#abbey lost and found

[mancer-in-the-abbey]

This thought has been rotating this in my, MODERN GHOULS (plus Aether) AND HOW THEY ACT IN A FIGHT LETS GO

Dewdrop: Strike hard, strike fast, don’t get hit, that’s the motto. In a brawl scenario he is the first to hit under the belt, dude LOVES to fight dirty and he’s hella resourceful. He doesn’t take hits as well as he used to before the elemental transition, but he’s been working on increasing his speed to make up for it. You cannot and will not see him coming if he decides to deal the first hit, Prefers hand-to-hand (claw-to-claw?) combat over ranged fighting or straight elemental fighting due to a harder time accessing his fire power, but when he does MANNN is it a DELUGE of fire. The whole house is burning down.

Aether: In a brawl scenario, being as big and physically strong as he is makes him excel at disbanding/de-escalating. Aether is really good at taking a punch and being just completely unfazed by it, which is useful in getting people acting a fool to knock it off. If it’s real life or death, though? Ohhhh buddy you done fucked up the minute you messed with the guy who stitches people back together with magic on the regular. If he can do that, how easy do you think it is for him to UN-stitch someone? He doesn’t even need to raise a fist for you to be done for.

Phantom: Phantom, I think, is flight over fight in most ways. If someone wants to start something, he just goes invisible and nopes out of there. Having said that, if he IS stuck in a fight, is the KING of improv. Where Dew can walk into a room and come up with 10 different ways the objects in it can kill a man, Phantom can be handed an object, ANY object, and he will make it work. Not necessarily out of skill, but just sheer blind panic and the need to arm himself. Real scrappy, that ghoul… he has thrown a knife at a toaster for going off too loud and scaring him.

Rain: Rain has VERY good control over his element. If he has a choice between fighting on land a fighting in or near water, he’s taking the water option. That said, water is slightly harder to come by in everyday life unless one is just constantly carrying a bottle of water with them at all times. That is, unless you want to burst the water pipes of a building, which he HAS done once by accident and it was VERY expensive to fix. Anyway, lucky for him Rain does tend to just carry water on him anyway. Man needs to be hydrated, and it also functions as his built in self-defense. You trying to fight? Get geysered with a Stanley Cup, idiot. Assuming water ISN’T an option at all, though, Rain is a biter. You will lose a finger and he will tell you what hot sauce he’d pair you with after. Just for the extra psychic damage.

Swiss: Call my man Rocky the way he didn’t hear no bell, Swiss is RELENTLESS. Stamina in fucking SPADES, it don’t matter how many hits he takes, he will Not! Go! Down! Him and Phantom are similar in that they’re both survivors by any means necessary. In Phant’s case, it made him the master of Ending Situations Fast. In Swiss’s, though, it’s made him durable as an anvil and persistent as a lion. Combine that with whatever element is closest at hand and he’s a force to be reckoned with. And if he has the time to get really creative with his elemental powers? Buddy, you are not leaving that fight the same man you came in, if you leave at all.

Cirrus: Girl was a brawler back in the pit, so to me fighting as a way of life followed her onto the surface. Every bit of her is a weapon. Her hands? Weapons. Her arms? Weapons. Legs? Weapons. Face? Weapon. She is so light on her feet, you will not be able to land a single hit on her. She can blow you off-balance or keep you at arms length, always giving her the upper hand in confrontations. She also knows how to handle actual weapons really well. It’s a hobby of hers, swords are her favorite for sheer cool factor but give that woman a quarterstaff and she will go to WORK.

Cumulus: That is a woman who has a mean, right hook, I just know it in my bones. She enjoys learning self-defense from Cirrus, though more for the exercise than the fighting capability. Cumulus, like Aether, is more a lover than a fighter. However, should the need arise, she is more than capable of stopping a brawl in its tracks. You wanna throw hands? Bam! Sudden atmospheric pressure migraine! What are you gonna do now, idiot? It’s a good way to get all parties involved to scatter fast, leaving her with a quiet evening to herself.

Aurora: Ranged! Fighting! Queen! Someone let her watch Hunger Games and she has been perfecting how to hurt people from a distance ever since. Her aim started out shaky but has gotten SCARY good, she can hit you in the head with a fastball special from a sports field away. Also, she uses her Quintessence powers to manipulate light. Usually this is just for doing cool tricks and making the space look pretty, but she WILL flash-bang you if provoked.

Mountain: Don’t. Just don’t! Mountain may be a gentle giant these days but he wasn’t always. If you like your bones where they are, just don’t fucking bother! He will avoid conflict if it is at all possible, but if he thinks you might be an actual threat to his family, there is nowhere on the continent you will be safe!



[sophiasharp]

Swiss: *enters the kitchen at 2am for some water*

Dew and Mountain, both hunched over a pack of Kraft singles like it’s an animal carcass:

Swiss: … *slowly walks back into his own room*

[mancer-in-the-abbey]

Mmmm my favorite? It’s a but angsty, but I like the idea that Copia and the ghouls got off on the wrong foot at first and it took them a while to open up to him. I’ve already written out why a few times but either way, I like watching someone struggle to overcome preconceived notions about them as the people around them slowly realize how hard they’re working just to be respected. In this case, it makes the ghouls’ later acceptance of Copia feel earned

I especially enjoy Mountain being the last to give Copia a chance. He’s just as stubborn as his namesake implies and he especially digs his heels in when it comes to this new band leader lol

Since I'm feeling like a steamed frog -not ideal- tell me your favorite headcanon about the ghouls, Copia, the other papas, whoever, in the tags, comments, or in a reblog.

[pitviperofdoom]

So it's been a hot second since I took a break from my full series reread, but I found myself once again thinking about Outcast of Redwall and the raw deal that Veil Sixclaw got.

What kills me is that before the poisoning, the one thing Veil got in trouble for--the only thing, in fact--was stealing. This kid didn't even get into fights, he just stole food from the kitchens, which as Bryony points out is normal Abbey kid behavior. Another character shoots back that stealing is something most kids outgrow implying that the fact that Veil hasn't is suspicious, which is frankly a wild thing to say to the great grand-daughter of Gonff the Mousethief.

(In a kinder version of events, the adults in Veil's life might have shaken their heads with long-suffering fondness and remarked that he was following in his adopted ancestor's footsteps.)

The whole point of Redwall is that it's the woodland utopia where no one goes hungry and everyone has what they need, which is why kids stealing pies off the windowsill is no big deal... except when Veil does it, apparently. Veil's the one that gets physical punishment when he's suspected of stealing--not even proven! I can't recall off the top of my head any incidents in the rest of the series of corporal punishment in Redwall beyond idle threats that the kids know not to take seriously. But Veil gets scrutinized from the moment Redfarl and Skipperjo pick him up out of the mud and they and Bella look at this literal infant and say "oh yeah, he's gonna be evil for sure."

And then a thought occurred to me: it's generational trauma.

Most of the characters in Outcast are two generations removed from the characters in Mossflower. Bella of Brockhall is in both books. Verdauga and Tsarmina are still within living memory. Until the end of Outcast, as far as she knows, Bella lost her entire family to vermin warlords. Mossflower opens on a scene in which a ferret kicks in the door of a family of subsistence farmers, threatens their children with slavery, and takes all their food as taxes leaving them with none for the winter--and the Stickles were the last holdouts. The other farmers in the area had already run off to join the resistance at that point, so this kind of treatment was normal.

And we're left with a close-knit society of people who've grown up with this shared history, with a venerated authority figure who still carries the scars and memories of what they lost--and suddenly another warlord comes within a hairsbreadth of discovering the peaceful society they built in the aftermath, and leaves behind a starving neglected baby whose first impression is eating frogspawn in the mud and biting his rescuers while being the spitting image of the warlord they just narrowly avoided.

All of that gets thrown into this caustic mixture of fear and paranoia that gets projected onto a literal baby and results in their completely out of pocket response to a child taking food from the kitchens in the We Share Everything Abbey.

It also might explain why Bryony, who's young enough to be three generations removed and may have been born after most of the survivors of Kotir had already passed, is the only one who isn't scared and suspicious of Veil on sight.

[portraitsofsaints]

Saint Brigid of Ireland

451-525

Feast day: February 1

Patronage: Ireland

Saint Brigid was born in Ireland to a pagan chieftain and a Christian slave. She founded the Abbey of Kildare that was ruled by a double line of abbot-bishops and abbesses; thus the reason why she holds the crosier. Her school of art, learning, and spirituality at Kildare produced an illuminated manuscript praised as one of the finest examples of it's kind. (It has been lost since the Reformation.) St. Brigid is known as the "Mary of the Gael" and holds the straw cross which people place in their homes for blessings and protection. She is buried with St. Patrick and St. Columba.

Prints, plaques & holy cards available for purchase. (website)

[notablenotions]

Letter from Henry to Hans and Jitka

Hans, Jitka,

Will be home soon. Probably. Maybe.

So—I was helping this lad woo his lass. Friendly favour. Next thing I know, I pushed her down a well by accident. It involved a riding crop, a chilled wheel of blue cheese, and several Latin texts. It was very intellectual actually.

Her suitor—some minor lord—wasn't thrilled. Her father even less so. Especially since it was the morning of her wedding.

They imprisoned me. Fair.

I escaped after discovering a locked pantry containing sausages and a suspicious barrel of vinegar. Used the grease to slip through the bars. Dead clever. Shame the manor caught fire. Not sure how.

On the road, I saw a bear. Looked me dead in the eye. Like a person. So I followed it. We sat. Shared some honey. Talked about mortality. Turns out it likes cheese too. Said goodbye—emotional moment.

Then saw something shiny in a river. Went to pick it up. Looked up. Saw a lass dancing in the shallows. Gorgeous. Full of stories and moonlight. We talked, danced, she gave me a rabbit’s foot that smells like old soup. Read my palm, said I’d “get lucky soon.”

We were mid dance when her father appeared. One of the washerwoman’s sons. Fight broke out. Minor fire. Entire field burned. Possibly the house too.

Stole his horse. Rode like hell. Lost horse in a dice game.

But the winner was kind. Told me of his cousin’s second cousin’s mate’s brother’s sheep’s owner’s booze stash.

Went. Drank. Blacked out.

Apparently, in the interim I:

Started a tavern brawl involving ducks

Proposed to five people (two were nuns)

Taught a goose to swordfight

Replaced a priest’s communion wine with mead

Declared myself “King of Turnips”

Bit a knight on the arse during a duel (apparently not mine)

Convinced a choir to sing nothing but tavern songs

Was found napping in the town fountain, wearing only boots and a flower crown

So now I’m in prison. Somewhere. Unclear where. No one will tell me.

P.S. Dunno where Pebbles is.

– Henry

---

Reply from Hans and Jitka to Henry

Hans writes:

Henry.

I am halfway between tears and absolute collapse. You have, in a single letter, shoved a noble’s bride down a well, burned two estates, befriended a bear, started a cult of cheese, corrupted a choir, bit a knight, and potentially launched a goose-based militia.

You are now legally at war with seven noble houses, one abbey, and nature itself.

I don’t know whether to rescue you or run far, far away.

Wherever you are—stay put. We’ll come get you. Probably with disguises.

– Hans

Jitka adds:

Henry,

You’ve become a legend in the worst possible way. There’s talk of a wandering cheese prophet. A goose duelmaster. A man in boots and nothing else blessing crops with song.

Mutt howled at your letter. Again. I think he senses the chaos.

Stay alive. Avoid fires. Don’t shove anyone else down a well. And for the love of God, stop accepting cursed animal parts from strange women.

We’re coming. Don’t move. Don’t speak. Don’t look at any more bears.

– J.

---

Henry King of a side quest

[sophiasharp]

You wrote this? Because I?? Wrote a thing??? And you liked it????

Some Swiss multi insecurities thoughts I’ve been having due to @sophiasharp post

Also thank you to @traayaa for the heavy encouragement

Including swiss alps bc I love them so

Swiss has always been one to be a leader. He’s regarded as one of the more confident, outgoing ghouls. He’s one you go to when you need help, when things are going wrong.

Swiss doesn’t feel wanted. So he makes himself needed.

It eats at him. He doesn’t feel wanted because he doesn’t think he is. Any job he can do someone else can do it better

He snaps a bit one day when mountain asks for help in his greenhouse

“Ask rain”

mountain looks confused. He’s never seen swiss look so upset, so in his head about something.

“But I want your help” he insists

“But rain can do it better. So why ask me?”

“What do you mean he can do it better? You do it just right”

Swiss almost cries. Frustrated because he assumes mountain doesn’t *get it* , hes not understanding him.

“His powers are better than mine. So why not ask him? He can do it better than me”

Swiss just stares down at the floor trying desperately not to cry, not to seem weak, not to seem like he’s getting worked up over nothing but he is and he hates it he hates feeling like this. Mountain just wants to hold the poor ghoul.

“But Swiss you do it good enough already. You know exactly how I want you to help and you do. So why would I ask rain? I don’t want rains help because I have you.”

Tears stream down the multi ghouls face. Pent up anger and insecurity coursing through his veins after repressing it for so long. To watch his pack constantly do better than him, be needed more than him.

“ you’re not *getting it* mountain. He’s better than me, he will always be better than me. Dew is better than me, cirrus is better than me, *youre* better than me. Ask someone else”

The tears continue to fall. More frustration building up in his gut. He can’t be the best, someone will always be more useful than he is so why doesn’t mountain want them? Why won’t he go to rain? It doesn’t make sense to him.

“Swiss. I want you. I don’t care about your powers because I want to spend time with *you*” mountain moves to embrace him, hold him tight while he cries. “I don’t have to ask rain and dew to come help me because you can do both jobs. So I want you to help. Because I love you and not your powers”

He forgets sometimes. Because the ghouls are all celebrated as the best in their trades. But he never gets to be the best, just gets to be … the other one that they use as “break in case of emergency”

He knows the other ghouls love him, hes never felt unwanted by his pack. But it’s his deep desire to be *needed* , to be *wanted*

They sit there in silence, small sniffs coming from the multi ghoul hole mountain holds him tight in his arms he hopes maybe if he holds him tight enough he can convince him he is needed and wanted, that the pack needs him, needs his leadership, his positive personality, his humor, that they wouldn’t be the same without him.

It’s hard for Swiss to breakdown. He feels weak, like a burden. The insecurity still that if you’re not being useful then you’re being a bother.

Mountain just holds him still while Swiss protests.

“I’m getting tears on your shirt, I’m wasting your time you should be working, I’m sorry just let me be”

He holds him tighter

“I don’t care. You’re more important”

[bignaz8]

The coffin of the Unknown Warrior lies in state in the Abbey, London, in 1920. I found it very moving that guests of honour were a group of about one hundred women. They had been chosen because they had each lost their husband and all their sons in the war - "Every woman so bereft who applied for a place got it".

The guard of honour were 100 holders of the Victoria Cross from all three services. Most likely the greatest number of Victoria Cross recipients to be at the one place at the same time.

The Unknown Warrior was buried in Westminster Abbey, London on the 11th of November 1920, simultaneously with a similar interment of a French unknown soldier at the Arc de Triomphe in France.

The coffin was interred in soil brought from each of the main battlefields and covered with a silk pall.

On the 17th of October 1921, the unknown warrior was given the United States' highest award for valour, the Medal of Honor. It hangs on a pillar close to the tomb. On the 11th of November 1921, the American Unknown Soldier was reciprocally awarded the Victoria Cross.

Lest We Forget.

Photograph came from Imperial War Museums - image file number IWM Q 31514.

[mctartney]

Okay I feel like so much of it was a blur but let me try and write what I remember and share some of my highlights!

- Before the show we heard screaming and everyone rushing the other side of the arena and were like who the FUCK has turned up??? Well now we know lol

- He is such a genius starting the show with AHDN because that first chord??? Instant Beatlemania 

- Let Me Roll It ok ok ok listen. Not usually an old Paul fucker. Him taking his jacket off before and everyone cheering was funny. BUT then him slowly rolling up his sleeves and undoing his top button during the verses?? oooOOH let me at him 🥴

- He didn't tell the "Jimi asked me to tune his guitar" story like usual, was just like "he was a lovely guy, very humble" 🥺

- I don't know why but I found My Valentine so emotional?? I don't know, it's just Paul has lost so many people but I'm so glad that throughout his life he has always found people to love and who love him

- I've Just Seen A Face in front of the Cavern backdrop made me UNWELL

- Paul get everyone to do the little "oh-oh-oh-oh"s in In Spite Of All The Danger and then the crowd kept doing it when the the song was over and he looked so happy and it made him laugh so he did the last verse again AW

- Blackbird -  I've heard him tell the story about seeing the kids going to school in Little Rock before, but he told a story about how he got a text from a lady in Jacksonville who saw The Beatles there when they refused to play a segregated show and she said it was the first time she had ever stood next to a white person. Glad he makes a point to tell these stories because it makes it very clear - this was not long ago in the slightest.

- Here Today, okay I've never seen him have an emotional wobble in person, he's got through it okay. Every time I've seen him have a wobble in a video it's been on the "I love you" line. But this time he kind of had a moment on the "I really loved you and was glad you came along" and oh man. It's just so sad, isn't it? It's so sad.

- Now and Then, he had a little moment to admire the heart cards the crowd held up and it was very cute!!

- He started telling the story of the lost bass and then brought it out to play it and it was SO surreal to be in the same room in that guitar. He was like "I'm going to play it for the first time in 50 years" and then twanged the strings and was like "Well, it sounds like a bass!" djskf

- Get Back with the lost bass and Ronnie Wood was just so fun and they all looked like they were having so much fun!

- Let It Be was really beautiful, everyone lit up the arena with their phone torches. It was so special. Afterwards, he looked out to the audience and says, completely serious, like your dad giving his best advice "Let it be. There will be an answer. Let it be." I love him so much.

- Live And Let Die, one of the loud fireworks accidentally went off in the middle of a verse and scared the LIFE out of me. I jumped a mile and then looked back over to Paul who was just laughing djkdg. Him covering his ears for the last explosion at the end is so cuuute too he's the funny uncle at the party it's true.

- I've Got A Feeling. Ohhh. Sweet boy. Seeing him sing with John. Hearing John's voice ring through the arena so clearly. It's a lot.

- Paul: "We've got another special guest for you" Me: 🧐🙏 The Crew: *start dragging a drumkit on* Me: 😨 Paul: "Ringo Starr!" Me: 🥴😵

- IT WAS UNREAL!! THEYRE SO CUTE. Ringo truly is so little aww and they had a cuddle and Paul kissed him on the forehead. Honestly the affection between them was palpable, I dunno how to describe it. Just really fond.

- Lowkey Sgt Peppers and Helter Skelter were a blur bc my brain was just going PAUL AND RINGO SAME ROOM 50% BEATLES

- Then Abbey Road Medley went way too quickly and was all over so soon sighh

- He kissed the camera on the way out 😘😘 Love him to bits forever & always

[mancer-in-the-abbey]

Oh hey, thanks @kissingghouls ! This is more for a ficlet but I think it counts?

The spiral of stars and nebulas has turned into spots and rivulets of water, like rain creeping down a window.

Let’s see, the writers that I know who I don’t think have already been tagged would be… @madangel19, @anamelessfool , and @tehriel ? Maybe they have, I’m not sure, but either way these are nice!

Alright, tag game~

RULES: Post the last sentence you wrote (fanfic / original / anything) and tag as many people as there are words in the sentence.

I was tagged by @hergan416 - I do indeed write, though I haven't posted anything publically for... quite some time, huh. There's a lot of WIP files tho. Thankyou for the tag ^^

Cannot emphasise just how glad I am that it landed on this line though - both the line directly before and the passage I had been planning for after would have been entirely too much out of context, especially as this was planned for anonymous release.

Their little corner descended into chaos.

Anyways, that leaves six tags for me? Hopefully I haven't double-tagged anyone; I'll try and leave off anyone I've seen tagged

@cornistasiathecoblinking @buginateacup @sheriiam @shreddedleopard @shadowstarkanada @twstedhearts

Absolutely no pressure guys, this is simply intended for a bit of fun~

[mancer-in-the-abbey]

I haven’t made a headcanon post in a hot minute, have I? Can’t sleep and college is holding the campus Halloween party tomorrow soooo GHOULS AND THEIR FAV CLASSIC MONSTERS!

Dewdrop: Frankenstein’s monster. Dude can relate to being taken apart and put back together. Probably wept while reading the original 😔

Rain: Creature from the Black Lagoon. Yeah because aquatics but I also think he finds something cathartic in a horrendous little guy that still wants love

Phantom/Aeon: Vampires. What can I say? Like Papa, like ghoul

Mountain: Good old classic serial killer. Man was the real monster all along!

Cirrus: Mummy. She saw the original 1932 film and fell in love with it.

Cumulus: Not so much a fan of scary things, she did that enough in the Pit, thank you. She does love a good witch, though…

Swiss: Classic Grim Reaper. Not even necessarily as a horror ring, he just finds the imagery really compelling. Also those really grim dark boomer memes with skeletons make him laugh

Sunshine: Zombie girlie. Wishes that more movies would focus on the actual horror that is a zombie apocalypse rather than “the real monster was man all along” stuff

Aurora: Mummy. Cirrus recommended she watch The Mummy and ended up watching the 90’s version instead of the 30’s classic. She fell in love with every single cast member, as we all did, including the titular Mummy.

Bonus Aether: now that he has a bit more free time, he’s been getting into more Eldritch horror, going back and forth between original Lovecraft and new age interpretations. He’s having fun! He also knocked his head against the wall when he found out what Lovecraft named his cat.

[sophiasharp]

Thinking about how much of an anomaly Swiss is and how much I love Jack of All Trades characters.

Because ghouls that are an even split of all 5 elements, up until Swiss, had been unheard of. Sure, hybrids are a thing that happen sometimes, just look at Sunny and Aurora, but all 5?

It had been previously theorized by the Ministry that the max amount of elements one ghoul could possess on the surface was 3; any more and the body would begin to deteriorate due to the strain of containing that much conflicting elemental power. That’s not to say such ghouls COULDN’T exist down in The Pit, but they likely wouldn’t survive the journey to the surface.

Which brings us back to Swiss. Swiss, the living contradiction to all the Ministry thought they knew. Swiss, the type of ghoul never before seen on Earth or in Hell. Swiss, who could light your smoke one minute and chill your drink the next.

However, such great power has its limits. For example, while, yes, he could do both of those things one after the other, he is incapable of doing them both at once, forced to focus on one element at a time.

His natural abilities are also not quite as strong as those of someone born purely of that element. In order to reach even close to that level requires an intense amount of concentration and energy that simply isn’t sustainable for long periods of time.

This limitation gets to him some days more than others. Some days, he feels more like a cheep knock-off of a ghoul than anything else- like someone’s amateur interpretation of one. It’s an easy argument to make, given that’s how he survived in The Pit: pretending to be a full elmental ghoul and joining an established pack until the truth caught up with him and he was forced to leave and wander till the cycle could start anew.

Even though it’s been years now since he’d left The Pit and found a family that accepts him for exactly what he is, it still gets hard some days not to feel like somewhat of a fraud- like he’s tricked them all into loving a version of himself that was somehow better than he really is and it’ll only be a matter of time before they find him out and it’s back to square one down in the hellfire below.

Thankfully, his pack has gotten good at noticing when he’s too far in his own head and can remind him of just how sincerely loved and appreciated he is. It’s most days now where he gleefully tousles Rain’s hair with a gust of wind before warming up the coffee that had gone cold in its pot. It’s most days where he good-naturedly pesters Mountain in his greenhouse while going from plant to plant to water them and offer some earthly coaxing of growth. It’s most days where he can tune into the same quintessence frequency as Aether and Aeon and make sure neither were overextending themselves.

Yes, Swiss would say he is very proud of what he could do for his pack.

After all, a Jack of all trades and master of none is far greater still than a master of one.

(It appears my brand new side blog has been immediately yeeted into the shadow realm upon creation so I’m having to repost this here 😅 if you didn’t know, I’m moving my ghost headcanons to @mancer-in-the-abbey . Idk when it’ll get to see the light of day but hopefully it will soon!)

[savingsallow]

Val Throughout the Years

A walk down the memory lane featuring my MC—Valentine Black— and her growth as an individual during her Squib days to the pink haired rebel we know today!

Valentine Esther Black, commonly known as Val, is the daughter of Sirius Black I and Daphne Black (née Yaxley). And yes, this makes her the niece of the headmaster, Phineas Nigellus Black, who later took her under his care shortly after her parents' untimely end.

Personality-wise, Val is an ENFP, which means that she's creative, charming, adaptable, and has excellent people skills. However, the downside of her positive traits eventually showed itself the more she spent time with her new family. At a young age, Val learned how to be sneaky, deceptive, manipulative, and a masterful people-pleaser; the young girl felt the need to resort to these following traits in hopes to gain approval, validation, and most importantly, to survive.

With that being said, let me walk you through the years as Val grows into the confident and self-assured young woman she is today!

↓

The Masterful People-Pleaser

Did I mention that she was a masterful people-pleaser?

Well, this Val in particular, was at her peak "I need to gain their approval or I'm useless" stage. This part of her life is what she calls now the "most exhausting and pitiful days" of her life. From the way she dresses to how she acts. The constant need to overly accommodate others even if it means to fully ignore her own needs, thinking that this is the only way for her to be worthy and loved.

The mask that she felt the need to wear every day and the role she was exceptionally playing, became almost pointless once she was almost disowned for not receiving the Hogwarts acceptance letter at the age of eleven. But thanks to her brilliance and her guardians' *coughs* hidden motives, Val was sent to a Muggle boarding school instead, which would add further damage to her already ✨sparkling traumatized character✨

↓

The Broken Yet Hopeful

Now here's Val during her time at the muggle boarding school called the Wycombe Abbey which is located at the top of a mountain. And yes, it's more eerie than peaceful there.

Despite feeling like a failure, this kid is still hopeful that she can prove to her 'family' that she's worth it and that adopting her isn't a mistake. This is the part of Val's life where she becomes overly competitive and too self-critical. However, even if she was overly competitive at that time, her methods were still leaning on the good side. After all, Val can get really creative and resourceful when she sets her mind on what she wants.

↓

The Fading Ray of Light

During her time at the muggle boarding school, Val also met her first best friend, Astrid Netherton, who was the first person to ever let her be herself without being judged, and vice versa. Val learned a lot from Astrid and they became each other's refuge and protectors as they navigated together the complexities of adolescence, societal expectations, peer pressure, and more!

Their friendship was very loving and healing, but time wasn't kind to them both. One day, Val found out that Astrid had entered a new realm, by her own will, most likely where her late parents reside now as well.

Her best friend's sudden passing left Val in a depressive void for years. What was once left that helped Val hold herself together has also lost their way. So the next few years of Val's life were what she calls now "the darkest days of my life".

↓

The One Who Lost Their Way

This is the part in her life where she lost herself and basically, everything that gives life meaning to her. Val was living in a colorless and "everything's pointless" autopilot here.

She would be crying every night when everyone was asleep. Val was so lonely that the only friend she considered was the Moon. At this time, she would also spend her holidays at school since her 'family' doesn't want her to be at their house.

Little did she know that she was a disaster away from being freed to that place. One day in 1890, Val accidentally set her dorm on fire after having a physical fight with her dorm mates after they disrespected the memory of Astrid. At that time, Val didn't know that she was the cause of the fire since she already accepted that she would never be able to wield magic even if she wanted to.

Val was sent back to London after she recovered from the incident, not that she was expelled, but because her Aunt Ursula requested that she return there immediately.

↓

The Almost Forgotten Reflection

During her long carriage ride back to London, Val felt like she wasted all of her chances to prove herself. She has no idea how she would face her uncle and aunt. To add on, she doesn't know how she would explain to them that her original features have returned.

[Additional note: Val was born with pink hair and pink eyes, hence why her name is Valentine. However, shortly after witnessing her parents' passing, her unprocessed grief and trauma as a child manifested into physical form, changing her appearance to green eyes and black hair.]

Long story short, when Val arrived in London, instead of being welcomed by the usual cold scrutiny, she was surprised that her long-awaited letter was being handed to her.

↓

The Eccentric Rebel

As Professor Fig mentored Val to be better prepared for her new school, she knew that in order to succeed in this endeavour, a few changes are necessary. She got rid of everything that's been holding her back all these years, especially the need for validation.

This is where she decided to be less of what's expected of her and more of who she really is. Naturally, she's more than aware that it's not an overnight thing, but a step forward is a step forward no matter how small it might be.

However, there was an overnight thing that occurred 😆 because during the night before her carriage ride to Hogwarts, Val being Val impulsively cut her short as a physical reminder that she does not need to fit a certain mould to feel worthy of love. In this new chapter of her life, she started to apply her "I rather be liked by a few for being the real me, than be loved by everyone for being someone else" mindset.

Fast forward to her days at Hogwarts, Val successfully stayed true to her beliefs and values while constantly breaking the stereotypes that her peers initially placed on her. Not only that she's nothing like her uncle or how one would expect a Black would behave, but she's the complete opposite of everything that her lineage stands for.

Val is the kind of person who looks cold outside, but once you talk to her, all that icy exterior is instantly thawed by her warm and sometimes playfully sarcastic personality. She's sweet and kind but never mistook it as her weakness for she knows when to draw the line and be direct but respectful about it. After all, Val's learning to balance her strengths and weaknesses during this time so it's definitely not a good idea to mess with her XD

Still, Val has a golden heart and is always willing to help others whenever she can. It's something she's working through as she slowly teaches herself that taking care of herself first would be more beneficial for everyone: better health = better help she can give.

All in all, my favourite part about this Val is her realization that—perfection is caging while being yourself is freeing. Of course, it isn't always easy, but it's fulfilling and worthwhile.

—

Not a massive lore drop, but thank you so much 🫵🏻❤️‍🔥 for reading my slightly elaborated lore yap about most of Val's teenage year experiences

There's definitely more of this in the future so watch out! 😌🔥

[additional notes:]

🌸 non-native english speaker here, so teeny tiny grammatical errors might be present.

🌸 i hope you enjoyed reading!✨

🌸 i'm sending loads of love and luck your way!🫴🏻❤️‍🔥🍀

[rosiewalks]

New Lurk for Abbey

I was lurking on r/monsterhigh, saw this buzzed Abbey by TasteThePain, and promptly fell in love. Before giving my Abbey the Big Chop, I waited 24 hours to make sure I wasn't about to make a rash, hormone-fueled mistake.

Here's Abbey before:

Like yes, of course she's adorable. But I hate that her horns are lost in all the poofy, poly hair. Plus, I just don't like to touch poly and it's not fun to play with.

But oh my gosh, I absolutely love her now. I can't stop looking at her, photographing her, and carrying her around with me!

Abbey is wearing SH Demi's top, SH Natasha's skirt, SH Heather's shoes, and some SH necklace. I did her extra blushing and ear piercings.

This was also a journey of finding shoes to fit her. So far I've found she can wear SH Heather's ankle pumps (pictured), RH Bella's pearl heels, RH Skylar's slime boots, and RH Blu's platforms.

Experimenting with some different accessories:

This was a drastic cut and I'm so happy with how it turned out. I think Abbey looks incredible.

[ghostchems]

hello my darling. i see your requests are back open… 👀 i've got a prompt for you if you so wish to write it… reader has been dead for decades, aimlessly wandering the halls of the ministry where no one has ever seen her, heard her or even felt her… until one day, she's walking (or y'know… floating…) through the halls and someone is walking towards her. He stops in his tracks and stares straight ahead. Then she realises…

he's staring at her… Choose a papa, any papa! Whoever you would like to write, if you choose to write it! 😘

a/n: almost 1k words of some sweetness. after reading the prompt i KNEW i had to pick Cardinal Copia 🥹 bee. thank you SO much for sending this in. hit me right in the dang feels

Loneliness has driven you to the busy corridors of the Abbey. Despite the clergy members quite literally seeing right through you, their presence around you is enough to alleviate the void inside you. You’ve had to make do over the decades but even after all of the disappointment there is still an unwavering flicker of hope that you’ll make some sort of contact. Who knew it would be impossible for a ghost to be noticed in a Satanic Ministry? Many attempts have been made, ranging from morose to macabre (floating candles vs. severed limbs) but to no avail. Perhaps there’s something wrong with you. Is your spirit not dark enough to be seen? You remember how you died and decide that can’t be the case.

You gave everything for The Olde One. The Ministry was a very different place back then.

You’re lost in the endless abyss of your thoughts until there’s a shift in energy around you. Something new. Someone new. The wisps of your ghostly train curl towards the ceiling behind you and gust of warm air blows your hair out of your face.

Oooh. A Cardinal. It’s been ages since there’s been one here, the last one being in 19—

Is he looking at you?

There’s no way but… his gaze is fixated on the space you occupy, eyes wide. He bears the Mark of The Olde One — just like the Papas, but even with the Eye no one has ever seen you. He picks up his pace, walking to you with such purpose. You feel an excitement you haven’t felt since you were alive but it’s quickly replaced with crippling anxiety. In a fit of panic you poof out of the corridor and reappear deep into the underground archives, far far away from any person. But the new Cardinal saw you. He really did. After vying for this for so long… you aren’t ready for it.

***

You’ve meandered further into more densely populated areas of the Abbey over the last two weeks after taking some time for yourself to come to grips with the fact that he saw you. Problem is now the Cardinal is nowhere to be found. The longer the week stretched the more you began to believe it was over — he must have only been visiting for the day and thus your chance at talking to someone other than yourself for the first time in 55 years has slipped through your fingers. But that same hope you’ve clung to keeps you pacing and wandering day after day, hoping to catch of glimpse of his black cassock.

One late night you find yourself perusing the library, hovering around the new releases aisle (you like to see how ridiculous the names of romance novels have gotten). The further you get down the aisle the thicker the air becomes around you, the familiar buzzing in your ear from the first time you saw him. There’s a dim light coming from one of the nooks. You steel yourself, you’re going to make yourself known like you planned. Glowing brighter than you ever have before, you float toward the light. How can a ghost have anxiety? You’d think all of those feelings would be gone but somehow you feel like you’d throw up if that were even possible. You reach the outside of the nook and suck in a sharp breath before peering around the corner.

His duochromatic eyes are on you instantly.

“Per favore — please, do not run away again.” He sounds quiet, sleepy but polite and he extends a hand out to you. “I was worried I would not see you.” You blink at him as you reveal yourself fully to him, his gaze taking you in.

“You… you really see me?” Your voice cracks, your ghost trail wiggling with how charged you are emotionally.

“Yes. I do.” The Cardinal stands, his hand still out to you. “I, ehh… I’m the new Cardinal, Cardinal Copia. What is your name?”

My name?

“You’re… you’re the only person who’s ever seen me.” Not an answer to his question at all but your brain is broken. All that time you spent hoping for this…

“Oh. Oh, poverino.” His fingertips graze your hand and you jump — he could feel you too? “Ah! I am sorry! Ehhh… what can I do? How can I help you?” Copia shuffles on his feet anxiously, making sure to keep a safe distance so that he doesn’t startle you again. Your guise is crackling, vibrating with energy, more than you’ve ever felt before. He seems… delighted by your prescience and it makes you feel warm.

“H-how? Cardinal, how?” You push in closer to him, wisps brushing against his cassock.

“Non lo so. I’ve… I’ve just always been able to.” He gives you a sad smile. “I eh… had some weird “imaginary friends” growing up. But please, you must… you must have a lot to say after spending so long only listening.” Copia may have the gentlest voice you’ve ever heard. You want to hug him especially since something about this feels deeply personal to him…but you compose yourself and instead take him by the hand as you sit on the corner of his desk.

“What do I even say now?” You laugh to yourself. “I’ve been so worried about ever being heard that I haven’t thought about what to say. What do you… want to know, Cardinal?” Even now you’re feeling shy.

He gingerly rests his hand on top of yours, a warmth spreading through you that you’ve never experienced before.

“I’ve wanted to get to know you since I saw you, fantasmina. Please, tell me about you.” Copia squeezes your hand with a kind smile. Speechless. You take a deep breath and nod.

You’ll tell him.

You’ll tell him everything.

[gravehags]

the burn between our hearts

Pairing: Ghouls/Ghoulettes x f!Reader

Rating: Mature

Tags: ghouls doing ghoul shit, depression, tender emotions, surprise papa

Words: 2,524

Summary: You have never felt so lost, so empty before, and you are unsure if what's wrong with you can ever be fixed.

a/n: THIS IS IT the final installment of the ghoul bicycle series. I have had so much fun writing this and who knows, might be tempted to write a little more if inspiration strikes me. See end of post for another note.

~~~

33 days.

It’s been 33 days since you’ve seen or heard from any of the ghouls.

You spent the first two and a half weeks of that in your room, sobbing wildly in bed while Sister Marguerite sat next to you rubbing your back and murmuring words of comfort to you. Truth be told, the steady presence of the middle-aged sister provided a warmth that you desperately needed. She never spoke ill of the ghouls and what they had done to you, instead telling you to be patient. That the Unholy Father always provides. That there’s always more to a bad situation than it seems. All difficult words for you to believe when your heart had been shattered the day after you had left Aurora’s room. Your mind was torn - on one hand you had come to expect this: being cast aside once they were done using you. On the other hand…you really thought you had something special with them. From your first time with Swiss to your last time with Aurora and every interaction with every ghoul in between, you felt like you were finally home. That you had finally found your place in the Ministry, by their sides.

Or not.

After most of your tears dry and your depression lets up to the point where you can leave your bed, you become angry. Fucking infuriated. Even before they were your lovers, they were your friends. And they just ditch you and act like you don’t even fucking exist anymore? Fuck that. One evening, you get so mad you stride down to the ghoul den and begin banging on their bedroom doors, cussing and cursing their names. How dare they treat you like you’re disposable? But that’s been the story of your whole life, you suppose. Everyone gets tired of you eventually. With one last slam of your fist against the wall, hard enough to bruise and shake Cumulus’ door, your tears begin to slip out once more.

“FUCK YOU!” you shout, unsuccessfully holding back a sob. The silence in the corridor is deafening so you turn on your heel and leave without a glance backwards. You don’t see the door at the end of the hall cracking open and eyes watching you go.

You return to your chores in the abbey, ignoring the sneers and dirty glances your fellow siblings give you. You’re well aware you’ve been a nuisance to everyone, being holed up in your room and shirking your duties, and you're wracked with guilt. Sister Marguerite assures you sweetly that it’s okay, everyone goes through rough spells and your absence hasn’t caused any undue burden on the rest of the siblings but you have a hard time believing her. You attend your duties but without any real life in your eyes or spring in your step. When you cry, silently, every once in a while, your sniffles draw rolled eyes and scoffs. The siblings don’t say a word to you, until one day, the dam breaks. You’re in the library and let out a small, embarrassing sob as you shelve a book on love magic when a loud slam echoes throughout the library.

“You are so fucking ridiculous, do you know that?”

You don’t realize she’s talking to you until you turn slightly and see her searing gaze. It’s Sister Tamsin. You don’t know her - not really - but she’s well-liked by a lot of people in the abbey. She’s never spoken to you before this and you frantically wipe your tears as she walks closer to you. A small crowd has been attracted to the two of you now, multiple pairs of eyes shifting between you both.

“Acting this way because of the fucking ghouls. Like you’re supposed to be special or some bullshit. Honey, the ghouls fuck everyone. They can’t help themselves. All of us have had a ghoul proposition us at some point, you’re just the only one stupid enough to fall for it. They’re nothing but fucking animals–”

“They are not animals,” you say loudly in a shaky voice but Tamsin isn’t done berating you.

“--oh look at that! She finally uses her mouth to speak instead of just opening it for ghoul cock and cunt. Go on, sweetheart. Tell us all how those beasts love you so much. Their little whore. Their–”

The slap echoes throughout the large room, but both your hands remain clenched into fists by your sides. Looming over Tamsin’s doubled-over form is Sister Marguerite, looking like fury personified in her neat habit.

“You little cunt,” Marguerite spits, causing your eyebrows to raise. You’ve never heard her swear before. “You know just as well as everyone else in this room - in this whole abbey - how sacred the ghouls are. Summoned by our own Papa from the realm of the Unholy Father to help him spread the word of our ministry. And you dare defile their name - and the name of those they have chosen - for petty cruelty? You are nothing, Tamsin. A jealous little gnat. And rest assured, Papa will be hearing about this.”

No one in the room is stunned quite as much as you as Marguerite abandons the red-faced, humiliated Tamsin in order to come to your side and escort you out of the room with her arm firmly planted across your lower back. When you finally step out of the library, she shuts the door firmly behind her and grabs your biceps, pulling you into a hug.

“Enough is enough,” she murmurs, rubbing your back. “I’m relieving you of your duties for the day. Take care, hon. Go back to your room. I’ll be having a word with our Papa.”

With one last squeeze she hustles down the hall, skirts flying and you’re left shell-shocked in the empty corridor. You rub at your eyes with the heels of your hands before doing as she requested.

Three days pass.

Three days and not a single soul dares look at you sideways let alone speak to you. You notice, with a twisted sense of satisfaction, that Tamsin is nowhere to be found. Not in the library, not in the gardens - you haven’t seen her at mass or in the dining hall. When you quietly ask Marguerite about her she just gives you a beatific smile and says, “she’s no longer a problem for you.” Something within you warns you not to inquire further so instead you go back to your normal life. After you finish a shift in the kitchens for the evening, you step out into the cloisters and head for a small courtyard you enjoy. You plop down onto a stone bench with a heaving sigh, trying to ignore the constant ache in your heart as you breathe in the evening air.

“Is this seat taken?”

Your head whips to the side and when you see a figure dressed in a red tracksuit and the earnest face of Papa Emeritus IV you jump up.

“Papa!” you gasp, curtsying before him. “I–no! Please, sit.”

He lowers himself next to you, putting his gloved hands on his thighs and taking a deep breath.

“Nice out, eh?” he asks quietly. You’ve never seen Papa like this - out of the majority of his papal paints and elaborate robes - and you certainly have never spoken to him in conversation like this.

“Beautiful,” you say, folding your hands in your lap. His eyes lower to watch you rub your fingers anxiously and worry at your cuticles. Gently, he reaches over and places a hand over yours.

“I know you’ve been hurting, sorella,” he murmurs, thumb grazing over your knuckles.

“You…you do?” All of a sudden you’re filled with dread at the thought of your poor mental state and shirked duties being reported all the way to Papa. You open your mouth to explain yourself, to apologize profusely but he speaks first.

“My ghouls,” he begins, “are very peculiar creatures. They don’t take well to most humans.”

“Oh?”

“Sì, sì…they are very protective of each other and of me. And…they don’t take human lovers.”

“They…don’t?”

“Not at all, sorella. Which makes you a very peculiar creature yourself. Something that my ghouls noticed straightaway. Something that they have spoken to me a great length about.”

Your stomach does a backflip and he looks at you with his mismatched eyes.

“Sorella, they wanted me to tell you…it is time. Go to them. Go to the last door at the end of the hallway this evening. I apologize for not telling you more - telling you sooner - but they had much to accomplish and wanted this to be a surprise.”

Your heart feels as if it’s going to burst through your ribcage and tears form in your eyes as you regard him.

“Papa…” you say quietly, your voice cracking, “thank you. Ave Sathanas. Thank you, Papa.”

He smiles at you warmly, and reaches up to briefly cup your cheek before jerking his head towards the corridor behind the two of you.

“Go on, cara. They are waiting.”

Before you can doubt yourself, you plant a brief kiss on Papa’s cheek and scurry off. As you make your way on the familiar path to the ghoul den, your hands shake by your sides. What did Papa know? What did Marguerite know, always reminding you to have faith and patience and guiding you with a gentle hand? When you enter the corridor you force yourself to take a series of deep breaths. Swallowing hard, and guided as if by an invisible hand, your feet take you down the wide corridor, all the way to the door at the end. Your pulse thunders in your ears and after a beat, you raise your fist and knock twice before placing your hand on the knob and turning slowly.

What meets your gaze after the door creaks open instantly brings tears to your eyes.

They’re there - all ten of them - standing in various spots in the large room staring at you. When you choke out a pathetic sob, Swiss is by your side in an instant.

“Hey, babygirl,” he says quietly, hand rubbing between your shoulder blades. “Do you like it?”

When you look up at him quizzically, he gestures to the room. You hadn’t even noticed the setting for all the ghouls you adored so dearly. A bed - a ridiculously enormous bed - is pushed against the far wall. Surrounding the large piece of furniture is a collection of thick cushions and pillows of varying sizes, blankets draped here and there. A dresser stands by the opposite wall and a doorway leads to a darkened room you assumed to be the bathroom. Eyebrows drawn in confusion, you look around at them.

“I…I don’t get it.”

“It’s yours,” Cirrus says, stepping forward and taking Swiss’ place at your side. “It’s what we’ve been doing all this time. We can’t bring a mate into the den and not make them a nest.”

She says it as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world but your jaw falls slack and you hear Aether let out a soft laugh.

“Mate?” your voice is comically high pitched as your eyes dart from Mountain to Sunshine to Aurora, perched on the end of the bed.

“If you’ll have us,” Cumulus supplies quickly, “we’re not going to assume but…”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

You can’t suppress the hurt in your voice and all at once they jump up and crowd around you.

“Love, like Cirrus said, we couldn’t tell you until we made a proper place for you,” Rain says softly, soothingly, “that’s how it’s supposed to be. The pack has to provide for you.”

“We’re sorry we didn’t say anything, though,” Phantom supplies, wringing his hands, “it…it wasn’t right to make you hurt like that. I told the others, but–”

“--But it was better than making you feel like you’ve been strung along. We had to make our intentions perfectly clear by doing this,” Mountain says calmly, gesturing around the room.

“I thought…I thought you didn’t want me anymore. That you didn’t care about me. That you never cared about me. I–” your words break off in a loud sob that has you doubling over on yourself and the ghouls looking anxiously around the room at one another.

“Honey, I’m sorry. We’re so sorry,” Cumulus says as she steps forward to embrace you, “human emotions can be…difficult for us to understand. We’ve never done this before, you know that? We’ve been telling you for so long that you’re special, that you’re perfect. If we didn’t want you we never, ever would have made this for you. You’re the one. You’re the only one for us.”

When you pull back from Cumulus’ arms, uselessly wiping your tears from her shoulder, she cups your face in her palms.

“We adore you. All of us.” The others nod emphatically, all reaching out to touch you in some way. It doesn’t feel real to you, but you drink it in all the same. Gently, you let go of your anger, of your doubt, and allow yourself to be filled with the perfect, aching love that surrounds you in this room.

“Thank you,” you whisper, squeezing Swiss’ hand in your left and Aurora’s in your right. “This is…wow. All for me, huh?”

“All for you,” Sunshine confirms, brushing your hair away from your face. “Does that mean you accept our offer?”

You let them squirm, just a little bit by remaining silent for a few seconds. When the “yes” leaves your lips, the room erupts triumphantly and suddenly your face is being smothered in kisses. When Swiss picks you up bridal style and carries you to the bed, you can’t help but laugh, thinking of your first time. The ensuing days of celebration are filled with as much love as lust, your naked form barely allowed to ever leave the bed and always surrounded by the sounds of pleasure. You’re thoroughly exhausted by the end of the third day, abbey duties completely forgotten and body limp in the soft sheets. Gently, so as not to wake your pack, you raise yourself onto your elbows and look around the room. On your right on the bed is Dewdrop, snoring softly, while Cumulus curls up behind you. Phantom has found a spot at the bottom of the bed and Swiss and Aurora are intertwined on a cushion across the room. Cirrus, Sunshine, and Rain sleep soundly in a pile next to them while Aether lies curled into Mountain. You smile as you regard the forms of your lovers - all ten of them, you want to laugh - and lower yourself back down into the pillow. Cumulus stirs and murmurs something into your hair, and you reach a soothing hand back behind you to scratch gently at her scalp. Dew’s eyes open briefly, glowing in the dim light of the room and he gives you a sleepy smile. Leaning over, you place a soft kiss on his forehead and run your thumb along his cheekbone.

And for once in your life, here at the abbey or otherwise, you are at peace, you are held, and you are loved.

~~~

a/n: if you're wondering what happened to sister tamsin well. ghouls get hungry, don't they?