#welsh manor

[nonbinarynerevar]

i dont usually make posts like this but im so desperate

can anyone help me find a torchwood fic i forgot the name of?? its post 2x13 and canon compliant. the team goes to investigate rift activity in the countryside(or a castle??) and get sucked back in time... its implied ianto could die because newspapers from the time say an I. Jones was killed. they end up having to work with torchwood from the time period, meaning jack from the time is there and jack specifically says he doesnt remember that mission and its revealed its bc he was retconned.

and i think... a scientist is trying to do something with the rift using jack to... get his wife back?? or something??

this also was posted in or before 2021, and i BELIEVE it was still being finished by the time i was reading it circa June 2021

i desperately want to reread and actually finish this fic so im on my knees begging !!!

[paverics]

pro: jenna coleman back in her wlw role era

con: worst welsh accents you’ve ever heard to the point that it generated the same deep level of personal offence as if they had dug up my ancestors and pissed on their bones

[hyacintheros]

Suspended In Gaffa

|| (Regulus Black x Fem!Reader)

Main Masterlist

Word Count: 1.9k

P.S: Had a little idea in mind, hope this will come to please c:

“There's an old muggle myth… every star in the sky, no matter how small or large, are people who've passed on in life. I don't think it would be so bad, being a star” The girl says, leaves rustling in the wind around them, the nightly autumn weather nipping at their cheeks.

Regulus turns his head, still laying down on the grass, looking at her with a glint of amusement, plucking a stray leaf that has fallen into her hair. “You're already a star, mon étoile”

Looking back at his life now, Regulus would have laughed in your face had you told him he'd be living in the Welsh countryside after graduation. The thought unfathomable to him, unreachable.

“Darling, can you grab the cherry tomatoes from the garden?” His girlfriend comes out of the kitchen, sporting an apron Hope Lupin had gifted. Regulus looks up from his book, marking the page then heading outside, giving her a quick peck on the cheek on the way to the door.

She fries up his egg, sunny-side up, and sprinkles a dash of asiago white pepper, her secret ingredient. To this day, Regulus has never found out what made his eggs taste so good.

The wavy haired boy returns back a small, hand-woven basket filled halfway with cherry tomatoes. “Could I make you a coffee, love?” he asks the girl, currently obsessed with his brand new Italian moka pot.

She laughs, allowing him a spot on the stove to start brewing his coffee. They rest in easy silence, accustomed to their routine for breakfast. She sets the table with her ceramic dining set, ones she got at the morning market a few months back, decorated with small little snakes.

Regulus sets the coffees at their respective seats, digging into their breakfast. An owl arrives as they dine, pecking at the window. “I'll get it!” The girl brightly says.

Offering the owl a treat, she grabs the letter attached to its leg. “Regulus, love, it's for you” she hands the boy the letter, he wipes his hands in his napkin, opening the letter. 

“I've been invited to a ball at Rosier Manor..” Regulus trails off, looking at the date of the ball. “S'for tomorrow!” He jumps up in a panic, briskly walking to his closet.

“What's got you in a hurry?” The girl says, worried he hadn't finished breakfast. He looks back at her, a very rare shyness taking over him. “Not sure if I've got my dress robes..” The girl smiles, going to the spare room.

She hands him one of his dress robes, all washed and pressed, kept in one of those muggle garment dust covers. Regulus thanks his girlfriend, gingerly taking the robes from her and inspecting them. 

Evan and Barty always had a tendency to leave things last minute, this invitation obviously one of them. He looks back at the letter, being told to bring a plus one if he wished. Going back to his girlfriend, he asks, “Will you accompany me to the ball?” 

She kisses his lips gently, knowing how hard it is going to be for him to see all the Pureblood families again. “Of course, mon ange” Being a Pureblood herself, she knows the pressure he's putting on himself, though her parents were much kinder and more accepting of their move to Wales.

“D’you wanna match? I can finally wear that emerald green dress I bought in Paris!” He looks at her excited state, lazily grinning. Regulus would do anything she'd ask of him, even if it meant his own demise.

“I'll get the green bow tie then.. Oh I should probably owl them back, just to confirm our attendance.” Regulus grabs a  quill and sits on the extra desk in the spare room. He hands the letter to the girl, asking if she could send it with their owl.

She pulls him with her back to the dining room, trying to get him to eat again. “Come on love, food's gone cold.. Would you like me to heat it up?” He shrugs it off, saying it's fine and continues to eat his eggs, not wanting to bother his darling girl.

Finishing up her coffee, she says to him, “We should get them a gift! It's rude if we show up with nothing.” Regulus ponders on this for a little while, thinking of the best thing to get Evan and Barty. Finally, he says, “We should make a trip to Diagon Alley.” 

After cleaning the kitchen up and fluffing the couch pillows, the two approach the fireplace, grabbing the lustering green floo powder. She goes first, giving Regulus a small peck, then disappearing into the fire. The steel-eyed boy follows her actions, dusting his suit off at his destination.

“So, where are we off to then?” She locks her arms with his, her Mary Jane's clicking as she walks, doll-like. “Well dolly, let's head to the Magical Menagerie. Got a feeling they would appreciate a little pet..”

“Don't they already have an owl? They don't like cats, nor rats, or even bats!” She rhymes on, giggling. Regulus smiles, finding her behaviour quite adorable. “No dovey, you'll see.” He brushes her chin with his rings.

Pulling the girl into the store, they browse around. Regulus already knows what he wants to get for their two friends, but he knows how fascinated his girlfriend gets by animals. “Reggie…look at the cat!” She points towards a tabby orange cat.

“Darling.. you have me! Why do you need another of me?” He pouts, referencing his animagus form, a black cat with steely grey eyes. She chuckles at his oddly jealous stare. “Come on, what are we getting them?” She's curious as to what he has in mind.

He pulls her to the snake pit, pointing at a beautiful black snake. “Behold, the Elaphe obsoleta.. Evan always wanted a snake” Regulus gently picks up the slithering snake, the black bodice wraps herself on his arm, coiling around him.

His girlfriend hums contently, agreeing on his choice. Walking to the counter, the lady packs the snake away safely, providing a small container of snake feed for them. They walk out with the gift, grabbing ice cream before flooing back. 

—♡—

“Reggie, darling? Can you tie the strap of my dress?” She calls out to him from the bedroom, voice strained as she struggles to do the bow at the back. Regulus pops into the room, fingers coiling his waves with his favourite curl cream. 

He washes his hands in the bathroom quickly, drying them so he doesn't get any cream on her dress. Brushing his nimble hands across her back, sending shivers down her spine. “Behave,” she turns her head into his neck, laying a gentle kiss. He quits his teasing, finally doing up her bow.

He turns her around, gazing at her like a piece of art hung up in a museum, stars painted with precision on the night sky adorned by him, the moon which watches the stars.

Tucking his matching emerald green pocket square, she fans it out elegantly, fixing collar. “Are you going to wear your jewellery? I like the silver chain you put on your trousers.” He chuckles, grabbing the chain from a bowl of his jewellery, clicking it into place.

“Should I wear silver or gold? You're wearing silver, I should wear silver too.. Barty would throw a fit if I wore gold again too!” She grazes her fingers over his beautiful silver rings, stopping at a special one, engraved with the Black family crest.

“Your parents will be there, are you sure you still want to go..? We can always retire for the night, feigning ill,” she holds his hands, wanting to comfort him. Regulus puts on a brave face, tightening his hold on her hands and smiling, “I'll be okay. Knowing Evan and Barty, they'll probably take us away into the forest halfway through.”

She pulls away, touching up her makeup while Regulus grabs the gift, the beautiful Elaphe obsoleta. His girlfriend fixes the little curl on his forehead, then grabs a silver clutch to match with her jewellery and shoes. “Ready?” She grabs onto him, responding, “Ready.”

He apperates them a small distance from the manor, wanting to calm his own emotions before arriving. Sensing this, his girlfriend interlocks their hands, swinging them as they walk. “D'you know what? I think Pandora invited Dorcas, we surely haven't seen Dorcas in a while.. Should invite everyone over soon before we leave for Italy!”

“Oh really? You'd want to house all the Slytherin Skittles and the Marauders in one small cottage in Wales? How'd you think that's going to end up, love?” He snickers, swinging his hand in hers.

They approach the Rosier Manor, knocking on the huge gothic doors, probably built during the Victorian era. They are greeted by a house elf, small and malnourished, terribly afraid by the sheer amount of Pureblood presence in attendance.

She welcomes them in, bringing them to the living room with all the other guests. The couple goes to greet the hosts, Pierre and Seraphina Rosier. “Darling! It is so good to see you, how has it been in Wales?” Seraphina greets the girl, kissing her cheeks and giving her a hug. 

“We have been wonderful, Lady Rosier.. Thank you for having us! Goodness the manor looks gorgeous, who decorated?” The girls go off, chit chatting about little pieces of art in the house, leaving Regulus to greet Lord Rosier.

“I assume Evan invited you? Do try to keep yourself straight tonight, I'd hate for your poor girlfriend to be embarrassed by you.” Lord Rosier snarks to the boy, clearly being influenced by Orion and Walburga. Though he seems to have no issue with his date, being that their families are extremely close.

Regulus thanks him for the ‘advice’, walking off to find Evan and Barty to deliver their gift. “Regulus! There you are, you sod! Beginning to think you weren't coming. Poor Barty was sulking! Come in- where's treasure?” Evan pulls him into his room, wondering where his girlfriend was.

“Well ‘treasure’ got locked with your mum looking at a lamp, and I got dunked on by your father!” Regulus sits on the bed next to Barty, holding his head in his hands. “Oh come on, you know how weird my father is with yours,” Evan remarks. 

“Hey! Awe- where's treasure??” Barty pouts, looking at the door, hoping Regulus’ girlfriend will walk through. “Your boyfriend's mum.” He says, very deadpanned and tired. 

“We brought you a gift.. thought you guys might enjoy it,” Regulus hands off the carrier to Barty, encouraging them to open it. Barty lets out a literal squeal while Evan slowly takes it out.

“Is that a.. are you really gifting us a snake..? That's the most romantic thing you've ever done for us!” Barty teases, faking tears in his eyes. Regulus rolls his eyes and clicks his tongue, secretly enjoying his friend's antics.

In the midst of all of this, someone raps on the door. “Treasure!” Barty jumps onto her like a flying squirrel, giving her a big hug. “Barty! Barty please! I can't breathe,” she tries to escape from his grasps. “Oi Junior! Get your hands off my girlfriend!”

Regulus has to pry him off of the poor girl, being reminded of their years at Hogwarts, looking back at all of the adventures and hardships, now finally feeling like he fit the last piece of a puzzle into his life.

[blasphemousclaw]

What was life as a member of Caria like? It’s weird that, despite ruling over the academy, they have their own study hall and preceptors on the exact opposite side of the region to Caria manor. At any rate — I would assume Caria went through like, four phases? Pre-academy, post establishment as royalty, and then Rennala’s children with Radagon. And of course to the present day.

I’m so glad you asked… this was the perfect opportunity for me to start organizing a collection of Carian-related lore text and I went a little insane and wrote an entire treatise on Carian culture. I hope you enjoy this frighteningly in-depth wizard family analysis

CARIAN CULTURE AND PRACTICES

We know that the Carians were descended from a group of astrologers who lived in the Mountaintops of the Giants, implied by the Sword of Night and Flame (the Carian royal family’s ancestral sword) description: “Astrologers, who preceded the sorcerers, established themselves in mountaintops that nearly touched the sky, and considered the Fire Giants their neighbors.” This group of astrologers must have at some point migrated down to Liurnia and established a society there.

I get the impression that the Carian astrologers might have once been quite numerous, since as you say, the Carian study hall is rather far from Caria Manor — perhaps at their height, they were pretty spread out across Liurnia. I’ve also said before that the Carian Filigreed Crest description might imply other layers of nobility and a wider society among the Carian astrologers, as it mentions Carian knights guarding multiple “princesses” (it’s also possible that “princess” was a noble title among Carian society before Rennala established herself as a queen, as the Discarded Palace Key description is said to be “passed down to Carian princesses” but Rennala was the first Carian queen).

Speaking of princesses, there is strong evidence that Caria was a matriarchal society: though we don’t have much information about Carian society, in the few scraps we have, only queens and princesses are ever mentioned. We also know that Ranni is the youngest child, and yet Iji names her as heir to Caria, suggesting that she might have primogeniture over her older brothers. The Carians also have ties to the Nox people (affinity for the night/moon/stars, the art of puppetry/fate manipulation, silver tear technology at Raya Lucaria and in the Albinaurics, the Nox Swordstress statue in the Church of Vows), which also seems to be a matriarchal society judging by the fact that the Night Maidens and Swordstresses are the highest clerical ranks.

There are many other details that characterize Liurnia as a unique region in the Lands Between that developed apart from the Erdtree: I’ve mentioned before that the nobles in Altus and Limgrave dress in distinctive robes…

This style of dress does not appear anywhere among Liurnians. Instead, the Carians and their knights dress in a distinct color scheme of royal blue and red, ornamented with glintstone in different shades. The sorcerers of Raya Lucaria also dress in the same red and blue, and I think that this style of dress actually comes directly from the Carians! The Queen’s robe item description is stated to be a “robe indicating the highest order of sorcerer.” We also know that the Academy’s name “Raya Lucaria” itself is named for the Carian royal family, no doubt added when Rennala took over. So it makes sense that the Carians had influence over the sorcerers’ uniform too!

Liurnian characters also have a distinctive way of speaking apart from the rest of the Lands Between; every single Liurnian character in the game is played by a Welsh voice actor speaking in their native accent (including both Raya Lucarian sorcerers and Carian-affiliated characters).

The Carians’ standout trait is their mastery of astrology and glintstone sorcery — they craft their own spells and use a distinct royal blue glintstone. Their knights were renowned for their skill in both swordsmanship and sorcery, and notably, some of the Carian knights are trolls, who are viewed as equals in Carian society! Another important magical role is the office of preceptor, which directly served the royal family as experts on reading fate within the stars. Lastly, as I mentioned earlier, The Carians had great influence over the Academy. After charming the sorcerers with her lunar magic, Rennala presided over a new sorcerers’ conspectus: called the Lazuli conspectus, these Academy sorcerers studied Carian sorceries and believed the moon to be equal to the stars.

GOLDEN ORDER INFLUENCE

Power dynamics in Carian society changed drastically when the Golden Order sent Radagon to subjugate Liurnia, and Rennala ended up marrying him: there was a peace brokered between Caria and Leyndell, symbolized by the entwining gold branches and blue glintstone of the Glintstone Kris, a “ritual blade once presented to Leyndell by the Academy of Raya Lucaria to celebrate their newfound peace.”

This peace began an era of coexisting ideas… As Rogier says, “the Golden Order was pliable enough to absorb practices that contradicted itself in the past.” Radagon himself began to learn sorcery from Rennala, and he also had an authority over the royal preceptors (commanding them to don masks as a vow of secrecy). Golden Order devotion also began to spread through Liurnia alongside sorcery. The Converted tower and the Converted Fringe tower in Liurnia show a coexisting of Golden Order faith and glintstone sorcery — there is a statue of Marika inside, and to complete the puzzle, the erudition gesture must be performed in front of her.

This theme of entwining cultures is also reflected in the Carian royal family themselves — Rennala and Radagon’s three children inherit two lineages, the moon and the Erdtree, entangled in their very blood.

Unfortunately though, this was not exactly an equal partnership… though Caria manages to stay independent, they are now inextricably tied to the Golden Order, which was not always a good thing. The telescope item states that “during the age of the Erdtree, Carian astrology withered on the vine. The fate once writ in the night skies had been fettered by the Golden Order.” Whether this description is referring to Radahn or not is a whole other post, but the simple fact is that the Golden Order is the reason why the Carians’ power is in decline. The three royal children also seemed to struggle with their dual heritages and loyalties, especially Ranni as both heir to Caria and an empyrean of the Greater Will.

Of course, we know that in the end Radagon essentially dealt the death blow to Caria’s influence in Liurnia. The Queen’s robe description states that when Radagon left Rennala, her heart went with him, “and then, those at the academy realized. That Rennala was no champion, after all.” Rennala’s weakness led the Academy to rebel against the Carian royal family and launched Liurnia into civil war. And with Rennala’s heir killing herself in the Night of the Black Knives, and the Shattering war breaking out, Caria’s power is now a shadow of its former self.

[pastlivesandpurplepuppets]

Three platoons formed a half circle around Captain Speirs. He barked out the usual “Company, platoons, ’tenshun!” and the stamp of our boots and clack of our rifles echoed off the cobblestones. Bordering the square was a manor and a steepled church, and when Captain Speirs growled “At ease!” the echo wasn’t as noticeable then, and we stepped apart and shook our shoulders a bit. “General Taylor is aware,” Captain Speirs called out, “that many veterans—including Normandy veterans—still do not have the eighty-five points required to be discharged. On this, the anniversary of D-day, the general has authorized a lottery to send one man home in each company. Effective immediately.” Several men gave low whistles at the good news. A fellow to my side swallowed loudly, his throat dry from possibility. Lieutenant Harry Welsh, a gutsy scrapper and our unit’s staff officer, fished his fingers around in an outstretched helmet filled with slips of paper that each bore a man’s name. Lieutenant Welsh paused, leveled his eyebrows at the helmet for a moment, smirked, I guess, then handed his chosen slip of paper to our commander. Captain Speirs unfolded it and read the name silently to himself, then straightened his shoulders, his expression unchanged. We all leaned in and listened for the lucky name. I noticed a calm breeze stirring the early summer leaves of a beech tree to my right. Somewhere up on the forested hillside behind the manor came the high-pitched ti-ti-ti-ti-ti call of a grouse. “C’mon, c’mon, c’mon,” a man behind me muttered. “For Easy Company . . . ,” Captain Speirs drew his words out for emphasis,” . . . the winner is . . . serial number one, three, zero, six, six, two, six, six . . . Sergeant Darrell C. Powers.” His voice rose like a radio announcer as he said the last part of my name. The captain, known mostly for his fearless and killing ways, musta had a softer spot to him after all. Cheers erupted from the men. Lieutenant Welsh’s smirk had turned into an indisputable laugh. “That’s how it’s done, Shifty!” someone hollered. I think it was George Luz, the fellow everybody got along with and who could do a dead-on mimic of anyone. Bull Randleman, a bear of a man and a fine soldier, grinned from several rows over and looked like he wanted to slap my back. “Congratulations, Shifty!” Randleman bawled. “It couldn’t have happened to a better man!” I shook my head in disbelief. I had won General Taylor’s lottery. Home—I needed to let that sink in for a minute. A slight smile spread its way across my lips. Me, Shifty Powers, I was going home at last.

~ Shifty Powers

[fanofspooky]

House of the Long Shadows

1983 • PG • 1h40m

An American author finds a dilapidated Welsh manor perfect for writing until the residents host a bizarre family reunion.

[scotianostra]

On August 11th 1586, Mary Queen of Scots was arrested near Chartley Manor, Staffordshire for her part in a plot to overthrow Queen Elizabeth.

Like it or not, with or without her full knowledge Mary was involved in plots to remove Elizabeth as Queen of England, and place her on the throne. When Mary was displaced by rebellious nobles and fled south to England, she was imprisoned rather than hospitably received by her English cousin.

Unsurprisingly, this treatment and her strong and public faith made her a rallying point for various plots against Elizabeth during her 19-year imprisonment.

The most serious were the Ridolfi plot of 1571 – which threatened to replace the Queen with Mary with the help of Spanish troops, and the Throckmorton Plot of 1583, another plan to murder and replace Elizabeth.

By the mid 1580s it was clear that as long as Mary lived Catholics and Spanish-sympathisers would flock to her, and after her agent Thomas Morgan was implicated in yet another assassination attempt, The Babington Plot, in 1585, Elizabeth was persuaded by her advisers to put Mary on trial.

The Babington plot still baffles historians to this day, what we do know is from the start Elizabeth's spies had known about it, a certain Francis Walsingham principal secretary to Queen Elizabeth was intercepting letters, forging Mary's writing and substituting his own, and so basically orchestrated the whole thing.

Confidant of Mary, the Welsh catholic, Thomas Morgan recruited, among others Anthony Babington, what was happening, basically letters written by Walsingham, pretending to be Mary, encouraged an assassination of Elizabeth. It's all quite complicated, and everyone, who was anyone who has written about Mary and Elizabeth, has their own opinion on it. Me, Mary was writing to the main protagonists so was not faultless, but her level of complicity in these plots is still unclear, Mary was arrested while out riding in August 1586. She was put on trial in October and found guilty, on the 7th February, she was informed that she was to be executed the next morning.

She met her death with exemplary courage and publically forgave her executioners before being beheaded with three messy blows of an axe. Elizabeth then claimed that she had not authorised this, washing her hands of the death of her kinswoman.

[richwall101]

Arundel Castle England

Arundel Castle is a restored and remodeled medieval castle in Arundel, West Sussex, England. It was established by Roger de Montgomery in the 11th century. The castle was damaged in the English Civil War and then restored in the 18th and early 19th centuries by Charles Howard, 11th Duke of Norfolk. Further restoration and embellishment was undertaken from the 1890s by Charles Alban Buckler for the 15th Duke. Since the 11th century, the castle has been the seat of the Earls of Arundel and the Dukes of Norfolk. It is a Grade I listed building.

The original structure was a motte-and-bailey castle. Roger de Montgomery was declared the first Earl of Arundel as the King granted him the property as part of a much larger package of hundreds of manors. Roger, who was a cousin of William the Conqueror, had stayed in Normandy to keep the peace there while William was away in England. He was rewarded for his loyalty with extensive lands in the Welsh Marches and across the country, together with one fifth of Sussex (Arundel Rape). He began work on Arundel Castle in around 1067.

Between 1101 and 1102 the castle was besieged by the forces of Henry I after its holder Robert of Bellême rebelled. The siege ended with the castle surrendering to the king. The castle then passed to Adeliza of Louvain (who had previously been married to Henry I) and her husband William d'Aubigny. Empress Matilda stayed in the castle, in 1139.[4] It then passed down the d'Aubigny line until the death of Hugh d'Aubigny, 5th Earl of Arundel in 1243. John Fitzalan then inherited jure matris the castle and honour of Arundel, by which, according to Henry VI's "admission" of 1433, he was later retrospectively held to have become de jure Earl of Arundel.

The FitzAlan male line ceased on the death of Henry Fitzalan, 12th Earl of Arundel, whose daughter and heiress Mary FitzAlan married Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk in 1555, to whose descendants the castle and earldom passed.

In 1643, during the First English Civil War, the castle was besieged.[ The 800 royalists inside surrendered after 18 days. Afterwards in 1653 Parliament ordered the slighting of the castle; however "weather probably destroyed more". Restructuring of the castle was carried out between 1875 and 1905. The Castle is open to the pubic

[spacerangersam]

Tell me more about your BBC Ghosts character swap AU please?

(like I wanna know from you about the other BH ghosts you didn't draw in their character swap AU version yet on what their character swap would be, for example Thomas, Mary & Robin please?)

Thanks!

I'd be happy to!

Thomas is a caveman, tricked into a fight by his cousin (with less of the dramatics though, since Francis couldn't have forged a letter)  who either got stabbed with a spear or bonked on the head with a club. Regardless, he was killed and in death, gets to carry around a spear. It‘s big, cumbersome and annoying, and I just think it’s funny. He can give the living bruises with it.

To blabber on a bit: his name is actually To, but Julian thought that was stupid so renamed him Thomas, and he did originally come from Scotland. Though it wasn't called Scotland when he was there, obviously.

He struggles a lot with modern English - he’s lived through the rise and fall and change of so many languages that he really struggles to keep up. He slips between using new English and old English, French, old Brythonic languages etc, especially when he’s upset. That's what really kick-started his friendship with Patrick- Pat was the first one really willing to just stop and try to understand what Thomas was saying, and the first one to really sit down and help Thomas with his English. They have lessons every Thursday evening. 

He still likes poetry, but because of all that he’s even worse at it. He also still hates Byron, just for less personal reasons.

With the whole having being around for thousands of years and watched people come and go, he's terrified of the other ghosts moving on without him. He doesn't like to sleep alone because of it, likes being able to keep an eye on at least one ghosts during the night. He tends to spend the night with Pat or Kitty, curled up on the foot of their beds, but he’ll stay with someone else now and then

Mary is a Girl Guide leader from the 80s. She's a timid woman to begin with, raised in a strict Catholic household, who works in a farm shop-come-cafe. She was encouraged to take up the Guide role by her husband to give her more confidence, and she stayed with it after his death. It didn't really make her more confident though, and her Guides quickly learned that they could walk all over her. She died while camping out on the Button grounds - some of the girls set a fire that quickly got out of control. Mary couldn't get out of her tent and died of asphyxiation (suspend your disbelief if you wouldn't mind). She still was close to Annie (and depending on how much you want to play around with the au, Annie could still be around, era switched with the plagues) and learned to be more confident through her.

She insists on doing grace at mealtimes, even though she can't eat, tells people off for blasphemy, and prays on Sundays in lieu of going to mass. The longer she's with the ghosts though, the less she does it. She has a few handy survival tools in her pockets, and like Pat, knows a thing or two about using a bow and arrow.

Robin is from the Georgian era, a nobleman's son who was sent to live with his uncle in hopes he'd straighten Robin out and turn him into a proper gentleman. Robin hated that idea. He planned to make a getaway and start a new life, one where he could just be himself, only to get struck by lightning before he ever made it off the grounds.

It's hard think of a Robin with ‘perfect’ speech, so I like to imagine he came over from North Wales, Welsh being his first language. He does speak English, albeit reluctantly, and has no desire to be fluent in it.

He's still outdoorsy and cares a lot about animals - his parents never had much time for him so he spent most of his time chasing around mice in the manor and sneaking into the stables to pet the horses. He can also still muck around with electricity.    

I don't think I've talked about Julian either, but he's the headless Tudor. Much like in canon, he didn't pay much attention to his wife or child, which was ultimately his downfall when he unknowingly partied with people who were plotting to kill the queen and was damned by association. He got his head lobbed off, and the head can appear in photographs. He makes so many jokes about it.

I can't really think of much else to say at the moment but yeah, that's them

[hazyange1s]

MC: Diana Blackwine

Basics

Full name: Diana Seren Blackwine

Nicknames: Di, D

Gender: female

Species: witch (and technically a starseed but that’s on the DL)

Date of birth: February 2, 1875

Nationality: Scottish and Welsh

Blood status: pureblood

Wand: vine, phoenix feather, 10 1/2 in, supple

Appearance

Hair color: jet black

Hair style: worn down in loose curls or in half-up styles

Eye color: teal

Skin tone: pale/peachy

Height: 5’2”

Body type: petite

Clothing style: rich jewel tones and cool shades (blue, purple, silver), smooth and light fabrics (satin, silk, cotton)

Accessories:

Blackwine family ring

moonstone necklace (gifted to her by Ominis)

scarf lover…like, a whole collection

Other distinguishing features:

scar over the bridge of her nose (from an inferi in the catacombs the night of Solomon’s death)

light freckles over her nose and cheeks

star shaped birthmark on her wrist

Personality

Traits: artistic, compassionate, spiritual, wise, diplomatic, indecisive, absentminded, self-righteous, people pleaser

Likes: sweets, winter, classical composers, art, theory, random acts of kindness

Dislikes: yellow, frogs, closed-mindedness, being forced to act on a whim

Fears: loss (of loved ones, of herself), change, small spaces, FROGS

Hobbies: painting, violin, stargazing, cartography

MBTI: INFJ-T

Enneagram: 5w6 (592) so/sx

Zodiac: aquarius sun, pisces moon, libra rising

Temperament: phlegmatic

Archetype: The Sage

Similar characters: Feyre Archeron, Belle (Beauty and the Beast), Katara, Luna Lovegood, Sam Winchester

Family/Friends

Father: Bennett Blackwine

Retired Unspeakable —> astronomer

Pureblood wizard

Killed during a home break in when Diana was 14

Ravenclaw alumnus

Mother: Guinevere Blackwine (Faughn)

Pureblood witch

Portrait painter and poet

Killed alongside Diana’s father

Slytherin alumnus

Aunt/Guardian: Celeste Blackwine

Pureblood witch

Owns a clothing shop

Ravenclaw alumnus

Pet: Saoirse

Scottish fold

Gifted on her thirteenth birthday

Loves Ominis’s cat Phoebe, lounging in the common room, and annoying Raegan’s Phoenix

Friends:

Ominis Gaunt

Sebastian Sallow

Raegan DesRosiers

Poppy Sweeting

Amit Thakkar

Samantha Dale

Magic

Boggart: two cloaked figures

Patronus: black mare

Polyjuice: turns shimmering indigo and tastes like blueberry syrup

Amortentia: Jasmine, chamomile, dark chocolate, and paint

Special abilities:

Ancient magic - especially gifted in weather spells (don’t mind the sudden thunderstorm over the castle… she’s just having a bad day.)

Seer (receives most of her prophecies through dreams, but is also skilled at tarotmancy and osteomancy as well as astrology)

Backstory

Born on the Isle of Skye in Glen Sligachan, Scotland, Diana was raised as the only daughter and heiress to the Blackwine fortune; a family of the sacred 28. She often traveled with her parents, as their lines of work took them all over Great Britain and Northern Europe.

When Diana was around age seven, her governess began to report frequent distractions, being late to lessons, and speaking out of turn - which caused her parents concern. She was believed to have a behavioral disorder and was promptly given a slew of experimental drugs to remedy it… with no luck.

Her father was patient and understanding, while her mother was a different story; especially when Diana grew older and still showed no signs of possessing magic.

When Diana was fifteen, her manor was broken into in the middle of the night. By the time she awoke to the sound of screams and made it to the study, her parents were both dead - and the murderers gone. This is the trigger for her magic to be awakened, which shatters every piece of glass in the room the moment she finds them. The case remains unsolved for many years.

But she gets her Hogwarts letter (as Raegan did) just after the funeral, and finds hope in what’s to come despite the horrors that follow her.

Academics

Best subject: Divination

Favorite subject(s): Astronomy. Divination, and Charms

Favorite teacher: Onai

Worst subject: Potions

Favorite subject(s): Astronomy and Divination

Least favorite teacher: Shah “asTroNoMy is nOT dIVInaTIOn”

Quidditch: Seeker in seventh year (voluntold to play by Raegan)

As a student:

Teacher’s pet without even trying to be

Late to almost every class and has too much missed Potions homework to count

Miraculously avoids most trouble (it’s not miraculous, her friends just take the detentions for her)

Future

Career: Astronomy Professor and Seer

Diana goes back and forth for a long time on her career choice - wanting to stay true to herself and help others at the same time. So, she winds up following in her father’s footsteps, and becomes the new Astronomy professor once Shah retires. She also takes over for Professor Hecat as the Head of Ravenclaw house (quite fitting). On the side (and when she eventually leaves Hogwarts for good), Diana is known to help local residents by offering Divination services such as tarot readings and osteomancy - and her predictions, when they come.

Spouse: Ominis Gaunt (m. 1896)

[racingliners]

@hypersoft-fest: Week 1 - Regency

Lando/Oscar, 1.6k, Regency/Bridgerton AU, No warnings apply

________

Hypersoft Publications is thrilled to reveal an excerpt from B. McLaren's upcoming Regency era romance novel

INCONVENIENCE

Chapter 1

Oscar Jack Piastri. Lando spotted him on the other side of the ballroom, his hands neatly clasped into the small of his back, the second he walked through the wide floral arch. Piastri was wearing an orange silk waistcoat underneath his jacket, which looked ridiculous. No one wore orange to the first ball of the season. He should have worn light blue, like Alex and George – who had been waiting for Lando to arrive for the past twenty minutes.

“I did not mean to be late.” Lando sighed as he approached his exasperated looking friends while adjusting the sleeves of his suit jacket. George especially looked more displeased than usual at Lando’s tardiness as he snapped his pocket watch closed with a firm click and a loud sigh. “The carriage was not ready in time.”

Alex scoffed and made a point to roll his eyes. “Of course.”

It had nothing to do with the fact that Lando had spent most of the afternoon pacing – contemplating whether or not he should be showing his face at the first ball of the new social season, when he and his father had barely been able to keep a hold of their family’s reputation after getting involved in Lord Brown’s Welsh cotton mills that turned out to be non-existent.

Piastri had warned Lando that it was a scam, and in not wanting to listen to or care what a debutante might think Lando ignored him, and even went on to canvas on Lord Brown’s behalf whenever he was at the social club. Only for Lord Brown to leave for the Americas with money from half of the Ton’s families right before the Vowles Ball. If Piastri’s Guardian, Lord Webber, hadn’t been able to arrange an audience with Queen Suzanne to smooth out the whole affair then the Norris family would have been completely ostracised from society with the snap of her white gloved fingers.

It meant, in Lando’s mind, that he was indebted to Webber and by extension Piastri. And he hated it.

Lando wasn’t sure if it was his subconscious that meant he was constantly looking for Piastri in his peripheral vision, or if he was lurking there all by himself. It was starting to drive Lando mad that between the floral displays, gleaming silks, sparkling gemstones, flickering candles and embroidered lace that Piastri, Oscar, was constantly the first thing he noticed. It wasn’t the perfect sweep of his brown hair that was the final straw to break Lando’s resolve, but the scrunch of Oscar’s nose when he laughed at one of Viscount Hamilton’s jokes.

“I’m going to speak to him.” Lando said with a firm sigh, his eyes firmly locked on the other side of the ballroom. Alex had left a minute or so ago in search of more punch.

“Are you sure that’s wise?” George, the ever careful heir to the Russell estate, glanced between his not so careful friend and the also unmarried young man. Everyone was surprised when Piastri didn’t make a match last season despite much interest from many amiable suitors, and already people were starting to ask why.

Lando ignored George entirely, and crossed the ballroom the moment the current dance ended. He used the movement of people to the refreshment tables or their preferred spots on the side of the dance floor to disguise his crossing the room. And as luck would have it, Piastri had finished his conversation with Viscount Hamilton and was heading rather briskly in the direction of the sweet table. Truth be told, Lando had been far too nervous to look forward to the miniature tarts and pastries the cooks of Button Manor were famous for.

Piastri only made a passing glance at the table before quietly vacating the ballroom. For better or worse, Lando followed him into the vast hallway that was decorated with paintings in gilded frames on both sides.

“Mister Piastri.” Lando was annoyed that his voice had a quiver of urgency to it. He probably had a few beads of sweat on his brow to make him seem even more pathetic.

Oscar slowly turned around, the expression on his face completely unreadable as he moved away from the portrait in front of him.

“Mister Norris,” He adjusted his footing so he could properly look at Lando face to face. “I wasn’t expecting to see you tonight.” Just a small twitch of his left eyebrow indicated his surprise. Nothing more.

“Well,” Lando paused to adjust his peach satin cravat and clear his throat. “I wished to speak with you.”

Piastri’s brow furrowed. “You came to the ball specifically to speak to me?” His accent came out slightly thicker, as if the turn of events had cracked his normally icy cold composure.

“No,” Lando huffed and had to restrain himself from throwing his head back in frustration. “It is because you happen to be here that I wish to converse with you.”

Piastri went to open his mouth, but Lando silenced him by marching forward and taking him by the shoulder to lead him in the direction of the library. In all the years of Lord Button hosting the first ball of the season, Lando had grown to be very familiar with the layout of the manor.

“In private.” Lando hissed, and quickly glanced over his shoulder to make sure that they weren’t going to be followed.

“But-” The air briefly got caught in Oscar’s throat as his brown eyes widened with every step he and Lando took. “We are unchaperoned.” He spoke quietly, as if the mere mention of the word would be enough to somehow attract attention from the now distant ballroom.

“That is precisely why I want us to talk in private.” Lando rolled his eyes as they reached the library door. He just about managed to push it open with one hand and ushered Oscar inside, and gently closed the door behind them.

The walls of the library were lined with filled bookcases, two sky blue settees with navy velvet cushions sat back to back in the middle of the room, and two plush armchairs framed the marble fireplace at the far end. Thankfully for Lando the fire hadn’t been lit and the candelabras didn’t seem to have been burning for long, so he didn’t have to worry about one of the Button household staff coming in to tend to them.

“So,” Piastri briefly cast his eye over the bookcase nearest to him before turning his attention back to Lando. “What is it you wish to discuss?”

Lando’s shoulders fell as he sighed. Another reason why he wanted to speak with Oscar in a quiet room instead of the crowded ballroom was that he didn’t want any of the nosy gossipers hearing him be completely open. That was something he only saved for his family, plus Alex and George.

“I know that my family is indebted to you and Lord Webber after last season… I want to know what we can do to repay you.” The Norris’ were by their own admission one of the more wealthier families of the Ton, they would be able to afford whatever Webber and Piastri asked.

Oscar’s eyebrows jumped up his face at the offer and he seemed for a moment to be almost breathless.

“There’s… there’s nothing you or your family need to do,”  He blinked and shook his head. “If I felt you were genuinely malicious in your intentions I would have told Mark to leave you be. I was merely…” He paused, blinking rapidly, “…trying to keep you out of harms way, after Lord Brown made the same offer to me.”

It felt oddly reassuring that Oscar was as noble as the small smile currently on his face was kind.

“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to return to the ballroom before my absence is noted.” Piastri bowed his head, and quickly turned to leave.

“No, Oscar wait.” Before Lando’s brain knew what his body was doing, his arm was outstretched and Oscar’s left hand was being gripped tightly in Lando’s right. They both looked at each other wide-eyed, completely frozen into place.

And then the library door opened.

They would have just about gotten away with it if it had just been Lord Webber and Lando’s father. Lando would have been able to pull some kind of excuse or reasoning out of thin air and neither man would have said anything more about it. Viscount Button’s presence changed everything completely.

“What is the meaning of this?” His steel blue eyes glanced first between the two young men, and then the two other Lords. Oscar’s hand was still firmly clasped in Lando’s. If anything, his grip on Lando had tightened. “Why are they both alone, unchaperoned, in my library?” Viscount Button’s voice boomed. His household had been free of scandal for many years, and he very much intended to keep it that way.

Lando’s father and Lord Webber continued to stay silent. Because really, there was only one outcome from all of this that would both appease their bewildered host and would be believable to the rest of the Ton, assuming they were lucky enough to have the rest of the evening to come up with a convincing enough story. Lando’s eyes darted around the library as his planned life of being an eternal bachelor crumbled to dust in front of his eyes.

“We,” Oscar gulped. His brain clearly working the fastest of everyone in the room as he moved to properly hold Lando’s hand, and even managed to fix a believable looking smile onto his face. “We are engaged.”

[cmrosens]

Fantasy Castle Thoughts

Wandering around castle ruins on the weekend while thinking about my fantasy WIP had me thinking about more worldbuilding stuff in fantasy (the obvious ones being covered by others, such as, where does the shit go? How do they get water? How do they not poison themselves while answering Qu 1?):

That film where they erased the entire town and the castle was sat there for no reason (meant to be Rochester) - look, even if your castle is a strategic fortress in the back of beyond, it will have some kind of nearby settlement. Because: who is building it and how long does it take and where do they all live while they're constructing it? Where do they go afterwards? How do the garrison get food (easier to grow crops and raise livestock nearby than have vulnerable wagons bringing it in and being ambushed).

A lot of castles were not built by locals, because you can't trust the fucking locals, that's (usually) why the castle is THERE. If you don't need a defensive structure you build a manor or a stately home. If you're building a castle, it's usually to subdue the population or to defend against the neighbours, but either way, what often happens is that the king or whoever will round up people from his patrimony he knows he's already whipped into shape and can trust, then force-marches them across country and re-settles them in the area the castle is meant to be. They are the ones who then farm and raise livestock, and push out the locals to do so. Over time, you get some intermingling and after a few gens it's a very different demographic, but you have a story of settlement going on with tensions bubbling under the surface. See also: William Rufus wanting to subdue the North of England, forcibly uprooting his tenants in the South of England and making them build and settle in Carlisle, where he built his castle (11thC); the Earl of Lincoln dragging a load of Yorkshire and Lancashire and Lincolnshire men to re-settle his newly bestowed North Welsh lordships, pushing the Welsh into the uplands while the settlers took over the lowlands (12th-13thC).

The settlers around castles bring their own forms of folk religion, superstition, folklore, dialect, and naming patterns, which are specific to their original region. These may be very similar to the ones where they've been settled. What does that look like? Is the culture of particular villages and settlements a little bit different or maybe strikingly so the closer you get to the castles in your world because of this? What are the issues faced by settlers and by local people, how do they get resolved (or do they)? You'd imagine settlers are favoured in court disputes, but depending on the politics, they may actually be overlooked in efforts to appease the locals, leading to some lords really upsetting the very people they took for granted that they could trust. What's going on with all this local level stuff? By the way:: 21stC "my religion is better than yours" is so fucking boring and overdone imo from Western fantasy. Not every fantasy people has to have a US Evangelical approach to faith. Maybe they just don't care, or as soon as they hear something new they're like oooh this is interesting let's incorporate that! And they do. And it's fine. And that's a normal attitude to have. That might be a lot more fun, because then you get multiple variations on a theme, which create lots of little layers and nuance to your world, rather than a very one-dimensional impression of "homogeneity" with the danger of slipping into ye olde "X Bad, Y Good" dichotomy.

Technology and adapting tech: building castles requires tech, and once you know how long something took to build, you know what the tech was and can work out how it may have developed since then. Also think about how it can be adapted. If you've got a world where castles are required because fighting happens, you have a world full of disabled people. War causes disability. Even tournaments were EXCEEDINGLY dangerous. Henry VIII got permanent brain damage at one. Other knights were left paralysed, many died, some were amputees as a result. People get their legs hacked off due to gangrene from wounds. People get arrows lodged in their spines. People get sick from malnutrition and develop conditions like osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, etc. Picture this: your lord gets severely injured and may never walk again just by falling from his horse (common). Unfortunately, the castle steps are DESIGNED to be difficult to get up and down, because it's a defensive structure, and you DO NOT want to make it easy for enemies to just stroll up to the upper levels which are the most defensible. Bear in mind that the majority of a castle is empty space: the ward. The domestic quarters are built into the walls, usually the inner walls of a concentric castle. Your lord had an upper floor room. In a castle, space is at a premium. You need all the space on the ground floor and it's already occupied. What do you do? Well - you remember that pulley system for heaving big tons of dressed stone up to the top of the scaffolding when constructing the tower? Yeah. Yeah you're going to use that. And if your lord is now permanently disabled and cannot use the stairs, you can work out how to refine that. But right now, you need to get him into bed so the physician can look him over, because if he dies right now this would be terribly politically inconvenient . Even if this hasn't happened in your current story right now, if this was the case for the lord or two BEFORE, the equipment may all still be there, and still be in place.

Anyway if you like this, you might like my newsletter and podcast, and the books I write.

[ikintwosm]

Hello hello!! ๋࣭ ⭑⚝

✮ My nicknames are:

Marz

Cuppa Suppa [For close friends]

Cheese Pretzels!

Wonderful to meet you all! ദ്ദി(ᵔᗜᵔ)

Who am I?๋࣭ ⭑⚝

✮I am a demi-girl and I use she/they/it! I am okay with any feminine or gender neutral terms! Just no masc terms!

✮ I am Aroace! [Meaning Asexual & Aromanitc!] I do not feel any romantic attraction to others!

✮ I am a minor so please don't say weird stuff, I'm not comfy with it!

✮ I am from Wales and I'm Welsh/British! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

More about me!๋࣭ ⭑⚝

✮ I'm possibly neurodivergent! [Maybe ASD!]

✮ I have Trichotallomania and C-PTSD!

✮ I zone out a lot and am potentially a maladaptive daydreamer!

✮ I have possible selective mutism!

✮ I can have major highs and lows sometimes, and I can be quite short-tempered, so apologies if I am, I don't mean to!

✮ I am quite a soft-hearted and sensitive person! I also have trouble processing things sometimes, so apologies if I'm a little slow!

✮ I've been struggling with mental health for majority of my life, and I may be distant sometimes, as I need a lot of time alone!

✮ I am a fictkin! This means that I kin fictional characters whom I see myself in/relate to in any way! This could be due to similar characteristics, trauma/past experiences, etc! Although, this can also be due to finding comfort in the character or even something very simple that I relate to e.g. if the character has a British accent, as I do too!

✮ I also tend to act as fictional characters in order to regulate or cope!

DNI LIST!๋࣭ ⭑⚝

✮ Do NOT interact if these apply to you!

Racists, homophobes, transphobes, abelists, etc.

Proshippers.

People with offensive humour. This type of humour makes me very uncomfortable.

People with s3xu4l humour. Suggestive jokes are okay but actual full on in depth jokes make me really unsettled. Also jokes that s3xu4l1s3 things that are perfectly normal also make me uncomfortable. Also things like THOSE types of usernames on tiktok and doing/saying really weird stuff is a massive no no for me, as I am a victim of s3xu4l h4rr4sm3nt.

People with rude/cruel humour. In some cases, it's okay, but please do not do it excessively or stop if I ask you to. I am quite a sensitive person, so that can easily upset me if it's not specified to be a joke or is just too far for me.

People who gatekeep characters they kin. I understand that you kin that character for a reason, but I don't like when people insist NO ONE else at all can be character. Other people can kin a character too!

My hobbies!๋࣭ ⭑⚝

✮ I love to draw traditionally and digitally! I especially love drawing on Whiteboard Fox!

✮ I love to write character lore and AUs, own creations and things! I like to RP at times! [Nothing weird though, as that makes me uncomfy!]

✮ I am a VA, scriptwriter & storyboarder!

✮ I VA for:

The Chaotic Battle Show! [Mushroom]

An Extremely Mid Object Show [Magical Flame]

Shape's Shapety Object Show [Grey]

Didn't Really Enlighten A Mind! [Lamp]

Untitled Presentation [Teapot, Chinese Lantern, Loofah]

Battle For A Million [Bone, Glass Shard, Battery]

TWISTS [Mild Bobby Sauce]

Church Of The Divine Bloom [Eyeliner]

✮ I am a scriptwriter for Church Of The Divine Bloom, The Chaotic Battle Show & Getaway!

✮ I also storyboard for AEMOS!

My interests!๋࣭ ⭑⚝

✮ I AM A HUGE OBJECT SHOW FAN!!

✮ Favourite shows:

BFDI/BFDIA/BFB/TPOT

Inanimate Insanity

HFJONE

BURNER

Object Kerfuffle

Discord Emoji All Stars

Problems and Solutions

Animatic Battle

✮ Shows I want to watch!

It's Time For The

The Nightly Manor

Extraordinary Enitites

Love Of The S*n

The Daily Object Show

The Battle For The Island Made Of Candy

Paper Puppets Take 2

Object Overload

Object Show 87

Mickey Mouse Battlehouse

Object Filler

CFMOT

Showvember

✮ Shows I am in progress of!

TPOT [Ongoing]

BFDIA [Ongoing]

II S1

II S2 [Ongoing]

III

Animatic Battle [Ongoing]

Object Kerfuffle [Ongoing]

BURNER [Ongoing]

DEAS [Ongoing]

PaS [Ongoing]

KFC [Ongoing]

✮ Shows I've finished!

BFDI/BFB

THANOS [Not continuing :(]

HFJONE

Object Fool

✮ I also love lots of other things!

FNAF

Bendy And The Ink Machine

Cuphead

Undertale/Deltarune

Don't Hug Me I'm Scared

The Amazing World Of Gumball

Total Drama Island

The Amazing Digital Circus

Poppy Playtime

The Lego Movie

Parappa The Rapper

Dandy's World

✮ My music taste is quite broad and I can't typically tell music genres!

✮ Some of my favourite music artists!

Tally Hall

Miracle Musical

Lemon Demon

Ghost

Gorillaz

YFM

Glass Animals

The Living Tombstone

✮ Some songs I can't stop listening to!

More about me! [OSC]๋࣭ ⭑⚝

✮ My favourite characters!

X, Loser, Woody, Pie, Ruby, Lollipop, Yellow Face, Pillow, Clock, Naily, Gelatin, Teardrop, Remote, Fanny, Two, Winner, Foldy, Tree, Marker, Bubble, Dora, David, Bomby, Golf Ball, Tennis Ball [BFB/TPOT]

MePhone4, MePad, Toilet, Balloon, Silver Spoon, Candle, Taco, Bow, Yin-Yang [II]

Literally all the characters in BURNER [Though I like Limey, Peanut & Tissues a little more than everyone else]

Hour Glass, Hanging Pot Plant, Glass Pane, Box Of Explosives [Object Kerfuffle]

Lipstick, Cactus, Dice [DEAS]

Airy, Liam, Charlie, Stone [HFJONE]

Animatic, Nonagon, Pea, B Block, Weathery, Bouquet, Doorstopper, Iced Coffee, Danger Sign, Tea, Mushroom, Printer, Nebula Void [Animatic Battle]

✮ Characters I HATE /hj

Leafy, Profiley, Liy [BFB]

Clover, Walkie Talkie, Steve Cobs [Love-hate relationship] [II]

✮ My comfort characters!

Two, Ruby, Woody, Loser, Winner, Lollipop, Pie, Pillow, Tree, Dora [BFB/TPOT]

Silver Spoon, Candle, MePad [III]

Airy, Liam [HFJONE]

Peanut, Tissues, Pilly, Rosey, Polaroid, Daddy Long Legs [BURNER]

✮ My fiction kins!

[DISCLAIMER: I do NOT gate keep characters!]

Marker, Bracelety, Ruby, Lightning, Tree, Woody, Pie, Pillow, Ice Cube, Foldy, Golf Ball, Winner, Loser, Clock, Yellow Face, Pin, Naily, Teardrop, Dora [BFB]

Two, X [XFOHV]

Airy, Liam, Charlie [HFJONE]

Record, Tissues, Erasey, Hanger, Rosey, Limey, Pilly, Peanut, Daddy Long Legs [BURNER]

Balloon, Silver Spoon, Yin-Yang, Bow, Goo, Blueberry, Candle, Taco, Test Tube, Toilet, Microphone, MePad, Steve Cobs [Certain AU with a friend!] [II]

Hour Glass [OK]

Animatic, Weathery, Exclamation Mark, jej, TOMATER [AB]

✮ Ships that I like!

Four & X [Classic!]

Silver Spoon & Candle [LOVE IT!]

MePhone4 & Toilet [Platonically!] [AU with a friend]

Pin & Coiny [I like it!]

Tree & Black Hole [YES]

Tennis Ball & Golf Ball [it's alright!]

Winner & Clock [Platonically!]

[DISCLAIMER: If I ever say I simp for a character, IT'S A JOKE!]

My creations!๋࣭ ⭑⚝

✮ AUs I've created!

BFD High [BFDI]

Battle Back To Dream Island [BFDI]

The Wrath Of Two [TPOT]

Battle To Survive Insanity [BFB/TPOT]

Meeple Madness [II]

The Child [HFJONE]

BURNIT [BURNER]

✮ Object Shows I'm working on!

JNIW

D.E.A.T.H

Sensory Serenity

BAISOA

Other things!๋࣭ ⭑⚝

✮ I love to yap, so feel free to ask questions about me or my creations! I don't bite!

✮ Feel free to also ask questions/requests to my OCs, AU characters or sonas!

✮ I also have art requests open, free of charge!

@justanapplenothinghere owns a special place in my heart! He is one of my bestest friends!! Feel free to check out his amazing page!

@yari-saber @biblicallyaccuratefour @beetlebeeez are my best friends!! Feel free to check out their amazing art too!

✮ Have an absolutely splendiferous day! ദ്ദി(ᵔᗜᵔ)

[starry-slithers]

Rizzing Up Riz’s Family

**riz belongs to @rene-hl-trashcan

Summary: Cariad meets Arvis and Safija

A/N: this is so frigging rushed. I had to get it down fast coz otherwise I wouldn’t sleep. I’m gonna look back and cringe later but YOLO. Pacing issues i can’t-

This was a bad idea

An awful, terrible idea that was bound to make her lose the love of her life.

She’d been invited to spend Christmas with Riz and his family. Well, leva, Safija and Arvis

She’d brought gifts and fresh pastries, wanting to make a good impression. What if they hated her? What if she ruined Christmas? They had invited her, wanting to get to know the girl their ‘son’ was so smitten with. 

Riz noticed the blonde girl fidgeting and held her hand gently.

“Hey…you ok Carrie?”

That snapped her out of her spiral.

“Hm? Y-yeah. It’s just- what if I do something wrong? What if they hate me?” She was clearly incredibly nervous. Riz bent down and nuzzled her jaw before pressing a lingering kiss to her cheek.

“Darling, it’s going to be fine. Your parents liked me, so I’m sure they’ll like you. Sofija’s already doting on you and she hasn’t even met you.”

“My parents loved you because at least you have something impressive. You can protect me, you’re caring, you’re chivalrous, you’re a gentleman, you’re polite, you’re smart….what do I have to offer? I can’t really protect you, can I?”

He chuckled softly. 

“My love, you don’t need to worry, they’ll adore you, especially considering you’re their future daughter in law.” He teased, before he put a comforting arm around her waist and kissed the top of her head just as the door opened. leva bounded into their arms, laughing. She adored her uncle and his girlfriend. Sofija and Arvis soon emerged with a smile, hugging Riz tightly, the man clapping him in the back. 

The woman, Sofija, looked very motherly with warm brown eyes and an air of patience and kindness. The man had a mischievous glint in his icy blue eyes. Sofija smiled warmly at Cariad, ushering her into the house as well.

“Come in, come in dear, oh we’ve heard ever so much about you.” She smiled. 

“Thank you, ma’am. I’m glad to finally meet you as well.” She grinned back. She was stood there awkwardly in her coat and shoes, needing step by step instructions on where to put them. She wasn’t stupid, she just wanted to make a good impression, and since she was a guest she waited to have permission, rather than ask. Arvis noticed and smirked.

“I doubt you’ll freeze to death in the house so just put your coat on the coat hanger. Shoes can just go by the door.”

“Thank you, sir.” 

“No need for sir or ma’am, Miss Faiythe, just call us Arvis and Sofija.”

“No need for ‘Miss Faiythe’, just call me Cariad.” She replied, which caused her to receive an encouraging squeeze of Riz’s hand.  

“Cariad…Love in Welsh, correct?”

“Yes, I was named after my Grandma.” She replied, pleasantly surprised he knew the origin of her name.

“Well, let’s not hover here the whole evening, there’s a nice fire in the drawing room.” Sofija said. leva took their hands and led them to the room. 

The manor was cozy and decorated for the upcoming festivities. It smelled homey, and the lights twinkled softly while candles flickered invitingly. 

Cariad crouched by the fire. She’d always liked fire, since she was a little girl.

“So, Riz has told us a little about how you two met. Tell us about this vivarium of yours.”

“My vivarium? Oh, yes. It’s a sanctuary for the magical beasts I rescue. There’s unicorns, nifflers, thestrals…”

“So you can see thestrals too?” Asked Sofija softly.

“Yes, my late brother.”

“I’m sorry to hear that dear.”

“It’s alright, it happened when I was quite young. Anyways, enough about me. Riz has told you some interesting stories about you two, and I’m eager to learn more about you both.” leva had started braiding Cariads hair while Riz had gone to the kitchen to get drinks for everyone. Cariad felt guilty for not doing it herself. She was taught that if she was a guest in someone’s house, that her hosts shouldn’t have to lift a finger. That reminded her of the treats she’d brought.

“Oh I baked these-…” she said, holding out her little basket of baked goods. Having a baker for a mother came in handy when it came to try and impress potential in laws. 

“Oh sweetheart you shouldn’t have-.” 

“No, no I insist,” 

That earned her an approving smile. Maybe they wouldn’t hate her after all.

Riz came back in shortly after and his gaze softened when he saw Cariad had brought things.

“Darling…” he chuckled quietly, leaning down to kiss the top of her head and passing her a cup of warm tea. He then passed his ‘parents’ their own mugs. Once he was seated, he patted the space next to him, to tell Cariad she didn’t have to wait to be asked and she could sit on the couch. She got up and say next to him, though she was almost afraid to show affection in front of his parents. Riz had that sorted too, his hand finding it’s usual place on her thigh. 

Arvis raised an eyebrow and said, completely bluntly.

“So. How many grandkids do you plan on giving me?” 

Cariad blushed and fumbled on her words while Riz looked him dead in the eyes with a totally straight face. 

“At least 5.” 

Arvis chuckled and turned his gaze to Cariad.

“So, can you really take care of my boy?”

For once, Cariad didn’t hesitate upon asking the question. Normally she’d pause, doubting her abilities to protect people. But she stared at him and said a simple.

“Yes”

Arvis was quite stunned, he’d only been jesting after all. Riz squeezed her thigh and gave her a small smile. And Cariad felt accepted. leva rolled her eyes and fake gagged at the gesture. It was weird seeing her stoic uncle so soft and mushy. 

Sofija got up a while later to cook dinner and Cariad hurriedly joined her, eager to assist and almost prove herself. Riz could hear the two women laughing together. 

“Well I’ll say, they’ve already bonded.” Smirked Arvis 

“It would appear so.”

“It seems as if you’ve been utterly swept off your feet.” 

“Yeah…I guess I have…”

“Boys! Time for dinner!” Called Sofija. They were all seated, with Arvis at the head of the table, Cariad next to Riz with leva and Sofija opposite. 

They dug in but there was something different about the food.

“Sofija? Did you cook this differently?” Asked leva. Not that she was complaining, it was delicious.

“Cariad made an offhand comment about how her mother cooks this meal. I decided I’d try it, seeing as I’ve done the same thing so many times. I must admit it’s delicious.”

“Don’t credit me at all, Sofija, it was all your amazing cooking.” 

The two women chuckled and Riz whispered in Cariads ear.

“See darling? Nothing to worry about.”

They all ended up relaxing in the drawing room, Cariad  babbling happily to Arvis about politics, her special interest. She was one of the only people aside from himself who payed attention in history of magic, and researched it outside of class hours frequently, always coming top of the class. 

Eventually, she grew quite drowsy.

“Sleepy, my gorgeous love?”

“A little tired, but I wanna stay up.” She yawned. leva had already withdrawn to her room. 

Riz squeezed her tighter against him. Sofija was practically dripping with motherly love and affection. She may as well have brought CaRiz t-shirts. 

Cariad soon forgot her vow to stay awake and was lulled to sleep by the sound of her lover talking. Most people soon fell asleep, aside from Riz- being a raging insomniac. At about 1 am, Cariad yawned herself awake, a little disoriented before crawling on top of him and burying her face in his chest. She saw his ‘parents’ were asleep so she kissed his eyebags.

“Go to sleep…” she mumbled sleepily. 

Riz’s hands found her waist and pulled her against him. 

“They loved you, y’know.” He murmured, nuzzling his nose against hers.

“I’m glad. I loved them too. I might have to visit your multiverse more often, my dear.”

“I think we’d all like that.” 

~~~~~~~ this was so frigging rushed. I defo got Sofija/ Safija’s name wrong. I had to get it down before bed tho

[hpowellsmith]

July Books

I can't remember when I last did one of these but as I ended up reading a lot this month, here it is! Bolded are my favourites.

Saturnalia - Stephanie Feldman: a near-future alchemical horror? thriller? in which a former fortune-teller who was ousted from an occultist club gets dragged into her old life. I happened to spot this in the library and enjoyed it quite a bit.

Nothing But Blackened Teeth - Cassandra Khaw: a horror novella about rich young people going to a haunted manor house for a wedding, badness ensues. I liked the messy relationships in this and some of the horror elements, but there were some quippy moments that weren't so much my thing: I felt they undercut the tension in a less-fun way.

Vivi Conway and the Haunted Quest - Lizzie Huxley-Jones: second in an adorable kids' series based on Welsh mythology. I loved the first one and enjoyed this one more: it felt tighter and more driven as Vivi has embraced her magical connection to Nimue and the group of pals is a solid team. Lots of good creepy moments and lovely straightforward moments showing and discussing disability, neurodivergence, and queerness. Perfect for kids (I read it to my child for bedtime); a cute read for adults too.

Nevada - Imogen Binnie: weird that this is known as a classic trans book when it's only 11 years old, but that's a whole other thing. Maria is a trans woman in Brooklyn who's perhaps too online for her own good and struggling with her relationships and workplace. She heads out on an unwise road trip. I liked this a lot: it's very much a book about messy early-20s screwups and it felt very human.

Gender Failure - Ivan E Coyote and Rae Spoon: memoirs from two performers about growing up and transitioning. I enjoyed learning more about the authors (I wasn't familiar with them before) but the choppy style was a bit too choppy for my liking and resulted in some repetitiveness in phrasing/subject that could have been smoothed out a bit.

Boys Weekend - Mattie Lubchansky: a graphic novel about Sammie, a transfem nonbinary artist's assistant who attends a stag weekend with their techbro friends on a libertarian-paradise island on which sinister techbro cults are lurking. I enjoyed this a great deal, it was very funny in places, and pretty heartbreaking in others.

Small Beauty - jia qing wilson-yang: a Canadian trans woman is grieving her cousin, and moves into his old, remote house on the edge of a small town while learning more about their family and loved ones, as well as herself. It's an unassuming sort of book, but it packs a punch and stands up for itself. The magical realist moments were lovely. I keep thinking about it every so often: it was pretty lovely, and moving.

Cuckoo - Gretchen Felker-Martin: queer teenagers in the 90s go through the harrowing experience of a wilderness conversion camp, while also trying to escape an entity that wears their skin, returns to the outside world as "perfect" teens, and infests others. This was a really tough read thanks to the intense, ongoing abuse the characters suffer and the unflinchingly awful horror scenes. I couldn't put it down.

Darryl - Jackie Ess: this dramedy? tragicomedy? was a nice palate cleanser after the intensity of Cuckoo. Darryl's a bit of a sad sack in his forties, despite his easy trust-fund lifestyle his life has become stagnant and he's exploring being cuckolded, his own queerness, and the BDSM scene. I just loved Darryl's voice in this: he's such an anxious doofus and I couldn't help but enjoy how silly he, and a lot of the story, was while also having genuine moments of emotion and compassion.

[pers-books]

Doctor Who 2024 series news

New information about the eight episodes in the Doctor Who 2024 series is revealed in SFX magazine 378. We’ve included contextual information from what we know from other sources and filming reports.

Space Babies

This episode picks up from the events that happen at the end of The Church on Ruby Road with Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) entering the TARDIS for the first time. The Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and Ruby land on a spaceship occupied by babies who are very talkative for their age, a scary slimy monster called the Bogeyman (Robert Strange) — and no adults to be found. Space Babies introduces the series story arc of both the Doctor and Ruby’s foundling mystery.

The Devil's Chord

Ncuti Gatwa describes Maestro (Jinkx Monsoon) as “Such a delicious villain.” The Doctor and Ruby meet and chat with The Beatles in this episode set in 1963. Both Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson will sing in the story. The large recording room at Abbey Road Studios was recreated as a set at Wolf Studios Wales.

Boom

The Doctor and Ruby travel in the TARDIS to Ruby’s first alien planet — a war-torn world. The episode, written by Steven Moffat and described as “intense”, was filmed in chronological order with Ncuti Gatwa receiving praise for his performance from director Julie Anne Robinson.

73 Yards

The TARDIS lands on the Welsh coast and Ruby must solve a mystery involving a Welsh horror folktale legend. The TARDIS scenes were genuinely filmed on the Welsh Cost in Pembrokeshire. Dame Siân Phillips co-stars with Aneurin Barnard and Jemma Redgrave. Filming reports reveal that Barnard plays a Welsh candidate named Roger Ap Gwilliam.

Dot and Bubble

Gatwa and Gibson filmed their first Doctor Who scenes together on a pontoon inside entrance locks in Cardiff Bay Barrage for Dot and Bubble. The setting for Dot and Bubble is a colony with an out-of-control dangerous situation on an alien planet. Callie Cooke plays an influential person in the colony. The episode is described as very Black Mirror and touches on a real-world problem which will likely cause a good deal of discussion after the episode airs.

Rogue

This episode was co-written Kate Herron and Briony Redman. Set in the Regency Era in 1813, Rogue, described by Davies as “a proper Bridgerton episode with dances and waltzes”, was filmed in three different manor houses. Psychic earrings allow the Doctor and Ruby to period dance with skill. Jonathan Groff and Indira Varma co-star. Varma plays the villainous Duchess of Pemberton — who is not what she seems.

The Legend of Ruby Sunday and Empire of Death

These episodes, set on Earth, feature UNIT headquarters populated by Kate Stewart (Jemma Redgrave), Mel Bush (Bonnie Langford), Rose Noble (Yasmin Finney), Morris (Lenny Rush) and Colonel Ibrahim (Alexander Devrient). Russell T Davies calls this episode “shocking” and “The Most Devastating Finale.”

Doctor Who, starring Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson returns on 11 May 2024 midnight, 00:00 BST (10 May 7:00pm ET) streaming on BBC iPlayer and Disney+ with Space Babies and The Devil’s Chord. Both episodes will broadcast on BBC One in the UK and Ireland on 11 May immediately before Eurovision. The remaining six episodes will stream at 00:00 BST on the six subsequent Saturdays.

-- So it looks like Jemma DID film with Ncuti, despite what she said in a recent interview. Which is as it should be - she can't be in New Who and NOT appear with the Doctor - that ain't right and proper! AND she's in three episodes this series (that we know of!). Huzzah!