#might change lettys li again

[xoteajays]

the mcu rewrite: sunverse | main ocs | pt.2

farrah swyft came from money. the swyfts were up there with the worthingtons and the osborns, rubbing elbows with the wealthy in whatever city they were living in at the time; or, at least, her parents did while their twin daughters, farrah and delilah, were shipped off to an australian boarding school. that was the past now though, farrah had long since left that ‘life of luxury’ behind, ever since her family discovered she was a mutant. there weren’t anti-mutant, not in the way most stereotyped. they just wanted her to hide her abilities and pretend she was perfectly human. farrah couldn’t bear it. at eighteen, she pulled out just enough money to get her to westchester, particularly the aptly named ‘school for the gifted’. parhelion would never pass jean grey, but she was happy to be xavier’s ‘second best’, even if she never truly took on that ‘x-man’ title for herself. 

sālote esau, or ‘sasha‘ as she preferred, had once had little care in the world. she didn’t have much vision towards her future, she was happy to glide by through life, allowing herself whatever pleasures. then the other foot drops. out of nowhere, a heart attack hits her, something to do with a defect from birth that her parents had never told her about. surgery goes well, but sasha is shaken, her mind doesn’t heal as quickly as her body does. she’s a recluse, until she discovers kamar-taj. determined that she could be helped there, she heads off. it takes years, successes and failures, but eventually she becomes arcane of the mystic arts. if she could’ve ever figured out working her sling ring properly, maybe she wouldn’t have ended up flung across space, ending up on some trash-hole planet called ‘sakaar’.

doctor leta ‘letty’ shivers was normal. really, she was! okay, she had an odd surname that sounded ‘perfectly villainous’ when coupled with her doctorate; and maybe sometimes she heard things that weren’t actually there. but she was normal! maybe. hopefully. at least she didn’t have to mention it when she interviewed for her s.h.i.e.l.d position. she likes her job, she likes a lot of her fellow agents, she even gets close with renowned geneticist helen cho! it’s a shame that working with s.h.i.e.l.d is exactly what gets her sucked into the avengers’ business and standing in a wakanda lab in 2018 with an ominous snapping in her ear as aliens, once again, descend onto earth.

oc cast: - hannah van der westhuysen as farrah swyft / parhelion. - lucianne buchanan as sasha esau / arcane. - kirby howell-baptiste as dr letty shivers.

[burningtacozombie]

random Mayans thoughts, episode 5x08 edition:

- Miguel, for a second I thought he visited Felipe to kill him after all. the way he walked through the house and looked at all the photos, it could have been an entirely different life for him. or maybe not that different? anyone else tried to imagine Miguel as a Mayan for a second? also, I get why Miguel would want Felipe to see the man who raised him the way he does but Felipe can't do that. Miguel in return can't accept the Reyes as blood and now he seems to be stuck between the father he forgave and the one he can't forgive but can't seem to let go either. something's got to give, he needs to find a solution for himself on how to move past his anger because none of them can change the past. then again, why isn't he as mad at his mother as he is at Felipe? it takes two to tango, doesn't it? and she kept the lie alive even after José's death. lies never protect anyone.

- Guero, finally we got some background on him and Ibarra. and it's as tragic as anyone's in this life. I do feel for him though, a lot. nice touch on wearing the Sons kuttes while getting rid of Diaz and Jinx' bodies to frame the Sons for the kills. once again, that banter Guero has going on with Downer is fucking funny even in a situation like that.

- Angel and Mav watching cartoons together was sweet in the moment but they still have no idea about Luisa, that lifechanging cloud over them is fucking sad. but he feels something is very wrong, he couldn't even stand being alone in his house and came home to pops.

- Letty went to the Broken Saints as a spy for Isaac but she had no choice, for Hope. Letty can be annoying as hell but she is nothing if not a fighter. congrats to Terry for using his brain for once and doing the right thing, letting them escape. probably won't end pretty for him but whatever. if Isaac were to drop dead right now it still wouldn't be soon enough.

-HOPE!!! man, I'm fucking shocked. there was this moment of realization of what she's going to do before she even did it and I FUCKING SCREAMED at my screen in literal desperation, full on ugly sobbing. for me personally, this might be the most painful death in the entire show, so far. if anyone deserved a happy end it was Hope, and I will never forgive them. rest in peace, girl. you were loved.

- Marcus, just when he got his act together with his family he gets pulled back into the club business. now he looks into Diaz' murder, which kinda scares the shit outta me. what is he gonna do when he finds out what really went down?

- the Grim Bastards think Diaz and Jinx were murdered by the Sons and left on their turf to pull them into the war. EZ wanted them to get "pushed over the edge" to side with the Mayans and Guero and Bishop delivered him the "how to do that" in a very convenient way. until Marcus shows up, that is. don't get fooled, the only reason one of EZ's plans worked is because it's a page right out of Nestor's playbook. this is basically the same thing the Galindo cartel did in season 1 when Nestor killed that nun and framed Los Olvidados so the cartel could present themselves as the savior to the public.

- Creeper's sister, who turns out to be Emilio's real life wife, broke my heart with her speech at the service. he genuinely loved and cared so much about those he considered family. I loved that everyone was toasting with water bottles to honor Creeper’s sobriety when they carried him out. EZ has nerves to straight up admitting he killed him in front of the whole club, and no one even realized how true that is. Kody had nerves too showing up but I feel like the look she gave EZ while walking out is starting to raise some club members' suspicions. there were quite a few confused looks towards EZ.

- Taza came back for the service, and it seems like he's staying. I don't know how I feel about that. Bishop wants to leave the past in the past, but it was Taza who started this whole mess and no one except these two knows. it's not okay.

- Gilly, yes the episode was co-written by Vincent but that doesn't make me care more about his family thing. Paul did get a well-deserved beating tho.

- I don't care a whole lot about Sofia either but if she is pregnant, I'm sure that's gonna end well for her and EZ's gonna be a great dad. /s

- Bottles, come on, your mother jokes weren't funny anymore when I was a teenager. and given you're a prospect and Guero a full patch, you kinda did ask to have your face rearranged, lmao. however, Sister Anne's message was not a booty call but Isaac taking the information Letty gave him and running with it. now the Mayans really are fucked six ways to sunday and the walls around EZ are closing in fast.

[scribbuluswrites]

Cool that you take request Could you write where you and coco are friends but Letty would like to see you two more than that. So she sets you up. You and coco hook up and Letty flips out (because she is happy about it) because she catches you two in bed ore making out?

I hope you like this! It changed a little bit on me, but I think it came out alright. :)

Thanks for requesting!

Letti looked over at you, her eyes moving up and down as she appraised you. It had been a few months since you met her, and things felt like they were going well. In fact, you might even say you were friends. 

“Why are you looking at me like that?” you asked, narrowing your eyes at her. Letti shrugged, doing it again. 

“I was just wondering what’s wrong with you.” You blinked a few times, wondering what she was really trying to say. 

“Why do you think something’s wrong with me?” She raised her shoulders, leaning forward to poke at the ice in her cup. 

“It’s just…” she hesitated. You almost grinned, sensing her real question was finally going to come out. “You’re hot and single. My dad’s,” Letti paused again, scrunching up her nose. “Plenty of women look at Coco, so people probably think he’s attractive.” You nodded slowly, caught between enjoying the way she tried to describe Coco and dreading her next words. “Why don’t you guys go out?” 

“We’re just friends,” you sighed, leaning your head back. It felt like everyone in the club had tried to push you and Coco together. Now, even his daughter was getting involved. 

“Just friends,” she snorted. “I’ve seen the way you look at each other. It’s in every freaking romcom ever made. Coco stares at you when he thinks you can’t see him. You watch him working on the bikes, and when he looks up, the back of your neck gets all red and your head snaps around.” 

She was right. There was a definite thing between you. You’d felt butterflies since the first time you saw Coco. If the way he grinned at you, eyes a little glazed like he was starstruck, was any indication, he felt them, too.

Despite knowing this, feeling this, neither of you dared make a move. If it didn’t just work, you could ruin a good friendship. More than that, Coco didn’t want to risk you leaving Letti’s life entirely. You were calm and grounded, definitely the thing Letti needed in her life. 

“It’s not a good idea,” you relented, knowing you couldn’t convince her there weren’t feelings there. “Life is comfortable here. If I make a mess of things with Coco, all this vanishes.” There was a glint of something in Letti’s eyes. It made you feel like you’d said too much. 

“Maybe you’re right,” she agreed, holding her hands up in surrender. “Coco’s got club shit tonight, want to come over for a movie?” 

“Sure, I’ll bring pizza. Around 7?” Letti was up to something, but you didn’t know what. It seemed safer to just agree for now.

“Sounds good,” she grinned, nodding. 

You knocked on the door of Coco’s house, nearly stumbling back as Letti yanked the door open. 

“You’re here!” she chirped, clearly excited. She pulled you into the house, taking the pizza before you could drop it. 

“You’re excited,” you commented, eyeing her skeptically. She was normally positive, but this was over the top. 

“I found the best movie,” she replied, sitting the box on the table. Letti turned and started to walk to the front door. 

“Where are you going?” She stopped, her expression worried for a moment. 

“Uh, I forgot the movie outside,” Letti lied, rushing out the door before you could ask anymore questions. 

You squinted after her, waiting for the other shoe to drop. Letti had clearly planned something big. 

“Oh, hey,” Coco said, interrupting your thoughts. He must not have been expecting you, his face shocked as he stood in the kitchen. You grinned and shook your head. 

“She doesn’t have an identical twin, right?” Coco’s brow furrowed, not following you. “Your kid just parent trapped us.” 

“What?” he asked, still not understanding. 

“Letti asked me to come over to watch a movie because you were going to be gone all night.” 

“She told me not to pick up dinner, just to clean up after work,” he said softly, realisation dawning. “You don’t have to stay.” You shrugged, reaching for a paper plate. 

“I’m already here and starving.” Coco took the plate you offered, handing you a slice before getting his own. 

“I ain’t got any good drinks, just tequila,” he admitted with a chuckle. “I wasn’t planning a date.” You smiled brightly, walking to his couch. 

“Trust me, I wouldn’t wear this for a date.” 

“Oh yea? Would you get all pretty just for me?” You snorted, shoving his shoulder with yours. 

“I’m not pretty enough for you?” you smirked, enjoying the ‘oh shit’ look on his face. 

“I didn’t mean…” 

“It’s ok,” you interrupted, still grinning at him. Coco put his plate on the coffee table, taking yours as well. He put his palms on your cheeks, turning you to really look at him. 

“Dulce, you’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.” You swallowed hard, unprepared for his sincerity. He was always honest, but he didn’t talk about things like this. Ever. 

You grabbed the front of his shirt, pulling him to you. His lips were warm as they met yours. Coco slid his hands into your hair, kissing you harder. 

You had both been waiting for this for so long. Each second that passed just felt closer to heaven. 

“We can’t just do casual. There’s too much…” you panted between kisses. Your hands were already working on the buttons of his shirt despite your words. 

“It ain’t. Believe me,” he assured, pulling you onto his lap. His hands roved under your shirt, his callouses a delicious scratch against your skin. 

It was still dark outside when you woke up. You were tangled up with Coco, both of his arms locked around you. You grinned and stretched a little, pressing a kiss against his chest. 

Coco made a noise deep in his throat, pulling you more onto him. He nestled his chin against the top of your head. 

“I think I love you,” he murmured, kissing your hair. 

“Pretty sure I love you, too,” you replied. 

There was a cooing noise from the doorway to his bedroom. Both of your heads snapped up, thoroughly unprepared to see Letti standing there watching you. 

“How long have you been there?” you squeaked, yanking the sheets up under your chin. 

“Letti! Get out of here!” Coco snapped, throwing a pillow at her. 

“I’m getting a new mommy!” she sing-songed, her laughter echoing down the hall as she shut the door behind her. 

You groaned and buried your face against Coco’s neck. His chest rumbled with quiet laughter. 

[anotherspnfanfic]

Hit and Run, part 2

A/N: so very fluffy.

Word count: 1566

Series Masterlist

Lovely beta is @muchamusedaboutnothing

EDIT: I updated this as of 3/6/20. Same story, a bit more detail. Hope y’all enjoy! 💗

You walked into your house and laid down carefully on your couch. You pulled your phone out of your purse.

“Made it safely to my own couch.” You smiled as you hit send on the text.

Moments later, your phone dinged with a reply from Dean. “Glad to hear it, sweetheart. Get some rest.”

You typed and deleted a message a couple times. “So, is tonight too soon to take you up on that take-out and a movie in?” You hit send before you could change your mind again.

No response. Within ten minutes, you convinced yourself you’d scared him off already. Twenty minutes later, exhaustion had won and you’d fallen into an unintentional nap.

You woke to your phone ringing. “Hello,” you said groggily, not bothering to fully open your eyes to check who was calling,

“Sorry. Did I wake you?”

“Dean?” you asked.

“Yeah. We got a call out earlier and I didn’t get a chance to text you back.” You could hear the smile in his voice.

“I wasn’t worried,” you lied.

He laughed. “Tonight is definitely not too soon. What did you have in mind?”

“How about you pick the food; I’ll pick the movie? No telling before,” you suggested.

“I love that idea. Maybe seven o’clock?”

“Sounds like a date. I’ll text you my address,” you said.

“See you then, sweetheart. Get back to your nap.”

~~~~

As you were getting ready, you decided on a cute, but comfy, top and some sweatpants. You straightened up a few things around the house. Suddenly, you were glad you were typically tidy.

A few minutes before seven, you heard a knock at your door. You peeked through the peephole before opening the door for Dean.

He had on a plain grey tee and jeans. Simple, yet still breathtaking.

“Hey,” he said with a smile.

“Hi,” you said, moving aside for him to enter.

“Where do you keep the plates?” He had the take-out hidden behind his back.

“Right-hand cabinet, above the microwave,” you directed.

“Awesome,” he said, walking to your kitchen.

“Want some help?” You couldn’t help but laugh at how comfortable he seemed on his own.

“Nope, you said to surprise you. I’ll meet you on the couch.”

You got the movie set up, skipping the previews and menu. You had just paused as Dean entered.

You laughed as he set a plate on the coffee table. “You classed up fast-food bacon cheeseburgers with real dishes!”

“I did. They’re my favorite,” he explained, excitedly.

“Extra bacon?” you asked.

Dean gasped dramatically. “Where have you been all my life?”

You couldn’t stop the blush that crept over your face. You pushed play on the remote. “I guess we should find out how well I did picking the movie.”

“Fast & Furious,” he said as Letty climbed onto the hood of Dom's car. “Good choice. My favorite of the series.”

You ate your burgers while making small talk, barely paying attention to the movie. You finished eating and leaned back against the couch, turning your attention towards the movie.

You watched as Dom inspected Letty’s crash site. As the scene ended, Dean said, “There might be some pie, too. If you want dessert.”

“Mmm, pie. Yes, please. Who says no to pie?”

“Let me get this straight... You like classic cars, extra bacon on your cheeseburgers, and pie? You’re amazing.” His smile as he got up to get the pie was infectious.

You finished the last bite of pie and set your plate on the table. “Thank you for dinner. This might be the best meal I’ve had in a month.”

“Fast-food burgers and pie?” he asked, surprised.

“Well, hospital food.” You cringed at the memory and he crinkled his nose in sympathetic disgust. “Not to mention, I haven’t had the biggest appetite until the last few days.”

“Right. Homemade dinner next time.”

“You cook?” you asked.

“I have a few signature dishes. Plus, easy audience if you’re comparing it to hospital food,” he joked.

“Home-cooked anything sounds heavenly.” You smiled and leaned back into the couch cushions again.

“You got it. I’m honestly amazed at how well you seem to be doing.” He also leaned back, getting comfortable.

“Today is a good day. They’re not all this way. Though, the good days are, finally, starting to out-number the bad.”

“Can I ask—” He hesitated. “How much do you remember?”

“Not a lot. It comes back in flashes.” You took a deep breath before continuing. “I know I heard the person who hit me get out of their car before they drove off. I remember you, and Sam. That is about it, before waking up in the hospital three days later.”

You saw his jaw twitch as anger set across his face momentarily. “I don’t understand what kind of person could leave someone like that.”

“Me either,” you said simply. “At least help got there soon enough… Pretty fantastic help.”

He quickly broke his eye contact and glanced towards his lap. You watched as the left corner of his mouth pulled up into a small, shy smile.

You both turned your attention back towards the movie just as the first big race started. He carefully draped his arm over the back of the couch, his bicep against the back of your neck.

Over the next half hour, you had slid over to rest your head on Dean’s shoulder. Then your own shoulder started to ache. You twisted slightly to rub it, trying to relieve the pain.

“You alright?” Dean asked, concern in his tone.

“Yeah, it's a little sore. I just need to ice it,” you explained as you moved to stand.

“May I?” he asked. But he was already on his feet and headed towards the freezer.

“You know, you are really spoiling me. You should be careful, I might get used to this,” you teased.

“Fine by me.” He sat back down a moment later with the ice pack in hand.

Just then, a yawn caught you off guard.

“You wanna lay down?” he asked, reaching for the pillow beside him.

You nodded. Lying down gently, you opted to use his leg as a pillow. He carefully set the ice pack on your shoulder once you were comfortable.

“How’s that?”

“Perfect, thank you.”

He began to run his fingers through your hair gently. You dozed off soon after.

You slowly blinked open your eyes. Glancing around, you noticed sunlight streaming through the window and saw you were under the blanket from the back of the couch.

You sat up to find a note on the table. “Had to get to work. Didn’t want to wake you. I’ll call you later. —Dean”

~~~~

You spent several nights over the next couple weeks watching movies on your couch with Dean.

One night, you were cuddled together, watching a rom-com he had picked. You decided there was something you needed to know.

“Uh, can I ask you something?”

“Anything, sweetheart.”

“Well, I was just wondering… h-how destroyed is my car?” You tripped over the words as you tried to contain your emotions.

Confusion settled across his features. “You haven’t seen it? I thought the cops showed you pictures while they were interviewing you.”

“They had them. I couldn’t look. I’m not even sure I want to know, but I need to,” you explained.

“Honestly, it could be worse. It wouldn’t be easy, but you, or we, might be able to fix her up.”

You simply nodded, trying and failing to not shed more tears over your destroyed car.

“I can go with you to the impound. Whenever you’re ready, if you want,” he offered.

“Please. I can’t do it alone.” You turned to look at him.

“You just tell me when.” He wiped your tears with his thumb before placing a gentle kiss on your forehead.

~~~~

Two days later, you were in Dean’s Impala as he parked in front of the impound lot. He walked around the car, opened the door, and took your hand to pull you from the car. You reluctantly followed him into the office.

“How can I help you?” the man behind the counter asked.

“Hey, I called this morning. About the Mustang,” Dean said.

“Yeah, follow me,” he said, glancing between the two of you.

Dean wrapped his arm around your waist as you walked, providing support he knew you’d need.

You walked around a corner and spotted your car about fifty feet ahead of you. You gasped as you saw the damage, overwhelmed with emotions.

Dean simply tightened his grip on your waist, reminding you that you weren’t alone.

“Oh, my god,” you said.

“I know you’re sad, but remember she kept you safe,” Dean whispered to you.

You couldn’t stop the tears that escaped at his words. He swiftly ran his thumb under your eye to clear the wetness then quickly kissed your temple as he pulled away.

“We can fix her up. It’ll be fun.” He winked as he walked over to get a closer look.

You took a deep, calming breath. Maybe fixing up your car would be healing in more ways than one. You found yourself smiling at the idea of doing it with Dean.

You followed after him. Grabbing his hand, you spun him around to face you.

“She’s also the reason I met you. We will fix her. Together.” You pulled him close and kissed him.

Part 3

@mml232 @babypieandwhiskey

[weemsbotts]

From Grapes in Your Hair to Hidden Wine Cellars: Recollections of Dumfries

By Lisa Timmerman, Executive Director

Have you enjoyed the early 1900s photographs of Dumfries posted on our social media? Photographs are an absolute delight to share as you can literally locate the places and observe the changes. Take for example the below mud mess on Route 1 with the matching photo around 20-30 years later:

We have a wealth of information on Dumfries and Prince William County thanks to the 1937 Works Progress Administration’s (WPA) Historical Inventory Project of Virginia. You probably know more about The Great Depression and recovery thanks to Covid19 and historical economic comparisons, but you may not be aware of the historic building initiative. 

The Historical Inventory Project asked workers to record the less well-known homes and workplaces of “ordinary” citizens, which differed from the Historic American Buildings Survey’s aim to record and document the significant architectural and historic landmarks. WPA field workers took to the streets across Virginia looking for these less “significant” sites and their work greatly varied. Some workers inventoried everything they encountered providing everything from genealogies and diary transcriptions to recollections of formerly enslaved persons and their families. While potentially frustrating for those in Richmond collecting and processing this information, it means we can find unexpected gems in the reports! Standard fare for the reports included cemeteries, hotels/taverns, mills, monuments, schools, miscellaneous structures (bridges, forts), and reputed historic homes. Field workers also received instructions to record only those structures built before 1860 with a list of clear guidelines. Perhaps not so narrow was the varying interpretation of “historical significance”, which again, can add little unexpected gems. Field workers interviewed the current owners or occupants of the property, recording the current condition of the site along with the owners/occupants awareness/appreciation of their historical treasure. I cannot emphasize enough the extraordinary variety in the reports as workers included family histories and individual/family photographs along with the required site image. While we are now going to drive to Dumfries, I urge you to read the fantastic summary and description of this project by the Library of Virginia, linked here.

Let’s walk with field worker Susan R. Morton as she visited Dumfries Cemetery in 1937. She recorded the date of the oldest grave she could locate, 1691, and wrote “Colonel Kandy spent a winter at Dumfries, in fact several camps were there during the war, and the old cemetery was used as a part of the camping ground and was therefore about demolished…here are also many soldiers graves, some unmarked, others more bits of field stone”. As Ms. Morton walked around the Cemetery she recorded interesting epitaphs including this one for Ann Walters, deceased in 1799, age 42, “Here rests a woman, good without pretense, Blest with virtue, and with sober sense, A tender parent and a loving wife, She filled each duty of a Christian life, She is now is gone, her glorious crown to wear To see her Maker, and his smile to share.” William Smith’s inscription included a reference to the enslaved, “…for many years he was a resident of Dumfries, Prince William County, Virginia. During that time he sustained the character of an upright and benevolent man. He was a tender and affectionate husband, a sincere friend and indulgent master.” We will end our walk by William F. Smith’s grave, died 1823, age 21, as Ms. Morton wondering if he died in a duel, “To this sad shrine, who ever thou art, draw near, Here lies the friend most loved, the son most dear, Who e’er knew joy, but of friendship might divide, Or gave his mother grief, but when he died, How vain in reason, eloquence, how weak! If Forbes must tell what Smith cannot speak, Oh let once loved friend inscribe they stone, And with a Mother’s tear mix his own”.

(Source: Lee Lansing’s Drawing in his series “Dumfries Short Series: Dumfries Hidden Cemetery)

The Mundy House site received special attention due to the field worker’s reminiscences of the house that was no longer there. Located “one eighth of a mile from Dumfries…on Route #1”, this house was “…one of the old houses that was the scene of so many stirring scenes in the past, and so many prominent people, who have made our heritage of history, have passed through its doors, that in spite of the fact that there are few physical remains of the old home, its atmosphere is felt…Miss Maud Ewell of Haymarket, Virginia, remembers hearing her grandmother tell of going there dressed in a rich purple brocade, that had just come in from one of the ships from London”. Not finding the stylish matching flowers needed, she apparently took clusters of purple grapes from the gardens to put “in her powdered hair” for a “striking headdress”. The house itself had a secret as well – as workers dug to install plumbing for a modern house, they found a wine cellar with hand-blown glass bottles, supposedly pre-Revolutionary War.

Ready for our last stop (at least for today)? Hop in your car and follow me to the “Tebbsdale Site” as we find an eerie report from the field worker dating this site to 1742. While Mr. Keys, a gentleman alive at this time in his 80s, remembered hearing his father describe the house, the worker found an abandoned and overgrown site. “There is a little footpath that goes up the hill from the road, but on my first visit there everything was so overgrown with honeysuckle that had festooned itself over trees and bushes that at midday it seemed to be almost twilight…There are some old garden escapes, and most noteworthy was a double row of tall acanthus bushes, then laden with crimson berries that hung drooping as if in benediction over the past”. Perhaps we should add this to our ghost walks? The worker concluded his reminiscences with a discussion on the importance of the Tebb family and a surprising inventory of Willoughby Tebbs, which included everything from images of Washington and Jefferson to five enslaved persons (Moses, Alte, Letty, Sal, and Hagar).

The above are a very small sample of the treasures discovered in the 1937 report. The workers recorded their sources, including their interviews with persons such as Mrs. Richard Merchant, and obviously our field worker liked to add in lore and miscellaneous data with an eloquent twist! Although I must leave for now, I promise to take you back again – stay tuned in the upcoming months for special programming!

(Sources: WPA Historic Survey: Town of Dumfries, 1937; Library of Virginia: Foundations of the Past: The WPA Historical Inventory Project in Virginia by Edward D.C. Campbell, Jr. and Stacy Gibbons Moore)

[cygnahime]

FFX Liveblog Repost 1

I posted this on my DW (cygna_hime FTR), but no one seems to be interested in talking about my FFX Opinions over there today, so I’m reposting it over here. This just gets us to Besaid village. Yeah, I talk a lot.

I'm feeling a yen for cutscenes, so am starting a new save, this one with the original sphere grid and music. I also have a save that's in the endgame sidequest zone, but I'm not feeling blitzball or monster catching at the moment (and I'm never feeling chocobo racing, worst minigame in history that isn't an escort mission). Tidus is very different in the brief time we see him in his element in Zanarkand, where being a sports star has slightly gone to his head (or at least made him think he can flirt). Being perpetually wrong-footed is good for his personality. Although, if I were a national (worldwide? it's not like there's anywhere but Zanarkand) sports star at seventeen, I'd probably have some ego too. When was he allowed to start playing professionally? He has to have been new and shitty at some point. Duggles player with the braids remains super hot. That's just facts. Too bad she's, like, double-fictional. I also still want Bahamut's excellent hoodie. Good fashion choices, although I would wear a shirt under it. So is the sword one of Jecht's old ones, or is it literally a "gift" in that SinJecht has been leaving presents on Auron's doorstep like a cat for the last ten years? Someone fic that, please. It is profoundly hilarious to me that Auron is supposed to be like 30, the more so now that I'm 30 and still have a severe case of babyface. He still looks much more like my dad (age 60-odd) than like me - more hair, but also deeper face lines. Then again, I guess when you're dead you look as old as you feel, in which case I don't want to think about how I'd look. Quantumly uncertain, I suspect. Is she a Literal Child or aged beyond belief? It's both! Still, JRPG ages tho. G-d, I'm older than almost all these characters who still "feel" my age. I mean, part of it is that life-stage-wise I'm somewhat younger than Tidus still (job whomst), which is...pretty depressing...and part of it is that JRPG ages are fundamentally arbitrary, but also, fiction is funny that way. I mean, Tidus, Yuna, and Rikku are believable as teenagers, it's just that when I see them I'm on some level their age and meeting them for the first time. Spiran ecology count: 1 hawk/eagle/seagull thing. It took me a minute to figure out the Al Bhed Compilation Sphere, which I'm not sure I've ever actually used before. I want to know what the Al Bhed at the beginning are saying for once. I'm impressed Tidus knows how to make a fire with flint and tinder. I sure don't. Maybe he was a Zanarkand Scout. It makes pretty much 0 sense that the Al Bhed, an ethnic minority, are confused by the idea of someone not speaking Al Bhed. Especially considering that Rikku speaks Spiran/Common/whatever without even an accent. So does her dad, for that matter, but her brother struggles later to put together a few words. I guess it's a skill only some Al Bhed take up? I presume anyone who goes among Yevonites with any regularity speaks Spiran, even if they pretend not to. It can be a great advantage to be assumed not to understand. Spiran ecology count: a bunch of fish. Tidus's brain carefully elides the fact that in his world no places other than Zanarkand exist. I mean, that's how dreams are: you don't always think about stuff. And of course Jecht shows up to get us on course for the plot. This is much less of a plot device if you think of it as the character having an itinerary for Tidus to follow. Spiran ecology count: a flock of seagulls. aaaand it's my dude Wakka! He knows two things, and they are blitzball and adopting stray teenagers. Well, I guess he's also fairly well up on Yevonite religious doctrine, but that is literally all lies he's going to have to unlearn in the course of the game, so it doesn't count. /gently swims over to pick up the Moon Crest before Tidus has any reason to know it's there or might have any use to him whatsoever. I love the Aurochs, not least because all of them (except Letty) give me free items. I try to keep as many of them as I can on my blitz team. Unfortunately in my other save I had to let Datto go to make room for Nimrook. Can't let other teams have Nimrook. There's an entire post in here about FFX and breathing underwater, which is apparently just a skill that you can learn that then allows you to play a five-minute half of physical activity and being tackled without coming up for air. I have a feeling Wakka and Chappu pushed each other over that cliff a lot. Wakka is probably literally wondering if this is his brother somehow come back with different hair and clothes, on a subconscious level even if he doesn't let himself think it out loud. Tidus is not yet having it. He'll get there. They're both friendly guys. Spiran ecology count: 1 fuckton of coral. Beautiful. "If we give it our all, I can walk away happy." No, Wakka, we are going to win, and I will reset as many times as it takes to make that happen. I wonder what the religious landscape of Spira was like in the pre-Sin days. They presumably had one, or several. It's a people thing. Something animistic, maybe? I mean, presumably fiends and the whole pyrefly situation were still there. Spiran ecology count: 2 cats with weird spine fluff. I want to pet them. Spiran ecology count: 1 dog which I also can't pet. I wonder what the many other statues in the temple are supposed to represent. In my little worldbuilding corner, they were all High Summoners, and the four big statues are just the most famous or recent. Keeps the stonecarvers in business. But I think it's supposed to be that only the four were successful, over a thousand years. That's a little too depressing for me, though. Especially given the number of summoners per year we see kicking around. Three at a time at least, plus more for there to be "rumors" of them disappearing before any of the named ones were missing...Surely it's more likely for one of them to make it through. If you don't turn her away, Dona shows up in Zanarkand shortly after you do. I really love the NPC dialogue. Everyone has their own sentence or two, and they change throughout the game based on plot progression. There's worldbuilding - I love the fact that Besaid is known for its weaving - metaplot, and just all kinds of flavor that make the world feel lived in.

[tchaikovsky-at-midnight]

part III: livin’ out your dreams

Welcome back!

modern!au & coffee shop!au barlyle

as usual, unbeta’ed and I’m not a native speaker

I hope you are still interested in this and enjoy it :)

(word count: 2722)

________________________________

“Help me.”

“Philip? Wait a second...okay. What’s going on?”

Philip lies on his leather sofa, half falling off of it. He presses his phone to his right ear and his left arm dangles down, nearly brushing the floor.

“I want to visit Phineas’ shop.”

“Oh. Okay. Uh, do you want me to come over?”, Anne asks.

“Yes, pleaaase.”

“Okay, I just have to leave a message for W.D. I am at yours in fifteen minutes. Bye.”

She hangs up and Philip throws himself around so he faces the backrest of his sofa. When he got to work this morning, he was quite energetic, chatting with costumers, way less sick than yesterday. That is until his shift was over and no Phineas had appeared.

Now he knows he is overly dramatic, but Philip can’t deal with stress. That was one of his reasons against college – he hates exams and tests. And it also serves as a reason to not get too attached to people, because he tends to over think. It didn’t work really well.

When there’s a knock at the door, Philip rises from his comfy place and lets Anne come inside.

“Hey. Begin from the start, if you don’t mind.”, she doesn’t waste time. Confident she makes her way to Philip’s kitchen, gets herself a glass of water and then sits down on his sofa. Philip slumps down next to her and flails his arms helplessly.

“Yesterday he said I could drop by at his antique shop.”, Philip hand her the card.

“And?”

“He didn’t show up today. I mean, I don’t care and he might have had something important coming up, or maybe he just didn’t want a coffee this morning, but...but what if he doesn’t want to see me?”

“Philip, that is ridiculous.”

“I know, I know, I shouldn’t be so upset, we don’t know each other and all that-“

“That’s not what I meant.”, Anne stops him. She lays her hand on his shoulder and offers him a supportive smile.

“He stopped by this early afternoon. About half an hour after you left.”, she explains.

Philip’s jaw drops. He sinks further down into the sofa cushions and lets his mind drift off. Why would he come to this hour? Maybe he wanted to avoid Philip?

“Oh.”

“No, not ‘oh’. Relax for once, Phil.”, she says. Philip sheepishly shrugs and stays quiet.

“He came to ask me something. About you.”, she slowly reveals and grins, when Philip perks up at this new information.

“What, why?”

“I won’t tell, don’t even try to interrogate me. It’s a surprise.”, she says smugly.

Philip feels a smile unfold on his face and releases a little laugh. That wasn’t what he expected, certainly not. But now he wasn’t nervous anymore. He eyed his friend curiously and hugged his legs to his upper body to stop them from the exited fluttering he started doing unintentionally.

“So maybe I shouldn’t go to his shop right now?”

“Philip.”

“Or today at any time, maybe?”

“Philip, I won’t say anything.”

“Or is it a surprise for tomorrow? Or what? I want to know, please.”, he rambles.

Anne laughs and lightly pushes him back into the sofa crease. She stands and takes finally a sip of her water. After a calculating look, she goes and turns on the TV.

“Let’s just relax a bit. Hang out like friends?”, she suggests. Philip nods with his mind still elsewhere.

“Yeah, sure.”, he says. They haven’t done that in a while, neither of them addressing why. It is not necessary and therefore they just take their comfortable places. Anne selects a light-hearted comedy show and they fall silent.

“Just wait until tomorrow.”, Anne offers with a knowing smile.

 Tomorrow comes with a start. Philip wakes up half an hour early, because some people thought it okay to start road works at 7.30 am. His response manifests itself in lying in bed for twenty more minutes, going through his schedule today and involuntarily drifting off. Anne’s words still resonate in him, ‘a surprise’ – what kind? And when? And where?

He gets up, still early, and takes his time to once drink his coffee before he arrives at the shop. With a sandwich, dripping with strawberry jam, he goes off to work. He knows he is alone today; Lettie meets some guy from the music industry and can’t stop by this morning. Philip really hopes the meeting results in some success for the astonishing woman.

His apron around his neck, he slightly sways to a jazz piece by one of his favourite artists. The few people who order their drinks to go are in a happier mood than the last days, the reason for this is evident. The weather is finally getting better, cool breezes become less harsh and it’s more sunny than cloudy.

“What a beautiful sight on this beautiful morning.”, exclaims Phineas, as he enters the shop.

Philip chuckles and shakes his head. This man is truly something else.

“Good morning to you too.”, Philip answers and begins to make the cappuccino he knows Phineas is going to order.

“Are you free tonight, Philip?”

“Uhm. Yeah?”, Philip says. ‘Don’t get your hopes up’. Besides, he is well informed that Phineas knows he is completely free tonight. He made the effort to ask Anne, after all.

“Fantastic, not anymore.”, he states. As he doesn’t elaborate, Philip rolls his eyes. He places the drink in front of Phineas who decides to once again abandon his armchair and stay at the bar. Philip doesn’t mind it the slightest bit.

“Could you be any more cryptic?”, he asks sulkily.

“Certainly.”, Phineas grins at him. He looks way too pleased with himself if you asked Philip. However he hasn’t got the time to investigate further. The good weather seems to lure out more people than usual and Philip is busy the next minutes. When he served everyone – some people even stayed inside to enjoy their orders – he turns back to Phineas.

“Ready for the great revelation?”, he asks, that cocky smile back on his face.

“Hit me.”

At that Phineas actually laughs. He then makes a show out of leaning closer and beckons Philip to lean in as well. Without giving it a second thought, Philip complies. Mistake. Abort. Mission. Help. Phineas gets up from the bar stool to place his lips directly next to Philips ear.

“I want to take you out dancing.”, he nearly whispers, but Philip can still make out the melodic, deep voice. It sends shivers down his spine.

“You – what?”, Philip manages to pull back and regain a more professional posture. His pink dusted cheeks might betray him though. Unsure, he crosses his arms and hopes, Phineas would elaborate. Luckily he does.

“You – me – dancing. You can choose a location. I offer you the park near my place, a rooftop of an apartment complex, or the closed theatre two streets down from here.”

Philip is speechless. It clearly is a surprise, like Anne promised it would be.

“Bonus offer would be the botanic garden.”, Phineas adds as an afterthought.

“You can’t be serious.”, Philip finally says, before he glances around the room. A new costumer gives him the opportunity to flee and think about what he just heard. Anne the traitor told Phineas he loved to dance, apparently. Now, don’t get him wrong, he loved it. But he wasn’t a dancer, especially not in public. The thought, that Phineas took that in account and supplies him with multiple secluded, yet evidently romantic places, leaves him with a tight feeling in his chest. This man will give him a heart attack one day.

Phineas stays silent and lets Philip think about his offer.

“I – I’d like – no.”, Philip shakes his head at himself. Phineas raises an eyebrow expectantly but Philip can tell he is not as relaxed as before. Abruptly he registers, why.

“No! I don’t mean ‘no’. Oh god. I mean, I’d love to.”, he specifies his rambling. That instantly puts the smile back on Phineas’ face. It also lifts a weight off of Philip he didn’t know was there before. Flustered, he fumbles at his apron.

“Great! I’m glad that wasn’t a real no.”, Phineas teases.

Philip sighs exasperated.  What is he getting himself into?

“When are you finished here?”, Phineas asked.

“2 pm.”

“Okay, I have to go about some business for the shop anyways. May I pick you up at seven?”

“You may.”, Philip grins. He takes a little note from a stack and writes down his address.

“I’d love to stay longer, but I fear I have a lot to do until then.”, Phineas says and gets up. Philip nods and collects the emptied coffee mug.

“I hope you know you have to wear something you can move in.”

“Uh, yeah, of course.”, Philip answers.

“Good. Don’t want our date ruined by skinny jeans.”

“Are you insulting my pants?”

“No, you look very good in them. But dancing would be better without them. I mean-“

Philip starts laughing. For once it is the older man who looks a bit sheepish at the unintentional innuendo. Of course this look doesn’t last long and he smiles brightly again while closing his coat.

“You know what; I stand by what I said. Make of it what you will.”, he says.

Philip still chuckles kind of embarrassed but mostly amused. He hands the note with his address over to Phineas. The tall man pockets it carefully and slides over the payment for his cappuccino.

“The change is for you, I see you tonight. Be prepared for the best night ever and by that I mean you didn’t pick a location so it’s gonna be a surprise.”

“Thanks. Can’t wait.”,  Philip answers softly.

“Stop being so cute, I have to go.”, Phineas jokes, then points his walking stick as a good-bye at Philip and exits the shop.

By six o’clock Philip is thoroughly panicking. He sits on his sofa in front of three bowties, a tie, a note with a question mark and behind that six shirts. And three pairs of pants. And shoes, oh God, shoes. Not to mention Philips hair falls not as perfect as usually. And his finger nails are chipped; he got a small cut from dropping a glass some days ago on his underarm. All in all he is close to a break down.

The only solution lies right besides the second bowtie: his phone, which he picks up now, to call his one hope. It takes some rings before Anne picks up.

“Phil! Hey, how are you?”

“I need your help. Again. I’m sorry...can you come over?”

“Sure.”, he hears her sigh and hopes he doesn’t annoy her.

“Thank you so much, I’m sorry to bother you.”

“Oh shush, you are not a bother. I’m on my way, yeah? Hold on.”, he hears her closing what sounds like the front door and hangs up. Impatient he waits, waits some more, and makes some tea for them. He needs to calm down, he isn’t twelve.

Twenty minutes later Anne has him try on this and that combination, switch bowties and shoes, no one shoe on this foot and the other from this pair on the other to be faster – yes Philip that works – and hold up his button ups to see what matches best.

It is exactly 6.48pm when their tea cups are emptied and Philip puts on his shoes that they are finished. Anne was resolute to ban the tie, along with a blue shirt Philip secretly really likes. But, looking in the mirror that’s next to his wardrobe, he can be content with his outfit. A cream white shirt and his favourite dark blue bowtie match his Chelsea boots. He got them as a gift and never really wore them but Anne ensures him they are perfect. They also feel nice and he hopes he can dance with these. The charcoal dress pants allow him more freedom to move.

“Don’t I look, you know, too formal or something?”, he asks and feels insecurity creep back into him.

Anne crosses her arms, and then walks around Philip one last time. She shakes her head and slaps him firmly on the shoulder.

“You look great. And he is taking you dancing – if this isn’t the best opportunity to show off you can wear bowties I don’t know when it would be.”

“Thank you? I don’t wanna show off...”

“For God’s sake, Philip, pull yourself together!”

“Sorry, I just-“

“Do you like him?”

“I think so.”

“Do you want to go on this date?”

“Yeah, of course.”

“Do you think he’s handsome?”

“Uh...yes.”

“Does he seem equally interested in you?”

“I – I hope so, yes.”

“Then of course you can show off.”

Anne nods sternly. Philip finally displays a grateful smile and ducks his head.

“I’m sorry I can be such a pain. It’s stupid that you have to deal with me. But I trust you and I am really glad you helped me.”, Philip says. He has feared it would be strange to have Anne help him get ready for a date, but it wasn’t strange at all. It was stressful, but that was his own fault. Regarding Anne’s and his relationship, it was actually fun.

Anne smiles at him and pulls him in for a quick hug. Afterwards she straightens his shirt a little and gives him one last critical glance.

“He’s gonna be stunned into silence. And let’s be real, that’s a good thing sometimes.”

Philip chuckles at that, although he might disagree. He imagines Phineas’ soft, engaging voice and the big gestures that accompany his every word. Why would someone not want to listen to this gift? Okay, he was clearly biased on the topic. The topic being the entirety that is P.T. Barnum.

“Oh it’s only five more minutes.”, Philip notices and smoothes his sleeves out.

“I’ll leave you now, okay? Have fun and tell me how it was – whether we can celebrate or I have to dig out my shotgun.”

“Wait – you don’t really own a shotgun, do you?”

Anne grins innocently at him, shrugs her shoulders and is out of the door. Philip shakes his head about this girl. Amazing, but from time to time terrifying.

His phone tells him he has got two minutes left. He lays the woollen blazer within arm’s reach. Immediately he hears his father from years ago – ‘Every man needs to own a navy blazer. The best fabric is of course cashmere. Are you listening, Philip?’ Philip has to agree on the colour, navy is sophisticated, no doubt. But when he bought his first blazer, he made sure it was not the most expensive one made out of 100% cashmere. From then on he bought his blazers woollen. He likes the cosy feeling it gives him. It’s also pretty warm and he doesn’t feel too posh wearing it.

One minute – the door bell rings.

Philip glimpses at his reflection in the mirror one last time then he opens the door to his apartment. Anne was not wrong, but the stunned into silence-one right now is definitely Philip.

Phineas greets him with a charming smile and – Philip almost doesn’t believe his eyes – a bunch of roses. Not red roses, but white ones, creamy yellows and some pale pink ones in between.  He still stands in the door frame, unable to say anything for a long moment.

“You are crazy. Oh my god, come in.”, he eventually laughs and signals Phineas to get inside.

“Hello to you too.”, Phineas smirks and steps past Philip. He hands him the bouquet and a very flustered Philip takes them to the kitchen right down the hallway. He is back a second later and awkwardly fumbles for his blazer. When he is properly dressed, he looks up at Phineas.

“Ready.”, he murmurs. Following a spontaneous idea, he steps closer and places a quick peck on Phineas cheek. The older man looks surprised for a split second, thereafter he laughs quietly.

“Was this your ‘thank you’? Because if it was, you’re getting flowers every day.”

“Different ones every day?”, Philip jokes.

Phineas nods seriously, before he smiles and steps out of the hallway into the night. As it is still wintery, although spring is right around the corner, it remains getting dark early.

[tbc]

[fandoms-equal-life]

Rewriting Their Stars Once Again - The Greatest Showman Fanfiction

Chapter 2: A Combination of Panic and Wonder

Originally Posted on Ao3: 

https://archiveofourown.org/works/13365846/chapters/30845328#workskin

Summary:

Phillip has heard the news of Anne’s pregnancy, so what now?

Notes:

Thank you all so much for your comments and kudos! This fanfic got 1390+ hits in a week and I have never even written a fanfic before. It amazes me! Now that I’m not a nervous wreck like I was when posting the first chapter let me clear some things up!

1. I realize that periods are an actual sign of pregnancy, but my brain is weird, and I thought about how awful it would be to do trapeze pregnant.

2. To clear the timeline up for anyone wondering, a lovely reader named Madi told me that P.T. met Jenny Lind in 1849, so the movie most likely takes place a couple years before and after that. So, I’m placing these first chapters in December 1853.

Please leave comments about what you think! I love hearing feedback!

Chapter Two: A Combination of Panic and Wonder

Pregnant.

Never in a million years did Phillip Carlyle think he would be a father.

With his role model of a father, especially.

As he sits on the ground with Anne sobbing in his arms, he has no idea how to react. He is elated. Absolutely elated. He loves Anne with all his heart and would do anything to make her happy.

But they couldn't have picked a worse time to get pregnant.

The circus isn't doing as well as he would like.

The last couple months, the crowds have started to decrease. No matter what Phillip tries: new performers, new dance numbers, cheaper tickets, the crowds are not as big as they used to be.

When Barnum retired a couple years ago, (that's what he calls it, but all the circus performers know he'll always come back for more) he gave half of the show's income to Phillip, but all of the responsibility. He manages the money, advertisements, random problems (including any animal related ones), and all the performers. He loves his job, but lately there is more responsibility than he usually handles. First, he gave the original performers a raise because, at the time, the circus was doing very well. They deserved it and he wanted to show his immense gratitude for their beautiful show. Next, the rent on the docks was raised. Not by much, but enough to get his problems started. When summer ended, and the children went back to school, the crowds started to lessen, and the financial problems started to grow. Now he was dipping into his own savings to keep the circus running smoothly.

Phillip chalked it up to the people of New York lacking imagination at the moment. The rising tensions between the North and the South is putting a damper on every soul. No one wishes to share their imaginations and wonder, even if right now is the perfect time to get lost in the magic of the circus.

The oddities knew nothing of the struggles that the circus was facing, not even Barnum. Phillip has been keeping everyone extremely distracted. He gives Barnum and all the performers the correct amount of money each month, even if that means placing less money into his own bank account. He lies to the performers about the number of tickets sold each night, tells the Barnum family to come on Saturdays when he knows the most people will be there, and he sends the circus performers out to celebrate so he can manage any problem alone. He knows he can ask the circus for help, as they are his family, but he refuses to do so.

People might say it is his ego making him do this, but really all Phillip wants is to see the happy faces of his family. Lettie belting out a song, Tom riding his horse and shooting his gun, and Anne flying through the sky with her brother are what bring him the most joy in life.

Phillip honestly thought his plan to keep the circus running was working smoothly. He had bought Anne this small apartment about a year ago, knowing that she would not want to be far from the circus or someplace extravagant. Also, due to the fact that people are cruel and judgmental towards Anne and Phillip's relationship, finding a place to live is not an easy task. Phillip always has enough money to pay rent, keep plenty of food on the table, buy any necessities, and to spoil Anne a little (she always states that he hates when she spoils her, but that look in her eye and smile on her face when she tells him off says otherwise). Besides the fact that he could tell Anne was somewhat worried that he started to work on Sundays, Phillip thought everything would be fine until summer came.

Phillip did not think he would need large sums of money at the place his life is right now.

But currently, the best thing in his life was crying on the ground while Phillip was staring at the wall, thinking of the secrets he holds.

He knew he had to compose himself for Anne. Pretend the circus was not a mess and that he was ready for their life to change in an instant. He knew that Anne did not enjoy losing control in situations, so that was one reason this was upsetting to her. They were young, in love, and worked for a circus, this is not the exact life a normal pregnant couple would have.

Finally, after slightly composing himself, he picked Anne up and carried her to the couch. He sat down, placed her in his lap, and held her until she was ready to talk.

After about 10 more minutes of panic and tears, Anne started to feel better. She shifted to the seat next to Phillip and looked up at him.

Phillip knew he needed to say something. He wanted to say something comforting and assuring, but in his current state, what actually came out of his mouth was, "Pregnant, huh?"

At that, Anne started to laugh. She had so much anxiety built up in her after that doctor's appointment that he could tell she needed this laugh.

After Anne stopped laughing at Phillip's question, he asked her to explain what happened the doctor's appointment.

"Well, I think the doctor thought I was ditzy because as he started asking me questions about my symptoms, and all the signs were pointing to pregnancy. Besides the vomiting, I have felt out of touch with my emotions. The other day, W.D. ran into my shoulder when passing me in a rush, and I almost bit his head off! Plus, I have not bled in two months, which I know is not something we usually discuss, but it is usually very irregular anyways so the thought of conceiving a child never crossed my mind-

"When the doctor told me I was pregnant, I was transported into a different world. The only thing I could do is look at the wall. Charity - bless her heart - rushed the doctor out of the room and asked all the questions. She was the one that told me I was about two months pregnant, almost three. She also told me the horrible morning sickness would most likely fade in a about a month, but pregnancy is different for everyone."

Anne was talking so fast that Phillip was having a hard time keeping up. He was too young to remember the birth of his baby brother, so all of this is just as new to him as it is Anne. When she finished talking, it took Phillip a minute to comprehend what she said.

When Phillip did not know how to respond he did the last thing Anne would expect, he kissed her.

She most likely thought he would run his hand through his hair or start pacing the living room, one of the many bad habits he has obtained once he stopped drinking.

Instead, he kissed her with so much love and passion, he knew by the way her body melted into his that she felt content for the first time in hours. This is what they both needed in that moment, the feeling as if nothing could stop them when they put their heads and hearts together.

When they separated, Phillip smiled at his love. She no longer looked as distressed, and this brought him great joy. In that moment, he knew he had to somehow fix the circus's problems before the baby is born. He wants their child to see the magical place Phillip and Anne created and be proud of their masterpiece. He wants a life of love and wonder for this baby that he never had.

After a few seconds of smiles and silence, Phillip asked a very important question, "When we tell the circus about the newest addition, can we place bets on the sex of the baby?"

~~

Anne told Phillip it is traditional to wait until the mother is 3 months pregnant to tell the family, but Phillip is acting like a kid on Christmas thinking about announcing the news.

"Charity wouldn't tattle on us, so P.T. and the girls do not know of the news. Caroline and Helen are going to be so excited for a little sibling! Caroline will have someone else to boss around and Helen won't be the baby of the circus anymore! W.D. is probably going to hate me at first, but then realize he will be an uncle. I'm kind of hoping Lettie bursts into song, is that an odd wish?

The shine in Phillips eyes are so bright. He is so excited. Anne knows there is a part of her that is excited too, but worry is taking over her mind. The first thing freaking her out is the size of their apartment. She knows that Phillip owns half of the circus, which means they can buy a bigger place, but this is New York. Houses are expensive, plus Phillip is a white man with a colored woman, who knows who would serve them. Also, the home needs to be near the circus. Plus, Anne has noticed that Phillip has been spending considerably large amounts of time at the circus lately. He used to never work on Sundays, the circus's day off, but lately he will leave early Sunday mornings while Anne was still asleep and come back home before noon. He also stopped celebrating with the performers after shows. He would always insist that he would catch up with them, but then he never showed. Anne would come home to Phillip fast asleep. Some people think it is because of his old alcohol problem, but Anne knows he is stronger than that. Now that Anne thinks about it, this is the brightest Phillip has smiled in a couple months.

There are so many things running through her head right now, she can only imagine what her headspace will be like at four months or six months, or even at nine. There is so much preparation for this little life before it enters the world. Phillip might be ecstatic, but Anne feels the weight of the world on her shoulders.

Chapters 1 ~ 3 ~ 4 ~ 5 ~ 6 ~ 7 ~ 8 ~ 9 ~ 10 ~ 11

[blacksoma]

Demonologist study demons.

Demonolators study demons and worship them as divine beings.

Satanists adhere to Satan and or may not include demons in their religion or practice.

These terms can overlap,but don’t need to.

With this I’d like to quickly introduce myself. Hi, I’m Vorst and I’m both a Satanist and a demonolator, though Satan is my God, above everyone else. I’m also oath-bound to Him, which means I’ve promised to worship Him my entire life.

With this a warning: don’t make oaths for the fun of it. Changing your mind can happen, and in experience: neither gods nor demons will take kindly to oath-breakers.

Where does the word ‘demon’ come from?

The word comes from the Ancient Greek word 'δαιμον’, which the Romans also wrote as 'daemon’ later on in their own literature.

The meaning of the word 'daemon’ is: a spirit between gods and Man. You can see that the Greeks nor the Romans ever saw daemons as malicious spirits.

That changed with the rise of Christianity and Abrahamic religions in general. In contrary to Roman tactics, some of the now newly conquered Christian countries slowly began to forbid and shun any worship of gods and spirits outside of their own pantheon.

To the eyes of the Christian in these places, foreign beliefs were seen to be evil, corrupt and disfigured. Their gods being viewed as evil beings, out there to ruin people’s lives. They were to be portrayed as such that no one would ever want to associate themselves with these deities, and so previously normal words to describe certain entities had now gotten a sinister meaning.

That is the reason why people in modern times have taken it upon themselves to use 'daemon’ again instead of 'demon’, to distinguish themselves from the people who see them as solely malicious.

What are demons?

In modern shows and TV-series most hold on to their favourite stereotypes: terrifying evil creatures constantly possessing humans. In the more obscure films and media forms, they’re starting to slowly get to the truth of demons, usually portraying their wit and intelligence. This is most likely due to Christianity becoming less influential - and the fact that controversy is a great hit in everything.

Darker parts of the human self. Our darker emotions, such as fear, anger and sadness are seen as our personal demons. But also addiction, violent behaviour and sexual acts, as demons themselves are often associated with exactly these. These inner demons, as they are called, are obviously not the demons I will be discussing.

In reality, the entities known as demons are spirits and/or gods from ancient times. Most of the time, however, there is a line between when an entity is considered a demon, and when a god. Satan, per example, is referred to being both “the God of this world” and the king of demons. Some say he is not a demon, and some say he’s a demon but not the leader.

Another example of this is Astarte. Both seen as the female counterpart of the demon Astaroth, but she is also known as the Middle Eastern goddess Ishtar, worshipped from the Bronze Age in the ancient Levant among the Canaanites and Phoenicians.

Another example being Beelzebub, the Lord of Flies, as Biblical scholar Thomas Kelly Cheyne suggested that it might be a corruption of the name Ba‘al Zəbûl, “Lord of the High Place” (i.e., Heaven) or “High Lord” - a god previously worshipped.

The line between whether demons are gods or spirits is fairly vague. It is also worth noting that some have mentioned that some, like Astarte, might take offence to being referred to as a demon, so do be aware when contacting them and ask them what they want to be referred to as.  

Possession.

When people do feel like they’re possessed it’s usually either that they’re not well in touch with their inner selves, or that they’re influenced by negative energy of maybe a spirit. Though it is far more often the first scenario that’s causing the sensation. Of course, this excludes people with mental issues, who I advice to seek professional help in these cases. Also, therapists can help too.

Are demons evil?

Demons are as equally evil as gods are, as demonolators see them as divine beings. We all know gods of war, and yet they were worshipped. We know of gods who have murdered, assaulted and committed various human crimes and were and/or are still worshipped. There are various reasons for this, one being that gods can never be wrong, as they are not bound by human rules and transcend human morality. This, however, is more of a philosophical idea so I will not elaborate on that now.

Because demons are often portrayed as having characteristics similar to humans, one could never fully call a demon solely evil, nor could they ever be solely good.

This will probably make you wonder:

Is it reasonable to fear demons?

Absolutely. Whereas not per se evil, all are capable of acting hostile - this being their one trait everyone agrees on.

Demons are ancient and powerful entities that often care not for human problems. They often view humans as either acceptable or downright worthless to them.

And why would they in any other way?

In most religious practices, a god grants a human their prayer to come true when the human has presented themselves favourable to said god.

In the case of demons? They require no worship. Some gods don’t need worship either, but in the case of demons they appear completely separate from humanity. Despite that, as demons are closer to the raw core of human emotions than the general god would be, demons feed on the strongest of feelings: sadness, anger, fear, love and happiness. Demons are seen as spiritual predators in this regard.

As they require nor seem to desire an active response from humans, they are not inclined to mix themselves with mortals.

This does not mean a demon will never be genuinely kind. They will be. But do note that demons are skilled tricksters in getting what they want through fake promises and sweet lies.

When assured a demon expresses interest, kindness and acceptance a mutual agreement can be agreed on.

Banishing a demon?

So before I go into working with them, I’ll discuss how to get rid of them. First of all: ask them to leave. Be polite. Maybe they’re just simply approaching you.

If that does not work, try salt or spells to make others distance yourself from you.

You could also try and evoke another authority figure, like your god, to protect you.

Don’t engage them in a fight. Antagonized demons are the last you would want.

Working with demons?

Demons are wise teachers and are willing to share their secrets when either politely asked or forced to do so.

Either way seems to work fine, and have different names as well.

Evoking a demon is the act of forcefully conjuring a demon in your space, as in shown and described in the book of the Lesser Key of Solomon.

Invoking a demon is the act of inviting a demon in your space. You leave it up to the demon whether or not they show up.

The latter is obviously far more polite; modern demonolators prefer that one and I will be discussing that one the most.

Invocation differs from person to person. But, I will now state the general idea of doing this safely.

Always go for an invocation and never an evocation. This is personal advice. Demons will not be pleased if you force them. When casting a circle, during invocation the demon will be inside the circle together with you, with positive energy.

During evocation, the demon will be trapped inside the circle, the person outside looking in. Honestly, it’s terrible to start an acquaintanceship like that.

In order to prevent antagonizing the demon, be polite and go for an invocation. An invocation can be as difficult as you want it to be, in its simplest form it can even be as small as a prayer.

In my case, I cleanse my room, surround myself with a mental barrier (or through a smell I associate with Satan) where I invite the demon in. Then I draw a general summoning circle in the air. This can be done with a ritual knife, athame, wand or you hands. When using a sharp object do remember not to stab it in the air as if it’s an attack.

We don’t tend to attempt to knife our guests.

Afterward, or during, I say the Enn for the specific demon I wish to invoke.

Enns are short sentences in an unknown language, claimed to be demonic, of invitation, admiration or requests of protections. There are various theories on how they were found. The first demonolator who wrote them down was Alexander Willit in the 16th century. Later, other demonolators used them in their practice too. We know it is a language, with grammar, but we do not know the grammar itself yet. We do know the meaning of some sentences. Because we know little, we also do not know how to correctly pronounce these enns. Say it how you want.

Some examples of this language and their translation: “Ganic Tasa Fubin Flereous” could be translated as Fire protect the flame, Lord Flereous, per example. Another example is the enn for Barbatos, which is: “Eveta fubin Barabatos”.

After that, I go and meditate until I feel a presence. When I do, I politely try to communicate with the demon, mentally or verbally. There are various ways a demon can show itself depending on your spiritual state. Experienced demonolators reported manifestations so strong they initially thought someone had broken into their house.

When done, I thank the demon and end the invocation. This can be as simple as saying goodbye and as complex as an entire ritual. Do what you feel works best.

Originally posted on another blog, it was moved here.

room inspo pt2

https://www.instagram.com/p/c2ecYtr6YS/

¡Ofertas en vuelos a Europa!

Jing Wen photographed by Yu Cong for Elle China January 2017

Stylists: Zhūgé Sū Jiā & Lettie Tseng Hair: Parco Cheung Makeup: Sūn Qí

https://www.instagram.com/p/BHxmHK_A_Kh/

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witches-of-ouroboros

Lesson 7: Demons

By: Admin Vorst

Live class date and time: To Be Determined

Demonologist, demonolator and Satanists.

Demonologist study demons.

Demonolators study demons and worship them as divine beings.

Satanists adhere to Satan and or may not include demons in their religion or practice.

These terms can overlap,but don’t need to.

With this I’d like to quickly introduce myself. Hi, I’m Vorst and I’m both a Satanist and a demonolator, though Satan is my God, above everyone else. I’m also oath-bound to Him, which means I’ve promised to worship Him my entire life.

With this a warning: don’t make oaths for the fun of it. Changing your mind can happen, and in experience: neither gods nor demons will take kindly to oath-breakers.

Where does the word ‘demon’ come from?

The word comes from the Ancient Greek word 'δαιμον’, which the Romans also wrote as 'daemon’ later on in their own literature.

The meaning of the word 'daemon’ is: a spirit between gods and Man. You can see that the Greeks nor the Romans ever saw daemons as malicious spirits.

That changed with the rise of Christianity and Abrahamic religions in general. In contrary to Roman tactics, some of the now newly conquered Christian countries slowly began to forbid and shun any worship of gods and spirits outside of their own pantheon.

To the eyes of the Christian in these places, foreign beliefs were seen to be evil, corrupt and disfigured. Their gods being viewed as evil beings, out there to ruin people’s lives. They were to be portrayed as such that no one would ever want to associate themselves with these deities, and so previously normal words to describe certain entities had now gotten a sinister meaning.

That is the reason why people in modern times have taken it upon themselves to use 'daemon’ again instead of 'demon’, to distinguish themselves from the people who see them as solely malicious.

What are demons?

In modern shows and TV-series most hold on to their favourite stereotypes: terrifying evil creatures constantly possessing humans. In the more obscure films and media forms, they’re starting to slowly get to the truth of demons, usually portraying their wit and intelligence. This is most likely due to Christianity becoming less influential - and the fact that controversy is a great hit in everything.

Darker parts of the human self. Our darker emotions, such as fear, anger and sadness are seen as our personal demons. But also addiction, violent behaviour and sexual acts, as demons themselves are often associated with exactly these. These inner demons, as they are called, are obviously not the demons I will be discussing.

In reality, the entities known as demons are spirits and/or gods from ancient times. Most of the time, however, there is a line between when an entity is considered a demon, and when a god. Satan, per example, is referred to being both “the God of this world” and the king of demons. Some say he is not a demon, and some say he’s a demon but not the leader.

Another example of this is Astarte. Both seen as the female counterpart of the demon Astaroth, but she is also known as the Middle Eastern goddess Ishtar, worshipped from the Bronze Age in the ancient Levant among the Canaanites and Phoenicians.

Another example being Beelzebub, the Lord of Flies, as Biblical scholar Thomas Kelly Cheyne suggested that it might be a corruption of the name Ba‘al Zəbûl, “Lord of the High Place” (i.e., Heaven) or “High Lord” - a god previously worshipped.

The line between whether demons are gods or spirits is fairly vague. It is also worth noting that some have mentioned that some, like Astarte, might take offence to being referred to as a demon, so do be aware when contacting them and ask them what they want to be referred to as.  

Possession.

When people do feel like they’re possessed it’s usually either that they’re not well in touch with their inner selves, or that they’re influenced by negative energy of maybe a spirit. Though it is far more often the first scenario that’s causing the sensation. Of course, this excludes people with mental issues, who I advice to seek professional help in these cases. Also, therapists can help too.

Are demons evil?

Demons are as equally evil as gods are, as demonolators see them as divine beings. We all know gods of war, and yet they were worshipped. We know of gods who have murdered, assaulted and committed various human crimes and were and/or are still worshipped. There are various reasons for this, one being that gods can never be wrong, as they are not bound by human rules and transcend human morality. This, however, is more of a philosophical idea so I will not elaborate on that now.

Because demons are often portrayed as having characteristics similar to humans, one could never fully call a demon solely evil, nor could they ever be solely good.

This will probably make you wonder:

Is it reasonable to fear demons?

Absolutely. Whereas not per se evil, all are capable of acting hostile - this being their one trait everyone agrees on.

Demons are ancient and powerful entities that often care not for human problems. They often view humans as either acceptable or downright worthless to them.

And why would they in any other way?

In most religious practices, a god grants a human their prayer to come true when the human has presented themselves favourable to said god.

In the case of demons? They require no worship. Some gods don’t need worship either, but in the case of demons they appear completely separate from humanity. Despite that, as demons are closer to the raw core of human emotions than the general god would be, demons feed on the strongest of feelings: sadness, anger, fear, love and happiness. Demons are seen as spiritual predators in this regard.

As they require nor seem to desire an active response from humans, they are not inclined to mix themselves with mortals.

This does not mean a demon will never be genuinely kind. They will be. But do note that demons are skilled tricksters in getting what they want through fake promises and sweet lies.

When assured a demon expresses interest, kindness and acceptance a mutual agreement can be agreed on.

Banishing a demon?

So before I go into working with them, I’ll discuss how to get rid of them. First of all: ask them to leave. Be polite. Maybe they’re just simply approaching you.

If that does not work, try salt or spells to make others distance yourself from you.

You could also try and evoke another authority figure, like your god, to protect you.

Don’t engage them in a fight. Antagonized demons are the last you would want.

Working with demons?

Demons are wise teachers and are willing to share their secrets when either politely asked or forced to do so.

Either way seems to work fine, and have different names as well.

Evoking a demon is the act of forcefully conjuring a demon in your space, as in shown and described in the book of the Lesser Key of Solomon.

Invoking a demon is the act of inviting a demon in your space. You leave it up to the demon whether or not they show up.

The latter is obviously far more polite; modern demonolators prefer that one and I will be discussing that one the most.

Invocation differs from person to person. But, I will now state the general idea of doing this safely.

Always go for an invocation and never an evocation. This is personal advice. Demons will not be pleased if you force them. When casting a circle, during invocation the demon will be inside the circle together with you, with positive energy.

During evocation, the demon will be trapped inside the circle, the person outside looking in. Honestly, it’s terrible to start an acquaintanceship like that.

In order to prevent antagonizing the demon, be polite and go for an invocation. An invocation can be as difficult as you want it to be, in its simplest form it can even be as small as a prayer.

In my case, I cleanse my room, surround myself with a mental barrier (or through a smell I associate with Satan) where I invite the demon in. Then I draw a general summoning circle in the air. This can be done with a ritual knife, athame, wand or you hands. When using a sharp object do remember not to stab it in the air as if it’s an attack.

We don’t tend to attempt to knife our guests.

Afterward, or during, I say the Enn for the specific demon I wish to invoke.

Enns are short sentences in an unknown language, claimed to be demonic, of invitation, admiration or requests of protections. There are various theories on how they were found. The first demonolator who wrote them down was Alexander Willit in the 16th century. Later, other demonolators used them in their practice too. We know it is a language, with grammar, but we do not know the grammar itself yet. We do know the meaning of some sentences. Because we know little, we also do not know how to correctly pronounce these enns. Say it how you want.

Some examples of this language and their translation: “Ganic Tasa Fubin Flereous” could be translated as Fire protect the flame, Lord Flereous, per example. Another example is the enn for Barbatos, which is: “Eveta fubin Barabatos”.

After that, I go and meditate until I feel a presence. When I do, I politely try to communicate with the demon, mentally or verbally. There are various ways a demon can show itself depending on your spiritual state. Experienced demonolators reported manifestations so strong they initially thought someone had broken into their house.

When done, I thank the demon and end the invocation. This can be as simple as saying goodbye and as complex as an entire ritual. Do what you feel works best.

Originally posted on another blog, it was moved here.