#if we somehow became wealthy... i know so

[dresshistorynerd]

Roughly 10 More Cool Historical Queer Figures More People Should Know About

Part 2 - Modern Era

Part 1

Last year I made a post of roughly 10 (emphasis on roughly) earlier historical queer figures, and promised a list of another (roughly) 10 figures. So again in spirit of pride month, I'm delivering you roughly 10 (technically there's 12 or more however you want to count them) more cool historical queer figures.

In the first list I had fucked up the splitting of my list and there were only 8 figures. I had somehow misplaced the first entry here on this list even though time-period-wise it should have been on the first one, but alas it will go here.

The same disclaimers apply here too. This list is centered around western history (but not exclusively) because that's the history I'm most familiar with, though it's definitely not all white, since western history is not all white. I will be avoiding using modern labels, since they are rarely exactly applicable to history, rather I will present whatever we know about these figures' gender, sexuality and relationships. If there's information about what language they used about themselves, I will use that. Often we don't know their own thoughts, so I will need to do some educated guess work, but I will lean towards ambiguity whenever evidence is particularly unclear. If you are the type of person who gets angry with the mere suggestion there's a possibility that a historical gnc person might not have been cis, I encourage you to read my answers to related asks (here and here) first before sending me another identical ask. Try to at least bring some new arguments if you decide to waste my time with your trans erasure.

9. Romaine-la-Prophétesse (c. 1750 - at least 1792)

Romaine-la-Prophétesse, or Romaine the Prophetess, was a Haitian revolutionary and religious leader. It's unclear what pronounce they would have used for themself, so I'll refer to them as they/them. They were assigned male at birth and were born around 1750 in the Spanish controlled Hispaniola as Romaine Rivière to free black parents, possibly of Kongolese origin. By 1772 they had migrated to the French part of the island and become a small coffee plantation owner. By that point they had also met Marie Roze Adam a mulatto woman, who was enslaved in another plantation, where they were likely an employer. Between 1772 and 1777 she gave birth to their three children, who were born into slavery. After meeting their future wife, Romaine spent 12 years working to free her and their children from slavery. They purchased Marie Roze and their children and immediately married her, exploiting a law, according to which marrying her master freed her and any of her children owned by the same master. Romaine became very respected in the area's free black community and they and their wife became godparents to multiple children. Still even after freeing their wife and children from bondage they did own at least two slaves, as did many wealthy free black and mulatto people.

After the French Revolution many of the free black Haitians were radicalized. The French revolutionaries had promised freedom and equality, but while all whites, even the poor ones, gained citizenship, the citizen status of free people of colour was tenuous and black slaves remained slaves. This led to a lot of tensions and fighting, which in 1791 erupted into several uprisings, the uprising of the free people of colour against their discrimination and the slave rebellion. Romaine joined the slave rebellion after a powerful white plantation owner near their plantation gathered troops threatening them and their community. They called upon free black and poor white people in their community outnumbering the white troops, attacked the plantation, burned it down and freed it's slaves. It's a little unclear when exactly, but at least by the revolution, Romaine started to be known as Romaine the Prophetess. They dressed in women's clothing and spoke about being possessed by a female spirit. They became known as both a healer and a prophet. With a saber in hand they preached that God was black - their religious practice and revolutionary politics were very intertwined. Vodou was not yet a formalized belief system, but this was the time when it was taking form as Catholic and Indigenous African and Caribbean beliefs mingled together among Caribbean people of colour. Romaine's religious beliefs seem to also be a mix of Kongolese Catholicism (Catholicism has been a major religion in Kongo since early 16th century) and indigenous West-African religions. This was quite common among Haitian revolutionaries, but there was still a lot of variety.

After capturing and burning the first plantation, Romaine and their growing army of freed slaves, burned multiple other plantations in the area of Southern Hispaniola and freed thousands of slaves. There were excesses of violence as an inevitable consequence of the extreme brutality the slaves had been subjected to (how the Caribbean slaves and Maroons were treated by the Europeans is one of the most nauseating things I have ever read and after that it's impossible for me to condemn anything they did afterward to their oppressors). Eventually most of the wealthy free black people turned against Romaine and the slave revolt and pressured them to go into peace treaty with the French. By that point they had enough of the upper hand that they managed to keep control over large parts of the province. However, the peace would not last and eventually Romaine and their troops were defeated by the French in 1792. Romaine's family was capture, but they apparently managed to escape and was said to have continued preaching, however there's no other record of them after that. Haitian Revolution was eventually after a decade successful and made Haiti the first state to entirely abolish slavery.

10. We'Wha (1849–1896)

We'Wha was a Zuni, Indigenous American Pueblo people from Zuni River Valley, a potter, a weaver and a cultural ambassador. They were a lhamana, a third gender category in Zuni culture. The lhamana are usually amab people, who take both masculine and feminine characteristics and perform both feminine and masculine roles in the community. It's unclear what pronouns We'Wha would have used in the English language, so I will use they/them. At the time of We'Wha's birth the Zuni had managed to stay away from colonizers and continued their traditional livelihoods and religious practices. But the Zunis had their first interactions with the colonizers, who brought smallpox, which killed many of the villagers, including We'Wha's parents, after which they and their brother were adopted by an aunt. US tried to gain control of New Mexico - in 1877 they established Zuni Reservation and begun a policy to assimilate Indigenous People to the industrial American society by converting them to Christianity. Which is why in 1878 missionaries arrive to We'Wha's village. They became the missionaries' domestic servant and learned English. The missionaries left from the village in 1881, without managing to force their culture and morals on the villagers.

During the missionaries' stay at the village, We'Wha befriended Matilda Coxe Stevenson, an ethnologist, who recorded a lot of Zuni culture with the help of We'Wha. Matilda and her husband invited them to visit Washington D.C. with them. We'Wha used the opportunity to meet with president and form good relationship with the US government in order to protect the independence of their tribe. 6 years after their visit to Washington D.C., they were arrested. US soldiers had tried to interfere with the internal community trial of the Zuni and arrest their elders. We'Wha had resisted the soldiers and ended up in jail for a month.

Today Zuni people are surviving centuries of genocide as well as one can. Halona Idiwan’a, or Pueblo of Zuni, the Zuni reservation and homeland, has a sizable Zuni population. There's 9 500 speakers of Zuni language, most of who live in Halona Idiwan’a. The traditional religion is also still practiced by the Zuni. In early 2000s Zuni people successfully opposed a coal mine, which was planned near Zuni Salt Lake, a sacred site in Zuni lands. To this day they are still opposing colonial intervention.

11. Edward Carpenter (1844-1929)

Edward Carpenter was from a wealthy English family. He was a writer, poet, philosopher, socialist, early gay rights activist, prison reformist and animal rights activist. He wrote much about Uranians, term for queer men, which he used as a term for all queer people. He argued for non-medicalized view of queerness, and didn't just argue that it should be tolerated, but that it was a natural human trait beneficial to humanity. He had multiple relationships with men thorough his life, and had a particular preference for gruff working class men. As a 58 years old he met 36 year old George Merrill, a working class man, and the two fell in love. George moved in with Edward and they lived together for almost 40 years, until George died suddenly. Edward was devastated and shortly after suffered a stroke and died as well.

12. May Morris (1862-1938)

May Morris was English Arts and Crafts artist, designer artisan and socialist. Her father was William Morris himself, the father of the Arts and Crafts movement, and her mother was Jane Morris, muse and model of Pre-Raphaelite art. May was a very influential embroiderer. She was active in the movement and founded Women's Guild of Art when Art Workers' Guild did not admit women. She was married to a man, the secretary of the Socialist League, for 8 year, despite her mother's disapproval of him, but eventually divorced him. In 1917 her life long relationship with Mary Lobb begun. Mary cross-dressed but used feminine terms. She loved dogs. She moved into May's countryside Arts and Crafts cottage with the guise of being May's gardener, but eventually they were openly a couple. They traveled together for hiking trips, for example to Iceland many times.

13. Renée Vivien (1877-1909)

Renée Vivien was a mentally ill lesbian poet, Sappho enjoyer (a woman of culture) and a cat lover. She had a profound homoromantic childhood friendship, mommy issues and was melodramatic about women. She would have done numbers on Tumblr dot com. She was English, but lived most of her life in France with the money she inherited from her rich father at a young age. All her relationships were quite dramatic. She left the homoromantic friendship with Violet Shillito for a hot American actress Natalie Barney, after which the friend died of typhoid fever and Renée separated with Natalie because she was sure she had killed Violet with a broken heart. Next year in 1902 she started an affair with a married Jewish Baroness Héléne von Zuylen. They had to keep their relationship discreet because of Héléne's position, but it continued for years and Renée considered them to be married. Still when she got a letter from a secret admirer, wife of a Turkish diplomat, French-educated Muslim woman, Kérimé Turkhan Pasha, she started a secret affair with her too. They had only brief encounters, but exchanged a lot of passionate correspondence. Renée was not willing to leave Héléne, but eventually in 1907 Héléne left her for another woman. Next year Kérimé ended their relationship, as she relocated to St. Petersburg with her husband. Renée took all that as well as the average poet. She abused alcohol and drugs more than she had before and attempted suicide in a way I can only describe as on brand. She overdosed on opium, stretched on her divan and placed a bouquet of violets over her heart. Her commitment to the symbolism was real. In all seriousness she was not well. Her substance abuse and disordered eating had deteriorated her health and tragically complications of her mental illnesses would claim her life only a year later.

14. Lucy Hicks Anderson (1886–1954)

Lucy was Black American born in Kentucky to a working class family and assigned male at birth. From a young age she insisted that she was a girl and wanted to wear dresses. Her mother took her to a physician, who suggested that she should allow Lucy to present as a girl and raise her as such, which she did. Lucy left school at age 15 to support herself by working as a domestic servant. As an adult she would move around and work in the service sector and as a chefs, get married and move to Oxnard, California. After divorcing her husband in 1929 she bought a boarding house with her savings, and used is as a front to operate a brothel and illegal liquor business during the prohibition. She became a local socialite and hostess with a lot of influence in the high society. She was on that grindset. Her influential connections got her out of jail, when her brothel was exposed. After that she married a her second husband in New York in 1944, Reuben Anderson, a soldier. They returned to Oxnard, where she resumed her brothel operation. In 1946 a sailor claimed to have caught a venereal disease from her brothel, so even she was forced to undergo a medical examination, during which her masculine sex characteristics were discovered and she was accused of fraud for "lying" about her sex in her marriage license. In the court she said:

"I defy any doctor in the world to prove that I am not a woman. [...] I have lived, dressed, acted just what I am, a woman."

She and her husband were convicted and both put in men's prison. To add to the cruelty, she was forbidden to wear women's clothing. She survived the ordeal and was freed in 1950, after which she moved with her husband to Los Angeles and they lived quietly together until her death.

15. Amelio Robles Ávila (1889-1984)

Amelio Robles Ávila was a Mexican revolutionary colonel and decorated war hero. He was born to a middle class farmer, who owned 42 hectares of land, and afab in Xochipala, Guerrero. He was sent to girl's Catholic school, but showed interest in masculine pursuits from an early age, becoming very proficient in running of a ranch. Even before adopting a male presentation or becoming a soldier, he was known as an excellent marksman and rider. He joined the revolutionary Zapatista army between 1911 and 1912, still presenting as a woman. The Zapatistas were formed as a response to the military dictatorship under general Porfirio Díaz, who ruled from late 19th to early 20th century. Prior to the Porfiriato there was still significant Indigineus Nahua population in Central Mexico, where people lived largely in Nahua villages and worked communally owned land. During the dictatorship though communal landownership was undermined and land was centralized to haciendas, which were a type of grand estate used broadly in Latin America as brutal colonial enterprises. This sparked a revolution, led by the Zapatistas, who sought land reform and fought the military dictatorship with guerilla warfare.

Two years after joining the Zapatistas, Amelio started to present as a man and demanded to be respected as such. And mostly he was, by his family as well. He was accomplished in the army and eventually gained his own command of over 300 men. He fought till the end of revolutionary period in 1920, and returned to put down a counter-revolutionary rebellion in 1923. After his army career he settled down, and in 1930s he married Ángela Torres, with whom he adopted a daughter, Regula Robles Torres. He was a widely known to be trans and so when his birth certificate was falsified so he could legally adopt his daughter, it was probably a favour from the government. At some point after the revolution, a group of men tried to do a hate crime on him and "expose" his anatomy, but he killed two of them in self-defense, as he should. In 1948 he received a medical certificate, where it was confirmed he had 6 (six) bullet wounds, to officially enter the Confederation of Veterans of the Revolution. And finally in 1970 he was officially recognized by the state as a male veteran (veterano) of the Revolution and received several awards for his distinguished military service. He died as a 95-year-old revolutionary hero and certified chad. There is a story that in his deathbed he asked to be dressed in women's clothing when he was buried to face God's judgement, but this is likely a baseless rumor, since he also apparently asked in the same breath honours for his military service (which he had already received) and according to his death certificate he had lost the ability to speak before his death.

16. Alan L. Hart (1890-1962)

Alan L. Hart was an American physician, radiologist and novelist, who made significant advancements to tuberculosis treatment and was the first transman to medically transition in US. He was afab and was born in 1890, but very early on expressed a strong desire to be a boy, which was largely accepted by her parents and grandparents, who let him present as a boy and referred to him in masculine ways. However, when he attended school he was required to dress as a girl, though outside it he continued to presenting as a boy. In medical collage he was still forced to present as a woman. He was very unhappy that his female name was used in his medical degree when he graduated, since it meant he had to continued presenting as a woman for jobs or be outed as a "sexual invert". Right after his graduation though in 1917 (when he was still presenting on his first job as a woman, but outside it as a man) he sought medical transition. His doctor agreed that "from a sociological and psychological standpoint he is a man" and his surgery was completed during the next year after which he legally changed his name and married his first wife Inez Stark. Later, when hormone theraphy became available, he started using testosterone as well. Unfortunately in the same year he was outed by a former classmate and was forced to move with his wife to remote Montana, which was very traumatic for him. Financial troubles and secrecy caused by this outing and relocation put a strain on his marriage and they separated in 1923. Two years later he married his second wife, Edna Ruddick, which would last till his death.

During the same year Alan moved to work in Trudeau School of Tuberculosis in New York to do his postgraduate work, then worked for two years in a sanatorium in Illinois and finally in 1928 received his master's degree in radiology from the University of Pennsylvania. After that he did his career working with and researching tuberculosis, which was the most common cause of death in America still at the time. He developed an x-ray screening method for spotting tuberculosis early on and preventing it from spreading. Using his screening method he led a mass campaign to screen for tuberculosis in Connecticut for 16 years, and similar screening campaigns were then used all over US and the world. This was crucial in ending the tuberculosis epidemics, which had been going on for decades across the world. His method is still the standard used today. During his career he also wrote medical drama fiction and published four novels.

In his will he had directed for his personal photographs and letters to be destroyed, which was his last act of controlling the narrative of his own life, which had been briefly stolen from him, when he had been outed. This was carried out, but even then, a decade after his death, he was reclaimed by anti-trans lesbian groups as a historical lesbian figure. During 1980s and 1990s though trans people and some lesbians, like the Lesbian Avengers, valiantly defended his legacy, protested these lesbian groups and eventually forced them to back down.

17. Willem Arondeus (1894-1943)

Willem Arondeus was a Dutch artist, writer and poet and an openly gay man. Quickly after Neatherlands was occupied by Nazi Germany in 1940, he joined the Dutch resistance. He used his skills as an artist to become a very successful forger. He forged documents for Dutch Jews so they could avoid Nazi detection and escape the occupation with a lesbian resistant Frieda Belingfante. Their efforts were hindered by Population Registration, where the Nazis could verify the documents to be false. So in 1943 they attacked the record archives and managed to blow up the building and destroy 15% of the identity cards. Later though someone betrayed them and Willem was caught by the Nazis. He refused to identify his companions, but the Nazis found his notebook and were able to catch everyone except Frieda. Willem took all the blame for the attack, which is possibly why two of his comrades were given clemency, but the rest 13 and him were sentenced to death. Before his execution he made sure it was known he and two others in the group were gay and said either to a friend or a lawyer:

"Tell people that homosexuals are not cowards."

18. Sister Rosetta Tharpe (1915-1973)

Rosetta Tharpe was born in Cotton Plantation, Arkansas, USA, to black cotton pickers, who were also gospel musicians. She was a young prodigy and started touring as a gospel singer and player at a young age. She is often called the Godmother of Rock 'n' Roll, because of her immense influence to the genre. She was a pioneer of electric guitar technique that would have a massive influence to the development of electric blues and the sound of rock 'n' roll. Her act was provocative, as she combined spiritual gospel lyrics with embrace of sexuality and appearances in nightclubs. She had relationships with men and women and was married several times. One of her more famous sapphic relationships was with another black artist, Marie Knight. Their relationship lasted for five years during which they made music and performed together. They remained friends for the rest of Rosetta's life, and years after her death at age 82 Marie recorded a tribute album for Rosetta.

19 & 20. Tove Jansson (1914-2001) and Tuulikki Pietilä (1917-2009)

Tove Jansson was the creator of Moomins, an artist and a writer. She was born in Helsinki, Finland, to an upper class Swedish-Finnish artist family. She had relationships with both men and women. Her early serious relationship was with Atos Wirtanen, a socialist politician, who inspired Snufkin's character. Her first relationship with a woman was with a married theater director, Vivica Bandler. Tutsik and Lipsik were based on herself and Vivica. In 1956 she started relationship with her life partner, Tuulikki Pietilä, which lasted till the end of her life. Tuulikki was an influential Finnish graphic artist and sister to Reima Pietilä (one half of Pietilä architect pair, my favorite Finnish architects). Tuutikki was based on her. They traveled all over the world and spend their summers on a small rocky island in Pellinki. In 1992 they attended together the presidential independence day party (a big event every year in Finland) as probably the first sapphic couple.

[dreamcubed]

paper rings | fred weasley x reader

song; paper rings [taylor swift] pairing; fred weasley x fem!rich!pureblood!reader genre; forbidden love, s2l word count; 4k timeline; goblet of fire —> order of the phoenix warnings; swearing, strict parents, fake friends, references to severe injury, slight discrimination of muggle-borns summary; you and fred were from different worlds, and in your family's eyes never should have crossed paths— but after a surprising interaction, an off-script story unfolds

this is the penultimate piece of the lover anthology!!

masterlist

"i like shiny things, but i'd marry you with paper rings."

———————————————————

One of the many luxuries that your family's status and wealth could provide was coveted seats at the Quidditch World Cup when it took place in England. And, after indulging in the enthusiasm of the crowd and countless souvenirs, you made your way back to your spacious tent with your parents feeling rather giddy. You were camping— although, with the quality and amenities of your set-up, it was more like glamping— in a more expensive and less crowded section, along with other wealthy families. So, as you settled into your double bed, you were confused at the sense of unease rippling inside of you. Still, you brushed it aside as adrenaline from the match, and finally cosied into a somewhat restless sleep.

When you woke up to the sound of screams and explosions, you realised that your instincts had been spot on, and shot out of bed to find your parents. They were hurrying out of their separate rooms just as you did, and your father quickly moved to peek out the door.

His face quickly paled, "Death eaters," he said hoarsely, and your mother gasped.

While your parents would probably never allow you to marry a muggle-born, it was not to say they didn't consider them as true witches and wizards. They were completely against You-Know-Who and his disciples— they simply didn't want their centuries-old bloodline tainted. In itself, it was still questionable, but you knew that you were lucky compared to other status households.

"Y/N, grab your wand," your father ordered, "We have to leave."

Your mother interjected, "We're pure bloods, they won't—"

"It's dark outside, they won't stop and assess who each person is," your father snapped back, moving to fetch his own wand, "Besides, they're starting fires. Wands, now."

You did as your father said, and pulled your shoes on in the process, readying to leave.

"Head towards the stadium— they're coming from the campsite entrance. Stay with us, Y/N."

The three of you left the tent and began the sprint towards the woods, your parents frequently using shielding charms as stray spells were flying all over the place. Soon, you were more protected within a crowd, but it became difficult to stay close to your parents as panicked people surrounded on all sides. As you broke the threshold of the trees, you were separated from them, and in frenzied fear you found yourself getting knocked over and rolled over the ground. Some people trampled over you, until a silhouette stopped above you and held out its hand.

"Come on, quick," you heard him say, and you took his hand and let him pull you up, stumbling to begin running alongside him.

"Thank you," you gasped out, as your legs moved as quickly as they could, now aware that it was one of the Weasley twins, from the year above.

"Don't mention it," he yelled back, slowing down slightly to match your pace.

You felt bad, and hurriedly said, "You don't have to stay with me."

"No, I don't." But he did.

Whichever Weasley twin it was seemed to somehow rejoin with his siblings, pulling you along with him. Your ears were ringing so much that you didn't see when Harry Potter and his two friends, one of them being a Weasley, disappeared, instead blindly following the twins and the only Weasley girl. That was when a horrifying yet grand formation of the Dark Mark appeared in the sky above you, making you grip the arm of the twin who had saved you. In spite of how terrifying such a symbol was, it seemed to have a positive effect, as the screaming stopped and spells were no longer being thrown around.

"They're retreating!" someone yelled, and relief washed over you.

"We should head back to the tent," the other twin said, then remembered you were there, "Where's yours?"

"Uh, in the— I'm in purple camping," you felt embarrassed to admit that you were in the wealthy campsite, especially in front of the Weasleys, who were well-known for being incredibly poor.

None of them commented, however, and the same twin continued, "Fred, you take her back there, I'll take Ginny back to ours."

Fred Weasley was the one who saved you.

***

When you arrived back at your tent, you didn't hesitate to call for your parents, "Mother? Father?" you shouted, but heard no response. Your tent was heavily fire-damaged on the outside, but perfectly fine on the inside— yet there was no sight of them. Anxiety began to rise within you again.

"I'm sure they're okay," Fred rushed to assure you, "They just haven't got back yet. I'll wait with you."

You nodded, and sat down next to him.

"What's your name, by the way?"

"Y/N," you said quietly, "Y/N L/N."

You saw his eyes widen at your last name, but he said nothing, "'M Fred— Weasley, but you probably guessed that."

A small chuckle emerged from you, "I know who you are."

"You go Hogwarts?"

"Of course."

"Yeah, I suppose we're quite famous there, me and George."

You agreed.

The minutes ticked by, and you were becoming increasingly worried.

"Look," Fred said, "My family will be getting worried about me, so I need to head back. You can come with, of course— maybe leave a note or something?"

With panicked breaths, you stood up and muttered a charm that displayed words in the air in front of your tent.

'Mother, Father— I'm safe. I am in the main campsite with the Weasleys.'

And with that, you followed Fred to where the majority of the tents were, and watched as what appeared to be his elder brothers hugged him.

"George told us where you were, but you took a long time," one of them said, as they all noticed you, "Your parents weren't there?"

You shook your head, "I left a note saying where I'd be."

He nodded, "'M Charlie, this is Bill— we're the oldest Weasleys."

"Y/N," you replied with a forced small smile.

"Any idea where the others are?" Bill asked.

Fred shook his head, "Haven't seen 'em since we were with George and Ginny."

"Shit."

Thankfully, only a few minutes later, Harry Potter and his friends returned with the Weasleys' father, who was sporting a grim expression. A discussion concerning death eaters and the Dark Mark ensued, somehow involving a house elf, but all you could do was sit there quietly. It wasn't until the conversation finished that the new arrivals noticed you. "Who's this?"

"Y/N. Y/N L/N," Fred said, "Found her in the woods."

"Where are your parents?" Mr Weasley asked.

You shrugged, "I have no idea."

The man's eyebrows furrowed, "Rich pure bloods missing," he said slowly, "Peculiar." His suspicion of you was evident.

"They're not death eaters," you said quickly, "I've— I've seen their bare arms a countless number of times."

"She's right," Bill said, "The L/N family don't exclusively wear long-sleeves like all the families who were suspected of it."

Mr Weasley seemed to ease up at that, "Sorry, just being cautious, I'm sure they're here somewhere."

***

As it turned out, when your parents had been separated from you, they had gone back to look, and gotten severely injured in the process. They had both been admitted to St Mungo's, where they wouldn't be able to leave for a few weeks. You were grateful that they were alive and seemingly mentally sound, but your large house felt even emptier than before without them.

To pass the time, you wrote a letter to Fred, thanking him profusely for saving you from being trampled to death, and informing him of your parents' situation. You handed it to your owl after pressing your family's wax seal on the envelope, before heading to the household library.

You never told your parents what happened to you that night, mainly because they hardly gave you a chance to speak as they fussed over the fact you were alive and unharmed. It was strange, how this was a secret that you kept all to yourself, at least from the people in your social circle. Complete strangers knew where you were when the death eaters attacked, but your closest friends and family didn't. Not that anyone asked— your friends knew that you went to the quidditch game, and they would have heard about what happened, but not a single one had reached out to check on you.

***

The first bit of post you received was not from friends, but from Fred Weasley, in reply to your letter. He told you that any decent person would have done the same, and that you probably would have been fine without him. He also said that he looked forward to seeing you when school restarted, before asking how your parents were. So, for the first time since they had been hospitalised, you told someone of their injuries, and how long their recovery would be. You briefly alluded to how alone you were in your house, and how he was the first person to ask about you.

Your correspondence continued right up until you boarded the train to Hogwarts, walking down until you found your friends. As you entered the compartment of your fellow Ravenclaw girls, they gave you scornful looks.

"What?" you said instinctively, confused and hurt by their reactions.

"Go away, death eater," Janice, the girl you would have considered your best friend, spat.

You furrowed your brows, "What are you talking about?"

"Your family were at the Quidditch World Cup and haven't been seen the attack," another of your friends stated accusingly, "It's pretty fucking obvious that they're in hiding."

"No, we're not— they're not— they're in the—"

"Save it," Janice cut you off, standing up and walking towards you, making you back up out of the compartment. "We aren't friends with death eaters."

"My parents are in—" but Janice had slammed the door shut and locked it, glaring at you through the glass as she sat down.

Tears pricked at your eyes, and as a result you made no further effort to talk to them, instead continuing down the corridor in hopes of finding the one person who you knew wouldn't turn you away. It wasn't long before you found him in a compartment with his twin brother and Lee Jordan, known for his quidditch commentary. You gently tapped on the glass, making them turn their heads.

As you waved, attempting to swallow your sobs, Fred quickly slid the door open and smiled at you.

"Y/N! Good to see you," he beamed, only to notice your quivering lip, "Are you okay?"

You nodded with a sniff, "Can I come in?"

"Of course, take a seat," he moved aside to allow you entry, resuming his sitting position.

You gently lowered yourself, playing with your hands nervously. The three boys were watching you carefully.

"What happened?" Fred asked carefully.

"My friends- uh- they accused me of being a death eater."

"What the fuck? Why?"

You met his eyes slowly, "Because my parents haven't been seen since the attack."

"But they're in hospital?" George spoke up, relaying information that Fred had evidently told him.

"I tried to tell them that."

"That's fucked up, man, they're not good friends," Lee said.

"Well, we know you're not a death eater," Fred moved to sit next to you, "You can hang out with us. Right, guys?"

His brother and friend immediately nodded.

"I mean, c'mon, you were with us that night and just as scared as we were," he continued, "Even if your parents were, that wouldn't necessarily mean you are."

"Yeah, try telling that to them," you muttered bitterly.

"I would, but I don't think it's worth it."

"Yeah, if they were your real friends, they would've given you a chance to explain," George added.

"You think?"

"One hundred percent," Lee said, "They had no solid proof, they just made assumptions."

You couldn't help but smile at their instant support of you, which was exactly when the train's whistle went off, signalling departure. The three boys quickly settled into a conversation of upcoming pranks and creations, surprising you with their incredible ideas: they were a lot smarter than they let on.

"Oh, by the way, this shit is top secret, yeah?" Fred said to you, "Don't tell a soul."

"My lips are sealed," you replied, just as the trolley lady appeared outside the compartment.

"Anything from the trolley, loves?" she asked after sliding the door open.

You nodded, "Three chocolate frogs and jelly beans, please," you requested, and turned to the others, "Do you guys want anything? On me."

"You don't have to do that," Fred replied.

Reaching in your pocket, you pulled out a few galleons, "I insist. It's no trouble."

You felt guilty when their eyes widened at the sight of the coins, but less so when they started ordering things.

"So good," George commented as he chewed on a jelly bean.

"Got lucky with the flavour, then?" Lee laughed.

He hummed, "Strawberry."

"Knowing my luck I'll get bogey," Lee sighed, but popped a jelly bean in his mouth anyway, before immediately spitting it out, "I was right," he gagged.

You all erupted in laughter.

***

Not a single soul had expected the announcement that came during the welcome ceremony: the long-banned Triwizard Tournament being re-introduced, and the impending arrival of Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students. Soon, you were sat with Fred and George in the courtyard as they discussed their plans to enter, despite the fact they weren't old enough.

"An ageing potion?" you raised an inquisitive eyebrow, "You truly believe something so simple will get past a barrier that Dumbledore set?"

"Have some faith in us."

You rolled your eyes, "Whatever. Don't come crying to me if it fails."

"Oh, but what if I so desperately need your comfort?" Fred teased, draping his arm over your shoulders.

"Then tough shit, Fred."

"You're mean."

You rolled your eyes, "I'm realistic."

"Just you wait."

***

"So, this is what I was waiting for?" you suppressed a laugh as George and Fred walked towards you with full beards and long hair.

They rolled their eyes in sync, but could not stop the smiles on their faces-- they had never been the type to get embarrassed, and that in itself was refreshing. Fred sat down beside you, and asked, "You have a razor, by any chance?"

Somehow, you found yourself roped into cutting their hair back to its normal length, and then using a charm to turn it back to their iconic ginger roots.

"Thank you, love," Fred muttered at the end, which created a warm feeling in your chest, but you ignored this.

"Is now a good time to say I told you so?" you chuckled, standing before both of them.

"Yeah, yeah, you were right, we were wrong, you're so smart, Y/N."

"I know," you beamed, ignoring the sarcasm.

***

It was hard to miss the scornful glances that your ex-friends threw your way, especially as you still shared a dormitory with them, but it was elating to watch them see you with the Weasleys, and, by consequence, Harry Potter. They were evidently too proud to admit that they were wrong about you, despite such blatant proof of associating with famous anti-Voldemort individuals.

"What lies do you tell them?" Janice scoffed one night as you entered the bedroom.

You chuckled to yourself.

"They'll drop you just like we did when they realise the truth."

With a hum, you replied, "Yeah, the truth that my parents have been in hospital since the Quidditch Cup."

Janice's eyes widened, making you remember that you never quite got around to telling her such a vital piece of information: you had been so busy with the Weasley twins that you hardly thought about her anymore.

Still, she doubled down, spitting, "What a convincing lie."

"Go to St Mungo's and check for yourself, Jan," you shrugged.

"Maybe I will."

"Do what you want."

***

On a fateful and agonising Wednesday after the Yule Ball had been announced, you realised that you very much wanted Fred to ask you-- in fact, you genuinely feared that you might die if he did not, and went with someone else. You felt hints of jealousy towards Angelina Johnson, who had been nothing but lovely to you, but was quite close with the twins.

As if to spite you, the universe then sent a Hufflepuff boy asking out a Slytherin girl before you, the latter saying 'yes' very eagerly. The thing was, you should not want Fred to take you to the Yule Ball-- while your parents would have no problem with you befriending someone working class, they would never allow you to date, let alone marry one. Marriage was viewed as a transaction in the pure-blood society: one married to solidify status and continue the blood line. Although, Fred was a pure-blood, so maybe your parents would allow it?

You shook your head-- you were being delusionally hopeful, besides, Fred had done very little to indicate romantic affection towards you. All of these thoughts were moot points.

It was when you were sat on the Gryffindor table with Fred and George, that such a mindset changed: the twins were bickering with their brother, Ron, when the topic of insult turned to Yule Ball dates.

"Well, where's your date then?" Ron said bitterly to Fred.

Your crush rolled his eyes before turning to you, "Y/N, you, me - Yule Ball?" He made a motion of ballroom dancing as he asked, making a situation where all you could feel inside was butterflies comedic.

"Al- Alright, then," you replied as calmly as you could.

Fred then winked at Ron, who rolled his eyes.

You felt ecstatic happiness for the next hour, until it dawned on you that Fred may have only asked you to prove a point to his brother, and you happened to be the convenient option. That was a painful perspective, that you were simply convenient-- a space-filler until he found the right person.

What did it matter anyway? Your parents would never approve.

***

Admiring the baby blue ballroom gown that had been personally crafted for you upon the notification that ballroom attire would be required at the end of Summer, you could not help but feel pretty. You had spent ages on your hair and make-up, and even taught yourself how to walk in high heels, all for this fateful night. All, shamefully, in the hope that Fred would compliment you.

So, when you emerged from the Ravenclaw tower, to find Fred waiting patiently outside for you, your nerves spiked to dangerous levels. A lump grew in your throat as you approached him, unable to even force a small smile.

He whistled, "Well, love, you are a stunner."

Only then did a smile crack through your anxious visage. "You're not so bad yourself, Weasley," you said quietly, grateful that your foundation covered your blushing.

"Shall we?" he presented his arm to you.

"We shall."

From dancing with Fred to stuffing your face with the buffet, from laughing with your arms around his neck to watching George dance with Angelina-- it was, by all definitions, a perfect night. Never had you felt more alive, more care-free, which could only explain why when Fred went to kiss you as you ran from the Great Hall with your heels in your hand, you kissed him back without reservation. Without a single thought for your parents' approval. Without a care towards what was expected of you.

As he pulled away, he said, "Your parents probably wouldn't approve."

Quickly, you placed a finger over his lips, "To that, Fred, I say fuck it."

***

The Christmas holidays arrived, and your parents were still in St Mungo's, so you spent Christmas Day at the hospital with them, chatting amicably. As much as part of you wanted to keep your secret, you knew that you had to tell them-- not for their sake, but out of respect for Fred, and the fact you were not ashamed to be with him.

"Mother, Father-- how would..." you took a deep breath, "How would you feel if I married someone poor, even if he was of pure blood?"

They both went silent, your mother's lips even pursing, "We would not be... pleased."

"You know what marriage means for families like ours," your father added, "It is not a decision we make based on feelings."

You exhaled slowly, "Well, I do not think power and status is more important than happiness."

"You are young and naïve. You don't know what to think," your mother said calmly.

"I know that you both aren't happy."

"Watch your mouth," your father said harshly, "You don't even know what happiness is."

"I know it's not only seeing your spouse at the dinner table," you snapped back, surprised that you were standing up for yourself.

You observed your mother's eye twitch, "It sounds a lot to me like you are seeing an impoverished young man."

"Maybe I am."

"You will cease such relations immediately," she replied, "Our family's reputation is at stake if you are seen frolicking around with a respectless house."

Angrily, you stood up, "I see that reputation is more important to you than your own daughter." And, with that, you stormed out of the room.

***

After that Christmas, you stopped sending letters to your parents, and delved even deeper into your relationship with Fred.

"Am I really worth losing your relationship with your parents?" he asked one Summer afternoon as you lounged by the lake.

"Yes," you said without thinking.

"I just don't want to be a cause for regret for you."

"Even without you in the equation, I would still be angry about the principle," you sighed, "Their values are not in the right places."

He hummed, "I don't want to hold you back."

"Fred, everything in my life has been dictated for me-- which classes I took, what I could wear, who I could consider dating-- this is the first time I have made a decision for myself. Don't try and take that away from like they did."

Wrapping his arm around you, Fred smiled, "You're right, I'm sorry. I just care about your wellbeing."

***

ONE YEAR LATER.

***

"Will you come with us?" Fred asked you, after explaining his and George's grand exit from Hogwarts during exam season, "It's completely up to you, of course, don't feel pressured."

"My parents will hate me even more."

"So?"

"Rowena knows I'll probably be expelled."

"You don't have to."

"Yet, for some reason, every bone in my body is screaming for me to go."

Fred smiled, "You will?"

"Fred, I would go to the end of the earth if it meant being with you."

"Is that a yes?"

You grinned from ear to ear, "Of course it is, silly."

"Okay, okay, great-- because this leads into my next question."

"Oh?"

Shock coursed through your veins as Fred kneeled down before you, delicately taking and kissing your hand, "Y/N, I know your parents disapprove, I know we're only young, I know I can't afford a ring-- and I know this is a stupid decision, but nothing makes me happier than making a stupid decision with you."

You gasped.

"Let's get married, let's elope, even."

"Oh, Fred," you said softly, "Nothing makes me happier than making stupid decisions with you, too."

"So, will you marry me?"

You laughed, leaning down to whisper into his ear, "Fuck it."

***

Dearest Mother and Father,

You will be disappointed to know that I just married an impoverished man.

Kind regards,

Y/N Weasley

———————————————

masterlist

written; 03/01/2025 —> 22/03/2025 published; 22/03/2025 edited; —/—/——

[thewertsearch]

pipefan413: The girl that day swore she would bring down the baroness and her evil empire. She would use the many secrets she'd learned over the years against her, and began carefully plotting her downfall.

Tell us more, Nanna! I need to know what you had planned!

The prank of the century, perhaps? Something that could rob Crocker of her money, power and reputation, all at once?

pipefan413: Years went by. The girl was nearly ready to put her plan into action. But then, just like that, the baroness disappeared. She was never seen or heard from again.

God damn it, we were robbed of a final sinister 'hoo hoo hoo'!

Perhaps Grandpa had pulled off his own plot, in the meantime. He knew Crocker was a piece of shit too, after all, and might have been just as vengeful as Nanna.

pipefan413: The girl was finally free, by a strange turn of events. But not without a final jab from the witch. It turned out that in her will she had left the entire company to the boy!

Well, that really does make it sound like Grandpa orchestrated this.

If he was running a parallel scheme to Nanna’s, then they missed an excellent opportunity here to reconnect, and team up against the Batterwitch. If they’d only communicated, Crocker could have been taken down that much sooner.

pipefan413: The boy, now a grown man, was already very wealthy in his own right. He had no particular need for the baking empire, but assumed control nonetheless, and integrated the company into his extensive collection of enterprises.

We can assume, of course, that this was all in service to Skaianet. Somehow, Grandpa became aware of his origins – the how is still a mystery, unless Crocker told him in private – and he was making his own moves in the background, making sure that Sburb arrived on schedule.

...actually, I do have one new theory about how he knew so much about Sburb. If my memory-bleed theory is true, then he could have learned about the game from his other incarnation, the rebooted version of Grandpa. That guy could know anything.

Anyway, Grandpa’s moves would have been a lot more effective if he'd had any contact whatsoever with Nanna. I know this was long before group chats, but damn. Get a mailing list, or something. Communicate!

pipefan413: She considered a reunion with her estranged brother, and once destined husband to be. But the days of longing for a future with him seemed to be from another lifetime. The chance had come and gone. She was content to let him live his increasingly elaborate life, while she sought a simpler one. pipefan413: Besides, now was not the time to revisit a destiny with an old star-crossed lover. She had recently become betrothed to a fine, upstanding gentleman. Soon, she would start a family. No, not one meant for heroism as foretold, but one that would make her happy nonetheless.

You have to wonder if Dad’s father is a character we already know, or maybe another celebrity cameo. I don’t really have any theories here, but given that Betty Crocker is now critical to the plot, Dad's father could be anyone.

[tjmsteph]

my hot take is that tim drake should have stayed a 90s character and i mean it as ‘they should frame his stories in that specific time rather than modernize his older stories’ because it just works better. his origin story, for example, relies plenty on how it happens in the 80s.

him knowing that dick grayson is robin and batman is bruce wayne is impressive because we are talking about a 9 year old in 1985-ish finding info on a kid he saw once when he was a toddler, that came from a circus with dubious ties with the mafia, and his only proof was literally his nightmare-fueled mind! we know from the fact that he never saw dick grayson again before the footage of robin that dick probably wasn’t shown in tv that much, so he might had to dig through newspaper archives or, even then, archived footage kept god-knows-where of press releases regarding the flying graysons. because who could have been keeping tabs on some random circus family that died almost 5 years earlier? nobody knows what a big deal that night was, for the average gothamite that’s just a murder. the only reason for them to care could have been batman’s first public appearance but the public was still skeptical about that. safe to say, his story wouldn’t have been nearly as impressive if we were talking about some kid with an ipad.

being from the 80s also makes his subplot with the drakes and neglect far more interesting. because, let’s be real, as cartoonish fanon makes the drakes, they did canonically neglect tim… except it’s more complicated than that. the drakes only sending a postcard to tim every few weeks becomes a bit more understandable when you remember that they had no cellphones at the time and travelled plenty internationally, without counting that, sometimes, these archeological digs did not take place in electronic-accessible spots so they couldn’t just find a payphone to call tim whenever they wanted.

the way jack raised tim is also more ‘old school’ which would make total sense for a man raised in the 50/60s. it doesn’t excuse his outbursts of course but would make for a really interesting flaw to add on tim and jack’s relationship and tim’s characterization and stoic attitude as a whole. tim being lowkey classist as well would fit better here and it does more for his character, a kid that comes from a comfortable background learning that life isn’t quite what the safe bubble wrap of his parent’s wealth had shown him. throw in there the fact that they became canonically wealthy enough (though not ‘wayne’ wealthy) quite fast, being newmoney, owning a business of unclear purpose, and allows them to take up archeology as a hobby. also they somehow owned many apartments in the city, were able to afford a mansion in bristol and still not feel the sting of their expenses until robin 100.

finally, and this is more of a personal interpretation, i think tim being used to explore queerness in the late 90s/early 2000s would be far more profound than whatever ‘relatable teen shit’ they are trying so desperately to make him become, especially in a time when biphobia was so normalized you had episodes from ‘sex and the city’ just boast biphobic remarks like nothing. not only it would be a great way to distinguish tim from the crowd of 38738 patented young white queer boys dc has been putting on the frontlines of their pride specials, but it would do great for a framing of the lgbt community in another time and potentially educate the newer generations on the struggles of the elder generation.

[hcgossips]

Perseverance or Stubborness?

Everything about Cavill is based on patterns. He was conditioned in life to repeat with the goal of improving, in order to face insecurity. Maybe, that was the base of his background Education: “Fake it ‘till you make it”. And, that’s how he is. In one way, it indicates perseverance, discipline. But, in others, it may look like arrogance and stubbornness. When something goes wrong repeatedly, perseverance can’t help and it’s time for a change. That’s learning.

Among the movies and series he stars, most of them may interest geek fans, for sure (TW, Superman). But, his audience is not only of geeks and people don’t go to the theatres nor sit in front of the TV to see Cavill’s movies and series nor his acting skills, which are not that big deal. They go to the theatres and sit in front of the TV to see him, the sex symbol.

Fans want to feel closer to him, part of his life somehow. They want to express their passion for him by being devoted to everything he does. But, even passionate fans have critical sense when something is too much. And, they don’t like to be lied to nor have their perception underestimated. Cavill’s strategy was always to create a plot in which he was the object of desire by staging el perfecto enamorado so as to seduce and manipulate perception on his behalf. It turns out, he did that so many times (the pattern) noticing it was working, that he got used to it, becoming sloppy.

It became so easy to pump his Ego pretending to be someone else, he got comfortable and was blinded by vanity. That made him put his foot in his mouth, distancing himself from his fandom. But, he was never humble enough to recognize that. Arrogance took place. The insistence in always exhibiting a wealthy life style, a womanizer he’s not may indicate delusions of grandeur, a need to always be the center of the attention, to receive a hero’s welcome, not only to call the Industry’s attention.

He’s one of the few actors who invest a lot, I mean A LOT in self promotion and image, always searching to be in evidence, even when not promoting a product, movie or series. We don’t see Angelina Jolie, George Clooney, not even Tom Cruise promoting a fake private life, at least not that often. When they are not at the job, they vanish and continue having their celeb status the same way. But, apparently, Cavill is extremely afraid of being forgotten and has the need of self exposure. He spends a lot in self promotion: paid articles in cheap tabloids, artists for drawings and PRs, A LOT OF PRs, promoting wannabes, by association.

Of course we love seeing a gorgeous man expressing himself, but when that’s too much, he destroys the illusion he tries to build and the fake image becomes over. Cavill exaggerated in the dose, became greedy and ended up tripping on his own feet. Maybe that’s why he’s now, hidden in a shell, feeding the fan pages his team created (there are a few easily identified), with old material, trying to “delete” the new perception his followers started having of him, the same time he puts the foot on the break when it comes to his last PR.

I say last (not latest), because I suppose it is over. At least, they are slowly, avoiding it. They finally, realized they couldn’t win public opinion. But, they don’t want to bite the bullet, to admit defeat nor hand it to you. This PR stunt with all the immoral and unscrupulous strategies involved, was a shame, a stain to his image, the bane of his existence. And, it also exposed him unnecessarily.

But, nothing happened without his agreement. The only thing I suppose was a surprise for him, was his PR promiscuous’ rep. Or he didn’t know about it or he knew, but thought (stupidly, ‘cause the woman is an exhibitionist and her IG profile was public) it wouldn’t come out publicly. Well, now, thanks to whoever wanted to put him on his place (?) teaching him a lesson and to his immoral, unscrupulous and  sloppy team, he has been miserable for four years. Because, this could have been avoided if his team was more careful and if he had more emotional skills to deal with criticism.

[scribeoffate]

What are your favorite teen wolf headcanons?

I love this question! Thank you! Also sorry not sorry I have a ton of little weird head canons. <3

Mason Hewitt comes from a huge family, he’s the youngest of eleven kids. His mom and dad have really good well-paying jobs and also loads of time for their kids.

Malia protected Lydia during her night in the woods in s2. Just wrapped her little coyote self around this helpless human.

Harley, Scott and Stiles were a trio as a kids. And a really chaotic one that made loads of people crazy. Theo hovered at the edge of that trio for all of fourth grade.

Hunters do a lot of adopting/acquiring, especially for the men. The way Gerard is like: "I would kill my own son" and the way Chris looks at him has always made me think Chris was not really his son. I also think hunters foster their kids out and Chris spent some time being trained/raised by Araya and that's why they have a relationship before s4.

Deucalion is independently wealthy as heck. Like so much money he could never spend it all.

Lydia's powers manifested in many ways pre-canon. That's why her dad asks about her in the way he does in the s1 teacher conference. He's convinced its happening again, much like it happened with his mother. We also see her drawn to her grandmother's death in the flashback. Lydia is smart enough to learn early on that it's best *not* to be different and has been unconsciously suppressing her powers for ages before Peter forces them into the open.

Stolen from @spikeface: Alan Deaton is a proud cat Dad who takes tons of videos of his babies and shares them with Scott constantly.

Melissa inherited the house she and Scott live in.

Claudia and Melissa were friends. They were thrilled when their own sons became attached at the hip.

Danny and Kira are cousins.

Kira comes back!! She comes back and goes to Japan with Liam and HIkari. She and Hikari are really good friends and she keeps in contact with everyone else, too.

Satomi was bitten during the 1918 influenza pandemic and came to the States shortly after.

Kali and Jennifer had a romantic relationship. (is this a head canon? It seems v implied to me.) Coach Finstock is supernatural, somehow and has a rivalry with the notigtsune that he does not remember. But it's why he specifically takes an arrow.

Noshiko and Satomi become friends after the events of the Fox and Wolf and keep in touch.

Allison and Jackson speak frequently after he moves to London and he's devastated when Scott has to make that phone call after she dies.

Paige worked for Dr. Deaton at the animal clinic.

Cora becomes an alpha in South America.

Corey and Mason get married.

Alicia Boyd and Tara Raeken were friends in school.

Ken has won numerous chili cook-offs and is a reigning champion in the chili cook off circuit.

Scott speaks some Spanish. Enough to know when his dad is saying bullshit and to speak with his grandma.

[astralsyst3m]

Hello!

Back to my chaos. Character Analysis. :)

Gwendolyn Bouchard.

Spoilers for The Magnus Protocol under the cut!

Who is Gwendolyn Bouchard? She's a woman raised in a wealthy and well known family with connections. A woman who has expectations that she should be great, that like her family she should have power, power she needs to earn.

Power she both does all she can to own and feels she deserves. She claws her way to her position, determined. She has it in herself to do well, she knows it.

Who cares if she's slowly drowning in the pressure, if she has barely any idea what she's doing, if she feels as if she's slowly going insane? She's got the power that her family wants her to have and expects her to have and she's just going up.

Gwen believes that hard work is needed to get you anywhere, that you need to earn your keep. Alice annoys her because of her laid back attitude, of how she seems to somehow know what she's doing, yet never seems to work for it.

Gwen is likely used to respect, likely because of her name and family, yet Alice doesn't give her that respect and it confuses her, it likely pisses her off, the lack of respect she so craves.

Despite how much Alice annoys her she doesn't fire her, even if she has the power to do so, because Alice does the work and likely does it well. It's also likely that Gwen enjoys the back and forth she and Alice have going, that it's a breath of fresh air after people being too scared of her family to speak plainly.

Gwendolyn is a woman who is slowly drowning in a position she fought so hard for, her breath of fresh air the woman she despises and possibly envies for not having the pressure of a well known and respected family name with expectations.

I would not be surprised if Gwen became something similar to Gertrude more than Jonathan Sims. Gwendolyn Bouchard may be a small look into what we could have gotten should Gertrude have gotten Sasha James as her successor as she wanted.

[ryuzakemo128]

Am I Boring You? Part 3

Pairing: Tommy Miller x you / Joel Miller x you

Content Warnings: Fake Relationship (Tommy x you), Angst, Mild Violence, No outbreak alternate universe, age gap (Reader is 25, Joel is in his early 40s and Tommy is in his late 30s), Albino! Goth! Female Reader, female reader is a big tiddy goth gf, Joel is suspicious of fem reader, wealthy Miller family line, Tommy's secret, reader's family secret.

Words: 2264

Masterlist - Part one - Part two - Part Three

Credit for Dividers: @cafekitsune + @strangergraphics

Summary: “You know how Joel is. Once he has something. He never lets go. Ever.” your mother warned you.

“I don’t expect him to find much of anything.” you mused, talking to your mother over the phone. “I’m sure he’ll find what he wants to see and then, hopefully, he’ll back off. He won’t find anything that will link you to anything unsavoury. That stuff is buried so deep, he’ll have to go deep diving to find it all.”

Joel listened in to your conversation with your mother from his own phone inside his bedroom. A cloth placed onto the mouthpiece to prevent you from noticing that he was eavesdropping into your conversation. You knew your parents have ties to a world of crime. You also promised to keep it hidden from everyone you ever knew.

“You know how Joel is. Once he has something. He never lets go. Ever.” your mother warned you.

“A bloodhound.” you grimaced. “What do we do to throw him off again? We can’t keep up the charade forever. He’s bound to find out eventually. And when he does, what’s keeping him from spewing it out to the nearest reporter? The man is tenacious.”

“It's like playing poker despite knowing the possible outcome regardless of whether you win or not. You will be outed somehow.” you added, pacing back and forth in front of the window.

The line went quiet, for a brief period there was silence, “I’ll send someone over to give you your laptop. But you can’t log in to their Wi-Fi with it. Last thing we need is the miller’s to know what we are up to. Tommy also has enough to worry about with his older brother and, we both know, how Joel can get ruthless.”

“Just two more days and we’ll be back in England long before you know it.” you told your mother.

Joel couldn’t believe what his ears were hearing. He didn’t want to believe it. But here it was. Laid out in front of him. He didn’t know what to think. Tommy was indeed leaving him and his family in Texas to live in England with you.

“I’ll talk to you again soon.” you said, making kissy sounds, and hung up. Which made the situation all the more odd for him to hear, to bear witness to.

It was clear Tommy had this planned from the start. Regardless of how much torment, he would throw at his younger brother in order to get him to stay. He was determined to leave him there. A chill ran down his spine, as he lowered the phone onto the switch hook. There wasn’t a thing he could do to change his brother’s mind now.

It was finally made up. He made his choice and he wasn’t going to let Joel ruin it again. Tommy didn’t have to be in the same room right now to still feel his wrath, his rage. A war waged in silence between the two of them. Going on for years.

Now it would be finally over. Tommy would be gone. Joel would get everything he wanted and then some. But at what cost? The cost of never speaking to his brother again? Had it really come to this now? Had he really made his brother’s life so miserable that running away from home became the only option?

His mind screaming, ‘WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!’ so loudly he couldn’t think of anything else. Had it come this far that Tommy felt the need to give him the same treatment he gave him? At what point did he hope to stop, or did he plan to continue this even after he left them?

Tommy announced his departure to England to the rest of the family. Things were going along as planned. Nicely. Evenly. Slowly. Step by step. Tommy would be gone, away from the rest of his toxic family line. “You have Joel Miller to thank for this. I turn your approval or disapproval to him this evening.” Tommy ended his announcement with a Cheshire grin planted on his face.

The room fell into quiet, a quiet only the pierced by the ticking clock in the adjacent kitchen, their mother and step-father looked over at Joel with the hopes he could explain it away. To make it make sense to them both.

But Joel didn’t have answers that didn’t scream, ‘I slept with every person my brother has ever dated’, ‘I’m the main reason Tommy is leaving’ and ‘I didn’t think he’d be serious about wanting to get married one day’.

The confusion in their eyes? Palpable. Concentrated. He was the guilty party. He had to own up to his transgressions, and his brother is dragging him through it all by force. Enjoying the sigh of him squirming underneath the gaze of both their parents. Enjoying how much Joel is finally getting what Tommy felt to be well deserved vengeance

“I’m not sure what’s going on here, Tommy. Could you elaborate?” Joel’s mother, a woman with the grace of a gazelle, and the sharpness of a knife, looked at him, her eyes a storm of emotions.

“I think Joel has a lot to say to you both. More than I can ever hope to explain with my lack of experience in the matter of love.” Tommy glared at Joel. He knew what he hoped to get from his ‘older brother’ and he would be dammed if he didn’t pry it from him before he left for England.

The room began to fill with tension, enough tension a knife could slice through it, the weight of the staring pushed down on Joel’s shoulder’s heavier than a blanket made from lead. The longer he ignored them, the more suspicious he knew his parents were going to become.

He unknowingly fell for Tommy's ploy, which was to expose Joel's misdeeds before disappearing. Joel is left with no concealment as he loses touch with his younger sibling, with no solution in sight to mend their bond. He had to live with the fact he is the reason his brother is leaving.

Nothing could make any of this better. Nothing. Ever.

By the time Tommy left. Nothing of his was left behind, and Joel had to live with what he had done.

Five months Later

The wedding invitation between him and Maria came in the mail. The fake relationship lasted long enough for Tommy to finally reveal he was getting married to someone else entirely. The whole weekend was a ploy to get Joel to take accountability for something.

When Joel saw you again at the wedding, you were more in your element, and you were happier as Tommy’s friend. Which Tommy liked more. The two of you talking like two gossiping teenagers at a slumber party. “And the guy talked about his ex, who the fuck talks about their ex on a first date?” you were filling Tommy in on your recent date.

You pulled out a wedding gift for Tommy and Maria. It was a slow cooker with a cook book titled 'Cooking for Two'. It was your way of saying you were happy for them.

"Thanks for coming," Tommy said as he took the gift from you, his eyes scanning over your black dress and the pentacle necklace you wore.

"Well, considering I got you wasted a month ago at the bar I manage, I couldn't just ignore your wedding invite," you said with a cheeky smile, handing the wrapped gift over to him. Tommy's eyes lit up, a hint of mischief playing on his lips as he opened it, revealing the slow cooker and the accompanying cookbook titled 'Cooking for Two'.

"You know me too well," he chuckled, giving you a quick hug. "I can't believe it's actually happening, I'm marrying the woman of my dreams."

"You deserve it, Tommy," you said genuinely, "Besides, we're in the same time zone now. You finally snort crack and call me 3am."

Tommy laughed, a sound that was music to your ears. It had been so long since you heard him laugh without any malice or spite in it. It was pure and genuine, a sound you had missed so much. The wedding was beautiful, a stark contrast to the turmoil that had been brewing in the months leading up to it. The venue was a quaint little chapel on the outskirts of the city, surrounded by a small garden that was in full bloom. The air was filled with the sweet scent of roses and the faint sound of a string quartet playing in the background.

Once Joel had you alone again, his expression grew tense, his eyes piercing into yours as he spoke, "You really did it, didn't you?"

“Make sure he had a wedding this time? Absolutely. I couldn’t be happier for him.” you answered.

Joel’s gaze grew darker, a hint of anger flashing across his eyes, “I know you had something to do with this. You’re behind it all, aren’t you?”

“Tommy was going to marry her regardless, Joel. He just wanted to make sure you couldn’t get in the way. I agreed to help him. I agreed to this. For the most part of it all. He planned it. You can be angry. But you can’t blame him for wanting to hide it either.” you answered.

Joel’s jaw was tight, his eyes squinted, “How did you two manage to keep this from me?”

“By accident and you weren’t always there during the day, so we amped it up when you were there. Not too hard when you’re not around that much.” you answered. “You need to understand, your brother isn’t a child anymore. He can look after himself.”

Joel clenched his fists at his sides, his jaw tight. "It's not about looking after him, it's about keeping him safe from people like you!"

“He came to me, Joel. I didn’t convince him to do anything. I’m not that kind of person to make family turn on each other.” you protested.

Joel's eyes narrowed, his grip on the wedding program tightening, "What do you even know about family?"

“I have three younger brothers.” you confessed. “They’re all IVF children from different donors. I know what it’s like to want to protect those you love. But sometimes, the best protection is to let them live their lives without you being a shadow over them. Tommy needed to find his happiness, and if I could help him find that, I would. Even if it meant letting him go to England with me.”

“You need to unpack as to why you are the way you are now and then go back into the dating world. If you can do that. Maybe I might consider dating you.”

Joel’s jaw dropped, “You’re serious?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” you answered. “Unless you have impossibly high standards I can’t reach?”

Joel studied you for a moment, his gaze intense but not hostile, "Maybe I do. But that's not what's keeping me from dating you."

“I’m a suspicious British girl, call the press. Alert the journalists and the reporters.” you sarcastically quipped. “Tommy is finally getting married. You don’t have to worry about the guy anymore and now you can have it how you wanted it.”

You were planning on leaving straight after reception, you did your part and now the two of you were parting ways like two fish in the sea.

“You know you can come to me if you need anything.” you whispered to Tommy, a gentle squeeze of his hand as you leaned in to whisper the words into his ear.

Tommy’s eyes searched yours, the question he had been holding back for months, “Why did you agree to this? Why did you help me?”

"You're my friend, you numpty." you stated with a chuckle.

Tommy leaned in closer, "But why go this far for me?"

"You wanted to get married. You also wanted to make a statement and look, you're married and happy now." You leaned back and took a sip of champagne, the bubbles tickling your nose as you watched him process your words. "Besides now you don't have to pay ridiculously high health bills."

Tommy's eyes grew wide at the mention of his secret. He had been hiding his illness from Joel, fearing his brother's overbearing nature would only make things worse. But you had seen through his facade, had been there for him during his worst moments, had held his hand as he threw up in the toilet, had listened to his fears without judgement.

"Thank you," he whispered back, his voice thick with emotion. "For everything."

"Just don't mix two weird things like cream and chicken in that cooker," you teased, pulling away with a laugh. Tommy rolled his eyes, but the affection in his smile was unmistakable.

A week after the wedding, Joel felt betrayed by his younger brother, to lose him not to death but to what it felt more like an enemy. His mind in turmoil as he paced the empty hallways, reminding him of Tommy’s absence. His mind constantly replaying every conversation, every encounter, looking for signs he had missed.

‘What did I miss?” he pondered, looking at the full moon in the night sky. Days turned into weeks, as he thought, ‘What could I have done to prevent this from happening?’

Too late for apologies, too late to fix things, too late for anything and everything in between. Tommy is now free of his seemingly endless shadow, and Joel had to pick up the pieces of everything he ever ruined. 

“Joel Miller. You’re being sued for emotional duress and manipulation of a vulnerable adult.”

[cripplecharacters]

Do you have an idea of disability as part of redemption arc ? Let's say, I have a character who's a professional executioner, from a dynasty of professional executioners, XVIIIth century. He was a real person, who eventually became paraplegic. Since, I want, for my historical novel to redeem him...He started torturing people at fourteen, maybe younger, and killed for the first time at age 18. He's 33 when the story started, and became hemiplegic/paraplegic (documentation isn't clear on this) at age 35, and was in a social circle of executioners and torturers since birth. Realistically, maybe, he would have little to no sense of belonging beyond that of executioner, unless maybe as head of house, which is again, liked to his position as executioner. He's a third class citizen, but an absurdly wealthy one, and no longer being able-bodied doesn't mean he can stop depending on the executioner buisness, it just means his son has to start killing at 15.

How do you think a man who worked for 13 years as master executioner of Paris, but officially because one at age 7, insuring his wealth but also the envy of his colleagues, would cope with being hemiplegic/paraplegic. Also, one of his potencial rivals was a man who in all likelyhood beated his mother, and probably him and his brother when they were at least teenagers. That master executioner was aged 35 when he lost his mobility to a stroke. The Mémoires of the Sanson family also described him a proud piller of his community, delivering charitable medical care to those in needs and one who enjoyed rough horse riding.

Thank you for your ask! This sounds like a case of redemption through disability, which is a trope that should be avoided. A disabled character can get redeemed, but it should be entirely separate from their disability.

Along with his disability not redeeming him, you should also make sure it doesn’t make him spiteful or cruel. Basically the disability should change what he can physically do, not who he is.

As for the second part of the ask, I first want to note none of our mods are parapalegic/hemiplegic, so we can’t speak for coping with these disabilities specifically. I’d recommend looking for first hand accounts of people with these conditions, or preferably seeing if you can find someone with them to ask or act as a sensitivity reader.

I don’t know much about 18th century French medicine, but physical & occupational therapy will be important as he re-learns tasks that were once easy and figure out ways to complete tasks he can no longer do. Studies show horseback riding can help stroke survivors with their recovery, though he’ll need to ride gently at first.

Have a nice day!

Mod Rot

I just want to say real quick, adding on to the case of redemption through disability, that the reason we want to avoid it is because moralizing disability is something that very much happens to real alive people every day.

Tying disability to morality often is 'disability is a moral failure' type of situation, but another way it affects people is the assumption that 'suffering' through a disability somehow makes you more 'pure' or 'better.' Like when you see some grumpy mean character get an injury and Suddenly They Understand Hardships of Others and they become a better person — sort of a mix between 'disability as punishment' and 'disabled people are innocent.'

This kind of seems like what you're doing here. There's a lot of historical fiction out there that uses real life counterparts. If you choose to do that and redeem a bad person, I can't exactly stop you. But I want you to examine why you think what's going to redeem him is the onset of his disability, rather than an understanding of what he did and attempts to do better.

Hope this helps,

– Mod Sparrow

I agree completely with what has been said and just want to add that even disorders like traumatic brain injuries and strokes that can sometimes affect not only function but also personality should not be used as a moral thing, as mentioned earlier. More realistically impacts of a stroke on personality and mood are depression (this was my main symptom even with minimal other symptoms and damage), some impulsiveness or irritability, and mood swings. The disability, again, should not make them a better or worse person inherently.

-Mod Bert

[runnning-outof-time]

Hello! I know you're not taking requests right now, but I still want to share with you a somewhat strange idea❤️

What if the reader was Tommy's wife in an arranged marriage? She loved him, he might have had warm feelings, but still cheated. And what if the reader accepted his child after the infidelity? She had just given birth to Tommy's baby herself, literally two weeks ago, when he brought home a newborn from another woman. And what if Tommy saw the reader breastfeeding his son from the infidelity in the middle of the night, tenderly caressing him as his own child.

I'm not very good at describing things and not strong in English at all. Thank you!

Hi there @alimosblog ! Thanks for stopping in and sharing this with me! 😊 you described this wonderfully…I was clearly able to picture it as I was reading through it!

This is such an interesting idea! — I just had to dive into it under the cut!

Bless that woman’s heart for sticking with him after he went and not only cheated with, but also had a baby with another woman whilst being married to her .. then she took that baby in (I wonder if the other woman then found out about him being married and dumped the baby on them in exchange for money or something? 🤔🤔 because I’m imagining this being later in the series, when he’s amassed some power) … and so she’s got these two children who are so close in age that it’s practically like she’s raising twins and she has to bring the baby in….it’s a baby, it can’t do anything for itself and she has a caring heart that goes out to it.

Now we need to dig into why she’s even decided to stay with Tommy after his unforgivably crass actions … So it’s later in the series, Tommy has wealth and power. I’m can’t seem to choose whether (Y/N)’s family is more powerful/wealthy than his, or if they somehow crossed the Shelbys in a way and this marriage was how things became neutralized again.

Either way, I think that she’s pressured to stay in this union because of external circumstances … I also think she’s lost love for Tommy because of his actions, so she decides to devote herself to the two children so that they have the best lives that can be given.

And so when Tommy sees her nurturing this baby that he had with his mistress it kind of breaks his brain — how can she love a child that was brought in under the worst circumstances? But he doesn’t know that she’s already made peace with it all (because she has to given her family and their wishes…she’s not getting out of this marriage) and has dedicated herself to these children.

She stays at Arrow House for the children and raises them up. I’d like to think that the child that isn’t hers doesn’t know that (while they’re young and growing at least) and for the most part they’re a cohesive family unit. She tries her best to make it seem like she and Tommy are happy in front of the children, but those actions don’t just erase themselves and so it’s never 100% not an act — it helps that Tommy’s off working for most of the time though.

I’d also imagine that those children are the apple of her eye and vice versa when they get older — there’s such a deep love there that it transcends everything else.

———

I hope you liked my little musings on this amazing idea! Thanks so much for sharing it with me and trusting me with it! 🥰 — I’m sorry that I didn’t write out a full request with it, but it was fun to dissect it and imagine it this way. Feel free to drop in anytime! I’m hoping that I’ll be able to open my requests soon so that you could share any other ideas you may have!

[spacetimeaccordionfolder]

I love a "just some guy" character but I also love it when the "just some guy" isn't actually "just some guy." Guy's got some weird skill or backstory or ends up with an ability that regularly would make them not "just some guy" but in the context we have here they are in fact just some guy.

some examples:

Falst from Aurora. just some guy. Said just some guy is a cat boy, related to an ancient people who mostly died thousands of years ago. one of the two smart guys of the group but doesn't think he's smart. stole Erin's bag that one time.

Sokka from atla. just some guy. Said just some guy has invented so many things. can fight with a boomerang. is also like 15. mastered sword fighting in like 1 day. his sword is made out of meteorite. became a lawyer or something I don't know I never finished lok

Oscar Wilde (no not that one) from Wilde Life. he's "literally just some guy." he bought a haunted house off Craigslist during a quarter life crisis. was a journalist and can't leave questions alone. somehow became the designated trusted adult for a 16 year old werewolf. the ghost living in his house thinks he's hot. he's Jewish. he's bad at it. he once nearly died and was fed part of the heart of an old god. he goes to the farmers market on saturdays. he once met the devil and also the old god whose heart he ate and also Coyote??

Adolin Kholin from Stormlight Archive. I'm not actually sure he counts as "just some guy" to anyone but himself. Guy starts out in book 1 as a prince to a really important princedom and in line to inherit both that and the actual throne. Amazing duelist. Wonderful person to be around. extraordinarily fashionable. His love for his friends has effected the world tremendously over the 5 books we've got. Literally saved lives.

Yang Xiao Long from RWBY. She only counts as a "just some guy" considering who her friends and family are. Her hair can become fire. She can get stronger from her pain. She build a motorcycle. she can and will make puns on any occasion. Her sister can radiate what's kind of a god's divine light from her eyes, one friend is an heiress to a really wealthy company, and her now girlfriend is the daughter of an important civil rights activist. Her parents were really important huntsmen of their generation and now are teachers, leaders of a bandit group, or haunting the narrative. She's the normal one of her friends. she's punched the devil in the boob.

Batman. he's the token "doesn't have powers" guy. He's also... all that.

[draxeanlxia]

More LU!Warriors headcanons!

I decided to also post (and repost when it wasn’t coming up on the search bar) this. I'm sure some of us LU!Warriors lovers have seen @sirassban's post on Albino!Wars and I'm sure a lot of us adopt it as our own. Some because it's so cute, and some because that means new ways to torture him. Don't even try and deny it, we love to angst that boy. So here's my own headcanons on Albino! Wars though this is mostly about his backstory that I created. Though it also works in other universe where he isn't albino.

Note that I did do some research on albinos to try and make this accurate. If lif it turns out I am wrong, well whoops. Also note, I am going to add more military ranks than the normal Hylian captain and general we see in the game.

Link and Linkle are fraternal twins but with a bit of makeup, some heeled boots for Linkle, and some clothes, they look identical. Only Link is albino, Linkle is normal blonde self.

The twins were actually separated when they were a few months old. Their parents were very wealthy, kind nobles but their father died the day they were born. Their mother was killed on the orders of other corrupted nobles, who wanted their wealth despite the laws saying they would have to wait about two decades, in order to claim that wealth if there are no heirs. The servants save them at the cost of them being separated.

Linkle was given to an old farming couple who adopted her as their granddaughter, as they had no children and grandchildren, but always wanted some. (They're basically Hylian versions of Eustace and Muriel from Courage the Cowardly Dog.)

Link was first adopted by a retired knight turned baker and his Gerudo seamstress wife. They loved and raised him as their own until he was 13 when his town was burn to the ground by bandits. He is the only known survivor.

After that, he somehow managed to find his way to CastleTown. More specifically the stables of Hyrule castle by CastleTown. He hid in the stables due to not trusting people because of the bandits.

Before his village was destroyed, Warriors loved helping out at the local farms that had horses and became quite adept at taking care of horses.

He helped take care of the horses in the stable when the stablehands weren't around. They didn't know he was there.

He took great care of Epona when she was born. Especially since her mother rejected her and the stablehands decided this was a good enough reason not to take care of her, saying there must be something wrong with her if her mother rejected her. Epona was born completely healthy. Her mother rejected her due to stress and being a first-time mom. Which is unfortunately not that uncommon.

When Epona was a few months old, she alerted the stablehands and her sire's rider to Link's presence due to the fact that Link fainted. He suffered severe malnutrition to the point the stablehands thought he was dead. Epona's sire's rider thought otherwise and took Link to the castle's infirmary.

The rider eventually decided to foster Link once he learned about Link's situation.

He's the Lieutenant General, I mentioned in the other post.

Link eventually made a full recovery. He was weary of his foster father at first but grew to accept him as his father. He never forgets his adopted parents and honors them and his birth parents when he learns who they were.

After the war started and meeting Linkle, the twins learn about their birth parents and managed to claim their inheritance before the time limit ends. The twins are now incredibly wealthy.

Out of the Chain, only Wild is richer than Warriors. But he's not allowed to spend lot in one setting because he will ruin his Hyrule’s economy if he does.

And I'm ending it here. Enjoy!

[elapsed-spiral]

Pre-season 2 OFMD fic list

It's less than two weeks till we get our ships wrecked, so here's my (presumably) final pre-season 2 fic list. Have a read if you wanna pass the improbably long days before the season premieres!

This list got out of control so I added some handy symbols: 🎧 = podfic available 💜 = personal favourite ⭐ = fics you may have heard about? I don’t know, I don’t have a sense for this stuff.

Cool collaboration(s) you should read immediately:

🎧💜Work Experience: what if Ed went to meet Stede when the Revenge ran aground? And what if Ed became a member of Stede’s crew? And what if things kept escalating and… Canon AU. Mature. Co-written with Shearwater.

Really no excuse for how stupid these ones are:

Watch Out, Here I Come: what if Stede had been intentionally seducing Ed? Teen

Once More, With Feeling: what if Frenchie just fixed the season 1 finale fiasco because he’s the most capable guy on the ship? Teen

Talent Show: what if Ed was crass about his sexual preferences? Explicit

Capsize on Your Thighs: what if Ed rebounded onto Calico Jack at the end of season 1? Ed/CJ and Ed/Stede (but Ed/Stede is endgame, natch). Explicit

🎧💜Your Feedback is Important to Us: what if Stede started holding open cabin hours to allow the crew to air their grievances (but was also very repressed and horny over Ed)? Explicit

Oh no Ed’s working through gender/class stuff (but make it funny):

Finery: Ed gets to wear a dress, Stede spontaneously combusts. Explicit

Tell More Tales: Stede isn’t the only writer aboard the Revenge. Explicit

🎧💜Lovers and Madmen: Ed is hellbent on marrying Stede. Explici

🎧 Save the Date: Ed 'attends' a wedding. Unfortunately, so does Stede. Short S2 alternative reunion fic. Teen

AUs no-one asked for:

Novel/novella length

🎧💜Restructuring: modern AU where Stede loses his fortune before meeting Ed, but Ed’s still got more money than you can shake a fucking stick at. Only problem is, Stede lies and says he’s wealthy and Ed lies and says he isn’t. Like the show, it’s a romcom about trauma. Explicit

🎧💜⭐Baddy Zaddy: Bridget Jones’s Diary style, former porn star turned sex shop owner!Ed/still unfortunately landed gentry!Stede. Novel length modern AU. Explicit

💜⭐Prize Every Time: You’ve Got Mail-y secret pen pals but also business rivals. Novel length modern AU. Explicit

Conflict of Interest: lawyer!Stede/businessman!Ed (read: gangster). Modern AU. Explicit

Shorter uns

Intergalactic Tango: Space Waltz AU. Mature

🎧💜Trade Descriptions Act: bailiff!Ed/estate agent!Stede. Identity theft but make it meet cute. Modern AU. Teen

Your Favourite Song: locksmith!Ed/museum curator!Stede. Kinktober fill that somehow isn’t E rated. Modern AU. Teen

⭐Draft Letter to Restaurant Downstairs: Google Docs AU with a (slightly) interactive element. Modern SMAU. Teen

Blind Date: Stede and Jeffrey Fettering go on a blind date at Ed’s restaurant. I think you know where this is going. Modern AU. Explicit

Different Dimension: ficlet that crams four and a bit AUs into 850 words. Modern AU. Teen

Stuck Still: British holiday resort AU feat. events manager!Stede and bartender turned fairy!Ed (it makes sense in the story I swear). Modern AU. Explicit

💜On the Job: “kidnapping” meet cute (but not actually. Again, I swear it makes sense in the story I swear). Modern AU. Explicit

Starring Jason Statham: another weird meet cute, courtesy of Jack and the Fast and Furious franchise. Stede/Jack, Ed/Jack and Ed/Stede (Ed/Stede is once again end game). Modern AU. Teen

West Ham Is for Lovers: Lucius has a new job. It’s going fine. Completely, totally fine. A meet cute fic about meet cutes. Ed/Stede but also Lucius/Pete, Lucius/Fang, Lucius/Izzy and Lucius/Olu/Jim. Modern AU. Teen

💜Conventional: back in the 00s, Ed was in a very famous movie franchise. Nowadays, he does the convention circuit. Modern AU. Explicit

🎧💜Proud: Ed attends Pride to get free mum hugs, Stede attends Pride to give free dad hugs. Modern AU. Teen

KrakenAir: Stede and the crew are heading to Benidorm to celebrate Stede coming out. That is, if Stede’s all expenses spared KrakenAir flight ever departs. Modern SMAU. Teen

Very Poor, Becoming Good: aspiring Gentleman Backpacker Stede Bonnet is adventure bound when he meets fellow traveller Ed Teach at an empty hostel. Now if they could just find the owner… Modern AU. Explicit

💜Stolen by the Gentleman Thief: Ed is a lonely gay guy in his late forties whose favourite book is historical softcore porn. Luckily, there’s a weird meet cute about to happen. Modern AU. Explicit

Live Sex Show: Columnist Ed Teach recommends that Stede Bonnet shake up his monotonous life by doing something weird. Modern AU. Teen

💜Continue Making Progress: Kraken Driving School has a terrible new student. Luckily, Ed and Stede both have a lot to offer one another. Modern AU. Explicit

Oh no there’s been a containment breach (aka non-Blackbonnet fics):

💜We Do What We Like (and We Like What We Do): a brief history of Ed and Jack. Explicit (Ed/CJ)

Fealty: Stede and Izzy make one another even more miserable. Mature (Stede/Izzy)

💜Contra Proferentem: Ed is a high powered lawyer and Professor of Law at the University of Cambridge. Lucius is not a high powered lawyer but he is a lecturer of English Lit at the University of Cambridge. Stede own a very nice cafe. Explicit (platonic Ed/Lucius, Ed/Stede, no cheating involved)

[terrence-silver]

How do you think Terry parents died? Like they never really told so I always wonder

I wonder if anyone was there to comfort Terry during it I thought it would be somewhere in like 80s maybe

-

If you browse far back enough on this blog, in the past I used to headcanon him as something of an orphan 'Bruce Wayne, inherited my wealth at an extremely young age and left to come to my own conclusions about the world...so happens most of these conclusions were extremely unhinged because I had no actual guidance or parental figures' kind of character because his parents either died, suicided or self destructed in some way and by proxy, Terry Silver became a billionaire long before he's ever become an adult (and him going to Vietnam could've been acting from an act of sheer patriotism, volunteering or Terry just yearning for a devoted community he no longer had), but now, as things stand, since I'm not making any predictions, Terry might've personally eclipsed his father somehow, removed him from power, outwitted him, terminated him or a whole Succession type drama that would put Logan Roy and his children to shame went on sometime before the timeline of The Karate Kid ever took place...which seems plausible.

I imagine Terry's father was his first ever rival in life.

That he's the first person Terry's ever beaten at the game of power grabbing, the first person he's ever cast down and the first person he's ever stepped over before he himself could've been stepped over --- it's a dog eat dog world; it's very plausible he had a hand in ending his own father or his father's influence, but since Terry does almost everything but outright murder (...or does he?) I almost imagine Silver Jr. spending the remainder of his days in a closed sanatorium for the ultra wealthy somewhere, maybe in the aftermath of some severe stroke or some sort of disability caused by none other than Terry himself, the result of which is him witnessing his son outsmarting him and taking everything over and being unable to handle it mentally. The sadism of that. Dear papa is alive but he can't move, stand, see or even fight. Matches Terry's philosophy and combat style perfectly. As for his mother? I envision she was out of the picture long before that; either having died, left or simply never having been tremendously present. Or maybe Terry was taken from her by a domineering, powerful father with way more influence than she will ever have and Terry simply never forgave that, vengeance being inneminent the minute he grew up enough to scheme?

In any case, doubt any of them were there for him as late as the 80's.

We will never know, but we sure can speculate.

[vodika-vibes]

Once Upon A December

Summary: 20 years ago a coup in a neighboring nation led to the entire royal family getting executed. Captain Keeli of the ARC Knights of Mandalore has been tasked with investigating the rumors of the survival of the youngest Princess.

Pairing: Captain Keeli x Reader

Word Count: 3164

Warnings: Mentions of child death, but nothing detailed

A/N: This is an Anastasia twist. The title explicitly stated from the movie.

Tagging: @trixie2023

Divider by Saradika

Once there was a small kingdom that bordered Mandalore. It was a small, landlocked, kingdom that was very wealthy due to the abundance of natural minerals and ore that were found there.

And, for a time, the wealth was shared. Miners were treated with all of the respect that they were due, treated with the same reverence as the King himself. 

But slowly, over time, things changed.

Safety measures were cut, paychecks were cut, more mines were opened, and the miners were less trained…and all of that money flowed up to the ruling class.

The Kingdom still looked wealthy, but the people suffered. There was not enough food or houses for everyone to thrive. Schools were shut down, and businesses were handed over to the government, and then one of the mines collapsed, killing over 2 dozen people.

It really was only a matter of time before there was a coup.

The people, led by disenfranchised soldiers, broke into the palace. They killed indiscriminately. Men, women, children…it didn’t matter, all members of nobility fell to the blade.

And the following morning, the sun rose over blood-soaked halls, and a people who dreamed of freedom. It became known as the Night of the Bloody Banquet.

Of course, that’s not exactly what happened. And slowly the people who supported the coup, realized that things aren't getting better. In fact, things started getting worse. And, eventually, Mandalore was forced to intercede, absorbing the kingdom into its borders.

And though the kingdom no longer exists, one rumor from the old kingdom persists. The rumor is a simple one, that the youngest princess of the Old Regime survived the massacre somehow, and is just waiting for the day she can return to retake her throne.

Of course, the rumors had been investigated time and time again, and the results were always the same. The Crowned Princess died with her family on the Night of the Bloody Banquet. 

That had been almost twenty years ago, and still the rumors persist, in spite of everything the Royal Family of Mandalore has done to put the rumors to rest.

***********

“So, have you heard?”

You glance away from your textbook, your pen halfway to your mouth, as your best friend leans over the table and into your personal space, “Have I heard what?” You ask.

“King Jango is assigning a group of his sons to investigate the Lost Princess.” 

“The Lost Princess? The one who died twenty years ago with her family?” You ask with an arched brow, “Come on, Pansy. We both know that she died with the rest of her family that night.”

“They never found her body,” Pansy counters.

“They never found a lot of bodies, Pans. It doesn’t mean that they’re all alive.” You reply, “Come on, Pans. That coup orphaned both of us, shouldn’t you be hoping that one of your parents survived instead of a Princess?”

“Ooh.” Pansy sweeps her hand through her hair, ignoring your words, “Maybe I’m the lost princess,” She poses dramatically, “I’m ready for my close up!”

You let out a laugh, and lean across your desk, and hold your pen out like a microphone, “Tell me, princess, how do you plan to end the war with Serrano?”

“Oh, ew…responsibility.” Pansy replies with a scrunched up nose, and you dissolve into laughter, and Pansy grins at you, “Come on. Be real now, what little orphan girl doesn’t dream of being a princess?”

“Uh, this little orphan girl.” You reply easily, “It sounds a lot like work.”

“Says the lady studying for vet school,” Pansy says with a laugh, “But, seriously babe, you never once dreamt about a family member coming to adopt you? I mean, I did.”

You shrug, “I mean, sure. Who doesn’t? But…no one was ever going to come.”

Pansy sighs deeply, “How is it that you open your mouth and Sister Matilda pops out.”

“It’s my super power.”

Your best friend grins, “That’s a dumb super power.” She throws a ball of paper at you, “Now, go back to your studying, and stop chewing on your pen! You’re going to ruin my portfolio!”

“That’s my other super power,” You quip, and then you yelp when Pansy pushes you out of your chair.

Later, much later, after Pansy has left to go on a date with her girlfriend, you’re still at the cafe, with your nose buried in your textbook. You like studying at the cafe, it’s not quite so deafeningly quiet as it is in your apartment. 

Surrounded by people, yet totally alone. Story of your life.

You look up when there’s a knock on the table, “Room for one more?” You smile up at the familiar figure of Captain Keeli, who’s favoring you with a small grin.

“What are you doing here, Keeli?”

He drops a kiss to the top of your head and then pulls out the chair next to you, “I am a Captain in the Mandalorian Army, I can go where I want.” Keeli replies.

“I mean, I thought you had a meeting with your dad today,” You counter.

“Oh. That.” He pauses and swipes your mug, which was just refilled, and he folds his hands around it, “I did, it was a very interesting meeting.” He takes a sip of your caf, “Mm…hazelnut?”

“Yeah. It’s my favorite.” You reply, “So, what did you guys talk about? Are…uh…are you being deployed?”

He flashes a soft smile, “No. No deployment, you don’t have to worry about that.”

“...wasn’t worried.” You mutter.

He laughs and reaches out to tap your nose twice, and then the spot between your eyes once, “Were too. It’s okay, it’s cute.”

You duck your head and shake it once, “You always say that.”

“That’s because you’re always cute. It should be illegal how cute you are.” He rests his elbow on the table and then rests his chin on the palm of his hand and just stares at you.

You flush and slide down in your seat a little, “Keeli, you’re staring.”

“Yup.”

You flush a little deeper, “So,” you say, “So if you’re not being deployed, then what job do you have?” 

Keeli doesn’t take his gaze off your face, “I was asked to look into the Lost Princess of Zoist.”

“Oh not you too,” You lean back in your chair, “You have to know that she must have died with her family, right?”

“I know that. And you know that. And literally everyone else knows that, but some people don’t, so I have to investigate it.” Keeli replies with a shrug, “It’s a pretty easy job, all things considered. Easy enough that I’m going on my own.”

You frown thoughtfully, “well…good luck then.”

He grins, “I’m not leaving until tomorrow, cyare. How about we get this cleaned up and you cook me dinner.”

“Why do I have to cook dinner for you?”

He grins, “Because you love me.”

You narrow your eyes at him, “Fine.” You sniff, “But only because you’re leaving tomorrow.”

Keeli grins and quickly cleans up the table, “And maybe a kiss? For luck.”

“You don’t need luck, Keeli.”

“Okay, then a kiss because I love you and you love me?” He shoves all your books into your bag, and swings it over his shoulder, all the while pinning you with a hopeful look.

“You know, Keeli. One day you’re going to say stuff like that and I’m going to believe you, and then what are you going to do?”

“Uh…take you out on a week-long date, and kiss you until you’re breathless.” Keeli replies promptly.

You shake your head with a laugh, and get to your feet, “Come on, Keeli. I need to buy some food if I’m going to feed you.”

He sighs and his shoulders slump slightly, “How much more obvious do I need to be?” He grumbles under his breath, before he chases after you, “Hey, wait for me!”

“Keep up, Captain!” You call from the door, a bright grin on your face.

He falters, and a curse falls from his lips, unheard, “Stars, I love you so much-” He says quietly, before he shakes his head and chases after you. “I want to choose what we’re having for dinner.”

“Ugh, bossy!”

Keeli just laughs and falls into step next to you, “My going away dinner, my choice, cyare.”

*************

Three weeks later, Keeli decides that he hates this investigation.

Actually, he just hates the Capital City of Ziost in general. It’s nestled right up against a mountain range, and it’s miserable. All of the precipitation must fall on the other side of the mountain range, as Ziost is largely desert. 

Which means hot and miserable…or cold and miserable. With no inbetween.

“I can’t believe King Jango is still humoring those madmen,”

Keeli smiles politely at the stern older woman he’s following through the orphanage, “Well, he’s just doing what he has to to keep people happy.” He replies, “And we do appreciate your assistance in this matter.”

“Yes, yes.” She waves her hand, and side steps a child, “What do you need to know?”

“You were the Matron here twenty years ago? The night of the coup?”

“Indeed I was,” The woman replies, “A horrifying night, we saw the fires from here.”

“Did any young girls show up the following morning?” Keeli asks.

The woman hums thoughtfully, “We had a bunch of children delivered over the following days, so many people died…but…hm…” She casts a thoughtful gaze out the window, looking at an old swing set, “However, two days after the coup, a guardsmen brought a young girl, around the right age, here.”

“What was her name?” Keeli asks.

“She didn’t remember. She had no memory of her name or her parents or what happened.” The Matron replies, “Mouthy little thing. I regretted taking her in within days of accepting her-”

“Did you ever name her?” Keeli interrupts.

The matron blinks, and then rolls her eyes, and offers him a name. And Keeli blinks in surprise. He knew, of course, that his cyare was an orphan. That was never a secret, but he hadn’t known that she was an orphan of Ziost.

“Thank you,” Keeli says, distracted, as he turns and leaves the orphanage. He pulls his comm mirror out of his pocket and he automatically finds the link that allows him to call his cyare.

There’s no response for a moment, and then the screen blinks to life, and a grin crosses his face when he sees your sleepy face on the screen, “Mm….Keeli?”

“Did I wake you, cyare?” Keeli asks warmly.

“S’early, Keel-” You yawn, and bury your face in your pillow, “How’s Ziost?”

“Hot and miserable. I hate it.” Keeli says with a grin, “I’m about to check out the palace and then I’ll be coming home.”

“Did you find anything?” You ask as you slowly wake up.

“Mm…I met Sister Matilda at the Orphanage you grew up in.” Keeli says, “Charming woman. She called you mouthy.” He pauses, “Didn’t know you were from Ziost, cyare.”

You sit up slightly, “Didn’t seem important.” You yawn again, and Keeli smiles softly.

“I’ll let you get some rest, cyare.”

“Mm, I’m awake now.” You sit up fully and stretch your arms over your head, and then you grab your mirror and smile at him, “Happy hunting, Keeli. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Yeah, have a good day.” You beam at him and the connection cuts, and Keeli sighs as he stares at your name, “I love you.” He pockets the mirror, and turns to his guide, “Alright. All I need to do is see the palace.”

The guide beams, “Perfect! I love exploring the palace. Most everything of value has been removed, but the paintings of the royal family remain.”

“Why’s that?” Keeli asks as he climbs into the carriage next to the older man.

“Felt wrong after the massacre. Removing the paintings was like…pretending they never existed.” The older man shook his head, “I know people like to think that the Princess survived,” He adds, after a moment of silence, “but I hope she didn’t.”

“Oh? You’re the first person I met with that thought.”

“Yeah…she was a good kid. Kind, peaceful. She loved animals and plants and that’s about it.” The old man says with a laugh.

“You knew her?”

“Oh, aye.” The old man smiles wistfully, “My wife was her nanny. She used to bring her out of the palace and we’d pretend, for an afternoon, that she was our daughter.”

“Can I ask…?”

“My wife? She died in the massacre. Her and the other nannies tried to shield the children when the soldiers came.” The old man shakes his head, “The kids didn’t deserve that.”

“None of them did,” Keeli replies.

“True enough,” The old man nodded, “But that little girl…she was so sensitive. The idea that she lived that last twenty years knowing that she was the only survivor of the massacre…it would kill her as surely as a blade.”

“I see…” Keeli murmurs thoughtfully.

Several minutes later, the old man comes to a stop, “Here we are.” He nods at the worn gate, “I’ll let you explore on your own.” He pauses, “But the most recent painting of the royal family is at the top of the grand staircase.”

“Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it, lad.” The old man pauses once more, and then he shakes his head, “I’ll be waiting here for you.”

Keeli watches him, curiously, for a moment and then he nods, “Alright. Thanks.” He hops off the carriage and walks up the overgrown driveway.

The palace doors swing open effortlessly, and in spite of the passage of time, everything seems to be in good working order. Mostly in the sense that he doesn’t have to worry about falling through the floor.

He activates his light orb and directs it to float over his shoulder, and he heads for the staircase. Keeli hurries up the stairs, and his gaze is immediately drawn to the massive painting covering a whole wall.

The King and his Queen, and their seven children.

Keeli searches the faces in the picture for a moment, before his gaze lowers to the youngest daughter. And his breath catches in his throat. Slowly, automatically, he pulls a photo out of his pocket, unfolds it, and holds it up to compare to the painting.

He didn’t need the picture to confirm what he knew as soon as he saw the painting though. Keeli would recognize his cyare even as a formless infant. 

His cyare. His clever, beautiful cyare is the lost princess of Ziost.

Fuck.

Keeli’s eyes squeeze shut. He should tell his father what he discovered. His cyare would be moved to the palace of Mandalore. She would get the training she should have gotten as a child. She would be given a place in court-

Her life would stop being her own. She’d have to drop out of vet school.

She’d stop smiling. She’d hate him.

And it’s that last thought that stops Keeli in his tracks. He had the power, right here and now, to completely ruin her life. And she’d hate him for it.

He stares at the painting, and something in his gaze hardens. He pulls a lighter out of one of his pouches and he steps towards the painting…and he lights it on fire.

He watches the painting burn for ten minutes, and then he turns and walks away.

The Lost Princess of Ziost died when she was 6 years old. Let her stay that way.

***************

You’re bored. You’re also supposed to be studying, but for some reason, you’re not able to focus. Instead you tap your pen against your books and stare out the window.

You know why you’re distracted. You’ve not heard from Keeli since that one call when he was in Ziost, and you’re worried.

Oh, you’re sure he can take care of himself. He’s very competent, but you still worry about him. Ziost has a long and bloody history after all-

You jump when your doorbell rings. 

Though you aren’t expecting any company, so you’re careful about opening the door, though a bright grin crosses your face when you see who’s on the other side.

“Keeli!” You open the door more and allow him into your home, “Welcome back! I was worried-”

Your words are cut off, as he drops his bag at your feet, and then pulls you into a deep kiss. His arm slides firmly around your waist, and his free hand tangles in your hair, holding you tightly against him. Your hands press against his chest, your fingers curling into his shirt.

“Keel-” You aren’t even able to finish saying his name when he breaks the kiss for breath, before his lips are back against yours. This time he walks you backwards into your home, and you’re vaguely aware of him kicking the door shut behind him.

Your back bumps against the wall, and his grip tightens around you, and you whine, low in the back of your throat. Your hands move from his chest to cup his face.

Your touch, and the noises escaping from you, seem to snap him out of whatever daze he’s in, because he breaks the kiss, and presses his forehead heavily against yours, “Keeli?”

His gaze locks with yours, “Cyare.”

“What-?”

“I love you.” He murmurs, his lips just barely brush against your own, “But you never seemed to believe me, so I decided to show you instead.”

“I thought you were just teasing me,” You breathe out as you try to lean into his lips, but his firm grip around you keeps you from moving.

“Not about this.” Keeli says, like it’s a promise. His gaze is serious, “Stars, you have no idea how much I love you.”

“I think I’m beginning to,” You whisper.

He grins and kisses you again and again, “I love you,” Keeli murmurs.

You smile shyly at him, “I love you too.” You try to lean into him again, and release a huff of air when you realize that you still can’t move.

His grin is mischievous, “I’m not done just yet.”

“W-what about,” His lips steal your words again, “your-” and again, “Investigation?” You manage to gasp out.

Keeli pauses, something serious flickering through his eyes, “You were right. The Lost Princess is dead, she died with her family.” He says quietly, he tilts your head back, “My cyare. My beautiful princess,” His lips quirk into a small smile, “I love you.”

You smile up at him, lovingly, and he chuckles and slowly scoops you into his arms, slowly enough that you could stop him if you wanted. But you have no desire to stop him.

He kisses you again, and carries you through your home until he gets to your bedroom. You still have no desire to stop him.

As it happens, Keeli doesn’t leave until the following morning. And soon after, he’s essentially living with you.

[46ten]

Rethinking the narrative of Hamilton as a poor child held back by illegitimacy

We’ve outgrown a number of the myths that Chernow invents or embellishes from Flexner and Miranda ran with, but AH as a humble child in the West Indies, struggling with poverty and the stigma of illegitimacy seems to persist, no matter the lack of initial evidence for that narrative and the excellent scholarship over the past 10 years or so that flips it on its head. 

AH’s maternal grandfather was very wealthy; Rachel Faucette’s inherited wealth was what supposedly attracted John Lavien. 

James Hamilton (b 1725 or so) was notably not wealthy. Though a “gentleman” from a respected Scottish family, as a younger son he went to make his way as a merchant at the Caribbean, and pretty much failed at every business venture, as far as we know. In 1765, he was hired to settle a matter in St. Croix, and at some point Rachel and their two kids, James and Alexander, either joined him or made their way there independently. It’s not at all clear that James “abandoned” the family or what happened - it seems just as likely that Rachel, perhaps realizing that their sons’ best options were getting involved in trade, decided to stay where she had an extended wealthy family who could also support her as a merchant/shopkeeper. AH started working really young (he’s 9 if you believe the 1757 birthdate), which was a pretty fantastic way to gain knowledge and experience, especially if his parents realized - and they likely did - that he was intellectually gifted. 

Upon the death of his mother, who owned 5 enslaved persons, had silverware and leather chairs and a decent collection of books - definitely middle-class-ish - AH initially goes to live with his uncle and cousin, who were the two wealthiest people on St. Croix. As mentioned above, he was also already working as a clerk, ascending to what can best be described as the business manager by the time he leaves for NY, earning a pretty tidy sum as a single-man - he was likely upper-middle class. [A brief note: at no point does Edward Stevens or Thomas Yard, his brother-in-law, state that AH or his brother ever lived with the Stevens family. That conjecture comes more than a century later sourced to a census of the Stevens family that they had two male servants around the ages AH and his brother would have been. But I think if AH lived with the Stevens family, that would have come up well before the 1920s.] His first cousin provides him with what Newton calculates as 196 pounds sterling at that time, when the average British and American worker made somewhere between 10-15 pounds sterling PER YEAR. AH arrives in the colonies and lives with either the comfortably middle-class (Mulligan) or the wealthy elite (Elias Boudinot and William Livingston) before beginning his studies at King’s/Columbia College. There’s also no note about any difficulty in him getting into Elizabethtown Academy or King’s - no one was holding it over his head that he was a bastard. 

So the facts of AH’s life 1768-1779 don’t really seem to be what’s shaping the narrative. Instead, it seems to me that two things are interfering with the interpretation:

1. AH’s 1769 letter to Edward Stevens in which he gripes “I contemn the grov’ling and condition of a Clerk or the like” which makes him seem somehow downtrodden in poverty. But there’s no evidence that that was the case, or that AH wasn’t just annoyed by being a clerk and thought a different job - or a war - would better employ his talents/allow for greater study for him to become a leisurely gentleman. 

AH may have started working for Beekman and Cruger as early as 1766, at the age of 9-12 years old, perhaps having previously worked in his mother’s store. JCH writes:

The little leisure which he could command from his mercantile duties was devoted to study; his knowledge of mathematics was enlarged; he became fond of chemistry; and although his proficiency in it was small, he often urged it as a pursuit well adapted to excite curiosity and create new combination of thought.

Among the books to which he had access, he preferred those which treat of some branch of ethic. His favorite authors were Pope and Plutarch....

He often also, at this time, exercised himself in composition on moral topics, to which he afterwards occasionally resorted as a relaxation from the arduous labours of his professional life; and thus, by his varied studies, his mind became rich in materials awaiting his call. The Life of Alexander Hamilton

Although AH wrote to Edward Stevens in 1769 that "I contemn the grov’ling and condition of a Clerk or the like,” and Nathaniel Pendleton would later write that Hamilton “conceived so strong an aversion to [clerkship] as to be induced to abandon altogether the pursuits of commerce”, according to JCH, his father also felt his time as a clerk was very important:                      

This occupation was the source of great and lasting benefit to him; he felt himself amply rewarded for his labours by the method and facility which it imparted to him; and amid his various engagements in after years adverted to it as the most useful part of his education. The Life of Alexander Hamilton, my emphasis. 

Other biographers have speculated that AH’s time as a clerk was probably critical for his understanding of commerce and finance and to the development of both his leadership and writing skills.

JCH also writes:

With a strong propensity to literature, he early became a lover of books, and the time which other youth employ in classical learning, was by him devoted to miscellaneous reading, happily directed by the advice of Doctor Knox, a respectable Presbyterian divine, who, delighted with the unfolding of his mind, took a deep interest in his welfare. The Life of Alexander Hamilton

This role for Knox is doubtful; Rev. Hugh Knox first visited St. Croix Sept/Oct 1771, and did not come to reside there until May 1772, only a few months before AH would leave for NY.

2. AH, in 1779-1780, certainly is sensitive to his lack of advancement in the army while others with less ability/experience advance thanks to nepotism. He doesn’t have the family connections, true, but he’s far from the only person frustrated by the way appointments are handed out - James Monroe also left the army because he couldn’t get a command. 

And at no point does AH’s illegitimacy ever seem to hold him back - in fact, up until he made a number of political enemies, no one seemed to care. Illegitimacy was not at all uncommon, particularly in the West Indies; Newton offers up another example of a couple pretending to be married. There’s no record whatsoever that AH was ever taunted about being a bastard as a child, adolescent, or young man (the first recorded innuendos about it actually date from the late 1780s - he’s 30 or older). Likewise with the loss of his mother - a lot of children were orphans. These were just not life details that put him outside any veneer of respectability. 

He’s able to rise to the level of aide-de-camp for Washington and married into a wealthy Dutch-American patrician family with, based on the lack of comments on his birth, not even a shrug. JCH does note that marrying into the Schuyler family was one of the most important events of his father’s life, but one never gets the impression from AH’s own writing that he thought they were inherently superior to him - no, this was the class of people whom he had always belonged with and rubbed shoulders with. 

And perhaps other than the times he was in school, I’m 90% comfortable stating he almost always had servants - while living with his parents, his mother alone, his cousin, as a clerk, in the colonial American households, and then perhaps with a brief break while studying, he also had at least one servant in the colonial Army and for the rest of his life. 

Hamilton’s St Croix education 

More about Hamilton’s Faucett relations with links to Newton’s discussions

A summary of the amounts Anne Mitchell (and Peter Lavien) provided to AH.