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fountainpenguin · 1 year

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“You put your hand out, opened the door... You said, 'Come with me, boy, I want to show you something more'..."

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My WordGirl fanfic Factor It In is here! It's the multi-chapter sequel to my one-shot "AlgoRhythm", which centered around WordGirl introducing Kid Math to the villains on villain karaoke night. If you liked that 'fic, you might like this one too. Check it out!

Chapter 1 - “Order of Operations”

Read on FFN || Read on AO3

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Summary: Being a 3rd-grade superhero-in-training isn’t easy, especially while bouncing between foster families. While 8-year-old Rexagon Pemdas struggles against his controlling nature and inability to keep a secret, 11-year-old Becky Botsford fights major burnout and a rapidly increasing fear of being replaced. Maybe Fair City doesn't need two heroes after all...

(First 1,800 words under the cut)

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Minor content warning for this snippet - Canon-typical implied backstory trauma (Potatoes, bruises, neglect).

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FACTOR IT IN

Order of Operations

.:: January 3rd - Saturday ::.

"One must be taught his place if orderly structure is ever to be maintained."

(Ancient Hexagon proverb)

➕ ➖ ✖️ ➗

Psst! Look for the words independent and uneasy

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It's a chilly winter afternoon in the home of Milo and Miah Pirakell, who have just received a familiar visitor on their doorstep…

HELP!

The word hovers like a sugar cube on the end of his tongue. H-E-L-P exclamation point exclamation point… Milo stands there, as frozen as the snowboy, snowgirl, and snowmonkey in the yard across the street, quietly goggling the woman waiting for him on the front step. She isn't very tall, though the high heels help a ton with that. She smiles back at him. It's a pretty smile, her lips a sparkly glossy pink. Is she as nervous as he is? She's rocking back and forth on her toes, and he can't help but follow every movement.

Sandy blonde-brown hair. She kept it tied back in a bun. Does he know her? She looks sort of familiar, but this silent revelation doesn't stop the panicked heartbeat bouncing up and down inside his chest.

Help…

Maybe he's seen her face smeared across the newspapers or thrown across the TV screens. Is he about to be robbed blind in his own home? Does this woman have some sort of knock-out gas in that briefcase? He tightens his fingers on the door frame, saying nothing, until his wife's careful, loving hands grip onto his shoulder and pull him aside. Like a slug, he oozes at her command.

"Clarissa!" Miah - his beautiful, smiling Miah - pushes the door a little more open. "Please come in. Milo, you remember Mrs. Argent, our case manager with the foster system."

Milo peers at the sandy-haired woman again. Clarissa Argent, our case manager with the foster system. Yes. Yes, he does know her, though he's grateful for the set-up. He's struggled with memory problems all his life and Miah always grants him context like this when introducing someone he might not recall. Name. Job title. Location. Easy peasy.

Yes. He remembers. Her name's been on the calendar since yesterday, and he's been counting his heartbeats all this time. Clarissa Argent has eyes as silver as her surname, and she smiles up at Milo and switches her briefcase to her left hand. She extends the right for a shake. Milo blinks back at her, then uses two fingers to carefully adjust his glasses on his nose.

Clarissa. Case manager. Foster care.

"Would you like to come in?" he asks. His voice trembles when he says it, but neither Clarissa nor Miah mind at all. He grasps Clarissa's hand and gives it a shake. Sweat drips down his palm and smears across the creases of her fingers. He winces, but Clarissa's smile never wavers.

"Thank you so much for letting me visit. I wanted to get right down to it."

"Have a cookie," Miah offers, waving her into the living room. Milo stands blankly by the door, watching them go, until Miah glances back at him and gently motions for him to shut it so the snowflakes stay firmly outdoors. Right. He pushes it shut and locks it out of habit. He always locks the door when he's inside. Fair City is teeming with wild villains who could snap a lock like this in seconds, but it eases the anxiety very, very faintly anyway. Milo keeps his forehead to the door for three seconds, clicking through his memories and trying to remember why they're meeting with Clarissa.

Something's wrong… Help, help…

The girls are already chatting in the living room. Miah just redecorated in October, freshening up the place with a much more modern look. Clarissa hasn't visited since last April, so she's astonished by the changes and has to comment on every one of them. They even replaced the bulging, waterstained wood with nicer carpet.

Help…

Why is she here? This breaks the routine. Milo curls his fingers against the white door, blinking over and over as the world sways beneath his feet. Usually when there's a kid who needs a place to crash for the weekend, they get phone calls. Half the time, they aren't even "real" foster kids- just kids who temporarily lost track of their parents in some sort of villainous mishap like a cheesy tidal wave, a thunderstorm of bread slices, or a giant robot crushing the subway lines.

He's been there. Milo remembers all too painfully the chaos of his own youth, stranded and shocked in the road in the middle of a rainstorm while his house crumbled beneath the weight of potatoes before his very eyes. He'd been home alone after school. He was only eight. He's held a lot of shivering kids in his lap, rocking them back and forth while they watch something happier on the TV than the news. Even if he's fidgety, desperate to stay up to date with this crazy world they live in, and he can't resist flipping through the channels once he's safe inside his own bedroom.

Help…

Clarissa's personal visit does not take his anxiety down. But she's here, with Miah, and there are chocolate chip cookies waiting in the other room. And somewhere out there, one file folder away, is a kid who needs more help than he does. Milo inhales through his nostrils, counts to six, and exhales between his teeth. Though still uneasy, he peels himself from the door and trudges down the hall to join the two women in the living room.

Okay.

You have to take a step down from the hardwood floor to venture into the new living room. Milo does so, keeping his hand braced on the short handrail as he moves. He blinks at the bright lights, blinks at the snowflakes twirling on the other side of the open blinds, and blinks at Miah as she scoots closer to the pillows to make room for him beside her on the gray couch. Pleasantries are exchanged. Small talk. Milo, fidgeting, zones out for part of it, until he hears Clarissa shift the topic to the kid in question.

"He does need a close eye on him. Someone experienced with home security, who won't let him jump down from second-story windows. That's why I wanted to ask you in person. He's a very sharp-minded boy, Mr. and Mrs. M. Pirakell. Very kindhearted."

Milo glances at Miah. She glances right back at him. "But…?" she prompts the case worker.

"Just… extremely independent." Clarissa drums her fingers against the top of her briefcase. "He's a loner. Very detached in conversation, struggling to pick up on social cues. He shows very little interest in anything beyond math, science, and music. Oh, and cross stitch. We're worried that the neighborhood kids he's currently around are bullying him in secret. He keeps slipping out through the windows and coming home an hour later covered in bruises. We were hoping to place him in a home where we can trust he'll be closely supervised, and the Pirakells are always the first to come to mind."

Of course they are. It's who they are. It's what they do. Milo stares at his toes, his heart plummeting towards the floor, even as the Narrator lets out a soft, breathy sigh above him. It's relief and amusement and gratitude all rolled into one, though nobody acknowledges it and the Narrator says nothing else. Miah glances uncertainly at Milo, then carefully speaks on behalf of them both.

"Clarissa… is this kid charmed? Is that why you're here to visit us in person?"

Charmed.

Silence.

"Well, yes."

Help…

"Didn't…" Milo fiddles for a moment with his wedding ring. "Um, didn't we put in our file that we might not be a good fit for charmed children right now?"

Clarissa rocks back and forth in subtle hesitation. Her long fingernails, painted turquoise, tighten in the ruffles of her black skirt. We did, Milo reflects, but says nothing as Clarissa drops her gaze to the file in her lap again.

"I saw you made that request, but… we're still facing a shortage of families, especially with the holidays. He's really struggling to get along at the group home. The staff suspects he and one of the other boys got in a fight just yesterday. If you reject the placement then I'll understand, but I at least wanted to meet with you in person so we could discuss any questions openly and face to face. His status is a little odd."

Help, help…

Miah slips her hand in Milo's then, tightening her fingers around his own. And he's grounded for a moment, firmly planted on the soft gray couch. No one's wailing for him. There are no invisible children on the floor.

There are lots of things he should probably ask. If the kid has siblings who have also been pulled into foster care. If any extended family members are known. If the kid will be transferring schools. If there are special food needs to keep in mind. If he has any appointments with doctors, dentists, sports teams, or music recitals just around the corner. If he likes to walk. Milo does a lot of walking, though Miah prefers long drives along the coast. What's the child's cultural background? Did he have a nice holiday? Are there parental visitations planned? If he and Miah say yes, will the child arrive tonight, and if so, has he had a chaotic morning? All these questions are things he can, and should, probably ask first.

But he doesn't.

Because his heart is pounding and his fingers look like dancing worms.

"Well…" Milo draws in a long, careful breath. He slowly releases it again, lowering his chin to his chest along with it. It does help him focus, but it doesn't calm the rapid kicking in his heart. "Okay, then. If he's charmed, what, uh, range of powers does he have? L-let's put that in the open first, before we talk about anything else."

There. He feels guilty just for saying it. He can feel the Narrator's wispy silence like the breath of a ghost above his head. It makes the hairs behind his neck stand on end. Milo bites his lip, squeezing Miah's hand, and she squeezes back in gentle reassurance. Maybe it's not an unfair question. Even though it nibbles at his skin.

But it's important. It might make a difference. He can't do invisibility again. He can't.

The lines around Clarissa's eyes crinkle with relief. She pulls her briefcase on her lap and clicks it open. Idly, Milo glances at the numbers on the combination when she tilts back the lid. Then he hates himself. Clarissa picks up a manila file folder and passes it over to Miah. "Yes, we've been looking into that… He's been staying in the group home over the holidays. So many families are out of town right now. I promise, I wouldn't come to you about this if I felt there was anything extreme in his file. He only has two powers that we know of. His skin will rapidly repair any open wound… and he can fly."

[ Cnt'd on FFN / AO3 - Links at top ]

#WordGirl #Kid Math #Factor It In #Satirical vocab alien child show #Grammar queen #Arithmetic Lad #ridwriting #apparently art #Exposition Guy #LexiHexa duo #Finally 2018 me will be at peace #fic announcement

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ninjastormhawkkat · 2 years

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need more on the steampunk/victorian au

Here are some roles and headcanons right now.

Scoops works for a newspaper press as a delivery boy but wants to work as the youngest reporter out there. He has a conspiracy theory board to track down all the criminals and crimes committed in Fair City. His biggest goals are finding out Shadow Girl's identity or who Professor Terror is.

Violet's mom works as a nurse in a hospital and Violet usually helps or mom or works in a flower shop. She dreams of being a renowned artist one day.

Becky serves as her dad's assistant and works with him in his lab (when he is not being Professor Terror). She also aids in the public library part time.

Rose Franklin works with her dad in the pretzel factory but also dreams of being an investigative reporter like Scoops dreams of being a reporter one day.

Sally Botsford is the first and only female District Attorney in this au. Her huband Tim was a factory worker who later quit for medical reasons now does odd jobs around the city while helping to raise their son TJ.

The Henchmen are hired delivery men during normal hours but also moonlight as Professor Terror's gopher's and personal staff.

Mr. Big is a merchant who raised himself up from poverty levels to wealth. His method's of mind control come from inventing and learning about different forms of hypnotism around the world. Leslie is his bookkeeper/bodyguard.

The Butcher and his dad were food vendors who were struggling with competitors. Professor Terror offered them a solution to help with their competition as long as they work for him. They willingly agreed. Now Kid Potato and The Butcher don't summon foods, they can control and manipulate them with telekinesis.

Victoria's parents payed off Dr. Calvin Barriton handsomely for their and their kid's powers. Victoria and Victor don't have any idea as their parent's lied and said they were inherited because they are the best family in Fair City. They are an aristocratic family that claim to be descended from nobility.

Tobey is a robot inventor still yet his mother doesn't know about his antics due to Professor Terror hiding them under the guise of Tobey being a teacher's aide for Steven. Tobey knows Steven and Professor Terror are the same person and has encountered Becky before. Becky and Tobey have a friendly rivalry between them. Tobey doesn't investigate the idea of Becky being shadow girl because everyone in the organization knows that Becky is off limits or Professor Terror comes for you.

Professor Terror wears a silver mask to hide his identity.

Joseph "Joe" Smith is a miner who goes to night school to take a job as a caregiver.

Granny May is from a middle class family with a name that has been part of Fair City for a long time. She used to be an engineer before she retired and is now still as ever a con woman.

Professor James Doohickey was a scientist that went missing and came back as a villain known as technarchist who seems to have a vendetta against Professor Terror even though neither he nor Steven were behind what happened to him.

Professor Robert Tubing was inflicted with a disease and was trying to find a cure for others and himself, he ended up becoming a crazy monster shapeshifter.

Chuck was a frustrated sandwich maker who felt being outshone by his brother and his mother's favoritism. He started becoming a criminal to create a name for himself. After being caught by Shadow Girl the first time, Professor Terror came by and promised to fund Chuck as long as he worked for him. Chuck agreed.

Alex Guyson (Amazo Guy) was hired by Steven when Becky was younger to be a manny for her. Steven and Professor Terror both began to develop crushes on him. Alex has difficulty determining if Professor Terror is truly evil because he rescued him one night from thugs (not staged it was just people looking for loot and a fight.) Professor Terror saved him and flirted with Alex a bit as well. Alex was very flustered.

This is what I have for now. I don't have all the character's roles worked out yet.

@melodythebunny

@drtwobrainsstuff

#wordgirl #wordgirl au #becky boxleitner au #shadow girl au #victorian steampunk holmes au #steven boxleitner #professor terror #melodythebunny #answered ask

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atlanticcanada · 7 months

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#new brunswick #news #politics #canada #atlantic canada #GlobalMaritimesNB

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nccaus · 2 years

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WordGirl Ghost AU

A.K.A. Fairly Haunted/Haunted Fair City au

So in this au Becky is an almost normal human girl, almost, minus the fact the Fair City is haunted and she's the only one who can see the ghost. The Ghost are all the Villains from the show who died in different time periods.

there's no over arching plot but there is a few major events to this au.

Becky convinces Violet and Scoops she can see ghost (this is after school accidentally captures Tobey on camera), this leads to Scoops carrying an old camcorder from like 2014 with nigh vision, and Violet a silver pocket mirror, these allow them to see the ghost too.

despite being warned against is the trio enters the old manor that's inhabited by Miss Power who was not happy to say the least, the three made it out mostly ok, but Becky got hit on the head with something and ended up with an eyebrow scar because watch me give her one in every AU.

another kid that can see ghost, Rex comes to town (I think he's a foster kid taken in by the Botsfords here) Becky and Rex get along really well in this au because "holy crap now I'm not the only one that can see ghost in this town.

the ghost villains do move on at various points

so the characters themselves (the living)

Becky: a mostly normal human girl minus the fact she can see ghost, unlike Canon!Becky who does everything in her power to keep people from learning her identity Haunted!Becky is constantly trying to convince everyone that she's not crazy and can see ghost. she's also way more tired and way more done with everyone's bs, this mostly just results in her being more annoyed/tired/and sassy than her canon counterpart. found family with like two dozen ghost. (also a big fan of the goosebumps series).

Violet: she was the most willing to believe Becky and supported her about the ghost thing despite there still being some level of disbelief at first, due to the ghost making the town colder she ended up borrowing a jacket that belongs to Becky and has yet to return it.

Scoops: he was more skeptical of Becky's claims at first until being faced with visual evidence. The ghost like to tease him a lot because of this, especially Tobey who is basically a cat towards Scoops (as in pushing glasses off the table).

the three kinda have a thing helping the ghost and also trying to keep them from causing too much trouble.

TJ: brief mention of him, he thinks his sister is crazy about seeing ghost, everyone knows the town is haunted but seeing ghost? no way. (he does kind of believe her)

Rex: as mentioned before he can also see ghost and is a foster kid in the Botsford home.

The Dead

Steven/Two-Brains: the two have a more noticeable Jekyll and Hyde thing going on actually switching from one to the other, Steven is chaotic but chill and is basically dad, and Two-Brains is chaotic in general and likes scaring people cause ghost. Both halves have a good relationship with Becky. he died in 1886 and haunts an abandoned warehouse.

Tobey: Tobey is way nicer in this au, he's more like a cat. Tobey ran alcohol in the prohibition and died in 1934 and the age of 13, robots were not a thing until after his death but he still ended up really liking them so he haunts the scrapyard making robots from whatever he can find, unlike in canon they're small robots, often made from soup cans. he hasn't seen him mom since the 1930's, he misses her a lot. he's a poltergeist.

Victoria: still as boastful as ever she died in in 1956 and the age of 15 after setting her house on fire, biggest difference here is she's an arsonist with a lighter collection. she haunts the biggest toy store in town. Also really likes video games.

Eileen: Elieen died a year after Victoria at the age of 15, the two were friend in life and the afterlife, she haunts one of the other toy stores in town.

Maria: she was human before dying in this au, something to do with electricity causing her to be an electrical ghost in death, she is baby and haunts a third toy store.

Mr.Big and Leslie: Mr.Big is from the cold war era and Leslie died at some point in the 1980's. The two haunt an office floor together.

Invisibill and BLHG: Invisibill died in the 1920's and loves swing music, he haunts an apartment alone for awhile, BLHG died sometime between the 1970's and the 1980's, he ends up haunting a different apartment until Invisibill asks him if he wants to haunt a place together. everyone was surprised to find out they weren't already haunting a place together. Invisibill can be visible to anyone at anytime he chooses.

LRW: she's just a tired ghost haunting the copier shop she died in in the 1960's really.

Chuck: he died sometime in the 1990's, he either haunts and sandwich shop or his old house, I'm not sure yet.

The Butcher: he haunts a meat processing factory.

Granny May: she's just upset she died of old age.

(sorry these got a bit short still trying to figure everyone out, including those who are missing from the list)

HuggyFace: a circus monkey who just traveled around for years until befriending a young Becky who could see him, she seemed a bit old to see ghost, most kids stopped around the ages of 4, and she was 5, he stayed in case it was something bad, haunting the attic, turns out the kid could just see ghost in general, he continued to stay though because he liked it there.

Miss Power: she's a ghost that's about 1000 years old, the mansion she haunts being made from pieces of the home she originally haunted long ago, she's every powerful and scares the other ghost, she can't leave the property the mansion is on but is still a danger, the mansion is very off limits and the living and dead warn against going there.

Miscellaneous notes

most of the ghost really like post modern jukebox.

all the ghost have some ability similar to their cannon counterpart.

haunting a place together is basically ghost talk for "being together/dating" (this is part of why everyone was shocked Invisibill and BLHG weren't haunting a place together). the ghost see sharing clothes long term as the equivalent of this and end up thinking the Becky and Violet are a couple, they have to explain that that is not the case (some ghost continue to have their doubts)

this started as a ParaNorman au and became this, i really like this au.

this is more of a rule than anything but like, don't ship the ghost kids and the living kids in this au, the living are going to get older and that's just awkward and weird.

the ghost can eat if the food is left out as an offering, Becky finds out about this through Chuck who misses eating sandwiches, so she starts regularly leaving offerings.

ghost can be seen by anyone when they're covered in water

the ghost are very touch starved and Becky along with seeing ghost can touch them, so this is another reason everyone is attached to her in this au.

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newsiegirlscout · 5 years

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Curiosity’s Cat

Alright! Merry belated Christmas to this year’s lovely Wordgirl Secret Santa, @hibiscusangel15! The prompt was “Tobecky”, and I hope it’s as sweet a peppermint romance as all can be!

Proofread and edited by a very tired brother who wouldn’t get out of bed this morning and was thus subjected to listening to the live reading of all my fanfiction. Enjoy, and happy holidays!

Soft piano music played from the radio perched on the McCallister coffee table, a well-worn book with pages held by a bookmark emblazoned with a gear design and embellished with ribbon beside it. Claire hummed softly in the kitchen, stirring cinnamon and nutmeg into steaming hot cocoa. In the living room, perched precariously on several dictionaries and a chair on wheels, a young boy stretched on his toes to place the gleaming star on top of the tree....just a few inches, now.....

“Tobey, love, do be careful!” Claire scolded softly, bringing in the silver tea tray to rest on the table. Reluctantly, he brought the star to his side again, only to note the tray’s impedimenta with bafflement.

“Mother, last I checked, there were merely the two of us, yet you’ve prepared three mugs of cocoa here. Who, may I ask, is the third for?” he asked, though the confusion did not inhibit his immediate claim of one of the black-and-white biscuits from the tea tray.

“Sirius, a bit of reason never hurts. Last I checked, Mr. Starsoldier doesn’t quite share your predilection for cocoa, does he?”

The blonde’s face flushed cherry-blossom pink as he quickly pushed his plushie robut companion behind one of the throw pillows with his geometry-socked foot and sipped his steaming cocoa with as much refined dignity as a fourteen-year-old possibly could have, burning his tongue and dotting his nose with butterscotch syrup and whipped cream all within about fifteen seconds of each other. She shouldn’t have, but Claire couldn’t help but giggle.

“His name is Mr. Starslayer, and he--I mean, it!--couldn’t possibly, because his internal circuits aren’t coated, his joints aren’t hydraulic, and hot fluid stains aren’t machine-washable. So, no.”

“Hmmmm...” she said playfully, tapping the candy cane hooked the rim of her mug against it in thought, “Then perhaps it could be for Nova?”

The mechanical cat purred from the hearth and arced her paws towards the warmth from the tray--a clever trick, to be sure, but one that had been programmed in the long wait after midterms before the rest of the class period was over. Nimbly, she lept to the davenport and settled on Claire’s lap in response to the name recognition, settling happily into sleep mode once his mother laid a hand on her back.

“She’s a cat, mother, she’s far too fussy. Now, pray tell, who is arriving so suddenly?”

There was a tap at the window behind the boy as a familiar countenance appeared with a grin.

“Hello, common folk!” chirped none other than Becky Botsford.

###########################################################

The boy’s heart froze in his chest, the dictionaries he was sitting on unfortunately taking that very moment to fall off-kilter, toppling the chair, the volumes, and the lanky but still hopelessly inept Tobey McCallister III.

“I couldn’t resist!” Tobey’s beloathed classmate giggled, giving a thankful curtsy as Mrs. McCallister took her coat, “Thank you so much for having me over--is, is Tobey okay?”

“Peaches and cream, my dear.” grumbled the coffee table, a bruised arm appearing just far enough to retrieve the steampunk mug of cocoa as Becky laughed and stepped over on light feet to the tea tray.

“Ah, make yourself comfortable, love--there are marshmallows in the sugar bowl, cream, and, ah, you can’t have seen Chez McCallister until you have one of these biscuits--Tobey and I made just about all of these, he absolutely insisted only perfection.” the woman said, beaming with a perfect knowledge of how much the comment would embarrass her son.

“Thank you! And these are positively ambrosial....why, Tobey, I’d save some for you, but I’m afraid these rose spritz ice cream cookies are going to melt...” she retorted playfully as the boy genius finally sighed and sat up opposite her on the rug.

“Well, then, Miss Becky Botsford, to what do I owe the pleasure?” he said, nabbing one of the aforementioned sweets.

“Tobey,” his mother cut in with a soft glare, “Your friend here has found herself with an excess of activity and few places to carry out such.”

“But your brother made the cut, I presume?”

“He’s at his friend’s house.” she said, smile unfaultering, “My parents needed time to wrap and hide Christmas presents for our treasure hunt tomorrow, and we usually go to the Heaslip’s together, but the most coincidental thing is, as soon as Violet found out that you were mostly by yourself for Christmas Eve too, she caught a cold! A really super-contagious one! That Johnson, thankfully, hasn’t caught yet and isn’t transferable to either the homemade cookies or fluffy unicorn mittens she gave me. That’s funny, huh?”

“As ignominious it is that your mate has clearly thrown you for a foxglove, I suppose I could appreciate the company.” he said softly.

“Perfect!” she said, resting her cocoa on the table, “It took me a little while--an “absolutely last minute” sort of little while, but I brought some ideas for games that I think everyone here will enjoy and are entirely compatible with the unconventional three players, and of course I’d always listen to any of your ideas!”

Claire McCallister rested her empty mug on the coffee table and stood up wearily, buttoning her jacket and snagging her briefcase from the door.

“Ah, these shall have to be two-players, I’m afraid.” she said, ruffling her son’s hair and stepping to the door, “It’s rather last-minute, but some people really can’t keep themselves out of trouble on Christmas Eve, and the office called. Absolutely no stealing snogs while I’m gone, you both hear?”

The scarlet mess of what had once been Tobey McCallister stuttered as the door fell shut and his classmate merely looked over the book’s description from the coffee table.

“Awww, hey, is this The Wild Robot? I think TJ was reading that a little while ago...”

“And what of it, Botsford?” he said, sipping his cocoa.

She looked up with soft sparkling brown eyes and giggled. Not that Tobey cared, that is. “Hey, no need to be embarrassed! It’s always the story that really matters, anyhow. Speaking of which.....” she said, shaking her bookbag.

“Ah, yes, the games!” he said with a poorly disguised lilt of enthusiasm, “What is it, now, Ticket to Ride? Scrabble? Mouse Trap? It’s only sporting to warn you, though, ‘tis an honor fine to lose to a McCallister!”

She cuffed him on the shoulder playfully, laying out game sets on the table one by one, none of which were recognizable, or, for that matter, branded.

“Prepare to eat crow, my good sir, for ‘tis an honor perhaps finer to lose to a Botsford!” she retorted in perfect Elizabethan English and with a loose imitation of her friend’s accent to boot. “This one, I thought would be a fun one to start with--I mean, if you’d like? I made it ages ago, but I’ve never had a proper opponent. It’s called Curiosity’s Cat, and it goes like this....”

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

The game should not have been nearly as fun as it was, the two had to admit, once the puzzles were solved, the cards shuffled, the case finished, and, of course, the laurels of candy wreaths and good cheer bestowed.

“Now, I have to wonder,” Tobey mused, his wreath perched rather like a flower crown, “Did you make these yourself as well, Miss Botsford? They are absolutely resplendent.” His delighted gentle grin could warm even Rhyme’s frozen heart--not that our now-speechless heroine noticed or cared in the slightest of course.

After a flustered few seconds (”What’s the matter?”, Tobey teased, “Curiosity’s Cat got your tongue?”), Becky’s nerves defrosted enough to respond, “Yes, but satisfaction brought it back.”

“Ah, shame, I was hoping I’d finally found the compliment to silence a rather loquacious blatherskite.”

“That simply wouldn’t do, Mr. McCallister, you’d have to talk only half as much as usual to fill the room with two people’s worth of conversation. To answer your question, yes, actually, I did!”

“In a last-minute’s sort of little while, I presume?” he hummed, turning it over, “Ooh, are these candied hibiscus really edible? I haven’t had the sort of thing since Bristol!”

“You’ve never been to Bristol.” she said flatly.

“Exactly.” he said, pulling one of them off the tightly-woven bands and letting the light saccharine taste dissolve on his tongue, “So it only serves I’d miss them all the more. And I must say, my dear, these are absolutely ambrosial--that is to say, heavenly, scrumptious, and practically perfect in every way.”

He laughed softly, tapping her on the shoulder and leading her to the kitchens, “So it’s only fair that deserves at least a cup of tea, wouldn’t you say? Best vanilla-jasmine blend you’ll find here or anywhere, a la McCallister.”

“Tea? I call a perfidy.” she responded, starting a round of a silly and longer-running game of wits between the two as the kettle began to heat and the boy started to look through a variety of spices and blends in the cabinet.

“You speak with intellectuali-tea, though it’s surely with a malady.”

“That’s with respectibili-tea, though only in a rhapso-tea.”

“Well, that, love, is a tragi-tea, for our anfractuosi-tea.”

“To that we have a reme-tea.”

“And so ends”, he said, pressing a hot cup of fragrant tea into her hands, “Our proso-tea.”

At last, the door opened and the very exasperated Mrs. McCallister hung up her coat. “Hello again, my darlings--ah, that tea is for me, I presume?” she said, playfully giving an attempt at lifting Becky’s teacup to which the girl giggled and gently tugged hers back.

“Mother, Becky doesn’t have to go so soon, does she?” the boy protested, noting the extra car outside as she poured herself a cup with cream and sugar.

“Ah, I don’t suppose you accidentally enjoyed yourself, did you? Don’t worry, your friend will be over again soon enough.”

The girl curtsied as she packed her bags again and set her teacup in the sink. “Thank you for having me--I accidentally had fun, too. Merry Christmas!”

“Merry Christmas to you as well, Becky Botsford.” he said as he walked her to the door, stopping short just a few centimeters from the step as she tapped his shoulder and looked up to the top of the doorframe.

“Technically, your mother is here now...” she whispered at a pitch a mouse would need to be quiet to hear.

“I’m sorry, what was that?”

And, bouncing lightly to the tip of her toes, she silenced him with a kiss on the cheek.

#tobecky #wordgirl #becky botsford #tobey mccallister iii #claire mccallister #theodore tobias mccallister iii #mwah!#wordgirl secret santa 2019 #secret commentary let's go #first off: appreciate tea puns #based off real banter #two: violet and johnson are siblings #three: tobey was ACTUALLY BRITISH #BRITISH BLOOD BORN IN AMERICA THE ENTIRE TIME #MWAH HA HA #I also hope it's okay I borrowed Nova--Hibiscus's awesome cat!#whoooo!!!#merry christmas hibiscus!#thanks for all and I hope you love it!

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afieldofheather · 3 years

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prompts a book that’s published in 2022 | Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi a book set on a plane, train, or cruise ship | Running Wild by KA Tucker a book about or set in a nonpatriarchal society | The Galaxy, And The Ground Within by Becky Chambers a book with a tiger on the cover or “tiger” in the title | The Night Guest by Fiona McFarlane a sapphic book | Baptism of Fire by Andrzej Sapkowski a book by a latinx author | Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Canas a book with an onomatopoeia in its title | The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame a book with a protagonist who uses a mobility aid | The Clocks by Agatha Christie a book about “found family” | Leviathan Falls by James SA Corey an anisfield-wolf book award winner | Gods of the Upper Air by Charles King a #booktok recommendation | On the Way to the Wedding by Julia Quinn a book about the afterlife | Inland by Tea Obreht a book set in the 1980s | The Chalk Man by CJ Tudor a book with cutlery on the cover or in the title | The Disappearing Spoon by Sam Kean a book by a pacific islander author | Year of the Reaper by Makiia Lucier a book about witches | The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski a book being made into a tv series or movie in 2022 | The Viscount Who Loved Me by Julia Quinn a romance novel by a bipoc author | More Perfect by Temi Oh a book that takes place during your favorite season | The Dark Horse by Craig Johnson a book whose title begins with the last letter of your previous read | The Haunting of Maddy Clare by Simone St. James a book about a band or musical group | Blood Of Elves by Andrzej Sapkowski a book with a character on the ace spectrum | To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers a book with a recipe in it | Season of Storms by Andrzej Sapkowski a book you can read in one sitting | Permafrost by Sally Malcolm a book about a secret | Taken at the Flood by Agatha Christie a book with a misleading title | The Other Side of Midnight by Simone St James a hugo award winner | A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers a book set during a holiday | Dumb Witness by Agatha Christie a different book by an author you read in 2021 | Peril At End House by Agatha Christie a book with the name of a board game in the title | The War of the Worlds by HG Wells a book featuring a man-made disaster | The Lady of the Lake by Andrzej Sapkowski a book with a quote from your favorite author on the cover or amazon page | Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh a social-horror book | The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell a book set in victorian times | To Sir Phillip, With Love by Julia Quinn a book with a constellation on the cover or in the title | The Tower of Swallows by Andrzej Sapkowski a book you know nothing about | Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond a book about gender identity | A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers a book featuring a party | An Offer From A Gentleman by Julia Quinn an #ownvoices sff book | The Hacienda by Isabel Canas a book that fulfills your favorite prompt from a past popsugar reading challenge | The Drift by Diana Dru Botsford

advanced

a book with a reflected image on the cover or “mirror” in the title | Gallant by VE Schwab a book that features two languages | Curtain by Agatha Christie a book with a palindromic title | Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney a duology (1) | Ready Player One by Ernest Cline a duology (2) | Ready Player Two by Ernest Cline a book about someone leading a double life | One, Two, Buckle My Shoe by Agatha Christie a book featuring a parallel reality | The Time of Contempt by Andrzej Sapkowski a book with two povs | The Duke and I by Julia Quinn a book set in sister cities (1) - London | Romancing Mr. Bridgerton by Julia Quinn a book set in sister cities (2) - New York City | The Measure by Nikki Erlick

completed | December 23, 2023

#reading challenge

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andotherstoriespublishing · 7 years

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Spotlight on LGBT+ writers and writing

Following on from our guest post from Claire Browne of Serpent’s Tail on being LGBT+ in publishing, we’re highlighting a few of our favourite recent and forthcoming books written by LGBT+ writers or about LGBT+ themes - some published by us, some from other indie publishers, all necessary.

Sworn Virgin by Elvira Dones, tr. Clarissa Botsford (And Other Stories)

When Hana’s dying uncle calls her back from the city to the family home in the Albanian mountains, he tries to marry her to a local man who could run the household. Unable to accept the arranged marriage and determined to remain independent, Hana’s only option is to follow tradition and vow to live the rest of her life in chastity as a man – and so Hana becomes Mark. For a sworn virgin, there is no way back.

Years later, Mark – now a raki-drinking, chain-smoking shepherd – receives an invitation to join a cousin in the US. This may be Mark’s only chance to escape his vow. But what does he know about being an American woman?

Your Silence Will Not Protect You by Audre Lorde (Silver Press - out Oct 2017)

An intense and furious collection of essays and poems by this brilliantly articulate 20th century feminist writer and activist, who used her words and her actions to make visible a black, lesbian feminist identity. As well as the activism, there’s real beauty and clarity here, for instance in the essay ‘Uses of the Erotic’, where she talks about the power of bringing the erotic into everything we do:

‘In touch with the erotic, I become less willing to accept powerlessness, or those other supplied states of being which are not native to me, such as resignation, despair, self-effacement, depression, self-denial.’

This are true, angry and, most of all, inspiring words we can all take something from in troubling times.

Black Wave by Michelle Tea (And Other Stories)

Grungy and queer, Michelle is a grrrl hung up on a city in riot. It’s San Francisco and it’s 1999. Determined to quell her addictions to heroin, catastrophic romance, and the city itself, she heads south for LA, just as the news hits: in one year the world is Officially Over. The suicides have begun. And it’s here that Black Wave breaks itself open, splitting into every possible story, questioning who has the right to write about whom. People begin to dream the lovers they will never have, while Michelle takes haven in a bookshop, where she contemplates writing about her past (sort of), dating Matt Dillon (kind of), and riding out the end of the world (maybe).

New from Michelle Tea, novelist, essayist, and queer counter-culture icon, Black Wave is a punk feminist masterpiece and a raucously funny read for everyone … except, perhaps, for Scientologists.

Chelsea Girls - Eileen Myles (Serpent’s Tail)

In this breathtakingly inventive autobiographical novel, Eileen Myles transforms her life into a work of art. Suffused with alcohol, drugs, and sex; evocative in its depictions of the hardscrabble realities of a young queer artist's life; with raw, flickering stories of awkward love, laughter, and discovery, Chelsea Girls is a funny, cool, and intimate account of how one young female writer managed to shrug off the imposition of a rigid cultural identity.Told in her audacious and singular voice made vivid and immediate in her lyrical language, Chelsea Girls weaves together memories of Myles's 1960s Catholic upbringing with an alcoholic father, her volatile adolescence, her unabashed "lesbianity," and her riotous pursuit of survival as a poet in 1970s and 80s New York.

The Proof - César Aira tr. Nick Caistor (And Other Stories)

Marcia is sixteen, overweight and unhappy. One day, as she’s walking down a Buenos Aires street, she hears a shout: ‘Wannafuck?’ Startled, she turns around and is confronted by two punk girls Lenin and Mao. She’s soon beguiled by them and the possibilities they open up. But the two have little time for a philosophical discussion of love: they need proof of it, and with their own savage logic the duo, calling themselves the Love Commando, hold up a supermarket as the novel climaxes in an unforgettable splatter-fest finale.

Sergio Y. by Alexandre Vidal Porto tr. Alex Ladd (Europa Editions)

Armando is one of the most renowned therapists in São Paulo. One of his patients, a 17-year-old boy by the name of Sergio, abruptly interrupts his course of therapy after a trip to New York. Sergio’s cursory explanation to Armando is that he has finally found his own path to happiness and must pursue it.

For years, without any further news of Sergio, Armando wonders what happened to his patient. He subsequently learns that Sergio is living a happy life in New York and that he is now a woman, Sandra. Not long after this startling discovery, however, Armando is shocked to read about Sandra’s unexpected death. In an attempt to discover the truth about Sergio and Sandra’s life, Armando starts investigating on his own.

Sergio Y. is a unique and moving story about gender, identity, and the search for happiness.

Open Door by Iosi Havilio tr. Beth Fowler (And Other Stories)

When her partner disappears, a young veterinary assistant drifts from the city towards Open Door, a small town in the Pampas named after its psychiatric hospital. Embarking on a new life in the country, she finds herself living with an ageing ranch-hand and courted by an official investigating her partner’s disappearance. She might settle down, although a local girl is also irresistible . . .

This evocative, atmospheric book makes a quiet case for the possibility of finding contentment in unexpected places – and tells it in unexpected ways.

The Argonauts by Maggie Nelson (Melville House)

A timely and genre-bending memoir that offers fresh and fierce reflections on motherhood, desire, identity and feminism.

At the centre of The Argonauts is the love story between Maggie Nelson and the artist Harry Dodge, who is fluidly gendered. As Nelson undergoes the transformations of pregnancy, she explores the challenges and complexities of mothering and queer family making.

Writing in the tradition of public intellectuals like Susan Sontag, Nelson uses arresting prose even as she questions the limits of language. The Argonauts is an intrepid voyage out to the frontiers of love, language, and family.

The Alphabet of Birds by SJ Naudé tr. by the author (And Other Stories)

If death comes to a loved one, can we grieve alone? When all around is in ruins, can we confine our lives to one beautiful room constructed out of art, or love, or family ties? And when the words we know prove inadequate, can we turn to the language of birds?

In an arty mansion in Milan’s industrial zone, two men are shown one of the last remaining Futurist noise machines – an Intonarumore – and a painful old truth surfaces. A musician travels to three continents to see her siblings before returning to Johannesburg; her home is plundered every night around her as she composes a requiem. A man follows his male lover from London to Berlin’s clubbing scene and on to a ruined castle in which the lover’s family lives. He is looking for an antidote.

The protagonists in SJ Naudé’s collection are listening out for answers that cannot be expressed. Offering fresh perspectives on gay, expat and artistic subcultures and tackling the pain of loss head on, Naudé’s stories go fearlessly and tenderly to the heart of our experiences of desire, love and death.

London Triptych by Jonathan Kemp (Myriad Editions)

Jack Rose begins his apprenticeship as a rent boy with Alfred Taylor in the 1890s, and finds a life of pleasure and excess leads him to new friendships — most notably with the soon-to-be infamous Oscar Wilde. A century later, David tells his own tale of unashamed decadence while waiting to be released from prison, addressing his story to the lover who betrayed him. Where their paths cross, in the politically sensitive 1950s, the artist Colin Read tentatively explores his sexuality as he draws in preparation for his most ambitious painting yet — ‘London Triptych’.

Rent boys, aristocrats, artists and felons populate this bold debut as Jonathan Kemp skilfully interweaves the lives and loves of three very different men across the decades.

#lgbt lit #reading recommendations #books that made me #pride2017 #indie publishers #audre lorde #eileen myles #maggie nelson #michelle tea

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