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15001700tt · 1 year ago

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1. The Old...

The second year at Hogwarts was both recognizable yet just as exciting as the first. Hugo Potter was sorted into Gryffindor, receiving congratulations from peers and celebratory gifts from his parents.

During the first few weeks of school, Albus discovered something strange. Scorpius and Rose were talking. Which was new and...they weren’t getting along. Scorpius was just discovering Rose had a short fuse. A very short fuse, one that left her red in the face. This was the temper that had become famous among her intimate circle of persons, and which Scorpius was just now familiarizing himself with. Albus had worried about his new and becoming close friend bullying his cousin, but that quickly dissipated when Rose pushed back with just as much animosity. Knowing them both, equally stubborn and bullheaded, nothing would change their opinion on the other anytime soon. So Albus stopped trying. He didn't enjoy having his friend and family at odds. At first. Now, the youngest Potter son was discovering something else, though this was more of a self-discovery.

As his eyes flickered between Scorpius and Rose as they sat across from each other on the ride to London, obviously cheesed off, Albus had to restrain his giggle. He had intentionally kept it a secret from Rose that Scorpius would be spending Christmas with them at the Burrow. And boy, was he finding out how fun it was to make trouble.

Alice, Cole, Hugo, and Percy also sat with them. Though they were too engrossed in playing wizard’s chess and exploding snaps to notice the weird staring contest that Scorpius and Rose were stuck in.

With a loud, upset sigh, Rose relented from the staring match and took out the book she was trying to read. Key word, trying.

“Do you do anything for fun?” The blonde asked not a minute later.

“Reading is fun.”

“For nerds.”

Scorpius’s annoying voice resounded before he plucked the book from her hands. He turned it around and inspected the cover. He grinned.

“Clockwork Angel? Is this a muggle book?”

“Give that back Malfoy,” Rose said with a groan. “In a minute, Weasley.”

“It’s Granger-Weasley to you,” she corrected him, a sharpness in her eye and tone.

“Wow, obnoxious today are we?” He asked, his haughty voice grating to her ears. Like nails on a chalkboard. “Me? I am not the one being a jerk! Now give it back, jerk!” She huffed out, reaching for her book again. “I know you are but what am I,” Scorpius teased, in a high-pitched mocking tone, raising the sought after book high above his head. Unfortunately for him though, his growth spurt was still a couple years away, allowing Rose to easily best his five feet with her five-two height and snatch her literature piece back.

“You interrupt my reading one more time and this book will become lethal!” Their bickering continued, and Albus became increasingly more interested in the newly started game of wizard chess. The other two’s arguing slowly became monotonous, fading into the background like static on the telly. Annoying but ignorable.

“Your turn Albus!”

“Alright! Ready to lose?” Albus responded, taking his eyes away from the now-less-than-entertaining sight of Scorpius and Rose interacting. They bored him.

Once they reached King’s Cross station, the group grabbed their luggage and departed off the train. They hit the platform and started looking around for their family. Rose skipped ahead as soon as she spotted her parents. She smiled instantly and ran toward them.

“Hi mummy! Daddy!”

She hugged her parents first, before being passed down the hugging line of relatives, from grandparents to aunts and uncles (there were a lot). All of which complimented Rose's cuteness, many expressing how much they missed her.

The other kids dispersed, greeting their folks, leaving Scorpius Malfoy standing alone.

Mrs. Potter noticed this and went up to the little boy. “Scorpius right? It's so nice to meet you sweetie! Where are your parents?” The missus asked. Rose furrowed her eyebrows, not understanding why he hadn't left. He’d usually leave to meet his parents on the other side of the station.

“Greetings, Mrs. Potter! It is a pleasure to meet you! My parents had to leave on their business trip earlier than expected. I understand it was urgent. I would like to extend their apologies to you, ma’am. It seems that I may have to intrude on you and your family a bit earlier than planned. Sorry to trouble you. Please accept this on their behalf,” Scorpius explained articulately and respectfully, pulling out a generous and luxurious gift basket from a fine silk bag with an obvious Extension Charm on it. He handed the peace offering over very gently.

“Oh, they really didn’t have to! And of course you can, hun! It’s no trouble at all!” Mrs. Potter graciously took the offering from the cute and courteous child.

“Nonetheless, pardon my intrusion. It is especially rude to impose on one's first meeting. You have my utmost gratitude for your kindness,” the polite lad finished with a formal bow.

Too polite, Mrs. Potter thought. She looked at the young child, who stood so properly and behaved so cordially despite being left in the care of practical strangers whom he now had to spend the beginning of an intimate holiday break with. A mental decision was made to treat this too well-behaved boy like family.

After all, kids should also learn to be spoiled.

“Intrude all you like! For I have never seen such excellent manners!” Mrs. Potter said with relish, lowering herself to the young lad’s level, balancing the basket on her lap.

“But of course! My mother took great care to raise a gentleman!” Rolling her eyes, Rose glared at the hypocrite from behind her family’s torsos.

“The cutest gentlemen I’ve ever seen!” Mrs. Potter took the liberty to pinch his cheeks. With both hands. Scorpius was taken aback, surprised. And more surprisingly, he found he didn’t mind this form of affection. It was something he could get used to. Quite easily too.

Satisfied at the pink in the pale boy’s face, Mrs. Potter released him. Then moved to stand by his side, shoulder to shorter-shoulder.

“Would this fine gentleman care to escort me to the car?” She put out her hand, a warm smile on her face. Looking up with a glow the Potter matron found healthy, the flushed boy gladly and enthusiastically took her hand.

“But of course! It’d be my honor to escort a lady!” Rose scoffed at the weird and gross display of a kiss-up Scorpius. She grabbed her own parents' hands and began pulling them to the car with great effort. The two laughed, giving into her demands to walk briskly while keeping in line with their other children to hear about their recounts of school. Rose felt they clearly weren’t hasty enough. Scorpius and her aunt were able to keep pace, chatting happily while still holding hands. Her uncle walked calmly alongside his youngest daughter, both amused and chuckling at James and Albus running literal circles around them. The two brothers were in the middle of dramatically acting out school anecdotes, their gestures wildly exaggerated and movements energetically wild. Rose couldn’t get in the car fast enough.

For the entirety of the first week of break, Rose sulked at having the bane of her existence home for the holidays. She had planned and wanted to ignore him. But it was hard to. He took every chance to make a jab at her. And what was worse, he got along with everyone.

Her parents were a bit wary of him at first, though sadly they too warmed up to him. His charisma was so annoying. Especially since he was charming to everyone. Except Rose.

During their last dinner together, before Christmas Day and before he left to rejoin his own family, Scorpius was the most annoying he had been that entire week! He sat between her and Albus as he had these past seven days. As usual, he was mean and teased her relentlessly. But today, he took it up a notch. He kept tugging at the ends of her hair and kicking at her feet under the table! Of course, she had to get even! She kicked him back, harder, and took to pinching him wherever she could! They kept at it even till the end of the meal.

After dinner, the rest of their family friends arrived at the party. It was Christmas Eve after all! The Finnegans, Thomases, Longbottoms and the Scamanders all arrived and in that order. Each family came in with huge, bulky sacks and a plate of food, from appetizers to desserts. Scorpius became distracted by the incoming families, swept away by Mrs. Potter who wanted to properly introduce him to everyone. Rose snorted and her focus also changed as she caught sight of the Longbottoms coming in.

“Alice! Hi!” Rose called out, running toward the door. “Rose!” The other girl shouted, also bolting in. The two then crashed into a hug.

“Look! Look!” Alice squealed, grabbing Rose’s hand to drag her toward her mother. More specifically, what her mother was holding. “Mum and I made mince pies together! Try it!”

“I can’t! Not right now! I’m still stuffed,” Rose groaned, rubbing her too-full belly.

“What? You already ate! It's so early! We just got here!”

“I know! But mum doesn’t trust Hugo to eat without his bib and he doesn’t want to eat alone!”

Alice giggled. “I thought he was already off it?” “Yeah, but he had an accident yesterday. Mummy’s taking no chances today!”

The girls were joined by their cousins and friends, and soon all the preteen girls seemed to have formed their little group. They laughed and chatted, even as the last family, the Scamanders, came in.

Somehow, Scorpius beat Rose in greeting the newcomers. She glared at him, observing how intimately he greeted the family, everyone hugging him and him hugging the whole bunch. It was sickeningly sweet how much the family seemed to gush and fawn over the interloper the most. Even the twins, who were known for their disinterest and always in their own little worlds, met Malfoy with unexpected warmth and affection.

“They know each other?” Rose’s voice cut softly to Hugo, who just shrugged and kept snacking on the Christmas treats in hand, most of them chocolate. Rose rolled her eyes at her unhelpful brother before continuing her scowling at the three boys. Their similarity was unsettling. A lot of blonde hair and pale skin. Ugh.

Shoving Scorpius out of the way, Rose was finally able to give her own greetings to the family with her best and biggest smiles. With bigger and better hugs if she does say so herself.

At least anything better than what Malfoy could give. Finishing her last hug and seeing Scorpius talk to the other twin, Rose asked her earlier question.

“He spent a lot of time at our house,” Lorcan responded, shrugging nonchalantly, his attention more invested somewhere on the wall to their right. There was nothing there.

“Why?”

“None of your bee’s wax, Weasley!” Scorpius interrupted, joining in the circle with Lysander following behind.

“Shut it! No one’s talking to you!”

“Then stop talking about me!"

“Whatever! It’s not like I care anyway!” With a harrumph, Rose turned away, Alice in hand. Just a couple feet after walking away, something caught Rose’s foot, causing her to trip and fall. She turned pink in embarrassment until she heard snickers from behind.

Looking back, Malfoy was closest to her, stifling his laughter as the other boys just started laughing out right. Only Alice was concerned.

A tripping jinx! How dare he!!

Rose became red. Hot with anger and vengeance. She got up, brushed herself off, turned around, and took off running. Alice right behind her. They were out for bloody blondes!

The boys ran from the stormy redheads, both parties yelling back and forth.

“You’re dead Malfoy!”

“Only if you catch me Weasley!”

“You’re unbelievable!”

“Says the only one in uniform!”

“It’s comfortable! You’re such a jerk!”

“Only for you!”

“Were you dropped on your head?!”

Their antics continued on well into the night. The kids eventually were forced to settle down when the adults corralled them into the living room. It was time for presents!

A long standing Weasley tradition, on Christmas Day after dinner, presents would be passed around and opened all together. Families brought prepared presents beforehand, wrapped and ready, in huge sacks. They could’ve used bags with an Extension Charm but it was fun for the kids to help fill those sacks and all the goodies waiting for them, just sitting by the tree. Each parent called all their offspring to come and be the little owls to hand deliver those gifts. Just as everyone was getting ready to start, there was a knock on the door.

“That’s them!” Scorpius exclaimed, darting to the door. Mr. and Mrs. Potter trailed after him, worried as they didn’t know who was at the door. And the little boy was already opening it.

“Father! Mother! You really came!”

“Oh, Scorpius! My beautiful boy!” Astoria Malfoy instantly bent down at the sight, wrapping the little boy in eager arms and planting kisses all over his cheeks. “Oh, I missed you so much, my sweet boy!”

“I missed you too, mama,” Scorpius said softly, letting himself be swooped and picked up into his mother’s arms. He never showed it, but he had missed them dearly. Being alone for the holidays was harder than the boy thought, which was why he was grateful for Albus and his family welcoming and including him in their family. Which is also why he took that frustration and anger out on the one person who vocally voiced how unwanted and unwelcome he was here. Rose Weasley.

But none of that mattered now. Feeling his mother’s warmth surrounding him and his father’s hand on his head, it seemed like all the heaviness of his heart just disappeared.

“Thank you, Harry, Ginny, for looking after our boy,” Draco Malfoy expressed sincerely, giving a formal half-bow to show he really meant it.

“It’s no trouble, no trouble at all!” Ginny answered with gusto. Then smiled, seeing the usually serious boy’s happy expression while in his mother’s hold. “We were very happy to have Scorpius over. He was such a delight and I know Albus enjoyed having his best mate sleepover for the week.”

As if he heard his name, Albus came running in. Rose, ever the nosy girl, right behind him.

“What?! You’re leaving Scor?!? You can’t! We haven’t done presents yet!” Albus cried out with distraught.

“Actually,” Draco began, eyes moving between Harry and Ginny. “Scorpius sent us a letter two days ago, telling us your families do a gift exchange? He sent a list of names and we came prepared. We were hoping to join you?”

“Please,” Astoria added with emotion.

Harry and Ginny looked at each but before they could give any answer, Hermione and Ron rounded the corner. “Good evening, Granger, Weasley.”

Draco and Astoria both gave a formal half-bow. “Malfoy,” Hermione said through clenched teeth. Ron just gave a slight nod.

Rose felt something was weird. She didn’t know what but her parents looked…upset?

“We don’t want to impose,” Draco said, face

expressionless but his voice soft like approaching a hurt animal. And in a sense, he was. “But Scorpius asked if we could come early to join in on the gift exchange. We brought presents. For everyone. And our apologies. I know we never talked about what happened. I understand you all would like to forget. Especially you, Hermione. And I am deeply sorry. So, so, so very sorry. That day has kept me up nights and I know for you more so. I know this wasn’t part of what we agreed on, but we would be so grateful if we could join in on just this portion of the festivities, please.”

The word hung there for a while. No one spoke or moved, the Malfoys didn’t dare to. Albus and Rose just looked at the parents confused but we’re given the eye to stay silent. So they did.

If looks could kill, Hermione’s eyes would send more Death Curses than the Dark Lord himself. And Draco stared straight into those eyes, taking in the full weight of that hate. He wasn’t the only Malfoy to do so. Scorpius, curious about what was going on, turned around to look at the adults interacting.

Then he met Mrs. Granger-Weasley’s angry eyes and he was scared. Quickly, he buried his face into his mother’s shoulder.

Seeing the stricken look on the boy’s face took the hot air out of Hermione. She hadn’t meant to glare at a child, just felt a stare and thought it was Astoria. But the woman was looking down and she mad dogged an innocent kid. Hermione let out a sigh, feeling the anger leave her just as suddenly as it appeared. She wasn’t really angry at them, not anymore. Therapy had done wonders. Over the years, she realized the root of her trauma was Bellatrix and she found closure in the woman’s death through her mother-in-law.

One of the many reasons she loved Molly Weasley. Maybe, at one point, she had hated Malfoy. For the trouble he brought to Hogwarts, for the terrible memories borne from his house. Yet, through her sessions, she also came to realize that Malfoy at the time was a child too, just as she was. His home had become run by terrorists, his life at risk every day, and he had still tried to help them in his own way. So no, she didn’t hate them. Not anymore. It had taken her some time to get over her anger, angry at what happened to her and just the whole situation. But, she found that hard-to-kill anger easily overcome with the birth of their first child.

It had seemed so pointless when there was more important happiness and joy to focus on, wrapped in one tiny bundle. That all-engulfing anger had turned to ashes, leaving the perfect soil for a beautiful Rose to blossom in her heart.

And it seemed she wasn’t the only one to change for their children. Draco Malfoy, the most arrogant arse she ever had the displeasure of knowing, seemed to have turned over a new leaf himself. Humbling himself not once but many times to reach out to the Weasleys and Potters to convince them if they could host Scorpius over Hogwarts’ winter break. Seems like he was Albus’s best friend and the latter had already extended an invitation when hearing that the Malfoy children usually stayed with distant relatives or different caretakers while the parents were on their holiday business trips. So that both boys wouldn’t end up disappointed, the man took upon himself to contact the families over and over again until they finally heard him out. Then even more so until they agreed. The Potters readily agreed to be responsible for the boy and Weasleys, though apprehensive, agreed to let the boy sleepover at least.

Now here was the man, apologizing and pleading at their in-laws’ entrance, for the sake of his children. Well, not that it was weird that it was towards her and Ron. They were the most adamant against having the Malfoys over. They had agreed to let Scorpius and Scorpius only cross the threshold. A decision that Hermione realized was made rashly and biasedly.

No, she wasn’t angry. Not anymore. Still, it was her go-to defense mechanism.

But now she was calm, collected, and…ready to make amends.

Hermione walked to and stood in front of Draco. They held eye contact. Then, she put a comforting hand on his shoulder. This time, even he couldn’t mask his shock.

“I forgive you, Draco. I forgave you a long time ago. But seeing you, after all these years, just brought out a lot of negative emotions for me. Emotions that are not your fault. And definitely, not your son’s.” She put her other hand on the small child’s back.

“I’m sorry Scorpius,” Hermione said softly, rubbing the boy’s back soothingly. “I didn’t mean to frighten you. Would you still like to open presents with us?”

At that, the little blonde head whipped around. Unmarred hope that only a child could have reflected in those silver eyes. “Yes…Can I?”

“Yes, you can.” Hermione looked back to Draco, meeting his wide eyes with a warm smile. “You and your family are always welcome here.”

Astoria gasped. Ginny and Harry looked at each other, smiling wide. Scorpius practically beaming like the little sun ray he was, ran and crashed into Albus, who was laughing in glee. The two boys, like a pair of sparrows, took off into the living room to spread the good news.

Draco, who was so in shock, finally came back to reality. And rushed forward, wrapping Hermione in a fierce hug.

“Thank you! Thank you so much! I’m so sorry. So very sorry!” Draco pulled the woman in tight, continuing to express more whispers of gratitude and even more apologies.

Hermione let out a laugh, reciprocating the hug. Ron stepped forward next to his wife, sharing a smile with her. Draco saw the man approach and put a firm hand on the redhead’s shoulders, giving a squeeze as he extended his ‘thank you’s and ‘sorry’s.

Rose didn’t know what to do. She felt awkward staying but more so just leaving, she had been too confused to join Scorpius and Albus when they left. So… she just stood there.

Draco finally released the other adults, turning to his own wife for another hug. She smiled up at him with elation and relief, chuckling softly as she wiped the stray tears off her husband’s face with shiny ones in her own eyes. Though hers never fell. Her husband may act indifferent but only she knew how sensitive he actually was.

After they finished having their moment, the Malfoy couple recovered and collected themself. Astoria was the first to speak.

“Oh, allow me to introduce our youngest, our

daughter, Daphne Malfoy. She’ll be starting Hogwarts next year.”

The two adults parted, revealing a child who was hidden there till now. Rose gasped.

The most beautiful girl stepped forward. Hair more golden than the sun, eyes that shone like a lush field of grass. Dressed in the pristine white of a miniature ball gown with a fluffy skirt and the added child element of puffy sleeves. Delicate white gloves covering even more delicate hands pinched the sides of the dress lightly, lifting the fine fabric, and the figure followed into the most elegant curtsy Rose ever saw.

“Pleasure to meet you,” said the most loveliest voice. Now, Rose was sure the girl was a fairy. A fairy of bright sunshine and miles of vibrant green.

Rose couldn’t help rushing to meet the girl face to face.

“Oh this is our daughter-”

“Hi! I’m Rose!” Rose said excitedly, cutting her mum off. “You are so pretty! Like a fairy!”

The young girl was surprised then bashful at the sudden compliment, but curtseyed a second time as it was proper on first meetings. Then, in Rose’s opinion, said in the cutest voice, “Hello, Rose. How do you do?”

Rose felt violent. Like when she saw the most adorable oversized teddy bear and had just wanted to squeeze it to death.

“Great! Now that you’re here! You are just so beautiful! I can’t wait to introduce you to everyone! Merlin, you’re pretty!” Rose offered an open hand.

The poor girl was blushing in embarrassment at the interesting mix of friendliness and fawning. She looked to her parents in a silent plea to go along with the strange ginger. They nodded. Daphne shyly took hold of the hand in front of her. And was being gently yet firmly pulled along at the older girl’s pace.

Rose giggled happily. “Hehe, I can’t wait for everyone to meet you! What’s your favorite color? Can I braid your hair? Do you like sweets? My friend Alice made the tastiest mince pies ever! Though her mum helped out a bit…”

Hermione just chuckled and shook her head in fond exasperation. She hoped her daughter didn’t overwhelm the other girl too much. Suddenly, a long arm wrapped around her waist, a familiar sensation she recognized as her husband, and leaned into him.

“Are you sure?” Ron whispered, worriedly. She smiled up at him. He had stuck to her side and supported her even when she spoke out.

“Yes, I’m sure,” she whispered back, sharing a kiss with her knightley husband, always ready to defend or avenge her honor. She looked back at the Malfoys. “Come on in. Please.”

They followed after the Weasleys, bringing along their sack of gifts that had laid patiently against the doorframe, waiting to be taken up again. As they all rounded the corner into the main living, imagine their surprise when they saw their old friends.

“Astoria!”

“Luna!”

“Draco!”

“Rolf!”

The couples greeted one another with hugs and kisses to the cheek, taking a couple minutes to exchange pleasantries and catch up. They may run in the same circles thanks to their pureblood lineage however they’re different occupations meant they rarely saw each other on a daily basis. This was a very pleasant surprise.

The two couples sat together on the same couch, the Granger-Weasleys and Potters sat across them, while in between them sat the rest of the Weasley family and friends that took up the much larger, longer sofa facing the fireplace. Every family had their sacks open and their children standing around. The rug was clear and the children eager to get started.

The Malfoys had just settled in and were looking for their children. Scorpius was already digging into the bag, eager to get the first gift to be delivered.

“Where’s your sister, Scorpius?”

“With some boy,” Scorpius said, not worried, he was preoccupied in his search. “I can’t find my gift for Albus!”

“Sweetie, I’ll make sure to give it to you when we come to it okay? But where’s Daphne?”

“Ugh, over there with the Potters.”

Astoria looked across to find her daughter sitting in the lap of the oldest Potter boy with the Weasley daughter feeding her snacks. The poor dear looked so out of her element, redder than her mother had ever seen her.

“Daphne! Daphne dear! Come join us here!” Astoria called.

Not a second to spare, Daphne hurried to put her feet on the floor and quickly made her way to her mother. Who was surprised when her daughter came crashing into her. “Woah, there! Is everything okay, dear?”

Daphne nodded into her mother’s shoulder, but didn’t look up. Astoria chuckled, hugging her baby to comfort her.

“Aww, are you shy?”

She nodded again.

“Too shy to deliver presents?”

This time she shook her head. Daphne slowly moved away to stand with her brother.

“Okay then! You’re going to deliver the Christmas cards to the adults, Daphne. These two are for the adults right across from us. The Potters and the Granger-Weasleys…”

After making sure everyone was ready and the kids ready to go, the gift exchange began! The rug became a foot traffic frenzy, with children darting everywhere with Christmas cards or presents in hand, giving them to the adults and/or other children. Then hurrying back to HQ, which was their parents, to get ready for the next gift.

Rose took it upon herself to deliver Daphne’s gift. Since she hadn’t even known that Malfoy had a younger sister, and an adorable one at that, Rose quickly whipped something together. Grabbing all her favorite snacks and picking out a few she thought Daphne might like, Rose speedily prepared a giant gift goody bag. Her mum may have helped a little (with finding the packaging, the wrapping, and making it look really nice) but it was all Rose’s idea. She was over the moon when Daphne grabbed a sweet and ate it with gusto. She felt so moved for some reason, and happily stayed to watch the little lady go through the bag, one treat at a time.

Sometime throughout the evening, as the hyperactive activity and still roaring fire brought a sweaty heat into the house, Draco had taken off his coat and rolled up his sleeves. Rose’s eyes got caught on the large winged angel that covered the top of his left forearm. It had the saddest expression and a little broken heart in the center. The words, “Time Heals All Wounds”, lay underneath and just under that was a single eye with tears in it. Rose had never seen such a large tattoo that covered from the inside of the elbow all the way to the wrist. Draco noticed her staring, and gave her a soft smile.

“Neat, right?” He glanced down at his own arm. “Luna did it for me a long time ago.”

“Sorry, didn't mean to stare,” Rose apologized. “But it’s really…sad looking.”

“Haha, I suppose you're right, especially to you who likes pretty things so much, huh?” Draco chuckled at the blunt honesty of children, putting a hand on her head to ruffle her hair gently. “You’re alright, kiddo.”

Unbeknownst to Rose, two sets of parents were now paying attention to the exchange, more specifically on the body art that started it. Hermione had a very off look, while Ron couldn’t stop staring at the tattoo. Harry and Ginny looked with new eyes, in awe, at the changed man before them. Luna and Rolf just smiled knowingly.

The tension was broken with Daphne coming up to Rose with a perfectly wrapped squared gift box. “Me-Merry Christmas, Rose!” Daphne said and offered the box enthusiastically.

Rose felt her heart squeeze. She was so cute!

“Thank you Daphne! Merry Christmas!” Rose took the gift, which was pretty light, and took to the floor. Unceremoniously tearing away the neat wrapping. Twas part of the fun after all.

She opened the box to find a charming pair of glasses. Gold metal frame and rounded lens. She looked up curiously at the Malfoys for an explanation.

“They’re reading glasses enchanted to read at an extremely fast rate. From what we understand, you and Scorpius are the best students in your year. Since he has an eidetic memory, we thought you should have an edge of your own. Also, we thought it perfect for an avid reader like yourself.”

Rose gasped in glee. “Thanks Mr. Malfoy!” She threw herself at the man for a spontaneous hug. “Thank you Mrs. Malfoy!” Then at the woman.

She turned to Daphne, and was so happy that she lifted the girl during her hug and spun her around. The smaller girl gasped at the suddenness that soon turned into tinkling laughter.

The ginger went to show off to her parents, but particularly one blonde who was also across the room to give his best mate a gift he personally picked out.

“Oh darling, here’s the last gift,” Astoria declared, holding up a wrapped rectangular box. “This is to James Potter! Isn’t it great you already met him, Daphne?”

Shyly, the young girl nodded, rubbing a toe into the carpet.

“Here now! You’ve been doing a great job wishing everyone a ‘Merry Christmas’! Just once more! Big, strong voice, okay?”

Daphne nodded and took the present. She made her way across the rug, and stood off to the side as the older Potter boy talked animatedly with family. Immediately taking notice of the fair child, he turned his attention to her.

“Hey pretty bird! You flew off so suddenly just like one! Aw, did you miss me already?” James asked, obviously teasing the timid girl. He had thought she was a doll when Rose first brought her. Until he saw her cute expressions. Now he couldn’t aim for a reaction.

So, he was surprised when a gift was suddenly thrusted to him.

“Me-Me-Merry Christmas, Ja-James Potter!” Daphne announced with all her chest, presenting her gift with both arms outstretched and shaking. James felt his heart squeeze at the image of the trembling and blushing girl. Seriously, her face was completely pink!

Stepping forward and putting a knee on the floor, James got down to Daphne’s level.

“Thanks Daphne!” James said cheerfully in an even voice, trying to limit his usually booming voice to a softer tone. He had inkling she wasn’t quite used to the company of rowdy folks like the Weasleys. Gently, he took the gift given so precisely because it was from an even more precious individual. James opened it and smiled.

“Wow a muffler!” It was like a scarf but thicker and longer for those brutally cold winters. This one was plaid of dark amber and rich maroon. Immediately, the lad took out the long length, wrapping it the whole thing around his neck. “How does it look?”

Daphne stared at the new addition with a weird expression. James thought she looked…grumpy? “M-may I?” A quiet whisper came out.

James was so surprised, again, that he just nodded. The small girl stepped closer, tiny hands going to work. Daphne seemed to have a different vibe when she was concentrating. James couldn’t stop staring at her serious face, the shy girl he had come to know had a quiet confidence and assurance in her actions. At that moment, she tugged and unintentionally pulled the boy closer. James saw that beautiful, determined face up close and felt his face get hot. He looked away embarrassed and confused.

“Th-there. It looks great on you,” Daphne said softly, a flush in her face from pride and how well the muffler did look on the older boy. James agreed. The muffler was wrapped snugly around his neck, the two ends hanging over his chest at identical lengths.

“Wow! You did a really great job!” James patted her head.

Those small hands wrapped around his much bigger one. Despite being a third year, James was in the middle of a growth spurt. He was already almost as tall as his dad and looked down on all his cousins. Even more so with Daphne, who was really tiny for a ten year old.

James had become lost in thought seeing their obvious differences, and was brought back to reality by a squeeze on his hand.

“I’m really happy you like it,” Daphne said, her arms raised over her head to hold onto the warm hand that rested there. Then, she smiled most happily.

James felt his heart thump hard in his chest. Eyes scrunched closed with cheeks full and rosy as a smile so big and wide took up half the girl’s face. A wide-toothed smile of pure and unadulterated joy. His face got even hotter and his throat closed up as he beheld the most lovely face he’d ever seen.

Suddenly, James wrapped his arms around her and stood, lifting her up. She squealed at the new height, a bit scared as she had never been this high before.

“Don’t worry! I have you!” James assured while laughing loudly to cover up his embarrassment. Her fear turned into excitement and exhilaration as the tall boy carried her throughout the house. He talked and joked with his family, purposely trying to make the meek girl have fun and laugh. Yet with each sound of her giddy giggling, his ears grew hot.

James decided it was just the muffler tied a bit too tightly that night.

#halie writes #halie #harry potter #harry potter next gen #scorpius malfoy #hp #hp next gen #harry potter fanfiction #next gen hp #hp fanfic #hp fandom #rose weasley x scorpius malfoy #rose weasley #scorpius and rose #rose weasley and scorpius malfoy #albus potter #alice longbottom #storms of red

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kylesvariouslistsandstuff · 1 year ago

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So Far...

We're at the halfway point now.

The first half of 2023, box office-wise for the all-animated pictures, has been kind of more of the same... In that, Disney's animated feature releases - or one, in this case - are still struggling to get big crowds that are needed to cover the gargantuan budgets pumped into these things... Universal - for the most part - is still bringing home bacon. THE SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE landed among the highest grossing animated movies, period. Massive opening here in the states, incredible legs for a frontloaded picture, and especially for one that got a more mixed critical reception.

About the MARIO reviews... This makes me chuckle a bit. Very online people like to use the not-amazing critical reception of recent Disney-released animated movies to knock them and also use them to explain their not great box office ("well, if they had a made *good* movies), buuuut they either say the critics are "wrong" and "hate fun" for giving MARIO so-so marks or they just ignore them entirely. Tribalism stinks. MARIO does its job, yes, but it's also based on probably one of the most recognizable IPs in the whole damn world. Take that away, I wonder what kind of money that movie would've made...

But it wasn't entirely great for Universal this year, for they bungled the release of RUBY GILLMAN, TEENAGE KRAKEN. I understand that a lot of the Illumination and DreamWorks movies on Uni's slate all got domino'd, pushing the individual movies back a couple of paces... But June 30th was the wrong time to release this, and waiting till 3 1/2 months before release date to officially announce the movie to the world was also a big mistake (rumor-mills were leaking stuff about "MEET THE GILLMANS" instead of DreamWorks doing any talking... And we're but a little over a year out from the original movie opening theatrically after KUNG FU PANDA 4 in 2024.) if you ask me.

RUBY GILLMAN would've been a perfectly serviceable mid-July release, but Christopher Nolan has way too much power as a director, mandating that Universal not release *any* movie near his precious OPPENHEIMER. What a diva. I would've settled for early September. A good amount of weeks away from MUTANT MAYHEM, and having all of September, October, and early November to itself... I still wonder why Universal thinks releasing TROLLS BAND TOGETHER three days before Disney Animation's WISH is a great idea. October's wide open, it's like right there! In fact, BAND TOGETHER comes out in October in various international territories. Why not the same in the Yoo, Ess of Ay?

So, yeah... Universal had a high high with MARIO, and a low low with RUBY GILLMAN. That picture might make little more than SPIRIT UNTAMED. Maybe MIGRATION will be a SING-esque leggy Christmas hit for Illumination, and I'm sure TROLLS BAND TOGETHER will do pretty good.

Only one Disney animated release came about this year so far, Pixar's ELEMENTAL, which opened terribly (worst opening for a Pixar film, an opening on par with what TOY STORY collected in 1995 dollars)... But it's legging it up something fierce, it's sure to get the coveted 4x multiplier. Combine that with the "A" CinemaScore grade, and it's pretty clear that audiences quite dig the picture, despite what some weirdos are insisting. That Pixar has "lost its touch" or whatever, even though people have been saying that since the early 2010s. Disney's not going to send it straight to Disney+ just yet, they're gonna try to keep this thing spinning in theaters from the looks of it, hoping those classic Pixar legs keep it afloat while everything else comes and goes. It weathered INDIANA JONES and RUBY GILLMAN just fine, I'm sure it'll still hang on when BARBIE lands. Traditionally, Pixar gives their summer animated movies a Labor Day weekend bump, so I expect ELEMENTAL to be around till at least the end of September.

Disney botched this one, marketing-wise. The trailers were basically "Here's the premise, here's some gags, please clap." No hint of its actually solid and nuanced immigrant story, surprisingly light on the romance, too. Apparently that's cooties for the boy audience that they "should" be marketing to. Meanwhile, they're hyping up WISH as this story that's "a century in the making" and they seem to be pushing it as this definitive origin story of all Disney animated classics... Like, is it really that hard to tell audiences "hey, look at how cool our painterly fantasy musical is"? I guess it's a step up from how they just showed us STRANGE WORLD with no enthusiasm, and called it a day.

Sony is perhaps the real star here. SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE is their first fully theatrically-released animated movie since... THE ANGRY BIRDS MOVIE 2, all the way back in fall 2019... MITCHELLS VS. THE MACHINES, VIVO, WISH DRAGON... All went straight to streaming. HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 4 had a limited run in select theaters, but was largely a streaming-only release... So yeah, SPIDER-VERSE Deux marks their return to theaters after a four-year hiatus, and as expected, the sequel to the sleeper hit superhero movie is doing fantastically. Landed among the biggest openers for an animated movie, and legs-wise it's doing quite fine, passing $350m here. Looks to be the 2nd highest-earning animated movie of the post-outbreak era domestically, toppling MINIONS 2. Worldwide it did quite well for itself, too, as it inches towards $700m and is Sony Animation's highest-earning movie. Wowee! It's their only release this year.

The Top 10 highest-earning animated movies of the post-outbreak era, domestically, are largely Universal and Disney releases. One Sony release - again, SPIDER-VERSE Dos - and one Warner Bros. release, DC LEAGUE OF SUPER-PETS. So for all of Disney's financial woes, they're still up in the top slots with Universal. ENCANTO, LIGHTYEAR, and ELEMENTAL all landed above $90m domestically, so they're kinda doing something right, the idea of the movies being free on Disney+ be damned. They're now trying to un-train the audience of what Chapek/Kareem Daniels' Disney - and just the market in general - conditioned them into thinking, which is easier said than done.

So while box office has been back for the most part, we're in an era where the market itself and the amount of money being spent on these movies (near $300m for INDIANA JONES 5... Just... Why?) is creating a system that is just sooooo not conducive to the individual movies. The game should be rewritten, but you know how capitalism and Hollywood go... The collapse of a ton of different movies this summer just won't make the money people see sense, apparently...

Nestled in-between these biggies was Crunchyroll's release of SUZUME, which pulled in $10m, not the best for this kind of anime feature release, but still solid enough. A new DEMON SLAYER feature that was composed of a few episodes of the new season did its job, and a few other anime feature releases. Then you had THE AMAZING MAURICE and RALLY ROAD RACERS, released by Viva Kids (what is this company again?), the former only pulling in about $4m-ish here and the latter... I don't even know. At my theater, there was one seat - in the front row - purchased for every screening throughout the week. Can you say... Money laundering? One of these movies was a British picture, an adaptation of Terry Pratchett that went straight to streaming there... And the other was a Vanguard movie, who somehow keep making movies despite most of them not making back their budgets. That's SHREK producer John H. Williams' venture, they did VALIANT, HAPPILY N'EVER AFTER, SPACE CHIMPS, a pair of movies that almost went to theaters in the U.S. (GNOME ALONE and CHARMED) but ended up quietly debuting on streaming long after completion, and... I've lost track, GET SQUIRRELY I believe was another one?

What remains?

The highly-anticipated MUTANT MAYHEM, which could very well be a SPIDER-VERSE-esque box office sleeper for the ever-lasting world of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, bows next month. I'd imagine, because the picture was animated at Mikros, that it didn't cost too much to make. Paramount Animation has been in need of a real box office hit for a looooong while, something that isn't a SpongeBob movie, and this one might just be it.

I expect PAW PATROL 2 - also from Paramount - to play like the first one, something for the kiddies and the preschool crowd, and it makes enough to cover whatever it cost to make it.

TROLLS WORLD TOUR should open fine enough and leg it fine enough, despite WISH opening right next to it. Well, five days later, but still... It should move up a few weeks, I think. Above $80m domestically seems about right to me, $200m+ worldwide. It probably cost less than $100m to make.

WISH likely cost over $150m to make, typical of a Disney Animation film. If the marketing really gets audiences to want to shell out plenty of bucks to see it, then I expect it to perform similarly to other Thanksgiving-release Disney animated movies of the 2010s. TANGLED and MOANA being my references, because FROZEN was its own beast. Solid opening over the holiday frame, fantastic legs, and next to no competition for the rest of the season. No STAR WARS or Marvel movie opening at Christmastime, no AVATAR sequel, the only real competition being... I dunno, that Timothee Chalamet WONKA movie that Warner has coming out? I think it'll do fine. I can see it opening with around $40m for the three-day, Thanksgiving boosts it, then it goes past $150-180m domestically. Maybe even higher, if this musical - which seems engineered in every way to hit the beats of what audiences associate with a "Disney movie" - really resonates with audiences. Heck, Disney could put in the next trailer "In Theaters Only. On Disney+ in fall 2024!" Tell 'em, yeah, you're gonna have to wait to see it for free!

May they all do well...

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cllnsllvn · 1 year ago

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Longest Travel Day Ever

November 25, 2023

The day started in Paris, France, one of the coldest days we had on our family trip for Thanksgiving, and of course, I had packed my jacket away in my luggage. But it was still a very enjoyable last day in Paris! The rest of the family left in the morning, but my flight wasn't until 10 PM, so I had the day to myself. I went on a walking tour of Le Marais in the morning, wandered the Christmas market, and went to spend some time in the Tuileries. I made my way to the airport, arriving around 7 PM and settling in at my gate to wait for leg one of my journey - Paris CDG to Singapore!

November 26, 2023

Finally in Singapore, indeed! After about a twelve hour journey in the air, I landed in Singapore. The Singapore airport is considered by some to be the best airport in the world, and I was excited to do some exploring.

But, as it turns out, flying for 12 hours and hardly sleeping is kind of exhausting? So I explored the very small area around the gate I was departing from. But, in that area, I found a butterfly garden, an indoor koi pond, and a 24-hour free cinema! The cinema was playing the end of Luca, so, even though I haven't seen it yet, I did sit and watch. It's so cute, I have to check it out!

November 27, 2023

Finally arrived in Auckland! After my four hour layover in Singapore, I took another almost twelve hour flight to Auckland, New Zealand. I landed around 2:00 PM and made my way to the AirBnb that I had booked for the first week. I stayed in the Mt. Eden area of Auckland with Richard and Melanie, a native Aucklander and a Coloradan on a Fulbright Scholarship!

Because its the summer here, Richard suggested that to combat jet lag, I find a way to stay awake until it got dark around 9 PM. Right around the corner from the house was Mount Eden, the highest volcano in Auckland with a large crater at the top! The "hike" to the top follows a well paved road around the circumference of the volcano, though there is also the more direct route of stairs up the side. I took the meandering route, as my travel weary legs were not up for the stairs, plus I was looking for a way to kill time! At the top, there are gorgeous views of the entire Auckland CBD (central business district, essentially the city center), including the sky tower, one of the most easily recognizable buildings in the city skyline.

Richard and Melanie also have a cat named Pudi, who became my little companion while I was working in the house! I made it just about to 9 PM that first day, though the jet lag got me up at 3 AM the next morning. I used it to my advantage, though, and got a few administrative things done!

#New Zealand #Auckland #travel #Mt Eden #Paris #Singapore #North Island

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wavesandgazes · 1 year ago

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The true Achilles heel of retail is Black Friday. If you didn’t already know this, it’s called Black Friday because most stores just bleed money for the first three quarters of the year, and it’s only when the Christmas shopping season comes around that their numbers start to move from the red into the black. Prior to the proliferation of two-day shipping and Cyber Monday, Black Friday already had a bad reputation—every local news station in the country has a B-roll package of people getting trampled in the entryway of a Target. But even if you’re not willing to risk life and limb to get your cousin a pair of Airpods right after Thanksgiving, the fact remains that going to a mall or big box store at any point in the month of December is not a fun experience. Parking sucks, lines are long, and you will be inundated, like you are every year, with the cloying, dulcet tones of Christmas music. And though it does and may always induce an involuntary Pavlovian drip of nostalgia, Christmas music is no one's favorite.

I am fascinated by it. So much of it is immediately recognizable as Christmas music, but determining the exact contours of the genre feels very slippery. Certain subject matter (Santa, the newborn king) are very easily shelved, and a lot of it is secular, seasonal odes to snow and roaring fires. Yet somehow it’s verboten to play these songs in January. It doesn’t have any singular instrumental signifiers, besides maybe sleigh bells, and while many songs are as serious and solemn as a fad dance number, they have endured for decades.

I’m mostly fascinated by Christmas music’s predicament. Just like the shopping centers that pipe it over the loudspeakers every year, Christmas music as we know it is facing a slow terminal decline. The canon of Christmas music is not replenishing itself, and if the charts are any indication, there doesn't appear to be any incentive to try. The resurrection and growing popularity of Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is You”, released 19 years ago, is no longer a meme but a replicable playbook—Brenda Lee's "Rocking Around the Christmas Tree" (released in 1958) is receiving a similar social media push. Despite artists from every corner of the pop sphere still releasing Christmas cover albums, any original songs on these records aim for little more than short-lived novelty (like on the recent Kacey Musgraves’ duet with Willie Nelson called “Have A Willie Nice Christmas”). With catalog hits showing algorithmically-rejuvenated strength, the songwriting braintrusts of New York and Nashville do not appear interested in writing new and enduring inter-generational Christmas songs. This is obviously not the most urgent art project to undertake, but it speaks to diminishing returns in the larger ecosystem.

Read more at Waves and Gazes

#christmas #christmas music #christmas songs #brenda lee #spotify #songs #mariah carey #vaporwave #mallsoft #diplo #my writing #music

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denimbex1986 · 1 year ago

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'"Barbenheimer" weekend was a big success for both Barbie and Oppenheimer, with audiences praising both films. However, in the star-studded cast for Christopher Nolan's 12th film, a former Star Wars actor is getting his due. Yet, Alden Ehrenreich delivers as great a performance in Solo: A Star Wars Story as he does in Oppenheimer. It's not a "redemption" arc, at least not for the actor.

Oppenheimer stars Nolan staple, Cillian Murphy. However, the former Scarecrow is joined by luminaries like Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Florence Pugh and Robert Downey, Jr. In fact, Ehrenreich shares scenes almost exclusively with the former Tony Stark. As charismatic as RDJ can be, Ehrenreich delivers a performance one could arguably describe as "stealing" the scenes. Showing up in a cast of recognizable, talented actors and stealing the spotlight feels like a very Harrison Ford thing to do. Yet perhaps the biggest complaint from Star Wars fans about Solo was Ehrenreich didn't actually evoke Han Solo's original actor. While this criticism is dubious, it essentially means the Hail, Cesar! actor didn't imitate Ford. Still, his Han Solo faced a near-insurmountable task, much like Paul Wesley's Kirk in Strange New Worlds. The actor must portray the "same" character without doing an imitation of the original actor. The praise Alden Ehrenreich will get for Oppenheimer isn't so much a redemption of the actor but rather some incredibly incorrect fans redeeming themselves.

Alden Ehrenreich Wasn't One of Solo: A Star Wars Story's Problems

Like Star Trek, Star Wars was amid its third wave of saga films, though new corporate parents Disney wanted the wave never to crest. Executives led by once-and-future CEO Bob Iger envisioned a new Star Wars movie each year for the foreseeable future. However, despite Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy's success as a producer, Solo was mismanaged at all stages. After significant filming time, directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller were replaced in favor of Willow director Ron Howard. Also, Disney trained the audience to expect new Star Wars at Christmas, but Disney released Solo during the summer of Avengers: Infinity War. The marketing was also off, from tie-ins at restaurants like Denny's to uninspired trailers and TV spots that didn't highlight the real fun of the film.

In reality, Solo: A Star Wars Story is perfect for people curious about the franchise but never saw it as a kid. The movie features a fun caper that touches on all of Star Wars' political themes. While Ehrenreich's Han Solo may not sound like Harrison Ford, it is invariably a younger version of the same character. He imbued his Han with the swagger, charm and even mannerisms of Ford's older space pirate. He also showcased the depth of compassion and heroism in Han Solo, despite his unwillingness to acknowledge it. Even Star Wars fans already committed to accepting no one but the original actors as their favorite characters can find something to enjoy in Ehrenreich's Han.

Still, Alden Ehrenreich has the dubious distinction of leading the only Star Wars movie not to make a profit at the box office. This is, in part, due to the way the budget increased when Lord and Miller were fired. It's also because, rather than being the only blockbuster of its kind during the Christmas season, Solo was jammed into the summer release schedule between Infinity War, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, The Incredibles 2 and Ant-Man and the Wasp. It's also worth noting that 2018's $11.9 billion total box office is the highest on record. Solo's problems were all on the corporate side of the equation.

Star Wars Fans' Harsh Treatment of Alden Ehrenreich Wasn't Their First or Last

While social media and streaming have incentivized bad-faith takes on films, Star Wars fans have struggled to accept the franchise's evolution with grace. These generational franchises are important to people, often connecting directly to positive memories and emotions from childhood. Still, strong reactions don't justify the mistreatment of actors like Ahmed Best, Jake Lloyd, Kelly Marie Tran or Moses Ingram. Best, who recently played a Jedi in The Mandalorian, spoke about how the backlash to Jar Jar Binks pushed him to the depths of depression.

Yet, Alden Ehrenreich didn't get it as bad as Best or his women colleagues from the fans. Over time, people have discovered how joyful and fun Solo: A Star Wars Story is. Much of the reason for that is Ehrenreich's performance as the space smuggler who talks his way out of trouble "every time." However, it's possible that studios and others in the industry have held it against him. The ongoing SAG-AFTA strike proves how little executives value the artists who make their products. There's an applicable aphorism: Success has many parents, but failure is an orphan.

However, with his turn in Oppenheimer, Ehrenreich proved he's more than just a capable actor. He could deliver a powerful performance next to cinematic heavyweights. While this might surprise some moviegoers and industry types, Solo fans aren't surprised. They knew from the opening speeder chase in the movie that Alden Ehrenreich could deliver an incredible performance.'

#Alden Ehrenreich #Oppenheimer #Solo: A Star Wars Story #Barbenheimer #Barbie #Christopher Nolan #Cillian Murphy #Emily Blunt #Matt Damon #Robert Downey Jr.#Scarecrow #Florence Pugh

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themousefromfantasyland · 4 years ago

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Fairy Tale Laws: How Fairy Tales and their Worldbuilding work

Who follows me knows I'm mega into mythology and folklore. One of my favorite pieces of folklore and fantasy literature is the Fairy Tale. Since I was a child I was always draw to the magical world of Disney films and their darker literary counterparts.

I love fairy tales, yet in my opinion they continue to be one of the more misunderstood and neglected genres out there.

So, as a Disney fan and avid fairy tale reader, in this essay I show how the genre itself generally works and which principles rule their whimsical world

Fairy Tales, Myths and Fables

The thing that fairy tales, myths and fables have in common is that they all find their origins in the oral tradition.

They were fantastical tales, not told specifically for children but deeply enjoyed by them, that were transmitted through generations.

Both fairy tales and myths don't follow real world logic, instead following their own dream-like logic, in a sequence of weird and fantastical events, that are magical and intriguing to the listener, but essentially normal to the in-universe characters.

Often than not there aren't any explanations of why these events happen and their impact of those in-universe societies, they just happen. Animals talk, mythical creatures live along with human societies just fine, inanimated objects come to life, people seem to turn into animals all the time, etc, and nothing of that seem to ever change the status quo.

The thing that differentiate the fairy tale from the myth, is that the myth is supposed to have happened in our world, but in a far off past. They are supposed to explain how our world came to be, and they have a very strong religious importance. The fairy tale on the other hand is not supposed to be took seriously. It's a fun story that the older generation tell to the younger generation. It can pass deeply important life or religious values, but that's not their main point. They are fairy tales, not fables.

The point of the fable is to transmit a moral. The point of a fairy tale is to transport the listener into a fantastical journey.

Fairy Tales vs. Oral Stories

Although many folk stories became immortal fairy tales, not all fairy tales came from oral tradition. Actually, some can be traced back to specific authors.

The Little Mermaid, the Ugly Duckling and the Steadfast Tin Soldier are all considered immortal fairy tales, yet they were all created by famous danish writer Hans Christian Andersen. A lot of his stories are authoral, and all are considered true fairy tales.

The term "Fairy Tales" actually comes from the french "conte de fées" and was coined in the 17th century by Marie-Catherine Le Jumel de Barneville, Baroness d'Aulnoy, the Madame d'Aulnoy, a french writer who wrote about a world where love and happiness came to heroines after overcoming great obstacles.

These stories arise from the Préciosité, a French literary style in the 17th century, from "les précieuses", intellectual, witty and educated women who frequented the salon of Catherine de Vivonne, marquise de Rambouillet. Themes presented in these stories are the ideals of feminine elegance, etiquette and courtly Platonic love, all hugely popular with female audiences, but scorned by men.

Telling fairy tales was a popular préciosité parlor game, and they should be told as if spontaneously, even though they all were carefully prepared. This style served as influence for Charles Perrault and Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve.

Villeneuve herself was the original author of Beauty and the Beast, and although the story is heavily inspired by older legends like Cupid and Psyche, it still is an authoral story.

Even the Brothers Grimm and Charles Perrault, who were famous for being collectors of tales from oral tradition, gave their own twists and embellishments to their tales. For example, in many Cinderella tellings it's her mother's ghost who helps her. The Fairy Godmother is Perrault's invention.

So more than been just stories from the oral tradition, fairy tales as a literary genre are the reinvention of the old tropes found in the folk stories under a more sophisticated polish, for a new public.

Fairy Tale as a literary genre

In a way I consider the Fairy Tale a sibling genre to Magical Realism. As TV Tropes puts:

"In Magic Realism, events just happen, as in dreams. [...] Magical realism is a story that takes place in a realistic setting that is recognizable as the historical past or present. It overlaps with Mundane Fantastic. It has a connection to surrealism, dream logic, and poetry."

Both use a surreal, almost poetic internal logic with little to no explanation. Magical Realism is the occurrence of a fantastical event in a realistic setting, in a fusion between the mundane and the magical world.

Fairy Tales are similar because they often deal with very domestic topics and subjects. The protagonists often are normal people with very mundane goals. They don't want to save the world, they want to save themselves and their loved ones.

Cinderella and Snow White for example, are more concerned with escaping from their abusive families than being cultural or legendary heroes like in the myths. Hansel and Gretel are trying not to die from starvation, and Red Riding Hood is trying to visit her sick grandmother. Regardless of class status, these are people with their own problems that find in the fantastical events a escape from them, or a even worse danger.

This is not a universal rule, as some characters are more heroic and there's more in stake, but generally the heroes are domestic heroes and it's only their lives that are in stake.

The difference between the Magic Realism and the Fairy Tale, is that while in the Magic Realism you can easily point where the realistic setting ends and the magical one begins, the fairy tale goes even further, and the lines between the worlds are way more muddled.

Worldbuilding in Fairy Tales

Now, that's the most important part. Fairy Tales are a sub-genre to Fantasy, but while in the other genres the magic world is described in the minimal details, often with rich details about the in-universe cultures and their rules, the Fairy Tale maintain the magic world as vague as possible. That's because it uses what I call "soft-worldbuilding".

Part of the appeal of the fairy tale is to transport the reader in a fantastical journey, but in order to do that they use as little details possible, allowing the reader to try to fill in the gaps. That's in order to avoid the magic world of feeling too real or too close to reality. The reader needs to have a sense of wonder and intrigue, and if you started to describe your world in all its details, it will become too grounded, and the wonder and the intrigue will be lost.

Said that, you need some basic rules, otherwise everything will be incredibly incoherent. You reader needs to understand how the magic world works and their rules, but they also need to be slightly lost, discovering all the details along the way and be amazed by them, lost in a mystery that they will never find all the answers.

To illustrate this, look at the differences between the Middle-earth and Narnia. One is a standard fantasy world, the other is a fairy tale world. J.R.R. Tolkien drew inspiration from the epics, C.S. Lewis drew inspiration from fairy tales and childhood stories.

The Middle-earth is grounded on its own rules, with their own races, cultures, languages and myths. Narnia is a playground were everything magical is allowed. Greek mythology creatures? Okay. Roman gods? Okay. Father Christmas? Okay. Jesus? Of course!

One is worried about all the small details, the other wants everything as vague and simple as possible, as to ensure the wonder and the intrigue will never be lost the reader.

When you're dealing with a fairy tale world you have way more freedom than the standard fantasy world. You don't need to think too deeply in the details. You can use the Rule of Funny and the Rule of Cool as much as you want, as long as it's minimal consistent and coherent

Fairy Tale Laws

This are some basic rules and principles that I believe rule over the fairy tale genre

Establish rules of how the world works. Keep it consistent and coherent. That's your base

Not every fantastical event needs a deep explanation, and magic is not allowed as an universal explanation

Keep it simple. Don't worry too much about the small details.

You don't want your world to be too grounded in reality. A little escapism is key

Poetic logic and surrealism reigns

Have fun with all the weird and magical things that crowded your world. "Rule of Cool" and "Rule of Funny" reign

Never reveal too much to your reader. They need to constantly feel as if there is something more happening off the limits of your story

Domestic heroes (As Narnia and the old dragon slayer stories show, this is not an universal rule)

The overall tone can be darker and edgier, softer and lighter, or somewhere in the middle

#fairy tales #fantasy literature #writers on tumblr #worldbuilding

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tnbc-thoughtsandheadcanons · 3 years ago

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hi! did u see the nightmare before christmas live concert yet? did not love billie eilish as sally :( she has a lovely voice and sang the songs very well, her voice is just really meant for pop and in my opinion just threw off the whole vibe

I just finished skimming through a video of the concert performance on YouTube(I went to the parts where they sang the songs). When I have the time, I’ll watch the full thing, but for now, I just wanted to catch the Kidnap the Sandy Claws song and the ones with Sally, since they had new parts.

youtube

I think Billie Eilish did just fine, the performance was good. I even like the dress she wore to compliment the part. I think she matched closely to how Catherine O’Hara sang it, but, I also see your point, anon. I can understand how her recognizable pop voice might throw off the vibe of the song to some. I’m still not a fan of her nor her music - so I’m pretty much in the middle when it comes to my opinion on this.

However, I will comment that the Kidnap the Sandy Claws with Weird Al was interesting. I honestly thought he would’ve tried to sound like Shock, pitching himself high or something, but he just sang the part in his own voice. It definitely sounded different, but it looked like they had fun. I’m glad to see Paul Reubens, Ken Page, and Danny Elfman again. :) I hope they continue this concert as the years go on.

Overall, I think Billie did good in her performance, I apologize to any fans of hers since I’m not gushing over it. I’ve noticed she’s gotten a lot of attention in this concert and I’m seeing a lot of posts about her in the tags. I just hope anyone who attended had a fun time, and I’m happy this even happened to begin with! <3

#Billie Eilish #Danny Elfman #Paul Reubens #Ken Page #Weird Al Yankovic #Weird Al #Ask #Anonymous #Discussions

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generallybarzy · 4 years ago

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under twinkling lights.

an: christmas in april? sorry this took so long.. but here’s a little bit of established relationship and soft cute Christmas smut! Its been too long since we had something so sweet and smutty about our fav cute ass couple. It’s all sweet and soft and cute and then it gets filthy... the perfect dynamic, i want what they have. i was only inspired to finish this because of barzys hatty tonight haha, he deserves everything. I didn’t really spell check this yet, just needed to post finally!! Personally, I think its the hottest thing I've ever wrote. Lemme know!!! 💕

tagging: @softboybarzal @fallinallincurls @matbaerzal @npatrickz @canadianheaters @selenophileangel @deleausvp @colecaufields @hockeyhughes11 @nazdaddy @barzysreputation @comphybiscuit @aboveaveragehockeyboys @ifiwasshawnmendesidslapmyself @petey-patty @starswin @heatherawoowoo

word count: 6.5k

You never believed you’d find someone to spend your life with. If anyone told you your holidays would one day be spent cuddling up with your boyfriend of almost two years in the apartment that you had just moved into together earlier that month, you would have told them they were wrong. Flat out wrong. Things as beautiful and destined as that only happened in movies, and you certainly weren’t lucky enough to get something like that. But, now, here you were.

And here was Mat.

Even after two years with Mat, there was still nothing better than spending the evening cuddled up with him on the couch. No matter how many fancy, expensive dinner dates he took you on at upscale restaurants in the city or how many helicopter rides you took together out in B.C. when he was showing you his home, or how much you loved hanging out with his friends and his family and his teammates, nothing was better than cuddles at home. As much time you spent together, you still felt as giddy and comfortable and safe and at-peace as that first time with him. Things didn't simmer down, that spark didn't fade away after a bit like you feared they would. But they became more subtle. You no longer had to ask him to come to the couch to cuddle, you no longer worried that maybe he wouldn't want to. It was a habit, at this point, to fall into his arms at the end of the day just the same as he did with you. You were each other’s safe havens, the place you laid your head to rest. You loved each other, and there was no place you’d rather be than together.

You’d spent the evening baking cookies, decorating the new tree, and wrapping his family member's Christmas gifts- a book his mom had been wanting, along with some of the cookies you'd made and various at-home spa items; hockey memorabilia and classic jerseys for his dad; and some new pieces of technology and the latest eye shadow palette that his sister had been wanting, along with some stupid jokes gifts that he wrapped in duct tape like the annoying older brother he was. Now, after the sunset bared its last light over the horizon and through your window, you lay together in bliss, with the tree twinkling its colorful lights across the room as you and Mat snuggled on the couch under a fluffy blanket, and everything felt right.

"I don't know why we went through all that work to decorate the tree if we're not even spending Christmas here." Mat grumbled playfully, his head on your chest, partially hidden under the blanket.

"Well," your face glowed in a smile as you remembered the flight out to Vancouver you had in a few days. Spending holidays with his family was always your favorite. Your family wasn’t the best, and it wasn’t too healthy to spend your holidays with them, but you always had Mat and his family. They were so welcoming, so kind, and for as many years now as you’d gone as Mat’s girlfriend, they had accepted you like family. "Because this is our home, Mat. It'd be wrong not to decorate it for the first time."

"I don't need a tree for this to feel like home."

“Aww, baby.”

“It’s true.” He pushed himself up onto his hands and knees above you on the couch, bringing his face level with yours. His warm breath hit your lips as he brushed his nose against yours, eyes slipping shut and grinning. “I love you. Always.”

“I love you always too.”

"I'm so glad you're here. I'm so happy we live together, finally."

"I'm glad we live together, too."

Mat snuggled down into your neck, the locks of dark hair that had been growing out lately tickling your face. You reached up to brush them aside and curl your hand around the back of his head, cupping his head against you tenderly . His hair was getting so nice and long, and you knew he’d have to cut it soon, per the team's guidelines, but god, you were gonna cherish it now.

"I actually have something for you, Maty."

"A Christmas present?"

"Well, an early Christmas present." You smiled at the excited look on his boyish face as he leaned back, the lights from the tree highlighting the sparkle in his eye. "You can't open it at your parent's house, so we're gonna do it here instead."

"What is it?"

"Try to figure it out."

He sat up then, his eyes scanning the room for anything that might seem out of the ordinary, anything that might be hidden. He was looking for his present, and you had to hold back a laugh at the sight.

"Maty…"

"No, no, I'll find it."

"Babe…"

"I got this."

"Let me give you a hint, at least." You sat up with him and took his hand in yours and cupped it against your cheek, turning your head to the side to kiss his fingers. He smiled at the touch, melting back into you and tracing his thumb across your skin.

"Alright, gimme the hint."

You pushed his hand down the smooth skin of your neck, the swell of your breasts, down the curve of your waist, and to the hem of his hoodie that swallowed you up. "It's right in front of you, baby."

"For real?" The joy in his eyes was the same you saw the first time you told him you were ready to take that step, almost two years ago now. No matter how many times you were together, he was always just as excited.

“You say that as if we’ve never done this before.”

“It always feels like the first time.”

You glowed and let go of his hand to reach up and cup his face between both of you. His words came so simply and without hesitation that you knew he was sincere. “Aw, Mat…”

“I’m serious.”

“You’re so sweet tonight.”

“Maybe I just really want to lay some love on you.” He hitched his hands under your thighs and tugged you close, lying you back against the couch once again. His hands slid up the soft skin of your tummy and waist, dipping under your shirt momentarily, and causing your breath to hitch in your throat- his hands always managed to do that to you- as you breathed out the words against his lips.

“Maybe I’m gonna let you.”

With one last grin, his face dipped down to yours, locking your lips together in a familiar, electric dance. Soft, gentle lips moving against yours had never felt as good as with any other boyfriends as they do with Mat. His touch was intoxicating, made your mind wander and your heart race flushed your skin and shocked you to the core. Ever since the very first time his hand grazed against yours when he reached out to hold it for the first time, to the first time your bodies connected in passion under the covers, it felt the same. Like fire. Even two years later, he drove you insane, and all you wanted, and frequently achieved, was to drive him insane as well. In the best way possible. Mat broke apart from your lips momentarily to slip the hoodie over your head, revealing his gift. “Fuck…”

Right there, in front of his eyes, your breasts were covered only by a lacy crimson fabric, held together behind a pretty red bow. With each heavy breath of anticipation, your chest was heaving softly before his eyes, and he found himself hypnotized by the gentle rise and fall.

“You like it?"

“Holy shit, you’re hot.”

“So are you.”

His eyes were wide, warm, and gentle, looking over you. He dragged his gaze away from your chest even though you could tell how hard it was, and shook his head. “Not as much as you.”

"Mmm", you took the liberty of taking his hands from where they had frozen beside you and placing them, big and warm, over your chest. "Go ahead, baby."

"No, no, I wanna savor this first."

His mouth dipped down, soft hair tickling your neck as he nibbled at your chest, laying little love bites and kisses along the tender skin. He cupped your boobs and squeezed them around his face, humming in content. You couldn’t help but laugh as he buried his face against you, and you could feel his grin break out against your skin. “Having fun, baby?”

“Oh my god, yes. You’re gorgeous. So soft.”

“Mmhm.” You sighed into his touch as he kissed his way back up your chest.

“Baby.” He spoke softly to get your attention, and your eyes opened lazily to see him, biting his lip and holding the delicate ribbon between two fingers. “Can I?”

“Please.” He gave a gentle tug, and with one last heave of your chest, the lacy bralette fell open, revealing one of Mat’s favorite parts of your body.

“Fucking Christ.”

“Bub, you can’t be swearing like that so close to Christmas.”

“How do you expect me not to when you’re…. God, just so perfect…” You saw the way his eyes glazed over mid-sentence in the colorful lights of the tree, the way his jaw went slack as you arched your chest up towards him. He reached out, slowly, as if worried you were going to disappear if he moved too quickly, and when the large, rough hands curled around the side of your waist and slid up and down, you felt goosebumps pop up along your skin.

“Your fingers are cold.”

“But you love it.” He ran the pad of his thumb over your nipples, watching as they pebbled under his touch in the cold air. “So do I.”

“Warm me up?”

“Always.”

He dipped his head down, his mouth hot and wet along the peaks and valleys of your chest, down your stomach.

His fingers traveled over the familiar layout of your body, colored in soft golden and red and green in the dancing Christmas lights, tracing each recognizable landmark with specific care- every memorized freckle and birthmark he had kissed since your first night together and every dimple in your skin that he cherished, every spot that had his fingerprints imprinted onto like memory foam after so many nights spent holding you tight with everything in him, as if you'd slip away. As if you'd want to. With each inch his hands followed, he found more, there was always more territory to be marked down, jotted down in his brain for future reference. He was always finding something new. Something more to use against you, to use against you in the best way possible, to push you further and further to that blissful end goal.

He made his way down, down, down, until his breath was hot over your lace-covered core, his hand gripping your hips tightly. Mat smiled as your hands found his hair, curling your fingers through a fistful of the dark locks before releasing and smoothing it back into place again. Mat's favorite thing about going down on you, besides the way it pleasured you, was the way your hands felt on his head, massaging and grabbing and twisting and pulling. It was heaven to him, letting you guide him around like that.

“Can I take them off?”

“Hmm.” As much as you wanted him to ravage you right there, with those soft, sultry eyes he was giving you, he was wearing far too many clothes. “You first.”

Mat didn't say anything else before stripping out of his dark crew neck sweater and jumping up off the couch to kick his gray sweats down. His smile was contagious as your gaze dropped from his face, down his bare chest and the little chain you’d gotten him for your anniversary, down towards the tent in his boxers with a silly, excited grin. He laughed. "Not tired of seeing me yet?"

"Never."

"You sure you’re not getting bored of my dick yet?"

"No, baby. Definitely not.” You grinned, the thought of spending the rest of your life with him bouncing around your mind. “Why? Are you getting bored of me?"

"No way." Mat leaned down to lace your fingers together and lock lips. "How could I?"

"How could I get tired of you, Maty?"

Mat hummed. He loved this little play, the little banter, the back and forth. He'd loved it since you first started dating, and he always would. He knew you loved him endlessly, but he played along. "I'm just a hockey player."

"No, you're my hockey player. My boyfriend. My pretty, pretty baby."

Mat settled back down between your legs with a warm smile. "Yeah, I am. So can I take these off now?" He hooked his fingers in the waistband of your panties. "C'mon, I know how much you love my tongue."

Your thighs squeezed around him at the words. “Fuck, please.”

“Anything for my baby.”

You lifted your hips for him as he tugged the lacy fabric down your thighs with nimble fingers, stopping momentarily after they were off to just look at you. He let out a sigh, his eyes finding yours again with a soft look as you squirmed a bit beneath him- not because you were shy, no, you were long past that point in your relationship, but because you just needed him to do anything to you. Mat had spent the past two years helping you love and appreciate your body, and this, right here in this moment, was the perfect showcase of how much he helped- as he was gazing down at your naked body and the only thing you felt was just the absolute need and desire for his body to move against yours and his warmth to cover you up. No nerves. Only love, and need.

“Shit, you’re gorgeous.”

“I know.”

The lack of hesitation in your reply had Mat bending over you and laughing. “That’s your response?”

“Yeah! I mean, you let me know. You make me feel so confident.”

“Mmhm, good, babygirl.” He scooted back down to lay his head against the soft, naked inside of your thigh gazing up at you through his eyelashes. “I always wanna make you feel good. Physically and mentally.” He turned to lay open-mouthed kisses against your thighs, and any thought of response you may have had dissolved completely as you leaned back and waited for him to do his magic. His hand reached up to cup your heat, just feeling you against his palm for a moment before swiping a long finger through your fold, smiling and raising his eyebrows at you. “Oh? Already so wet for me?”

“Always, baby. You should know this by now.”

“Yeah?” He dipped his fingers at your opening teasingly and his head dipped down to connect his lips with your clit, kissing it gently and watching you squirm. “Ugh, I could fuck you right now if I was in a rush. But you know the foreplay is my favorite part.”

“I know. And you’re so good.”

“Good.”

He went silent then, his tongue wide and wet, licking a long stripe along your slick and gathering the wetness at your clit, giving it soft, kitten licks and wet kisses. He listened intently for every soft sigh that left your lips- music to his ears- and felt every tug on his hair when he flicked his tongue in small circles around that spot like he knew you loved. And the best part was that he knew. You didn’t understand how couples could get tired of each other after years. You didn’t understand how the excitement could flicker away or how they could get tired of each other’s bodies or minds. Never in your relationship with Mat have you felt as excited as now, two years in. The thought that he knew your body inside and out, maybe even better than you did, was just so overwhelming in the best possible way, and the longer you lay there, with Mat’s mouth on you, you couldn’t stop thinking that this is your man.

Mat was lying flat against the long couch, his face between your thighs and his hands holding your legs open for him. His dark hair was a wild mess, and you could see the gentle movements of his lower back and ass and the back of his thighs illuminated golden in the lights, rolling lazily against the couch cushion- covered by a blanket, of course- to provide any friction for his sadly untouched cock.

You hadn’t even noticed the noises dripping from your lips until Mat pulled back, and the lack of feeling his mouth against your core had you whining for him.

“Fuck, I’ll never get over you.”

“Mmmmat.” You hummed his name, dragging out the “M” in the way you knew he loved.

“Yeah, baby?”

“Please keep touching me.”

He sat up, between your thighs, knees digging into the couch, and his bare thighs and torso on display for you. You loved him, all of him, and all of his body. His legs, his abdomen, his chest, his arms… all of it was amazing. Perfect to look at and perfect to touch, to grab, to dig your nails into as he railed you. To ground yourself with. “Baby, you know I love eating you out. But I just gotta see you right now. And talk to you.” His big hand slid up the inside of your thigh, and your breath caught in your throat when he started rubbing soft, small circles against your clit. “So this position will have to do, okay? I promise I’ll spend all day before our flight eating your pussy.”

“I’ll remember that.”

“I hope so. God, this fucking thing. Could eat it for days.” He pushed a single finger inside you, slow and steady, but enough to make you clench around him. His fingers were so much better than yours, just a little longer and a little thicker in a way that had you squirming for more. “So fucking tight and wet. So hot. I’m so lucky to have you.” His free hand left your hip, leaving nothing but cold, empty fingerprints on your skin, and rubbed against the bulge in his dark boxers. You could see how much he was aching, and you were determined to make it better.

“Mat, c’mere.”

“I’m knuckles deep in your pussy, babe, how much closer do you want me?” You laughed at him, rolling your hip down against said finger. How he could be so funny and sexy at the same time was beyond you.

“Lie down with me. I wanna touch you.” You held your arms out for him and scooted to the side, and he obliged quickly, lying on his side between you and the back of the couch and hooking your left leg over his right thigh. His hand dipped back down between your thighs, pressing into you before you could even catch your breath, feeling exhilarated at the much more intimate position. “Oh, fuck, Mat.” You reached out to him, willing and eager to reciprocate the feeling. He drew in a sharp breath at the way your hand rubbed over the thick bulge in his boxers, pulling the waistband down just enough to release him from his cotton prison.

His cock jumped up against his lower belly, stiff and pink and needy for you and only you. Your hand, your mouth, and you could tell by the way Mat’s fingers paused inside you that he was anticipating the moment your fingers wrapped around his length. “Oh, that feels so good. Always does, baby.” And then, as you worked your hand against him, he pumped his long fingers inside you, bringing his other thumb to rub mercilessly at your clit. But still, even with the way he was fucking you on his hand, the most intense part of this moment was the way he held your gaze; the lust, the need, the twinkle of amusement in his hazel eyes at the sheer amazement that he got to do this with you; and the love- the pure, unadulterated love that soaked from his skin to yours, in every touch, in ever moment spent together, every kiss, and every time you laid together, bare and vulnerable, in the heat of passion, under the twinkling lights or in the dark, safe haven of your home to show each other how much you loved each other. His warm eyes glittered in the light, reflecting the gold and green and red lights from the Christmas tree that illuminated the room, and the city lights outside the window of your apartment lit up his body and highlighted every muscle. Your apartment, the one you own together, and the one you knew you were going to make countless memories in. His eyes glittered with love, with the question of “can you believe we still make each other feel so good?” and with the statement “I want to kiss you so bad right now”. Your hand pumped his length, pulling a soft moan from his lips, one that you had used to have to work so hard to hear. “I want to hear you, baby” You had used to say, practically begging him to let himself go as he bit his lip to hold back the moans. It had taken a bit of encouragement, but now he never held back with the sounds that left his pretty mouth. You lay there, vulnerable and exposed to each other, staring into each other’s eyes as with hands between each other's thighs, cheeks pink and hearts full of love as you helped each other climb to that climax.

You broke eye contact first, laughing breathlessly and feeling your cheeks go hot under his gaze. Despite the lack of shame you felt in front of him, he could still get you so flustered and giggly.

“What’s so funny, beautiful?” He asked between shaky breaths.

“You’re so beautiful, Mat. Those moans are so pretty. I can’t believe it.”

“Yeah?” He smiled with another laugh. “I can feel how wet you are. It’s crazy.” He slipped the tip of a third finger into you, your hole aching and pulsing around them already. “Oh, fuck, I love your moans too.” And you could tell he did, as his hips jerked helplessly up into your hand. “Faster, baby.”

“Only if you kiss me.”

Without hesitation, he leaned over and his lips locked onto yours, needy and begging but oh, so willing to go slow and passionate. The hand that had been teasing your clit came up to grab at you face, squeezing a tit on the way up, and you reached a free hand out to tangle in his dark hair as you leaned in and continued to jerk him in your hand- up and down, and up and down, twisting around the head just like he liked. “I love you.” He whispered against your lips, breaking apart for only a moment to look down at you one more time in awe. “I love you so fucking much.”

“I love you, Mat.”

“Fuck, I love you.” His lips crashed back against yours again, his fingers plunging deeper inside you as he kissed his promise into your lips, the promise that he was there and he’d always be there. He was yours. And you were his. Simply that. The heel of his palm rubbed against your clit as he curled his fingers inside of you, hitting that wonderful spot and making fireworks twinkle behind your eyes. He groaned into your mouth as your hand curved over the head of his cock, palms getting slick with his pre-cum, and stroked back down to cup his balls gently. He let out a breathy laugh at the tender feeling.

“Baby, look at me.” You cupped his cheeks between your hands and pulled him back when you began to feel your peak rising. He whined when your hand left his cock, aching and hard, and his fingers halted inside of you, cupping his palm against your heat.

“Oh, baby,” His eyes locked on you, making a show of how they were scanning up and down your body. “I’m looking.”

“I need you inside, right now.”

His bottom lip was sucked between his teeth and his eyes nearly rolled back in his head at the words. Even after so long, he still couldn’t handle hearing those words. His eyes fluttered shut. “Fuck, say less.” He rolled over you to sit upright on the couch, finally pushing his boxers all the way down his thighs and onto the floor. He gripped his cock in his hands and slid between your thighs, bending down over you to kiss your lips. “How do you want it?”

“Just like this.” Your hands fell to his hips and pulled him close.

“Yeah?”

“Wanna see your face. Maybe it’s basic, but I love this position.”

“Yeah. It’s simple, but so intimate. I like it too.” He paused and leaned back for a moment, looking down at his sweatpants on the floor for something. “Shit, ugh, I don’t have a condom here, hold on-”

“No, no, no.” Before Mat could run off to the bedside drawer, you grabbed his hands in yours, pulling him back to you. His eyes went soft and cautious for a few moments.

“No? Babe, shouldn’t we…”

“We’ve had conversations about this, right? About doing it without?” Mat nodded, a little smile beginning to pull on his lips. “I’m still on the pill, and I know I remembered to take all of them recently, so we’re still pretty safe, if you want.”

“Fuck, I want.” He settled back down between your knees. “Are you sure?”

“A hundred percent.”

“Alright.” Mat chuckled in boyish excitement. He reached a hand down between your bodies to adjust himself, nudging the blunt head of his cock against your clit and rubbing his pre-cum along your slit, lining up with your tight entrance and sending sparks through your body. “God, my God, I can’t wait to come inside you. Feel you around me completely. See my cum on you.” One last time, he bent his body down over yours, his weight warm and heavy, the metal of his chain cool between your chests, and pressed his mouth to yours, breathing in your warmth. One of your hands curled around his waist, slid to the small of his back, just like he always did to you, and the other cupped the back of his neck, fingers curling into the hairs and playing with the chain around his neck and pulling him in closer to your face. He broke away slightly with a sigh against your lips, his forehead bumping against yours and his nose nudging yours in a familiar gesture. He didn’t need to say the words anymore, because his quiet affections were ones that you’ve known for a long time.

His question was loud and clear, and your answer was just as obvious.

Mat brought a forearm down next to your head to steady himself, stroking the pad of his thumb against your warm cheek as his hips finally pushed against yours. Hands tightened their grips on each other’s bodies, sliding across hot skin slicked with sweat, and a euphony of moans mingled together in the air at the initial feeling of finally being connected in such a primal way again. His hips were flush against your own, and the weight of his thick cock inside of you was heavy and intoxicating; you could feel his tight abdomen expanding and contracting with every heavy breath and shudder through his body. He let out a long string of moans, his head dipping down to nibble at your throat, and fuck, did you know what he meant. You were connected, everywhere- heart, skin, and mind. “Fuck, oh my God, baby, hot as ever.”

“Oh, Maty…”

“I’m gonna give you so much love, beautiful.”

“Please.”

The first withdrawal of his hips from yours was painstakingly slow, and all you wanted was for him to plunge back in again and again and again. And he intended to do that, in time. Mat loved to take his time, but it didn’t take him long to fulfill his promise, sliding back against you, his cock hard and aching inside your wet cunt. He found a steady, easy pace rolling his hips into yours, each stroke like electricity through your body, long and languid, taking his time to draw your pleasure out, taking the time to feel your body around him. His knee dug into the couch hard, steadying himself and getting more traction so he could pull closer to your body, snapping his hips against yours with slaps that had you both gasping for air.

“Oh fuck…”

“Feels so good, Mat.”

“You’re fucking amazing.” He let out another high-pitched whine and arched your leg over his hip. “More?”

“More, faster, please baby.”

His hips slapped against yours with a groan, his big hands holding behind your knees and opening you wide for him. He leaned back to take a good look at you, at the scene in front of him, trying to take in every image he possibly could. Because these were the best moments. Not only the sex- god, but the sex was good- but just being together, being close, being intimate and so so close, yet only craving to become closer and closer. “God, you’re so hot, babe. So tight, so wet, all for me, right?” When you couldn’t answer, too overwhelmed with the way he was pounding against you, he took it as a sign to keep running his mouth. God, you loved to listen to him talk. “So wet, all for me. Getting all turned on over this big cock inside you, yeah?” You nodded your head enthusiastically, pulling his body closer to yours. He followed without hesitation, down and down until your bodies were glued together and he was just pushing against you, his hips driving yours into the couch cushions. “All fucked up for my cock, are you? Fucking beautiful.”

“It’s so good, Maty, baby, so big, fills me up so good.”

“I love you. I love you, (Y/N).”

“Oh my God, Maty, I love you.”

His mouth locked onto yours, sealing your lips together and swallowing your moans down. Dark locks of his hair shielded your face and tickled your cheeks, and as soon as he inched away to take a deep, shaky breath, your eyes opened up. He steadied himself on strong arms, framing your face, his veins prominent, and you curled a small hand as far around his thick bicep as you could, watching in awe as his head jerked back, throwing his long hair off his forehead and squeezing his eyes shut as he concentrated on pounding against your dripping cunt.

Slowly, his body peeled back off of yours, away, away, and he brought himself up to his knees in front of you. You let your eyes roll slip the long length of his torso, decorated with glittering reflections of gold and red and green, shining off the sheen of his sweat, and you looked from his thick neck, covered in your love-bites, down his chest, down the hard muscles of his abdomen and tummy, and down the V of his hips to the small patch of prickles that rubbed against your clit with every thrust. His thighs were spread open with your legs wrapped ever so gently around his hips, and his cock was stilled, aching inside of you. He shifted around on the couch momentarily, readjusting his knees on the cushions. “Ya know, we’d be a lot more comfortable in our bed than out here.”

“But it’s so pretty out here. All the pretty twinkly lights on you…”

“On me?” He laughed, “Look at yourself, babe. I’m fucking lucky.”

His big hands traced down your cheeks, squeezed down your chest, curled down the curve of your waist and hips, before finally wrapping around the backs of your thighs and pulling you closer, hoisting your legs up, up, and over his shoulders and spreading you wide open in front of him.

“Ooh, Mat…” You giggled a bit as he easily positioned you in the way he wanted, smirking down at you wickedly and rubbing his thumbs up and down the wet slick of your pussy.

“Gonna make you fuckin’ come, babe, my god… you want that?”

“Yeah, yeah, please, Maty.”

“Just a little bit longer, ‘kay?” He rolled his hips against yours again, starting up that steady pace again. His hands held your thighs open, lifting your legs up the length of his torso and locking them over his shoulders, and he never failed to make you seem tiny compared to him. You watched, mesmerized, as his abdomen tensed and hardened and spasmed as he tried to keep himself under control.

“Please.”

“Little… longer.”

With one more low moan, your boyfriend bent closer to you, his chain dangling in your face tauntingly as he got back to pounding away at you, heavy balls slapping against your ass with every erratic movement, his thrusts getting sloppier and sloppier and his breaths getting deeper. He was so goddamn close to that edge. He could tell you were getting there, too. You’d been on the edge ever since he started pounding you, but now, you were only a few feather light touches away from falling over that edge. And Mat was ready for it, he could barely hold his own seems together, he could barely think about anything except how rock hard he was and how your tits were bouncing so perfectly in rhythm with his hips, the way your eyes were rolling back and the way his cock felt inside you, fully covered in your slick, both your lower halves sticky messes. He was ready to fall apart completely, and ready to help you reach your own. “You look so fucking good taking my dick like this, babygirl. It’s so big, isn’t it? But you just take it so good, yeah? My good, good girl with her perfect fucking pussy, taking that cock so well.” He reached his fingers down to roll his thumb lazily against your clit, ever so gently, but enough to make you fall apart. Your eyes rolled back as you gasped out for him.

“Please, M- Maaaat…”

“Oh, you- you want it, don’t you?” Mat’s words were getting shaky, his sentences choppy. He was so close, so close his mind couldn’t comprehend anything beyond just fucking letting go. “Want your boyfriend’s hot cum filling you up, just flooding that- ugh, that tight little cunt, yeah? My balls emptied inside you? You want that nut so bad, you’re so desperate for it, huh? Tell me, baby. Tell me how you want the love of your life to just… fucking f- flood your pussy.”

“I want it, Mat, I want you to cum, baby.”

His thrusts became erratic, his hand leaving bruises on your thigh and his thumb absolutely torturing your swollen, sensitive clit. He was getting desperate, too. “Where? Where do you want my big fucking load?”

“Cum inside, fuck, fuck, please, Maty-”

“Ohh, gonna fucking nut inside you, babygirl-”

“I’m gonna cuuuum, Mat…”

“Ohhhh, fuuuuuck, oh, oh (Y/N)...!” Mat let out a long, strangled moan, his voice shaking and whiny and breathless in exasperation. His hips stuttered and his thighs trembled beneath him as he nearly collapsed onto you, absolutely flooding your aching, spasming hole with his cum. Your mind went fuzzy and white when you finally felt his stitches come loose, and he finally emptied all of himself- all his hot, gooey warmth- inside of your throbbing cunt. And flood, he did. It felt like the thick ropes of cum were never ending, filling you to the brim, until finally, he was done, his eyes squeezed shut and hair falling into his eyes above you.

Forming sentences would be a miracle at this point, but you reached up to curl a finger around Mat’s chain and yank him down to your face, ushering him to collapse against your body. And he did, eyes glancing open for a moment and lips locking with yours, always thankful to be able to fall onto you after a hard day, after absolutely spending himself. He groaned against your lips and buried his face against your neck, panting against your skin and kissing your neck and breathing in your scent as your hand found it’s rightful place at the back of his neck. After a few moments of stillness, he reached down lazily and let his cock slip out of you, both of you whining and the loss of contact, and you felt a familiar wetness on your tummy as his cum dribbled down the head of his spent cock to fall on your warm skin.

You were silent, panting for a few minutes, just letting your heartbeats steady back to normal and your heads to recover from the dizzying orgasms. Then, a breathless chuckle vibrated through Mat’s chest and into you. “Merry fucking Christmas to us, right?”

“I think that was the hottest thing we’ve ever done, Mat.” Mat hummed in agreement, squeezing you between his arms. “Now you see why we couldn’t do this at your parent’s place?”

“I mean… what’s stopping us?”

“Mat, I know for a fact you can’t keep quiet enough to fuck in your parent’s house.”

“Says the one who was just screaming my name.”

“As if you weren’t moaning mine just as loud.”

“Hmm.” Mat laughed again at the banter, the playful back and forth, and rolled to the side, his back to the back of the couch, and pulled you against his side. “How do you feel, anyway? About… me coming inside? Still feel good about it? Wasn’t too much?”

“No way. I really… really enjoyed that. Everything about that. A lot.”

“Mm, that’s good. So did I.”

“But… I kiiiiiinda feel like we should clean up. It’s starting to feel… sticky, like, everywhere. And not a good sticky.”

“Yeah, how about we take a bath together? A nice warm bath in the lights of the pretty Christmas lights you love so much? How’s that sound?”

“Sounds like heaven, Mat.”

So Mat scooped you up in his arms, his own legs weak and shaky after an unbelievable orgasm, and he pressed kisses against your cheeks as he carried you through your brand new home, lit in the pretty pinks and gold of the Christmas lights, stopping before the bathroom door only momentarily to ponder on the beginning of the rest of his forever with you. This truly might be the beginning of the best years of his life. The beginning of an even more serious relationship with you. He felt your fingers playing with the chain that still hung around his neck, the one the guys teased him about the charm on the end, but the one he always wore for you, and he glanced down, his eyes warm and contemplative as he searched yours. This. This was eternal love.

“I love you, babe. Always.” His heart felt dipped in syrup when you smiled up at him with that soul melting look. Yep. You’re it for me.

“I love you, bubs. Always.”

#mat barzal #mat barzal x reader #nhl reader insert #nhl fanfiction #mat barzal fanfiction #mathew barzal #mathew barzal x reader #mat barzal imagine #fic #op

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gb-patch · 4 years ago

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Ask Answers: April 13th, 2021

And we’re back again with more replies so soon, haha. Thank you for the asks!

Your game literally saved me this hell ass year. Thank you so much for the most perfect piece of art I've ever laid eyes on 😫 ... Do you guys have a rough idea when step 3 DLC will be released? I hope I'm not coming off as rude. I just really really love your game.

I’m sorry for the late reply on this! You might’ve already seen the answer by now, but the Step 3 DLC is coming out on the 16th. We’re almost there :D

This may be a silly question but did Jeremy's parents ever find out that Pran had lied about his age and if so, when/how? :3

Pran came clean to them after a couple of years, when he felt secure enough that it wouldn’t ruin the relationship. The Kings were a little embarrassed, the dad more than the mom, but they’re quite good at brushing past those kind of mistakes so it was all water under the bridge pretty fast.

hi! i know you’ve answered a question about alterations in the our life moments by playing them in different orders, but i was wondering if there was a canon order that the moments for each step happen in? i figure with such a customizable game the “canon” timeline for the moments is whatever order the player completes them in, for example in step 1, i like playing the runaway moment pretty early, since cove trying to run away early in summer makes more sense to me personally. thanks!

Yeah, there’s no canon order we’d insist on. Whatever you like can be the official route for you! And that’s a neat way to look at that event.

What if your character isn’t that into physical contact but still wants to be in a relationship with Cove? Would he be offended if you shy away or something along those lines?

He wouldn’t be. Cove knows how hard that can be and is very understanding. If you set his initiative to low, the game always checks to make sure if you want to be touched or not rather than assuming that you do. And if you do choose that you don’t want to, there’s no stress or drama about it. Cove will just say that’s okay!

Hellu! First off, I want to thank you all for such a wonderful game, it's been the best feel-good game I've ever stumbled upon and I can't express enough how much it has meant to me. Second, I've seen lots of people having trouble with making Cove confess before MC which makes me wonder if people will have the same problem in the dlc when you can propose to him. Is it possible to post a guide for that as well when it no longer could count as a spoiler? Again, thanks for such a beautiful game <3

I’m really happy you had such a nice time with it c:. We’ll answer questions about it on tumblr/in the discord if they come up and, if need be, we’ll find somewhere to upload a guide.

Do we get steam key from buying dlc on itch io?

I’m afraid not. That’d be unfair to those who get it on Steam. Plus, Steam isn’t super cool with giving out thousands of keys to be handed out for free on other sites anymore. They can refuse to give us the keys if they feel we’re trying to take advantage of their system.

hi! so if we reject cove's confession in step 3, can we still have MC and cove get together in step 4?

You can confess to him, yeah. But Cove won’t ever try confessing again if the MC turns him down in Step 3.

What if MC acts like someone Cove doesn't like, like Lizzie or Baxter lol

You can’t do what Lizzie or Baxter does to make Cove dislike them. You can play the game and try, but it doesn’t work out. The MC is just too compatible with Cove if you’re fond/crush/love, haha.

Hi! I absolutely love your game, I love the characters they’re all so amazing, thank you for the game haha

I was wondering if you would get the NSFW DLC no matter what Patreon level you were at, or if you would could get it at any level? :)

What pateron tier do we need to get the 18+ content for Our Life? It's my new favourite game, keep up the good work!

It will eventually be available at the $5 tier and anything above that! Glad you both like OL ^^

On a scale from 1 (being the worst) to 10, how well do the XOXO jerk squad including JB handle horror?

JB: 8

Everett: 5

Nate: 4

Shiloh: 10

Bae: 10

Jeremy: 8 for non-gore horror, 2 for gory horror

Pran: 9

hello!! i was wondering if any of the boys from the Jerksquad would ever wear a skirt/dress?

None of them wear skirts/dresses out of personal preference. But if there was some kind of reason where they had to do it, none would be that bothered.

How does the jerk squad feel about Christmas?

Everett: He fucking loves it. That’s the best time of year.

Nate: Commercialized nonsense.

Shiloh: It’s wonderful! So he claims.

Bae: He likes it quite a bit, but only for the joy it brings children/family. He thinks that’s sweet but is too mature to be whipped up into a festive fervor himself.

Jeremy: It’s awful.

Pran: He hates it.

does cove have any pet allergies? yes I know this is a little weirdly specific

He doesn’t! The lucky boy isn’t allergic to any animal.

Very important question: Would Lee and a musical-theatre loving MC run around belting Into The Unknown from Frozen 2? Because I feel that they would

Probably, haha.

This might seem like a dumb question, so I’m sorry, but with the Derek DLC are we gonna get to hang out with him in person instead of just calling him in step 3?

The Derek DLC adds events in Step 2 and Step 4. It’s part of his story that you don’t really get to be around him in Step 3. But you don’t need to apologize for wondering!

hello! i'd like to ask if it's possible to play the android version of the game with the dlcs after buying the dlcs from steam. i wasn't expecting my android version to have my dlcs since i bought them from steam, but it had my step 2 dlc for some reason. is this a glitch or does the apk actually detect what dlcs you already have on your pc? if so, how come i don't have the step 1 dlc appearing on android? thanks!

That is some kind of glitch. It isn’t possible for the Android DLCs to be unlocked by having them on PC. Maybe in one of the old builds we accidentally didn’t lock the Step 2 DLC properly. Sorry for the confusion!

Does Derek and Baxter have canon sexualities? Will Derek still flirts with the MC regardless of their gender?

They’re both pansexual and can like the MC regardless of what gender they have.

I was wondering if Miranda had a crush on Cove in Step 3? I'm not sure why, but I got those vibes from her?

She thinks of him only as a friend. Cove isn’t her type, haha.

This is probably a dumb hope, but I hope Cliff find someone he loves after Cove is grown up and everything. Or at the very least he has someone he's very close with after Cove leaves.

That’s a really sweet thought to have. Cliff stays single, but he’s graysexual and not-particularly romantically inclined. He only dated when he was really young ‘cause that’s what everyone did. Family and friend relationships are more important to him, and he has plenty of that in his life ^^.

Heya! I was curious if there might be a nickname system in N&F? I kind of pull an Elizabeth when I play and choose a different variation of a name like having Rosie in step one and changing it to Rose in step two, then maybe Rosetta in step three for example, but it also feels a little bit odd being scolded using my nickname hehe. That's all I was wondering about, thank you for your time and the wonderful games!

We are hoping to include the option to go by a nickname in Our Life: Now & Forever. But nothing has been programmed yet, so we can’t 100% guarantee it, haha.

Just curious, what would Liz's and Cove's relationship be if MC wasn't around? I feel like they wouldn't get along as well as they do now, especially during the first and second step

They’d definitely have a lot of friction growing up and they’d likely avoid each other as much as possible. Once they were both older, I imagine they’d be decent neighbor acquaintances. But they still wouldn’t be nearly as close as they are with the MC bringing Cove into things.

What do the customizable eyes look like in the game? Do they look as they are in the creating avatar section? Or do they look different when actually playing the game?

That’s up to you! The doll is just meant to be a general idea. You can apply it to your imagined MC as much or as little as you prefer.

Did Cove go through a "phase" during his adolescence? I don't really wanna headcanon it so I wonder if there's anything (cringy) canon since we missed out on the ages of 14-17 hahaha

Not really, aha. 14-17 Cove is pretty recognizable to his 13 and 18 year old self.

Hello! I'm sorry to bother you, especially with all the messages you get. I was just wondering if the religious wedding venue was exclusive to a church or if there will be different religions of weddings? Also, I love this VN so much, it's so well written and every character is so amazing, thank you for making such a beautiful game.

The church is treated as a historic building rather than anything actively religious, but it’s not the only option like that. There’s a historic synagogue and stuff too! And that’s really nice of you to say <3.

How differently would it play out If MC told their moms about the 20$ deal back when it happened?

They wouldn’t have been happy and would’ve been far more skeptical of Cliff, aha. But they wouldn’t want to keep Cove away from the MC, so it wouldn’t have been too different in the long run.

Hello may I ask what Cove's favorite fudge/ice cream flavor would be? Its alright if its not answered

He appreciates them all, but his top favorites would be the fruit flavored ones and the ones with nuts.

Hi! I really wanted to make mc's house in a game and tried really hard to figure out the floor plan, but I wondered if you have the floor plan of the mc's house so that i can try again with more accuracy?

Thank you a lot for this game, i loved it a lot! (my first play took me 8 hours lol)

I’m really sorry, we don’t have anything like that. But at least you can headcanon that what you did is correct and nothing can prove it wrong, haha.

Hello,I recently started playing lake of voices (I put it off for a long while since I’m usually not very good with horror) and I’m really happy I did!I’m a big fan of your games in general and lake of voices was absolutely great as well.I loved the characters and the dark setting of it,I adored the beautiful art and music and the story was great too,sometimes unsettling and sometimes very sweet.My favorite Route in the game was definitely Lu,I liked his character and was really shocked and distraught by his Route at least two times.I didn’t see the plot twist(s) coming at all!

Besides these ramblings I’ve also wanted to ask if you still remember how to get the lower two CGs on page 5?I seem to always miss them and would appreciate any help.Anyways I hope I wasn’t too much of a bother and I wish the devs a great day!:)

Thank you for all the kind words <3. You get those DLCs by going through the end of the Guide’s character path. You can use the guides on Steam to help you find it/reach the end!

—– —– —– —–

Thank you again for all of these questions :D

We released a new FAQ! It answers common questions and we’ll keep adding more to it. Please check there before sending an ask. FAQ Also, if you prefer to just see the main posts without all the asks/reblogs, feel free to follow our side account instead: GB Patch Updates Blog

#our life #xoxo droplets #lake of voices #ask #Our Life Beginnings & Always #ourlifeba #gb patch #gb patch games

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