety metal cot in the corner of the room. It suddenly all made sense to you and a lingering unease settled in your stomach as you thought about the dangers.

"Where is he?" You asked quickly, worried that he wasn't in the room.

"Toilet," George mumbles, running his hand through his hair again.

You immediately leapt off the bed and ran out into the corridor, trying to be quiet as to not alert anyone else as you quickly scaled the wooden staircase that lead up to the next level of the burrow where the toilet was.

You quietly knocked on the door, "Freddie?"

You heard a brief, slow shuffle on the other side of the door and the door creaked open to reveal Fred who looked bloody awful.

"Bloody hell," you said without thinking, looking upon the appearance of your boyfriend. He quickly pulled you into the bathroom and closed the door behind you both. You scrunched your nose at the vague smell of sick that hung in the air but you quickly got past it, moving to stand in front of Fred.

He looked ghostly pale and a little green in his undertone, sweat forming like droplets on his forehead where he had pushed back his hair. His eyes looked sunken and dull, no longer twinkling like usual and his under eyes were almost purple looking. You tried not to react, already feeling bad about your subconscious outburst at seeing him and tried to wipe away a few beads of sweat off his brow. To your surprise, they wouldn't actually wipe off and had become an effect of the sinister sweets they'd created. "How you feeling Freddie?" You asked, trying to keep your voice even.

"At least we know they work, a little too well," he says, deflecting the question. He suddenly lurches away from you and shuffles quickly to the toilet as he heaves whilst clutching his stomach, though nothing comes up. "Sorry," he cringes in embarrassment at you seeing that, "thought I'd got through the worst of that."

"How long does is take for the antidote to kick in?" You asked, concerned about the lasting effects, not knowing exactly how long ago he'd eaten it. He didn't verbally reply but instead gave you a little uncomfortable smile, telling you everything you needed to know.

"Fred Weasley!" You whisper yelled, striking him in the shoulder as you realised he hadn't created the antidote yet. "You frigging idiot!" You hit him again and he just stood there and took it, though he did seem to lose a little of his balance.

"It was more to test out the taste," he said quietly, as if it was an excuse for eating the contraption. "Which definitely still needs work by the way, bloody awful aftertaste, too much caramel." You shot him a look of utter bewilderment as he heaved again, frustration building in you as he didn't take it seriously at all, despite looking like a walking corpse and heaving all over the place.

"Come on, you need to lie down," you said, extending your hand to his to lead him back to his bedroom. You lead him down the stairs and into his and George's room, carefully avoiding anyone else in the house.

"Bloody hell," George said, looking up from his hands, not moving an inch since you'd left, as his brother entered the room, seeing him look absolutely awful.

"At least we know it works," Fred says with the hint of a smirk, though his eyes still looked sad and glimmer-less.

"Bed. Now." You ordered, annoyed at his joking especially at a time like this. Surprisingly, Fred complied without any qualms and threw himself down onto the bed, his eyes closing in relief as he lay there. You tipped out a few loose crumbled papers from the waste bin next to the desk and placed it beside the bed incase he needed it.

"George, can you get him some water please?" You asked, turning your attention back to the notes they'd made on the recipes, trying to figure out if any of the ingredients had a reverser you could use to cancel out the effects.

Fred heaved again and you tensed, turning to offer him some help, only to see him half flinging out of bed to lean over to the bin. You stood and reached out for the bin and placed it into his arms, where he kept it secured and never out of reach.

"What do you mean he's sick? Fred, er, George move out the way!" You heard Molly's voice getting louder and louder, matching the influx of panicked footsteps that seemed to be running up the stairs. She immediately burst through the room and made an ungodly sound as looked upon her son, seeing his frighteningly pale complexion and overall malaise as he clutched his bin, looking helpless.

"Oh my boy," she said, running over to him. She immediately put the back of her hand towards his head and frowned at feeling a lack of temperature.

"That's odd," she mutters. "Are you two okay?" She asks, turning to you and George who are standing off to the side, both a little scared of her reaction and Fred's symptoms.

"Yeah mum."

"Yes Molly," you both replied at the same time, trying to sound completely sincere.

"Did he eat anything on the train?" She asks, trying to smooth his hair down in the front to keep it away from his face. You could tell he tried his hardest to hold back the impending heave but he couldn't hold it any longer and dry heaved once again into the waiting bin.

"Cauldron cake," you said, thinking quickly, "he did eat a cauldron cake on the train, but we shared some fizzing whizbees, didn't we George?" You looked at George, imploring him with your eyes to go along with it.

"Yeah," George said suddenly nodding as he looked at you before turning to his mum, "maybe the cake was bad?"

Molly mumbled something in frustration as she looked at Fred before zooming out the door, muttering something about her apothecary kit which might be of use.

"Georgie," Fred says quietly as he tries to get his brother's attention. George moves closer to Fred and leans down so that Fred can whisper in his ear. You frown, watching them secretly converse, wondering what they are saying.

Molly returns not a moment later, armed with an array of various potions and elixirs which could hopefully cure Fred.

The truth was, the only thing that was able to cure their inventions quickly were the antidotes, otherwise the symptoms would stick around for roughly 24 hours at most, the effectiveness of the enchanted foods rapidly decreasing once the 12 hour mark passed with the entire malady vanishing after 24 hours. You and George both knew that Fred would be okay tomorrow but it wouldn't hurt for him to at least take some of the potions to ease his queasiness.

"Here eat this, slowly, that's right," Molly says, thrusting some form of wafer towards Fred. He pulled a disgusted face as he ate it but to his credit he did manage to consume it without gagging and keep it down. "Dehydrated ginger root, it should help with the nausea," she explained to no one in particular as she faffed about in the little case, searching for a specific bottle. She eventually gave up and pulled out her wand, mumbling accio to bring the thing she needed to the front.

"Here, drink this, it's dandelion root and burdock oil, it will help with your complexion and ease your tummy," she said to Fred, smoothing back his hair again as another wave of gagging ran through him.

He took slow sips of the potion and raised his eyebrows at the taste, clearly not expecting it to be so tasty.

"We have that at home," you said, not really sure of why you said it but it was funny to see the wizard if equivalent to a muggle drink.

"Really?" Molly asks, turning to you with a surprised look on her face.

"Yeah but it's just a fizzy drink, not really medicinal anymore," you explained with a laugh, feeling a little silly about your random tangent.

"We need to get some," Fred mumbled, drinking down the rest of the potion enthusiastically, causing Molly to loudly warn him to take it steady.

"We could nip into the village and get some for you?" You turn to George, asking him with your eyes if he'd join you, "I know where they sell it." George nodded with a little shrug. You then turned back to look at Fred and Molly who looked at you in surprise, "if it would make you feel better." Fred nodded enthusiastically with a little smile, already seeing a little more colour coming to his face.

"Oh, how lovely, what a lovely gesture," Molly said with a warm smile. "You can take your father's car, as long as you are safe," she said, fixing George with a look of warning.

"How little you think of me," George said sarcastically.

"Or how well she knows you," you snorted, reaching behind him to search for a sweater in your trunk.

"I'll go get the keys," Molly says, taking her apothecary case with her as she moves out of the room.

"Fuck," you mumbled, still searching for a sweater but not finding any.

"What's wrong?" George asks, moving to stand behind you.

"I can't find my sweater," you mumbled again, trying to dig through your belongings but coming up empty handed.

"We've got plenty, borrow one of ours," George says casually, walking straight over to the drawers on the left side of the room and pulling out a thick knitted cardigan that you'd remembered the both of them wearing to the quidditch World Cup. "This okay?" He asks, extending it towards you.

"It's perfect, thank you," you smile, reaching for it and slipping it around yourself, feeling the warmth and coziness of it already, the wonderfully comforting scent of the twins surrounding you. You couldn't help but raise the fabric of the sleeve up to your nose for a closer smell, your eyes closing as you smiled at the scent. You could tell this one was Fred's from the unmistakable but subtle marshmallow sweetness of his natural scent which George didn't have.

When you looked up, the boys were both watching you with smirks on their faces, clearly seeing everything you'd done. You blushed under their intense gazes and turned away, grabbing a few things you'd need and placing them into the little bag you'd brought, making sure you had your little coin purse of muggle money.

"You ready?" You asked George, who was stood next to Fred quietly talking. He turned and nodded, mumbling out 'nearly' and walked over to the little wardrobe hidden in a nook in the corner before pulling out a blue patterned shirt. He slipped off the polo shirt he'd been wearing and you couldn't help but watch as he stood shirtless, slipping into his blue shirt and slowly buttoning it up. You couldn't take your eyes away from him, admiring his naked torso and staring at the small patch of hair on his chest and the beautiful trail that started just below his naval and stretched downwards. He looked at you, amused with his eyebrow raised as he caught you looking and for the second time in minutes you couldn't help but blush. "Ready," he said with a firm nod, appearing by your side.

"Do you want anything else?" You asked, turning to Fred but found him sleeping, clearly exhausted by his sickness or one of Molly's potions had knocked him out cold. George reached for your waist and smiled as he guided you out the door, slowly closing the wooden door as to not wake his brother as you both went on your little adventure.

[forget-me-maybe]

Rolan HC

So, I was sick last week and thought about how Rolan would react on my Tav being sick.

I think he'd be very caring, as he always is, but he's also so unproportionally scared of getting sick he'd be acting somewhat irrationally. Anyways, here's a short SFW drabble:

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Throughout the history of Toril there’s one disease no cleric, druid or alchemist has been able to cure. 

The common cold. 

Faye had been snivelling all day, blaming it mostly on the cold weather the Gate experienced this winter. 

But then she sneezed. 

And she had never seen Rolan get out of the couch faster, stumbling and sweeping down a carafe from the table with his tail. 

“You’re sick” he said while he looked at her like she had just turned into a mindflayer. 

“I’m fine” Faye tried to reassure the wizard. “It’s probably just a cold” 

“Just a cold?” he snapped at her. “Just the most contagious disease known to this plane that bears no cure!” 

Faye was shocked and slightly amused by the exaggerated reaction. Rolan had never shown signs of being a germaphobe. He liked to keep things clean but never to an extreme extent. 

But this. This was new. 

Just as Faye was about to say something reassuring, the portal did the swooshy thing and Cal and Lia entered the tower. 

“I don’t feel well” Lia said, her voice hoarse and tired. 

“Me neither, I’ll see you tomorrow” Cal said in an equally tired voice. 

Rolan looked like he was about to combust. 

“I’m setting up quarantine” he said through gritted teeth. 

“You’re what?” Faye said, staring at him blankly. 

And that’s how she and the younger siblings ended up confined in their rooms. 

Rolan wasn’t an awful warden, in fact he would probably go down in history as one of the best. He made chicken soup that he teleported into the prisoners’ rooms, made sure they always had hot tea and made tonics for their sore throats. 

He wrote cute little notes that accompanied the daily rations. 

Eat. X 

Drink. X

Sleep. X 

Faye suspected Cal and Lia got similar notes except the Xs. 

But Faye was bored. Sure, she was unwell. Her body ached and her nose was clogged up but she’d much rather be getting at least something done than just laying in bed all day. 

She had been in solitary confinement for one and a half days when there was a knock on the door. Excited by the fact that anything at all happened she jumped from her spot in the bed to open. She opened the door just an inch to find Cal and Lia. 

“Quickly, let us in” Lia whispered and didn’t wait for an answer before she had pushed herself inside with Cal right behind. 

Faye carefully closed the door to not make a sound as it shut and gave the siblings a questioning look. 

“So, this is your first time getting a cold while living with Rolan” Lia said as she walked over to the bed. 

“Is he like this every time?” Faye asked. 

“More or less, he’s better now though” Cal said. “One time mum had to tell him off for trying to lock us up in the attic” 

“So, me and Cal always pretend it’s a fun sleepover situation instead” Lia chimes in. “If you’re up for it?” 

“Fuck yeah I am” Faye blurted out, unable to contain her excitement for just being able to talk to someone. 

So, the three pyjama-clad captives settled in bed, Lia in the middle and Cal and Faye on each side. 

They played cards, they chatted. Cal got a bit worse (men just can’t handle a simple cold) and fell asleep. Faye and Lia continued talking into the small hours of the night before they too were claimed by sleep. 

Faye woke up a bit worse for wear, but not as bad as the tall tiefling staring at the three of them from the door. She shot him a crooked and apologetic smile as she pondered on what new quarantine rules he’d set up now that they’ve been caught. 

But then Rolan snivelled. 

“I’ve succumbed to your illness” he muttered, approaching the bed with a face that can only be described as completely miserable. “Scoot” 

There was not much room to scoot, sure their bed was big, but not four-people-big. Lia got an accidental elbow to the ribs and Cal almost fell off the bed on the other side as Rolan squeezed himself into the small space that was available to him. 

The younger siblings quickly excused themselves and left the room, for all of their sakes. 

Faye wrapped her arms around Rolan, he was warmer than normally and still shivered. She wondered how long he waited until he admitted to himself that he too was unwell. 

“If I die –” 

“You’re not dying from a cold” Faye cut him off. 

“If I die, and since we’re not married yet, you have no claim to the tower” he said, ignoring her remark. 

“Not married yet?” 

“That’s not the point of what I’m trying to say” he dismissed her, completely ignoring the grin spread on her face. “Cal and Lia could in theory kick you out, don’t let them” 

“I really don’t think they would” she said firmly. Actually she was quite sure the only way she’d be kicked out of the tower was if she were to hurt Rolan and she’d most likely be taking a shortcut from the balcony if that were to happen. 

“I should put it down in writing” he blurted out, sitting up so quickly he almost fell out of the bed. “Get my business in order before…” 

“You’re not dying from a cold, you silly man!” 

She pulled him back into a lying position, smothering him with enough blankets to keep a bugbear down. She wiped some sweat beads from his forehead and the wizard’s face finally relaxed. Faye figured she could sleep a bit more now that she was next to him.

[p-artsypants]

The Pale Rider (2) Something of a Routine

The Isle of Berk is cursed. Like, extremely cursed. It has been for generations. The extent of the curse has been forgotten over time, but no descendants of the original village are able to leave the island, lest they suffer a gruesome fate.

Three years ago, the Blacksmith invited the Pale Rider to town. He’s a creature that’s haunted the forest and childhood campfire stories for centuries. Now, he arrives every day at noon. One day, Astrid Hofferson decides to be brave and talk to him. He’s actually really nice…for an eldritch abomination.

A Beauty and the Beast AU.

Ao3

It was a bold decision, in retrospect. 

Since the Rider had started coming to town, all merchant carts had moved a good distance away from Gobber’s shop, and closed right before noon, not opening back up until after he left.

This had included Astrid’s floral cart. 

But now, emboldened by her encounter with the Pale Rider, Astrid moved her cart closer to Gobber’s shop and waited. 

“An ill move, I’d wager,” a woman declared as she bought some herbs. “What are you thinking, lass?” 

“I’m curious,” she explained. “Gobber’s been safe this whole time. Why can’t I have a regular customer like that?” It was mostly a joke. 

The woman didn’t think it was funny and scoffed at her. “What does your mum think about all this? You’re killing the poor woman.” 

Astrid tightened her jaw. “This has no effect on my mother’s condition. Besides, I didn’t tell her.” 

“You should!” 

“What she doesn’t know won’t hurt her. You can tell her though. I won’t stop you.” 

The woman awkwardly looked away, feeling very small. 

“That’s what I thought. Enjoy the sage, Mrs. Ingunn.” She smiled that persistent customer service smile. 

Mrs. Ingunn just shook her head and walked away. 

“Astrid, Astrid, Astrid,” a smarmy voice spoke from behind. “Darling, when are you going to learn to control that anger of yours?” A hand rested on her shoulder. 

Astrid twisted away and glared at the interloper. “You know I don’t like it when you touch me.” 

Dagur smiled at her. “Oh but Sweetums, you’re so feisty when you play hard to get.” 

“I’m not your Sweetums.” 

“Oh, but you will be.” 

She scoffed. “Are you here to do business? Or just stand in my way and block paying customers?” 

“I’m here for business, of a sort.” He moved in front of the cart and rested his arm on the wooden surface. “I’m going to have to ask you to move your cart back over by the Baker’s.” 

“Why?” 

“Because Mrs. Ingunn was right. It’s too dangerous to be over here.” 

“That really isn’t a good excuse, Dagur. If it’s the Rider you’re worried about, I’m not in any danger.” 

“That’s the other thing,” he spat. “Rumor is that you spoke to him. You were in the forge when he arrived yesterday.” 

“So what if I was in the forge when he was? Who said I spoke to him?” 

“Well, it’s a given, isn’t it? I can’t get anything out of Gobber. That old goat is so strangely damn protective of the devil. But you’ll tell me, won’t you darling?” 

Astrid shrugged. “Nothing to tell. Now stop calling me your darling.” 

His face darkened as he shifted his jaw. “You know, I own this cart.” 

“Your father owns this cart.” 

“Same thing.” 

“It says in my contract of lease that I’m allowed to park it wherever merchant carts are allowed to park. Bring me a letter from your father that says otherwise if you want me to move.” 

Dagur grit his teeth in rage, then started laughing. “You’re so funny, My Sweet!” He pinched her cheek a little too hard. Then his face hardened again. “I’ll be back with that letter.” 

Astrid shivered. Dagur was unpredictable, and his emotions had him swinging from one extreme to the other, seemingly without reason. 

“Is this man bothering you?” Another man’s voice asked. This came from one of only a handful of guards. The obnoxious, but harmless Snotlout. 

Astrid scoffed. “Not you too…” 

“Move along, Snotman! Can’t you see I’m speaking with the lady?” 

Snotlout, despite being quite a bit shorter than Dagur, sized him up and puffed out his chest. “Looks to me like you’re loitering. I’d say move along, Mr. Berserker.” 

“Fine, I will. But not because you told me to, but because I was done talking and I have better things to do.” He stuck his tongue out at the guard and departed, stomping away in irritation. 

“Am I the best? Or am I the best?” Asked Snotlout, wiggling his eyebrows.  

Astrid rolled her eyes. “You’re certainly something.” 

He became serious. “No, but really, you okay? Dagur’s been awfully persistent with you for a while.” 

She sighed. “Yeah, he just…has an interest in me.”

“I mean, so does every man in town. Why is he special?” 

“He’s not. He thinks he has a chance because his father owns everything in town. So he’s being persistent.” 

“But really,” Snotlout rested his elbow on the cart. “He doesn’t have a chance because you’re hopelessly in love with me, right?” He made a kissy face at her. 

“Ew, Snotlout, don’t be such a creep.” 

He laughed. “Deny me all you want, you know you can’t resist the Snotmaster!” 

Astrid rolled her eyes, but couldn’t help but smile slightly. While Snotlout was annoying, his flirtations always came off more of a friendly banter, whereas Dagur’s felt like a threat. 

“Okay, Snotmaster. Are you going to buy anything? Or also just block traffic?” 

“I’m hurt, Astrid, that you think I have anything other than noble intentions for being here.” 

“And those would be…?”

“Scaring Dagur off…and trying to catch a glimpse of that lovely smile.” 

She smiled briefly, with her teeth, but it looked extremely fake. “There, happy?” 

Snotlout chuckled. “Yeah, I sure deserved that. Okay, I’ll get out of your hair. Oh, you up for coming to the Grand Hall tonight? The Twins and Fishface have been asking about you.” 

Astrid’s face fell. “I…it depends on how my mom feels. It gets worse at night—I should be at home with her.” 

He nodded in understanding. “I get it. We all do. Uh, we’ll save a seat for you anyway. Even if it’s for a little bit.” 

She smiled genuinely then. “Thanks Snot.” 

He gave her a friendly wave and went on his way. 

She had a few other customers that morning, mostly for herbs. A man bought a bouquet for his wife. A little girl bought a daisy. 

And then she heard the slamming of doors and windows shuttering. 

Noon.

The streets emptied quickly, but Astrid remained calm and stayed right where she was. She was preparing for this afterall. The whole goal of setting up here was to talk to him again. 

He crested the sloping road, lurching in that inhuman form. 

It was like her brain refused to remember what he looked like, because every time she saw him, she trembled in fear. He trotted down the cobblestone path, not in any rush, just making a beeline for Gobber’s. 

When he was close enough, she called out, “interest you in some flowers or herbs, Rider?” 

Perhaps she wasn’t as visible as she thought as Toothless became startled at her call. He reared up and let out this awful whinny, but it sounded more like a roar of a lion. 

The Rider quickly got him under control, and guided him over to her stall. 

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to scare him,” she rushed, coming out from behind the cart. 

The Rider dismounted, but held the leather reins in his hand as he approached. “Miss Hofferson…you sell flowers?” He asked. 

He seemed to not hold her scare against her and she retook her spot behind the cart. “That’s right! Flowers, herbs, and spices! Wildflowers picked from the island, and many more grown in my garden! Can I interest you in any?” 

Toothless seemed to take the choice away as he chomped down on a bouquet. 

“The Wolfsbane!” Astrid cried. 

The Rider, despite having his face completely hidden, sighed in exasperation. “We’ll take those, I suppose.” 

“You don’t understand! Wolfsbane is extremely toxic! You need to make him throw up!” 

He shook his head. “Doesn’t bother him. Rather, that’s likely why he ate them.” 

Astrid glanced at the horse, watching as it chewed the flowers slowly, and then swallowed them. 

“Miss Hofferson?” He asked again. 

“Astrid is fine,” she replied. “And that’ll be three copper pieces, please.” 

He set a silver piece down instead. “I have nothing smaller.” 

Astrid started a little at that. “Alright, well, for that price, you can also have these.” She handed him a small bouquet of foxgloves, daisies, and white honeysuckle. 

He took it in his large hands, staring at them for a while. 

Toothless swooped in and attempted to eat the flowers, but the Rider just shoved his face out of the way.

“I like them,” he finally confessed. “Smells nice.” 

“Oi!” Gobber yelled from his forge. “Hofferson! What do you think you’re doing? Poaching my best customer?”

“I’m not poaching anything! I don’t offer the same goods as you!” She laughed back. 

“Bah!” He waved her away and hobbled back inside. 

“I guess Gobber is waiting for you. Feel free to come back any time.” 

He still lingered, holding the flowers, before carefully putting them in his saddle bag. He was much more delicate with them than he had been with the chicken the day before. “Your dress,” he said. 

“Huh?” 

“Your dress. It’s blue. You wore a brown one yesterday.” 

“Oh, haha yep. I like this one the most. I like light blue alot.” 

“I like it too.” There was warmth in his voice that had suddenly appeared, which had been missing up until now. “It makes the starlight in your eyes shine.” 

Astrid felt her face flush bright red, as she stuttered out, “w-what? Really? Starlight?” 

He nodded, then started to head to Gobber’s shop. “See you again, Astrid.” He said, and then left. 

Astrid felt her heart doing somersaults in her chest. Fear, flattery, disgust, happiness? It was all in there, all a big stirring pot of emotion. Of all the flattery she received that day, his was the only that sounded genuine. 

Is that how much she despised these boys? That she’d prefer a compliment from the boogeyman?  

Nevertheless, she was more grateful for what he left behind. A silver piece may not be much to many, but it was just what she needed today. 

Knowing that the rest of the shops would be closed for another hour, Astrid made her way  up the hill, to the old medicine woman’s house. She never closed her doors. Rumor had it that the woman never felt fear. 

Astrid knocked at the open doorway, “hello? Gothi? It’s Astrid Hofferson.” 

A little old woman toddled out with help from a cane. She waved at Astrid and went behind her counter, retrieving her order. 

“She’s been coughing a lot,” Astrid began. “More than usual. Does she need to take more?” 

The old woman shook her head no. She set the paper bag on the counter, and then held out her hand. 

Astrid gave her all the money she had made this morning. “Thank you, Gothi. I hope this covers what I owe.” 

The woman looked at the coins and nodded in agreement. 

Feeling light as a feather, Astrid started skipping back home. As she passed the main road, she almost skipped right into the Rider, on his trip back to….wherever he came from. 

She came to a halt, smiling at him. “Hello again!”   

He glanced down at her, slowing Toothless down. “Hello Miss Hofferson. Did you need something?” 

“No no, just, on my way home. Thought it would be rude not to say hi.” 

He considered this a moment, then said, “would…you like a ride home?” 

“Oh!” She felt her face flush, but also a great sense of dread at the prospect of riding on that horse. “That’s a very kind offer, but I live right there.” She pointed at her house. 

She told the Pale Rider, the boogeyman, the hunter in the night, where she lived. Where she slept. Where her frail, sick mother laid. She suddenly felt very faint. 

“I see. Some other time then. Farewell.” And he trotted off, unbothered and unaware of what info he now had. 

Or maybe he knew.

Either way, Astrid hurried home. “Mother! I’m home! I fetched your medicine!” She took the package to the kitchen, and began to brew some tea. Her mother’s medicine was a powder to be mixed and drank, and Phlegma Hofferson preferred her blackberry tea. 

While waiting for the water to boil, she climbed the stairs to the loft. That’s where her mother lay, face ashen and blonde hair sprawled over the pillow. She turned her bloodshot eyes towards her daughter. 

“Hi my darling.” 

“Miss me?” 

“Everyday.” 

Astrid kissed her mother’s cheek. “Busy day today. I made some good profits.” 

“Any cute boys come by?” Her mother said with a smirk. 

Astrid sighed. “Yes mother. Dagur and Snotlout both came by. Didn’t buy anything…” 

“You sound so exasperated, my girl.” 

“I am. I hate Snotlout, and I loathe Dagur. The only other boys my age in town are Tuffnut, which ew, and Fishlegs, which ew, but not in an offensive way.” 

Phlegma laughed. “What do you mean ‘not in an offensive way’?” 

“I mean, I love Fishlegs. He’s a great friend and he’s wonderful to talk to, but he’s sooo not my type. He’s like…like a brother. Besides, I think he might like Ruffnut.” 

“I could see those two together,” her mother nodded sagely. “Who else did you see at the stand?” 

“Oh Mrs. Ingunn, Eivor…” She listed off her interactions, and then paused and added, “...and the Pale Rider.” 

Phlegma did not react the way Astrid thought she would. She merely raised an eyebrow. “And he bought something?” 

Astrid laughed. “Yep! His horse ate my wolfsbane, and all he had was a silverpiece to pay for it, so I gave him an extra bouquet.”

“Better hope his horse has an appetite every day he walks by.” Phlegma smiled. “Did you speak to him?”

“Yes…”

“What’s he like?” 

“First of all, up close, he’s ten times more terrifying. He’s very stilted in speech, like he hasn’t talked in a long time, which I guess could be true if he is three centuries old. But…he’s polite. He said his horse’s name is Toothless.” 

Phlegma chuckled. “Toothless? For that beast? Is it an ironic name?” 

“That’s what I said!” She laughed. “Anyways, I don’t want to talk about boys anymore. I know why you do, and I won’t stand for it.” 

“I know, I know. I just want to make sure—” 

“That I’m well cared for when the time comes, yes yes.” Astrid rolled her wrist. “But none of these boys will take care of me, mother. I’m better off on my own.” 

“Dagur is very wealthy, Astrid. And Snotlout’s family has wealth too.” 

“I’m not talking about wealth, I’m talking about me. None of those numbskulls know how to care about a woman’s heart.” 

“Maybe not now, but one day.” Phlegma then started coughing. 

“Let me go fix your tea,” Astrid declared, standing. 

Once the tea and a light lunch were prepared, Astrid ascended the stairs with a tray. “Here we are.” 

“Oh that smells wonderful, my darling.” 

Astrid smiled, setting the tray on her lap. “I’m glad. I’m not sure if I’m as good of a cook as you are, but I’ve been practicing. Heather gave me a few recipes.” 

“I’d eat anything you’d make for me.” 

“Because you don’t have a choice?” Astrid smirked. 

“Hey, you aren’t giving yourself enough credit! You’re doing very well.” 

“Thanks mama.” 

“Now, my girl, I have a favor to ask of you.” 

“Anything!” 

Phlegma smiled knowingly. “I want you to go to the Grand Hall and have a drink with your friends tonight.” 

Astrid could only gape and wonder how her mother knew about Snotlout’s invitation. “B-But–!” 

“But nothing! You’ve been sitting up here with me every night for a few months! You’ve neglected your own social well being, and as your mother, I won’t stand for it!” 

Astrid hung her head, knowing her mother was right, but still feeling rather sick about it. “But…I don’t feel right leaving you alone…” Especially since everyone else in the village, her mother’s old friends included, were too afraid to sit with Phlegma due to her mysterious illness. 

“Bah!” Phlegma waved her off. “I’m so close to finishing this book, I’d really like the evening to finish it.” She touched the book at her side. “Then tomorrow, you can fetch me a new one from Fishlegs.” 

Astrid nodded. “Okay, yes, I’ll go and I’ll pick his brain for recommendations!” 

Phlegma shook her head in fond exasperation. “Don’t think about me tonight. Just have fun! Maybe see if you can change the way you think about Snotlout!” 

“Again with the boys?!” Astrid groaned. “Fine, I’ll go and shirk my responsibilities. But I will come home first and make sure you’re well taken care of.” 

“You always have, my girl.” 

“Now…I’ve got to get back to my cart. I’ll see you later.” 

—

That evening, true to her promise, Astrid came home to care for her mother. Phlegma was not kidding about having Astrid leave, and straight up ignored her and pretended to read her book after she had finished her dinner. 

Astrid took the hint and left. 

She entered the Grand Hall, feeling a strange sense of longing from all the months she had been away. 

There wasn’t much to do on Berk after dark for fun. It was quite dangerous to be out, even in the village. But the Grand Hall was always a safe and warm place to go. While she and the others were under eighteen, there was a restriction on drinking from the tender. Ale and mead only, no hard liquor, and a three pint maximum. He said it encouraged good drinking habits while ‘putting the hair on the chest’. The teens were just excited to be able to actually drink something instead of sitting in the corner with tea or water. 

The Grand Hall was warm. The summer night outside was pleasant, but the soft light of the lanterns above gave the room a certain quality that invited conversation. 

“Astrid!” Ruffnut called from the back table, the usual spot. 

She waved and came over, greeted with wide smiles from her friends. Unfortunately, the chair that was saved for her was next to Snotlout. But she was also by Heather, and so she’d live. 

“It's good to see you here!” Heather chirped, giving her a brief hug. “Mom okay?” 

Astrid chuckled. “She kicked me out of the house! Something about neglecting my social health or something.” 

“Well, we’re not complaining,” Snotlout tugged on her arm and pulled her into her seat. “Can I please buy you a drink? No one deserves it more than you.” 

“Snotlout…” she chastised. 

“No no, this isn’t a flirting thing, this is a friendly drink. Now tell me what you want before I pick myself.” 

“Mead is fine.” 

Snotlout pumped his fist as he staggered over to the bar. 

Astrid watched him go, fondly. For all his faults, she knew he actually cared for her, and that’s why she tolerated him. 

“How’s the garden?” Asked Fishlegs, a tall, rotund boy who would probably rather be reading right now than out in the Grand Hall. 

“It’s good! Gobber saved some bones for me and ground them up into fertilizer. Usually the other farmers get those. It was a huge boon this spring.” 

“Ew, bones in the garden?” Sat Tuffnut, one of two twins that worked as the village tailors. 

“Sure! Bones, blood, it’s all great for the soil! Like when an animal dies in the forest, the plants get nutrients from it. The old circle of life.” 

“Guess I never thought about it before,” he blanched. “And I kind of never want to again.” 

Snotlout returned with a round for the table. “Here we go! One for you, you, you, you, you, and you.” 

The table shared their gratitude before lulling into silence. 

She could see it in their gazes. Suspicion, curiosity, fear, wonder. They all wanted to ask, but none were brave enough. 

“Alright, spit it out.” She demanded. 

“Snotlout told us he saw the Pale Rider come to your stall today,” said Heather. “Are you…okay?” 

Astrid barked a laugh. “Completely fine! He’s harmless!” 

She saw everyone exhale in relief. 

“His horse ate some wolfsbane, so he paid me for it. Overpaid, actually, so he got another bouquet to go.” She said nothing about the ‘starlight’ comment. 

“Isn’t wolfsbane super toxic?” Asked Fishlegs. “Is his horse…okay?” 

Astrid shrugged. “Rider said his horse likes poisonous plants. Not too surprising…” 

“Good!” Said Snotlout. “Cause if his horse died from eating your flowers, you’d totally be up a creek!” 

“Yeah, he’d rip you to shreds!” Said Ruffnut. 

“Or turn you into a frog!” Said Tuffnut. 

“Or maybe just curse you?” offered Fishlegs. 

“Wow, we really don’t know anything about this guy, do we?” Astrid chuckled. “For all you know, he could just be a normal guy cursed to look like that.” 

“Or,” Snotlout suggested, wiggling his fingers ominously. “He’s a master of dark magic and the reason why the curse exists on this island! We’re all his prisoners!” 

It was one of many variations on the story of the Pale Rider. Many believed he was a dark sorcerer that lived up in the castle ruins and did horrible deeds to those that crossed him. Astrid had believed it when she was a girl, but stopped thinking it was true when he started his daily trips to town. 

If he was regularly walking past people, why hadn’t he cursed anyone? She was certain plenty had given him looks of scorn. Wouldn’t that incite a lesser wizard? 

Astrid really didn’t want to think about how it was likely he was responsible for her father’s death, in one way or another. She’d rather prefer that he was a victim of the curse, same as the rest of them. 

But maybe that was only because he had been kind to her and she reciprocated.

Astrid shared a little more of her interaction with the group, telling them what he sounded like, how he didn’t carry copper pieces, and how he hadn’t let his horse eat the other bouquet he got. 

They held onto her words with rapt attention. Fascinated by how mundane the encounter had been. 

“Maybe he’ll come again tomorrow?” Fishlegs wondered. 

“I mean,” she began, “he comes every day. But Trader Johann will be here, so my cart will be closed.” 

“Ugh, you actually trade with Johann?” Asked Snotlout. “He just talks so much.” 

“That’s why I close my cart,” she said, shrewdly. “If you stay and listen to his stories, he’ll often cut you a really good deal. You basically pay with time.” 

“Oh, she shares her secrets!” Tuffnut wiggled his fingers. “Johann has really good, uh goods. But I don’t know if I have the patience for his stories.” 

“It’s taxing,” Astrid sighed. “But worth it for those spices!” 

They moved on, gossiping about all the other happenings in the small village. Meanwhile Astrid hadn’t noticed Dagur arrive and sit at the table directly behind her. He had listened to everything she said.

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for breaking up with my partners over such a small thing?

🩼🩼🩼 so I can spot this

I often break things off with my partners. They often don’t want to talk to me after, and I understand that, but I still want to be friends with them.

If they don’t want that, I understand that too. They want space - I give them space. I view it as we tried something and it didn’t work.

Would that make me an asshole still wanting to be friends? No idea.

Even so - there is more to why I break things off with my partners that I tend not to bring up at the final moment because I know it will upset them and perhaps ruin that friendship.

Some back story - I have a chronic illness which causes chronic pain. I can have seizures that can go on for 20 mins or longer, I periodically loose my ability to walk, and the big one is I can’t be touched without asking. (This includes my cane please never touch my cane without asking thank you)

Essentially- all of the nerves in my body are hypersensitive. Without going into too much detail, essentially my brain got stuck in fight or flight mode so the proverbial ‘alarm bells’ are ringing all the time, when in reality I’m safe and well. This means my body tries to defend me by ‘playing dead’ (seizures, fainting, drops) or thinks I’ve been badly injured (chronic pain).

When I first developed this illness, I could barely ware clothes, let alone be touched. I worked up to hugging my family again over a 2 year period with a lot of help from my mum - bless her heart. It was really hard for my family - but they worked through it with me. And what helped was they’re not physical people anyway. We don’t hug that much.

Now, I can be touched unless I am told before hand. Hooray! Surprise touch is agonising.

Though - both of the partners I’ve had in the past don’t seem to get this, and get upset when I ask them to ask before hand. They argue that I’m their partner and they can hug me when they want too, and want me to be more physical with them.

And yeah I suppose they can but at the same time surprise touch I can feel on my skin for hours at a time. It really hurts.

Also, if I have a seizure and ask for them to come find me or for comfort, they don’t know what to say, can’t come because they’re busy or don’t want to say the Same things over and over too me. When in reality, I’ve just had my brain fried and just need someone to tell me I’m safe because my brain is still convinced I’m in mortal danger.

I understand that being in a relationship with someone who has disabilities like mine can be hard. I often emphasise to them that my mental health is not their responsibility, and I have a counsellor that I regularly see to help me through the complexities of my illness and the toll it has on my mental health. I often encourage them if they’re really struggling with my illness to talk to helplines about and for my illness if I’m too sick to help them in that moment. They deserve support even if I’m not there or if it’s unrelated to my illnesses.

Quite often when I break things off - it’s because I can’t give them what they need because of my illness. If they like physical affection - which they often do - I can’t give it to them outside of the home or without asking before hand.

At the end of the day - I still want to be friends with them and I think they’re wonderful people. It’s just I can’t give them what they need, and they also can’t be there for me during my bad moments because the type of comfort I need is emotional, rather than physical.

At worse, touch me and I will scream it hurts that bad. People don’t seem to understand this.

Anyway. AITA? What can I do to communicate my needs better in the future? I view all my relationships as learning opportunities to be a better partner in future - and if you guys have any ideas on how to approach disabled / inter-abled relationships, I’d love to hear them.

All the best :)

[practicedvmm13fullofpotatoes]

Leftenmost Window bits that drive me to insanity

(LONG POST. AGAIN. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED)

Sam went into the story and thought "You know what? Female character time"

"Cry. Cry, cry, cry" AJ, I LOVE YOU BUT YOU SOUND SO SILLY I HATE IT /aff

AJ using myself twice in the same sentence bugs me for some reason help

"But my Egburt isn't a killer" and AJ immediately says a hypothetical that completely ignores what Sam said

"Would you rather be a gardener who has to go to war or a warrior who has to learn how to plant a garden?" SIR WHY ARE YOU ASKING YOUR DAUGHTER THAT? SHE AIN'T GOING TO WAR, SIR, DON'T WORRY

"I think the second one's probably safer 😃👍" YEAH, PROBABLY

"Are you saying that my Egburt is the gardener who's gone to war?" "No, no--" If I had a nickel for every time AJ completely ignores what Sam said just to say a sentence that makes no fucking sense, I'd have 2 nickels. Honestly, it's odd how I only remember it happening twice

"Don't be too hard on father! He gets his words mixed up" Luke came in to save AJ but then screwed him over again on accident with "after that injury in the Boer War in South Africa"

SALLY AND EGBURT'S WIFE JUST BARKING AT EACHOTHER AND THE "ORDERRRR" FROM THEIR FATHER

"Thank you, sister" GIVE HER A NAME GODDAMN IT PLEASE THEY NEVER GAVE HER A NAME I'M SOBBING SO SO HARD

"He promised me he would" MA'AM? MA'AM. THAT'S A BIT SUSPICIOUS, MADAM

"Yeees, it's the- that time" TRYING TO GET THESE TWO TO SEPERATE SO IT DOESN'T ESCALATE BACK INTO ANOTHER FIGHT

"Uhoaohh"

"There's only one trench you should be in" Sam. Please. No premarital sex. Wait until you two are married/wait until Egburt comes back alive

THE FIRST TIME WE HEAR EGBURT IT'S AJ TALKING??

Sam mentioning his mother and then her just appearing "Aah! Oh the migraines!"

AND THEN LUKE CHIMES IN AND CALLS AJ EGBURT?? HE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE EGBURT BUT NOOOO, WE NEED MORE SAM AND LUKE CHARACTERS WHO ARE CANONICALLY TOGETHER

"Thewomeninourfamilyhavealwayshadagift.." "O..kay?" SAM IS SO CONFUSED BY THIS SHE PROBABLY THINK HER MOTHER'S INSANE (SHE KIND OF IS THOUGH???)

TOM JUST GOING INTO THE AUDIENCE AND CROSSING THE SEA OF PEOPLE OR IN THE PLAY'S CONTEXT THEY'RE CROSSING A SEA OF SPIRITS THAT FIND THE MORTALS' SHENANIGANS TO BE HILARIOUS

"HEY, I'M NOT DONE! CAN'T YOU SEE I'M IN THE ASTRAL PLANE RIGHT NOW! D:<" IMPLIES THAT YOU CAN GET STUCK IF THE SPIRITS DON'T MOVE ASIDE??

"But- wait" SHE WANTS TO GO BACK?? THIS HAPPENS TWICE, BY THE WAY?? HONESTLY YEAH THIS IS PROBABLY WHY SHE'S ILL

EGBURT AND AJ'S CHARACTER LOOKING AT TOM'S CHARACTER AS IF HE DIDN'T GET SHOT IN THE THROAT PREVIOUSLY

"Neither did I" YEAH BECAUSE HE ISN'T A SCOT??

"What are you knitting over there?" "Scarf :)" "For you, Captain Egburt" SAM LEGIT JUST MADE LUKE EGBURT. HE WAS NOT EGBURT. HE WAS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE EGBURT

"Aye. That was me" NO BUT REALLY. YOU JUST SAVED A GUY WHO GOT SHOT IN THE THROAT AND SOMEHOW IMMEDIATELY FORGOT ABOUT IT?

Odd how Egburt didn't get shot when he stood up but Tom's character did. Same for AJ's character

DID SAM'S CHARACTER MOAN WHEN HE GOT HIT? I'M SOBBING SO HARD WHAT??

"How old are you?" HE'S YOUNG. THAT'S ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW 👍

"Medical Arena" WHY IS THEIR MEDICAL AREA AN ARENA? TO MAKE SURE THEIR PATIENTS END UP TRAINING SO THAT WHEN THEY RECOVER THEY'LL COME BACK BETTER THAN EVER? HUH???

Tom just going "😃!" when he and Sam said Egburt at the same time (Tom has the best expressions I swear) and then immEDIATELY TRYING AGAIN TO SEE IF THEY SAY IT IN SYNC

"It's me" "And her mother/And my mum" YOU MEAN BOTH OF THEM CAN JUST COMMUNICATE TO THE SAME PERSON? IS SHE GUIDING HER DAUGHTER?? PROBABLY, YEAH??

TOM NOT IMMEDIATELY CATCHING UP TO WHAT SAM WANTS TO SAY

"Lie down in the--" "NO, GET BACK" but aren't you two ALREADY in the astral plane? Is there an astral astral plane??

"The women in my family have the power to project their consciousnesses across space and time.. Well just space, I've not checked out time" Nah, sis, don't worry, your great great grandson has 👍

"I said I'll come back don't worry and then I kissed her on her forehead" LUKE WAS GOING FOR THE DIVORCE PLOT

"You're a gardener, not a warrior, a gardener!" Ah yes, referencing your father's nonsensical metaphor. At least she understood that part

"You took HER to OUR garden?" LUKE REALLY GOING FOR THE DIVORCE PLOT HERE PLEASE GUYS YOU AND YOUR FIANCÉ AREN'T MARRIED YET COME ON

Hans and Heimlich are such a duo I love them so much. "No no, I don't want to speak to you >:(" Why does it seem like there's more to this than just Hans not letting him drive. Why is there some romantic tension here and the other Hans is just the third wheel

"Just double-checking for the scene.." Hans and Hans' reactions are understandable. What scene are you talking about, Heimlich?

Tom's German soldier not knowing his team. Sir, you have trained with them. What do you mean you don't know that one of them listens to American music?

why did you call your father darling after he called you darling?

"She told you about that?" GIRL THAT'S HER HUSBAND, OF COURSE HE WOULD KNOW

SALLY BEING NERVOUS AND A BIT GUILTY. LUKE WAS REALLY GOING FOR THE DIVORCE PLOT UNTIL TOM CAME IN

"I have a closer relationship with father, he tells me more!" You mean your MOTHER? SHE'S the one who has the powers because the WOMEN of the family have the psychic powers.

Luke did a complete U-turn from the divorce plot. AJ then took the wheel and turned the car back to the divorce plot. Thank God we have Tom to save the plot from being darker than it already is

"The Xavier house" THEY'RE THE XAVIERS??? YEAH I WISH I HAD KNOWN/REMEMBERED WHEN I MADE THE NUTB HEADCANONS

"And now I return it to my mind because it's- it's good" MADAM? MADAM THAT'S A BIT 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓴𝔂, MADAM

TL;DR: Sally is the only Xavier to have a first name mentioned in the play & Mrs. Xavier is a 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓴

[torio12539]

Tears in my eyes, flowers in my lungs - chapter 3

Series summary: as a princess you've always accompanied your parents to their diplomatic trips, most of them were to their closest allies, queen Sorsha and her family, trying to get you acquainted with their children so that when you grow up the bonds will stay strong. It all crashes down on you when you catch a rare disease caused by one sided love.

A/n: the main trope this fic will follow is known as 'hanahaki disease' although I'm sure a lot of people in the fanfiction community have at least heard of this trope it is more common in anime communities so I'll still explain it for those who don't. Hanahaki disease is a fictional disease caused by one sided love, it's main symptom is coughing out flowers, the only way for the disease to cure is if the other person returns the love to the person afflicted with the disease, get it? got it? good.

Warnings: coughing, illness, bodily fluids (blood, saliva, and mucus), reader coughs flowers, these are in no particular order and some warnings might be added as the series progresses.

Chapter summary: unfortunately you cannot keep your condition a secret anymore, for once in your life you're not expected to keep up with all the princess duties and etiquette, shame it's come at the price of your own condition.

[part 1] [part 2]

Expelling the petals from your lungs has somewhat relieved the itchy painful feeling in your throat, however it still lingered. You go back to the large dining hall and get back to your sit, thankfully you managed to keep the new ecosystem that started growing in your lungs down only clearing your throat quietly for the rest of the feast however your end was nearing as such behaviour during a formal dinner like this will be sure to get your mom angry or at the very least dissatisfied enough to scold you, and scold you she did.

Right after it ended your mom pulled you aside "Care to tell me what was that all about!?" "What do you mean mother?" you tried to play it forgetful, hoping it will get her off your back "getting up suddenly and excusing yourself without so much as specifying where you're going, I thought I taught you better than this!" "I'm sorry it was very urgent, I was feeling really badly I just had to go to the bathro-" before you could finish the sentence you felt the cough you've been suppressing making it's way out and with it a red rose making it's way out too, though now you couldn't hide it in time "I- wha- is that why you had to go to the bathroom?" your mum uttered in complete shock, it's clear she's never seen something like this before, worried she reached her hand to touch your forehead "god, you're burning!" "I know, I've been feeling quite under the weather since we got here, I don't know why" your mom let out a sigh and said "go to your chambers, I'll try to get a doctor as soon as possible, until then I guess it's best you stay there to reserve your energy"

The next day instead of going to the dining hall for breakfast the maids brought you breakfast to your room, Kit not seeing you there was worried for your condition and came to visit you.

You hear knocks on your door and try your best to ask with a sore throat and scratchy voice "Who is it?" from the other side of the door you manage to hear a muffled "It's Kit, I came to visit you, your mom said you're feeling under the weather!" at one hand you were glad she came to visit, but on the other it was apparent that you looked far from your best, in fact it'd be easy to say you looked like crap, your face was red from the fever and dark circles could be seen under your eyes as the coughing would wake you up every couple of hours so you couldn't get any actual sleep, and your lips were dry and chapped. You contemplated if it's worth it letting her see you in that condition, but soon enough you heard "So can I come in!?" and decided you still wanted to see her, so you yell a scratchy "Yes!" and she opens the door "Oh, she wasn't exaggerating, what's going on?" she asked "I don't know I started having a sore throat and then-" a coughing fit interrupts you, and more rose petals and two roses come up "-I'm coughing flowers all over the place" you start crying "Look, I know this is tough, just hope you know that I care about you okay?" "I know, I know, I just didn't wanna make a big deal" and for a moment the pain in your throat was getting a bit better "you're not making it a big deal, you're my friend of course I care" and then you feel it return, maybe a bit more painful this time. "I know"

A/n: to everyone keeping up with this series I'm sorry for the long wait, I know I said late March and it's already May, I was really busy and I thought I'd have time and energy to get to it, but I had a shit ton of exams I forgot about instead, I think I had like 5 different exams in April, so I was very preoccupied with that, which is why I've also been generally posting less, and also most of my posts being reblogs. Anyways, I don't think I'll get back to regularly posting chapters until July as I'm gonna have a lot of important exams in the next 2 months, hope you understand.

Final's month or my final month? Stay tuned!

Taglist: @sevslover

[prettyboypistol]

how much the mercs would want to hide you dating from the others and how they would act if the other mercs found out/teased them? or how would the others find out? (this is also my first time doing any kind of request sorry if it makes no sense, love your writing!!)

TF2 Mercs x M!Reader|| Keeping "Us" a Secret! +18

As per usual, i'm writing in time-canon

Scout

Absolutely tried his best to keep it a secret and will try his damn hardest to make sure nothing happens to either of y'all if you guys are found out to be a little more than homies.

Everyone's probably figured it out, y'all are shit at subtle flirting.

Vicerally rejects any PDA or affection and gets mad when you try to initiate it where any of the merc will potentially see and will respond with something like "fuck outta here with that!"

Overall he's super paranoid about people finding out he also likes guys and specifically his "best friend". If the team sit him down and are like "son, we are actual war criminals. being gay is NOT the biggest issue here." then he gets a little more lax about PDA, but not by much. It still makes him uncomfortable.

Soldier

He's a bit too dense to keep a secret for too long, probably forgetting that he was the one that wanted to keep yours and his relationship on the down low.

Is one of those confrontationsl types and wouldn't hesitate to beat someone up over teasing him or harassing both of you. Not that the team would go past playful ribbing, but any attack, no matter how small, is treated like a nuclear bomb threat.

Not too bothered or too enthusiastic about PDA, doesn't like overly cutesy acts of romance when people are looking but you two have absolutely been caught fooling around in secluded places around the base. The one who found you told everyone and you never heard the end of it.

You mostly are the one who get the teasings, such as "So, you really do like brains over brawn." or "the sex must be great if you put up with that idiot."

Pyro

Noody really could tell that you two were dating, let alone interested in each other. With how eccentric both you and Pyro were, everyone just assumed that both of you were both extremely touchy-feely, very hippie and free spirit, which Soldier degrades you two for.

Pyro likes PDA like handholding, cuddling, and little bumps while walking. Nothing like kissing or getting sexual in public though, they aren't comfortable with you doing that around people they don't trust in the same way they trust you.

They probably tell Engie first and go into detail about how you make them feel. You treat them like an equal and like an adult, as if they're not just their mental illnesses. Engie supports both of you fully and acts like the supportive dad neighter of you had growing up.

Demoman

Not too concerned as well, but that's mainly because he's drunk when dealing with his teammates. He likes kissing you or smacking your ass and then shrugging and saying it's a Scottish tradition.

Loves grossing out the team with PDA. Nasty flirting, dirty whispers, bedroom eyes, and whenever people try to confront his and your behavior, he laughs and just walks outta the room like "awww, cleaRLY you men haven't drunkenly shagged a man! Be feelin' better than a virgin!" With no elaboration on if you two are actually fucking or if it's a bit.

When the mercs ask you, you give deadpan humor of "no, it's a joke. My mum's gotta good bit of Scot in her."

When it finally clicked for them was when Spy walked in on you two getting handsy on the couch while you were on top of him and hiked up his kilt. You looked at Spy and just said "You've done worse." Spy hesitated, but nodded and walked away.

Engie

HIDES IT SO SO MUCH. THIS MAN HAS SO MUCH SOUTHERN/CATHOLIC GUILT. HE'S EVEN HESITANT IN PRIVATE. He really doesn't like you getting too close to him when the others are around, but will allow drunken leaning against him.

It took both of you literal months to kiss, let alone have sex. He is the most tender and gentle lover known to man, and it's all for you. He protects you a lot more in battle with the excise of "he's defending the intel, I might as well buff him up with a few sentries."

You two hiding your relationship gives him high blood pressure and Medic just knows immediately that Engie is hiding his sexuality- to Medic at least, he's not subtle. With a quick peck to Heavy as a thank you for handing him the scalpel Medic is like "So Engie, do you have anything you're not being honest about?" and he just breaks.

"I'm a homosexual!" "Ja! So am I!"

Heavy

Is really wishy-washy about being open, since nobody would ever mess with him about being gay, but they might mess with you and your job. You're not a merc, just a low-level cleanup crew member! If the Administrator found out... would she kill you? Move you away? Would she even care?

Stealing away little kisses is his favorite thing. When you sneak into his room and you two just snuggle and kiss. He's super hesitant about sex in the beginning, but absolutely loves how you assure him and praise him.

Intinidates your coworkers who make fun of you since you have a good relationship with the mercs and all your coworkers think they're psychos.

Sniper is the one who catches you two- in battle no less! RED is thoroughly beating BLU's ass so Heavy sneaks away to the fence to see you and give you a few... many... uh, a lot of kisses. You hear the bullet break the window near you two before you see it, and Heavy takes it as his cue to leave.

Sniper

Since he doesn't really interact much with the group, he doesn't see a reason to tell the other mercs. All you do is go to his van after battle for "a cigarette and target practice". Sure buddy, you just accidentally tripped and ended up on your knees below a freshly showered Sniper. You two spend most nights together, since you two are the two unsociable mercs.

You two do everything together, since you're the more sociable of the both of you, people refer to Sniper as "your shadow", it's a bit of a teasing nickname that you're fine with, and Sniper's alright with it, since they acknowledge him nearby you at all times.

Doesn't overprotect you in battle, did it once and you marched right up to his nest and told him off. Yeah, he cares about you and you love him for it, but you'll respawn! It's fine!

The enemy Spy saw you tell him off and the subsequent kiss goodbye. He was gonna kill the Sniper, but something just left him feeling weird, so he waited until you were gone to kill him.

Spy

He's pretty open about swinging both ways, his tales of espionage have no limits. You're a high-positioned supervisor, so he initially justified yours and his relationship as job assurance... then easy closeness to relieve the lonliness... then- uh, fuck. He's caught feelings when in an actual relationship he can't run from.

Only likes PDA when he's initiating, very cat-like about it. He is to fluster you with a simple look. He is to give you what you can't reach and accidentally invade your personal space, where your breaths mingle and leave you red faced. Only he is to drive you crazy in public... However, if you wear that crop top again he WILL threaten to fuck you.

Has absolutely the biggest exhibition/danger Kink. Invisibly feeling you up as you're in a meeting. Disguising himself as a stranger and you giving favors. He has offered to disguise himself as an enemy teammate but got put off when you got too into the roleplay and cried out for that merc.

You two are never found out, as Spy is just a charismatic asshole and you are futilly enamored according to the team. Although, Scout has his suspicions after he overheard you and him laughing in Spy's smoking room.

Medic

Probably the most open about the relationship from the beginning, but unlike how Pyro is, he is very obvious that yours and his relationship is romantic and very much sexual in nature. Innuendos. Hands skirting your backside. Calling out to you jovially. It's all painfully obvious... it doesn't help that he is the LOUDEST mf in bed. They heard you before you told them.

He loves kissing you and ruining you when he gets jealous. Playing the protecting and possessive lover is one of his favorite things to do. Yeah, all Scout did was ask where you got your shoes, but to Medic, that's basically asking to sleep with you.

"Darling, can I rearrange your guts?" BEST PICKUP LINE HE HAS. FR. ON GOD. Everyone assumes that you two have fucked on the operating table, they pray that it's cleaned after.

Soldier is the one to walk in on you two. You assume he's going to shout and holler about how you two are a disgrace to the army, but he's strangely silent and just walks out. About 30 minutes later he bursts in again and lectures you about fraternizing.

[nonbinary-sticks-the-badger]

usually when i post politics on here its global politics or specifically the US, however i have a lot of disabled people in my life so this matters to me

to begin ill explain a few terms ill be using (some perhaps incorrectly, so do correct me if you know better) in case they're called something different in your country:

benefits are just financial aid from the government. in this specific case im talking about the ones people get specifically if they can't work because of their disability

PIP (personal independance payment) is financial aid disabled people can get from the age of 16 that is given as well as their wages/benefits

tories are the right wing party, labour are (supposedly) the left wing party

lately the labour government have been focused on growth after the utter wank stain of an economy the tories left behind. this sounds good on paper but the way theyve been handling it has been awful. this latest proposal sees a reduction in who qualifies for disability benefits and perhaps even pip as a whole, which is causing controversy for all the reasons you'd expect

now first of all, i am disabled myself (autism, undiagnosed adhd and probably some kind of undiagnosed mental health issue), but i already do not qualify for pip. i applied a while ago and they rejected me, and while i do think i could really benefit from it, i do think its fair in my specific case. i dont need to work yet, but i also probably wont be able to get these specific benefits when i do. despite what i may say, i do honestly want to have a job. i want to work. i probably will, although even my dream jobs are quite unstable. i am angry because this is wrong, not because im missing out on something i wasnt going to have anyway. also, my mum is on ill health benefits, although this is because her pension hasnt come through yet (teachers' pension are awful but thats a rant for another day). even if she wasn't though, she's incredibly unlikely to be affected, as she has a degenerative motor condition. my dad is on it for ptsd, so he may be affected, but honestly that wouldn't affect me.

i need to get some things straight: claims that people on benefits, regardless of what they're for, are always able to afford nice new cars, big houses etc arent really true. my mum's been a teacher all my life and since retiring, we're at the poorest we've ever been. she frequently has to ask my granny for financial help - we do come from a relatively affluent family, even if we aren't rich ourselves, however not everyone has this priviledge. even those who do cheat and get benefits they dont actually need are a small minority and frankly, they're a distraction from what REALLY needs to be done. i dont really care if people out there claim benefits they dont need just to afford a few luxuries when the uk has 171 billionaires that could all be taxed to generate loads of wealth. according to forbes, micheal platt (richest man in the uk) alone could be taxed of the £5 billion the government want to save with this scheme and he'd still be a multibillionaire.

id also like to mention: while there's a rumour that PDCA effectively gives all past prime ministers (including liz truss) £115,000 salary for life, that actually isn't true - instead, it is for past PMs to claim for any "public duties", such as managing an office or expenses to do with visits. i think it's necessary to state the facts, even if they don't help my case, because i honestly only found out about it as i was writing and it's common misinformation that should be addressed. i still think this should be abolished though, seeing as pretty much nobody else gets this treatment and the average past PM isn't exactly financially struggling.

most controversially, labour want to disqualify ANYONE under 22 from being able to claim these benefits, claiming that this is to avoid people falling out of the system. honestly, i thought this was a sensationalised headline written to stir conflict, but from what i can see it actually isnt; i dont want to drown you in sources, but because they're a trustworthy source on this kind of thing, here's the bbc article, which says that ~66,000 people currently claim these benefits. thats only about 1 in 1000 people in the uk, as opposed to the 1 in 350,000 people in the uk who are billionaires*. obviously disability rights activists have gone against this because i mean. i just. how do you not have the common sense to understand that. i literally have no idea what to even say about that it speaks for itself

in general, this is one of the most controversial moves since the whole malarky about winter fuel payments and you can understand why. a party built on creating the wellfare state we have today is now removing those benefits for some of the most vulnerable members of society. truly disgusting.

*just to clarify the shortcuts i made to make these into nice, easy to read fractions, here's the maths:

for the 66,000 on benefits:

66,000/67,081,234

rounded to 70,000/70,000,000

simplified to 7/7000

simplified to 1/1000

for the 171 billionaires:

171/67,081,234

rounded to 200/70,000,000

simplified to 1/350,000

it feels somewhat disingenuous to simplify the statistics so much, but without rounding to 1 significant figure, these barely make any sense

[themultifandomgal]

Defying All Odds- Ultrasound

28th May

Today is my 12 week scan and to say I’m nervous doesn’t quite cut it. What if we find out somethings wrong, or it’s been a false pregnancy from the start. I’ve not seen the little baby yet or felt them. The only thing that has kept me sane is that I was told if I was having morning sickness everything is ok, but until I know for sure that we’re passed the scary stage I don’t think I can relax.

"Are you okay?" Harry asked, glancing over with concern as I stir my tea sitting in Ann’s kitchen. I take a deep breath then smile at Harry

“Yeah, just a bit nervous. I’m just scared what they might say” Harry reaches over and squeezes my hand

“It's going to be amazing. They will tell us everything is good. Just think, we're finally going to see our little one”

“Ready?” Robin asks picking up his car keys

“Yeah” I take one last gulp of my tea before finally getting off the kitchen stool.

The drive to the clinic was quiet, I can’t tell if I feel sick from nerves, because of morning sickness, or both. Harry and I walk hand in hand towards the entrance. Robin and Ann slightly ahead of us. Harry and I sit while Ann and Robin get us signed in. I take notice of the other couples around us, some not taking notice of us, but others pointing and whispering. As if Harry could hear my thoughts, he gives my hand a comforting squeeze

“Take no notice, we’re happy and in a good place, ignore them they know nothing” I give Harry another smile, but still feeling like I’m being scrutinised. Still sensing my discomfort Harry tries to lighten up the mood “do you think they’ll look like you or me?” I can’t help but chuckle

“Definitely me” I tease playfully nudging him

“I think they will be like me. They will have my stunning good looks and my charming personality” harry jokes

“Oh, so you're saying our child will be a heartthrob? I can live with that” I laugh as Ann and Robin take a seat next to us

“Oh I can’t wait to see the baby” Ann gushes, I look over at her seeing how excited she is “my first grand baby”

Just then a nurse calls out my name. I look at Harry, the nervous feeling now getting worse. We both stand up our hands still clasped together. We follow the nurse down a long corridor to an examination room. The walls are painted a soothing shade of pale blue, adorned with framed photographs of smiling families and newborns. We enter a room where a large ultrasound machine is stood ready

“Just have a seat on the bed, and we'll get started” the nurse instructs, her voice calm and reassuring. I climb onto the bed, while Harry sits in the seat next to me “ok before we get started I just have a few questions for you. How have you been feeling, any morning sickness?”

“Erm yeah I’ve been feeling sick most of the day, but I haven’t been sick now for a few weeks”

“That’s good. And you’re eating well?”

“I guess. Some foods make me feel more sick than others, and smells. I can’t eat carrots the smell makes me feel so ill”

“That’s completely normal. Are you sleeping well?”

“Yes, but I’m tired nearly all of the time”

“Again that’s completely normal. Now shall we take a look at how baby is doing?” I give the nurse a nod “ok I'm going to apply some gel to your belly. It might feel a bit cold” i flinch at the feel of the cool gel n my stomach, soon enough the nurse moves the wand round with ease and the screen flickers to life. Moments later, the image of a small, fuzzy figure appears “there we go. There’s your baby” I feel as though my heart skips a beat

“Oh my god” I hear Harry next to me, emotion laced in his voice. I can feel tears start to fall as the faint sound of a heartbeat is heard

“Baby’s heartbeat is nice and strong. There the head, arms and legs” the nurse points out to us.

What feels like only seconds later the nurse packs up and tells us we can collect a photo of the baby at the front desk as well as booking our next appointment.

We make our way back to Harry’s mum and stepdad who are sat waiting for us

“Well? How was it?” Ann asks and Harry can’t help but tell his mum everything as we make our way to the front desk to collect the photo of our little baby.

[kyleiskoool]

massive rod family/heritage headcanon dump:

okay so i kind-of feel like rod is french canadian. i really love making people french canadian gang... so yeah rod can speak french pretty fluently. also the canadian part purely bc of mgwlic. so it makes sense for him to say that he had a girlfriend in canada. (because rod isnt dumb, he wouldve thought it out a little bit guys) but yeah i loveeee making it so people can speak french.

okay but dont get me wrong, french is a romantic language but when rod speaks it he is the least romantic peraon ever. he speaks really direct bc all of the times he spoke french it was yelling at his parents (just wait ill expand on it). but when he gets mad he starts spouting shit off in french (nicky has picked up a few new phrases). but yeah he spoke french from birth and learnt english a bit at home and went to an english speaking school.

parental wise? i love rod so he's getting the lesbian mum treatment (me applying the fact my mum left- dw half of this isnt what happened in my life).

okay so rod grew up in a right winged family (thats why hes republican) in french canada. he has an older brother (but he is ALOT older like 11yrs older so he never rly knew her) and mum and dad. and then other relatives that r irrelevant. everything was pretty typical. he never really spoke to his brother but he was at christmas and stuff.

trauma time 😜

rods mum up and left at like 9 years old to go live with a lesbian lover. rods dad is PISSED bc theyre like highly conservative. even though he was homophobic before this CEMENTS that ideology in his mind. he doubles down and drills it into rods head that being gay is bad and he is nothing if he was gay. he never saw his mother after she left.

this is why he is so scared to come out. hes scared that everyone thinks this way and theyre all out to get him and abandon him. so he also doubts it when he feels it because he doesnt want to be bad. but yeah :( thats why he bonded with nicky so much because he secretly thought nicky was rly brave for supporting the lgbtq but he was still scared that somehow his dad would find out.

this goes into more that rods dad refused to let him do anything 'feminine'. he trued to get rod to play a sport but he couldn't for the life of him so he took up an instrument (the clarinet) instead. he always wanted to do the musical and sing, but once again, it wasnt seen as 'manly' enough. thats why he loves going to shows and is so wowed when be sees nicky in shows.

his brother definitely started talking to him a bit more when rod was in college. rod reached out first asking for advice. his brother pretty much said 'study, dont get kept up in emotional things and find a roommate with the same interests as you'. after that, his brother kept tabs on him as he moved on with life. he tries to help princeton in the same way his brother helped him.

his brother heard about his mum and didnt really care. he was definitely never that homophobic or conservative (thats why he moved out so quickly) so he never really cared about his mum being lesbian.

okay wait im just gonna do this here. this is a yap abt how rod and nicky became friends bc like why not.

okay so rod was majoring business or something i cant be fucked to care. anyways, he usually studied in the library or the caf at night. and he saw alot of faces but nickys just stood out to him for some reason. he eventually figured out he was a theatre major and that his name was an n name. he keeps mentioning this guy to his business major friends and they have no clue who he is. they try to ask around too and find little info except for his name (nicky) and the fact he was in the last musical

anyways, as rod really loves theatre, he usually goes to the theatreclubs shows if he has any spare money. he buys a ticket to a show and notices that THAT GUY that he always sees around is the LEAD. rod has to do a double take and in the intermission he buys a program. rod spends the rest of the show just looking at him and just fawning over his singing and acting.

the show finishes and mostly everyone leaves. rod sticks around, looking at his headshot just making sure that he knows what guy it is. nicky ends up coming out, smiling but ultimately looking tired. rod doesnt see anyone approach him and nicky is streamlining it to the door. rod ends up running over and just complimenting his performance. nicky lights up so much and thanks him over and over.

rod mentions that he's seen him around. nicky perks up and says that he thinks one of his friends is in his class. he goes 'youre ryan.. right?' and rod just laughs and goes 'haha, no im rod' and nicky is like 'YEP THATS RIGHT! i was so close'. rod just smiles and is like 'ill see you around, you got any more shows?' nicky tells him they have like 3 more shows and rod asks if he's got any classes. nicky says that he doesnt but he has a test the next day and needs to study. rod suggests that they study together because he also has a test soon.

nicky agrees and they plan on seeing each other the next day. and their friendship is born!

anyways, nicky is so flustered bc the guy he lowkey had a hallway crush on had invited him to study and rod was like 'YAYYAYAYAYYAYAYA I TALKED TO THE GUY I WANTED TO BE FRIENDS WITH'

okay guys thats the end of a very VERY big yap. i hope you guys enjoyed my stupid headcanon rant about rod because i have very big feelings about this. i very much want to write a oneshot about college rodnicky. (theatrekid nicky is my number one headcanon) !!! also desperate want to draw rods family !!!

okay gang leave a #thumbs up and subscribe if you enjoyed the video. see you in the next one!

[rosemarytales]

The Madrigals and Anxiety

so, I think it's not a controversial statement to say that anxiety runs in the family... what I find oddly cute is that a lot of nervous ticks or outbursts are very similar to those of other family members, but let's proceed with order.

Alma, Isabela

Alma had it hard. I think homegirl is the culprit, but she probably had an anxious gene in her before everything.

do we need to explain what her anxiety looks like? absolute perfectionism to the point of insanity so people won't turn on her, constantly making Bruno check the future for possible dangers, self-soothing behaviours (asking Pedro for help, wearing the mourning shawl), always needing to keep a watchful eye on everyone, you name it.

The perfectionism moved straight through to Isabela. There's a whole song about not meeting expectations, so I don't think I need to go fruther into it.

Pepa

Pepa is another obvious one. Her anxiety is palpable throughout most of the movie and it is, unlike her mum, mostly related to things that are not life-or-death situations (Antonio's party needing to be perfect).

She is constantly seen spiralling and using self-soothing rituals (hair touching, "clear skies"), often to no avail.

Her mood swings and irritability outbursts are also proof of anxiety.

Bruno

Before you come at me!! He clearly has OCD... It's in the script so it was meant like this. And I know people say he was just superstitious, but I come from a very superstitious culture and it's not like that 😭

I can prove it!!

Throwing salt. It is usually done after you have spilled it. Bruno had not spilled any salt before the throwing over the shoulder. It is an act that is meant to cancel bad luck from an extremely specific action that he had not done.

Knock knock knock knock knock knock on wood. You are supposed to knock twice, say it once, only after someone has said something good you don't wanna jinx or bad you wanna prevent. Bruno hasn't been talking to anyone in 10 years, it's just a ritual to him at this point OR it's a reaction to his own thoughts. Superstitious people don't do things based on their thoughts: that's OCD. Also the number of knocks and the one on the head is oddly specific and not related to any superstitious beliefs as far as I'm aware.

Fingers crossed. Again, you do that when you are hoping for something good, but nothing happened he might want to cross his fingers for, it's just another ritual. Also, all of these rituals are kind of contradicting each other (hoping for something/trying to prevent something), he's just trying to bring as much good luck as possible.

I'm not saying he is not superstitious, he very much is, but his superstition pathologized to the point of becoming an illness. This is not how someone who's simply superstitious acts.

He also has a generally nervous attitude and lots of self-soothing movements, like the rubbing his arm we'll get to later.

The only other explanation could be that he thinks he is the bad luck, but that still does not explain things like the crossed fingers.

Julieta, Camilo, Mirabel

They don't look like they struggle a lot with anxiety (I am only talking about the actual condition, not genuine worry that has a reason of being like Casita breaking or not receiving a gift). They are all very accustomed to dealing with anxious family members though and they are good at it.

Mirabel is probably the more anxious among the three, but she is also an incredible supporter for Toñito, who's not getting his own section simply because his fear was very much justified, but for a literal 5yo his anxiety shows great promise of becoming just like his mum's.

Honourable mention in this section goes to Félix and Agustìn, we stan some supportive husbands and fathers.

Luisa

My baby. The first time we see her as being relevant plot-wise is literally because her eye was twitching. Her character arc is learning to chill. I rest my case.

Dolores

Now, Dolores is a bit trickier, because she is not as loud as the rest of her family. She does always seem to be extremely on edge though and she is often doubting herself (she stopped believing someone was in the walls despite hearing Bruno for 10+ years because they told her it was not possible).

I don't know whether it's canon or if I've read too much fanfiction, but her room is supposed to have some degree of soundproofing, that she doesn't use because she needs to hear if her family needs help (Luisa's eye twitch).

Finally...

The similar twitches and anxious responses

The arm-rub of Luisa and Bruno (+ supportive sisters <3<3<3<3<3)

The hand movement while screaming, like mother like daughter