#thinks about briar angst and struggles instead

[dreamweaved]

ive talked about this before but, when briar was younger he’d actually had quite a bad fall. itd been enough to knock a tooth out of his mouth, and left him concussed and disoriented. as a teen he was pretty rebellious, got in trouble with his mother often. but was still adjusting to his worsening vision; which definitely contributed to the accident. i have a lot more on the adjustment period, and how the disharmony within penacony may have worsened his condition,,, but om too tired to make a massive post on that that makes sense.

[claws-and-all]

Unpopular opinions

Today’s been one of those days where all my least favorite theories regarding Tamlin have been popping up, so I thought I’d share some of my unpopular opinions in case anyone else feels the same.

1. Tamlin should not get his own book

From all the male povs we've seen thus far, it's evident that sjm struggles to write male characters with complex feelings. They tend to lack depth, have the libido of a teenager, and the romance aspect is nonexistent. This coupled with the way she handled Nesta's "healing" journey (a character she supposedly loves) - suffice to say, she will not do justice to Tamlin's journey nor his inner monolog.

On top of that, we don't need a Chaol 2.0 book. The only people I've seen enjoy Chaol's book are the haters who became slightly lenient towards him. I feel like that book was not meant for the fans who actually loved Chaol from the get-go (like me). It was yet another "healing" journey that did not heal him 😒 (it's been 7 years since it's release and I'm still mad at it 🙈).

Also, just like Tam, Chaol is another character that is hated by 90% of the fandom. His book had the worst timing. In-between a high stakes book where you NEEDED to know what happened next and instead, you're forced to read a book that took you completely out of the action. It garnered more negativity towards a character that was already so heavily hated upon. It was such an unfair thing that occurred, and his fans were the ones that had to deal with the backlash of our favorite character being torn apart by the fandom. I truly hope history does not repeat itself with Tamlin. The fandom is waiting for the elriel/elucien confirmation, and I can just see the hate pouring in if it's a book about Tamlin instead. He deserves infinitely better!

2. Tamlin and Lucien should never be friends again

I'm sorry, I know a lot of you love Lucien, I'm rather 50/50 on him. If elucien happens, it will mean Lucien is now a part of the NC family, bil to Rhys, friendly with the ic, uncle to Nyx, already friends with Nesta and Feyre. That's not the kind of energy Tamlin needs in his life nor the constant reminder of everything that he lost (Rhys is doing a fabulous job of that already).

I liked Lucien and Tamlin's relationship in book 1, but I was not a fan of how he kind of abandoned Tamlin for Feyre. It's like he became more her friend than Tams as the series progressed. I think Tamlin deserves a better friend - someone who will have his back and not his partners back. And someone not so heavily intertwined with a court that has caused so much pain to him. I can almost see Lucien slowly trying to convince Tam that the nc guys are actually "the good guys". Who knows, maybe he'll also pull a Feyre and compare Springs food to ash since nothing can come close to precious NC food, you know.

That being said, I have no idea where such friends will come from because every character we've met thus far automatically dislikes Tamlin and are fans of nc guys (still waiting for the explanation as to why Jurian, Vassa, Eris, and even Nuan are Tam haters?? Make it make sense, Sarah!).

Alternatively, I do love angst. I would love a storyline of Tamlin moving on with his life without Lucien. As in his future wife/mate/partner doesn't even know who Lucien is. Whilst Elucien is also thriving in the human lands/NC/DC/AC. Yet the entire time, they both feel like there's a missing piece in their life. They would see each other at HL meetings or balls. Yet they're too stubborn to speak to each other. Until decades later when one of them finally breaks the ice. The yearning and the hurt, love that shit lol

3. Tamlin x Briar?

Let’s keep that in the dark where it belongs. - nuff said!

4. Elain should not even look in the direction of Spring

Just because she likes gardening doesn't mean she should be spring queen 😑 I'm sure she can follow in the footsteps of her sister and brother in law and trespass into Spring if she needs to see flowers in abundance. It is afterall, nc tradition to lecture Tamlin in his own court and kick him in the shins. I really don't want to see her becoming friends with Tamlin, helping him rebuild Spring, making it her second home, etc etc etc. Like the point above, she and Lucien have enough homes to go back to. They don't need an extra one in Spring. And Tamlin doesn't need any more nc "friends".

[wolfsbanesparks]

*kicks down your door*

SO I MADE A MEET THE ROBINSONS AU FOR BILLY-

It actually fits really well for Billy and his yearning for a family. Billy is Luis, but instead of science being his speciality it's magic, and Billy being without a magical mentor leads him to constant failure after failure that tries to stop him from becoming a wizard, but he "keeps moving forward" because he respects the failures in his life to love the victories.

Billy wanting to find his mother who abandoned him, creating a new magical spell to find her in his memories, ending up failing horribly and getting to meet his child in the future who tries to bully persuade him into continuing with the spell creation. Getting to meet the found family he wished for in the future, the angst, the fluff, him getting adopted by Victor and Rosa, the Steve the magic pen being Doris the bowler hat! Maybe Goob can be one of the Briar brothers, or another older comic character? Oh gosh, it's such an incredible fun AU that I've made that I can't stop thinking about it! I also thought about making this an adventure Billy could share with Booster Gold somehow, bc of the time traveling mechanics, but I'm not sure yet!

Sorry I've been making all these AUs and haven't gotten to scream more of their fleshed out details more, especially that Gravity Falls AU, I'm actually planning out a fic for that in my spare time!

You always have such amazing AU ideas! Billy would fit so easily into Luis' role as a kid who is desperately looking for a family, but is caught up in trying to find the one he lost (like his mom who abandoned him) that he refuses to try to make one in the present.

And in his trip to the future he gets to meet older versions of the Shazamily who are wacky, fun, and heroic but are ultimately a very close, loving family even after they've grown up.

But who would be Goob? The sympathetic antagonist who we get to rewrite a happy ending for? Who ideally knows young Billy and can trace his own problems to where their paths split from each other?

Messing with the ages a bit you could use one of the Sivana kids (he has 4: Thad Jr, Magnificus, Georgia, and Beautia).

There's also Timothy Karnes who was one of Freddy’s former foster brothers who really resented the fact that Freddy got to live with his grandpa whereas he got shipped to an abusive foster home. He was later kidnapped and became Sabbac using his demon powers to seek revenge. With just a little tweaking his backstory can work well in this situation.

Those are my top picks at least, though you can make it work with lots of different characters.

Also I think it would be hilarious if Billy’s future kid stole Booster's time travel tech for this mission and Booster both present and future are scrambling to get it away from these kids. It would be a fun B plot for sure.

Also I think it'd be really cool for Billy’s kid, who probably has a bit of a chip on his shoulder, to get to see Billy as a kid struggling with magic and being a superhero and worrying about things like keeping his secret identity from the JL. Because in the future Billy would have been a hero and a wizard for so long that it'd be hard to believe it was ever hard for him.

As always I love these ideas you have!

[intothewickedwood]

Ruby or Mulan, Maleficent or Cruella, Dragon Queen or Outlaw Queen, Shadow Queen or Regina x Kathryn?

Gaaah! Thank you for the questions! These are challenging, for sure!

Ruby. But it's close! The werewolf thing wins it for me, and also because she was in Season One. I have a lot of Season 1 feelings. And also her friendship with Snow! And "Red-Handed" being one of my favorite episodes. She's a great and tragic character who does her best to help others no matter what she's going through herself.

I do love Mulan a lot, though. I may be in love with both Red and Mulan. Oops! I just wish we'd gotten more of Mulan. I loved her dynamics with every character she interacted with. She's such a badass. Mulan x Aurora x Phillip is one of my favorite ships in the show, and I also wouldn't have said no to Mulan and Ruby ending up together. Mulan deserved better.

Cruella. I agree with you about having a lot of room to explore with Maleficent, as she could have done with a bit more development in the show. I'd have at least loved to have seen more of her relationship with Lily. She was an adorable mom in the one episode we got to see them interact. But Cruella makes me laugh out loud. She has some of the best lines. "Sympathy for the De Vil" is one of my favorite, most unique episodes. She just wants to murder people! Let her have her happy ending, Isaac! xD. I don't know, she's just so fun, but I do still really enjoy Maleficent. I wish they'd explained what the heck happened with her and Aurora's parents. I like to believe she was in love with Briar Rose, and it went terribly wrong.

Definitely Dragon Queen. I've just been having a discussion on a different website about how Robin Hood was possibly evil the whole time. Looking at the evidence, his words don't match up with his actions. If he wants to steal from the rich, why date Regina? His code says he can't divorce his wife, but he'll… let her die instead? In the book, there is a page which shows that when he met Marian, he planned to kidnap her for ransom, yet he tells Will that he tried to steal her horse, didn't because she was poor, and from that day forward, he chose to steal only from the rich and give to the poor. Yet, in "Heart of Gold," we see that he only decides to steal from the rich and give to the poor long after he and Marian are a couple. Not to mention he shot at Regina without hesitation when looking for the Wicked Witch and, knowing at the time that the Wicked Witch had bright red hair, hid in the bushes and aimed his arrow at the back of a clearly dark-haired Regina's head for a good while before making his presence known. It's just a theory, but I do wonder if he had a plot for revenge against her all along, at least at first. I think that would have made him a much more interesting character. Otherwise, I struggle to make sense of why Regina, post formation of the Evil Queen, would want to be with someone like him. She kinda had to change her personality during their interactions just to make it make a little sense. It's just not for me. But power to those who like it, and I may adopt the revenge plot theory as headcanon, which might make me more invested in them.

Dragon Queen, on the other hand, has to be canon, right? I mean, the intensity of the moments when their noses almost touch. I think they should have kissed. There is so much blatant subtext there, and it's so wonderfully gay. Okay, so Regina rode home on a dragon. Okay, girl, I see you. "Are you a bad girl, Regina?" "The worst." I mean, come on! Everything that comes out of their mouths when they interact just screams "we are exes who can't stop flirting with each other." I love it! I wish it was more explicit!

Okay, this last one is really freaking hard. I do love both almost equally, but I've been thinking a lot about Regina x Kathryn lately and their potential, and I just wanna go back to season 1 and make them fall in love. I want the angst post-season 1. I need it! I honestly would have been ecstatic if Regina had ended up with either of them. And it's totally cool that she ended up single at the end. That was a nice way to demonstrate that happy endings/beginnings don't have to involve romantic love. But goddamn, I wish Facilier didn't die. I know love triangles aren't popular, but heck, if they'd brought Facilier in earlier and had a Kathryn/Regina/Facilier love triangle, I would have been very happy. Idk, I love both pairings, but the Kathryn x Regina friends-to-lovers gets me. And we could have gotten so much more Kathryn. *Cries forever*.

[tmarie82]

A Necessary Arrangement (Part Four)

A Desire and Decorum AU

Pairing: Ernest Sinclaire x MC (Ella Mills)

Book: Desire and Decorum (AU= Alternate Universe)

Word Count: ~1,650

Rating:  PG

Author’s Note: A short and sweet chapter of Ernest and Ella’s story, when Ernest finally starts opening up and has the opportunity to comfort his new wife during an unfortunate tragedy.  

You can catch up on the entire series here.

Please let me know if you would like to be added to my tag list.  You can find all of my fics here - MASTERLIST

~~~~~~~~~~

The remainder of the races turned out to be extraordinarily tense with Ernest’s sour turn of his mood.  Even when the Edgewater steed won first place and Ella stood up enthusiastically to applaud her family’s equine champion, Ernest did little but acknowledge the victory with a half-smile and a nod when Ella glanced down at him.  The man who had started their afternoon outing so pleasantly was gone, his timid smile from before now hidden beneath the layers of furrowed brows and angst.  

Ella could not help but to study him every few minutes on the carriage ride back to Ledford Park, trying to determine where the afternoon had gone awry and what gloomy thoughts were churning about beneath those tousled flaxen locks. His gaze never left the rolling countryside passing by, his mouth set in a tight line, completely oblivious to his young wife’s worrisome glances.  As the carriage neared Ledford Park, Ella summoned the courage to speak, unwilling to lose this fleeting opportunity to have him alone and force him to respond to her questions.

“Ernest?” She began in a gentle voice.  He did not seem to hear her.  She cleared her throat and tried again, her voice louder and firm this time.  “Ernest!?”  He startled from his reverie, his eyes flicking back to find her observing him closely.  “Ernest, I wish you would please tell me what is wrong?  I thought we were having a pleasant time …”

Ernest maintained her gaze for a moment, then shook his head in frustration and turned away towards the window again.  “Those people …” he growled under his breath.

“Those people?” Ella questioned, her brow knitting in contemplation as she recalled the conversations from earlier that day.  “You mean the Duke and your cousin?  I do not understand, they seemed extremely agreeable-“

“That is because you do not know them as I do!” Ernest barked as he turned back to glare at her.  “They cannot be trusted, Ella!”

Ella’s jaw dropped open as she processed her husband’s outburst slowly.  She could not comprehend how Ernest could not be fond of the boisterous and friendly Felicity, and even the Duke had done nothing disagreeable in their brief interaction.  “But … She is your cousin.  Are you not amenable to your own kin?”

Ernest let out a slow exhale, resting his hands on his legs to calm himself.  He finally glanced up to meet Ella’s gaze, his eyes filled with remorse and concern.  “She may be family through distant relations, but I had never met her until just less than a year ago.  Shortly after she married the Duke.”

“Well then you should get to know her better, and we should be thankful to the Duke for reuniting you with your long-lost cousin, should we not?”  Ella inquired innocently, reaching a hand instinctively out to clasp Ernest’s upon his leg.

He stared down at her hand upon his and Ella worried that he would again brush her off like he had earlier.  Instead he placed his other on top of hers, cradling her delicate hand between his two larger ones warmly.  He traced his thumb along hers, softly and carefully as he watched the slight movement.  Finally he raised his eyes to meet hers, a wistful smile on his lips before they parted to speak.  “Sweet Ella … I had hoped the same thing.  But alas I have learned yet again that I am all alone in this world, with no true family to speak of.”  He paused, his heartfelt stare imploring her to listen to his next words.  “Please be careful Ella … I do not wish to see you disappointed as I was.  As I said before, they cannot be trusted.”

Ella nodded slightly but dared not speak for fear of frightening away this gentle, compassionate Ernest.  Her hand tingled where her skin came into contact with his, and it suddenly dawned on her that this was one of the very few times he had ever touched her willingly.  She laced her fingers through his and gave him a soft smile, which he kindly returned, and they sat together in peaceful silence for the remainder of the ride home.  Her mind was swirling with questions, but for today this small gesture of companionship was enough.  

As the carriage circled the rotunda of Ledford Park, Ella caught a glimpse of Briar rushing down the front steps to meet the carriage, waving a letter in her hand frantically.  Immediately, her stomach sank with dread … for she knew in her heart what news was to come.  The carriage had scarcely stopped before she had opened the door and started to jump to the ground, uncaring of proper decorum if what she feared was true.

“My Lady, my Lady!”  Briar called as she scurried to meet her at the foot of the stairs.  “It is your father!  He has taken with a fever and … the doctor thinks it shall not be long.”  

Ella’s heart thundered in her chest and tears pricked her eyes as she scoured over the contents of the letter.  It was only after she finished reading it that she noticed Ernest standing behind her reading over her shoulder, his hand cupped around her shoulder protectively.  She glanced back over her shoulder, her eyes filled with tears that threatened to fall at any second.  “I … I …” her voice was shaky as she struggled to get the words out.

“You must go to him.”  Ernest replied simply, a look of understanding upon his face as he rubbed her shoulder comfortingly.  She nodded in agreement, allowing a few tears to tumble down her cheeks. He stroked his thumb along her cheek to swipe them away, his eyes never leaving hers.  “Briar, go fetch Lady Ella’s things.  Luke, ready the horses to ride again for Edgewater.  We will leave at once!”

~~~

The next few days passed by in a blur, Ella scarcely leaving her father’s bedside upon their arrival at Edgewater.  Despite her greatest efforts and ambitions, the doctor confirmed her dreaded suspicions that there was nothing anyone could do now but wait.  So wait she did, by his side, for nearly three straight days until he passed early in the morning on chilly day in November.  

Ella stood entranced in front of the window in her former chambers, watching as the wind rustled the trees upon the lawn before her.  The combination of grief and exhaustion had dulled her senses, for she did not even hear the footsteps behind her as Ernest approached.  “Ella?  Ella, you need to get some rest.”  She startled when he placed his fingertips lightly on her forearm to gently gain her attention, dropping her gaze to observe his touch curiously.  Finally she looked away again to the outdoors, shaking her head and allowing the tears she had been holding inside to spill down her cheeks.

“I will rest when it is done.  As Lady of Edgewater and his only child, I must ensure that my father’s character is honored during the services.  I cannot trust Henrietta to do him justice.”  Her voice was shaky, but she held her head high as she spoke.

“Perhaps …” Ernest slipped in front of her, obstructing her view of the window to attract her focus, slipping his other hand upon her arm to coax her to look at him.  “Perhaps I can be of service.  Would you trust me to help plan the services?”

“I .. I … “ Ella’s eyes searched within his, finding kindness and concern behind his sapphire irises.  And then she knew … she could trust him.  “I would.  I would, thank you.  At least until I have rested properly.”

Ernest let out an exhale of relief, rubbing her upper arms gently as he cocked his head to view her better.  “Good, good …”  He paused, his brows furrowed with a look of worry before he opened his mouth again to speak with determination.  “I will have to go to London after the services on business … I was hoping you might accompany this time.  I think it would be good for you to get away for some time.”

If Ella had not been so exhausted already she would have likely questioned her husband’s motives for requesting her company, however on this day she did not have the energy to ponder his intentions.  Some time away, an escape to the city … that all sounded wonderful to her.  “Yes, I would very much like to accompany you this time.”

Ernest smiled, a genuine wide smile that reached all the way to the corners of his eyes.  “Wonderful.”  He turned around and closed the drapes on the window behind him, casting a dark shadow across the room before moving on to the next window.  “But for now, you must rest.”  He came back to her side when he was finished, ushering her gently to the bed and encouraging her to sit.  She looked up at him in a stupor, whether caused by awe or fatigue she could not tell, then gave him a soft smile before he left her alone to lie down.

As she lay down upon her old bed and closed her eyes, Ella felt an odd sense closure and contentment.  There was a sadness resonating in the corners of her mind of course, but a sense of complacency dulled the sharp edges of her sorrow.  She would forever be thankful to have sat with her father in his last days, to provide comfort to him as he prepared to leave this world.  Now that he had gone, although she missed him terribly, she felt sure that he was in a peaceful place watching down on her.  And right now he was most likely smiling proudly, having just witnessed the warm interaction between his only daughter and the man he had been so proud to call his son-in-law.

END

~~~~~~~~~~

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[flightofaqrow]

GET TO KNOW THE MUN REPOST DON’T REBLOG

———  BASICS! ♡

(PEN)NAME:    Ray

PRONOUNS:    she/her

ZODIAC SIGN:     gemini

TAKEN OR SINGLE:     married

———  THREE  FACTS! ♡

I have a bicycle, her name is Juniper

We redid our basement to look like a tavern and it’s wonderful. I love how everything turned out. If only we could actually have company over lmao

My housemate just set up a fish tank, finally. It’s all lit up and super cute with statues in it and real plants.

———  EXPERIENCE! ♡

I have been writing since forever. I have handwritten poems about holidays and sports teams. I had an electric typewriter. I started writing fic somewhere around ‘96 and roleplaying not long after. When Yahoo forums was still a thing. I focused on RP over fic for the community and collaborative elements, but now that ‘zines are a thing I’ve also applied to a few for writer’s spots and contributed to one (Peculiarity: Fire Emblem Small Writer Zine)! I’m old.

———  MUSE  PREFERENCE! ♡

Qrow has been a very welcome break to my usual. I gravitate towards spunky, sassy, do-gooder females with big soft hearts, but just enough touches of angst for growth (see: Briar and Robyn for RWBY, and Minako and Robin for other fandoms.) Bonus points for any involvement with dancing and/or music.

———  FLUFF / ANGST / SMUT! ♡    

FLUFF:   I like fluff but not for fluff’s sake. I still want it to have substance. I still want it to feel specific to the characters. Let them explore the hows and whys of their dynamic together, let one or both of them be demonstrating a specific facet of what makes them who they are, turning it into something of a character study. Let them learn something new about each other, or themself, or come away from the experience more bonded and understanding. Little precious moments can grow characters just as much as the big emotional plots, if done right!

ANGST: I eat it up with a spoon, but I’m terrible at coming up with plots and details. I’m........ so jaded to be perfectly honest. Nothing is quite as satisfying as creating angst and letting a character overcome it but a lot of things I just find melodramatic instead of a true challenge to the character. Or I’m not sure how to make it extra sad. Yeah... I like it, I’m comfortable with everything from slightly sad to ultra grimdark, but it comes from me best when the muse stumbles onto their own struggles or if you can approach me with an idea we develop together.

SMUT: Similar to fluff! Love it a lot, but ultimately it lands on a very narrow set of actions and course to follow. I need it to be more than dialogues and scenes that could just as easily be swapped with any old character A and B (or more). What is driving the characters to share that experience?  What are they getting out of it? How does the mood and approach of it speak to their character and specific dynamic? What’s going right and what’s going wrong? Give it some flavor. The build up is the best part to me. I might request fade to black at some point, not because I’m uncomfortable, but just because all that stuff has pretty much been established and now it’s just the usual grunting, moaning, and thrusting, and there’s only so many words to chose from to keep making that interesting for multiple replies tbh. Drabbles make it easier. I don’t mind repeating things between different ones lol

PLOT / MEMES: I like a good mix of both! Plotting helps things flow easier because I’m not wondering what direction to take things, if what I chose is okay, etc, but sometimes memes just take off and that’s fun too. I will say I tend not to plot super heavy all at once. I just like to have an idea of timeline, location, what’s the characters are going to explore/face, and where things are gonna end up.  Details can be filled in with the writing or revisited as we go.

tagged by: @gunsxroses​ (ty!)

tagging: I think I’m the late one on this train. Anyone who wants to!